A behavioral database for masked form priming

Reading involves a process of matching an orthographic input with stored representations in lexical memory. The masked priming paradigm has become a standard tool for investigating this process. Use of existing results from this paradigm can be limited by the precision of the data and the need for cross-experiment comparisons that lack normal experimental controls. Here, we present a single, large, high-precision, multicondition experiment to address these problems. Over 1,000 participants from 14 sites responded to 840 trials involving 28 different types of orthographically related primes (e.g., castfe–CASTLE) in a lexical decision task, as well as completing measures of spelling and vocabulary. The data were indeed highly sensitive to differences between conditions: After correction for multiple comparisons, prime type condition differences of 2.90 ms and above reached significance at the 5% level. This article presents the method of data collection and preliminary findings from these data, which included replications of the most widely agreed-upon differences between prime types, further evidence for systematic individual differences in susceptibility to priming, and new evidence regarding lexical properties associated with a target word’s susceptibility to priming. These analyses will form a basis for the use of these data in quantitative model fitting and evaluation and for future exploration of these data that will inform and motivate new experiments

The Role of the C-terminal Extension (CTE) of the Estrogen Receptor α and β DNA Binding Domain in DNA Binding and Interaction with HMGB

HMGB-1/-2 are coregulatory proteins that facilitate the DNA binding and transcriptional activity of steroid receptor members of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors. We investigated the influence and mechanism of action of HMGB-1/2 (formerly known as HMG-1/-2) on estrogen receptor α (ERα) and ERβ. Both ER subtypes were responsive to HMGB-1/-2 with respect to enhancement of receptor DNA binding affinity and transcriptional activity in cells. Responsiveness to HMGB-1/-2 was dependent on the C-terminal extension (CTE) region of the ER DNA binding domain (DBD) and correlated with a direct protein interaction between HMGB-I/-2 and the CTE. Thus the previously reported higher DNA binding affinity and transcription activity of ERa as compared with ERβ is not due to a lack of ERβ interaction with HMGB-1/2. Using chimeric receptor DBDs, the higher intrinsic DNA binding affinity of ERα than ERβ was shown to be due to a unique property of the ERα CTE, independent of HMGB-1/-2. The CTE of both ER subtypes was also shown to be required for interaction with ERE half-sites. These studies reveal the importance of the CTE and HMGB-1/-2 for ERα and ERβ interaction with their cognate target DNAs

Is more always better? Effects of semantic richness on lexical decision, speeded pronunciation, and semantic classification

10.3758/s13423-011-0092-yPsychonomic Bulletin and Review184742-75