Presented is experimental evidence that humans develop strong preferences for objects that become familiar through repeated exposure, even when the exposures are so degraded that they cannot be discriminated as stimuli previously seen. Implications are made regarding other studies where affective discriminations are made with very little stimulus…

Nineteen normal male subjects received one milligram of physotigmine or one milligram of saline by slow intravenous infusion on two nonconsecutive days. Physostigmine significantly enhanced storage of information into long-term memory. Retrieval of information from long-term memory was improved. Short-term memory processes were not significantly…

Reviews a study which sought to obtain a quantitative metabolic map of the neurons mediating a specific memory. Research results support notions of cooperative processes in which nonrandom behavior of high ensembles of neural elements mediates the integration and processing of information and the retrieval of memory. (ML)

Reports effects of context that are entirely perceptual. Visual discrimination was enhanced when line segments were flashed in a region that was perceived as a figure. Discrimination was substantially degraded when the same region was seen as ground although the physical stimulus remained identical throughout figure-ground reversals. (Author/JN)

The effects of particular drugs in human memory abilities was examined. The degree of memory enhancement produced by arecholine and choline and the impairment after scopolamaine were inversely proportional to the subject's performance in placebo; that is, "poor" performers were more vulnerable to the drugs than were "good" performers. (Author/CP)

Examines earlier studies relating to human memory, extracts estimates of parameters that appear to be crucial to performance in complex tasks, and illustrates how these parameter values predict behavior in a range of laboratory situations. (JR)

This article reviews the work on patients who have undergone partial or complete brain bisection and addresses the concept of modularity from three different perspectives: (1) structure-function correlations; (2) modular components of cognitive processes; and (3) integration of modular processes. Several brain pictures and diagrams are presented.…

Through the use of learned symbols, two chimpanzees accurately specified 11 foods by name to one another when the food item's identity was known by only one and requested specific food of one another by name. Requests resulted in cooperative and reciprocal symbolically mediated food exchange. (Author/MA)

Considers the definition of learning as usefully applied to lower animals in instances of trained food-aversion behavior as a viable instance of associative learning. (SL)

Explains the hierarchic structure of the mammalian visual system. Proposes a model in which feedback pathways serve to modify sensory stimuli in ways that enhance and complete sensory input patterns. Investigates the functioning of the system through computer simulations. (ML)

Focuses on the brain processes and brain systems involved in learning and memory from a neuropsychological perspective of analysis. Reports findings related to the locus of memory storage, types of memory and knowledge, and memory consolidation. Models of animal memory are also examined. An extensive reference list is included. (ML)

Assesses the sensory and cognitive functions in a right-handed male before and after partial and complete callosal commissurotomy. (Author/SK)

Traces the history and function of State, Operator, And Result (SOAR), a general-purpose artificial intelligence program for solving problems. The SOAR can "chunk" the result of a subgoal and learn from previous experiences. The SOAR could be applied to various expert systems. (YP)

Describes recent research findings in the area of neurobiology and its relationship to learning and memory. The article provides definitions of associative and nonassociative learning, identifies essential memory trace circuits of the mammalian brain, and discusses some neural mechanisms of learning. (TW)