Simulating Events as They Happen

The context repetition effect: predicted events are remembered better, even when they don't happen.

A key function of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) is to generate predictions based on prior experience (Bar, 2009). We propose that these MTL-generated predictions guide learning, such that predictions from memory influence memory itself. Considering this proposal within a context-based theory of learning and memory leads to the unique hypothesis that the act of predicting an event from the curr...

The Swift satellite lives up to its name, revealing cosmic explosions as they happen.

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful objects in the Universe. Discovered in the 1960s as brief flashes of gamma radiation, we now know that they emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, are located in distant galaxies and comprise two distinct populations, one of which may originate in the deaths of massive stars. The launch of the Swift satellite in 2004 brought a flurry of new disco...

Risk Management Failures: What Are They and When Do They Happen?

Medication errors: what they are, how they happen, and how to avoid them.

A medication error is a failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has the potential to lead to, harm to the patient. Medication errors can occur in deciding which medicine and dosage regimen to use (prescribing faults--irrational, inappropriate, and ineffective prescribing, underprescribing, overprescribing); writing the prescription (prescription errors); manufacturing the formulation...

Adverse Events Following Immunization: Will It Happen Again?

Parents may come to well-child checkup appointments equipped with lists of questions about vaccine safety and effectiveness. In this context, pediatricians may struggle to explain the value of vaccines when confronted with a difficult situation: an actual untoward event after administration of childhood vaccines. Often referred to as an adverse event following immunization (AEFI), 6 these event...