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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1974

The biphasic effect of small doses of tranylcypromine on the spontaneous motor activity and learned conditioned behaviour in rats.

Tranylcypromine (TCP), a monoamine-oxidaone inhibitor with amphetamine-like property, has at first a depressant effect and 5 h later a stimulating effect on sponataneous motor activity and learned conditioned behaviour. This latter effect can be demonstrated by means of a modified conditioned avoidance response schedule and a specific time-schedule interval. While the depressant effect of tranylcypromine may be due to the initial increase of brain serotonin caused by this drug, its delayed stimulating effect is, very likely, related to norepinephrine brain increase occurring a few hours after TCP administration.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dynamics of high-frequency (up to 200 Hz) components of brain electrical activity during learning reflect the functional mosaicism of the neocortex.

This study was undertaken with the aim of identifying frequency bands with correlated changes in the spectral power amplitudes of brain electrical activity, including high-frequency components (the 1-200 Hz band) in four dogs, using one-dimensional analysis. Factor and cluster analysis of the spectral densities of various parts of the cortex and the olfactory bulb were carried out. The ratios of factors in different parts of the brain, both in terms of the proportions of the total dispersity and in terms of weightings, provided data on regional and individual differences in electrical activity. During learning (development of a motor habit consisting of pressing a feeder pedal), the factor organization of electrical activity became more, complex, particularly in the high-frequency part of the spectrum (40-170 Hz). The changes consisted of the appearance of narrower frequency sub-bands, each of which was present at high weighting (0.7-0.9) for one of the factors. The use of high-frequency components allowed functional mosaicism of the neocortex to be detected.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Phencyclidine and behavior: II. Active avoidance learning and radial arm maze performance.

Rats with injections of 4 or 8 mg/kg of phencyclidine (PCP) are impaired in the acquisition of active avoidance learning and radial arm maze performance. This impairment was not due to a change in detectability of aversive stimuli or the inability to perform the correct response. The primary deficit appears to be the inability of PCP injected animals to encode the appropriate attributes (e.g., environmental context, response selection, and emotion) associated with each task.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Differential cortical and subcortical activations in learning rotations and gains for reaching: a PET study.

Previous studies suggest that horizontal reaching movements are planned vectorially with independent specification of direction and extent. The transformation from visual to hand-centered coordinates requires the learning of a task-specific reference frame and scaling factor. We studied learning of a novel reference frame by imposing a screen-cursor rotation and learning of a scaling factor by imposing a novel gain. Previous work demonstrates that rotation and gain learning have different time courses and patterns of generalization. Here we used PET to identify and compare brain areas activated during rotation and gain learning, with a baseline motor-execution task as the subtracted control. Previous work has shown that the time courses of rotation and gain adaptation have a short rapid phase followed by a longer slow phase. We therefore also sought to compare activations associated with the rapid and slower phases of adaptation. We isolated the rapid phase by alternating opposite values of the rotation or gain every 16 movements. The rapid phase of rotation adaptation activated the preSMA. More complete adaptation to the rotation activated right ventral premotor cortex, right posterior parietal cortex, and the left lateral cerebellum. The rapid phase of gain learning only activated subcortical structures: bilateral putamen and left cerebellum. More complete gain learning failed to show any significant activation. We conclude that the time course of rotation adaptation is paralleled by a frontoparietal shift in activated cortical regions. In contrast, early gain adaptation involves only subcortical structures, which we suggest reflects a more automatic process of contextual recalibration of a scaling factor.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2006

alphaCaMKII Is essential for cerebellar LTD and motor learning.

Activation of postsynaptic alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alphaCaMKII) by calcium influx is a prerequisite for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) at most excitatory synapses in the hippocampus and cortex. Here we show that postsynaptic LTP is unaffected at parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapses in the cerebellum of alphaCaMKII(-/-) mice. In contrast, a long-term depression (LTD) protocol resulted in only transient depression in juvenile alphaCaMKII(-/-) mutants and in robust potentiation in adult mutants. This suggests that the function of alphaCaMKII in parallel fiber-Purkinje cell plasticity is opposite to its function at excitatory hippocampal and cortical synapses. Furthermore, alphaCaMKII(-/-) mice showed impaired gain-increase adaptation of both the vestibular ocular reflex and optokinetic reflex. Since Purkinje cells are the only cells in the cerebellum that express alphaCaMKII, our data suggest that an impairment of parallel fiber LTD, while leaving LTP intact, is sufficient to disrupt this form of cerebellar learning.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Timed active avoidance learning in lurcher mutant mice.

Lurcher mutant mice (+/Lc) which exhibit a massive loss of neurons in the cerebellar cortex and in the inferior olivary nuclei were subjected to an active avoidance learning task; the animals' avoidance response must occur within a small time window after a short or a long delay. The control mice needed a mean of 8.3 sessions of 10 trials (short delay group) and of 11.8 sessions (long delay group) and showed good retention after a 24 h interval. When subjected to the same number of sessions, the +/Lc mice were unable to learn the timing task. However, a subgroup of lurcher mutants was able to learn after a high number of sessions (25.4 sessions as a mean). There was no intergroup difference in the standard version of one-way active avoidance. These results indicate that the cerebellar cortex is involved in time processing during active avoidance. The cerebellum may be part of a loop including the cerebral cortex known to be involved in time perception. An alternative explanation is that the cerebellar mutant animals had persevering tendencies acquired during performance of the one-way avoidance task.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Shifting paradigms. Teaching gerontological nursing from a new perspective.

Gerontological health care is undergoing a revolution, much like that of the feminist movement of the 1960s. Fundamental changes in health care require revisions in nursing education to ensure appropriate care of older adults in the least restrictive environment. The purpose of this study is to promote the preparation of future nurses who have the knowledge and the skills necessary to provide nursing care for the growing cohorts of older adults. A theoretical rationale for a new perspective in nursing education is discussed. An experiential clinical learning activity based on the functional model of gerontological health care is examined. This home visit clinical learning activity provides nursing students with the opportunity to practice nursing reflective of the health care needs of older adults. Strategies for replication of this clinical learning activity are provided.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

[Change in cardiovascular activation in learning and performance situations in children with learning disorders].

A method is demonstrated for observing and statistically testing changes in cardiovascular activity in single cases between two types of situations, in this case a playing situation and a learning situation. Using this method it could be shown an abasement of cardiovascular activity during a learning situation together with their mother or father--compared to a playing situation--for 20 hyperactive children with learning problems of an average age of 9.7 years. Together with this abasement in cardiovascular activity there was observed a deterioration in the parent-child-relation. In the singles cases however it could be observed an abasement or an increase in cardiovascular activity. When the--often punishing--parent was replaced by a person who built up a positive relation to the child, there could be observed either an increase or an abasement or no change in cardiovascular activity, the effect being replaiable. The results point up to a critical examination of actual therapeutic concepts for children with learning problems.

Achievement↗
PubMed2004

An implicit learning task activates medial temporal lobe in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Recent studies provide evidence for an interaction between a declarative memory system, dependent on the medial temporal lobe (MTL), and a habit memory system, dependent on the basal ganglia. Using functional MRI, the authors studied this interaction when 1 system was compromised by neurological disease. Neural activity when performing a habit-learning task was compared in normal controls and subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). Patients with PD showed less activation in the caudate nucleus and greater activation in a region of prefrontal cortex that has been associated with explicit memory retrieval. Patients with PD also showed activation of the MTL during the weather-prediction task. These findings are consistent with an interaction between memory systems of the MTL and the striatum.

Basal Ganglia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Dynamics of the reactions of nonspecific and somatic activation while learning adaptive biocontrol].

Dynamics of characteristics of respiration, cardiac, muscular and EEG-activities was studied in volunteers during their learning of voluntary control of skin resistance and temperature by means of biological feedback. Initial stage of learning of adaptive biocontrol was connected with involvement of systemic activation reactions, which had similar characteristics during control of various vegetative parameters both at their increase and decrease. The revealed activation shifts represent non-specific reaction characteristic of learning and extinction at gradual specialization and consolidation of control habit. Characteristics of learning dynamics confirmed N. Miller's hypothesis that adaptive biocontrol represents a form of instrumental conditioning. At the same time, the involvement of systemic reactions is not an obligatory condition of adaptive biocontrol learning. This fact confirms the presence of various "individual strategies" of learning and existence of a sufficiently wide spectrum of physiological mechanisms of visceral processes central control which could be included at learning of voluntary control of visceral parameters.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of postnatal aluminum exposure on choline acetyltransferase activity and learning abilities in the rat.

Young rats were treated by gastric intubation with aluminum lactate (0, 100, and 200 mg Al/kg/day) from postnatal days 5 to 14 to determine the treatment's influence on brain choline acetyltransferase activity and learning abilities. The results indicated that aluminum concentrations in the cerebral areas increased in parallel to plasma aluminum at the dose of 200 mg. In the same case, choline acetyltransferase activity was reduced. At postnatal days 50 and 100, the treated rats did not show alterations in their learning abilities in the 2 tests which are based on different motivations (avoidance of an aversive light or alimentary motivation) and different ways of achievement (pressing on a lever or running in a maze). A low reduction in the general activity, particularly in the radial maze test, was only observed in rats treated with 200 mg Al/kg/day.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Formative assessment promotes learning in undergraduate clinical clerkships.

INTRODUCTION: Clinical clerkships, typically situated in environments lacking educational structure, form the backbone of undergraduate medical training. The imperative to develop strategies that enhance learning in this context is apparent. This study explored the impact of longitudinal bedside formative assessment on student learning in a medical clerkship. METHODS: We studied a class of 4th-year students completing a 14-week medical clerkship at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Clinician educators assessed student performance during weekly bedside teaching sessions using blinded patient encounters (in which students had no prior knowledge of the patient's diagnosis or access to the clinical records). Student feedback was standardised using performance rating scales. The impact of formative assessment on student learning was determined from questionnaire responses. RESULTS: A total of 575 formative assessments took place during the study period. Students perceived blinded patient encounters to be a valuable learning activity that improved their clinical reasoning skills and assessed progress fairly. They reported that feedback helped inform them of their level of competence and learning needs, motivated them to read more, and significantly improved their participation in patient-centred learning activities. Participating clinicians agreed that this formative assessment strategy enhanced the learning potential of bedside teaching sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal formative assessment, using blinded patient encounters, was successfully integrated into undergraduate clerkship bedside teaching. According to both students and staff this assessment strategy enhanced bedside learning and improved student participation in patient-centred learning activities during the clerkship.

Clinical Clerkship↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of the hormones of peripheral endocrine glands on the processes of behavior, learning, and memory.

The effects of systemic administration of thyroid, adrenal cortex, and sex hormones on learning ability, memory trace retention, and behavior were compared in male rats. These studies showed that thyroid, corticosteroid, and sex hormones had no effect on passive learning. Excess quantities of sex hormones disrupted active learning and subsequent reproduction of received information; an excess of thyroid hormone improved the acquisition and retention of the active avoidance habit. Increases in the levels of adrenal cortex hormones worsened active learning and the retention of memory traces, and also increased the level of behavioral activity.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed2000

Learning-associated activation of nuclear MAPK, CREB and Elk-1, along with Fos production, in the rat hippocampus after a one-trial avoidance learning: abolition by NMDA receptor blockade.

It is widely accepted that the formation of long-term memory (LTM) requires neuronal gene expression, protein synthesis and the remodeling of synaptic contacts. From mollusk to mammals, the cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway has been shown to play a pivotal role in the establishment of LTM. More recently, the MAPK cascade has been also involved in memory processing. Here, we provide evidence for the participation of hippocampal PKA/CREB and MAPK/Elk-1 pathways, via activation of NMDA receptors, in memory formation of a one-trial avoidance learning in rats. Learning of this task is associated with an activation of p44 and p42 MAPKs, CREB and Elk-1, along with an increase in the levels of the catalytic subunit of PKA and Fos protein in nuclear-enriched hippocampal fractions. These changes were blocked by the immediate posttraining intra-hippocampal infusion of APV, a selective blocker of glutamate NMDA receptors, which renders the animals amnesic for this task. Moreover, no changes were found in control-shocked animals. Thus, inhibitory avoidance training in the rat is associated with an increase in the protein product of an IEG, c-fos, which occurs concomitantly with the activation of nuclear MAPK, CREB and Elk-1. NMDA receptors appear to be a necessary upstream step for the activation of these intracellular cascades during learning.

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate↗
PubMed1994

Impairment in the acquisition of passive and active avoidance learning tasks due to bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions.

The relationship between the entorhinal cortex and learning behavior was examined. The initial stage of Alzheimer's disease has been shown to be characterized by neuropathological alteration in the entorhinal cortex, with the appearance of the greatest number of neuronal tangles and severe neuronal loss in comparison with other brain regions involved. This entorhinal cortex, because of its anatomical relationship to the hippocampus, may play a crucial role in memory formation. In this study, rats with bilateral ibotenic acid-induced lesions of the entorhinal cortices were tested for acquisition of passive and active avoidance learning tasks. These animals displayed no sensorimotor disturbances as shown by evaluation of locomotor activity and shock sensitivity. However, they did show impair acquisition of passive and active avoidance responses. On the other hand, when the lesions were induced after training, there was no extinction of the acquired passive and active avoidance responses. The results demonstrate the importance of the entorhinal cortex in learning acquisition and indicate that rats with partial neuronal loss in the entorhinal cortex may be a useful model for studying the memory disturbance of Alzheimer's disease.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Students' conceptions of constructivist learning: a comparison between a traditional and a problem-based learning curriculum.

This study investigated students' conceptions of constructivist learning activities in a problem-based learning (PBL) and a traditional curriculum. We examined whether students who have chosen for a problem-based curriculum have different conceptions of constructivist assumptions compared to students who have chosen to be enrolled in a traditional, lecture-based curriculum when they enter university. Although constructivism represents an influential view of learning, studies investigating how students conceptualize this perspective have not been conducted before. A structural equation modelling approach was adopted to test the hypothesized model in both student populations and to calculate latent means. Results suggested that students in the PBL environment agree more on constructivist assumptions of cooperative learning and the use of authentic problems, while students in the traditional curriculum acknowledge the importance of motivation to learn more. It is discussed that conceptions of constructivist learning activities can act as an important moderator of PBL effects and should be considered in examining the effects of PBL and probably in all comparative education research.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Investigation into sex-related differences in locomotor activity, place learning and passive avoidance responding in NMRI mice.

Learning abilities of young adult (5-6 weeks) male and female NMRI mice were compared in two tasks involving cognitive functions, namely spatial learning in a water maze and passive avoidance responding. Locomotor activity was also monitored as a putative bias for the results obtained in these learning tests. No sex-related difference was observed either in avoidance responding or in spatial learning using a procedure with the same point of departure throughout testing in the water maze. However, in this test, using a procedure with 3 different points of departure in randomized order day after day, female mice performed better than male mice. The difference was statistically significant on the last acquisition day but was not sustained during a retention trial 72 hr later. Since no sex differences in locomotor activity were observed, the learning effects cannot be attributed to a difference in general activity level.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Physical therapy on trial: the rationale, organization, and impact of a mock trial on physical therapy students' attitudes toward and confidence in research.

A learning activity, debate with a mock trial format, provides opportunities for physical therapy students to develop skill and confidence in learning to evaluate research critically, to formulate opinions regarding the credibility of the available evidence for a therapeutic approach to patient care, and to substantiate their choice of treatments with persuasive arguments and analytic rebuttals. The purposes of this study were to (1) describe the mock trial learning activity within a professional physical therapy curriculum and (2) determine whether the mock trial positively influenced students' attitudes toward research and confidence in their ability to interpret and apply research findings to clinical practice. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the 48 students at key points during the academic program to measure the overall effects of the physical therapy curriculum and the specific effects of the mock trial learning activity. There was an increase (p < 0.05) in the students' confidence in their ability to interpret and apply research after participating in the mock trial. The overall responses to the modified Attitudes-to-Research scale indicated that the physical therapy students generally held positive and optimistic attitudes toward research. These attitudes were maintained over the entire experience within the curriculum. If attitudes predict behavior, these future practitioners are more likely to be physical therapists who critically appraise and use evidence to determine practice.

Adult↗