Syntactic learning by mere exposure - An ERP study in adult learners

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Artificial language studies have revealed the remarkable ability of humans to extract syntactic structures from a continuous sound stream by mere exposure. However, it remains unclear whether the processes acquired in such tasks are comparable to those applied during normal language processing. The present study compares the ERPs to auditory processing of simple Italian sentences in native and non-native speakers after brief exposure to Italian sentences of a similar structure. The sentences contained a non-adjacent dependency between an auxiliary and the morphologically marked suffix of the verb. Participants were presented four alternating learning and testing phases. During learning phases only correct sentences were presented while during testing phases 50 percent of the sentences contained a grammatical violation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The non-native speakers successfully learned the dependency and displayed an N400-like negativity and a subsequent anteriorily distributed positivity in response to rule violations. The native Italian group showed an N400 followed by a P600 effect.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of the P600 suggests that native speakers applied a grammatical rule. In contrast, non-native speakers appeared to use a lexical form-based processing strategy. Thus, the processing mechanisms acquired in the language learning task were only partly comparable to those applied by competent native speakers.</p

ERP evidence for different strategies in the processing of case markers in native speakers and non-native learners

BACKGROUND: The present experiments were designed to test how the linguistic feature of case is processed in Japanese by native and non-native listeners. We used a miniature version of Japanese as a model to compare sentence comprehension mechanisms in native speakers and non-native learners who had received training until they had mastered the system. In the first experiment we auditorily presented native Japanese speakers with sentences containing incorrect double nominatives and incorrect double accusatives, and with correct sentences. In the second experiment we tested trained non-natives with the same material. Based on previous research in German we expected an N400-P600 biphasic ERP response with specific modulations depending on the violated case and whether the listeners were native or non-native. RESULTS: For native Japanese participants the general ERP response to the case violations was an N400-P600 pattern. Double accusatives led to an additional enhancement of the P600 amplitude. For the learners a native-like P600 was present for double accusatives and for double nominatives. The additional negativity, however, was present in learners only for double nominative violations, and it was characterized by a different topographical distribution. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that native listeners use case markers for thematic as well as syntactic structure building during incremental sentence interpretation. The modulation of the P600 component for double accusatives possibly reflects case specific syntactic restrictions in Japanese. For adult language learners later processes, as reflected in the P600, seem to be more native-like compared to earlier processes. The anterior distribution of the negativity and its selective emergence for canonical sentences were taken to suggest that the non-native learners resorted to a rather formal processing strategy whereby they relied to a large degree on the phonologically salient nominative case marker

Immigrant women’s experiences of maternity-care services in Canada: a systematic review using a narrative synthesis

Background: Canada’s diverse society and its statutory commitment to multiculturalism means that a synthesis of knowledge related to the healthcare experiences of immigrants is essential to realise the health potential for future Canadians. Although concerns about the maternity experiences of immigrants in Canada are relatively new, recent national guidelines explicitly call for the tailoring of services to user needs. We therefore assessed the experiences of immigrant women accessing maternity-care services in Canada. In particular, we investigated the experiences of immigrant women in Canada in accessing and navigating maternity and related healthcare services from conception to 6 months postpartum in Canada. Our focus was on (a) the accessibility and acceptability of maternity-care services for immigrant women and (b) the effects of the perceptions and experiences of these women on their birth and postnatal outcomes. Methods: We conducted a systematic review using a systematic search and narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed reports of empirical research, with the aim of providing stakeholders with perspectives on maternity-care services as experienced by immigrant women. We partnered with key stakeholders (‘integrated knowledge users’) to ensure the relevancy of topics and to tailor recommendations for effective translation into future policy, practice and programming. Two search phases and a three-stage selection process for published and grey literature were conducted prior to appraisal of literature quality and narrative synthesis of the findings. Results: Our knowledge synthesis of maternity care among immigrants to Canada provided a coherent evidence base for (a) eliciting a better understanding of the factors that generate disparities in accessibility, acceptability and outcomes during maternity care; and (b) improving culturally based competency in maternity care. Our synthesis also identified pertinent issues in multiple sectors that should be addressed to configure maternity services and programs appropriately. Conclusions: Although immigrant women in Canada are generally given the opportunity to obtain necessary services, they face many barriers in accessing and utilising these services. These barriers include lack of information about or awareness of the services, insufficient supports to access these services and discordant expectations between the women and their service providers. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42012002185

Response time variability and response inhibition predict affective problems in adolescent girls, not in boys: the TRAILS study

The present study examines the relationship between neurocognitive functioning and affective problems through adolescence, in a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. Baseline response speed, response speed variability, response inhibition, attentional flexibility and working memory were assessed in a cohort of 2,179 adolescents (age 10–12 years) from the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Affective problems were measured with the DSM-oriented Affective Problems scale of the Youth Self Report at wave 1 (baseline assessment), wave 2 (after 2.5 years) and wave 3 (after 5 years). Cross-sectionally, baseline response speed, response time variability, response inhibition and working memory were associated with baseline affective problems in girls, but not in boys. Longitudinally, enhanced response time variability predicted affective problems after 2.5 and 5 years in girls, but not in boys. Decreased response inhibition predicted affective problems after 5 years follow-up in girls, and again not in boys. The results are discussed in light of recent insights in gender differences in adolescence and state–trait issues in depression

Almost disjoint families of 3-term arithmetic progressions

We obtain upper and lower bounds for the size of a largest family of 3-term arithmetic progressions contained in [0, n - 1], no two of which intersect in more than one point. Such a family consists of just under a half of all of the 3-term arithmetic progressions contained in [0, n - 1]

Technical impacts of high penetration levels of wind power on power system stability

With increasing penetrations of wind generation, based on power-electronic converters, power systems are transitioning away from well-understood synchronous generator-based systems, with growing implications for their stability. Issues of concern will vary with system size, wind penetration level, geographical distribution and turbine type, network topology, electricity market structure, unit commitment procedures, and other factors. However, variable-speed wind turbines, both onshore and connected offshore through DC grids, offer many control opportunities to either replace or enhance existing capabilities. Achieving a complete understanding of future stability issues, and ensuring the effectiveness of new measures and policies, is an iterative procedure involving portfolio development and flexibility assessment, generation cost simulations, load flow, and security analysis, in addition to the stability analysis itself, while being supported by field demonstrations and real-world model validation

Cord blood IgE levels are influenced by gestational age but do not predict allergic manifestations in infants

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe predictive value of cord blood IgE (cIgE) for atopy and related disorders was investigated. Samples were collected from 792 infants delivered consecutively at the National University Hospital in Reykjavík in 1987. The concentration of IgE, but not that of IgA, was found to increase with increasing gestational age at birth. There was no correlation between IgE and IgA levels in individual samples. At the age of 18-23 months 180 of these children were studied for manifestations of allergy and related disorders. Included were all available infants with detectable (> or = 0.23 kU/L) cIgE. However, infants born by Cesarean section or with IgA exceeding 10 mg/L were excluded because of potential contamination with maternal blood. The clinical evaluation was made without knowledge of the IgE levels. Sixty-six of the 180 participants (36.6%) were judged to have had definite allergic manifestations. However, no striking correlation was found between allergic symptoms and cIgE levels in this study, nor did high levels of IgE add significantly to the predictive value of family history. Children with atopic features had more frequently been affected by otitis media. Unexpectedly, infants with intermediate cIgE levels (0.2-0.6 kU/L) were significantly less affected by otitis media than children with unmeasurable ( or = 0.7 kU/L) cIgE levels. It is concluded that cord blood IgE can not be used to predict allergic manifestations in children under the age of 2 years

Orphaned joey wearing a winter overcoat made from an old sweater sleeve, Foxground, New South Wales, 1968 [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer based on information from vendor.; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn4189225; Purchased from the photographer Jeff Carter, 2007