Memory and learning

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡعِلۡمَ وَٱلۡإِيمَٰنَ لَقَدۡ لَبِثۡتُمۡ فِي كِتَٰبِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ ٱلۡبَعۡثِۖ فَهَٰذَا يَوۡمُ ٱلۡبَعۡثِ وَلَٰكِنَّكُمۡ كُنتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ

but those endowed with knowledge and faith will say, ‘In accordance with God’s decree, you actually lingered till the Day of Resurrection: this is the Day of Resurrection, yet you did not know.’

وَٱتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتۡلُواْ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلۡكِ سُلَيۡمَٰنَۖ وَمَا كَفَرَ سُلَيۡمَٰنُ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحۡرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَكَيۡنِ بِبَابِلَ هَٰرُوتَ وَمَٰرُوتَۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ فِتۡنَةࣱ فَلَا تَكۡفُرۡۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنۡهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيۡنَ ٱلۡمَرۡءِ وَزَوۡجِهِۦۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمۡ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمۡۚ وَلَقَدۡ عَلِمُواْ لَمَنِ ٱشۡتَرَىٰهُ مَا لَهُۥ فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ مِنۡ خَلَٰقࣲۚ وَلَبِئۡسَ مَا شَرَوۡاْ بِهِۦٓ أَنفُسَهُمۡۚ لَوۡ كَانُواْ يَعۡلَمُونَ

and followed what the evil ones had fabricated about the Kingdom of Solomon instead. Not that Solomon himself was a disbeliever; it was the evil ones who were disbelievers. They taught people witchcraft and what was revealed in Babylon to the two angels Harut and Marut. Yet these two never taught anyone without first warning him, ‘We are sent only to tempt- do not disbelieve.’ From these two, they learned what can cause discord between man and wife, although they harm no one with it except by God’s leave. They learned what harmed them, not what benefited them, knowing full well that whoever gained [this knowledge] would lose any share in the Hereafter. Evil indeed is the [price] for which they sold their souls, if only they knew

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِذَا تَدَايَنتُم بِدَيۡنٍ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلࣲ مُّسَمࣰّ ى فَٱكۡتُبُوهُۚ وَلۡيَكۡتُب بَّيۡنَكُمۡ كَاتِبُۢ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِۚ وَلَا يَأۡبَ كَاتِبٌ أَن يَكۡتُبَ كَمَا عَلَّمَهُ ٱللَّهُۚ فَلۡيَكۡتُبۡ وَلۡيُمۡلِلِ ٱلَّذِي عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡحَقُّ وَلۡيَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ رَبَّهُۥ وَلَا يَبۡخَسۡ مِنۡهُ شَيۡـࣰٔ اۚ فَإِن كَانَ ٱلَّذِي عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡحَقُّ سَفِيهًا أَوۡ ضَعِيفًا أَوۡ لَا يَسۡتَطِيعُ أَن يُمِلَّ هُوَ فَلۡيُمۡلِلۡ وَلِيُّهُۥ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِۚ وَٱسۡتَشۡهِدُواْ شَهِيدَيۡنِ مِن رِّجَالِكُمۡۖ فَإِن لَّمۡ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيۡنِ فَرَجُلࣱ وَٱمۡرَأَتَانِ مِمَّن تَرۡضَوۡنَ مِنَ ٱلشُّهَدَآءِ أَن تَضِلَّ إِحۡدَىٰهُمَا فَتُذَكِّرَ إِحۡدَىٰهُمَا ٱلۡأُخۡرَىٰۚ وَلَا يَأۡبَ ٱلشُّهَدَآءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُواْۚ وَلَا تَسۡـَٔمُوٓاْ أَن تَكۡتُبُوهُ صَغِيرًا أَوۡ كَبِيرًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلِهِۦۚ ذَٰلِكُمۡ أَقۡسَطُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ وَأَقۡوَمُ لِلشَّهَٰدَةِ وَأَدۡنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَرۡتَابُوٓاْ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً حَاضِرَةࣰ تُدِيرُونَهَا بَيۡنَكُمۡ فَلَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٌ أَلَّا تَكۡتُبُوهَاۗ وَأَشۡهِدُوٓاْ إِذَا تَبَايَعۡتُمۡۚ وَلَا يُضَآرَّ كَاتِبࣱ وَلَا شَهِيدࣱۚ وَإِن تَفۡعَلُواْ فَإِنَّهُۥ فُسُوقُۢ بِكُمۡۗ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَۖ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ ٱللَّهُۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءٍ عَلِيمࣱ‏

You who believe, when you contract a debt for a stated term, put it down in writing: have a scribe write it down justly between you. No scribe should refuse to write: let him write as God has taught him, let the debtor dictate, and let him fear God, his Lord, and not diminish [the debt] at all. If the debtor is feeble-minded, weak, or unable to dictate, then let his guardian dictate justly. Call in two men as witnesses. If two men are not there, then call one man and two women out of those you approve as witnesses, so that if one of the two women should forget the other can remind her. Let the witnesses not refuse when they are summoned. Do not disdain to write the debt down, be it small or large, along with the time it falls due: this way is more equitable in God’s eyes, more reliable as testimony, and more likely to prevent doubts arising between you. But if the merchandise is there and you hand it over, there is no blame on you if you do not write it down. Have witnesses present whenever you trade with one another, and let no harm be done to either scribe or witness, for if you did cause them harm, it would be a crime on your part. Be mindful of God, and He will teach you: He has full knowledge of everything

وَلَن تَرۡضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلۡيَهُودُ وَلَا ٱلنَّصَٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمۡۗ قُلۡ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلۡهُدَىٰۗ وَلَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعۡتَ أَهۡوَآءَهُم بَعۡدَ ٱلَّذِي جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِيࣲّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

The Jews and the Christians will never be pleased with you unless you follow their ways. Say, ‘God’s guidance is the only true guidance.’ If you were to follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you would find no one to protect you from God or help you

وَلَئِنۡ أَتَيۡتَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ بِكُلِّ ءَايَةࣲ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبۡلَتَكَۚ وَمَآ أَنتَ بِتَابِعࣲ قِبۡلَتَهُمۡۚ وَمَا بَعۡضُهُم بِتَابِعࣲ قِبۡلَةَ بَعۡضࣲۚ وَلَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعۡتَ أَهۡوَآءَهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ إِنَّكَ إِذࣰ ا لَّمِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

Yet even if you brought every proof to those who were given the Scripture, they would not follow your prayer direction, nor will you follow theirs, nor indeed will any of them follow one another’s direction. If you [Prophet] were to follow their desires, after the knowledge brought to you, you would be doing wrong

وَقَالَ لَهُمۡ نَبِيُّهُمۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَدۡ بَعَثَ لَكُمۡ طَالُوتَ مَلِكࣰ اۚ قَالُوٓاْ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكُ عَلَيۡنَا وَنَحۡنُ أَحَقُّ بِٱلۡمُلۡكِ مِنۡهُ وَلَمۡ يُؤۡتَ سَعَةࣰ مِّنَ ٱلۡمَالِۚ قَالَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصۡطَفَىٰهُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَزَادَهُۥ بَسۡطَةࣰ فِي ٱلۡعِلۡمِ وَٱلۡجِسۡمِۖ وَٱللَّهُ يُؤۡتِي مُلۡكَهُۥ مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمࣱ‏

Their prophet said to them, ‘God has now appointed Talut to be your king,’ but they said, ‘How can he be king over us when we have a greater right to rule than he? He does not even have great wealth.’ He said, ‘God has chosen him over you, and has given him great knowledge and stature. God grants His authority to whoever He pleases: God is magnanimous, all knowing.’

(And follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon�) [2:102]. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Qantari informed us> Abu'l-Fadl al-Haddadi> Abu Yazid al-Khalidi> Ishaq ibn Ibrahim> Jarir> Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Rahman> 'Imran ibn al-Harith who said: �Once as we were sitting with Ibn 'Abbas when he said: 'The devils used to eavesdrop on heaven. One of them would bring a word of truth from therein, and when he is trusted for telling the truth, he would add to it seventy lies with which he earns the hearts of people. When Solomon came to know about it, he took it and buried it beneath his throne. When he died, a devil stood in the street and said: 'Shall I guide you to Solomon's guarded treasure, the like of which he does not have?' They said: 'Yes, do'. He said: 'It is under his throne; go and unearth it'. They said: 'This is magic'. Different nations then copied it f

But those who have been given knowledge and faith of angels and others shall say ‘You have remained according to God’s decree in accordance with what He had decreed for you in His prior knowledge until the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day of Resurrection which you rejected but you did not know’ that it would come to pass.

And on the Day that the Hour will be established, the criminals will swear that they stayed not but an hour – thus were they ever deluded (55)And those who have been bestowed with knowledge and Faith will say: "Indeed you have stayed according to the decree of Allah, until the Day of Resurrection; so this is the Day of Resurrection, but you knew not. (56)So, on that Day no excuse of theirs will avail those who did wrong, nor will they be allowed to return to seek (Allah's) pleasure (57) The Ignorance of the Disbelievers in this World and in the Hereafter Here Allah tells us of the ignorance of the disbelievers in this world and in the Hereafter. In this world they worship idols, and in the Hereafter they will also display great ignorance. They will swear by Allah that they did not even stay for one hour in this world. They will mean that there was not enough time given to establish pro

(And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the Christians�) [2:120]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �They used to ask the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, for truce, giving him the impression that if he were to accord them truce and respite they will follow him and believe in him. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. But Ibn �Abbas said: �This was revealed regarding the qiblah. This is because the Jews of Medina and the Christians of Najran were in the hope that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, will remain praying to their qiblah. When Allah directed him to pray toward the Ka�bah, they were disappointed and despaired of him ever following their religion. And so Allah revealed this verse�.

And they follow wa’ttaba‘ū is a supplement to nabadha ‘it cast away’ what the devils used to relate during the time of Solomon’s kingdom in the way of sorcery it is said that they the devils buried these books of sorcery underneath his throne when his kingdom was taken from him; it is also said that they used to listen stealthily and add fabrications to what they heard and then pass it on to the priests who would compile it in books; this would be disseminated and rumours spread that the jinn had knowledge of the Unseen. Solomon gathered these books and buried them. When he died the devils showed people where these books were and the latter brought them out and found that they contained sorcery and said ‘Your kingdom was only thanks to what is in here’; they then took to learning them and rejected the Scriptures of their prophets. In order to demonstrate Solomon’s innocence and in repudi

O you who believe when you contract when you are dealing with a debt such as in prepayment for future delivery of goods or a loan one upon another for a stated a known term write it down as confirmation and security against any dispute; and let a writer write it the contract of debt down between you justly accurately not increasing or decreasing the amount or the terms; and let not any writer refuse to write it down if he is requested for such a task as God has taught him the kāf of ka-mā ‘as’ is semantically connected to the verb ya’ba ‘refuse’ that is just as He has given him the advantage of knowing how to write he should not be niggardly in this respect; so let him write repeated for emphasis and let the debtor dictate to the one writing the contract for he is the one being witnessed and must be fully aware of his obligations; and let him fear God his Lord when dictating and not dimi

حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حُجْرٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأُمَوِيُّ، عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَتْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُقَطِّعُ قِرَاءَتَهُ يَقْرَأُ ‏(‏الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ‏)‏ ثُمَّ يَقِفُ ‏(‏ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ‏)‏ ثُمَّ يَقِفُ وَكَانَ يَقْرَؤُهَا ‏(‏مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ‏)‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ وَبِهِ يَقْرَأُ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ وَيَخْتَارُهُ هَكَذَا رَوَى يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأُمَوِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُ عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ وَلَيْسَ إِسْنَادُهُ بِمُتَّصِلٍ لأَنَّ اللَّيْثَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ رَوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ عَنْ يَعْلَى بْنِ مَمْلَكٍ عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ أَنَّهَا وَصَفَتْ قِرَاءَةَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَرْفًا حَرْفًا وَحَدِيثُ اللَّيْثِ أَصَحُّ وَلَيْسَ فِي حَدِيثِ اللَّيْثِ وَكَانَ يَقْرَأُ ‏(‏مَلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ‏)‏ ‏.‏

Narrated Ibn Abi Mulaikah:that Umm Salamah said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would separate recitation reciting: 'Al-Hamdulillahi Rabbil-'Alamin' then he would stop. 'Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim' then he would stop. And he would recite it: 'Maliki Yawmid-Din

حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْبَصْرِيُّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ثَابِتٌ الْبُنَانِيُّ، عَنْ شَهْرِ بْنِ حَوْشَبٍ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَقْرَؤُهَا ‏(‏إِنَّهُ عَمِلَ غَيْرَ صَالِحٍ ‏)‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ قَدْ رَوَاهُ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ ثَابِتٍ الْبُنَانِيِّ نَحْوَ هَذَا وَهُوَ حَدِيثُ ثَابِتٍ الْبُنَانِيِّ وَرُوِيَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ أَيْضًا عَنْ شَهْرِ بْنِ حَوْشَبٍ عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ بِنْتِ يَزِيدَ ‏.‏ وَسَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ بْنَ حُمَيْدٍ يَقُولُ أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ يَزِيدَ هِيَ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ الأَنْصَارِيَّةُ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى كِلاَ الْحَدِيثَيْنِ عِنْدِي وَاحِدٌ وَقَدْ رَوَى شَهْرُ بْنُ حَوْشَبٍ غَيْرَ حَدِيثٍ عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ الأَنْصَارِيَّةِ وَهِيَ أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ يَزِيدَ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوُ هَذَا ‏.‏

Narrated Umm Salamah:"The Prophet (ﷺ) would recite: 'Innahu 'Amila Ghaira Salih

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الأَعْرَجِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ابْنِ بُحَيْنَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّهُ قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَامَ مِنِ اثْنَتَيْنِ مِنَ الظُّهْرِ لَمْ يَجْلِسْ بَيْنَهُمَا، فَلَمَّا قَضَى صَلاَتَهُ سَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ ثُمَّ سَلَّمَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ‏.‏

Narrated `Abdullah bin Buhaina:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) got up after the second rak`a of the Zuhr prayer without sitting in between (the second and the third rak`at). When he finished the prayer he performed two prostrations (of Sahu) and then finished the prayer with Taslim

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنْ عَلْقَمَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلَّى الظُّهْرَ خَمْسًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ أَزِيدَ فِي الصَّلاَةِ فَقَالَ ‏ "‏ وَمَا ذَاكَ ‏"‏‏.‏ قَالَ صَلَّيْتَ خَمْسًا‏.‏ فَسَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ مَا سَلَّمَ‏.‏

Narrated' `Abdullah:Once Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) offered five rak`at in the Zuhr prayer, and somebody asked him whether there was some increase in the prayer. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "What is that?" He said, "You have offered five rak`at." So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) performed two prostrations of Sahu after Taslim

أَخْبَرَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا غَيْلاَنُ بْنُ جَرِيرٍ، عَنْ مُطَرِّفِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ صَلَّى عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ فَكَانَ يُكَبِّرُ فِي كُلِّ خَفْضٍ وَرَفْعٍ يُتِمُّ التَّكْبِيرَ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ لَقَدْ ذَكَّرَنِي هَذَا صَلاَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏

It was narrated that Mutarrif bin 'Abdullah said:"Ali bin Abi Talib prayed, and he said the takbir every time he went down and came up, in all movements of the prayer. 'Imran bin Husain said: 'This reminds me of the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

أَخْبَرَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الدَّوْرَقِيُّ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ عَطَاءٍ، عَنْ أَبِي حُمَيْدٍ السَّاعِدِيِّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُهُ يُحَدِّثُ، قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا قَامَ مِنَ السَّجْدَتَيْنِ كَبَّرَ وَرَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ حَتَّى يُحَاذِيَ بِهِمَا مَنْكِبَيْهِ كَمَا صَنَعَ حِينَ افْتَتَحَ الصَّلاَةَ ‏.‏

It was narrated from Abu Humaid As-Sa'idi that:When the Prophet (ﷺ) stood up following two prostrations, he would say the takbir and raise his hands until they were level with his shoulders, as he had done at the beginning of the prayer

وفيه سبعة أبواب الباب الأول في فضل العلم والتعليم والتعلم

وقال الزهري رحمه الله العلم ذكر ولا تحبه إلا ذكران الرجال فضيلة التعلم

وقيل أول العلم الصمت ثم الاستماع ثم الحفظ ثم العمل ثم نشره

| الفائدة الأولى التعليم والتعلم

فالمحتاج إلى التعلم لما هو فرض عليه عاص بالعزلة

والسفر هو المعين على التعلم في الابتداء

Cued memory reactivation during sleep influences skill learning.: Information acquired during waking can be reactivated during sleep, promoting memory stabilization. After people learned to produce two melodies in time with moving visual symbols, we enhanced relative performance by presenting one melody during an afternoon nap. Electrophysiological signs of memory processing during sleep corroborated the notion that appropriate auditory stimulation that does not disrupt sleep can nevertheless bias memory consolidation in relevant brain circuitry.

The effects of acute stress on episodic memory: A meta-analysis and integrative review.: A growing body of research has indicated that acute stress can critically impact memory. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in the literature, and important questions remain regarding the conditions under which stress effects emerge as well as basic questions about how stress impacts different phases of memory. In this meta-analysis, we examined 113 independent studies in humans with 6,216 participants that explored effects of stress on encoding, postencoding, retrieval, or postreact

Off-line learning of motor skill memory: a double dissociation of goal and movement.: Acquiring a new skill requires learning multiple aspects of a task simultaneously. For example, learning a piano sonata requires learning the musical notes and being able to implement this goal by learning the appropriate sequence of finger movements. After practice, skill continues to develop off-line during a period of consolidation. Here we show that different aspects of a procedural memory are processed separately during consolidation: Only the movement sequence is enhanced over the day; whe

The role of sleep in false memory formation.: Memories are not stored as exact copies of our experiences. As a result, remembering is subject not only to memory failure, but to inaccuracies and distortions as well. Although such distortions are often retained or even enhanced over time, sleep's contribution to the development of false memories is unknown. Here, we report that a night of sleep increases both veridical and false recall in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm, compared to an equivalent period of daytime wakefulness. But

Memory for therapy in bipolar disorder and comorbid insomnia.: Objective: To examine the extent to which patients recall the contents of therapy from 1 session to the next and to determine whether recall is associated with treatment outcome. Method: Thirty interepisode individuals with bipolar disorder and comorbid insomnia (ages 21-62 years, 56.7% women, 56.7% Caucasian) participated in a randomized controlled trial of psychotherapies. Patients received either cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBTI-BP; n = 17) or psychoeducation (PE; n = 13). At the

Computerized cognitive training in cognitively healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of effect modifiers.: Background: New effective interventions to attenuate age-related cognitive decline are a global priority. Computerized cognitive training (CCT) is believed to be safe and can be inexpensive, but neither its efficacy in enhancing cognitive performance in healthy older adults nor the impact of design factors on such efficacy has been systematically analyzed. Our aim therefore was to quantitatively assess whether CCT programs can enhance cognition in healthy older adults, discriminate responsive fr

Interns' perspectives about communicating bad news to patients: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Communicating bad news to patients and families is an essential skill for physicians but can be difficult for interns. Very little is known about skills in this area for interns in developing countries. Method: Two focus groups, consisting of a total of 12 interns, were conducted in the Seth G.S. Medical College and KEM Hospital in Mumbai, India. The grounded theory approach was used to identify common themes and concepts, which related to: (1) barriers in communicating bad news, (2) interns' confidence in communicating bad news, (3) interns' perceptions about their need for such training and (4) interns' suggested methods for training. Results: Interns described barriers in time constraints, language, their personal fears, patients' illiteracy, crowded wards with no privacy and lack of training. All interns lacked confidence in breaking news of death, but seven were confid…

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Worry, worry attacks, and PTSD among Cambodian refugees: a path analysis investigation.

Among traumatized Cambodian refugees, this article investigates worry (e.g., the types of current life concerns) and how worry worsens posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To explore how worry worsens PTSD, we examine a path model of worry to see whether certain key variables (e.g., worry-induced somatic arousal and worry-induced trauma recall) mediate the relationship between worry and PTSD. Survey data were collected from March 2010 until May 2010 in a convenience sample of 201 adult Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic in Massachusetts, USA. We found that worry was common in this group (65%), that worry was often about current life concerns (e.g., lacking financial resources, children not attending school, health concerns, concerns about relatives in Cambodia), and that worry often induced panic attacks: in the entire sample, 41% (83/201) of the patients had "worry attac…

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Music training and working memory: an ERP study.

While previous research has suggested that music training is associated with improvements in various cognitive and linguistic skills, the mechanisms mediating or underlying these associations are mostly unknown. Here, we addressed the hypothesis that previous music training is related to improved working memory. Using event-related potentials (ERPs) and a standardized test of working memory, we investigated both neural and behavioral aspects of working memory in college-aged, non-professional musicians and non-musicians. Behaviorally, musicians outperformed non-musicians on standardized subtests of visual, phonological, and executive memory. ERPs were recorded in standard auditory and visual oddball paradigms (participants responded to infrequent deviant stimuli embedded in lists of standard stimuli). Electrophysiologically, musicians demonstrated faster updating of working memory (short…

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A selective role for dopamine in stimulus-reward learning.

Individuals make choices and prioritize goals using complex processes that assign value to rewards and associated stimuli. During Pavlovian learning, previously neutral stimuli that predict rewards can acquire motivational properties, becoming attractive and desirable incentive stimuli. However, whether a cue acts solely as a predictor of reward, or also serves as an incentive stimulus, differs between individuals. Thus, individuals vary in the degree to which cues bias choice and potentially promote maladaptive behaviour. Here we use rats that differ in the incentive motivational properties they attribute to food cues to probe the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in stimulus-reward learning. We show that intact dopamine transmission is not required for all forms of learning in which reward cues become effective predictors. Rather, dopamine acts selectively in a form of stimulus-rew…

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Hope over experience: desirability and the persistence of optimism.

Many important decisions hinge on expectations of future outcomes. Decisions about health, investments, and relationships all depend on predictions of the future. These expectations are often optimistic: People frequently believe that their preferred outcomes are more likely than is merited. Yet it is unclear whether optimism persists with experience and, surprisingly, whether optimism is truly caused by desire. These are important questions because life's most consequential decisions often feature both strong preferences and the opportunity to learn. We investigated these questions by collecting football predictions from National Football League fans during each week of the 2008 season. Despite accuracy incentives and extensive feedback, predictions about preferred teams remained optimistically biased through the entire season. Optimism was as strong after 4 months as it was after 4 wee…

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Relative contributions of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and self-handicapping in predicting student procrastination.

The relative contributions of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and self-handicapping student procrastination were explored. College undergraduate participants (N = 138; 40 men, 97 women, one not reporting sex) filled out the Procrastination Scale, the Self-Handicapping Scale-Short Form, and the Self-regulation and Self-handicapping scales of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire. A hierarchical regression of the above measures indicated that self-efficacy, self-regulation, and self-handicapping all predicted scores on the Procrastination Scale, but self-regulation fully accounted for the predictive power of self-efficacy. The results suggested self-regulation and self-handicapping predict procrastination independently. These findings are discussed in relation to the literature on the concept of "self-efficacy for self-regulation" and its use in the field of procrastination r…

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Deficits in positive reinforcement learning and uncertainty-driven exploration are associated with distinct aspects of negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Background: Negative symptoms are core features of schizophrenia (SZ); however, the cognitive and neural basis for individual negative symptom domains remains unclear. Converging evidence suggests a role for striatal and prefrontal dopamine in reward learning and the exploration of actions that might produce outcomes that are better than the status quo. The current study examines whether deficits in reinforcement learning and uncertainty-driven exploration predict specific negative symptom domains. Methods: We administered a temporal decision-making task, which required trial-by-trial adjustment of reaction time to maximize reward receipt, to 51 patients with SZ and 39 age-matched healthy control subjects. Task conditions were designed such that expected value (probability × magnitude) increased, decreased, or remained constant with increasing response times. Computational analyses were …

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Speed/accuracy trade-off between the habitual and the goal-directed processes.

Instrumental responses are hypothesized to be of two kinds: habitual and goal-directed, mediated by the sensorimotor and the associative cortico-basal ganglia circuits, respectively. The existence of the two heterogeneous associative learning mechanisms can be hypothesized to arise from the comparative advantages that they have at different stages of learning. In this paper, we assume that the goal-directed system is behaviourally flexible, but slow in choice selection. The habitual system, in contrast, is fast in responding, but inflexible in adapting its behavioural strategy to new conditions. Based on these assumptions and using the computational theory of reinforcement learning, we propose a normative model for arbitration between the two processes that makes an approximately optimal balance between search-time and accuracy in decision making. Behaviourally, the model can explain exp…

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Disentangling the roles of approach, activation and valence in instrumental and pavlovian responding.

Hard-wired, Pavlovian, responses elicited by predictions of rewards and punishments exert significant benevolent and malevolent influences over instrumentally-appropriate actions. These influences come in two main groups, defined along anatomical, pharmacological, behavioural and functional lines. Investigations of the influences have so far concentrated on the groups as a whole; here we take the critical step of looking inside each group, using a detailed reinforcement learning model to distinguish effects to do with value, specific actions, and general activation or inhibition. We show a high degree of sophistication in Pavlovian influences, with appetitive Pavlovian stimuli specifically promoting approach and inhibiting withdrawal, and aversive Pavlovian stimuli promoting withdrawal and inhibiting approach. These influences account for differences in the instrumental performance of ap…

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Primary food reward and reward-predictive stimuli evoke different patterns of phasic dopamine signaling throughout the striatum.

Phasic changes in dopamine activity play a critical role in learning and goal-directed behavior. Unpredicted reward and reward-predictive cues evoke phasic increases in the firing rate of the majority of midbrain dopamine neurons--results that predict uniformly broadcast increases in dopamine concentration throughout the striatum. However, measurement of dopamine concentration changes during reward has cast doubt on this prediction. We systematically measured phasic changes in dopamine in four striatal subregions [nucleus accumbens shell and core (Core), dorsomedial (DMS) and dorsolateral striatum] in response to stimuli known to activate a majority of dopamine neurons. We used fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in awake and behaving rats, which measures changes in dopamine on a similar timescale to the electrophysiological recordings that established a relationship between phasic dopamine act…

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Understanding patients' experiences of treatment burden in chronic heart failure using normalization process theory.

Purpose: Our goal was to assess the burden associated with treatment among patients living with chronic heart failure and to determine whether Normalization Process Theory (NPT) is a useful framework to help describe the components of treatment burden in these patients. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of qualitative interview data, using framework analysis, informed by NPT, to determine the components of patient "work." Participants were 47 patients with chronic heart failure managed in primary care in the United Kingdom who had participated in an earlier qualitative study about living with this condition. We identified and examined data that fell outside of the coding frame to determine if important concepts or ideas were being missed by using the chosen theoretical framework. Results: We were able to identify and describe components of treatment burden as distinct from illne…

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Attention for learning signals in anterior cingulate cortex.

Learning theory suggests that animals attend to pertinent environmental cues when reward contingencies unexpectedly change so that learning can occur. We have previously shown that activity in basolateral nucleus of amygdala (ABL) responds to unexpected changes in reward value, consistent with unsigned prediction error signals theorized by Pearce and Hall. However, changes in activity were present only at the time of unexpected reward delivery, not during the time when the animal needed to attend to conditioned stimuli that would come to predict the reward. This suggested that a different brain area must be signaling the need for attention necessary for learning. One likely candidate to fulfill this role is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). To test this hypothesis, we recorded from single neurons in ACC as rats performed the same behavioral task that we have used to dissociate signed …

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Episodic memory retrieval, parietal cortex, and the default mode network: functional and topographic analyses.

The default mode network (DMN) is often considered a functionally homogeneous system that is broadly associated with internally directed cognition (e.g., episodic memory, theory of mind, self-evaluation). However, few studies have examined how this network interacts with other networks during putative "default" processes such as episodic memory retrieval. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the topography and response profile of human parietal regions inside and outside the DMN, independently defined using task-evoked deactivations and resting-state functional connectivity, during episodic memory retrieval. Memory retrieval activated posterior nodes of the DMN, particularly the angular gyrus, but also more anterior and dorsal parietal regions that were anatomically separate from the DMN. The two sets of parietal regions showed different resting-state functional c…

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Rumination in the laboratory: what happens when you go back to everyday life?

Rumination has been suggested to mediate the physiological consequences of stress on health. We studied the effects of rumination evoked in the laboratory and subsequent changes over 24 h. Heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were monitored in 27 male and 33 female participants during baseline, reading, an anger recall interview, and recovery. Half of the sample was assigned to a distraction condition. The lab session was followed by a 24-hour ambulatory (A)HR and BP recording and self-reports of moods and rumination. Rumination was associated with higher SBP, DBP, and HR and increased negative mood compared to distraction. Rumination during the day was a strong predictor of AHR, ABP, and mood. BP reactivity in the laboratory and increases in ABP during rumination were related. The effects of negative cognition on health go far beyond the recovery periods …

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Learning from patients: students' perceptions of patient-instructors.

Objectives: Prior research on the use of patients as teachers has focused on testing the effectiveness of this practice and exploring its benefits for students. However, very little is known about the added value of patient teaching and how it relates to patient-centred learning. The aim of this study was to explore whether there is added value in using patients as instructors in health professions education and, if there is, to examine how it is constituted. Methods: Group interviews were conducted with physiotherapy and occupational therapy students who had attended a 3-hour optional class entitled 'Thoughtful joint examination and respectful patient contact'. This class was delivered by patient-instructors (PIs), who were patients with rheumatism certified to teach. A semi-structured interview guide was used. Interviews continued until data saturation occurred (seven interviews). The …

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Patterns of brain activity supporting autobiographical memory, prospection, and theory of mind, and their relationship to the default mode network.

The ability to rise above the present environment and reflect upon the past, the future, and the minds of others is a fundamentally defining human feature. It has been proposed that these three self-referential processes involve a highly interconnected core set of brain structures known as the default mode network (DMN). The DMN appears to be active when individuals are engaged in stimulus-independent thought. This network is a likely candidate for supporting multiple processes, but this idea has not been tested directly. We used fMRI to examine brain activity during autobiographical remembering, prospection, and theory-of-mind reasoning. Using multivariate analyses, we found a common pattern of neural activation underlying all three processes in the DMN. In addition, autobiographical remembering and prospection engaged midline DMN structures to a greater degree and theory-of-mind reason…

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Mechanisms underlying dopamine-mediated reward bias in compulsive behaviors.

Pathological behaviors such as problem gambling or shopping are characterized by compulsive choice despite alternative options and negative costs. Reinforcement learning algorithms allow a computation of prediction error, a comparison of actual and expected outcomes, which updates our predictions and influences our subsequent choices. Using a reinforcement learning model, we show data consistent with the idea that dopamine agonists in susceptible individuals with Parkinson's disease increase the rate of learning from gain outcomes. Dopamine agonists also increase striatal prediction error activity, thus signifying a "better than expected" outcome. Thus, our findings are consistent with a model whereby a distorted estimation of the gain cue underpins a choice bias toward gains.

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A pallidus-habenula-dopamine pathway signals inferred stimulus values.

The reward value of a stimulus can be learned through two distinct mechanisms: reinforcement learning through repeated stimulus-reward pairings and abstract inference based on knowledge of the task at hand. The reinforcement mechanism is often identified with midbrain dopamine neurons. Here we show that a neural pathway controlling the dopamine system does not rely exclusively on either stimulus-reward pairings or abstract inference but instead uses a combination of the two. We trained monkeys to perform a reward-biased saccade task in which the reward values of two saccade targets were related in a systematic manner. Animals used each trial's reward outcome to learn the values of both targets: the target that had been presented and whose reward outcome had been experienced (experienced value) and the target that had not been presented but whose value could be inferred from the reward st…

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Neurofeedback: A promising tool for the self-regulation of emotion networks.

Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) affords the opportunity to explore the feasibility of self-regulation of functional brain networks through neurofeedback. We localised emotion networks individually in thirteen participants using fMRI and trained them to upregulate target areas, including the insula and amygdala. Participants achieved a high degree of control of these networks after a brief training period. We observed activation increases during periods of upregulation of emotion networks in the precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex and, with increasing training success, in the ventral striatum. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of fMRI-based neurofeedback of emotion networks and suggest a possible development into a therapeutic tool.

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Amplifications and applications of Pennebaker's analogic to digital model in health promotion, prevention, and psychotherapy.

This article expands on James Pennebaker's original model in expressive writing, going from an Analogically unclear and unspecified experiential mass (A) to a Digital specification in words (D). Amplifications of this model are found in philosophy, psychodynamic theory and in Salience learning theory. Applications of this model involve expressive writing, going from ambiguous experiences (A) to using the Dictionary (D), and responding to Sentences with strong psychological impact (S). The undefined and ill-defined analogical mass is constituted by traumas in Pennebaker's work and hurt feelings in L'Abate's and Vangelisti's works. Implications of these approaches for the practice of health promotion, prevention and psychotherapy are discussed. 

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Enhanced habit-based learning and decreased neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus in a murine model of chronic social stress.

Stress can induce preferential engagement of habit learning mediated by the basal ganglia, relative to learning that involves complex spatial associations contributed by the hippocampal formation. We explored in mice the influence that chronic episodes of social stress exert on the selection of cognitive/spatial vs. habit-based learning strategies. Male mice were exposed to repeated episodes of social confrontation and were categorized as dominant, subordinate or undetermined according to quantitative ethologically relevant parameters of aggression. Mice were then trained in a conditional discrimination task in the T-maze in the presence of allocentric cues until five correct choices were made. The T-maze was then turned 180 degrees and mice were categorized as "cue-learners" or "place-learners" on the basis of their first response in the probe test. Mice showed a graded preference for p…

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Attachment working models twist memories of relationship events.

The information that people remember about their relationships should be affected by their attachment orientations. This study investigated changes in individuals' memories of their own behavior during conflict-resolution discussions with their romantic partners. One week after each couple engaged in two videotaped conflict discussions, each partner's memory of the discussions was assessed. Memory biases were systematically related to attachment orientations. More avoidant individuals, for example, remembered being less supportive than they reported initially if they were relatively distressed during the discussions, whereas the opposite was true of less avoidant persons. More anxious individuals remembered being less emotionally distant than they reported initially if they were relatively distressed during the discussions, whereas the opposite was true of less anxious persons. We discus…

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Medical student engagement and leadership within a new learning community.

Background: Many medical schools are establishing learning communities to foster cohesion among students and to strengthen relationships between students and faculty members. Emerging learning communities require nurturing and attention; this represents an opportunity wherein medical students can become involved as leaders. This study sought to understand issues related to active involvement among students who chose to become highly engaged in a newly developed learning community. Methods: Between April and June 2008, 36 students who assumed leadership roles within the Colleges Program were queried electronically with open-ended questions about their engagement. Qualitative analysis of the written responses was independently performed by two investigators; coding was compared for agreement. Content analysis identified major themes. Results: 35 students (97%) completed the questionnaire. …

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Training of working memory impacts structural connectivity.

Working memory is the limited capacity storage system involved in the maintenance and manipulation of information over short periods of time. Individual capacity of working memory is associated with the integrity of white matter in the frontoparietal regions. It is unknown to what extent the integrity of white matter underlying the working memory system is plastic. Using voxel-based analysis (VBA) of fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of fiber tracts, we investigated the effect of working memory training on structural connectivity in an interventional study. The amount of working memory training correlated with increased FA in the white matter regions adjacent to the intraparietal sulcus and the anterior part of the body of the corpus callosum after training. These results showed training-induced plasticity in regions that are thought to be critical in working memory. As changes in myel…

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Counterfactual thinking and emotions: regret and envy learning.

Emotions like regret and envy share a common origin: they are motivated by the counterfactual thinking of what would have happened had we made a different choice. When we contemplate the outcome of a choice we made, we may use the information on the outcome of a choice we did not make. Regret is the purely private comparison between two choices that we could have taken, envy adds to this the information on outcome of choices of others. However, envy has a distinct social component, in that it adds the change in the social ranking that follows a difference in the outcomes. We study the theoretical foundation and the experimental test of this view.

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