University of Memphis

About: University of Memphis is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7710 authors who have published 20082 publications receiving 611618 citations. The organization is also known as: U of M.

Functional flexibility of infant vocalization and the emergence of language

Abstract: We report on the emergence of functional flexibility in vocalizations of human infants. This vastly underappreciated capability becomes apparent when prelinguistic vocalizations express a full range of emotional content—positive, neutral, and negative. The data show that at least three types of infant vocalizations (squeals, vowel-like sounds, and growls) occur with this full range of expression by 3–4 mo of age. In contrast, infant cry and laughter, which are species-specific signals apparently homologous to vocal calls in other primates, show functional stability, with cry overwhelmingly expressing negative and laughter positive emotional states. Functional flexibility is a sine qua non in spoken language, because all words or sentences can be produced as expressions of varying emotional states and because learning conventional “meanings” requires the ability to produce sounds that are free of any predetermined function. Functional flexibility is a defining characteristic of language, and empirically it appears before syntax, word learning, and even earlier-developing features presumed to be critical to language (e.g., joint attention, syllable imitation, and canonical babbling). The appearance of functional flexibility early in the first year of human life is a critical step in the development of vocal language and may have been a critical step in the evolution of human language, preceding protosyntax and even primitive single words. Such flexible affect expression of vocalizations has not yet been reported for any nonhuman primate but if found to occur would suggest deep roots for functional flexibility of vocalization in our primate heritage.

Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work? The Results from a Meta-Analysis of Controlled Experiments

Abstract: This article reviews the outcome (usually abstinence at 12 months) of 21 controlled studies of AA, with emphasis on methodological quality. Severe selection biases compromised all quasi-experiments. Randomized studies yielded worse results for AA than nonrandomized studies, but were biased by selection of coerced subjects. Attending conventional AA meetings was worse than no treatment or alternative treatment; residential AA-modeled treatments performed no better or worse than alternatives; and several components of AA seemed supported (recovering alcoholics as therapists, peer-led self-help therapy groups, teaching the Twelve-Step process, and doing an honest inventory).

Reproductive endocrinology and mechanisms of breeding inhibition in cooperatively breeding Florida Scrub Jays Aphelocoma C. coerulescens)

Abstract: Although the ecological and evolutionary bases of cooperative breeding have received close scrutiny, few studies have explored the physiological mechanisms responsible for delayed breeding by helpers. We chose the Florida Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma c. coerulescens, to determine whether breeders and nonbreeders have different hormone profiles during the reproductive season. We found that male nonbreeders had significantly lower testosterone levels and higher progesterone levels than did male breeders. Nonbreeder and breeder males had similar plasma levels of corticosterone. Elevated plasma levels of progesterone in nonbreeder males may interfere with the reproductive activity at the behavioral or physiological level. Alternatively, progesterone may enable these nonbreeding males to express parental behavior in the absence of a parent/offspring relationship, but the occurrence of the highest levels of progesterone during nest building and egg laying supports the former interpretation. In females, we found that nonbreeders had significantly lower levels of estradiol and corticosterone than breeders. The low levels of primary sex steroid hormones in male and female nonbreeders may physiologically and behaviorally inhibit reproductive activity and suggest hat these individuals are reproductively incompetent. The absence of high levels of corticosterone in nonbreeders suggests that this reproductive inhibition is not due to glucocorticoid-mediated stress imposed by dominant breeders.

Breathing as a Fundamental Rhythm of Brain Function

Abstract: Ongoing fluctuations of neuronal activity have long been considered intrinsic noise that introduces unavoidable and unwanted variability into neuronal processing, which the brain eliminates by averaging across population activity (Georgopoulos et al., 1986;Lee et al., 1988;Shadlen and Newsome, 1994;Maynard et al., 1999). It is now understood, that the seemingly random fluctuations of cortical activity form highly structured patterns, including oscillations at various frequencies, that modulate evoked neuronal responses (Arieli et al., 1996;Poulet and Petersen, 2008;He, 2013) and affect sensory perception (Linkenkaer-Hansen et al., 2004;Boly et al., 2007;Sadaghiani et al., 2009;Vinnik et al., 2012;Palva et al., 2013). Ongoing cortical activity is driven by proprioceptive and interoceptive inputs. In addition, it is partially intrinsically generated in which case it may be related to mental processes (Fox and Raichle, 2007;Deco et al., 2011). Here we argue that respiration, via multiple sensory pathways, contributes a rhythmic component to ongoing cortical activity. We suggest that this rhythmic activity modulates the temporal organization of cortical neurodynamics, thereby linking higher cortical functions to the process of breathing.

AutoTutor and Family: A Review of 17 Years of Natural Language Tutoring

Abstract: AutoTutor is a natural language tutoring system that has produced learning gains across multiple domains (e.g., computer literacy, physics, critical thinking). In this paper, we review the development, key research findings, and systems that have evolved from AutoTutor. First, the rationale for developing AutoTutor is outlined and the advantages of natural language tutoring are presented. Next, we review three central themes in AutoTutor’s development: human-inspired tutoring strategies, pedagogical agents, and technologies that support natural-language tutoring. Research on early versions of AutoTutor documented the impact on deep learning by co-constructed explanations, feedback, conversational scaffolding, and subject matter content. Systems that evolved from AutoTutor added additional components that have been evaluated with respect to learning and motivation. The latter findings include the effectiveness of deep reasoning questions for tutoring multiple domains, of adapting to the affect of low-knowledge learners, of content over surface features such as voices and persona of animated agents, and of alternative tutoring strategies such as collaborative lecturing and vicarious tutoring demonstrations. The paper also considers advances in pedagogical agent roles (such as trialogs) and in tutoring technologies, such semantic processing and tutoring delivery platforms. This paper summarizes and integrates significant findings produced by studies using AutoTutor and related systems.