This project explores the connections between the worlds we hope for and the worlds we help create. Over the course of several months, I conducted three sets of narrative interviews with three anti-oppression education facilitators, and a self-study with myself. Using narrative inquiry through a specifically anti-colonial lens as my method of analysis, I worked in partnership with my interview participants to draw meaning out of our interviews. Growing from these discussions, this thesis explores the work that discourses of hope do in our practices as facilitators of education for change. How do the things that we learn to hope for inform the way we teach, and the possibilities that are allowed in, or locked out, of our classrooms? In problematizing certain functions of certain discourses of hope, this study also explores the possibilities of anti-colonial hopings as a process of generating decolonizing dreams through education for change.

Robust offline performance gains, beyond those that would be anticipated by being exposed to additional physical practice, have been reported during procedural learning. However, practice of unrelated procedural task performance within 4-6 hour after initial practice has been revealed to eliminate offline improvement. The present experiment assessed the relative impact of experiencing supplemental practice of a spatially or a motorically-similar procedural task immediately following practice of a target motor sequence task. Based on a contemporary model of procedural skill acquisition forwarded by Hikosaka and colleagues, we assumed exposure to a spatial compatible motor sequence rather than interfering would support rapid improvement in the production of the spatial variant of the target task without compromising important memory processes, which are conducted offline to improve delayed performance of the target task. Findings revealed the often demonstrated offline gain when the target task was performed in the absence of interfering task practice as well as the elimination of such gains when target task practice was followed with additional practice of either a novel or motorically-similar motor sequence task. While immediate performance of the spatially-similar task was facilitated by preceding target task training, offline gains for the target task no longer emerged. These data are consistent with a central premise of Hikosaka et al.’s model that a spatial reference system plays an important role early during motor sequence learning but highlight the sensitivity of offline gains to task practice order.

Pollinator sharing in mixed species communities is expected to significantly contribute to mating patterns in contemporary populations but may also affect the evolutionary trajectory of traits associated with plant mating. In this thesis, I considered how the spring environment and pollinator sharing may contribute to the widespread convergence in traits among spring flowering species using comparative biology. The proposed correlation between a spring flowering phenology and white or light floral colour, fleshy fruits, woody growth forms and understory occupation is confirmed. In addition, I examined the effects of pollinator responses to community and population traits to determine the relative importance of inter- and intraspecific interactions in pollinator mediated reproductive success of a spring flowering species, Trillium grandiflorum. In this study, the reproductive success of T. grandiflorum was pollen limited. However, the magnitude of pollen limitation was influenced only by intraspecific density and varied independently of community diversity. The results of this thesis contribute significantly to our understanding of pollinator-mediated interactions in spring flowering communities but also highlight future avenues of investigation.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-134).

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The neuropeptides dynorphin and cholecystokinin (CCK), and their associated pronociceptive effects were investigated in the RVM. Utilizing a nerve-injury model (SNL), RT-PCR analysis revealed increases (p<0.05) of prodynorphin mRNA, and bradyinkin, B1- and B2-receptor mRNA, post-SNL, 14-days, 2-days, and 14-days, respectively. Administration of dynorphin into the RVM produced both acute and long-lasting (>30-days) tactile hypersensitivity. Administration of the B1-antagonist, DALBK and the B2-antagonist, Hoe-140, into the RVM significantly attenuated dynorphin-induced tactile hypersensitivity. Nerve-injury induced tactile hypersensitivity was significantly reversed by RVM administration of dynorphin antiserum or the B2-antagonist, Hoe-140. These data suggest that dynorphin is up-regulated in the RVM in nerve-injury, and via the activation of bradykinin receptors in the RVM, produces abnormal pain. Like dynorphin, CCK is up-regulated in the RVM in nerve-injury, with studies suggesting that elevated levels of CCK in the RVM mediate pronociceptive activity through CCK2 receptor activation, resulting in enhanced spinal nociceptive transmission. At present, it is unknown what key neurotransmitters are mediating this RVM CCK-driven effect at the level of the spinal cord. Here, spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of serotonin (5-HT) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were measured in the lumbar spinal cord in naïve rats following CCK administration into the RVM. Following RVM CCK microinjection, an approximate 5-fold increase in spinal (CSF) PGE2 levels was observed, as compared to baseline controls. PGE2 levels showed a progressive increase with peak levels observed at the 80-minute post-CCK injection timepoint, whereas 5-HT levels in the spinal CSF remained unchanged following CCK administration into the RVM. This release of PGE2 coincided with the timecourse for CCK-induced mechanical hypersensitivity. Administration of the CCK2-antagonist YM022 prior to CCK into the RVM, significantly attenuated (>50%) the release of PGE2 in the spinal cord. The non-selective COX-inhibitor naproxen and the 5-HT3 antagonist ondansetron, both administered intrathecally, significantly attenuated RVM CCK-induced hindpaw tactile hypersensitivity. In summary, these data suggest a bradykinin- or CCK2-receptor antagonist could be used alone or in conjunction with current therapies in the treatment of chronic pain.

Investigating the Neural Correlates of Crossmodal Facilitation as a Result of Attentional Cueing: An Event-Related fMRI Study. Degree of Masters of Science, 2008 Zainab Fatima Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto ABSTRACT Attentional cueing modulated neural processes differently depending on input modality. I used event-related fMRI to investigate how auditory and visual cues affected reaction times to auditory and visual targets. Behavioural results showed that responses were faster when: cues appeared first compared to targets and cues were auditory versus visual. The first result was supported by an increase in BOLD percent signal change in sensory cortices upon cue but not target presentation. Task-related activation patterns showed that the auditory cue activated auditory and visual cortices while the visual cue activated the visual cortices and the fronto-polar cortex. Next, I computed brain-behaviour correlations for both cue types which revealed that the auditory cue recruited medial visual areas and a fronto-parietal attentional network to mediate behaviour while the visual cue engaged a posterior network composed of lateral visual areas and subcortical structures. The results suggest that crossmodal facilitation occurs via independent neural pathways depending on cue modality.

Investigating the Neural Correlates of Crossmodal Facilitation as a Result of Attentional Cueing: An Event-Related fMRI Study. Degree of Masters of Science, 2008 Zainab Fatima Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto ABSTRACT Attentional cueing modulated neural processes differently depending on input modality. I used event-related fMRI to investigate how auditory and visual cues affected reaction times to auditory and visual targets. Behavioural results showed that responses were faster when: cues appeared first compared to targets and cues were auditory versus visual. The first result was supported by an increase in BOLD percent signal change in sensory cortices upon cue but not target presentation. Task-related activation patterns showed that the auditory cue activated auditory and visual cortices while the visual cue activated the visual cortices and the fronto-polar cortex. Next, I computed brain-behaviour correlations for both cue types which revealed that the auditory cue recruited medial visual areas and a fronto-parietal attentional network to mediate behaviour while the visual cue engaged a posterior network composed of lateral visual areas and subcortical structures. The results suggest that crossmodal facilitation occurs via independent neural pathways depending on cue modality.

Drosophila larval neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) serve as a model for synaptic physiology. The molecular sequence of the postsynaptic glutamate receptors has been described; however, the pharmacological profile has not been fully elucidated. Despite the postsynaptic molecular sequence used to classify the receptors as a kainate subtype, they do not respond pharmacologically as such. Kainate does not depolarize the muscle, but dampens evoked EPSP amplitudes. Quantal responses show a decreased amplitude and area under the voltage curve indicative of reduced postsynaptic receptor sensitivity to glutamate transmission. ATPA, a kainate receptor agonist, did not mimic kainate’s action. The metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist t-ACPD had no effect. Domoic acid, a quisqualate receptor antagonist, blocks the postsynaptic receptors without depolarizing the muscle, which supports the presence of quisqualate subtype receptors. The results suggest a direct postsynaptic action of kainate due to partial antagonist action on the quisqualate receptors. There does not appear to be presynaptic auto-regulation via a kainate receptor subtype or a metabotropic auto-receptor. A complete pharmacological profiling of the known receptor subtypes at this NMJ has not yet occurred; however, this study aids in furthering the ongoing investigations to provide a clearer picture of pharmokinetic profile and specificity of the receptor subtypes.