bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Changes in reaching and grasping objects of different sizes between 7 and 13 months of age
Authors: Fagard J. , Jacquet A. Y.
Published: July 2011

Twenty‐four 7‐ to 13‐month‐old infants were videotaped when grasping or attempting to grasp objects of different sizes ranging in height from 7 to 17.5 cm. We investigated how early during the action sequence young infants use their two hands to grasp large objects, in order to determine the age at which they anticipate the need for a bimanual strategy from perception of object size. Second hand onset was also measured to examine whether the second hand could be recruited at any time during an action.

The results show that most movements start unimanually and that the second hand is activated later. The younger infants were more successful when grasping large objects with two hands than with one hand, but they did not show more bimanual reaching with large as compared to small objects before 11 months of age. These findings suggest that young infants do not perceive the same action relevant information to drive an action as older infants and that infants shift from a correction to an anticipation strategy as they grow older. The results fit with the idea that, regarding features like size, relevant visuomanual experience may be important for full coordination of the constituent perceptual and motor skills.

In addition, after a unimanual initiation, the younger infants tended to activate their second hand only after the first one had completed its course. In contrast, more intermanual flexibility was observed in the older infants. This reflects an increasing range of coordinated patterns during bimanual actions around the end of the first year of life.
Two‐year‐olds learn words for absent objects and actions
Authors: Akhtar Nameera , Tomasello Michael
Published: July 2011

Two studies of word learning in 24‐month‐old children are reported, one involving an object word (Study 1) and one involving an action word (Study 2). In both studies, non‐verbal scripts of playing with novel objects/actions in particular ways were established before the child was exposed to any language models. Following this pre‐training, children heard an experimenter announce her intention to either find an object or perform an action. In the referent condition, children then saw the intended referent (object or action) immediately after hearing the language model. Children in the absent referent condition experienced the same non‐verbal scripts and language models, but never saw the referent object or action after hearing the language model: at the appropriate juncture in the script they were told that the toy barn in which the target object had been previously located was “locked”, or that the toy character who had previously performed the target action was missing. Comparisons with two control conditions indicated that children were able to learn words for a novel object and a novel action in both the referent and absent referent conditions and, moreover, that learning was equivalent in these two conditions. These results show quite clearly that early lexical acquisition does not depend on temporal contiguity between word and referent—or indeed any perceptual pairing between word and referent at all—but rather it relies on children's active understandings of a speaker's referential intentions in particular discourse contexts.
Strategic game playing in children through the windows task
Authors: Samuels Mark C. , Brooks Patricia J. , Frye Douglas
Published: July 2011

Recently, the ‘windows task’ was devised to explore preschoolers' capacity for strategic deception (Russell, Mauthner, Sharpe & Tidswell, 1991). The windows task required a child to point at an empty box to obtain a second box which contained a desired object (a chocolate). Russell et al. (1991) found that, unlike older children, 3‐year‐olds consistently failed to adopt a strategy which would help them win the chocolates. A majority of their 3‐year‐old subjects perseverated on the wrong response across all trials of their experiment. Two experiments were devised to investigate why 3‐year‐olds consistently failed the windows task. Experiment 1 included five versions of this task, four of which modified Russell et al.'s instructions to see whether simplified task demands would affect the children's responses, and the fifth attempted to replicate the original wording of Russell et al. (1991). Children in all groups performed well, failing to replicate the perseveration witnessed in that experiment. Performance on the task was found to be unrelated to performance on standard theory of mind tasks. Experiment 2 was devised to replicate exactly the conditions of the Russell et al. (1991) experiment. Again, children had little difficulty solving the task. The present experiments provide evidence that children as young as 3 years can override their desire to reach or point to an object if they need to make a contrary response to obtain the object. These results indicate that executive control limitations as measured by this task cannot sufficiently explain preschoolers' failure on theory of mind tasks.
Generativity deficits in pretend play in autism
Authors: Jarrold Christopher , Boucher Jill , Smith Peter K.
Published: July 2011

Three studies are presented which test the claim that children with autism can engage in pretence under certain circumstances. Experiment 1 assessed the spontaneous and elicited play of 14 children with autism, matched on the basis of receptive language abilities to a group of 14 children with moderate learning difficulties. The children with autism produced significantly less pretend play than these controls, confirming previous findings. In contrast Expt 2 showed that the same group of children with autism were not impaired in their ability to carry out instructions thought to require pretend play. A third study compared the ability of 15 children with autism, and language‐matched learning disabled and normal controls, to generate pretend acts. The children with autism produced pretend acts at a significantly slower rate than controls. It is argued, contrary to a meta‐representational deficit account, that children with autism can engage in the mechanics of pretend play, but are impaired at producing pretence because of generativity problems. The extent to which a generativity deficit might be pervasive in autism is discussed.
Young children's ability to process object colour: Coloured pictogens and verbal mediation
Authors: Mitchell Peter , Davidoff Jules , Brown Catherine
Published: July 2011

Previous research shows that children aged around 3 and 4 years can name colours and objects yet still find it difficult to make judgments about the characteristic associated colour of objects (Davidoff & Mitchell, 1993). In a further investigation of their difficulty, children were asked to discriminate between correctly and incorrectly coloured versions of objects (Expt 1) or to select a correct or incorrect colour for black and white presentations of objects (Expt 2). The alternatives were presented either verbally or visually. We found that the form of the question affected the child's responses. When asked to choose the silly/wrong alternative from a visual choice, children performed better than when asked to choose the right alternative in Expt 1 but not Expt 2. Conversely, when asked to do likewise in a verbal choice, children performed better (especially in Expt 2) when asked to choose the right alternative rather then the wrong one. The results are discussed with respect to Davidoff & Mitchell's (1993) colour‐processing model.
The role of parental influences in the development of musical performance
Authors: Davidson Jane W. , Howe Michael J. A. , Moore Derek G. , Sloboda John A.
Published: July 2011

Interviews were conducted with 257 children and their parents; all of the children had studied a musical instrument but differed in the extent of their mastery. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of parents in the development of musical ability. It was discovered that the most successful children had parents who were the most highly involved in lessons and practice in the earliest stages of learning. These successful music learners often had parents who were involved with music themselves. Parental involvement in music typically took the form of listening to music rather than performing it, and tended to increase over the child's learning period. The children who failed to continue with lessons had parents who were, on average, less interested in music and who did not change their own degree of involvement with music over their child's learning period. Overall, the most musically able children had the highest levels of parental support.
Children's changing understanding of wicked desires: From objective to subjective and moral
Authors: Yuill Nicola , Perner Josef , Pearson Anna , Peerbhoy Denise , van den Ende Joanne
Published: July 2011

Previous work makes two conflicting claims about children's developing judgments of the emotions of an actor committing a desired but immoral act: children's judgments change (1) from sad to happy, as they come to appreciate desire as a subjective mental state, or (2) from happy to sad, as children acknowledge the role of moral values in emotion. In three experiments designed to explain this conflict, 3–10‐year‐olds judged emotions of actors committing neutral and immoral acts. Experiment 1 rules out procedural differences as an explanation of conflicting findings. Experiment 2 shows an age change from sad, to happy, to sad (remorseful), integrating the conflicting claims. Experiment 3 shows that 5‐ but not 3‐year‐olds can judge ill‐doers pleased with their success or remorseful at their wrongdoing, depending on the salience of moral issues. We discuss the roles of cognitive development, moral understanding and moral climate in influencing children's understanding of desire and moral emotion.
A rose by any other name: Preschoolers' understanding of individual identity across name and appearance changes
Authors: Gutheil Grant , Rosengren Karl S.
Published: July 2011

One of the major achievements of early cognitive development is the ability to understand that an object's individual identity can remain stable while various properties of the object change. Previous research has indicated that preschoolers determine individual identity using properties such as proper name and appearance. These results contrast with recent theory and research showing preschoolers' ability to go beyond variable/external properties in their judgments concerning category membership. Previous results may also be due in part to the methodologies employed. We therefore conducted three experiments investigating the effect of changes in proper name or appearance on children's judgments of individual identity of animals, using an alternative methodology based on the theory of psychological essentialism. Pictures of familiar animals (e.g. dogs) that were given specific behavioural (primarily) properties chosen to be both stable in nature and highly individuating were shown to 4‐year‐olds, 5‐year‐olds and adults. Name or appearance was then altered and participants judged whether the animal's behaviour had also changed. Judgments of stability in behaviour were taken to correspond to judgments of stability in individual identity. By age 4 most children consistently judged that stable properties were unaffected by changes in name and appearance, suggesting that preschoolers may possess a better understanding of individual identity than previously thought. These results are discussed in terms of the relation of identity understanding to conceptual development.
Constraints on representational change: Drawing a man with two heads
Authors: Zhi Zhang , Thomas Glyn V. , Robinson Elizabeth J.
Published: July 2011

The sequences of actions by which children make drawings of familiar topics have been taken to exemplify their internal representations of procedural knowledge. In four experiments we tested Karmiloff‐Smith's (1992) claim that preschool children represent such knowledge as sequentially fixed lists by examining the extent to which they could vary their usual routine for drawing a picture of a man by adding a second head. Participants were mainly white, lower middle‐class boys and girls, aged 3 years to 9 years, living in the suburbs of a large city. We found more flexibility on this task than has previously been claimed and evidence that misconstrual of the task may account for some children appearing inflexible in previous studies. Nevertheless, a substantial number of young children did display a degree of inflexibility that was (1) relatively stable over time, (2) hard to account for in terms of misunderstanding of the task, and (3) not simply unwillingness to attempt novel drawings. Furthermore, this inflexibility was unrelated to drawing style within age groups, but declined with increasing age. While this apparent inflexibility could be interpreted as a consequence of internal cognitive constraints, it could also be explained as an attempt to maintain a symmetrical composition. We conclude, therefore, that the currently available data provide only qualified support for the operation of internal constraints on the flexibility of sequences of skilled actions.
Representational activity during mother‐child interaction: The scribbling stage of drawing
Authors: Yamagata Kyoko
Published: July 2011

In this study, the development of representational drawing during the scribbling stage in the context of mother‐child interaction was investigated. Two dyads participated in the longitudinal study for about 18 months, beginning when the children were 12 months of age. During mother‐child interaction, these children often requested their mother to draw, looked at her, or provided the writing material at 12–15 months of age, suggested a drawing theme by 18 months of age, and then shared the drawing theme. In shared drawing theme, the children made marks on a particular area of the mother's drawing by 18 months, and drew particular parts of her drawing by 22 months. These results showed that the children had the intention to represent, even when they could not produce recognizable representations by themselves, and that the children shared drawing themes to participate in drawings with their mother. These findings indicate that the emergence and development of representational activity during mother‐child interaction occurs as early as the child's second year. The results are discussed with reference to the development of early drawing through social interaction and to the idea of revising the assumptions about drawing development put forth by Luquet (1927).
Conflict between parents and adolescents: Variation by family constitution
Authors: Honess T. M. , Charman E. A. , Zani B. , Cicognani E. , Xerri M. L. , Jackson A. E. , Bosma H. A.
Published: July 2011

Conflicts between parents and adolescents were explored from the viewpoint of 13‐and 15‐year‐old children (N = 397). There was support for Steinberg's (1989) distancing hypothesis: older children reported more aggression, more frustration and lower intimacy outcomes. There was also support for the hypothesis that the more complex position of adolescent girls (valuing both closeness and autonomy) would result in higher levels of frustration, whereas boys would be more clearly confrontational—producing relatively more escalation. Overall, mothers were experienced as more compromising and as fostering greater intimacy in comparison to fathers. There were differences between family types: those mothers living with a partner were reported as more aggressive than mothers from non‐divorcing families, and adolescents living with mother alone reported more frustration and escalation outcomes. In respect of fathers, non‐residential fathers and daughters experienced less aggression, lower escalation outcomes and sustained higher levels of compromise in comparison to fathers in non‐divorcing families. Boys without their father resident reported the lowest levels of compromise with both mothers and fathers—consistent with others' research suggesting that boys' accommodation to parental separation is more problematic. Finally, effects of parental age were explored.
Central coherence and theory of mind in autism: Reading homographs in context
Authors: Happé Francesca G. E.
Published: July 2011

The hypothesis that people with autism have a specific deficit in ‘theory of mind’ has been successful in explaining the characteristic triad of social, communication and imagination impairments. It cannot, however, explain the non‐social impairments and skills shown by people with autism. Frith (1989) and Frith & Happé (1994a) have suggested that these aspects of autism can, instead, be understood as manifestations of a characteristic of general information processing in autism: ‘weak central coherence’. The relationship between theory of mind deficits and weak coherence is examined in the present paper. Sixteen relatively able participants with autism, who differed in their theory of mind task performance, were tested with a homograph reading task, in which pronunciation of target words is determined by integration of whole sentence context (e.g. pronouncing tear in ‘In her eye/dress there was a big tear’). The results suggest that people with autism at all levels of theory of mind performance show a relative failure to process information for context‐dependent meaning in this task. The implications of these findings for current theories of autism are discussed.
Young children's attributions of knowledge when speaker intent and listener access conflict
Authors: Montgomery Derek E. , Miller Scott A.
Published: July 2011

Three experiments assessed children's attributions of knowledge to a listener when a speaker's intent for a message to be heard either conflicted or coincided with a listener's perceptual access to the message. When speaker intent and listener access coincided, both 3‐year‐olds and 5‐year‐olds correctly attributed knowledge to the listener. However, performance between the two groups diverged when access and intent conflicted, with only 5‐year‐olds consistently attributing knowledge on the basis of access alone. These results suggest that 3‐year‐olds do not yet fully distinguish the intent to inform from the actual informativeness of a message. For older children, the intent to be heard is secondary to perceptual access in judgments of listener comprehension because listener access to a message is regarded as a necessary precondition for being informed by that message.
The development of children's ability to attend to the visual projection of objects
Authors: Reith Emiel , Dominin Doreide
Published: July 2011

This study addresses two questions: is there a development in children's ability to focus on and reproduce the visual projections of simple three‐dimensional scenes? If so, what factors determine this development? Children aged 5 to 9 viewed displays of objects with simple shapes (ball, box) through a peephole in a screen. They were required to cover the visual projections of the objects by sticking cut‐out forms onto a transparency that could be fixed against a vertical glass pane (a da Vinci window) placed between the child and the scene. The forms had to match exactly the projective shape, size and position of the projections at the glass pane, from the given viewpoint. To achieve success, participants had to analyse and mentally record the properties of the projections to choose the correct forms from a set of alternatives, and to place them correctly on the transparency. Three different scenes were presented. For each scene, participants were allowed as many trials as they wished. Results showed differences in performance according to age and scene. Only a few 5‐ and 6‐year‐olds succeeded in the tasks; in 9‐year‐olds, the success rate varied from 50 to 100 per cent. Performance was better for the projections of balls placed at different distances than for the projection of the side of a box placed at an angle to the fronto‐parallel plane. The sequences of trials made by participants, and the success rates for different aspects of the projections (shape, size and position) suggested that two cognitive factors explain children's difficulties in the task: (i) difficulty in differentiating the real and the projective properties of the objects in the scenes; (ii) lack of spatial skills needed to accurately analyse and reproduce the geometry of the projections
Specificity of gaze‐following in young chimpanzees
Authors: Povinelli Daniel J. , Eddy Timothy J.
Published: July 2011

The development of gaze‐following (or joint visual attention) allows human infants to orient to the same object or event to which another person is looking. The development of the ability undergoes elaborations between 6 and 18 months, with older infants displaying the ability to (a) track gaze in response to eye movement alone, (b) look into space outside of their immediate visual field, and (c) precisely localize the exact object at which another is looking. Chimpanzees also exhibit gaze‐following, but certain aspects of the specificity of this ability remain unclear. Seven pre‐adolescent chimpanzees were used to replicate and extend a previous demonstration of gaze‐following and to test the hypothesis that chimpanzees (like 18‐month‐old human infants) are capable of determining the specific location in space behind them into which another looks. The results strongly support the hypothesis, and suggest extensive commonality in the behavioural manifestations of gaze‐following in the two species. Whether chimpanzees develop a parallel understanding of the mental state of attention behind gaze remains less clear.
Maternal interpretations of infant intentionality: Changes over the course of infant development
Authors: Zeedyk M. Suzanne
Published: July 2011

Maternal interpretations of the intentionality of infant behaviour have played a key role in many theoretical accounts of the development of intentionality. However, the assessment of maternal interpretations has generally proceeded in an indirect fashion. The present study sought to assess maternal interpretations in a more direct manner. Sixty primiparous mothers of 4‐ or 8‐month‐old infants viewed video clips of unfamiliar infants engaged in social‐, object‐ or non‐directed activities and rated the actions for perceived intentionality. Results indicated that mothers of younger infants assigned more intentionality to social behaviours than did mothers of older infants, suggesting that maternal interpretations change over the course of infant development. Explanations for this pattern are explored, including the possibility that mothers become less sensitive to established behaviours or that they use a type of moving threshold to judge infant actions. Future avenues of research are suggested.
Developmental transitions: So what's new?
Authors: van der Maas Han L.J. , Hopkins Brian
Published: July 2011

Structural approaches to development, such as Piaget's stage theory, have proved to be problematic in dealing with developmental transitions. More promising in this respect are models of qualitative change that address macroscopical phase shifts in non‐linear dynamical systems that arise from quantitative changes at the microscopical level. In this introductory paper, we attempt to clarify the meanings of some of the core terms used in these models so as to set the scene for the subsequent contributions. We stress the relevance of recent advances in catastrophe theory for detecting developmental transitions and suggest that the concept of self‐organization as formulated in irreversible thermodynamics provides a framework for explaining them. As yet, there is a lack of convincing evidence that transitions of interest to developmental psychologists comply with principles of self‐organization that have become well established for time‐evolving systems in other disciplines such as chemistry and biology. Demonstrations of self‐organization in psychologically relevant simulation models are a first step in attaining such evidence. In this special issue, we concentrate primarily on a common approach to the detection of transitions across a number of domains of development. However, in doing so illustrations are given of the ways in which the hypothesis of self‐organization can be used to account for the mechanisms of developmental transitions.
Jumping into syntax: Transitions in the development of closed class words
Authors: Ruhland R. , van Geert P.
Published: July 2011

Over the years, the study of language development has been syntax oriented. In this paper, we present a non‐linear approach to highlight quantitative processes in language development. First, we used a continuous model, i.e. growth theory, to fit data. Second, catastrophe theory was applied to test whether discontinuities occur in language development. That is, this theory offers criteria for a reorganization of a specific rule or structure (e.g. in language development). These criteria, or flags, have been applied to longitudinally collected and spontaneous data of six Dutch‐speaking children. The development of function (or closed class) words is supposed to be sudden, resulting in a rapid change from telegraphic to differentiated speech. We found evidence for such change, and the presence of multimodality. Although other flags could not be found, we argued that in the third year of life, i.e. around the introduction of function words in the speech of a child, several linguistic and non‐linguistic factors are changing. We conclude that there is no strong evidence for catastrophic change in language development. We also discuss the question of what the patterns in language development refer to, i.e. what they mean with respect to underlying structures.
Teaching theory of mind by highlighting intention and illustrating thoughts: A comparison of their effectiveness with 3‐year‐olds and autistic individuals
Authors: McGregory Evelyn , Whiten Andrew , Blackburn Pennie
Published: July 2011

A number of interventions have taught autistic children to pass tasks of false‐belief attribution, but the children show little evidence of generalization. The aim of the present study was to overcome four possible limitations in the design of such interventions, and compare two participant groups, 3‐year‐olds and autistic individuals with comparable verbal mental age on their ability to learn a false‐belief task and generalize to other tasks. The two groups were shown false‐belief scenarios which were modified in two ways—by highlighting intention and by illustrating thoughts using picture‐in‐the‐head techniques. The pre‐ and post‐tests administered comprised a range of traditional theory‐of‐mind tasks. Results showed that both the 3‐year‐old children and the autistic individuals were able to pass a standard task of false‐belief attribution following teaching. The 3‐year‐olds also showed substantial evidence of generalization to other false‐belief tasks. However, for the autistic participants, although there was some overall improvement, generalization was limited to the test of their own false belief.
The validity of parent‐based assessment of the cognitive abilities of 2‐year‐olds
Authors: Saudino Kimberly J. , Dale Philip S. , Oliver Bonny , Petrill Stephen A. , Richardson Victoria , Rutter Michael , Simonoff Emily , Stevenson Jim , Plomin Robert
Published: July 2011

Parent reports have been widely used to assess child behaviours in the socio‐emotional domain, but seldom have been used to assess behaviours within the cognitive domain. The present study examines the ability of parent reports and parent‐administered tasks obtained through the post to assess non‐verbal cognitive abilities in early childhood. In a sample of 107 2‐year‐olds, age‐corrected scores on parent reports and parent‐administered tasks assessing non‐verbal reasoning significantly predicted performance on the Mental Development Index (MDI) of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development‐II two weeks later (r = .49 and r = .41, p < .0001, respectively). The multiple correlation between the two components and the MDI was .55 (p < .0001). This ability of parental assessments to predict the MDI is comparable to the predictive power of standard tester‐administered measures at this age, even though the parent measure specifically excludes verbal items that are included in the MDI. Adding parent reports of language development significantly improved the prediction of the MDI (R = .66, p < .0001). In addition, higher within‐domain than cross‐domain correlations reflect a significant ability of parents to discriminate verbal and nonverbal abilities.
Concepts of freedoms and rights in a traditional, hierarchically organized society
Authors: Turiel Elliot , Wainryb Cecilia
Published: July 2011

This study examined whether and how members of a non‐Western traditional culture hold concepts of rights and liberties. Ninety Druze adolescents and adults (mean ages 13:3, 17:6, and 43:11) were posed with general questions about freedoms of speech, religion and reproduction, as well as with situations in which the exercise of those freedoms was in conflict with weak and strong versions of each of the following social goals: avoiding harm to persons, community interests and directives from family authority. The findings indicate that Druze adolescents and adults endorse each of the freedoms in the abstract as rights independent of existing laws. Further, they judge these rights not as absolute or inviolate, but as freedoms that in certain contexts can be subordinated to conflicting social concerns. No age differences were obtained in the general endorsement of freedoms, but older participants were more likely than younger participants to affirm freedoms in conflict situations.
Children drawing Europe: The effects of nationality, age and teaching
Authors: Axia G. , Bremner J. G. , Deluca P. , Andreasen G.
Published: July 2011

The aim of this study is to investigate cross‐national differences in children's geographical knowledge of Europe. The analyses are based on 300 maps of Europe drawn by 8‐ and 10‐year‐olds from different European countries and regions: northern Italy, southern Italy, England, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland. Based upon place schema theory (Mandler, 1984), each map was scored according to number of drawn countries (inventory information), correctness of spatial location (spatial relation information) and of shape (descriptive information) of drawn countries. The main results were the following: (1) 8‐year‐olds' schematic knowledge of Europe is poorer than that of 10‐year‐olds; (2) the core of children's representation of Europe is given by the knowledge of their own country; (3) the best represented countries are those that are closest to the physical limits of their own country; (4) north Italian children have the best knowledge of Europe, followed by English, Scottish, and south Italian children, Spanish and Swiss children showing least knowledge; (5) teaching programmes do improve 10‐year‐olds' knowledge of the geography of Europe.

Interuieuw: “In which European country wouldn't you like to live?”

Emma (Spanish, 10‐year‐old girl): “I couldn't say… because even if better or worse places exist”, I will adapt myself.
Facial expression and EEG responses to happy and sad faces/voices by 3‐month‐old infants of depressed mothers
Authors: Field Tiffany , Pickens Jeffrey , Fox Nathan A. , Gonzalez Jeanette , Nawrocki Thomas
Published: July 2011

Videotaped happy and sad face/voice stimuli were presented after a neutral starfield baseline stimulus to 24 3‐month‐old infants of depressed and non‐depressed mothers. The infants looked at and showed more positive expressions during the happy and sad face/voice stimuli versus the neutral starfield. The infants of non‐depressed versus depressed mothers looked at the sad face/voice stimulus longer, perhaps because the sad face/voice stimulus was more novel for the infants of non‐depressed mothers. A negative correlation between EEG and visual fixation time suggested that less left frontal activation (usually associated with withdrawal) was related to greater visual fixation time (usually associated with approach behaviour). This mixed approach/ withdrawal response was observed more frequently in infants of non‐depressed mothers and could be interpreted as a vigilant or empathetic response in those infants.
Young children's quarrels with their siblings and mothers: Links with maternal depression and bipolar illness
Authors: Hay Dale F. , Vespo Jo Ellen , Zahn‐Waxler Carolyn
Published: July 2011

Patterns of conflict amongst a mother and two young children were recorded for 55 families in the US. The mother was well in 19 families, depressed in 20, and had bipolar illness in 16. Sibling conflict occurred least often when the mother had bipolar illness. Mother‐child conflict occurred most often when the elder child was male, but depressed mothers were likely to quarrel with their elder daughters. Mothers allied with elder rather than younger children, but depressed mothers were especially likely to uphold the rights of protesters. Compensatory influence was noted across relationships, so that children whose actions were protested by mothers were less likely to object to the behaviour of their siblings. In general, when mothers were well, families experienced frequent, but mild conflict; when mothers had bipolar illness, the relationship between the mother and the elder son was especially fraught; and when mothers were depressed, conflicts were more likely to escalate and to occur between mothers and daughters.
The human figure drawings of children with Down syndrome
Authors: Cox Maureen V. , Maynard Simon
Published: July 2011

Seventeen children with Down syndrome (mean chronological age 9 years 3 months, mean mental age 4 years 3 months) were individually matched for verbal mental age or chronological age with two groups of normal children. Each child drew a man from imagination and a man from a model. The drawings were scored using Koppitz's (1968) system. The normal 9‐year‐old children produced consistently higher scores than either of the other groups. The children with DS differed from the other groups in that they did not show an improvement in the model task. In addition, whereas the normal 4‐year‐olds' drawing scores correlated with mental age those of the children with DS did not. These results are discussed in terms of the developmental difference debate; in particular, the results provide some evidence for a qualitative difference in the developmental pattern of children with DS.
The effects of symmetrical and asymmetrical social interaction on children's logical inferences
Authors: Roazzi Antonio , Bryant Peter
Published: July 2011

We report an intervention experiment on the effects of social interaction on 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children's performance in a simple logical, inferential task. We found that children performing badly in a logical inferential task who then had the experience of cooperating with others more advanced than themselves did better in this task in a post‐test given three days later and in a further test given after a three‐week interval. We also found that children who had the experience of cooperating with others who had also performed badly (at the same level) in the pre‐test did not get better at making logical inferences. We conclude that social interaction between less and more advanced children enhances the less advanced children's ability to make logical inferences, and we argue that this is probably due to the effects of discussion and of agreement, rather than to social conflict, during the intervention period.
Activation of β‐adrenergic receptors facilitates heterosynaptic translation‐dependent long‐term potentiation
Authors: Connor Steven A. , Wang Yu Tian , Nguyen Peter V.
Published: July 2011

Non‐technical summary  Specialized communication zones between neurons known as synapses undergo changes during memory formation. Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter that is secreted in the brain when we are aroused or are exploring a new environment. β‐Adrenergic receptors are activated by noradrenaline and can facilitate synaptic changes in the hippocampus, a brain structure critical for making new memories. We show that activation of β‐adrenergic receptors generates long‐lasting enhancements of synaptic strength that can facilitate plasticity at another group of synapses on the same post‐synaptic cells. This research will further our understanding of how noradrenaline can facilitate the creation of associative memories.
Enhanced high‐frequency membrane potential fluctuations control spike output in striatal fast‐spiking interneurones in vivo
Authors: Schulz Jan M. , Pitcher Toni L. , Savanthrapadian Shakuntala , Wickens Jeffery R. , Oswald Manfred J. , Reynolds John N. J.
Published: July 2011

Non‐technical summary  Rhythmic activity patterns are a common theme throughout neuroscience. However, it is still poorly understood how network functions are modulated by fast oscillatory inputs from distant brain regions. In this respect, the striatum is particularly interesting as almost all neuronal activity is driven by long‐range inputs. We find that the three main classes of neurones in the striatum show very distinct oscillatory activity patterns in specific frequency ranges. In particular, we show that fast‐spiking interneurones are highly sensitive to fast fluctuating synaptic inputs in the intact brain. This sensitivity was probably due to a combination of faster dynamics of synaptic inputs and intrinsic amplification of high‐frequency signals. In contrast, projection neurones and other interneurones lacking these mechanisms were insensitive to fast oscillatory input patterns. These results suggest that transmission of fast cortical oscillatory inputs modulates information processing in the striatum via engagement of fast‐spiking interneurones.
Life at the Top: Rank and Stress in Wild Male Baboons
Authors: Gesquiere Laurence R. , Learn Niki H. , Simao M. Carolina M. , Onyango Patrick O. , Alberts Susan C. , Altmann Jeanne
Published: July 2011

Alpha males have higher stress levels than beta males in a wild baboon society.
Real-Time Imaging of Notch Activation with a Luciferase Complementation-Based Reporter
Authors: Ilagan Ma. Xenia G. , Lim Sora , Fulbright Mary , Piwnica-Worms David , Kopan Raphael
Published: July 2011

Luciferase complementation imaging enables quantitative analyses of Notch pathway dynamics in real time in living cells.
HIF Takes It Up a Notch
Authors: Johnson Eric A.
Published: July 2011

The interaction of the transcription factor HIF-α with the Notch receptor promotes cell fate specification and maintenance.
Optineurin in Autophagic Bacterial Clearance
Authors: Hurtley Stella M.
Published: July 2011

Phosphorylation of an autophagy receptor restricts pathogenic cytosolic bacterial growth.
Comparative Genomics of Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains with Different Antibiotic Resistance Profiles
Authors: Kumar Vinod , Sun Peng , Vamathevan Jessica , Li Yong , Ingraham Karen , Palmer Leslie , Huang Jianzhong , Brown James R.
Published: July 2011

There is a global emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of
Klebsiella pneumoniae
, a Gram-negative enteric bacterium that causes nosocomial and urinary tract infections. While the epidemiology of
K. pneumoniae
strains and occurrences of specific antibiotic resistance genes, such as plasmid-borne extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), have been extensively studied, only four complete genomes of
K. pneumoniae
are available. To better understand the multidrug resistance factors in
K. pneumoniae
, we determined by pyrosequencing the nearly complete genome DNA sequences of two strains with disparate antibiotic resistance profiles, broadly drug-susceptible strain JH1 and strain 1162281, which is resistant to multiple clinically used antibiotics, including extended-spectrum β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim, and sulfamethoxazoles. Comparative genomic analysis of JH1, 1162281, and other published
K. pneumoniae
genomes revealed a core set of 3,631 conserved orthologous proteins, which were used for reconstruction of whole-genome phylogenetic trees. The close evolutionary relationship between JH1 and 1162281 relative to other
K. pneumoniae
strains suggests that a large component of the genetic and phenotypic diversity of clinical isolates is due to horizontal gene transfer. Using curated lists of over 400 antibiotic resistance genes, we identified all of the elements that differentiated the antibiotic profile of MDR strain 1162281 from that of susceptible strain JH1, such as the presence of additional efflux pumps, ESBLs, and multiple mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance. Our study adds new and significant DNA sequence data on
K. pneumoniae
strains and demonstrates the value of whole-genome sequencing in characterizing multidrug resistance in clinical isolates.
Novel Postentry Inhibitor of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Replication Screened by Yeast Membrane-Associated Two-Hybrid System
Authors: Urano Emiko , Kuramochi Noriko , Ichikawa Reiko , Murayama Somay Yamagata , Miyauchi Kosuke , Tomoda Hiroshi , Takebe Yutaka , Nermut Milan , Komano Jun , Morikawa Yuko
Published: July 2011

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Gag protein targets to the plasma membrane and assembles into viral particles. In the next round of infection, the mature Gag capsids disassemble during viral entry. Thus, Gag plays a central role in the HIV life cycle. Using a yeast membrane-associated two-hybrid assay based on the SOS-RAS signaling system, we developed a system to measure the Gag-Gag interaction and isolated 6 candidates for Gag assembly inhibitors from a chemical library composed of 20,000 small molecules. When tested in the human MT-4 cell line and primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells, one of the candidates, 2-(benzothiazol-2-ylmethylthio)-4-methylpyrimidine (BMMP), displayed an inhibitory effect on HIV replication, although a considerably high dose was required. Unexpectedly, neither particle production nor maturation was inhibited by BMMP. Confocal microscopy confirmed that BMMP did not block Gag plasma membrane targeting. Single-round infection assays with envelope-pseudotyped and luciferase-expressing viruses revealed that BMMP inhibited HIV replication postentry but not simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) or murine leukemia virus infection. Studies with HIV/SIV Gag chimeras indicated that the Gag capsid (CA) domain was responsible for the BMMP-mediated HIV postentry block.
In vitro
studies indicated that BMMP accelerated disassembly of HIV cores and, conversely, inhibited assembly of purified CA protein in a dose-dependent manner. Collectively, our data suggest that BMMP primarily targets the HIV CA domain and disrupts viral infection postentry, possibly through inducing premature disassembly of HIV cores. We suggest that BMMP is a potential lead compound to develop antiretroviral drugs bearing novel mechanisms of action.
Mechanistic Characterization of GS-9190 (Tegobuvir), a Novel Nonnucleoside Inhibitor of Hepatitis C Virus NS5B Polymerase
Authors: Shih I-hung , Vliegen Inge , Peng Betty , Yang Huiling , Hebner Christy , Paeshuyse Jan , Pürstinger Gerhard , Fenaux Martijn , Tian Yang , Mabery Eric , Qi Xiaoping , Bahador Gina , Paulson Matthew , Lehman Laura S. , Bondy Steven , Tse Winston , Reiser Hans , Lee William A. , Schmitz Uli , Neyts Johan , Zhong Weidong
Published: July 2011

GS-9190 (Tegobuvir) is a novel imidazopyridine inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA replication
in vitro
and has demonstrated potent antiviral activity in patients chronically infected with genotype 1 (GT1) HCV. GS-9190 exhibits reduced activity against GT2a (JFH1) subgenomic replicons and GT2a (J6/JFH1) infectious virus, suggesting that the compound's mechanism of action involves a genotype-specific viral component. To further investigate the GS-9190 mechanism of action, we utilized the susceptibility differences between GT1b and GT2a by constructing a series of replicon chimeras where combinations of 1b and 2a nonstructural proteins were encoded within the same replicon. The antiviral activities of GS-9190 against the chimeric replicons were reduced to levels comparable to that of the wild-type GT2a replicon in chimeras expressing GT2a NS5B. GT1b replicons in which the β-hairpin region (amino acids 435 to 455) was replaced by the corresponding sequence of GT2a were markedly less susceptible to GS-9190, indicating the importance of the thumb subdomain of the polymerase in this effect. Resistance selection in GT1b replicon cells identified several mutations in NS5B (C316Y, Y448H, Y452H, and C445F) that contributed to the drug resistance phenotype. Reintroduction of these mutations into wild-type replicons conferred resistance to GS-9190, with the number of NS5B mutations correlating with the degree of resistance. Analysis of GS-9190 cross-resistance against previously reported NS5B drug-selected mutations showed that the resistance pattern of GS-9190 is different from other nonnucleoside inhibitors. Collectively, these data demonstrate that GS-9190 represents a novel class of nonnucleoside polymerase inhibitors that interact with NS5B likely through involvement of the β-hairpin in the thumb subdomain.
First Outbreak of a Plasmid-Mediated Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing OXA-48 β-Lactamase in Klebsiella pneumoniae in Spain
Authors: Pitart Cristina , Solé Mar , Roca Ignasi , Fàbrega Anna , Vila Jordi , Marco Francesc
Published: July 2011

Twenty
Klebsiella pneumoniae
isolates producing OXA-48 were collected from April 2009 to September 2010. Strains were clonally related and coproduced a CTX-M-15 β-lactamase. A conjugative plasmid of circa 70 kb carrying
bla
OXA-48
was identified. Eleven isolates showed low-level resistance to carbapenems, whereas nine showed high-level resistance. Decreased expression of OmpK36 was related to high-level resistance to carbapenems. The isolates belonged to sequence type 101 (ST101). This is the first outbreak caused by an OXA-48-producing
K. pneumoniae
strain in Spain.
Sublethal Triclosan Exposure Decreases Susceptibility to Gentamicin and Other Aminoglycosides in Listeria monocytogenes
Authors: Christensen Ellen G. , Gram Lone , Kastbjerg Vicky G.
Published: July 2011

The human food-borne pathogen
Listeria monocytogenes
is capable of persisting in food processing plants despite cleaning and sanitation and is likely exposed to sublethal biocide concentrations. This could potentially affect susceptibility of the bacterium to biocides and other antimicrobial agents. The purpose of the present study was to determine if sublethal biocide concentrations affected antibiotic susceptibility in
L. monocytogenes
. Exposure of
L. monocytogenes
strains EGD and N53-1 to sublethal concentrations of Incimaxx DES (containing peroxy acids and hydrogen peroxide) and Triquart Super (containing quaternary ammonium compound) in four consecutive cultures did not alter the frequency of antibiotic-tolerant isolates, as determined by plating on 2× the MIC for a range of antibiotics. Exposure of eight strains of
L. monocytogenes
to 1 and 4 μg/ml triclosan did not alter triclosan sensitivity. However, all eight strains became resistant to gentamicin (up to 16-fold increase in MIC) after exposure to sublethal triclosan concentrations. Gentamicin-resistant isolates of strains N53-1 and 4446 were also resistant to other aminoglycosides, such as kanamycin, streptomycin, and tobramycin. Gentamicin resistance remained at a high level also after five subcultures without triclosan or gentamicin. Aminoglycoside resistance can be caused by mutations in the target site, the 16S rRNA gene. However, such mutations were not detected in the N53-1-resistant isolates. A combination of gentamicin and ampicillin is commonly used in listeriosis treatment. The triclosan-induced resistance is, hence, of great concern. Further investigations are needed to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of triclosan.