A Review on Vocabulary Acquisition in Foreign Languages

Recent studies on vocabulary acquisition of native and foreign language and comprehension process of figurative language are reviewed. Then the idea of naive \u27Literality\u27, which implicitly assumes that learning vocabulary means remembering labels iscriticized. Another definition of learning vocabulary and context is discussed, and a model of vocabulary learning in context using concept learning model is proposed

An experimental study of metaphor comprehension

There are two theories of metaphor comprehension that assume (1) base and target in a metaphor are processed simultaneously (Alignment-first model); (2) properties of base are projected to target (Abstraction-first model). We conducted an experiment which replicates Gentener & Wolff (1997)\u27s experiment 1 with Japanese equivalents. In experiment 2,We showed that similar result is also found with literal comparison sentences. Correlational analysis of RT data suggested that more detailed analysis of processes is needed

Astrocyte GluN2C NMDA receptors control basal synaptic strengths of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in the stratum radiatum

Experience-dependent plasticity is a key feature of brain synapses for which neuronal N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptors (NMDARs) play a major role, from developmental circuit refinement to learning and memory. Astrocytes also express NMDARs, although their exact function has remained controversial. Here, we identify in mouse hippocampus, a circuit function for GluN2C NMDAR, a subtype highly expressed in astrocytes, in layer-specific tuning of synaptic strengths in CA1 pyramidal neurons. Interfering with astrocyte NMDAR or GluN2C NMDAR activity reduces the range of presynaptic strength distribution specifically in the stratum radiatum inputs without an appreciable change in the mean presynaptic strength. Mathematical modeling shows that narrowing of the width of presynaptic release probability distribution compromises the expression of long-term synaptic plasticity. Our findings suggest a novel feedback signaling system that uses astrocyte GluN2C NMDARs to adjust basal synaptic weight distribution of Schaffer collateral inputs, which in turn impacts computations performed by the CA1 pyramidal neuron

A case of oral metastasis of rectal adenocarcinoma with KRAS mutation in patient with synchronous lung adenocarcinoma.

Detecting the origin of the primary cancer that metastasizes in the oral cavity in patients with multiple primary cancers is challenging because of its rarity and complexity. We present an unusual case of an 86‐year‐old women with a maxillary gingival tumor that was histologically proven to be adenocarcinoma; she had been diagnosed with rectal and lung adenocarcinoma. A multidisciplinary approach involving complementary molecular analysis of KRAS gene mutation helped in the diagnosis of metastatic gingival tumor from rectal cancer