Muusikon mentaaliharjoittelu : Konsertoivan ja opettavan pianistin mentaaliharjoittelu

This research explores the foci, methods and processes of mental training by pianists who are active as performers and teachers. The research is based on the concept of mental training as a solely mental mode of practising. Musician s mental training takes place without an instrument or the physical act of playing. The research seeks answers to questions: 1) What are the foci of a pianist s mental training? 2) How does a pianist carry out the mental training? 3) What does mental training in music entail as a process? The research approach is qualitative, and the materials were gathered from thematic interviews. The aim of practising is always an improved result both in the act of playing and the performance. Mental training by a pianist is collaboration between technical, auditory, visual, kinaesthetic and affective factors. Also interpretation, memory and overcoming stage fright are needed. Technical, cognitive and performance skills are involved. According to the results of this research, mental training is a goal-oriented activity which can have an impact on all of these factors. Without a musical inner ear and its functionality, true musicianship cannot exist. One particular result of this research is the conceptualisation of opening up the inner ear. Auditory exercises and internally playing mental images are essential elements of the mental practice of a musician. Visual images, such as a picture of music notation or a performance event, are the point of focus for musicians who find visual images to be the easiest to realise. When developing technical skills by using mental training, it is important to focus on the technically most difficult sections. It is also necessary to focus on the holistic experiencing of the performance situation. By building on positive energies and strengths, the so-called psyching up may be the most important element in mental training. Based on the results of this research, a synthesis is outlined of the music event as an activity process, built on representations and schemes. Mental training aims at the most ideal possible act of playing and the creation of a musical event; these are achieved by focussing on various mental images produced by the different senses, together with concrete practising. Mental training in sports and in music share common factors. Both modes of practising, mental as well as physical, involve three important elements: planning, realisation and evaluation of the practice. In music, however, the goal is an artistic end result which does not often apply to an athletic event. Keywords: Mental training in music, auditory imagining, visualisation, kinaesthetic-mental experience, mastery of the psyche

Verkkokurssilla : Opiskelijoiden kokemuksia toiminnasta yhteisöllisessä oppimisprosessissa Fle2-ympäristössä ja kokemusten näkyminen toimintaan osallistumisessa

The study examines one case of students' experiences from the activity in a collaborative learning process in a networked learning environment, and explores whether or not the experiences explain the participation or lack of participation in the activities. As a research task the students' experiences in the database of the networked learning environment, participating in its construction, and the ways of working needed to build the database, were examined. To contrast the students' experiences, their actual participation in the building of the database was clarified. Based on actual participation, groups more active and more passive than average were separated, and their experiences were compared to each other. The research material was collected from the course Cognitive and Creative Processes, which was offered to studentsof the Department of Textile Teacher Education in University of Helsinki, and students of the Departments of Teacher Education Units giving textile education in Turku, Rauma and Savonlinna in the beginning of 2001. In this course, creativity was examined from a psychological and sosiocultural context with the aim of realizing a collaborative progressive inquiry process. The course was held in a network-based Future Learning Environment (Fle 2) except for the starting lecture and training the use of the learning environment. This study analyzed the learning diaries that the students had sent to the tutor once a week for four weeks, and the final thoughts written into the database of the learning environment. Content analysis was applied as the research method. The case was enriched from another point of view by examining the messages the students had written into the learning environment with the social network analysis. The theoretical base of the study looks at the research of computer-supported collaborative learning, the conceptions of learning as a process of participation and knowledge building, and the possibilities and limitations of network-based learning environments. The research results show, that both using the network-based learning environment and collaborative ways of studying were new to the students. The students were positively surprised by the feedback and support provided by the community. On the other hand, they also experienced problems with facelessness and managing the information in the learning environment. The active students seemed to be more ready for a progressive inquiry process. It can be seen from their attitudes and actions that they have strived to participate actively and invested into the process both from their own and the community's point of view. The more passive students reported their actions to get credits and they had a harder time of perceiving the thoughts presented in the net as common progression. When arranging similar courses in the future, attention should be paid to how to get the students to act in ways necessary for knowledge building, and different from more traditional ways of studying. The difficulties of students used to traditional studying methods to adapt to collaborative knowledge building were evident on the course Cognitive and Creative Processes. Keywords: computer supported collaborative learning, knowledge building, progressive Inquiry, participation

Religion Explained? : A Philosophical Appraisal of the Cognitive Science of Religion

This study examines philosophically the main theories and methodological assumptions of the field known as the cognitive science of religion (CSR). The study makes a philosophically informed reconstruction of the methodological principles of the CSR, indicates problems with them, and examines possible solutions to these problems. The study focuses on several different CSR writers, namely, Scott Atran, Justin Barrett, Pascal Boyer and Dan Sperber. CSR theorising is done in the intersection between cognitive sciences, anthropology and evolutionary psychology. This multidisciplinary nature makes CSR a fertile ground for philosophical considerations coming from philosophy of psychology, philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. The study begins by spelling out the methodological assumptions and auxiliary theories of CSR writers by situating these theories and assumptions in the nexus of existing approaches to religion. The distinctive feature of CSR is its emphasis on information processing: CSR writers claim that contemporary cognitive sciences can inform anthropological theorising about the human mind and offer tools for producing causal explanations. Further, they claim to explain the prevalence and persistence of religion by cognitive systems that undergird religious thinking. I also examine the core theoretical contributions of the field focusing mainly on the (1) “minimally counter-intuitiveness hypothesis” and (2) the different ways in which supernatural agent representations activate our cognitive systems. Generally speaking, CSR writers argue for the naturalness of religion: religious ideas and practices are widespread and pervasive because human cognition operates in such a way that religious ideas are easy to acquire and transmit. The study raises two philosophical problems, namely, the “problem of scope” and the “problem of religious relevance”. The problem of scope is created by the insistence of several critics of the CSR that CSR explanations are mostly irrelevant for explaining religion. Most CSR writers themselves hold that cognitive explanations can answer most of our questions about religion. I argue that the problem of scope is created by differences in explanation-begging questions: the former group is interested in explaining different things than the latter group. I propose that we should not stick too rigidly to one set of methodological assumptions, but rather acknowledge that different assumptions might help us to answer different questions about religion. Instead of adhering to some robust metaphysics as some strongly naturalistic writers argue, we should adopt a pragmatic and explanatory pluralist approach which would allow different kinds of methodological presuppositions in the study of religion provided that they attempt to answer different kinds of why-questions, since religion appears to be a multi-faceted phenomenon that spans over a variety of fields of special sciences. The problem of religious relevance is created by the insistence of some writers that CSR theories show religious beliefs to be false or irrational, whereas others invoke CSR theories to defend certain religious ideas. The problem is interesting because it reveals the more general philosophical assumptions of those who make such interpretations. CSR theories can (and have been) interpreted in terms of three different philosophical frameworks: strict naturalism, broad naturalism and theism. I argue that CSR theories can be interpreted inside all three frameworks without doing violence to the theories and that these frameworks give different kinds of results regarding the religious relevance of CSR theories.

The Catholic Internet discussion on cloning : A study in cognitive rhetoric

This work combines the cognitive theory of folk-theoretical thought with the classical Aristotelian theory of artistic proof in rhetoric. The first half of the work discusses the common ground shared by the elements of artistic proof (logos, pathos, ethos) and the elements of folk-theoretical thought (naïve physics, folk biology, folk psychology, naïve sociology). Combining rhetoric with the cognitive theory of folk-theoretical thought creates a new point of view for argumentation analysis. The logos of an argument can be understood as the inferential relations established between the different parts of an argument. Consequently, within this study the analysis of logos is to be viewed as the analysis of the inferential folk-theoretical elements that make the suggested factual states-of-things appear plausible within given argumentative structures. The pathos of an argumentative structure can be understood as determining the quality of the argumentation in question in the sense that emotive elements play a great part in what can be called a distinction between good and deceptive rhetoric. In the context of this study the analysis of pathos is to be viewed as the analysis of the emotive content of argumentative structures and of whether they aim at facilitating surface- or deep cognitive elaboration of the suggested matters. The ethos of an argumentative structure means both the speaker-presentation and audience-construct that can be discerned within a body of argumentation. In the context of this study, the analysis of ethos is to be understood as the analysis of mutually manifest cognitive environments in the context of argumentation. The theory is used to analyse Catholic Internet discussion concerning cloning. The discussion is divided into six themes: Human Dignity, Sacred Family, Exploitation / Dehumanisation, Playing God, Monsters and Horror Scenarios and Ensoulment. Each theme is analysed for both the rhetorical and the cognitive elements that can be seen creating persuasive force within the argumentative structures presented. It is apparent that the Catholic voices on the Internet extensively oppose cloning. The voices utilise rhetoric that is aggressive and pejorative more often than not. Furthermore, deceptive rhetoric (in the sense presented above) plays a great part in argumentative structures of the Catholic voices. The theory of folk-theoretical thought can be seen as a useful tool for analysing the possible reasons why the Catholic speakers think about cloning and choose to present cloning in their argumentation as they do. The logos utilized in the argumentative structures presented can usually be viewed as based on folk-theoretical inference concerning biology and psychology. The structures of pathos utilized generally appear to aim at generating fear appeal in the assumed audiences, often incorporating counter-intuitive elements. The ethos utilised in the arguments generally revolves around Christian mythology and issues of social responsibility. These structures can also be viewed from the point of view of folk psychology and naïve sociological assumptions.

Genetic background of bipolar disorder and related cognitive impairments

Bipolar disorder (BP) is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression. BP affects approximately 1% of the world’s population and shows no difference in lifetime prevalence between males and females. BP arises from complex interactions among genetic, developmental and environmental factors, and it is likely that several predisposing genes are involved in BP. The genetic background of BP is still poorly understood, although intensive and long-lasting research has identified several chromosomal regions and genes involved in susceptibility to BP. This thesis work aims to identify the genetic variants that influence bipolar disorder in the Finnish population by candidate gene and genome-wide linkage analyses in families with many BP cases. In addition to diagnosis-based phenotypes, neuropsychological traits that can be seen as potential endophenotypes or intermediate traits for BP were analyzed. In the first part of the thesis, we examined the role of the allelic variants of the TSNAX/DISC1 gene cluster to psychotic and bipolar spectrum disorders and found association of distinct allelic haplotypes with these two groups of disorders. The haplotype at the 5’ end of the Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia-1 gene (DISC1) was over-transmitted to males with psychotic disorder (p = 0.008; for an extended haplotype p = 0.0007 with both genders), whereas haplotypes at the 3’ end of DISC1 associated with bipolar spectrum disorder (p = 0.0002; for an extended haplotype p = 0.0001). The variants of these haplotypes also showed association with different cognitive traits. The haplotypes at the 5’ end associated with perseverations and auditory attention, while the variants at the 3’ end associated with several cognitive traits including verbal fluency and psychomotor processing speed. Second, in our complete set of BP families with 723 individuals we studied six functional candidate genes from three distinct signalling systems: serotonin-related genes (SLC6A4 and TPH2), BDNF -related genes (BDNF, CREB1 and NTRK2) and one gene related to the inflammation and cytokine system (P2RX7). We replicated association of the functional variant Val66Met of BDNF with BP and better performance in retention. The variants at the 5’ end of SLC6A4 also showed some evidence of association among males (p = 0.004), but the widely studied functional variants did not yield any significant results. A protective four-variant haplotype on P2RX7 showed evidence of association with BP and executive functions: semantic and phonemic fluency (p = 0.006 and p = 0.0003, respectively). Third, we analyzed 23 bipolar families originating from the North-Eastern region of Finland. A genome-wide scan was performed using the 6K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. We identified susceptibility loci at chromosomes 7q31 with a LOD score of 3.20 and at 9p13.1 with a LOD score of 4.02. We followed up both linkage findings in the complete set of 179 Finnish bipolar families. The finding on chromosome 9p13 was supported (maximum LOD score of 3.02), but the susceptibility gene itself remains unclarified. In the fourth part of the thesis, we wanted to test the role of the allelic variants that have associated with bipolar disorder in recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We could confirm findings for the DFNB31, SORCS2, SCL39A3, and DGKH genes. The best signal in this study comes from DFNB31, which remained significant after multiple testing corrections. Two variants of SORCS2 were allelic replications and presented the same signal as the haplotype analysis. However, no association was detected with the PALB2 gene, which was the most significantly associated region in the previous GWAS. Our results indicate that BP is heterogeneous and its genetic background may accordingly vary in different populations. In order to fully understand the allelic heterogeneity that underlies common diseases such as BP, complete genome sequencing for many individuals with and without the disease is required. Identification of the specific risk variants will help us better understand the pathophysiology underlying BP and will lead to the development of treatments with specific biochemical targets. In addition, it will further facilitate the identification of environmental factors that alter risk, which will potentially provide improved occupational, social and psychological advice for individuals with high risk of BP.

Reduced visual function and its association with physical functioning in the Finnish adult population : Prevalence, causes, and need for eye care services

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and distribution of reduced visual acuity, major chronic eye diseases, and subsequent need for eye care services in the Finnish adult population comprising persons aged 30 years and older. In addition, we analyzed the effect of decreased vision on functioning and need for assistance using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) as a framework. The study was based on the Health 2000 health examination survey, a nationally representative population-based comprehensive survey of health and functional capacity carried out in 2000 to 2001 in Finland. The study sample representing the Finnish population aged 30 years and older was drawn by a two-stage stratified cluster sampling. The Health 2000 survey included a home interview and a comprehensive health examination conducted at a nearby screening center. If the invited participants did not attend, an abridged examination was conducted at home or in an institution. Based on our finding in participants, the great majority (96%) of Finnish adults had at least moderate visual acuity (VA ≥ 0.5) with current refraction correction, if any. However, in the age group 75–84 years the prevalence decreased to 81%, and after 85 years to 46%. In the population aged 30 years and older, the prevalence of habitual visual impairment (VA ≤ 0.25) was 1.6%, and 0.5% were blind (VA < 0.1). The prevalence of visual impairment increased significantly with age (p < 0.001), and after the age of 65 years the increase was sharp. Visual impairment was equally common for both sexes (OR 1.20, 95% CI 0.82 – 1.74). Based on self-reported and/or register-based data, the estimated total prevalences of cataract, glaucoma, age-related maculopathy (ARM), and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in the study population were 10%, 5%, 4%, and 1%, respectively. The prevalence of all of these chronic eye diseases increased with age (p < 0.001). Cataract and glaucoma were more common in women than in men (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.26 – 1.91 and OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.24 – 1.98, respectively). The most prevalent eye diseases in people with visual impairment (VA ≤ 0.25) were ARM (37%), unoperated cataract (27%), glaucoma (22%), and DR (7%). One-half (58%) of visually impaired people had had a vision examination during the past five years, and 79% had received some vision rehabilitation services, mainly in the form of spectacles (70%). Only one-third (31%) had received formal low vision rehabilitation (i.e., fitting of low vision aids, receiving patient education, training for orientation and mobility, training for activities of daily living (ADL), or consultation with a social worker). People with low vision (VA 0.1 – 0.25) were less likely to have received formal low vision rehabilitation, magnifying glasses, or other low vision aids than blind people (VA < 0.1). Furthermore, low cognitive capacity and living in an institution were associated with limited use of vision rehabilitation services. Of the visually impaired living in the community, 71% reported a need for assistance and 24% had an unmet need for assistance in everyday activities. Prevalence of ADL, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and mobility increased with decreasing VA (p < 0.001). Visually impaired persons (VA ≤ 0.25) were four times more likely to have ADL disabilities than those with good VA (VA ≥ 0.8) after adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioral factors and chronic conditions (OR 4.36, 95% CI 2.44 – 7.78). Limitations in IADL and measured mobility were five times as likely (OR 4.82, 95% CI 2.38 – 9.76 and OR 5.37, 95% CI 2.44 – 7.78, respectively) and self-reported mobility limitations were three times as likely (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.67 – 9.63) as in persons with good VA. The high prevalence of age-related eye diseases and subsequent visual impairment in the fastest growing segment of the population will result in a substantial increase in the demand for eye care services in the future. Many of the visually impaired, especially older persons with decreased cognitive capacity or living in an institution, have not had a recent vision examination and lack adequate low vision rehabilitation. This highlights the need for regular evaluation of visual function in the elderly and an active dissemination of information about rehabilitation services. Decreased VA is strongly associated with functional limitations, and even a slight decrease in VA was found to be associated with limited functioning. Thus, continuous efforts are needed to identify and treat eye diseases to maintain patients’ quality of life and to alleviate the social and economic burden of serious eye diseases.

Carotid Stenosis, Endarterectomy, and the Brain : Brain microcirculation, diffusion, and cognitive function before and after carotid endarterectomy in patients with a high-grade carotid stenosis

Carotid atherosclerotic disease is a major cause of stroke, but it may remain clinically asymptomatic. The factors that turn the asymptomatic plaque into a symptomatic one are not fully understood, neither are the subtle effects that a high-grade carotid stenosis may have on the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate brain microcirculation, diffusion, and cognitive performance in patients with a high-grade stenosis in carotid artery, clinically either symptomatic or asymptomatic, undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA). We wanted to find out whether the stenoses are associated with diffusion or perfusion abnormalities of the brain or variation in the cognitive functioning of the patients, and to what extent the potential findings are affected by CEA, and compare the clinically symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects as well as strictly healthy controls. Coagulation and fibrinolytic parameters were compared with the rate microembolic signals (MES) in transcranial Doppler (TCD) and the macroscopic appearance of stenosing plaques in surgery. Patients (n=92) underwent CEA within the study. Blood samples pertaining to coagulation and fibrinolysis were collected before CEA, and the subjects underwent repeated TCD monitoring for MES. A subpopulation (n= 46) underwent MR imaging and repeated neuropsychological examination (preoperative, as well 4 and 100 days after CEA). In MRI, the average apparent diffusion coefficients were higher in the ipsilateral white matter (WM), and altough the interhemispheric difference was abolished by CEA, the levels remained higher than in controls. Symptomatic stenoses were associated with more sluggish perfusion especially in WM, and lower pulsatility of flow in TCD. All patients had poorer cognitive performance than healthy controls. Cognitive functions improved as expected by learning effect despite transient postoperative worsening in a few subjects. Improvement was greater in patients with deepest hypoperfusion, primarily in executive functions. Symptomatic stenoses were associated with higher hematocrit and tissue plasminogen activator antigen levels, as well as higher rate of MES and ulcerated plaques, and better postoperative improvement of vasoreactivity and pulsatility. In light of the findings, carotid stenosis is associated with differences in brain diffusion, perfusion, and cognition. The effect on diffusion in the ipsilateral WM, partially reversible by CEA, may be associated with WM degeneration. Asymptomatic and symptomatic subpopulations differ from each other in terms of hemodynamic adaptation and in their vascular physiological response to removal of stenosis. Although CEA may be associated with a transient cognitive decline, a true improvement of cognitive performance by CEA is possible in patients with the most pronounced perfusion deficits. Mediators of fibrinolysis and unfavourable hemorheology may contribute to the development of a symptomatic disease in patients with a high-grade stenosis.

Emotional experience in psychotherapeutic interaction : Conversation analytical study on cognitive psychotherapy

The dissertation examines how emotional experiences are oriented to in the details of psychotherapeutic interaction. The data (57 audio recorded sessions) come from one therapist-patient dyad in cognitive psychotherapy. Conversation analysis is used as method. The dissertation consists of 4 original articles and a summary. The analyses explicate the therapist s practices of responding to the patient s affective expressions. Different types of affiliating responses are identified. It is shown that the affiliating responses are combined with, or build grounds for, more interpretive and challenging actions. The study also includes a case study of a session with strong misalignment between the therapist s and patient s orientations, showing how this misalignment is managed by the therapist. Moreover, through a longitudinal analysis of the transformation of a sequence type, the study suggests that therapeutic change processes can be located to sequential relations of actions. The practices found in this study are compared to earlier research on everyday talk and on medical encounters. It is suggested that in psychotherapeutic interaction, the generic norms of interaction considering affiliation and epistemic access, are modified for the purposes of therapeutic work. The study also shows that the practices of responding to emotional experience in psychotherapy can deviate from the everyday practices of affiliation. The results of the study are also discussed in terms of concepts arising from clinical theory. These include empathy, validation of emotion, therapeutic alliance, interpretation, challenging beliefs, and therapeutic change. The therapist s approach described in this study involves practical integration of different clinical theories. In general terms, the study suggests that in the details of interaction, psychotherapy recurrently performs a dual task of empathy and challenging in relation to the patient s ways of describing their experiences. Methodologically, the study discusses the problem of identifying actions in conversation analysis of psychotherapy and emotional interaction, and the possibility to apply conversation analysis in the study of therapeutic change.

The Problem of Implementation and its Relation to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science

According to certain arguments, computation is observer-relative either in the sense that many physical systems implement many computations (Hilary Putnam), or in the sense that almost all physical systems implement all computations (John Searle). If sound, these arguments have a potentially devastating consequence for the computational theory of mind: if arbitrary physical systems can be seen to implement arbitrary computations, the notion of computation seems to lose all explanatory power as far as brains and minds are concerned. David Chalmers and B. Jack Copeland have attempted to counter these relativist arguments by placing certain constraints on the definition of implementation. In this thesis, I examine their proposals and find both wanting in some respects. During the course of this examination, I give a formal definition of the class of combinatorial-state automata , upon which Chalmers s account of implementation is based. I show that this definition implies two theorems (one an observation due to Curtis Brown) concerning the computational power of combinatorial-state automata, theorems which speak against founding the theory of implementation upon this formalism. Toward the end of the thesis, I sketch a definition of the implementation of Turing machines in dynamical systems, and offer this as an alternative to Chalmers s and Copeland s accounts of implementation. I demonstrate that the definition does not imply Searle s claim for the universal implementation of computations. However, the definition may support claims that are weaker than Searle s, yet still troubling to the computationalist. There remains a kernel of relativity in implementation at any rate, since the interpretation of physical systems seems itself to be an observer-relative matter, to some degree at least. This observation helps clarify the role the notion of computation can play in cognitive science. Specifically, I will argue that the notion should be conceived as an instrumental rather than as a fundamental or foundational one.

Future chemistry teachers use of knowledge dimensions and high-order cognitive skills in pre-laboratory concept maps

This poster describes a pilot case study, which aim is to study how future chemistry teachers use knowledge dimensions and high-order cognitive skills (HOCS) in their pre-laboratory concept maps to support chemistry laboratory work. The research data consisted of 168 pre-laboratory concept maps that 29 students constructed as a part of their chemistry laboratory studies. Concept maps were analyzed by using a theory based content analysis through Anderson & Krathwohls' learning taxonomy (2001). This study implicates that novice concept mapper students use all knowledge dimensions and applying, analyzing and evaluating HOCS to support the pre-laboratory work.