Special issue on methods and learning in functional MRI: Introductory remarks

This special issue represents a further exploration of some issues raised at a symposium entitled “Functional magnetic resonance imaging: From methods to madness” presented during the 15th annual Theoretical and Experimental Neuropsychology (TENNET XV) meeting in Montreal, Canada in June, 2004. The special issue’s theme is methods and learning in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and it comprises 6 articles (3 reviews and 3 empirical studies). The first (Amaro and Barker) provides a beginners guide to fMRI and the BOLD effect (perhaps an alternative title might have been “fMRI for dummies”). While fMRI is now commonplace, there are still researchers who have yet to employ it as an experimental method and need some basic questions answered before they venture into new territory. This article should serve them well. A key issue of interest at the symposium was how fMRI could be used to elucidate cerebral mechanisms responsible for new learning. The next 4 articles address this directly, with the first (Little and Thulborn) an overview of data from fMRI studies of category-learning, and the second from the same laboratory (Little, Shin, Siscol, and Thulborn) an empirical investigation of changes in brain activity occurring across different stages of learning. While a role for medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures in episodic memory encoding has been acknowledged for some time, the different experimental tasks and stimuli employed across neuroimaging studies have not surprisingly produced conflicting data in terms of the precise subregion(s) involved. The next paper (Parsons, Haut, Lemieux, Moran, and Leach) addresses this by examining effects of stimulus modality during verbal memory encoding. Typically, BOLD fMRI studies of learning are conducted over short time scales, however, the fourth paper in this series (Olson, Rao, Moore, Wang, Detre, and Aguirre) describes an empirical investigation of learning occurring over a longer than usual period, achieving this by employing a relatively novel technique called perfusion fMRI. This technique shows considerable promise for future studies. The final article in this special issue (de Zubicaray) represents a departure from the more familiar cognitive neuroscience applications of fMRI, instead describing how neuroimaging studies might be conducted to both inform and constrain information processing models of cognition.

Gender differences in work satisfaction

This paper explores differences between men and women in levels of work satisfaction, employing data from the Australian component of the International Project on Class Structure and Class Consciousness. While moment tend to be concentrated in low-status, low-paid positions, that is the secondary labour market, the data suggest that, in general, they are more satisfied with paid employment than men. Employment constraints are found to be a key factor in the observed differences in levels of work satisfaction. For both groups, however, it is clear that work satisfaction derives primarily from work-related factors.

Issues in geriatric medicine

In Australia there has been rapid growth in the number of geriatricians and the provision of aged care services. This has been accompanied by increasing sophistication in the assessment and management of the common syndromes of old age: impaired cognition, incontinence, impaired mobility, impaired homeostasis and iatrogenic disease. Innovative systems of service delivery have been developed in diverse fields including dementia services and orthogeriatrics. Adequate planning and funding strategies are required to ensure that older people continue to have appropriate access to high quality services and that there is provision for education and research in ageing.

Emerging Issues Concerning the Education of Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists in Brazil and South America

Diversity is one of the major characteristics of Brazil and all South America. This paper presents an overview of the current situation of the education of speech and language pathologists (SLP) and audiologists in Brazil and in several other countries of South America. This paper also discusses the main challenges shared by these countries. The discussion is focused on the mutual interferences between education and the areas of professional practice, cultural diversity and continued education. There are many emerging issues about the education of SLP and audiologists in South America. The suggested conclusion is that, despite the many differences, the South American SLP and audiologists` education would benefit from joint efforts and collaborative experiences. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel