Cognitive Skill Learning Research Articles

"Selective corticostriatal dysfunction in schizophrenia: Examination of motor and cognitive skill learning": Correction to Foerde et al. (2008).

"Selective corticostriatal dysfunction in schizophrenia: Examination of motor and cognitive skill learning": Correction to Foerde et al. (2008).

Supplemental Material for Selective Corticostriatal Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Examination of Motor and Cognitive Skill Learning

Supplemental Material for Selective Corticostriatal Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Examination of Motor and Cognitive Skill Learning

Strategy transitions during cognitive skill learning in younger and older adults: Effects of interitem confusability

Groups of young and old adults were trained for four sessions on a set of 24 alphabet-arithmetic problems. Problem sets were either highly confusable or highly distinct. Power-function and mixture-model fits to the means and standard deviations of the acquisition data, resolved at the participant problem level, were compared. "Shallow" power functions signaled that a problem was computed throughout training; "humped" mixture functions signaled a shift from slow computed solutions to fast retrieved solutions. Not surprisingly, shifts to retrieval occurred later for confusable problems, but there were also fewer shifts in that condition. Failures to shift, even after extended practice, suggest that retrieving problem solutions is an elective strategy, and not an automatic concomitant of skill training. Participants can be viewed as choosing between strategies that trade off benefits in speed against costs in accuracy. Older adults showed few retrieval solutions in either condition, perhaps because of their emphasis on accuracy.

Forgetting and learning potentiation: Dual consequences of between-session delays in cognitive skill learning.

In the cognitive skill literature, between-session delays have been treated either as having a negligible effect on performance or as causing forgetting. In contrast, in the procedural skill literature, overnight between-session delays can result in performance gains. In 5 multi-session data sets, the author demonstrates that neither of these 2 models holds for the case of cognitive skill learning. Instead, the delay between sessions appeared to yield both forgetting and enhanced potential for new learning. Two candidate classes of explanation are considered, and implications for the empirical law of learning are discussed.

Cognitive processing and motor skill learning in motor-handicapped teenagers: Effects of learning method

This study aimed to assess the efficiency of a motor skill learning method intended to promote learning course personalization through an increase in cognitive processing deployment in motor-handicapped persons. Thirty-three secondary school students volunteered to participate in an archery motor skill learning session, 11 motor-handicapped (MH1) and 11 able-bodied (AB) teenagers following a standard learning method, and 11 motor-handicapped teenagers following a cognitive enriched learning method (MH2) based on the use of an individually written and illustrated document. The results showed that MH1 displayed lower performances than AB, both in terms of the mental representations of the movements expected and performed and of efficiency of the movement. On the other hand, MH2 performances were higher than MH1 for all these parameters, and similar to those of AB at the end of the learning session. Personalization of the learning course allowed optimization of the learning potential in motor-handicapped teenagers to resolve the difficulties inherent to their handicap.

The associative-memory basis of cognitive skill learning: Adult age differences.

It has been established that memorizing common problems and their solutions underlies cognitive skill development, and that there are substantial age deficits in the rate of this learning. In a between-groups design, the authors compared learning rates for the same set of problems in skill (SK) training and paired-associate (PA) training. The authors found main effects due to condition (PA problems were acquired earlier) and to age (older adults' learning was delayed), but no condition-by-age interaction. The authors concluded that the age deficit in SK can be accounted for by the age deficit in associative memory; no further explanation is needed. The authors also analyzed fast and slow retrieves in SK and PA, and found that the frequency of fast retrieves did not differ in the two conditions. The overall advantage of PA was due to the occurrence of slow retrieves, which were absent in SK presumably because the skill algorithm displaces slow, explicit memory search in SK, but not fast, familiarity-based retrieval.

Professionalism and team care in the clinical setting

The introduction of an 80-hr work week mandates frequent sign-out or transfer of patient information sessions among training physicians. At the same time, patients are increasingly more complex and cared for by teams employing technologically driven interventions. In order for team care to work, residents and medical students must master the elements of professionalism, upon which solid leadership and clear communication rests. Early instruction should include topics, such as clarity of language, cultural sensitivity, a subordination of self-interest to the needs of the patient, and a dedication to lifelong learning of cognitive and motor skills. This exposure to professionalism may begin in the dissection room and continue seamlessly through residency and into practice.

Patients with Parkinson's disease learn to control complex systems—an indication for intact implicit cognitive skill learning

Implicit memory and learning mechanisms are composed of multiple processes and systems. Previous studies demonstrated a basal ganglia involvement in purely cognitive tasks that form stimulus response habits by reinforcement learning such as implicit classification learning. We will test the basal ganglia influence on two cognitive implicit tasks previously described by Berry and Broadbent, the sugar production task and the personal interaction task. Furthermore, we will investigate the relationship between certain aspects of an executive dysfunction and implicit learning. To this end, we have tested 22 Parkinsonian patients and 22 age-matched controls on two implicit cognitive tasks, in which participants learned to control a complex system. They interacted with the system by choosing an input value and obtaining an output that was related in a complex manner to the input. The objective was to reach and maintain a specific target value across trials (dynamic system learning). The two tasks followed the same underlying complex rule but had different surface appearances. Subsequently, participants performed an executive test battery including the Stroop test, verbal fluency and the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST). The results demonstrate intact implicit learning in patients, despite an executive dysfunction in the Parkinsonian group. They lead to the conclusion that the basal ganglia system affected in Parkinson's disease does not contribute to the implicit acquisition of a new cognitive skill. Furthermore, the Parkinsonian patients were able to reach a specific goal in an implicit learning context despite impaired goal directed behaviour in the WCST, a classic test of executive functions. These results demonstrate a functional independence of implicit cognitive skill learning and certain aspects of executive functions.

Education in Environmental Chemistry: Setting the Agenda and Recommending Action. A Workshop Report Summary

Worldwide, the essence of the current reform in science education is a paradigm shift from algorithmic, lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS) teaching to higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) learning. In the context of education in environmental chemistry (EEC), the ultimate goal is to educate students to be science–technology–environment–society (STES)-literate, capable of evaluative thinking, decision making, problem solving and taking responsible action accordingly. Educators need to translate this goal into effective courses that can be implemented: this includes developing teaching strategies and assessment methodologies that are consonant with the goal of HOCS learning. An international workshop—"Environmental Chemistry Education in Europe: Setting the Agenda"—yielded two main recommendations for those undertaking educational reform in science education, particularly to promote meaningful EEC. The first recommendation concerns integration of environmental sciences into core chemistry courses as well as the development and implementation of HOCS-promoting teaching strategies and assessment methodologies in chemical education. The second emphasizes the development of students' HOCS for transfer, followed by performance assessment of HOCS. This requires changing the way environmental chemistry is typically taught, moving from a narrowly focused approach (applied analytical, ecotoxicological, or environmental engineering chemistry) to an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach.

Specific Language Impairment is not Specific to Language: the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) has been explained by two broad classes of hypotheses, which posit either a deficit specific to grammar, or a non-linguistic processing impairment. Here we advance an alternative perspective. According to the Procedural Deficit Hypothesis (PDH), SLI can be largely explained by the abnormal development of brain structures that constitute the procedural memory system. This system, which is composed of a network of interconnected structures rooted in frontal/basal-ganglia circuits, subserves the learning and execution of motor and cognitive skills. Crucially, recent evidence also implicates this system in important aspects of grammar. The PDH posits that a significant proportion of individuals with SLI suffer from abnormalities of this brain network, leading to impairments of the linguistic and non-linguistic functions that depend on it. In contrast, functions such as lexical and declarative memory, which depend on other brain structures, are expected to remain largely spared. Evidence from an in-depth retrospective examination of the literature is presented. It is argued that the data support the predictions of the PDH, and particularly implicate Broca's area within frontal cortex, and the caudate nucleus within the basal ganglia. Finally, broader implications are discussed, and predictions for future research are presented. It is argued that the PDH forms the basis of a novel and potentially productive perspective on SLI.

Acquiring a Cognitive Skill With a New Repeating Version of the Tower of London Task.

A computerized version of the Tower of London task was used to investigate cognitive skill learning. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were assigned to either a random condition (nonrecurring problems), or to a sequence condition in which, unbeknownst to the subjects, a repeating sequence of three problems was presented. Indices of execution, planning, and total time, as well as number of moves performed, were used to measure behavioural change. Subjects' performance improved in both conditions across blocks of practice. A distinct learning effect related to the repeating sequence was also observed. This suggests that a specific skill that reflects procedural learning of the strategies, rules, and procedures pertaining to repeating problems can develop over and above a more general skill at solving cognitive planning problems with practice.

Contributions of memory circuits to language: the declarative/procedural model

The structure of the brain and the nature of evolution suggest that, despite its uniqueness, language likely depends on brain systems that also subserve other functions. The declarative/procedural (DP) model claims that the mental lexicon of memorized word-specific knowledge depends on the largely temporal-lobe substrates of declarative memory, which underlies the storage and use of knowledge of facts and events. The mental grammar, which subserves the rule-governed combination of lexical items into complex representations, depends on a distinct neural system. This system, which is composed of a network of specific frontal, basal-ganglia, parietal and cerebellar structures, underlies procedural memory, which supports the learning and execution of motor and cognitive skills, especially those involving sequences. The functions of the two brain systems, together with their anatomical, physiological and biochemical substrates, lead to specific claims and predictions regarding their roles in language. These predictions are compared with those of other neurocognitive models of language. Empirical evidence is presented from neuroimaging studies of normal language processing, and from developmental and adult-onset disorders. It is argued that this evidence supports the DP model. It is additionally proposed that “language” disorders, such as specific language impairment and non-fluent and fluent aphasia, may be profitably viewed as impairments primarily affecting one or the other brain system. Overall, the data suggest a new neurocognitive framework for the study of lexicon and grammar.

Strategy execution in cognitive skill learning: an item-level test of candidate models.

This article investigates the transition to memory-based performance that commonly occurs with practice on tasks that initially require use of a multistep algorithm. In an alphabet arithmetic task, item response times exhibited pronounced step-function decreases after moderate practice that were uniquely predicted by T. C. Rickard's (1997) component power laws model. The results challenge parallel strategy execution models as developed to date and they demonstrate that the shift to retrieval is an item-specific, as opposed to task-general, learning phenomenon. The results also call into question the entire class of smooth speed-up functions as global empirical learning laws. It is shown that overlaying of averaged item fits on averaged data can provide a sensitive test for model sufficiency. Strategy probes agreed with strategy inferences that were based on step-function speed-up patterns, supporting the validity of the probing technique.

Cognitive Skill Learning: Age-Related Differences in Strategy Shifts and Speed of Component Operations.

Younger and older adults solved novel arithmetic problems and reported the strategies used for obtaining solutions. Age deficits were demonstrated in the latencies for computing and retrieving solutions and in the shift from computation to retrieval. Rates of improvement within age groups were parallel for computations and retrievals, suggesting a single, age-attenuated mechanism that affects practice-related speedup. The age-related delay in strategy shift suggests either reluctance to use retrieval or an associative memory deficit. Experiment 1 showed that skill acquisition was unaffected by the presence and frequency of postresponse strategy probes for both age groups. Experiment 2 showed that pretraining item-learning operations facilitated subsequent item learning and that pretraining either item-learning operations or the algorithm did not alter the age trends.

HOCS-PROMOTING ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE ON ENVIRONMENT-RELATED UNDERGRADUATE CHEMISTRY

The switch from traditional algorithmic lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS) teaching to higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) learning in science, chemistry, engineering and environmental education, requires an in accord shift in students' assessment. HOCS-promoting assessment is expected to enhance students’ evaluative thinking in terms of system, critical thinking – problem solving – decision making, followed by a responsible action, accordingly. The focus of this study was on the development and implementation of HOCS-promoting environmental chemistryrelated exam items/questions, included in traditional exams in undergraduate chemistry, chemistry teaching methods and chemistry-related environmental education courses. These exams were administered to three groups of undergraduate, pre- and in-service science majors and science chemistry teachers at an engineering-technology and liberal arts university, respectively. The first and the third groups were not formally exposed to chemistry-related environmental issues in their courses. Our findings suggest that our undergraduate students appear to be weak on both, “making connections” and system thinking, with respect to these issues. Yet, pre-post improvement of their HOCS capability was found, particularly for the students who scored low on the pre-test. The implications for future action purposed persistent HOCS-promoting teaching and assessment, within which relevant environmental issues are integrated, have the potential of inducing ‘HOCS learning’ in science, technology, environmental, society (STES)-oriented chemistry teaching. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.: 2004, 5, 175-184]

Dynamic functional changes associated with cognitive skill learning of an adapted version of the Tower of London task

In this study, we used a modified version of the Tower of London (TOL) planning task, in conjunction with positron emission tomography, to examine the neural substrates mediating cognitive skill learning. Twelve healthy, right-handed participants solved a total of 90 different TOL problems. They were scanned on four occasions during the fast learning stage as well as in a condition designed to control for internally guided movements. Practice of the TOL task resulted in a significant decrease in planning, execution, and total time taken to solve the problems. Consistent with the results of previous studies, early performance of the TOL task was associated with increased blood flow activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and parietal cortices on the left, as well as in the caudate nucleus, cerebellum, and premotor cortex, bilaterally. Interestingly, however, activity in the left caudate nucleus was maintained from the beginning to the end of the learning process, suggesting that this structure plays a role in this type of cognitive skill learning. In addition, correlational analyses revealed that improved performance on the TOL task was associated with a significant decrease of activity in the medial orbitofrontal and frontopolar cortices over the course of learning, areas thought to be involved in decision making, guessing, and monitoring of feedback information. In sum, the results lend further support to the idea that the learning of cognitive skills requiring planning and working memory capacities is mediated through a fronto-striatal network.

Can eLearning Promote Higher-order Learning Without Tutor Overload?

While numerous claims have been made for the pedagogical benefits of eLearning, these claims are rarely subjected to rigorous empirical evaluation. Moreover, there are indications that eLearning is more expensive to deliver than conventional distance teaching. One component of this extra cost arises from the greater time input required of teachers/tutors in eLearning environments. This article evaluates a number of online pedagogical techniques which offer the potential to enhance student learning of higher-order cognitive skills while limiting demands on tutor time. The online techniques tested were resources/debates and peer-tutoring. Evaluation of the learning of higher-order skills was carried out through analysis of students' contributions to a series of online discussions. This evaluation suggests that, given the appropriate pedagogical design, students can develop effective ways of conducting online discussions which display evidence of engaging in higher-order learning. In addition, the online pedagogical techniques did not appear to make excessive demands on tutor time. However, further work is required before a more definitive statement can be made about the potential of eLearning to enhance higher-order learning with reasonable levels of tutor input. The conclusions of the article will include an outline of the directions of this further work.

The Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project

SUMMARY One of the exciting new directions in family research is the examination of shared and nonshared environmental processes underlying the learning of cognitive, literacy, and social-behavioral skills. The adoption design is a powerful method for testing theories regarding environmental mechanisms. In this paper, we describe the Northeast-Northwest Collaborative Adoption Project (N2CAP), an ongoing adoption study in which we are examining the role of parenting environments generally, and parent-child relationships more specifically, in the development of cognitive, reading and social-emotional outcomes in childhood. The goal of this study is to identify environmental influences that impact children's cognitive and social-emotional development using a genetically sensitive design, and to further the development of models of genotype-environment processes.

Early-onset cannabis use and cognitive deficits: what is the nature of the association?

Background: Individuals who initiate cannabis use at an early age, when the brain is still developing, might be more vulnerable to lasting neuropsychological deficits than individuals who begin use later in life. Methods: We analyzed neuropsychological test results from 122 long-term heavy cannabis users and 87 comparison subjects with minimal cannabis exposure, all of whom had undergone a 28-day period of abstinence from cannabis, monitored by daily or every-other-day observed urine samples. We compared early-onset cannabis users with late-onset users and with controls, using linear regression controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, and attributes of family of origin. Results: The 69 early-onset users (who began smoking before age 17) differed significantly from both the 53 late-onset users (who began smoking at age 17 or later) and from the 87 controls on several measures, most notably verbal IQ (VIQ). Few differences were found between late-onset users and controls on the test battery. However, when we adjusted for VIQ, virtually all differences between early-onset users and controls on test measures ceased to be significant. Conclusions: Early-onset cannabis users exhibit poorer cognitive performance than late-onset users or control subjects, especially in VIQ, but the cause of this difference cannot be determined from our data. The difference may reflect (1) innate differences between groups in cognitive ability, antedating first cannabis use; (2) an actual neurotoxic effect of cannabis on the developing brain; or (3) poorer learning of conventional cognitive skills by young cannabis users who have eschewed academics and diverged from the mainstream culture.

How do people solve the "weather prediction" task?: individual variability in strategies for probabilistic category learning.

Probabilistic category learning is often assumed to be an incrementally learned cognitive skill, dependent on nondeclarative memory systems. One paradigm in particular, the weather prediction task, has been used in over half a dozen neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies to date. Because of the growing interest in using this task and others like it as behavioral tools for studying the cognitive neuroscience of cognitive skill learning, it becomes especially important to understand how subjects solve this kind of task and whether all subjects learn it in the same way. We present here new experimental and theoretical analyses of the weather prediction task that indicate that there are at least three different strategies that describe how subjects learn this task. (1) An optimal multi-cue strategy, in which they respond to each pattern on the basis of associations of all four cues with each outcome; (2) a one-cue strategy, in which they respond on the basis of presence or absence of a single cue, disregarding all other cues; or (3) a singleton strategy, in which they learn only about the four patterns that have only one cue present and all others absent. This variability in how subjects approach this task may have important implications for interpreting how different brain regions are involved in probabilistic category learning.