Jelle Jolles - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jelle Jolles

Children with a rich home literacy environment generally show better reading comprehension. For c... more Children with a rich home literacy environment generally show better reading comprehension. For children in the higher grades of primary school, this relation is thought to be indirect. We propose a model in which this relation ran via children’s higher order language and cognitive skills (i.e., expressive verbal ability and mentalizing ability) and via print exposure. In our correlational study with 117 children ages 8–11, we found both a direct relation between children’s home literacy environment and reading comprehension and 2 indirect relations: via children’s print exposure and via mentalizing abilities. There was no significant indirect relation via expressive verbal abilities. Our findings imply that enhancing children’s mentalizing abilities and encouraging them to read books might contribute to their reading comprehension. In addition, parental involvement in children’s reading activities can contribute to their reading performance, both directly and indirectly, even in this age group.

We examined the role of mental imagery skills on story comprehension in 150 fifth graders (10-to ... more We examined the role of mental imagery skills on story comprehension in 150 fifth graders (10-to 12-year-olds), when reading a narrative book chapter with alternating words and pictures (i.e., text blocks were alternated by one-or two-page picture spreads). A parallel group design was used, in which we compared our experimental book version, in which pictures were used to replace parts of the corresponding text, to two control versions, i.e., a text-only version and a version with the full story text and all pictures. Analyses showed an interaction between mental imagery and book version: children with higher mental imagery skills outperformed children with lower mental imagery skills on story comprehension after reading the experimental narrative. This was not the case for both control conditions. This suggests that children's mental imagery skills significantly contributed to the mental representation of the story that they created, by successfully integrating information from both words and pictures. The results emphasize the importance of mental imagery skills for explaining individual variability in reading development. Implications for educational practice are that we should find effective ways to instruct children how to " read " pictures and how to develop and use their mental imagery skills. This will probably contribute to their mental models and therefore their story comprehension.

We investigated the relationship between individual differences in acute fatigue and endogenous c... more We investigated the relationship between individual differences in acute fatigue and endogenous cortisol changes elicited by the sustained performance of cognitively demanding tasks (fatigue condition). Healthy males provided salivary cortisol measurements and subjective fatigue ratings, and were scanned (functional magnetic resonance imaging) during memory encoding and recognition tasks in fatigue and control conditions. A group of 15 'responders' showed significantly higher cortisol levels in the fatigue condition than 12 'non-responders'. Responders showed higher subjective fatigue and reduced encoding and recognition activation than non-responders in the fatigue condition. An interaction in activation changes in the right hippocampus during encoding reflected decreased activation in responders, but somewhat increased activation in non-responders in the fatigue compared to control condition. Moreover , decreased hippocampal activation in responders was associated with increased subjective fatigue. Findings are consistent with a central role for the hippocampus in differences between responders and non-responders and also implicate the right hippocampus in individual differences in induced cognitive fatigue effects.

Schizophrenia Research, Aug 31, 2007

Background: Hearing impairment (HI) in the elderly may be a risk factor for psychosis, but associ... more Background: Hearing impairment (HI) in the elderly may be a risk factor for psychosis, but associations between HI and psychotic disorder or psychotic experiences have been reported more consistently in younger than in older populations. The aims of this study were to replicate the positive association between hearing impairment and psychotic experiences and to clarify any differences between groups of young and old individuals in a non-clinical, normal aging general population sample. Methods: HI, assessed at baseline and at 3-year follow-up, and psychotic experiences, assessed at 3-year follow-up, were analysed in a group of 848 individuals aged 33 to 89 years between 1999 and 2004. HI was determined on the basis of both self-report and audiometric examination. The "psychoticism" and "paranoid ideation" subscales from the SCL-90-R were used to assess level of psychotic experiences. Results: Self-reported hearing problems expressed as conversational HI (β = 0.080, 95% CI: 0.23, 7.90, p = 0.038) and subjective HI (β = 0.087, 95%CI: 0.70, 10.30, p = 0.025), but not audiometric objective HI, were associated with psychotic experiences. In those with hearing aids, associations with psychotic experiences were only present if accompanied by self-reported hearing problems that persisted in spite of the hearing aid. In addition, HI increased the risk for psychotic experiences specifically in younger rather than older individuals. Conclusions: Self-reported hearing problems rather than audiometric or remediated hearing loss may contribute to the development of psychotic experiences in younger rather than in older individuals.

Neuropsychologia, 2000

From a review of the literature on the consequences of thalamic infarctions, it may be concluded ... more From a review of the literature on the consequences of thalamic infarctions, it may be concluded that memory problems taking the form of an amnesic syndrome are dependent upon the integrity of the mammillo-thalamic tract (MTT). Memory problems incompatible with an amnesic syndrome however, appear to result from thalamic infarctions involving other areas of the thalamus but which leave MTT intact. In contrast, executive dysfunctions could not be shown so readily to depend upon a single structure of the thalamus. The results indicate that damage to the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, the midline nuclei or the intralaminar nuclei, or a combined lesion of these structures may be responsible for de®cits of executive functioning. #

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher perceptions and children's ... more The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher perceptions and children's reading motivation, with specific attention to gender differences. The reading self-concept, task value, and attitude of 160 fifth and sixth graders were measured. Teachers rated each student's reading comprehension. Results showed that for boys, teacher expectations had no influence on the three constructs of reading motivation measured, whereas for girls, teacher expectations did predict reading self-concept and value of reading. The results provide evidence that the relationship between motivational factors and teacher perceptions is different for boys and girls. The implications for educational practice are addressed.

In het praktijkonderzoek werd in kaart gebracht welke ervaringen leerkrachten hebben met nieuwsg... more In het praktijkonderzoek werd in kaart gebracht welke
ervaringen leerkrachten hebben met nieuwsgierigheid in de
klas. De leerkracht is immers de motor van de talentontwikkeling van het kind. Hoe belangrijk vinden leerkrachten
nieuwsgierigheid? Is hun mening misschien afhankelijk van
de leeftijd van het kind? En welke factoren bepalen of het lukt
om de nieuwsgierigheid van kinderen aan te wakkeren en
te stimuleren in de klas? Om deze vragen te beantwoorden
hebben wij een gestructureerd interview en een korte vragenlijst afgenomen bij leerkrachten in het primair onderwijs.

Hoe stimuleer je het verhalen vertellen, verwonderen en verbeelden bij kinderen? En waarom is dat... more Hoe stimuleer je het verhalen vertellen, verwonderen en verbeelden bij kinderen? En waarom is dat nodig? Het Centrum Brein & Leren (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) evalueerde het traject De Schoolschrijver, waarin kinderboekenschrijvers in het hart van het primair onderwijs staan om kinderen enthousiast te maken voor verhalen, lezen en schrijven. In het voorjaar van 2014 deden vijf basisscholen in Amsterdam mee aan deze evaluatie. Dit onderzoeksrapport geeft een uitgebreide analyse van de ervaringen van leerlingen, leerkrachten en schrijvers met dit traject. Op grond hiervan zijn aanbevelingen geformuleerd. Daarin gaat het over creatief denken en schrijven, over voorlezen en over wat school, leerkrachten en ouders kunnen doen om de taal- en schrijfvaardigheden en de fantasie te stimuleren. Er is een verkorte versie van de resultaten en aanbevelingen beschikbaar in de vorm van een publieksfolder.

Probleemoplossend en creatief, grensverleggend denken zijn nieuwe vaardigheden waaraan gewerkt wo... more Probleemoplossend en creatief, grensverleggend denken zijn nieuwe vaardigheden waaraan gewerkt wordt op de basisschool. Hoe kun je het creatief denken en de nieuwsgierigheid van je leerlingen stimuleren?

This study aimed to evaluate determinants of differences in leisure reading behavior and school a... more This study aimed to evaluate determinants of differences in leisure reading behavior and school achievement. We specifically examined reading enjoyment, mental imagery, and sex as predictors in a large, age-homogeneous sample of Dutch secondary school students (N = 1,071). Results showed that the prevalence of leisure reading was low in both the lower, pre-vocational track (19.5%) and the higher, pre-academic track (32.5%). Boys read even less than girls. Almost all leisure readers enjoyed reading and engaged in mental imagery, i.e., the propensity ‘to see images’ of a written story in the mind’s eye. Overall, boys who did not like to read for leisure had the poorest school performance. Non-leisure readers who reported that they enjoyed reading got higher school grades in the higher educational track. In the lower track, this was the case for girls. Our study findings imply that reading promotion programs should take into account individual differences in sex, achievement level, and reading enjoyment when aiming to decrease the academic achievement gap.

Life Sciences, 1979

In the rat, intracerebroventricular injection of synthetic ACTH (ACTH1–24, ACTH1–16) elevated pla... more In the rat, intracerebroventricular injection of synthetic ACTH (ACTH1–24, ACTH1–16) elevated plasma corticosterone levels and induced the display of excessive grooming behavior. The grooming response could be elicited in hypophysectomized rats without concommittant elevation of plasma corticosterone. In intact rats subcutaneous injection of ACTH1–24 and not of ACTH1–16-NH2 stimulated the release of adrenal corticosteroids, whereas no excessive grooming was observed. In contrast to the reduced effectiveness of a second icv injection of ACTH in inducing the behavioral response, no single-dose tolerance was observed for the effect of icv ACTH on the pituitary-adrenal system. Therefore it was concluded that two different central mechanisms underly the observed responses to the icv applied ACTH.

Healthy cognitive aging is thought to impact most heavily on episodic memory [1]. However, change... more Healthy cognitive aging is thought to impact most heavily on episodic memory [1]. However, changes in episodic memory prior to the age of 60 are more controversial than changes in older adults [2]. Furthermore, cognitive decline already present in middle age may not yet manifest in behavior due to the action of neural compensation processes that preserve performance at the

Educational Gerontology, 2007

According to the skill transfer concept, people may use general technological skills to solve new... more According to the skill transfer concept, people may use general technological skills to solve new problems. To test this concept, a technological transfer test was included in a randomized controlled-intervention study aimed at the causal relationship between computer use and autonomy of older adults. Older adults with and without exposure to computer training and Internet use and participants without interest in computers were administered this test. On two occasions, participants performed four daily tasks with everyday technological devices. Exposure to a novel technological challenge did not affect the efficiency of, and involvement in, other technological activities.

Page 1. The Neurtihypí:>ph;i5is : Siruriure. Function and Cimtnri. Prn^rean in firam Research,... more Page 1. The Neurtihypí:>ph;i5is : Siruriure. Function and Cimtnri. Prn^rean in firam Research, Vn! ftfl, edittd In li.A Ci and G. Lem; (Г) /WW Eheúir Science Pubhihers BV Vasopressin-like Peptides and the Treatment of Memory Disorders in Man .!. ...

The present study investigated if a causal relation exists between serum concentrations of precur... more The present study investigated if a causal relation exists between serum concentrations of precursors and metabolites of cholesterol and cognitive performance in a healthy aging population.

Neuropraxis, 2008

The quality of life of older adults may be improved by the use of computer or Web-based services.... more The quality of life of older adults may be improved by the use of computer or Web-based services. A limited number of experimental studies on this topic have shown mixed results. We carried out a randomized, controlled intervention study that aimed to examine the causal relationship between computer use and measures of physical well-being, social well-being, emotional well-being, development and activity, and autonomy. We randomly assigned a group of 191 participants to an intervention group, a training-no intervention group, or a no trainingno intervention group. A fourth group consisted of 45 participants with no interest in computer use. We collected data at baseline, after 4 months, and after 12 months. The results showed that using computers and the Internet neither positively nor negatively influenced everyday functioning, well-being and mood, and the social network of healthy older individuals. We discuss possibilities for future studies.

Educational Gerontology, 2006

Public education about memory was evaluated with a controlled intervention trial. Participants in... more Public education about memory was evaluated with a controlled intervention trial. Participants in group 1 (n = 273) attended a symposium covering memory-related topics and received a magazine with identical information. Group 2 (n = 141) only received the magazine. Participants were nonprofessionals and professionals aged between 29 and 88. Outcome measures were knowledge about memory and subjective experience. For nonprofessionals, knowledge increment was higher in group 1 than in group 2, indicating that an objective increment in knowledge is present in nonprofessionals after attending the symposium. No knowledge change occurred in professionals. Furthermore, participants were very satisfied after both interventions, even when knowledge transfer was limited.

... reading or memorizing information. In particular, irrelevant speech is one of the most common... more ... reading or memorizing information. In particular, irrelevant speech is one of the most common sources of complaint by people in a broad age range (Kjellberg, Landstrom, Tesarz, Soderberg, & Akerlund, 1996). From a theoretical ...

Schizophrenia Research, Aug 31, 2007

Neuropsychologia, 2000

Life Sciences, 1979

Educational Gerontology, 2007

Neuropraxis, 2008

Educational Gerontology, 2006