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As part of the demands of a globalized and interconnected world, studying second languages has become a major priority. Bilingual programs implemented in recent decades have motivated an educational strategy in which content area courses are taught through L2. The potential costs of this strategy in academic performance are debated, especially in challenging areas such as mathematics. The present work systematically reviewed 71 papers based on experiments measuring mathematics performance in bilinguals in order to establish if bilinguals show a (dis)advantage in mathematics compared to monolinguals. The results of a total of 305,136 participants (57,703 bilinguals and 247,503 monolinguals) show that bilingualism does not seem to affect mathematical performance, but this is dependent on whether subjects are highly proficient bilinguals. This type of bilingual may only be affected by lower reaction times depending on the testing language. On the other hand, low language proficiency negatively impacts mathematical performance. Lastly, bilingualism enhances mathematical encoding and processes in non-language-related tasks.

AI is fueling explosive growth in compute demand that traditional digital chip architectures cannot keep up with. Analog crossbar arrays enable power efficient synaptic signal processing with linear scaling on neural network size. We present a photonic photorefractive crossbar array for neural network training and inference on local analog memory. We discuss the concept and present results based on the first prototype hardware.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116469.].

Optimal decision-making is based on integrating information from several dimensions of decisional space (e.g., reward expectation, cost estimation, effort exertion). Despite considerable empirical and theoretical efforts, the computational and neural bases of such multidimensional integration have remained largely elusive. Here we propose that the current theoretical stalemate may be broken by considering the computational properties of a cortical-subcortical circuit involving the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the brainstem neuromodulatory nuclei: ventral tegmental area (VTA) and locus coeruleus (LC). From this perspective, the dACC optimizes decisions about stimuli and actions, and using the same computational machinery, it also modulates cortical functions (meta-learning), via neuromodulatory control (VTA and LC). We implemented this theory in a novel neuro-computational model-the Reinforcement Meta Learner (RML). We outline how the RML captures critical empirical findings from an unprecedented range of theoretical domains, and parsimoniously integrates various previous proposals on dACC functioning.

BACKGROUND: We tested the hypothesis of supporters of assisted dying that assisted suicide (AS) might be able to prevent cases of conventional suicide (CS). METHODS: By using data from the Federal Statistical Office, we analyzed the long-term development of 30,756 self-initiated deaths in Switzerland over a 20-year period (1999-2018; CS: n = 22,018, AS: n = 8738), focusing on people suffering from cancer who died from AS or CS. RESULTS: While cancer was the most often listed principal disease for AS (n = 3580, 41.0% of AS cases), cancer was listed in only a small minority of CS cases (n = 832, 3.8% of CS cases). There was a significant increase in the absolute number of cancer-associated AS cases: comparing four 5-year periods, there was approximately a doubling of cases every 5 years (1999-2003: n = 228 vs.2004-2008: n = 474, +108% compared with the previous period; 2009-2013: n = 920, +94%; 2014-2018: n = 1958, +113%). The ratio of cancer-associated AS in relationship with all cancer-associated deaths increased over time to 2.3% in the last observation period (2014-2018). In parallel, the numbers of cancer-associated CS showed a downward trend only at the beginning of the observation period (1999-2003, n = 240 vs. 2004-2008, n = 199, -17%). Thereafter, the number of cases remained stable in the subsequent 5-year period (2009-2013, n = 187, -6%), and increased again toward the most recent period (2014-2018, n = 206, +10%). CONCLUSION: The assumption that, with the increasingly accessible option of AS for patients with cancer, CS suicide will become superfluous cannot be confirmed. There are strong reasons indicating that situations and circumstances of cancer-associated CS are different from those for cancer-associated AS.

The current study focusses on the level of statistics anxiety and the motivation to learn statistics in Flanders (Belgium) and determined to what degree these factors and their interaction relates to statistical performance. For this purpose, the Statistics Anxiety Scale and the Statistics Motivation Scale were translated, validated, and administered in professional and academic bachelor students in psychology. The level of SA in Flanders is comparable to other countries, with professional bachelor students being more anxious to make interpretations compared to academic bachelor students, who in turn are more anxious to ask for help. Academic students are more motivated to learn statistics compared the professional bachelor students, mostly in terms of intrinsic motivation. The overall motivation to learn statistics is lower at the end of the semester compared to the beginning of the semester. This is unfortunate, because we observed that high levels of motivation can alleviate the negative impact of statistics anxiety on statistical performance, especially when controlling for general learning abilities.

Autoimmune limbic encephalitis (ALE) presents with new-onset mesial temporal lobe seizures, progressive memory disturbance, and other behavioral and cognitive changes. CD8 T cells are considered to play a key role in those cases where autoantibodies (ABs) target intracellular antigens or no ABs were found. Assessment of such patients presents a clinical challenge, and novel noninvasive imaging biomarkers are urgently needed. Here, we demonstrate that visualization of the translocator protein (TSPO) with [18F]DPA-714-PET-MRI reveals pronounced microglia activation and reactive gliosis in the hippocampus and amygdala of patients suspected with CD8 T cell ALE, which correlates with FLAIR-MRI and EEG alterations. Back-translation into a preclinical mouse model of neuronal antigen-specific CD8 T cell-mediated ALE allowed us to corroborate our preliminary clinical findings. These translational data underline the potential of [18F]DPA-714-PET-MRI as a clinical molecular imaging method for the direct assessment of innate immunity in CD8 T cell-mediated ALE.

Most general theories on serial order working memory (WM) assume the existence of position markers that are bound to the to-be-remembered items to keep track of the serial order. So far, the exact cognitive/neural characteristics of these markers have remained largely underspecified, while direct empirical evidence for their existence is mostly lacking. In the current study we demonstrate that retrieval from verbal serial order WM can be facilitated or hindered by spatial cuing: begin elements of a verbal WM sequence are retrieved faster after cuing the left side of space, while end elements are retrieved faster after cuing the right side of space. In direct complement to our previous work--where we showed the reversed impact of WM retrieval on spatial processing--we argue that the current findings provide us with a crucial piece of evidence suggesting a direct and functional involvement of space in verbal serial order WM. We outline the idea that serial order in verbal WM is coded within a spatial coordinate system with spatial attention being involved when searching through WM, and we discuss how this account can explain several hallmark observations related to serial order WM.

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) grants help states and communities improve early childhood systems to support child development, equitable access to quality services and supports, and family well-being. Truly interdisciplinary, ECCS promotes cross-sector systems change initiatives that focus on integrating health care, mental health, social services, and family support broadly and within communities with concentrated risk factors that negatively impact child health and development. Florida was 1 of 12 states funded from 2016 to 2021 to use a Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) approach to do this work. Through community-driven initiatives that focus on policy, partnerships, and practices, Florida ECCS committed to ensuring equitable opportunities for families and young children who may face barriers due to residing in disenfranchised communities. This article describes the process of evaluating this multiyear community-led, place-based initiative that leveraged cross-sector state-level support and used a variety of methods to track evolving ECCS processes and outcomes.