<p>Under de senare åren har det gjorts stora framsteg inom neurologin vad gäller koppling hjärna – inlärning. Tidigare ansågs intelligens vara något bestämt och oföränderligt, men nu hävdar neurologerna att människan själv sätter gränsen för sin intelligens. Alla människor har förmågan att förbättra och utveckla sin intelligens. För att lyckas med detta bör främst två väsentliga faktorer beaktas i skolan: dels att alla är unika och har olika sätt att inhämta information, dels att det är avgörande om människan befinner sig i en stimulerande miljö eller inte. Det är alltså av stor vikt hur skolmiljön ser ut för våra elever för bästa möjliga inlärning. Jag vill med detta arbete visa att genom att förstå vilka principer som styr hjärnans funktioner kan vi lärare bli bättre på att lära våra elever att lära.</p><p>Studien belyser dels hjärnans uppbyggnad och vad den har för koppling till och betydelse för inlärningen, dels belyser jag tre olika inlärningsteorier och ger praktisk/pedagogiska exempel på hur de kan användas i en klassrumssituation.</p>

This thesis focuses on the effects of pharmacological and environmental interventions following perinatal prefrontal cortex lesions. Rats given postnatal day 3 medial prefrontal cortex lesions were provided with one of the following treatments: basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), complex-housing, tactile stimulation, or a combined treatment of both bFGF and tactile stimulation or bFGF and complex-housing. Rats given postnatal day 3 orbital prefrontal cortex lesions were housed in a complex environment. The findings of these studies suggest that bFGF, complex-housing or tactile stimulation are beneficial after early brain injury. The combined treatment of bFGF with complex-housing provides a synergistic effect, as the combined condition is more advantageous than bFGF alone. In contrast, the combined treatment of bFGF with tactile stimulation produced adverse effects. These results suggest that pharmacological and environmental manipulations change cortical plasticity and therefore functional recovery after neonatal cortical injury. / xv, 177 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.

This thesis investigates the role of the hippocampus in object memory. Currently, the role of the hippocampus in object recognition is unclear, with some studies demonstrating a delay-dependent impairment after hippocampal damage, others showing no impairment. The present thesis used the novel object recognition task and its variants to investigate various types of object memory in hippocampal lesion rats. In the first study, impairments were observed in discriminating object order and associating objects with contexts, while no impairment was observed in novel object recognition. In the second study, it was found that encountering another object shortly prior to or after encountering a target object impairs the recognition of the target object. In a control procedure, encountering a novel context either shortly before or after encountering the target object did not impair object recognition. In sum, in the absence of the hippocampus, object memory becomes vulnerable to interference, rendering rats unable to discern memories of multiple objects. The present thesis concludes that the hippocampus discriminates multiple objects via pattern separation. A stimulus-response model relating the role of the hippocampus to object memory is proposed. / vii, 150 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm. --

The current work explores the behavioural and anatomical consequences of unilateral neonatal bulbectomy (OBX) in male and female rats at postnatal day 1 (PI) and P10. In adulthood the animals underwent a battery of motor and cognitive tests, and diffuse effects of early brain injury on the development of behavior were found. Disturbing olfactory sense input during development affected motor output. Rats normally display an equal distribution of right or left paw preference. In this study, both OBX sexes showed a shifted paw preference to the ipsilesional side, and forelimb deficits were found in a skilled reaching task. Lesion animals also showed enhanced performance on a visually driven spatial cognitive test. Cross-modal compensatory changes may be responsible. Morphological changes within the cerebral cortex are described, including bulbar changes, enlarged but fewer glomeruli, smaller accessory olfactory bulb, decreased downstream connectivity, and a rostral shift of the forebrain toward the olfactory bulb. Changes to the lateral cortex were found in both intact and lesion hemispheres, along with dendritic changes in the forelimb reaching area. Cellular regeneration within the lesion bulb was indicated. Changed shape and relative size increases compared to the intact bulb were found. BrdU labeling showed increased mitotic activity in P10 lesion animals. These findings demonstrate that the impact of olfactory injury during early development goes well beyond odor perception and discrimination, and that olfactory inputs during development significantly contribute to the development of the neocortex. / xix, 195 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.

Adult neurogenesis is a fundamental feature of mammalian nervous systems. Curiously, neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus is typically regarded as homogenous. This thesis challenges that view, and reports the discovery and characterization of a novel region of the dentate gyrus that consistently lacks basal neurogenesis. We demonstrate that this area, referred to as the neurogenically quiescent zone, represents approximately 1.5% of the total volume of the dentate gyrus, and that its location is invariant among animals. This region contains several critical cell types and molecular factors that are known to be critical to the neurogenic niche, including stem cells. We also present data that attempt to conceptualize the existence of this region in the context of early agerelated declines in neurogenesis. Finally, we demonstrate that, under some behavioural conditions, neurogenesis can be induced in this region, suggesting that, under basal conditions, it may simply lack the presence of pro-neurogenic factors. / xvi, 125 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm. --

The hippocampus and non-hippocampal long-term memory systems each have the capacity to learn and express contextual fear memory. How these systems interact during learning and remembering revolves around hippocampal mediated interference, where the hippocampus dominates for both the acquisition and expression of long-term memory. Hippocampal interference during learning can be overcome by modifying learning parameters such that learning is distributed across multiple independent sessions. The standard view of the role of the hippocampus in long-term memory retrieval is that it is temporally limited, where recently acquired memory is dependent on hippocampal function though as a memory ages, dependency is transferred to other memory systems by a process called systems consolidation. Distributed training demonstrates that learning parameters create a memory that is resistant to hippocampal damage. We find little evidence to support temporally based systems consolidation, and present data that supports the view that if the hippocampus is initially involved in learning a memory, it will always be necessary for accurate retrieval of that memory. A critical assessment of the rat literature revealed that initial memory strength, and/or lesion techniques might be responsible for the few studies that report temporally graded retrograde amnesia using contextual fear conditioning. Our experiments designed to directly test these possibilities resulted in flat gradients, providing further evidence that the hippocampus plays a permanent role in long-term memory retrieval. We propose and assess alternatives to the standard model and conclude that a dual store model is most parsimonious within the presented experiments and related literature. Interactions of the hippocampus and non-hippocampal systems take place at the time of learning and remembering, and are persistent over time. / xvi, 161 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm

The superior neocortex ratios in primates and their distinctive relationship with sociality among terrestrial mammals are well documented. However, there has been an absence of research into relative neocortex size, its evolution and correlates in marine mammals, such as cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales). This study uses the advanced radiological techniques of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to establish neocortex ratios in dolphins and to re-assess these values for humans. It was found that freezing and defrosting did not significantly alter the neocortex ratios of dolphins and thus extra material as included in the analysis. Furthermore, equations for the estimation of neocortex ratios from eT and MRI have been applied to the cranial volumes calculated for 19 toothed whale species, in order to extend the range of analysis. Using these techniques, it appears that dolphin neocortex ratios are higher than those of other mammals, except for primates. A notable finding is that dolphin values lie between human and other primates and are closer to human ratios at 4.1, than to non-human ratios reaching 3.2~ (Dunbar, 1992). The highest delphinid neocortex ratio from MRI was 3.94 for common dolphins, while the highest estimated neocortex ratio was at 3.95 for killer whales. To establish the correlates of such high neocortex ratios in dolphins, their scores were related to variables representing foraging ecology, sound and sociality. Although delphinid neocortex ratios do not appear to be related to foraging variables, they are significantly related with sound and sociality variables. Of these relationships, the most substantial finding exists with respect to the relationship of delphinid neocortex ratios and their mean group size. The capacity to predict group size from relative neocortex size has not been noted in non-primate species, and has formed the basis for current theories of social intelligence and mental evolution. The findings of this study are therefore of considerable interest and may have substantial implications. These may impact on current theories of primate-human mental evolution and therefore it is strongly recommended that the mental capacities of other mammals, such as dolphins, be examined in greater detail to support or refute these claims. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Success For Life (SFL) is a brain research-based program for children, birth through age six. This research examined the development and implementation of SFL in 13 early childhood settings. Participants were 24 female early childhood teachers and 146 (73 male) children. Teachers included seven infant, four toddler, nine preschool and four kindergarten teachers. Children included infants(n=29), toddlers(n=27), and prek/kindergartners (n=90). A Request for Proposals was disseminated to identify possible implementation sites. After participation was confirmed, teachers attended a full day's training which included a description of brain development/function, the latest brain research, how to implement SFL and other logistics of the study. Program implementation occurred over approximately four months. A field site coordinator visited each site bimonthly to provide on-going technical assistance. This was an intervention project with a pre and post implementation design. Four instruments were used: a teacher questionnaire, a classroom environment measure, a child measure and teacher journals. Results suggested that teachers became more knowledgeable about brain development research and about how children grow and learn. Teachers were better able to make connections between brain research findings and how to apply these findings to their programs and daily activities. Likewise, the environment measure indicated that teachers were better able to arrange environments for learning. They reported that children showed significant increases in skills development and performance in the following areas: physical mastery, social relations/interactions, cognitive development, and language/communications. Additionally, teachers reported improvements in emotional expression and well-being among infants and toddlers. Toddlers and preschoolers showed significant increases in creative/ artistic expression. Finally, teachers indicated that preschoolers showed increases in initiative, use of logic/mathematics skills, and musical coordination and movement. Research findings suggest that Success For Life is able to bridge the gap between theory and practice and benefits children, teachers and programs.

Memory is critical to our everyday lives, allowing us to attach meaning to our experiences of the world. However, a number of neurocognitive disorders can result in the loss of this fundamental function. The development of effective treatments for loss of episodic memory depends on a detailed understanding of the neural signals that support memory and a thorough characterization of how brain stimulation may be targeted to modulate memory-related patterns of brain activity. In this dissertation, I approach these questions with a series of three studies to examine the effects of direct electrical brain stimulation, the role of large-scale patterns of brain activity in memory, and how stimulation can be used to modulate these signals. In my first study, I characterize changes in neuronal activity across the brain that resulted from delivering stimulation at a range of frequencies, amplitudes, and locations. To do this, I developed an analysis framework and applied it to a large-scale dataset of direct human brain recordings from electrodes implanted in neurosurgical epilepsy patients while intracranial stimulation was delivered. With these analyses, I found that stimulation most often had an inhibitory effect; however, high-frequency stimulation delivered near white-matter tracts was most likely to excite neuronal activity. In my second study, I investigated the functional role of brain oscillations that moved across the cortex during memory tasks. I found that traveling waves of low-frequency oscillations that moved anteriorly across the cortex most often supported successful memory encoding. Additionally, the timing, or phase, of brain oscillations propagating across specific areas of the cortex predicted efficient memory retrieval. In my last study, having determined that the direction of traveling waves is important for memory processes, I then investigated how different types of stimulation changed the direction of traveling waves of low-frequency oscillations. By analyzing intracranial recordings during a stimulation mapping procedure, I found that stimulation at high frequencies oriented in line with the direction of wave propagation was most effective in changing the propagation direction of traveling waves. Additionally, I tested how changes traveling wave direction from stimulation affected patients’ memory performance during an episodic memory task. For patients where stimulation changed the propagation direction of their waves from anterior to posterior directions, stimulation also impaired their memory, and when stimulation had the opposite effect on direction, it enhanced their memory. This provides the first preliminary causal evidence that stimulation can be targeted to modulate specific features of large-scale patterns of brain oscillations— the direction of traveling waves— and, in turn, affect memory performance. Broadly, this body of work shows that direct electrical stimulation of the brain applied with specific parameters holds the potential to modulate neural activity related to memory. This work expands our current understanding of the functional role of brain oscillations by showing that specific features of traveling waves across the cortex are key signals linked to human behavior. These findings provide both a basic understanding of how neural oscillations support human behavior as well as a foundation for designing stimulation protocols to precisely target desired changes in neural activity with the potential to improve diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

For several decades music educators have proposed that the study of music has a significant impact on student academic achievement, attendance rates, and student conduct. In an era of higher student and teacher accountability, increasing budget cuts, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and stringent state standards of learning, a number of educators have argued that education in music can boost test scores, attendance, attitudes toward school, reduce discipline referrals, and increase overall academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to quantify general education claims by examining high school academic achievement data, attendance rates, and student conduct of the 2006 graduating class in one Southeast Virginia school division. In addition, this study briefly explores the impact that music education has on the human brain and on academic achievement at the elementary school and secondary school levels. Moreover, influences that integrating music has on academic achievement in general education courses, arts integration programs, and elements of an effective music education program are explored. Specific research studies provide evidence to support key concepts and the need for additional research. The research design includes the independent variables: subject and number of years enrolled in formal music courses or no formal music courses, gender, ethnicity, and enrollment in formal music courses or no formal music courses in high school, grades nine through twelve. The dependent variables include: academic achievement as measured by grade twelve weighted cumulative grade point average (GPA), attendance rate as measured by the number of absences in grade twelve, and student conduct as measured by the number of discipline referrals in grade nine through grade twelve. Four research questions were used to explore academic achievement, attendance rate, and student conduct with regard to music or no music courses taken in grades nine through twelve. Ethnicity and gender were reported using the common dependent variables among participants in three populations " entire study population, music population, and non music population. Conclusions were based upon sophisticated statistical tests including descriptive and inferential statistics, correlations, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression statistics. These tests confirmed the four research questions and null hypotheses that music students out perform their non music counterparts in academic achievement, attendance rate, and student conduct. Although the studied school division does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences, music students had fewer days absent than non music students. / Ph. D.