Children show adult-like hippocampal pattern similarity for familiar but not novel events

Data for manuscript entitled, "Children show adult-like hippocampal pattern similarity for familiar but not novel events

Value restructures the organization of free recall

A large body of research illustrates the prioritization of goal-relevant information in memory; however, it is unclear how reward-related memories are organized. Using a rewarded free recall paradigm, we investigated how reward motivation structures the organization of memory around temporal and higher-order contexts. To better understand these processes, we simulated our findings using a reward-modulated variant of the Context Maintenance and Retrieval Model (CMR; Polyn et al., 2009). In the first study, we found that reward did not influence temporal clustering, but instead organized memory based on reward category. Further, we showed that a reward-modulated learning rate and source features of CMR most accurately depict reward’s enhancement of memory and clustering by value. In a second study, we showed that reward-memory effects can exist in both extended periods of sustained motivation and frequent changes in motivation, by showing equivocal reward effects using mixed- and pure-list motivation manipulations. However, we showed that a reward-modulated learning rate in isolation most accurately depicts reward’s enhancement of memory using a pure-list manipulation. Overall, we conclude that reward-related memories are adaptively organized by higher-order value information, and contextual binding to value contexts may only be necessary when rewards are intermittent versus sustained

Children show adult-like hippocampal pattern similarity for familiar but not novel events

The ability to detect differences among similar events in our lives is a crucial aspect of successful episodic memory performance, which develops across early childhood. The neural substrate of this ability is supported by operations in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Here, we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to compare neural pattern similarity in hippocampus, perirhinal cortex, and parahippocampal cortex for 4- to 10-year-old children and adults during naturalistic viewing of clips from the same movie or from different movies. Further, we assessed the role of familiarity with individual movie clips on pattern similarity signals in the MTL. In both age groups, neural pattern similarity in hippocampus was lower for clips drawn from the same movies, suggesting that related content activates processes focused on keeping representations with shared content distinct. However, children showed this only for movies with which they had prior exposures, whereas adults showed the effect regardless of any prior exposures to the movies. These findings suggest that children require repeated exposure to stimuli to show adult-like MTL functioning in distinguishing among similar events

Readiness for practice: social work students' perspectives in England, Italy, and Sweden

The aim of this article is to present the views of social work students from three different welfare regimes-Italy, Sweden, and England-and to analyze in what way at the end of their training they feel ready to practice. Primarily, it considers the findings of a comparative pilot study conducted in the three countries. Specifically, the paper initially offers general comments on the European context of standards of social work competence and how these impact on the countries involved here. It then briefly discusses the three different welfare regimes that these countries reflect. Social work education is then given some consideration, including reflection on similarities and differences in each curriculum. We then review examples of previous research on students' readiness to practice, also referencing models of competence previously developed. After this we look in detail at the research study itself, with a short discussion of its methodological-primarily phenomenological-approach and modest scope, before we consider tentative findings in relation to the themes of theory, practice, and personal growth. The paper concludes with reflections on levels of competence attained and how the research might best be extended. © 2013 Taylor & Francis