March 2000 | Monitor on Psychology | Vol. 31 No. 3
COVER: From bran scan to lesson plan
- Brain studies point to inefficient connections in people with dyslexia
This "processing-speed deficit" likely results from having less efficient connections between various portions of the brain, some of which are critical to reading.
- Food for thought: Glucose is good for learning and memory
Some swear by protein-rich eggs and sausage, but according to recent brain research, potatoes, bread and other low-fat carbohydrates are a better bet.
- Funding sources for brain-imaging research on learning
This page provides a list of the funding organizations and agencies that support basic and applied brain-imaging research on learning disability and other aspects of learning and cognition.
- Watching the brain at work
Advances in medical imaging allow neuroscientists to track "functional" changes in the brain--shifting patterns of blood flow or electrical activity as people perform learning tasks.
- From brain scan to lesson plan
Neuroscientists are uncovering how the human brain learns, and will soon be able to translate that knowledge to the classroom.
- What's the link between speed and reading in children with dyslexia?
Researchers debate whether dyslexia stems from a breakdown in the brain's ability to process fast-paced information or from a language-specific deficit.
SCIENCE WATCH
A finding that mother baboons don't return the calls of their lost infants adds to evidence that monkeys lack a theory of mind. A field study in Chacma baboons boosts theories that monkeys don't develop the ability to understand the plight of others.
IN BRIEF
- Sexual identity is far from fixed in women who aren't exclusively heterosexual
- Study finds high rates of CFS in minorities, people with less education
- Unplanned Cesarean deliveries mar mothers' experience of childbirth
- Zigler wins prestigious Heinz award
- New theory on the making of a false memory
- Researchers need to look at more than census data to examine a neighborhood's health, article suggests
- Drastic dieting usually leads to weight gain, study finds
- NSF names a psychologist to head its behavioral and social sciences program
- Empathy with victim determines views on sexual harassment
- New Web site demystifies data-sharing regulation
- NIH programs seek to increase research relevance to practice
TIME CAPSULE
FEATURES
More psychologists find they can make a broader impact by working in their communities.
Logan Wright, former APA president, saw not only what was, but what could be.
To John Bruer, cognitive psychology is the critical bridge between brain science and education.
The largest-ever study of child care finds little evidence that out-of-home care harms development in the first three years, but long-term effects are still unknown.
Q & A NASA's science chief sees new research opportunities cropping up for psychologists.
The next two years may see critical expansion and new influences on programs.
More psychologists are beginning to recognize--and cope with--their own stress and burnout.
The fight for patients' right to sue managed-care firms seems headed for a showdown.
State and provincial leaders meet with APA this month.
Psychologists are building on tribal life and spiritual beliefs to help American Indians solve mental health problems.
A shortage of American Indian providers has graduate programs scrambling to train more of them.
At a meeting this spring, participants will discuss finding a niche outside the medical model of care.
An APA-sponsored program serves as a clearinghouse to bring ethnic-minority students and psychology programs together.
Students get a taste of serving on the faculty of various institutions.
PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE
APA BOOK NOTES
A landmark APA-Oxford reference work features the work of 1,400 contributors.
COLUMNS
In the Public Interest
The Surgeon General's report: an important beginningJudicial Notebook
Supreme Court revisits Miranda warningsPresident's Column
The critical importance of public policy involvementProfessional Point
A psychological model for prescribing
