Samuel W. Fernberger

Bio: Samuel W. Fernberger is an academic researcher from University of Pennsylvania. The author has contributed to research in topics: Limen & Clinical neuropsychology. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 22 publications receiving 875 citations.

Single units and sensation: a neuron doctrine for perceptual psychology?

Abstract: The problem discussed is the relationship between the firing of single neurons in sensory pathways and subjectively experienced sensations. The conclusions are formulated as the following five dogmas:To understand nervous function one needs to look at interactions at a cellular level, rather than either a more macroscopic or microscopic level, because behaviour depends upon the organized pattern of these intercellular interactions.The sensory system is organized to achieve as complete a representation of the sensory stimulus as possible with the minimum number of active neurons.Trigger features of sensory neurons are matched to redundant patterns of stimulation by experience as well as by developmental processes.Perception corresponds to the activity of a small selection from the very numerous high-level neurons, each of which corresponds to a pattern of external events of the order of complexity of the events symbolized by a word.High impulse frequency in such neurons corresponds to high certainty that t...

Mechanisms of memory

Abstract: Recent studies of animals with complex nervous systems, including humans and other primates, have improved our understanding of how the brain accomplishes learning and memory. Major themes of recent work include the locus of memory storage, the taxonomy of memory, the distinction between declarative and procedural knowledge, and the question of how memory changes with time, that is, the concepts of forgetting and consolidation. An important recent advance is the development of an animal model of human amnesia in the monkey. The animal model, together with newly available neuropathological information from a well-studied human patient, has permitted the identification of brain structures and connections involved in memory functions.

Language acquisition and socialization: Three developmental stories and their implications

Abstract: ABSTRACT Two claims are made concerning the interrelationship of language acquisition and socialization processes: (1)'.the process of acquiring language isdeeply -deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of a society; and (2) the process of becoming a competent member of society is realized to a large extent throUgh language and through acquiring knowledge of its functions, social . distribution, and interpretations in and across socially defined situations. These claims are supported with evidence, derived from a comparison of the social development of children in three societies: Anglo-American white middle class, Kaluli (Papua New Guinea), and Samoan. Specific theoretical arguMents and methodological procedures fc an ethnological approach to language development are presented, foc,3ing on developmental research with interests and roots in language development rather than anthropological studies of socialization. Five specific aspects of the ethnological model of language acquisition are addressed: (.1) the cultural organization of intentionality in language use;. (2) the integration of sociocultural knowledge and code knowledge; (3) the unevenness of language: development and the priority contexts for language, acquisition; (4) the relationship between child language and caregiver language, specifically the lack of match between them; and (5) the role' of biology in language acquisition. (MSE)

Increased structure and active learning reduce the achievement gap in introductory biology.

Abstract: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instructors have been charged with improving the performance and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. To date, programs that close the achievement gap between students from disadvantaged versus nondisadvantaged educational backgrounds have required extensive extramural funding. We show that a highly structured course design, based on daily and weekly practice with problem-solving, data analysis, and other higher-order cognitive skills, improved the performance of all students in a college-level introductory biology class and reduced the achievement gap between disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students--without increased expenditures. These results support the Carnegie Hall hypothesis: Intensive practice, via active-learning exercises, has a disproportionate benefit for capable but poorly prepared students.