Visual short-term memory (VSTM) was probed while observers performed smooth pursuit eye movements. Smooth pursuit keeps a moving object stabilized in the fovea. VSTM capacity for position was reduced during smooth pursuit compared with a condition with eye fixation. There was no difference between a condition in which the items were approximately…

After distinguishing between neocortical abilities for executive control and subcortical sensory motor skills for proprioceptive and vestibular integration, we compare a sample of 116 normal preschoolers with a sample of 31 preschoolers receiving occupational therapeutical treatment. This is done in an experimental design controlled for age (mean:…

Four experiments studied the perception of the unity and boundaries of objects by 88 4-month-old infants who manipulated them out of the visual field. Infants perceived the unity/boundaries of these objects by detecting the motion patterns they themselves produced. Discrimination between motion patterns transferred from touch to vision. (SLD)

The Test of Sensory Integration, which measures preschoolers' ability to organize, process, and synthesize input from different sensory channels, was evaluated in terms of domain and construct validity, interobserver reliability and decision reliability, and retest stability. Results suggested that total test scores can be used reliably and…

A longitudinal study of first, third, and fifth grade students tested skills involved in the teaching of music reading and concluded that the aural-to-aural intrasensory task was easiest for children to learn. (Author/CJ)

Ss displaying initial subnormal nystagmic functioning responded to therapy with increases in duration, while other Ss displayed decreases; these effects were more apparent after long therapy. (Author/DLS)

Kinnealey reports on a study comparing tactile functions of 30 learning-disabled and 30 normal eight-year-olds as measured by the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests and the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. Reliability and validity of the two measures were examined. Results showed a significant difference between the tactile…

This study compared speech intelligibility for sentences spoken either conversationally or in a clear manner under three conditions: auditory only, visual only, and audiovisually. Overall, in each condition, speech intelligibility improved significantly for the tokens of clear speech. Some interaction between speaker and manner of speech was…

For individuals with synaesthesia, stimuli in one sensory modality elicit anomalous experiences in another modality. For example, the sound of a particular piano note may be "seen" as a unique colour, or the taste of a familiar food may be "felt" as a distinct bodily sensation. We report a study of 192 adult synaesthetes, in…

An increasing number of students diagnosed with difficulties such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger?s syndrome are being seen in schools. Sensory integration difficulties may be part of the symptomatology of these disorders. These difficulties may result in difficulties with both classroom behaviors and academic performance.…

Objective: This annotation reviews recent evidence that points to the likely role of aberrant neural oscillations in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS). Methods: The available anatomic and electrophysiological findings in TS are reviewed in the context of an emerging picture of the crucial role that neural oscillations play in maintaining…

Literature examining elements influencing the production of consistent human movement is reviewed in this paper. The review is limited to theoretical papers and research studies on sport-related tasks that utilize actual representations of movement, e.g., film, electromyogram, or videotape; rather than movement only implied from goal attainment,…

Sighted subjects assembled puzzles under separate conditions of visual-haptic perception and used vision and touch simultaneously to illustrate visual-type involvement and links in haptic encoding processes. A cognitive component in perceptions was found. When visual input was inadequate or independent of haptic perception, tactual information was…

Experiment I showed that hearing subjects outperformed deaf subjects on a lipreading task, possibly because they could supplement lip-read stimuli with stored auditory information. Experiment II demonstrated that sighted subjects did not use stored visual information to supplement auditory input, for they performed no differently from congenitally…

Normal and learning disabled children were presented with visual and auditory items for free and cued recall. Deficits in semantically cued recall for children with one impaired modality originated at presentation time, perhaps because of separate pathways linking the auditory and visual modalities to the semantic system. (Author/RD)