this paper examines the theoretical rationales and practical aspects of task-based language teaching (tblt) with particular reference to research findings in efl/esl contexts. the definitional scope of the term ‘task’, polarizations in terms of task vs. non-task, and its relation to different language teaching approaches have engendered conceptual and methodological ambiguities.  moreover, fact...

A large corpus of work demonstrates that observing other people's actions activates corresponding motor representations in the observer by running an internal simulation of the observed action. Recent evidence suggests that recalled action plans reflect a plan of how the observer would execute that action (based on the specific motor representation) rather than a plan of the actually observed a...

9 10 Abstract We created a novel eye movement version of the 11 n-back task to measure spatial working memory (WM). 12 Rather than one continuous trial, discrete trials were 13 presented in order to develop a simpler WM task. In 14 Experiment 1, we varied the visibility of the final stimulus 15 to maximize the difference in performance between 0-back 16 and 1-back tasks (WM effect). In Experime...

The functional organization of working memory (WM) in the human prefrontal cortex remains unclear. The present study used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to clarify the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) both in the types of information (verbal vs. spatial), and the types of processes (maintenance vs. manipulation). Subjects performed three independent experi...

Neuroimaging studies have suggested the involvement of ventrolateral, dorsolateral, and frontopolar prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions in both working (WM) and long-term memory (LTM). The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to directly compare whether these PFC regions show selective activation associated with one memory domain. In a within-subjects design, subjects per...

Abstract A growing body of research suggests that bilingualism may afford benefits to certain aspects cognitive functioning. Inconsistent findings arise because methodological differences within and across studies. One limitation is studies often compare linguistically similar languages. The present study recorded brain activity (event-related potentials; ERPs) while English monolinguals, Engli...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To better understand the effects of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on working memory performance. We first examined the construct validity of a working memory task (the 2-Back task) and its relationship to other tests of cognitive functioning, and then determined the effects of positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment on measures of both working memory and its related component p...

Neurofeedback is a promising tool for treatment and rehabilitation of several patient groups. In this proof of principle study, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) based neurofeedback of frontal cortical areas was investigated in healthy adults. Main aims were the assessment of learning, the effects on performance in a working memory (n-back) task and the impact of applied strategies on regulatio...

Pain influences both attention and motor behavior. We used a dual-task interference paradigm to investigate (1) alterations in attentional performance, (2) the ability switch task prioritization, (3) effect of demand on trunk coordination during narrow-based walking out painful episode individuals with recurrent low back pain (LBP). tested twenty young adults LBP compared them matched back-heal...