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The strength of the learned relation between two events, a model for causal perception, has been found to depend on their overall statistical relation, and might be expected to be related to both training trial frequency and trial duration. We report five experiments using a rapid-trial streaming procedure containing Event 1-Event 2 pairings (A trials), Event 1-alone (B trials), Event 2-alone (C trials), and neither event (D trials), in which trial frequencies and durations were independently varied. Judgements of association increased with increasing frequencies of A trials and decreased with increasing frequencies of both B and C trials but showed little effect of frequency of D trials. Across five experiments, a weak but often significant effect of trial duration was also detected, which was always in the same direction as trial frequency. Thus, both frequency and duration of trials influenced learning, but frequency had decidedly stronger effects. Importantly, the benefit of more trials greatly outweighed the observed reduction in effect size caused by a proportional decrease in trial duration. In experiment 5, more trials of proportionately shorter duration enhanced effects on contingency judgments despite a shortening of the training session. We consider the observed 'frequency advantage' with respect to both frequentist models of learning and models based on information. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The present study used a newly developed simplified coding system, the Therapist Demand and Support Code, to examine specific therapist behaviors in the context of a previously conducted training trial on Deliberate Practice (DP). The parent trial randomized trainees to a DP workshop or its Traditional, more didactic counterpart (Westra et al., 2020). In both groups, trainees were taught to use Support, rather than Demand, for managing ambivalence and resistance, with the DP group having more feedback and practice. In this study, 68 trainees interviewed both an ambivalent community volunteer and an ambivalent simulator 4 month post workshop. The DP group was found to exhibit significantly fewer Demand behaviors than the Traditional group, with the latter also being significantly quicker to use Demand in the interviews. Moreover, the simulator evoked significantly greater Demand from therapists, regardless of the Training group, suggesting the simulators were more resistant. Although therapist use of Support was equal for community volunteers across training groups, Traditional workshop trainees decreased Support when interviewing the more resistant simulators, whereas DP trainees increased their Support with this same group. This is consistent with findings that DP trainees were more appropriately responsive, making fewer Demands following interviewee counterchange talk and using more Support at these times. These results provide some initial validation of the simplified therapist behavior coding system and offer further evidence for the benefits of DP workshop training for managing resistance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

O artigo tem como objetivo apresentar os resultados de um ensaio de formação em educação ambiental com enfoque agroecológico, e refletir sobre a construção de um projeto de extensão em educação ambiental aplicado ao espaço escolar a partir da comunidade local, visando a construção de uma proposta pedagógica para as escolas do campo. O caminho metodológico iniciou com a pesquisa bibliográfica e exploratória, seguindo pela pesquisa de campo. Como resultado, foi observado que a proximidade e interação entre a instituição de formação profissional e tecnológica, as escolas rurais e a comunidade local possibilitam novos olhares e significados para o espaço rural, como também, dinamiza o fazer pedagógico a partir dos diálogos e das práticas de campo.

This study tested whether a new training tool, the Exposure Guide (EG), improved in-session therapist behaviors that have been associated with youth outcomes in prior clinical trials of exposure th...

In motor learning, the slow development of implicit learning is traditionally taken for granted. While much is known about training performance during adaptation to a perturbation in reaches, saccades and locomotion, little is known about the time course of the underlying implicit processes during normal motor adaptation. Implicit learning is characterized by both changes in internal models and state estimates of limb position. Here, we measure both as reach aftereffects and shifts in hand localization in our participants, after every training trial. The observed implicit changes were near asymptote after only one to three perturbed training trials and were not predicted by a two-rate model’s slow process that is supposed to capture implicit learning. Hence, we show that implicit learning is much faster than conventionally believed, which has implications for rehabilitation and skills training.

Background: Vanadium is a potential neurotoxic agent widely distributed in the environment. Understanding the neurotoxic mechanisms of vanadium on learning and memory seems necessary. Methods: We investigated the time-dependent (1-week, 2- week and 4-week) effects of sodium metavanadate (SMV) (25 mg/kg/day; pre-training oral administration) and 4-day intraperitoneal injections of aminoguanidine (AG) as a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor (10, 50, and 100 mg/kg) on spatial memory retention in Morris water maze. Animals were trained for 4 days and tested 48 h after the last training trial. Results: The data showed that 4-week oral pre-treatment with SMV (25 mg/kg/day) induced spatial memory retention deficits and decreased the time spent in the target quadrant. We found that 4-day administration of different doses of AG during training trials significantly decreased the time and distance of finding the hidden platforms. Additionally, SMV-induced spatial memory retention impairments were prevented in animals received combined SMV (25 mg/kg/day, 4 weeks) and AG (10 mg/kg/day, 4 days). Conclusion: Our findings showed the protective role of AG on SMV-induced spatial memory retention deficits.

Female rats with mating experience spend more time with the male rat, exhibit shorter contact-return latency to intromission, and display more proceptive behaviors in the male rat's compartment than during the first mating experience. The present study tested 1) whether mating induced conditioned object preference (COP) is possible with a single conditioning trial and 2) whether a preference is induced for an object associated with the first mating encounter or the fifth mating encounter in female rats. Ovariectomized, Long-Evans female rats were primed with estradiol benzoate + progesterone and either exposed to an empty paced mating chamber for 15 min (Naive) or received a 15 intromission test of paced mating behavior (Experienced) on four separate occasions before undergoing the COP procedure. Experienced, but not Naive, female rats developed a COP for a single mating bout, indicating that mating is highly rewarding for sexually experienced female rats. The findings raise questions about the effect of sexual experience on reward regions in the brain, the responsiveness of genital tissue, and learning mechanisms.

This study tested whether a new training tool, the Exposure Guide (EG), improved in-session therapist behaviors (i.e., indicators of quality) that have been associated with youth outcomes in prior clinical trials of exposure therapy. Six therapists at a community mental health agency (CMHA) provided exposure therapy for 8 youth with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Using a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design with random assignment to baseline lengths of 6 to 16 weeks, therapists received gold-standard exposure therapy training with weekly consultation (baseline phase) followed by addition of EG training and feedback (intervention phase). The primary outcome was therapist behavior during in-session exposures, observed weekly using a validated coding system. Therapist behavior was evaluated in relation to a priori benchmarks derived from clinical trials. Additional outcomes included training feasibility/acceptability, therapist response to case vignettes and beliefs about exposure, and independent evaluator-rated clinical outcomes. Three therapists reached behavior benchmarks only during the EG (intervention) phase. Two therapists met benchmarks during the baseline phase; one of these subsequently moved away from benchmarks but met them again after starting the EG phase. Across all therapists, the percentage of weeks meeting benchmarks was significantly higher during the EG phase (86.4%) vs. the baseline phase (53.2%). Youth participants experienced significant improvement in OCD symptoms and global illness severity from pre- to posttreatment. Results provide initial evidence that adding the EG to gold-standard training can change in-session therapist behaviors in a CMHA setting.

Background The design of medical devices impacts upon the performance of healthcare professionals and patient safety. However, multiple devices serving the same function are often available. The purpose of this study was to use simulation as a means of examining the impact of differences in device design on (1) learning of, or attainment of behavioral fluency in, peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC); and (2) the generalization, or transfer, of learning on one device to performance of PIVC using an untrained device. Methods A total of 25 final cycle medical students participated in this study which used a randomized two-group design. Participants were randomly assigned to learn PIVC using either a closed PIVC device (a single device which consists of an intravenous cannula with a pre-attached extension tube; n = 14) or an open PIVC device (a two-piece device made up of an intravenous cannula and a separate extension tube which is attached following insertion of the cannula; n = 11). Task analyses were developed for the performance of PIVC using each device. Subsequently, simulation-based fluency training was delivered to both groups using their assigned PIVC device, and continued for each participant until the fluency criterion was achieved. Following achievement of fluency, participants were asked to perform PIVC using the untrained device (i.e., the PIVC device that they had not been trained on). Results All participants in both groups met the fluency criterion, and no significant differences were observed in the number of trials or total training required by groups to achieve fluency. Participants in both groups improved significantly from baseline (M = 11.69) to final training trial (M = 100). However, a significant decrement in performance (M = 81.5) was observed when participants were required to perform PIVC using the untrained device. Conclusions Participants achieved fluency in PIVC regardless of the device used. However, significant decrements in performance were observed when participants were required to perform PIVC using a novel device. This finding supports the need for careful consideration of devices purchased and supplied in the clinical setting, and the need for training prior to the introduction of novel devices or for new staff members.

Changes in the affective state of neglected or abused animals can be difficult to quantify relative to physical improvements following rescue. Judgment bias as a measure of affective state was assessed in 8 horses and 2 donkeys that differed in their care history (abused/neglected or nonabused/non-neglected, hereafter described as rescued/nonrescued). On each training trial, a single bucket was presented at 1 of 2 locations; one that always contained food (reward) and another that never contained food (nonreward), and the latency to approach within 1 m of the bucket was recorded. Once differential responding to the 2 locations was established, buckets were presented at ambiguous locations (spatially intermediate between the reward and nonreward locations). Both groups approached the middle location with intermediate latencies. However, care history moderated the difference in latencies to respond to the reward versus the ambiguous locations. In fact, rescued equids approached the ambiguous locations more quickly than the nonrescued equids did, although there was no difference in approach to the reward stimulus. These results suggest that prior poor treatment at the hands of humans does not induce lasting pessimistic judgment biases, but further work is needed to examine changes in judgment bias following neglect or abuse.

The training of orthopedic residents in adequate pedicle screw placement is very important. We sought to investigate orthopedic residents' perspectives on the use of computer-assisted surgery (CAS) in a training trial.Orthopedic residents were randomly assigned to independently place a screw using the free-hand technique and the CAS technique on 1 of 3 cadavers (Cobb angles 5º, 15º and 67º) at randomly selected thoracolumbar vertebral levels. All residents were blinded to their colleagues' pedicle screw placements and were asked to complete a short questionnaire at the end of the session to evaluate their experience with CAS. We obtained CT images for each cadaver to assess pedicle screw placement accuracy and classified placement as A) screw completely in pedicle, B) screw2 mm outside pedicle, C) screw 2-4 mm outside pedicle, or D) screw4 mm outside pedicle.Twenty-four orthopedic residents participated in this trial study. In total, 65% preferred using the free-hand technique in an educational setting even though most (60%) said that CAS is safer. The main reason for free-hand technique preference was the difficult technical aspects encountered with CAS. In addition, accuracy of pedicle screw placement in this trial showed that 5 screws were classified as A or B (safe zone) and 19 as grade C or D (unsafe zone) using the free-hand technique compared with 15 and 9, respectively, using CAS (Orthopedic residents perceived CAS as safe and demonstrated improved accuracy in pedicle screw placement in a single setting. However, the residents preferred the free-hand technique in an educational stetting owing to the difficult technical aspects of CAS.Il est très important d’apprendre aux médecins résidents en chirurgie orthopédique comment positionner adéquatement une vis pédiculaire. Notre objectif était d’obtenir l’opinion des médecins résidents sur le recours à la chirurgie assistée par ordinateur (CAO) dans un essai sur la formation.Des médecins résidents en chirurgie orthopédique répartis aléatoirement ont placé indépendamment une vis à l’aide d’une technique à main libre basée sur les repères topographiques et la palpation, et de la CAO dans 1 de 3 cadavres (angles de Cobb de 5°, 15° et 67°) dans une vertèbre dorsolombaire sélectionnée aléatoirement. Aucun des médecins résidents n’a pu observer le positionnement de la vis de ses collègues, et les participants ont rempli un court questionnaire à la fin de la séance pour évaluer leur expérience de la CAO. Nous avons obtenu un tomodensitogramme pour chaque cadavre afin d’évaluer la précision du positionnement de la vis pédiculaire, classée selon 4 catégories : A) vis entièrement dans le pédicule, B) vis2 mm hors du pédicule, C) vis de 2–4 mm hors du pédicule, ou D) vis4 mm hors du pédicule.Vingt-quatre médecins résidents en chirurgie orthopédique ont participé à l’étude clinique. Au total, 65 % d’entre eux ont préféré utiliser la technique à main libre dans un contexte de formation, même si la plupart (60 %) considéraient que la CAO était plus sécuritaire. La principale raison justifiant cette préférence était le degré de difficulté technique associé à la CAO. De plus, une évaluation de la précision du positionnement a montré qu’avec la technique à main libre, 5 des vis posées se classaient dans les catégories A ou B (sécuritaire) et 19 dans les catégories C ou D (non sécuritaire), alors que la CAO a permis de positionner 15 vis dans les catégories A ou B et 9 dans les catégories C ou D (Chez un sous-groupe de patients souffrant de traumatismes abdominaux pénétrants, le traitement conservateur est sécuritaire et se traduit par une durée de séjour inférieure de 1,9 jour. La présence de fluide détectée par tomodensitographie est un indicateur de l'échec du traitement.

Implementing Motivational Interviewing (MI) in primary care settings has been problematic due in part to persistent gaps in knowledge. Examples include poor understanding of how to effectively train persons to conduct MI, or of which aspects of MI-related communication are associated with better outcomes for patients. This review describes how recent research findings addressing the knowledge gaps support a growing role for MI in primary care. Two trials of MI training combined classroom time with ongoing coaching and feedback, resulting in enhanced MI ability relative to a control arm where PCPs received minimal or no MI training. A third MI training trial excluded coaching and feedback, failing to increase use of MI. Adding to a growing list of behavioral health-related problems for which MI training has shown some effectiveness, a trial of training PCPs to use MI with depressed patients was associated with significantly improved depressive symptoms. Moreover, aspects of the PCPs’ MI-related language and patients’ arguments for positive behavior changes, “change talk,” appeared to explain the positive effects of MI training on depression outcome. MI-training approaches have improved such that PCPs and possibly other clinic staff may want to consider MI training as a way to more effectively support their patients as they address behavioral health-related problems (e.g., tobacco use). MI training should focus on eliciting “change talk” from patients. Researchers and funding agencies might collaborate to continue closing knowledge gaps in the MI literature.

Observed response to regular exercise training differs widely between individuals even in tightly controlled research settings. However, the respective contributions of random error and true interindividual differences as well as the relative frequency of nonresponders are disputed. Specific challenges of analyses on the individual level as well as a striking heterogeneity in definitions may partly explain these inconsistent results. Repeated testing during the training phase specifically addresses the requirements of analyses on the individual level. Here we report a first implementation of this innovative design amendment in a head-to-head comparison of existing analytical approaches. To allow for comparative implementation of approaches we conducted a controlled endurance training trial (1 yr walking/jogging, 3 days/wk for 45 min with 60% heart rate reserve) in healthy, untrained subjects ( n = 36, age = 46 ± 8 yr; body mass index 24.7 ± 2.7 kg/m2; V̇o2max 36.6 ± 5.4). In the training group additional V̇o2max tests were conducted after 3, 6, and 9 mo. Duration of the control condition was 6 mo due to ethical constraints. General efficacy of the training intervention could be verified by a significant increase in V̇o2max in the training group ( P < 0.001 vs. control). Individual training response of relevant magnitude (>0.2 × baseline variability in V̇o2max) could be demonstrated by several approaches. Regarding the classification of individuals, only 11 of 20 subjects were consistently classified, demonstrating remarkable disagreement between approaches. These results are in support of relevant interindividual variability in training efficacy and stress the limitations of a responder classification. Moreover, this proof-of-concept underlines the need for tailored methodological approaches for well-defined problems. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This work reports a first implementation of a repeated testing training trial for the investigation of individual response. This design amendment was recently proposed to address specifically the statistical requirements of analyses on the individual level. Moreover, a comprehensive comparison of previously published methods exemplifies the striking heterogeneity of existing approaches.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based and a laboratory-based localization training program. DESIGN This study examined the effectiveness of a localization training program on improving the localization ability of 15 participants with a mild-to-moderately severe hearing loss. These participants had worn the study hearing aids in a previous study. The training consisted of laboratory-based training and home-based training. The participants were divided into three groups: a control group, a group that performed the laboratory training first followed by the home training, and a group that completed the home training first followed by the laboratory training. The participants were evaluated before any training (baseline), at 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after baseline testing. All training was completed by the second month. The participants only wore the study hearing aids between the second month and the third month. Localization testing and laboratory training were conducted in a sound-treated room with a 360 degree, 12 loudspeaker array. There were three stimuli each randomly presented three times from each loudspeaker (nine test items from each loudspeaker) for a total of 108 items on each test or training trial. The stimuli, including a continuous noise, a telephone ring, and a speech passage "Search for the sound from this speaker" were high-pass filtered above 2000 Hz. The test stimuli had a duration of 300 ms, whereas the training stimuli had five durations (3 s, 2 s, 1 s, 500 ms, and 300 ms) and four back attenuation (-8, -4, -2, and 0 dB re: front presentation) values. All stimuli were presented at 30 dB SL or the most comfortable listening level of the participants. Each participant completed 6 to 8, 2 hr laboratory-based training within a month. The home training required a two-loudspeaker computer system using 30 different sounds of various durations (5) by attenuation (4) combinations. The participants were required to use the home training program for 30 min per day, 5 days per week for 4 weeks. RESULTS Localization data were evaluated using a 30 degree error criterion. There was a significant difference in localization scores for sounds that originated from the back between baseline and 3 months for the two groups that received training. The performance of the control group remained the same across the 3 month period. Generalization to other stimuli and in the unaided condition was also seen. There were no significant differences in localization performance from other directions between baseline and 3 months. These results indicated that the training program was effective in improving the localization skills of these listeners under the current test set-up. CONCLUSIONS The current study demonstrated that hearing aid wearers can be trained on their front/back localization skills using either laboratory-based or home-based training program. The effectiveness of the training was generalized to other acoustic stimuli and the unaided conditions when the stimulus levels were fixed.

A mouse conformity model was established by contrasting the differences in the time spent navigating a custom-made maze when mice were alone versus when they were in a companion group. Experimental mice received one-trial inhibitory avoidance training by experiencing a foot shock after they arrived at a designated goal box in the maze. In contrast, four mice of the respective companion group received food pellet trainings for rapidly approaching the same goal box. In the retest, mice receiving 0.3-mA shock in the training trial and navigating alone displayed longer arrival latency to the goal box compared with the mice receiving same level of shock in the training trial and navigating along with the companion group. A conformity index was calculated for the arrival latency of the experimental mice receiving the retest alone and the latency of the experimental mice receiving the retest along with the companion group. In the retest, the conformity index progressively increased with the training foot shock level. No difference was noticed in the arrival latency to the goal box or the conformity index between group-navigating experimental mice accompanied by familiar and unfamiliar groups. These results, taken together, indicate that behavioral conformity can be enhanced by an expected, intense risk. Moreover, familiarity with the companion group does not affect the behavioral conformity of an individual. We conclude that species members-shared risk-detecting and risk-coping systems could be critical in motivating behavioral conformity for each member of this species.

15 pags., 7 figs., 1 tab., We establish a correspondence between Pavlovian conditioning processes and fractals. The association strength at a training trial corresponds to a point in a disconnected set at a given iteration level. In this way, one can represent a training process as a hopping on a fractal set, instead of the traditional learning curve as a function of the trial. The main advantage of this novel perspective is to provide an elegant classification of associative theories in terms of the geometric features of fractal sets. In particular, the dimension of fractals can measure the efficiency of conditioning models. We illustrate the correspondence with the examples of the Hull, Rescorla-Wagner, and Mackintosh models and show that they are equivalent to a Cantor set. More generally, conditioning programs are described by the geometry of their associated fractal, which gives much more information than just its dimension. We show this in several examples of random fractals and also comment on a possible relation between our formalism and other ``fractal'' findings in the cognitive literature., The author is under a Ramón y Cajal contract

This study aimed to determine whether the exclusive positive conditional relations established by the matching-to-sample (MTS) procedure are sufficient for equivalence class formation, or whether the negative conditional relations established with stimuli of alternative classes are necessary for it. In Experiment 1, two 3-choice MTS procedures were compared regarding equivalence class formation. The standard MTS procedure, where negative relations among stimuli of alternative classes are trained, was compared to an altered MTS procedure, where negative relations with stimuli that were not positive to any sample were trained. In Experiment 2, the positive and negative control patterns established by the standard and altered MTS procedures were assessed. Experiment 3 compared 2 further variations: (a) training only 1 negative relation with stimuli of alternative classes in each training trial type (semi-standard MTS procedure) or (b) varying the negative stimuli that did not belong to any class (varied-altered MTS procedure). The overall results indicate that for participants demonstrating high positive conditional baseline relations and high negative relations to stimuli from alternative classes, the probability of equivalence class formation was high, but when participants showed only high positive conditional baseline relations, the probability of equivalence class formation was very low. All main theories of equivalence class formation have difficulty accounting for these results, and an account based on a learning history of classifying behavior is offered. © 2015, Association for Behavior Analysis International.

Reminders of an aversive event adversely impact retrieval of hippocampus-dependent memories and exacerbate stress-induced levels of anxiety. Interestingly, stress and anxiety shift control over learning away from the hippocampus and toward the striatum. The aims of the current study were to determine whether spatial memory and learning strategy are impacted by reminders of a stressor. Adult male Long-Evans rats (N = 47) were subjected to an inhibitory avoidance (IA) training trial in which 32 rats were exposed (3 s) to a single inescapable electrical footshock (0.6 mA). Prior to the retention trial of a Y-maze task and the probe trials of two different learning strategy tasks, some of the rats that were exposed to the footshock (n = 17) were reminded of the stressor on an IA retrieval trial. Both groups of rats exposed to the initial stressor exhibited hypoactivity, but no impairment in spatial memory, on the Y-maze task conducted 1 week after exposure to the footshock. One month after exposure to footshock, both groups of rats exposed to the initial stressor tended to prefer a striatum-dependent learning strategy on a water T-maze task. However, 2 months after exposure to footshock, only shocked rats that were reminded of the stressor exhibited a preference for a striatum-dependent learning strategy on a visible-platform water maze task, which corresponded with lower levels of activity in an open field. The results indicate that reminders of a stressor perpetuate the deleterious effects of stress on affective and cognitive processes.

Gait training using rhythmic auditory cue showed training effect on gait dynamics of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). On the other hand, 2 indicators of gait rhythm fluctuation, coefficient of variation (CV) and scaling exponent α, can evaluate severity of PD. However the gait training was not evaluated by both of these indicators at a time. In this paper, we aim to propose rhythm-fluctuation-based evaluation platform for gait training of PD patients. This platform consists of CV and α of stride interval. Specifically, we evaluated 3 types of gait training by calculating the change amount of CV and α. The training types are 1) interactive Walk-Mate (WM) gait training, 2) fixed-tempo Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) gait training, and 3) Silent Control gait training. The training program was continued for 4 days. The first trial in each day was baseline walking trial without rhythmic cue. The second and the third trials were training trial corresponding to the training condition. Twenty-four PD patients walked for about 2 minutes in each trial. These patients divided into 3 groups about training type. As a result, WM gait training improved α and CV significantly. RAS gait training tended to improve CV, but it seemed to worsen a of gait rhythm. These effects of RAS gait training were marginally significant. However, Silent Control training did not show the significant effect on both of the indicators. From these results, the rhythm-fluctuation-based evaluation platform was successfully used to evaluate each type of gait training. In addition, the rhythm-fluctuation-based evaluation platform detected the difference between WM gait training and RAS gait training by α.

Although salamanders have been shown to respond to classical conditioning, spatial learning has been largely unstudied. We tested whether salamanders could learn to locate foraging areas by using landmarks. We trained 10 salamanders Plethodon angusticlavius to use landmarks (small rocks) to locate patches within the arena containing food (blackworms Lum-briculus variegatus). At the corners of each square testing arena were four plastic dishes, one containing blackworms and the other three empty. A rock was placed in front of the dish containing blackworms, and the location of the food-dish was randomly chosen for each training trial. A control group was also trained to feed on blackworms in the presence of a rock, but the rock was positioned randomly among the four dish locations so that the rock was not a reliable landmark for the worms. Although the length of the training period for individual salamanders varied (22–38 trainings per individual), the mean number of trainings for salamanders in the control and experimental groups was equal (30 training trials). During testing, no blackworms were present to eliminate any visual or chemical cues emanating directly from the prey. Individuals trained with the rock landmarks spent significantly more time in the area of the landmark than did control salamanders.

In early training for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), matching-to-sample (MTS) tasks are widely used to teach various language and cognitive skills. However, some problems in conducting MTS training for children with developmental disabilities are also recognized. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of stimulus pairing training as a training procedure for children with ASDs. Two boys with ASDs participated in this study. During the stimulus pairing training trial, the children observed only two corresponding stimuli were paired successively. Participant's learning as a result of stimulus pairing training was assessed by MTS tests, which were conducted immediately after the training. In this study, visual–visual and visual–auditory stimulus relations were trained in stimulus pairing training. As a result, both participants could learn the stimulus relations by stimulus pairing training. The effectiveness and efficiency of the pairing training procedure and some issues to be considered in applying this procedure for children with ASDs are discussed.

Are decision makers sensitive to the statistical properties (i.e., calibration) of probability estimates that they receive from advisors? After specifying the ideal use of such estimates, we derive the roughly ideal forecast consumer (RIFC) and generalize it to account for how humans might use the estimates. We report an experiment in which participants first experienced various advisors by seeing their probability estimates and the associated outcomes and then provided confidence judgments in the presence of the advisors' estimates. The generalized model described the data well and showed that the participants were appropriately sensitive to the statistical properties of the advisors. Models of the individuals were better calibrated than the participants themselves, but still inferior to the RIFC. A detailed description of our model-testing procedure can be found in an appendix to the article.

A time window is a limited period after an event initially occurs in which additional information can be integrated with the memory of that event. It shuts when the memory is forgotten. The time window hypothesis holds that the impact of a manipulation at different points within the time window is nonuniform. In two operant conditioning experiments with 68 3-month-old human infants, we tested the predictive validity of the nonuniformity principle for reinstatement—a partial training trial that forestalls forgetting. After demonstrating that 3-month-olds forget the training task after 5 days (Experiment 1), we presented a reinstatement early (immediately), midway (3 days), or late (5 days) in the time window (Experiment 2). Retention increased exponentially with the reinstatement delay. The surprising magnitude of this result, plus its generality across tasks and species, strongly suggests that the timing of reinstatement differentially affects the outcomes of studies on learning and memory.

At Okayama University, a pharmacy educational curriculum requiring a period of six-years was started in April, 2006 and in its novel core curriculum, long-term practical training in a hospital is specified. Preliminary practical training based on the core curriculum was conducted to uncover problems in the long-term hospital training.The preliminary training, which was given to fourth-year undergraduate students and focused on dispensing practice, was preceded by lectures. Arrangements for the training included the preparation of a new textbook, drawing up evaluation criteria, the appointment of pharmacists to conduct the training and preparing a schedule for it. Students were evaluated using oral examinations, practical examinations to assess skills and written tests.By the end of the preliminary training, approximately 69% of the training schedule created beforehand had been reorganized showing that it was difficult to base the syllabus for the practical training on the core curriculum. In addition, from having conducted the training, we felt that it was important to have coordination among academic staff and hospital pharmacists as well as in the preparation of the standard text and tutorial manual.

Assuming that the acquisition and retention of memories have costs, properties of memories should fit the functional requirements for the system of memory. Based on a functional analysis of what path integration is meant to do, we predicted that odometric memories in desert ants should show (1) little improvement with repeated training: performance should be as good after one training trial as after six training trials, (2) decay of memory after 24 h, and (3) performance based solely on the most recent outbound trip, with no integration over multiple memories. Desert ants (Cataglyphis fortis) traveled in narrow straight plastic channels to forage for cookie crumbs in a feeder at 6- or 12-m distance. Each ant was tested once by being taken from the feeder and released 2 m from the end of a 32-m channel to run home. The distance at which the ant first turned back (first turn) constituted the data. In acquisition, groups trained one or six times before being tested had unsystematic scatter that did not differ significantly. In retention, ants tested after a 24-h delay showed larger unsystematic scatter than control animals tested after no delay. In integration, ants were trained five times at 6 or 12 m and then tested at 12 or 6 m, respectively. No evidence of integration of multiple odometric memories was found. The results show that the properties of odometric memories are indeed tailored to what the memory system is used for. Key words: acquisition, desert ants, integration, memory, odometry, retention. [Behav Ecol]

Simulator sickness results have been obtained in a novice driver training experiment with approximately 500 young drivers who have yet to receive their license to drive. Different participant groups were trained on three different PC based driving simulator configurations: 1) a single-monitor desktop unit, 2) a wide field-of-view three-monitor desktop unit, and 3) a wide field-of-view projected image with an instrumented cab. Simulation sickness ratings scores were obtained using a four-point rating scale provided to participants after each training trial. Between-subject effects were broken down according to the three simulator configuration types and gender across six training trial runs. Analysis for average vehicle velocity was also reported as it may have been related to simulator sickness. While the incidence of simulator sickness was quite small, participants using the single-monitor configuration unexpectedly reported the highest incidence of symptoms. Some gender differences were also found according to training trials. Possible explanations for the results are provided along with experience with high school driver education programs.

Most of the fig orchards are trained to an open vase system. Although this system is adapted to the wide canopy of the fig it was questioned whether it is the best system for intensive culture. With the interest in growing figs under nets for protection against insects, a training trial was initiated to identify the best system for high yield and high quality fruit. Net cover was found very efficient to protect against various insects attacking fig fruit especially the fig fly (Silba adipata) that causes severe damage in warm growing locations. A 17 mesh white polyethylene net that exhibits total protection but has but a small effect on changing the microclimate was used. The net was UVA treated and could stay in the orchard for ca 10 years. A comparative trial was set up in 1994 under net in Bet Dagan, Israel with the Nazareth breba cv. It included an open vase training planted 5*4 m and a V shaped system with the 2 arms perpendicular to the row axis planted 5*2 m at 4 replicates of rows 60 m long. Yield was monitored from the 4th year on. Yields during 3 years of data collection were significantly higher in the V shape system than in the open vase one. In the year 2000 it reached 23.5 T/ha in the V training vs. 13.5 T/ha in the open vase training system. No difference in fruit quality was noted.

application/pdf, The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of assisted and resisted training using different weight balls on ball speed and accuracy in baseball pitching. Eight male university baseball players were assigned as subjects. The experiment used a standard 145-gram baseball and two heavier or lighter balls with weights increased or decreased by 10% respectively. The subjects were required to pitch these balls and/or standard ball either six or eighteen times under different training trial conditions: 1) pitching the weighted ball only, 2) pitching the lightened ball only, 3) pitching the standard ball only, and 4) pitching three kinds of balls in order of the weighted, standard and lightened balls. Immediately after each training trial, the standard ball was pitched five times respectively (test trial). The ball speed of each trial was measured with a speed gun, and the distance from the center of target to the position of the ball pitched on the target was calculated using a video digitizing system. The results are summarized as follows: 1) In the training trials, the ball speed increased as the ball weight was decreased. 2) In the test trials, immediately after pitching the lightened ball both six (6Atest) and eighteen times (18Atest), and the three different kinds of balls eighteen times (18Ctest), the ball speeds were seen to be significantly higher than that of other test trials (p

In Aplysia, three distinct phases of memory for sensitization can be dissociated based on their temporal and molecular features. A single training trial induces short-term memory (STM, lasting 90 min) and long-term memory (LTM, lasting >24 h). Here, we explore the interaction of amount and pattern of training in establishing ITM and LTM by examining memory for sensitization after differentnumbers of trials (each trial = one tail shock) and differentpatterns of training (massed vs. spaced). Under spaced training patterns, two trials produced STM exclusively, whereas four or five trials each produced both ITM and LTM. Three spaced trials failed to induce LTM but did produce an early decaying form of ITM (E-ITM) that was significantly shorter and weaker in magnitude than the late-decaying ITM (L-ITM) observed after four to five trials. In addition, E-ITM was induced after three trials with both massed and spaced patterns of training. However, L-ITM and LTM after four to five trials require spaced training: Four or five massed trials failed to induce LTM and produced only E-ITM. Collectively, our results indicate that in addition to three identified phases of memory for sensitization—STM, ITM, and LTM—a unique temporal profile of memory, E-ITM, is revealed by varying either the amount or pattern of training.

Our recent studies suggest that congenitally blind adults have severely impaired thresholds in an auditory spatial bisection task, pointing to the importance of vision in constructing complex auditory spatial maps (Gori et al., 2014). To explore strategies that may improve the auditory spatial sense in visually impaired people, we investigated the impact of tactile feedback on spatial auditory localization in 48 blindfolded sighted subjects. We measured auditory spatial bisection thresholds before and after training, either with tactile feedback, verbal feedback, or no feedback. Audio thresholds were first measured with a spatial bisection task: subjects judged whether the second sound of a three sound sequence was spatially closer to the first or the third sound. The tactile feedback group underwent two audio-tactile feedback sessions of 100 trials, where each auditory trial was followed by the same spatial sequence played on the subject’s forearm; auditory spatial bisection thresholds were evaluated after each session. In the verbal feedback condition, the positions of the sounds were verbally reported to the subject after each feedback trial. The no feedback group did the same sequence of trials, with no feedback. Performance improved significantly only after audio-tactile feedback. The results suggest that direct tactile feedback interacts with the auditory spatial localization system, possibly by a process of cross-sensory recalibration. Control tests with the subject rotated suggested that this effect occurs only when the tactile and acoustic sequences are spatially congruent. Our results suggest that the tactile system can be used to recalibrate the auditory sense of space. These results encourage the possibility of designing rehabilitation programs to help blind persons establish a robust auditory sense of space, through training with the tactile modality.

Recent theoretical models suggest that motor learning includes at least two processes: error minimization and memory decay. While learning a novel movement, a motor memory of the movement is gradually formed to minimize the movement error between the desired and actual movements in each training trial, but the memory is slightly forgotten in each trial. The learning effects of error minimization trained with a certain movement are partially available in other non-trained movements, and this transfer of the learning effect can be reproduced by certain theoretical frameworks. Although most theoretical frameworks have assumed that a motor memory trained with a certain movement decays at the same speed during performing the trained movement as non-trained movements, a recent study reported that the motor memory decays faster during performing the trained movement than non-trained movements, i.e., the decay rate of motor memory is movement or context dependent. Although motor learning has been successfully modeled based on an optimization framework, e.g., movement error minimization, the type of optimization that can lead to context-dependent memory decay is unclear. Thus, context-dependent memory decay raises the question of what is optimized in motor learning. To reproduce context-dependent memory decay, I extend a motor primitive framework. Specifically, I introduce motor effort optimization into the framework because some previous studies have reported the existence of effort optimization in motor learning processes and no conventional motor primitive model has yet considered the optimization. Here, I analytically and numerically revealed that context-dependent decay is a result of motor effort optimization. My analyses suggest that context-dependent decay is not merely memory decay but is evidence of motor effort optimization in motor learning.

Persistent spiking in response to a discrete stimulus is considered to reflect the active maintenance of a memory for that stimulus until a behavioral response is made. This response pattern has been reported in learning paradigms that impose a temporal gap between stimulus presentation and behavioral response, including trace eyeblink conditioning. However, it is unknown whether persistent responses are acquired as a function of learning or simply represent an already existing category of response type. This fundamental question was addressed by recording single-unit activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rabbits during the initial learning phase of trace eyeblink conditioning. Persistent responses to the tone conditioned stimulus were observed in the mPFC during the very first training sessions. Further analysis revealed that most cells with persistent responses showed this pattern during the very first training trial, before animals had experienced paired training. However, persistent cells showed reliable decreases in response magnitude over the first training session, which were not observed on the second day of training or for sessions in which learning criterion was met. This modification of response magnitude was specific to persistent responses and was not observed for cells showing phasic tone-evoked responses. The data suggest that persistent responses to discrete stimuli do not require learning but that the ongoing robustness of such responses over the course of training is modified as a result of experience. Putative mechanisms for this modification are discussed, including changes in cellular or network properties, neuromodulatory tone, and/or the synaptic efficacy of tone-associated inputs.

Title: Opinions of 2nd primary school pupils on the application of sports games in physical education. Objectives: Find out using questionnaires, which are sports games for elementary schools easier. Furthermore, to find out which sports games play pupils in physical education classes rather. Methods: The main method is a method of questioning. I have also used the method of observation of my subjective feeling of physical education classes. Results: Get an overview of the popularity of sports games from the perspective of primary schools pupils. Find out, how pupils see sports games themselves. Keywords: sports games, physical education, rules, game skills, difficulty, entertainment, game, training trial

The purpose of this study is to evaluate effects of breathing training on cardiac autonomic nervous system (CANS) activities through Tone-Entropy analysis during a breathing training trial and before and after the training trial. CANS activity is intensely associated with breathing rhythm. In this experiment, the device that makes load to respiratory muscle is used to perform breathing training for twelve male subjects. R-R intervals were severally measured for 5 minutes during trials: the breathing training trial (T), the resting state before T trial (V1), the resting state trials after T trial were V2 and V3 in order. Our results show that parasympathetic activities in all the subjects were excited because Tone-Entropy plots distributed at relatively right-lower positions. HR became higher during T trial than any other trials. After T trials, parasympathetic activity was gradually increased from V2 to V2 trials owing to nervous system recovery. It is indicated that Tone-Entropy analysis show the detailed process of alteration of CANS activity, especially parasympathetic activity during breathing training and its recovery.

The present study aimed to predict the performance of maize hybrids and assess whether the total effects of associated markers (TEAM) method can correctly predict hybrids using cross-validation and regional trials. The training was performed in 7 locations of Southern Brazil during the 2010/11 harvest. The regional assays were conducted in 6 different South Brazilian locations during the 2011/12 harvest. In the training trial, 51 lines from different backgrounds were used to create 58 single cross hybrids. Seventy-nine microsatellite markers were used to genotype these 51 lines. In the cross-validation method the predictive accuracy ranged from 0.10 to 0.96, depending on the sample size. Furthermore, the accuracy was 0.30 when the values of hybrids that were not used in the training population (119) were predicted for the regional assays. Regarding selective loss, the TEAM method correctly predicted 50% of the hybrids selected in the regional assays. There was also loss in only 33% of cases; that is, only 33% of the materials predicted to be good in training trial were considered to be bad in regional assays. Our results show that the predictive validation of different crop conditions is possible, and the cross-validation results strikingly represented the field performance.

Pigeons were trained to discriminate the proportion of red to green color in paired stimulus displays. Initially, the stimuli were horizontal bars composed of continuous blocks of color that varied from being all red versus all green to .5 proportions of these two colors. Discrimination accuracy decreased as a function of the disparity in the proportions of the two colors. This relationship was maintained when the stimulus configurations were altered in various ways. Tests with horizontal bars indicated that the pigeons could utilize differences in the lengths (or areas) of one of the colors when choosing between stimuli. They did not rely only on this type of cue to assess proportion disparities but rather on multiple stimulus parameters. Also, the form of the discrimination function suggests that the pigeons distinguished ratio differences, so that Weber’s law applies to this type of discrimination.

Background The recent discovery of a new myokine (irisin) potentially involved in health-related training effects has gained great attention, but evidence for a training-induced increase in irisin remains preliminary. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine whether irisin concentration is increased after regular exercise training in humans. Methods In a randomized controlled design, two guideline conforming training interventions were studied. Inclusion criteria were age 30 to 60 years