Implicit memory is independent from IQ and age but not from etiology: evidence from Down and Williams syndromes

Background In the last few years, experimental data have been reported on differences in implicit memory processes of genetically distinct groups of individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID). These evidences are relevant for the more general debate on supposed asynchrony of cognitive maturation in children with abnormal brain development. This study, comparing implicit memory processes in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS), was planned to verify the ‘etiological specificity’ hypotheses pertaining to the skill learning abilities of individuals with ID. Method A modified version of Nissen and Bullemer's (1987) Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task was used. The performances of three group were evaluated. The first group consisted of thirty‐two people with WS (18 males and 14 females). The second group was comprised of twenty‐six individuals with DS (14 males and 12 females). The two groups of individuals with ID were selected so that the groups were comparable as for mental age and chronological age. The third group consisted of forty‐nine typically developed children with a mental age similar to that of the groups with WS and DS. Results The two groups of individuals with ID demonstrated different patterns of procedural learning. WS individuals revealed poor implicit learning of the temporal sequence of events characterizing the ordered blocks in the SRT task. Indeed, differently from normal controls, WS participants showed no reaction time (RT) speeding through ordered blocks. Most importantly, the rebound effect, which so dramatically affected normal children's RTs passing from the last ordered to the last block, had only a marginal influence on WS children's RTs. Differently from the WS group, the rate of procedural learning of the participants with DS was comparable to that of their controls. Indeed, DS and typically developed individuals showed parallel RT variations in the series of ordered blocks and, more importantly, passing from the last ordered to the last block. Therefore, a substantial preservation of skill learning abilities in this genetic syndrome is confirmed. Conclusions The results of the present study document that procedural learning in individuals with ID depends on the aetiology of the syndrome, thus supporting the etiological specificity account of their cognitive development. These results are relevant for our knowledge about the qualitative aspects and the underlying neurobiological substrate of the anomalous cognitive development in mentally retarded people.     

Developmental spectrum of the excitotoxic cascade induced by ibotenate: a model of hypoxic insults in fetuses and neonates

Ibotenate, a glutamatergic agonist, was used to study the spectrum of excitoxic disturbances at different ages of cerebral development. Cultures of whole mouse embryo were submitted to ibotenate at E8 for 20 h: during the phase of early premigratory differentiation; ibotenate did not induce any detectable histological lesion. During migration of supragranular neurons, newborn hamsters intracerebrally injected at P0 with ibotenate display neuronal migration disorders graded from nodular heterotopias to extensive laminar heterotopias mimicking some aspects of lissencephalic and double-cortex syndromes. After completion of neuronal layer V, P0 mice injected with ibotenate exhibit laminar neuronal depopulation of layer V-VIa mimicking human micro-gyria. At P5 in mouse, after completion of neuronal migration of the cortical plate, ibotenate induces neuronal loss in all cortical layers and the formation of porencephalic cysts. This study emphasizes the dramatic role played by glutamate in brain development, in the occurrence of neuronal migration disorders in the cortex. and in grey and white matter damage.     

肥胖对儿童骨骼发育的影响

对89名单纯性肥胖儿童做了手腕部骨龄发育的病例对照研究。结果表明:(1)肥胖儿童骨龄提前(平均男孩提前1.02岁,女孩提前0.74岁,P<0.001)。(2)肥胖儿童骨骼发育速度比正常儿童快(平均男孩快0.117y/a,女孩快0.09y/a,P<0.001)。(3)男孩肥胖度与骨龄增值之间以及骨龄与身高之间均存在有同向变化关系。     

贵阳市婴幼儿和青少年发育调查研究 Ⅰ．骨龄研究

对贵阳市１５００名健康婴幼儿童和青少年进行骨发育的调查，根据手腕部骨Ｘ线解剖变化规律，观察每块骨从出现至成熟的过程中，骨化点的出现顺序、数量、形态和密度的改变等指标的系列变化，提出了骨发育评价标准。可供我省运动员选材、儿童少年发育咨询和临床治疗参考。     

儿童最大吸氧量与体格发育关系的研究

本文报告了４３６名１０－１９岁男女儿童少年最大吸氧量与休格发育的关系。相关分析可见，ＶＯ２ｍａｘ，ＶＯ２ｍａｘ／身高及ＶＯ２ｍａｘ／最大心率与身高，体重及瘦体重等体格发育变量有高度正相关；ＶＯ２ｍａｘ／体重与各体格变量，男童呈较低的正相关，妇童为较低的负相关；ＶＯ２ｍａｘ／ＬＢＭ与各体格变量，男女童均无相关。按身高，体重及ＬＢＭ分组，将男女儿童分别为发育较好（第１）组及较差（第２）组，比较两组ＶＯ     

Drawing the Boundaries: Exploring gender issues in young children's classifications of work using visual representations

This study examines young children's perceptions of work through a specific example. Reception class children at an inner city school were shown pictures of the same figure washing in four different contexts, ranging from housework to paid employment, in order to examine early classifications and conceptual systems relating to the concept of work and to ascertain whether these were gender related. Individual children varied in the complexity of their ideas, but the majority had not yet began to form hierarchical classifications of work which favour paid employment. There was evidence however that some children were beginning to devalue traditional women's work, suggesting that gender stereotypes are still prevalent amongst this age group, despite efforts by the educational system to counter this.     

Head Start Teaching Center: Differential Training Effects for Head Start Personnel

Driven by research findings regarding the positive relationship between training and enhancement of services, as well as literature on adult learning, the New England Head Start Teaching Center (NEHSTC) was created in 1992 to test the efficacy of participatory, hands-on training. The purpose of this paper is to examine the outcome evaluation results from 4 years of training at the NEHSTC, 1 of 14 federally funded sites, as well as to discuss the implications for delivering this type of participatory training throughout Head Start. Findings suggest that the NEHSTC was successful in implementing high quality, participatory training within the context of an ongoing Head Start program. Head Start staff who participated in the NEHSTC trainings demonstrated gains in knowledge, skills, and expertise compared to similar Head Start employees who did not receive training. Results also reveal a sustained effect of training over time, with NEHSTC participants continuing to demonstrate enhanced knowledge and skills 6 months after training. Similar positive outcomes of training were found for staff with varying levels of experience and holding different Head Start positions. Thus the participatory, hands-on training implemented by the NEHSTC was found to produce positive and lasting outcomes for diverse Head Start staff. An effective and cost efficient model of training Head Start personnel is particularly relevant and timely as Head Start strives to establish universal quality and expansion of services in the 21st Century. The findings are also relevant for improving the quality of all early care and education programs.     

开发与整合图书馆的文献资源

从用户信息需求变化探讨了高校图书馆馆藏资源开发整合的可行性及必要性.在对馆藏资源进行开发整合时,应把工作的重心和主要精力放在学校的重点学科建设上,借助用户的专业优势取得整合工作的成功.