Cerebellar mechanisms for motor learning: Testing predictions from a large-scale computer simulation

The cerebellum is the major brain structure that contributes to our ability to improve movements through learning and experience. We have combined computer simulations with behavioral and lesion studies to investigate how modification of synaptic strength at two different sites within the cerebellum contributes to a simple form of motor learning—Pavlovian conditioning of the eyelid response. These studies are based on the wealth of knowledge about the intrinsic circuitry and physiology of the cerebellum and the straightforward manner in which this circuitry is engaged during eyelid conditioning. Thus, our simulations are constrained by the well-characterized synaptic organization of the cerebellum and further, the activity of cerebellar inputs during simulated eyelid conditioning is based on existing recording data. These simulations have allowed us to make two important predictions regarding the mechanisms underlying cerebellar function, which we have tested and confirmed with behavioral studies. The first prediction describes the mechanisms by which one of the sites of synaptic modification, the granule to Purkinje cell synapses (gr → Pkj) of the cerebellar cortex, could generate two time-dependent properties of eyelid conditioning—response timing and the ISI function. An empirical test of this prediction using small, electrolytic lesions of the cerebellar cortex revealed the pattern of results predicted by the simulations. The second prediction made by the simulations is that modification of synaptic strength at the other site of plasticity, the mossy fiber to deep nuclei synapses (mf → nuc), is under the control of Purkinje cell activity. The analysis predicts that this property should confer mf → nuc synapses with resistance to extinction. Thus, while extinction processes erase plasticity at the first site, residual plasticity at mf → nuc synapses remains. The residual plasticity at the mf → nuc site confers the cerebellum with the capability for rapid relearning long after the learned behavior has been extinguished. We confirmed this prediction using a lesion technique that reversibly disconnected the cerebellar cortex at various stages during extinction and reacquisition of eyelid responses. The results of these studies represent significant progress toward a complete understanding of how the cerebellum contributes to motor learning. ^

Learning in the cerebellar nucleus is necessary for acquisition of Pavlovian eyelid conditioning

The cumulative work presented here supports the hypothesis that plasticity in the cerebellar cortex and cerebellar nuclei mediates a simple associative form of motor teaming-Pavlovian eyelid conditioning. It was previously demonstrated that focal ablative lesions of cerebellar anterior lobe or pharmacological block of the cerebellar cortex output disrupted the timing of the conditioned eyeblink response, unmasking a response with a relatively fixed and very short latency to onset. The results of this thesis demonstrate that the short-latency responses are due to associative learning. Unpaired training does not support the acquisition of short-latency responses while the rate of acquisition of short-latency responses during paired training is approximately the same as that of timed conditioned responses. The acquisition of short-latency responses is dependent on an intact cerebellar cortex. Both ablative lesions of the cerebellar cortex and inactivation of cerebellar cortex output with picrotoxin block the acquisition of short-latency responses. However, once the short-latency responses are acquired neither disconnection of cerebellar cortex nor inactivation of the cerebellar nucleus block reacquisition. The results are consistent with the proposal that plasticity in the cerebellar cortex is necessary for learning the timing of conditioned responses, plasticity in the interpositus nucleus mediates the short latency responses, and cerebellar cortical output and mossy fiber input are necessary for the acquisition of short latency responses. ^

Motivation and Learning in Mathematics Pre-service Teachers

Based on a review of literature of conceptual and procedural knowledge in relation to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the purpose of this study was to test the relationship between conceptual and procedural knowledge and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Thirty-eight education students with a mathematics focus (elementary or secondary) in their junior, senior, or fifth year completed a survey with a Likert scale measuring their preference to learning (conceptual or procedural) and their motivation type (intrinsic or extrinsic). Findings showed that secondary mathematics focused students were more likely to prefer learning mathematics conceptually than elementary mathematics focused students. However, secondary and elementary mathematics focused students showed an equal preference for learning mathematics procedurally and sequentially. Elementary and secondary students reported similar intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsically motivated students preferred procedural learning more than conceptual learning. While there was no statistically significant preference with intrinsically motivated students, there was a trend favoring preference of conceptual learning over procedural learning. These results tend to support the hypothesis that mathematics focused students who prefer conceptual learning are more intrinsically motivated, and mathematics focused students who prefer procedural learning are more extrinsically motivated.

Joint Attention in Young Children with Autism

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are classified as pervasive developmental disorders characterized by social, communicative, and behavioral impairments. According to formal and informal reports, children with ASD present with receptive and expressive language delay. Joint attention (JA: the behavior that occurs when two individuals focus on the same object or event) has been identified as a possible marker of delayed language development in children with ASD. In this study, the JA behaviors in children with ASD were contrasted with initially language-matched typically developing (TYP) children across three visits. Measures of language, the frequency, duration, and source of initiation of JA episodes, and the choice of toy during those episodes, were coded. Across visits and groups, mothers initiated more JA episodes than children; however, typical children also initiated more JA episodes than ASD children at visits 1 and 2. Also, the total duration of typically developing children’s JA episodes was generally longer than that of the ASD children’s, significantly so at Visit 2. Significant associations emerged between children’s vocabulary and two measures of JA: frequency and number of maternal initiations. Teaching parents to incorporate JA training in their interactions with their children may likely help children with ASD acquire language.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ATTITUDE ASSESSMENT/ROLE PERCEPTION AND THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT MANAGERS

Much of the current healthcare financial literature addresses the concern of government officials, the public, and healthcare providers regarding the need for control of health care costs. The literature suggests that attitudes of hospital department managers toward their role in financial management affects their ability to effect favorable financial results.^ There were several objectives of the dissertation: (1) To identify whether or not there exists a relationship between the attitude/role perception of hospital managers and the financial performance of their departments. (2) To compile a descriptive survey data base of key factors identified in the financial literature from individual hospitals. (3) To compile a brief descriptive survey of hospital managers' financial management background and training (both formal and informal). (4) To conduct an attitude assessment/role perception survey regarding the importance or relevance of a suggested financial management role set (i.e., issues discussed in the current literature) as viewed by the selected hospital managers and their matched administrators. (5) To propose plausible theoretical models and statistical tests of seven proposed hypotheses.^ The statistical results of a variety of methods generally suggested, for the sample population, that the null hypothesis should not be rejected concerning the relationships between a department manager's financial attitudes and role perceptions and the resultant financial performance.^ The fact that the results of this study did not suggest that there was a significant relationship which existed between role perception and financial performance does not necessarily indicate that the theories supporting such a relationship in literature are false, not that such a relationship does not exist. Several alternative theories were postulated to explain the apparent lack of statistical relationship, and suggestions for refinement and/or improvement of further research were discussed. ^

Expanding Learning Time in Schools: Considering the Challenges of Implementation and the Potential Impact

Considering the broader context of school reform that is seeking education strategies that might deliver substantial impact, this article examines four questions related to the policy and practice of expanding learning time: (a) why do educators find the standard American school calendar insufficient to meet students’ educational needs, especially those of disadvantaged students? (b) how do educators implement a longer day and/or year, addressing concerns about both educational quality and costs? (c) what does research report about outcomes of expanding time in schools? and (d) what are the future prospects for increasing the number of expanded-time schools? The paper examines these questions by considering research, policy, and practice at the national level and, throughout, by drawing upon additional evidence from Massachusetts, one of the leading states in the expanded-time movement. In considering the latter two questions, the article explores the knowns and unknowns related to expanded learning time and offers suggestions for further research.

Active Learning in Nursing Education

ALINE is a pedagogical model developed to aid nursing faculty transition from passive to active learning. Based on constructionist theory, ALINE serves as a tool for organizing curriculum for online and classroom based interaction and permits positioning the student as the active player and the instructor, the facilitator to nursing competency.

Intervención judicial y contexto socio cultural : la puesta en marcha de un trabajo interdisciplinario "in situ"

Partiendo de una noción de acceso a la justicia, que no se restringe únicamente al acceso formal de los ciudadanos al sistema judicial y al adecuado ejercicio de derechos ante los Tribunales de Justicia, sino que también abarca la Prevención y Promoción de Derechos, la Solución Colaborativa de Conflictos, la Revisión y Propuesta de las Actuaciones Públicas mediante Acciones de Interés Público y Propuestas Legislativas; se implementaron, desde la Institución Judicial (Juzgado de Familia de Tupungato), acciones en el marco de buenas prácticas que se sustentas en tres ejes: Construcción de Ciudadanía, Desarrollo Humano Sustentable y Redes Sociales. Las mismas tienden a fortalecer las conexiones entre estructuras formales e informales de la comunidad, a fin de proveer efectivamente el Acceso a la Justicia a grupos que de otra manera podrían estar excluidos de ella y a la vez favorecer el empoderamiento de los grupos vulnerables en la búsqueda de soluciones a situaciones injustas en el ámbito de los procesos tramitan por ante los Juzgados de Familia. En dicho marco, el Juzgado referido puso en marcha un Juzgado Móvil que plantea una metodología de abordaje interdisciplinario, donde la intervención del Trabajador Social resulta relevante.

Haiti : The 'invisibility' of a territory to build projects that strengthen their autonomy

Haiti, conocida en la época colonial como 'la Perla de las Antillas', su economía se organizó entorno a la producción de azúcar que proveían a través de Francia al resto de Europa. De este modo 70de la producción de azúcar era consumido en Europa y más del 60del café. Con una lógica que perseguía obtener los máximos rindes, buscaron mano de obra esclava en el África Subsahariana, población que directamente reemplazó a la originaria. Así comienza a plantearse el desarrollo de un tipo de economía en Haiti, que traería graves consecuencias ambientales hasta la actualidad. Hoy es el país más pobre de América, con una esperanza de vida de alrededor de 60 años, y la tasa de analfabetismo del 52. Ubicado en un área tropical, es frecuente que sufra el impacto de las tormentas tropicales y ciclones que, como consecuencia de una tala desmedida de laforestación originaria, las inundaciones acentúan los problemas, a lo que se suman los problemas sanitarios inherentes a un nivel de vida con tantas carencias; y a la preponderancia de minifundios en el área rural, llevan a conformar un escenario de enorme vulnerabilidad. En el año 2010, una triste noticia pondría a Haïti en el centro de la escena mundial: el terremoto de marzo de ese año que afectara el área de Puerto Príncipe dejando alrededor de 300.000 muertos y más de un millón de damnificados. En la actualidad la presencia debarrios enteros viviendo en carpas en espacios públicos, son una expresión de la vigencia de dicho evento. Sin embargo, desde mediados de la década pasada tienen lugar proyectos que intentan territorializar una experiencia argentina de reconocido impacto en procura de atender las necesidades de la población con mayor vulnerabilidad que habita en los espacios rurales. Se trata del Programa Pro Huerta, que desde hace más de veinte años se desarrolla en Argentina y se propuso en el ámbito de este país desde la perspectiva de la cooperación internacional. De este modo, en distintos departamentos de Haiti con el trabajo en conjunto de diversos países ponen en marcha un proyecto social de seguridad alimentaria. La finalidad es el análisis de la territorialización de la experiencia Pro Huerta Haiti a partir del enfoque de cooperación internacional del cual Argentina participa junto con Canadá y Haiti. Entre los resultados y aportes de esta investigación, se pudo constatar que en Haïtí se fortalecen las redes sociales, la familia, el trabajo solidario, la salud y en conjunto contribuyen a fortalecer la soberanía alimentaria, en un país con grandes carencias y gran vulnerabilidad. Asimismo, es interesante resaltar que el modelo de Cooperación Sur-Sur que la Argentina desarrolla, desde una visión horizontal donde nuestro país camina junto a Haití y Canadá en el aprendizaje cotidiano del crecimiento conjunto, donde cada país tiene mucho por seguir aprendiendo

Learning kinds for students of technical high school : An analysis from the David Ausubel's theory

This article presents the findings of a field research, not experimental, observational, correlating, basic, of mixed data, micro sociologic, leading to a study of surveys.The object of study is to find learning kinds, and the unit of analysis were 529 high school students between 16 and 21 years old. Its purpose is to understand the impact of learning by rote, guided, self learned and meaningful learning and its achievement degree besides the learning outcomes of differentiated curriculum based on David Ausubel's thoughts, associated with different economic specialties (MINEDUC, 1998) where the population of the study is trained. To collect data, the test TADA - DO2 was used, this test has a reliability index of 0.911 according to Cronbach. From the hits it can be stated from the null hypothesis that there is a significant association (a = 0,05) between the learning kinds and the learning expected of differentiated training plan for both, male and female. It is complex to state that the training of the middle-level technicians leads to a successful employment.

Pensar históricamente sobre el pasado reciente en México

En el presente artículo se exponen los resultados de una investigación sobre el desarrollo del pensamiento histórico entre sujetos de diferentes edades y de diferentes niveles de escolaridad en México. El estudio trabajó aspectos de la Historia reciente a través de la fotografía como fuente histórica. Los resultados arrojan de manera general, deficientes desarrollos en el análisis de fuentes y de la capacidad de diferenciar el ejercicio analítico objetivo de las valoraciones personales y subjetivas sobre la Historia reciente. Las conclusiones muestran también una pluralidad en las formas de pensar el pasado y de analizar las fuentes, pues en ocasiones una mejor competencia narrativa o explicación histórica no necesariamente está directamente relacionada con un mejor análisis de la imagen. Esto nos obliga a preguntarnos sobre la relación entre los procesos de educación formal e informal en el desarrollo del pensamiento histórico. El estudio es de corte cualitativo. El acontecimiento histórico trabajado fue el levantamiento armado del EZLN en 1994

Reflexiones etnográficas sobre el ocio infantil

El presente artículo revisa y amplía parte de los resultados de un estudio realizado sobre el ocio infantil en la Comunidad de Madrid (España) (Gaitán, Domínguez, Bárcenas y Leyra, 2011), tratando de analizar el concepto de ocio, como proceso educativo, que de manera transversal enlaza diferentes elementos de la vida cotidiana de niños y niñas. Asimismo, a través de estas páginas se examinarán los diferentes discursos, comportamientos y percepciones que tienen respecto al ocio tanto los niños y niñas como las personas adultas que participaron en la investigación. Se tratará de hacer un recorrido por la propia concepción del ocio infantil así como del tiempo libre, y de los usos y prácticas diferenciadas en distintos grupos de niños y niñas, analizando cómo el ocio forma parte de la educación formal y no formal, llevando consigo elementos transversales de género y edad. Para este estudio se contó con un "grupo junior" de investigación, compuesto por niños y niñas que realizaron reflexiones y aportaciones tanto a lo largo del proceso etnográfico como sobre los resultados obtenidos, fortaleciendo el propio enfoque de "Protagonismo Infantil" y de "Co-investigación de niños y niñas"

Learning kinds for students of technical high school : An analysis from the David Ausubel's theory

This article presents the findings of a field research, not experimental, observational, correlating, basic, of mixed data, micro sociologic, leading to a study of surveys.The object of study is to find learning kinds, and the unit of analysis were 529 high school students between 16 and 21 years old. Its purpose is to understand the impact of learning by rote, guided, self learned and meaningful learning and its achievement degree besides the learning outcomes of differentiated curriculum based on David Ausubel's thoughts, associated with different economic specialties (MINEDUC, 1998) where the population of the study is trained. To collect data, the test TADA - DO2 was used, this test has a reliability index of 0.911 according to Cronbach. From the hits it can be stated from the null hypothesis that there is a significant association (a = 0,05) between the learning kinds and the learning expected of differentiated training plan for both, male and female. It is complex to state that the training of the middle-level technicians leads to a successful employment.

Pensar históricamente sobre el pasado reciente en México

En el presente artículo se exponen los resultados de una investigación sobre el desarrollo del pensamiento histórico entre sujetos de diferentes edades y de diferentes niveles de escolaridad en México. El estudio trabajó aspectos de la Historia reciente a través de la fotografía como fuente histórica. Los resultados arrojan de manera general, deficientes desarrollos en el análisis de fuentes y de la capacidad de diferenciar el ejercicio analítico objetivo de las valoraciones personales y subjetivas sobre la Historia reciente. Las conclusiones muestran también una pluralidad en las formas de pensar el pasado y de analizar las fuentes, pues en ocasiones una mejor competencia narrativa o explicación histórica no necesariamente está directamente relacionada con un mejor análisis de la imagen. Esto nos obliga a preguntarnos sobre la relación entre los procesos de educación formal e informal en el desarrollo del pensamiento histórico. El estudio es de corte cualitativo. El acontecimiento histórico trabajado fue el levantamiento armado del EZLN en 1994

Reflexiones etnográficas sobre el ocio infantil

El presente artículo revisa y amplía parte de los resultados de un estudio realizado sobre el ocio infantil en la Comunidad de Madrid (España) (Gaitán, Domínguez, Bárcenas y Leyra, 2011), tratando de analizar el concepto de ocio, como proceso educativo, que de manera transversal enlaza diferentes elementos de la vida cotidiana de niños y niñas. Asimismo, a través de estas páginas se examinarán los diferentes discursos, comportamientos y percepciones que tienen respecto al ocio tanto los niños y niñas como las personas adultas que participaron en la investigación. Se tratará de hacer un recorrido por la propia concepción del ocio infantil así como del tiempo libre, y de los usos y prácticas diferenciadas en distintos grupos de niños y niñas, analizando cómo el ocio forma parte de la educación formal y no formal, llevando consigo elementos transversales de género y edad. Para este estudio se contó con un "grupo junior" de investigación, compuesto por niños y niñas que realizaron reflexiones y aportaciones tanto a lo largo del proceso etnográfico como sobre los resultados obtenidos, fortaleciendo el propio enfoque de "Protagonismo Infantil" y de "Co-investigación de niños y niñas"