Lingering misinterpretations in garden-path sentences: Evidence from a paraphrasing task.

Using a forced-choice question-answering paradigm, K. Christianson, A. Hollingworth, J. F. Halliwell, and F. Ferreira (2001) showed that the original misinterpretation built during the analysis of a garden-path sentence lingers even after reanalysis has occurred. However, their methodology has been questioned (R. P. G. van Gompel, M. J. Pickering, J. Pearson, & G. Jacob, 2006). In this study, the authors report evidence for lingering misinterpretations using a paraphrasing methodology, which is less biased than previous methodologies. Using paraphrasing, they found that garden-path sentences are paraphrased according to a partially reanalyzed interpretation. This finding suggests that the arguments put forward by Christianson et al. are correct: Comprehenders' final interpretations of sentences are often incorrect and do not correspond to the initial input. These findings support the theory that comprehension can occur in a "good-enough" manner (F. Ferreira, V. Ferraro, & K. G. D. Bailey, 2002; F. Ferreira & N. Patson, 2007). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinguished scientific awards for an early career contribution to psychology.

Recognizes Avshalom Caspi (developmental psychology), Fernanda Ferreira (human learning/cognition), Charles M. Morin (health psychology), and Christopher J. Patrick (psychopathology) for winning the distinguished scientific awards for an early career contribution to psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maurício Rocha e Silva MD: snake venom, bradykinin and the rise of autopharmacology

Maurício Rocha e Silva is well known as the discoverer of bradykinin, the powerful hypotensive and smooth muscle stimulating polypeptide which was first detected in plasma following the addition of Bothrops jararaca venom. The discovery in S?o Paulo, Brazil, in 1948 was the outcome of studies on proteolytic enzymes that Rocha e Silva started in 1939 at a time when circulatory shock was considered to be mediated by histamine. This line of research was prompted by the publications of Feldberg and Kellaway which identified the release of histamine and a slow-reacting substance (SRC-C) from isolated lungs perfused with Naja venom. Rocha e Silva was interested in determining whether trypsin-like enzymes, as shown for phospholipase, had a role in the release of histamine in shock. Instead, he and his co-workers demonstrated that such an enzyme released a new autopharmacological principle, bradykinin, from a plasma globulin precursor. Studies by Ferreira and Rocha e Silva on ways of blocking plasma kinin-destroying activity led Ferreira to isolate bradykinin-potentiating peptides from B. jararaca venom. These peptides were later shown to block angiotensin-I converting enzyme and so have an effect on hypertension. The discovery of bradykinin has led to a new understanding of many physiological and pathological phenomena including circulatory shock induced by venoms and toxins.     

Active site of 5-aminolevulinate synthase resides at the subunit interface. Evidence from in vivo heterodimer formation

5-Aminolevulinate synthase (EC 2.3.1.37) is the first enzyme in the heme biosynthetic pathway of animals, fungi and some bacteria. It functions as a homodimer and requires pyridoxal 5'-phosphate as an essential cofactor. In mouse erythroid 5-aminolevulinate synthase, lysine 313 has been identified as the residue involved in the Schiff base linkage with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate [Ferreira, G. C., et al. (1993) Protein Sci. 2, 1959-1965], while arginine 149, a conserved residue among all known 5-aminolevulinate synthase sequences, is essential for function [Gong & Ferreira (1995) Biochemistry 34, 1678-1685]. To determine whether each subunit contains an independent active site (i.e., intrasubunit arrangement) or whether the active site resides at the subunit interface (i.e., intersubunit arrangement), in vivo complementation studies were used to generate heterodimers from site-directed, catalytically inactive mouse 5-aminolevulinate synthase mutants. When R149A and K313A mutants were co-expressed in a hem A- Escherichia coli strain, which can only grow in the presence of 5-aminolevulinate or when it is transformed with an active 5-aminolevulinate synthase expression plasmid, the hem A- E. coli strain acquired heme prototrophy. The purified K313A/R149A heterodimer mixture exhibited K(m) values for the substrates similar to those of the wild-type enzyme and approximately 26% of the wild-type enzyme activity which is in agreement with the expected 25% value for the K313A/R149A coexpression system. In addition, DNA sequencing of four Saccharomyces cerevisiae 5-aminolevulinate synthase mutants, which lack ALAS activity but exhibit enzymatic complementation, revealed that mutant G101 with mutations N157Y and N162S can complement mutant G220 with mutation T452R, and mutant G205 with mutation C145R can complement mutant Ole3 with mutation G344C. Taken together, these results provide conclusive evidence that the 5-aminolevulinate synthase active site is located at the subunit interface and contains catalytically essential residues from the two subunits.     

Delayed symbolic matching in honeybees (Apis mellifera).

In a recent experiment on short-term memory (P. A. Couvillon, T. P. Ferreira, & M. E. Bitterman, 2003), honeybees (Apis mellifera) learned to choose between 2 colors on the basis of immediately preceding experience with 1 of them. Some learned to choose the same color as the sample (perseveration or matching), others to choose the alternative color (alternation or nonmatching). Performance in the 2 problems was very much the same. In the present experiment, honeybees learned no less readily to choose between the 2 colors on the basis of sample stimuli that were different from the colors (symbolic matching). A simple associative interpretation of the results is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for Self-Organized Sentence Processing: Digging-In Effects.

Dynamical, self-organizing models of sentence processing predict "digging-in" effects: The more committed the parser becomes to a wrong syntactic choice, the harder it is to reanalyze. Experiment 1 replicates previous grammaticality judgment studies (F. Ferreira & J. M. Henderson, 1991b, 1993), revealing a deleterious effect of lengthening the ambiguous region of a garden-path sentence. The authors interpret this result as a digging-in effect. Experiment 2 finds a corresponding effect on reading times. Experiment 3 finds that making 2 wrong attachments is worse than making 1. Non-self-organizing models require multiple stipulations to predict both kinds of effects. The authors show that, under an appropriately formulated self-organizing account, both results stem from self-reinforcement of node and link activations, a feature that is needed independently. An implemented model is given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Determinants of parafoveal preview benefit in high and low working memory capacity readers: Implications for eye movement control.

The experiment in this article extended studies by A. W. Inhoff and K. Rayner (see record 1988-06513-001) and J. M. Henderson and F. Ferreira (see record 1990-18858-001) to determine how the printed frequency of two adjacent words influenced the benefit of having parafoveal preview of the 2nd word. High- and low-span participants (assessed by M. Daneman and P. A. Carpenter's, [see PA, Vol 66:2775] Reading Span Test) were tested to determine whether working memory capacity influenced parafoveal preview benefit. Parafoveal preview benefit was determined by an interaction of both words' frequencies in first fixation and by the 2nd word's frequency in gaze duration. However, readers were generally fixated closer to the beginning of the 2nd word when the 1st word was low frequency. When the viewing distance confound was minimized, the prior word's frequency did affect parafoveal preview benefit. Parafoveal preview benefit did not vary between reading groups. Group distributions of fixation duration provided no evidence for J. M. Henderson and F. Ferreira's fixation cutoff model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kinetics and energetics of subunit dissociation/unfolding of TIM: the importance of oligomerization for conformational persistence and chemical stability of proteins

Kinetics of unfolding and refolding of rabbit muscle triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) were measured as a function of guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) concentration. From the rate constants of these processes, the activation free-energy barriers (delta G++) were calculated using the Arrhenius equation. Assuming a linear dependence of delta G++ on the concentration of GdnHCl, activation energies in the absence of GdnHCl were estimated. The Gibbs free-energy change of dissociation/unfolding (delta G) was determined from GdnHCl unfolding curves in equilibrium. Using these data and the literature value for the bimolecular association rate constant of folded TIM monomers [Zabori, S., Rudolph, R., and Jaenicke, R. (1980) Z. Naturforsch. 35C, 999-1004], a model was developed that fully describes both kinetics and energetics of subunit dissociation/unfolding of TIM. Unfolded TIM monomers are susceptible to proteolytic digestion and thiol oxidation, while native TIM is resistant to both. The present model explains how the dimeric nature of TIM decreases the frequency of subunit unfolding by several orders of magnitude, thus increasing the chemical stability of the protein. Furthermore, the model also explains the recently demonstrated persistence (on a time scale of hours to days) of conformational heterogeneity of native TIM dimers [Rietveld, A. W. M., and Ferreira, S. T. (1996) Biochemistry 35, 7743-7751]. Again, it appears that the dimeric nature of TIM is essential for this behavior.     

Expressing the inexpressible and measuring the incommensurable: On language, literature and psychology.

Presents a broad historical survey of the various reflective, analytical, and scientific approaches to an intellectual understanding of language and literature. Within this overall picture, the contribution of psychology is seen as limited for the area of language and negligible for that of literature. It is argued that psychology has not done justice to language as a complex, hierarchically structured system by concentrating on micro- rather than macro-analysis and on isolated words rather than texts or sequences of natural language. Various characteristics of poetic language (in its semantic, emotional, rhythmic, and phonetic aspects) are offered as prime examples of the type of interpretive challenge to which a maturing science of psychology might be expected to rise. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Listening comprehension, oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression: Related yet unique language systems in grades 1, 3, 5, and 7.

Age-normed tests of listening comprehension, oral expression, reading comprehension, and written expression were administered in Grades 1 (n = 128), 3, and 5, or 3 (n = 113), 5, and 7. Confirmatory factor analyses compared 1- and 4-factor models at each grade level and supported a 4-factor model of language by ear, mouth, eye, and hand. Multiple regressions identified which of the 3 other language skills explained unique variance in each of the 4 language skill outcomes and provided additional evidence that language is not a single skill. Individuals' ipsative scores (amount that the standard score for age on each language measure deviated from individual's mean for all 4 measures) showed that 25% to 30% of individuals showed relative strengths or weaknesses (±1 SD) in specific language skills, but only 7% were stable across Grades 3 and 5. Findings are discussed in reference to (a) theoretical implications for idea comprehension and expression via language by ear, mouth, eye, and hand; and (b) educational applications of observed developmental and individual differences for general, special, and gifted education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Language in child and chimp?

Recent successes teaching chimpanzees to engage in symbolic communication have again brought into question the Cartesian supposition that language is uniquely possessed by homo sapiens . Despite the very remarkable achievements of Washoe and Sarah, an objective comparison of these chimps' linguistic performances with those of a typical 3-yr-old child provides scant evidence for rejecting Descartes' view. An organism uses human language if and only if it uses structures characteristic of those languages. The ability of apes or even 2-yr-olds to communicate and use simple names is not sufficient reason to attribute the use of human language to them. The creative or projective aspect of human language cannot be overlooked. Efforts to explain the language deficits of apes in terms of impoverished language experience, anatomical deficits, or cognitive-structure differences are not convincing. (74 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Communication problems in autism.

Reviews the book, Communication problems in autism edited by Eric Schopler and Gary B. Mesibov. This volume is a compilation of articles on a variety of theoretical approaches directed at an understanding of language and communication problems in autism. Topics explored include behavioral approaches to language and communication, prosodic abnormalities, semantic problems, echolalia, sign language, the comprehension of language, logico-affective states and nonverbal language, and social aspects of communication. Overall, this volume stresses the importance of understanding communication as a social event and the importance of understanding normal language development when considering language and communication problems in autism. It assumes that the reader has strong background knowledge in both autism and speech and language. To the extent that this is true it will be useful for understanding language and communication in autism and planning intervention. For the individual lacking such a background, the book's usefulness is much more limited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The structure of client language and drinking outcomes in project match.

Client language during Motivational Interviewing interventions is an important predictor of drinking outcomes, but there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding what aspects of client language are most predictive. We characterized the structure of client language by factor analyzing frequency counts of several categories of client speech. The results provide limited support for a model proposed by Miller et al. (2006) and Amrhein et al. (2003) but with some important differences. While Amrhein et al. (2003) found that only increasing strength in client commitment language predicted behavior change, the current study revealed that client language preparatory to commitment predicted drinking outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of Stroop interference in Chinese-English bilinguals.

120 Chinese-English bilingual students in Grades 2, 4, 8, and 10 in college used both Chinese and English to name the colors of patches and Chinese and English words that consisted of incongruent color names. Examples of stimulus items for the Stroop test are included. Ss of all levels showed greater within- than between-language interference when responding in their primary language, Chinese. When English was the response language, however, a developmental shift from greater between-language interference to greater within-language interference was observed. These results argue against E. Magiste's (see record 1985-06307-001) language proficiency hypothesis and suggest that the pattern of the between- and within-language interference in bilinguals is determined by both language similarity and language proficiency. Further implications of the obtained results for language processing of bilinguals and for the traditional horse race model of the Stroop effect are also discussed. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Blackwell handbook of language development.

Reviews the book Blackwell handbook of language development, edited by Erika Hoff and Marilyn Shatz (see record 2007-00509-000). This book focuses on charting language development across monolingual and bilingual contexts for both typical and atypical learners. Rather than arranging discussions around each language component (which at times, might make for more efficient reading), the book successfully captures the complexities of language development across time. Part 1 of the handbook covers the organic and environmental bases of language development and theories that have been posited to explain this development. Part 2 tackles language learning during infancy, highlighting the fact that the abilities of the infant and the richness of the input result, almost invariably, in language acquisition. Part 3 of the handbook covers early childhood language development. Part 4 covers language development after early childhood, when most developing children learn and master a more sophisticated language use. Finally, Part 5 talks about language development in special populations. Chapters here discuss issues such as the relationship between the development of language and other abilities as well as the organic factors that hinder typical language development. This section also touches on what is yet to be discovered; for example, the link between IQ and language development in special populations. This handbook offers detailed information on topics in language development that have long fascinated researchers and practitioners in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)