Predicting the structure of a lexical environment from properties of verbal working memory

We analyzed a Japanese lexical database to investigate the structure of the lexical environment based on the hypothesis that the lexical environment is optimized for the functioning of verbal working memory. Our prediction was that, as a consequence of the cultural transmission of language, low-imageable meanings tend to be represented by frequent phonological patterns in the current vocabulary rather than infrequent phonological patterns. This prediction was based on two findings of previous laboratory studies on verbal working memory. (1) The quality of phonological (phonemic and accent) representations in verbal working memory depends on phonological regularity knowledge; therefore, short-term phonological representations are less robust for words with infrequent phonological patterns. (2) Phonological representations are underpinned by contributions from semantic knowledge; therefore, phonological representations of highly imageable words are more robust than those for low-imageable words. Our database analyses show that nouns with less imageable meanings tend to be associated with more frequent phonological patterns in Japanese vocabulary. This lexical structure can maintain the quality of phonological representations in verbal working memory through contributions of semantic and phonological regularity knowledge. Larger semantic contributions compensate for the less robust phonological representations of infrequent phonological forms. The quality of phonological representations is preserved by phonological regularity knowledge when larger semantic contributions are not expected

The interaction between temporal grouping and phonotactic chunking in short-term serial order memory for novel verbal sequences

The current study investigated the ways long-term memory contributes to short-term serial order memory of novel verbal sequences, focusing on long-term knowledge of bi-element frequency, that is, co-occurrence frequency of two consecutive elements in a linguistic environment. Participants performed two types of immediate serial recall of nine-element (nine-mora) sequences: low bi-mora frequency sequences where all eight associations between the nine morae were low frequency, and mixed bi-mora frequency sequences, with high-frequency associations for six of the eight bi-morae. Experiment 1 confirmed the bi-directional bi-mora frequency effect, meaning better recall performance for morae having high-frequency association with either the preceding mora (forward association) or the following mora (backward association). In Experiment 2, two temporal pauses were inserted in each list to disrupt high-frequency associations with the preceding mora or the following mora. The results showed that the bi-element frequency effect diminished when the high-frequency backward association was disrupted but the effect remained when the high-frequency forward association was disrupted. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying the asymmetric influence of temporal pauses on interactions between short-term memory and linguistic long-term memory

Study on the foundation of "the Country Farm" focused on children's field education at a local community

本研究は，広島大学東広島キャンパス近隣に住む地域住民の一部が中心となって子供達のためのフィールド教育を目的として企画した「ふれあいカントリーファーム」の設立過程を調査したものである．本研究では，「ふれあいカントリーファーム」の地域における位置づけや存在意義，課題などを考察することを目的とした．調査はファームのスタッフや地域住民に対するインタビューを中心とし，その解析にはM-GTA を用いた．研究の結果，一部のスタッフの間にはファーム設立に対する意識の相違が認められた．また，スタッフ以外の地域住民のファームに対する意識は概ね否定的で，ファームにおける動物管理に対する不安や，活動に際しての衛生面に対する不安，活動の安全面を疑問視する声などが挙がった．本ファームを地域の教育拠点の一つとして位置づけるには，地域住民に対する丁寧な説明が必要であることが示唆された．This study investigated the process of the foundation of “the Country Farm,” a educational facility that is focused on children’s agricultural field education at a local community. The study discussed not only the significance of the farm for local residents but also problems at issue for the foundation of the farm. We interviewed the farm’s employees and locals about “the Country Farm” and analyzed the data with M-GTA. The results showed that employees’ perception of the farm varied. On one hand, the local residents’ perception of the farm was mostly negative, especially on points such as the management of animals raised at the farm, sanitation related to keeping the animals, and children’s safety during educational activities. These results suggest that the farm should actively keep local residents informed so as to become a local center for the field education of children

The teaching effectiveness of the food and agricultural education classes for the students belonging to other universities held in the farm attached to Hiroshima University (the educational center of joint credits)

広島大学附属農場は，平成22年度から文部科学省の「教育関係共同利用拠点」に認定され，現在，他大学の学生に対する３つの食農フィールド演習を提供している．そこで本研究では，平成29年の夏に他大学向けに実施された演習の教育効果を検証するために，受講生にアンケート調査を実施した．３つの演習にはそれぞれ教育効果が認められたが，その一方で教育方法の改善の余地のあることが示唆された．Since 2010, the Ministry of Education has authorized the farm attached to Hiroshima University to operate as an educational center for joint credits. The university farm currently offers three classes in food and agriculture education to students belonging to other universities. Questionnaires were conducted to study the effectiveness of teaching on the students who attended the three classes held in summer 2017. We found that the classes had an educational effect on the students who attended them; however, there was still room for improvement in the education technique.本論文はJSPS科研費JP16H03025の助成を受けたものである

Influence of Diabetes Mellitus on Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Cervical Myelopathy: A Prospective, Multicenter Study

[Study Design] Multicenter, prospective study. [Purpose] To investigate the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on surgical outcomes in patients with cervical myelopathy. [Overview of Literature] To date, few studies have investigated the influence of postoperative blood glucose or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels on surgical outcomes. [Methods] The participants were patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. The 61 cases were evaluated preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores and the JOA Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ). The study variables included fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels measured preoperatively and at 1 week, 4 weeks, and 1 year postoperatively; the F-wave conduction velocity, latency, rate of occurrence, and M-wave latency in the ulnar and tibial nerves were measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. The patients were divided into a group without diabetes (N group, 42 patients) and a group with diabetes (DM group, 19 patients). We then assessed the associations between the surgical outcomes and each of the study variables. [Results] JOA scores significantly improved in both groups; however, no significant between-group differences were found. There was no significant improvement in the JOACMEQ scores, which assessed cervical function, upper and lower limb function, and bladder function in both groups. We then subdivided the DM group into those with a good control of HbA1c after 1 year (DMG group, 12 patients) and those with HbA1c deterioration after 1 year (DMB group, seven patients), prior to comparing the surgical outcomes. The JOACMEQ scores for upper and lower limb function significantly improved in the DMG group (p<0.01). Compared with the DMB group, there were no significant increases in upper or lower limb function scores in the DMG group. [Conclusions] Poor glycemic control might prevent postoperative functional recovery of the spinal cord

Same task rules, different responses:Goal neglect, stimulus-response mapping and response modalities

To complete complex tasks, individuals must actively maintain task rules to direct behavior correctly. Failure to use task rules appropriately, termed goal neglect, has been shown across both vocal and manual response modalities. However, previous goal maintenance studies have differed not only in the response modality that they require, but also in the complexity of the stimulus–response mappings that participants must use during the task. The present study examines the effects of both response modality and stimulus–response mapping complexity, separately, on the rate of goal neglect in a modification of a classic goal maintenance task. Seventy-two younger adults were administered a shape-monitoring task, with three between-subjects response conditions: a vocal response with a simple stimulus–response mapping, a vocal response with a complex stimulus–response mapping, and a manual response with a complex stimulus–response mapping. Contrasting the rate at which task rules were neglected between response conditions showed that participants using complex stimulus–response mappings committed more frequent goal neglect than those using simple mappings, but that participants using vocal or manual responses did not differ in their rate of goal neglect once both responses required complex mappings. This suggests that the need to represent novel and complex stimulus–response mappings, of any modality, at the same time as novel task rules within working memory leads to some task rules being insufficiently maintained