scholarly journals Role of implicit learning abilities in metaphor understanding

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luc Drouillet ◽  
Nicolas Stefaniak ◽  
Christelle Declercq ◽  
Alexandre Obert
2019 ◽  
Vol 148 (9) ◽  
pp. 1505-1516
Author(s):  
Ivan I. Ivanchei ◽  
Nadezhda Moroshkina ◽  
Roman Tikhonov ◽  
Irina Ovchinnikova

Author(s):  
Frauke Nees ◽  
Martin Griebe ◽  
Anne Ebert ◽  
Michaela Ruttorf ◽  
Benjamin Gerber ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss

Recent neurocognitive models of second language learning have posited specific roles for declarative and procedural memory in the processing of novel linguistic stimuli. Pursuing this line of investigation, the present study examined the role of declarative and procedural memory abilities in the early stages of adult comprehension of sentences in a miniature language with natural language characteristics (BrocantoJ). Thirty-six native Italian young adults were aurally exposed to BrocantoJ in the context of a computer game over three sessions on consecutive days. Following vocabulary training and passive exposure, participants were asked to perform game moves described by aural sentences in the language. Game trials differed with respect to the information the visual context offered. In part of the trials processing of relationships between grammatical properties of the language (word order and morphological case marking) and noun semantics (thematic role) was necessary in order reach an accurate outcome, whereas in others nongrammatical contextual cues were sufficient. Declarative and procedural learning abilities were respectively indexed by visual and verbal declarative memory measures and by a measure of visual implicit sequence learning. Overall, the results indicated a substantial role of declarative learning ability in the early stages of sentence comprehension, thus confirming theoretical predictions and the findings of previous similar studies in miniature artificial language paradigms. However, for trials that specifically probed the learning of relationships between morphosyntax and semantics, a positive interaction between declarative and procedural learning ability also emerged, indicating the cooperative engagement of both types of learning abilities in the processing of relationships between ruled-based grammar and interpretation in the early stages of exposure to a new language in adults.


Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽  
Alessandra Pecunioso ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Christian Agrillo

Several studies in mammals, birds, and fish have documented better cognitive abilities associated with an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive functions in the two halves of the brain, also known as ‘functional brain lateralization’. However, the role of brain lateralization in learning abilities is still unclear. In addition, although recent studies suggest a link between some personality traits and accuracy in cognitive tasks, the relation between anxiety and learning skills in Skinner boxes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we tested the impact of brain lateralization and anxiety-like behaviour in the performance of an extensive operant conditioning task. Zebrafish tested in a Skinner box underwent 500 trials in a colour discrimination task (red vs. yellow and green vs. blue). To assess the degree of lateralization, fish were observed in a detour test in the presence of a dummy predator, and anxiety-like behaviour was studied by observing scototaxis response in an experimental tank divided into light and dark compartments. Although the low performance in the colour discrimination task did not permit the drawing of firm conclusions, no correlation was found between the accuracy in the colour discrimination task and the behaviour in the detour and scototaxis tests. This suggests that neither different degrees of asymmetries in brain lateralization nor anxiety may significantly impact the learning skills of zebrafish.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafal Ohme ◽  
Christo Boshoff

Purpose Some marketers have challenged psychologists’ contention that human beings can only learn by using conscious effort. They argue that advertising can be effective at low levels of (or even no) attention. Also, despite the absence of (or low levels of) consciousness, these subconscious responses can be linked to brands. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of implicit learning in the context of logo substitution – an image that may not look like the original logo, and may not even be consciously associated with the original brand or its logo. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by means of two quasi-experimental studies. Findings The results suggest that, thanks to implicit learning, logo substitution can be effective. Research limitations/implications One limitation was that data were collected from two relatively small convenience samples. Practical implications Logo substitution can be of value when a company faces a situation when advertising is banned or restricted, when the target market is saturated with marketing stimuli (clutter) and when there is a risk that aggressive advertising can lead to psychological reactance. The purpose of logo substitution would then be to unobtrusively activate mental representations closely related to the original logo. Originality/value The central contribution of this study is that it demonstrates how the principles of implicit social cognition, implicit learning and logo substitution can be used by marketers to overcome the undesirable and even adverse advertising circumstances they sometimes face.


Cortex ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoleta Prutean ◽  
Elisa Martín-Arévalo ◽  
Alicia Leiva ◽  
Luis Jiménez ◽  
Antonino Vallesi ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1820) ◽  
pp. 20190757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurèle Boussard ◽  
Adrian Fessel ◽  
Christina Oettmeier ◽  
Léa Briard ◽  
Hans-Günther Döbereiner ◽  
...  

The slime mould Physarum polycephalum , an aneural organism, uses information from previous experiences to adjust its behaviour, but the mechanisms by which this is accomplished remain unknown. This article examines the possible role of oscillations in learning and memory in slime moulds. Slime moulds share surprising similarities with the network of synaptic connections in animal brains. First, their topology derives from a network of interconnected, vein-like tubes in which signalling molecules are transported. Second, network motility, which generates slime mould behaviour, is driven by distinct oscillations that organize into spatio-temporal wave patterns. Likewise, neural activity in the brain is organized in a variety of oscillations characterized by different frequencies. Interestingly, the oscillating networks of slime moulds are not precursors of nervous systems but, rather, an alternative architecture. Here, we argue that comparable information-processing operations can be realized on different architectures sharing similar oscillatory properties. After describing learning abilities and oscillatory activities of P. polycephalum , we explore the relation between network oscillations and learning, and evaluate the organism's global architecture with respect to information-processing potential. We hypothesize that, as in the brain, modulation of spontaneous oscillations may sustain learning in slime mould. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Basal cognition: conceptual tools and the view from the single cell’.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Bencsik ◽  
Szilvia Pusztai ◽  
Sándor Borbély ◽  
Anna Fekete ◽  
Metta Dülk ◽  
...  

AbstractCASK-interactive proteins, Caskin1 and Caskin2, are multidomain neuronal scaffold proteins. Recent data from Caskin1 knockout animals indicated only a mild role of Caskin1 in anxiety and pain perception. In this work, we show that deletion of both Caskins leads to severe deficits in novelty recognition and spatial memory. Ultrastructural analyses revealed a reduction in synaptic profiles and dendritic spine areas of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons of double knockout mice. Loss of Caskin proteins impaired LTP induction in hippocampal slices, while miniature EPSCs in dissociated hippocampal cultures appeared to be unaffected. In cultured Caskin knockout hippocampal neurons, overexpressed Caskin1 was enriched in dendritic spine heads and increased the amount of mushroom-shaped dendritic spines. Chemically induced LTP (cLTP) mediated enlargement of spine heads was augmented in the knockout mice and was not influenced by Caskin1. Immunocytochemistry and immunoprecipitation confirmed that Shank2, a master scaffold of the postsynaptic density, and Caskin1 co-localized within the same complex. Phosphorylation of AMPA receptors was specifically altered by Caskin deficiency and was not elevated by cLTP treatment further. Taken together, our results prove a previously unnoticed postsynaptic role of Caskin scaffold proteins and indicate that Caskins influence learning abilities via regulating spine morphology and AMPA receptor localisation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document