Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-232).

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Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-232). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xiv, 232 leaves, bound 29 cm

Despite a rise in the use of “learning by doing” pedagogical methods in praxis, little is known as to how the brain benefits from these methods. Learning by doing strategies that utilize complementary information (“enrichment”) such as gestures have been shown to optimize learning outcomes in several domains including foreign language (L2) training. Here we tested the hypothesis that behavioral benefits of gesture-based enrichment are critically supported by integrity of the biological motion visual cortices (bmSTS). Prior functional neuroimaging work has implicated the visual motion cortices in L2 translation following sensorimotor-enriched training; the current study is the first to investigate the causal relevance of these structures in learning by doing contexts. Using neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation and a gesture-enriched L2 vocabulary learning paradigm, we found that the bmSTS causally contributed to behavioral benefits of gesture-enriched learning. Visual motion cortex integrity benefitted both short- and long-term learning outcomes, as well as the learning of concrete and abstract words. These results adjudicate between opposing predictions of two neuroscientific learning theories: While reactivation-based theories predict no functional role of specialized sensory cortices in vocabulary learning outcomes, the current study supports the predictive coding theory view that these cortices precipitate sensorimotor-based learning benefits.:I. Abkürzungsverzeichnis II. Abbildungsverzeichnis III. Einleitung 1. Fremdsprachenlernen 1.1 Sensorische Modalitätsvergleiche 1.2 Sensomotorisches Lernen 2. Lerntheorien 2.1 Theorie des prädiktiven Kodierens 2.2 Theorie des prädiktiven Kodierens für multisensorisches Lernen 3. Sulcus temporalis superior für biologische Bewegung 4. Transkranielle Magnetstimulation 4.1 Passagere Funktionsinhibition mittels transkranieller Magnetstimulation IV. Ableitung der Rationale V. Publikationsmanuskript VI. Zusammenfassung VII. Literaturverzeichnis VIII. Appendix A. Abbildungen B. Ergänzendes Material der Publikation C. Darstellung des eigenen Beitrags D. Erklärung über die eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit E. Lebenslauf F. Publikationen G. Danksagung