Background: The current study investigated the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-cognitive rehabilitation (VR-CR) intervention to improve contextual processing of objects in children with autism. Contextual processing is a cognitive ability thought to underlie the social and communication deficits of autism. Previous research supports that children with autism show deficits in contextual processing, as well as deficits in its basic component abilities: abstraction and cognitive flexibility. Methods: Four children with autism participated in a multiple baseline single-subject study. The children were taught how to see objects in context by reinforcing attention to pivotal contextual information. One-on-one teaching sessions occurred three times per week for approximately two weeks. Results: All children demonstrated significant improvements in contextual processing and cognitive flexibility. Mixed results were found on the control test. Changes in context-related behaviours were reported. Conclusions: Further studies using virtual reality to target specific cognitive impairments in children with autism are warranted.

Background: The current study investigated the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-cognitive rehabilitation (VR-CR) intervention to improve contextual processing of objects in children with autism. Contextual processing is a cognitive ability thought to underlie the social and communication deficits of autism. Previous research supports that children with autism show deficits in contextual processing, as well as deficits in its basic component abilities: abstraction and cognitive flexibility. Methods: Four children with autism participated in a multiple baseline single-subject study. The children were taught how to see objects in context by reinforcing attention to pivotal contextual information. One-on-one teaching sessions occurred three times per week for approximately two weeks. Results: All children demonstrated significant improvements in contextual processing and cognitive flexibility. Mixed results were found on the control test. Changes in context-related behaviours were reported. Conclusions: Further studies using virtual reality to target specific cognitive impairments in children with autism are warranted.

Instructional scaffolding is a powerful tool that many teachers utilize to meet the challenge of individualizing instruction for diverse learners. The concept of instructional scaffolding is complex (Meyer, 1993), in that teachers have to determine what, how much, and what kind of help to give to students in a moment’s notice (Rodgers, 2004/05). Gaining expertise with scaffolding can take years, which leads us to worry about the effectiveness of novice teachers. A scarcity of research examining how to support a teacher’s development of instructional decisions such as scaffolding is reported (Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000). The ability to make scaffolding decisions requires teachers to be cognitively flexible, drawing from multiple domains of understanding to meet the individual needs of a group of students. However, little is known about which domains and understandings teachers draw on during scaffolding events or the rationales underlying this decision-making process. This naturalistic study examined the decision-making processes of a novice elementary ESOL teacher as she scaffolded instruction for her third-grade students. As she videotaped what she considered to be a successful scaffolding event each week, we unpacked the event together using the lens of Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT). The guiding questions were: (1) How can the decision-making processes underlying a novice ESOL teacher’s instructional scaffolding be described? (2) How can the lens of Cognitive Flexibility Theory inform a novice ESOL teacher’s scaffolding decisions? Data sources included interviews, field notes, and reflections of the sessions. Constant comparative analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Miles & Huberman, 1994) was used to analyze data. Rigor was demonstrated by establishing credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Lincoln and Guba). A grounded theory model of a kaleidoscope was created to describe the novice ESOL teacher’s decision-making processes during scaffolding events. The participant’s decisions were influenced by a variety of pedagogical and contextual domains while also being impacted by her views on scaffolding, on assessment, and on the connection between theory and practice. The participant’s conceptions of scaffolding became more complex and her confidence and sense of agency became stronger as a result of mentoring underpinned by CFT.

<p>Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a dangerous disorder characterized by unrelenting rigidity that continues even in the presence of deadly outcomes. Despite this, our understanding of factors that promote and maintain rigidity is lacking. The current paper proposes a model suggesting that rigid behaviors in AN can be formulated as maladaptive rule-governed behavior that emerges in contexts of uncertainty and loss of control, such as in the presence of affective arousal. An empirical study examining the differences between individuals weight recovered from AN (AN-WR) and healthy controls (CN) on parameters of rule-governed behavior in neutral and stressful contexts is described. Seventy-four adults (AN-WR: 36; CN: 38) were randomized to undergo either a stressful or neutral mood manipulation and then completed a laboratory assessment of rule-governed behavior, along with questionnaires measuring difficulties with uncertainty. While the AN-WR group demonstrated greater flexibility in rule implementation compared to the CN group, they evidenced greater impairment in behavioral extinction. Furthermore, although affective arousal did not significantly impact rule-governed behavior as expected, difficulties tolerating uncertainty were significantly related to rule-governed outcomes exclusively in the AN-WR group. Taken together, findings provide preliminary support for maladaptive rule-governed behavior in AN and suggest that this is related to an intolerance of uncertainty. Findings and treatment implications are discussed in light of study limitations.</p> / Dissertation

Submitted by (lucia.rodrigues@ufrpe.br) on 2016-10-21T14:10:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Silva Leite.pdf: 4407399 bytes, checksum: 09bfd3a89c291645ea2e688f844713c6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-21T14:10:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Silva Leite.pdf: 4407399 bytes, checksum: 09bfd3a89c291645ea2e688f844713c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-22 / The adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for teaching-learning process has led to discussions about how to teach and learn. There are many new tools and methodologies that use ICT to support knowledge construction, but it is not always associated with a learning theory. The new technologies of information provide facilities in the means didactic of education. This research presents the new generation of Internet resources that has been transforming behaviors and ideas, with an avalanche of interactive tools, with these tools we can (re)build Internet and to dictate the way of the approached contents and technology. Teach in and with the Internet it reaches significant results when it's integrated in a structural context of change of the teaching-learning, where teachers and students living processes of open communication, of participation interpersonal and effectives group. These learning process is subject to continuous changes due to the changing needs of users. These changes are most often accompanied by new technologies which are constantly appearing in our modern computerized society. The Internet has allowed the optimization of the learning. The Cognitive Flexibility Theory is a theory of teaching, learning and knowledge representation that when applied to complex levels of knowledge and few structured, is able to help develop the student's cognitive flexibility. Web 2.0 can achieve greater interactivity, contributing to make this virtual environment for teaching and learning more dynamic and appealing. This dissertation proposes analysis and evaluates the use of some Web 2.0 features and how these are being included in science teaching. In addition to highlighting a brief summary of work published in scientific-academic community on ICT, particularly the Web 2.0 in science education. We present a pedagogical experiment study in which a group of students worked with some Web 2.0 tools for a discipline of chemistry, involving the theme: Chemical bonds. Our objective was to examine the role of some Web 2.0 tools in teaching chemistry and how technologies can influence learning in a flexible and free from these users. Other students did not use these tools and contributed to this research, which enabled an analysis of teaching without the use of them. The results showed that students highlighted the educational potential of Web 2.0 tools, as well as the importance of incorporating the TFC and the TCP in Web 2.0 environments. / A adoção das Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação (TIC) pelo processo de ensinoaprendizagem vem provocando reflexões relativas à forma de ensinar e de aprender. São muitas as novas ferramentas e metodologias que utilizam as TIC como suporte de construção do conhecimento, mas que nem sempre são associadas a uma teoria de aprendizagem. As novas tecnologias de informação proporcionam facilidades no meio didático da educação. Esta pesquisa apresenta a nova geração de recursos da Internet que tem transformado comportamentos e ideias, com uma avalanche de ferramentas interativas, com estas ferramentas podemos (re)construir a Internet e ditarmos o rumo do conteúdo abordado e da tecnologia. Ensinar na e com a Internet atinge resultados significativos quando ela está integrada em um contexto estrutural de mudança do ensino-aprendizagem, onde professores e alunos vivenciam processos de comunicação abertos, de participação interpessoal e grupal efetivos. Os processos de aprendizagem estão sujeitos a contínuas mudanças devido à evolução das necessidades dos usuários. Estas mudanças são na maioria das vezes acompanhada de novas tecnologias que estão aparecendo constantemente na nossa moderna sociedade informatizada. A Teoria da Flexibilidade Cognitiva (TFC) é uma teoria de ensino, aprendizagem e representação do conhecimento que quando aplicada a níveis de conhecimento complexos e pouco estruturados, é capaz de auxiliar no desenvolvimento da flexibilidade cognitiva do aprendiz. A Web 2.0 pode propiciar uma maior interatividade, contribuindo com isto para tornar os ambientes virtuais de ensino e aprendizagem mais dinâmicos e atraentes. Esta dissertação tem como propósito de analisar e avaliar a utilização de alguns recursos da Web 2.0 e como estes, estão sendo inseridos no ensino das ciências. Além de destacar um breve resumo de trabalhos divulgados no meio científico-acadêmico sobre as TIC, em especial a Web 2.0, no ensino de ciências. Apresentamos um estudo sobre uma experiência pedagógica em que um grupo de alunos trabalharam com algumas ferramentas da Web 2.0 durante uma disciplina de Química, envolvendo a temática: ligações Químicas. Nosso objetivo foi de analisar o papel de algumas ferramentas da Web 2.0 no ensino de química e como estas podem influenciar numa aprendizagem flexível e livre por parte destes usuários. Outros alunos não usaram estas ferramentas e contribuíram para a presente pesquisa, no que permitiram uma analise do ensino sem a utilização das mesmas. Os resultados mostraram que os alunos ressaltaram o potencial educativo das ferramentas Web 2.0, bem como a importância da incorporação da TFC e da Teoria dos Construtos Pessoais em ambientes Web 2.0.

Although the Rorschach is one of the most widely used psychological assessment techniques, its empirical support has been equivocal. One possible explanation for this lack of empirical support is the tendency for researchers to study only the assessment tool with little regard for the clinician using it. In order to examine the relationship between accurate Rorschach interpretation and attributes of the clinicians employing the technique, 46 psychology graduate students were tested in terms of cognitive flexibility. Torrance's Thinking Creatively with Pictures and Cattell's 16-Personality Factor Questionnaire were used to derive various measures of cognitive flexibility. A two-stage multiple linear regression analysis was done. The most statistically reliable result was that flexibility of thought was found to be the single best mediator of accuracy of Rorschach interpretation. Other individual findings were noted and interpreted.

<div><div><div><p>The brain dynamically alters its production of flexible behavior: cognitive flexibility increases when demand is high. In task switching experiments, past exposure to a high demand for flexibility in conjunction with specific temporal contexts leads to learned switch readiness such that future exposures to those contexts will cue flexibility. According to a recent proposal (Dreisbach & Fröber, 2019), learned switch readiness following switch demands is supported by a concurrent activation (CA) cognitive mechanism whereby both sets of task rules are kept available in working memory despite only using one at a time. This can be differentiated from a competing candidate mechanism, working memory updating (WMU) thresholds which determine the ease of replacing one task’s rules with another. The WMU mechanism is expected to cause a global increase in flexibility while CA is conceptualized as limited to task-specific associations. To test whether learned switch readiness represents a global or limited change in the cognitive system, I conducted two experiments that both involved learning switch readiness in one context and generalizing it in another. In Experiment 1, I replicated and extended findings that switch probability manipulations can modulate voluntary switch rates (VSR), indicating one type of generalizability. However, in Experiment 2, I found that flexibility learned through switch probability manipulations did not transfer to new tasks when the task rules were changed but contextual cues remained the same, demonstrating a limit: learned switch readiness does not generalize across tasks. These findings together suggest that CA is likely the mechanism behind learned switch readiness.</p></div></div></div>

Les mécanismes neuropsychologiques sous-jacents à l’expression symptomatique du trouble obsessionnel compulsif (TOC) sont encore mal connus. Nombreuses sont les études qui mettent en évidence des déficits exécutifs mais la diversité des méthodologies et la mixité des sous-types cliniques empêchent de dégager des constantes en terme de profil neurocognitif. Les études neuropsychologiques accordent toutefois une importance à l’inhibition et à flexibilité cognitive qui pourraient participer au caractère inflexible et répétitif des pensées et des actes communs à toutes les formes du TOC. L’objectif de cette thèse est l’étude des mécanismes d’inhibition et de la flexibilité chez des patients présentant un TOC. Deux études ont été réalisées. L’étude 1 est une étude de faisabilité d’un protocole de tests neuropsychologiques où 9 patients sont comparés à 9 sujets contrôles. L’étude a fait l’objet d’une bonne faisabilité. L’étude 2 compare 14 patients présentant un TOC à 16 patients présentant des troubles phobiques avec des tests informatisés d’inhibition, de flexibilité en plus des tests de l’étude 1. Les objectifs sont : vérifier l’hypothèse d’un déficit d’inhibition chez des patients TOC, étudier les relations entre la sévérité, l’ancienneté des troubles TOC et les résultats aux tests d’inhibition et de flexibilité. Les limites méthodologiques, entre autre, l’absence d’un groupe contrôle réduisent l’interprétation comparant les deux groupes cliniques ainsi que les résultats au sein du groupe de patients TOC. Les patients se sont différenciés sur deux épreuves de rapidité d’exécution en flexibilité mentale et d’attention. Au sein du groupe des patients présentant un TOC, les données ont montré une relation entre la sévérité des symptômes TOC et des perturbations aux tests d’inhibition. Ces observations sont discutées en lien avec le concept « impulsivité et TOC » / The nature of neuropsychological mechanisms underlying clinical picture of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) has not, as yet, been clearly determined. Number of studies has emphasized the role of cognitive deficits, but diversity of methodology and overlapping of clinical sub-groups, did not allow establishing specific neuro-cognitive profile. Neuropsychological studies recognize, however, the place of inhibition and alteration of cognitive flexibility that could be at origins of inflexible and repetitive nature of thoughts and actions, typical of all obsessive-compulsive disorders. The aim of this thesis was to explore the mechanisms of inhibition and cognitive flexibility in patients with OCD. Two studies were carried out. In the first, pilot study, we wanted to verify the feasibility of neuropsychological tests comparing 9 OCD patients with 9 controls. The study demonstrated a good feasibility. In the second, 14 OCD patients were compared to 16 phobics, using computerized tests of inhibition and flexibility, in addition to a battery used in the first study. The objectives were to verify hypothesis of inhibition deficit in patients with OCD, to examine relationship between severity and length of OCD and the results on neuropsychological tests of inhibition and flexibility. Methodological limits with, amongst other, the absence of control group, diminish predictive value of the comparison of two clinical groups as well as between patients with OCD. However, we found differences between patients in two tests, the one of rapidity of execution in mental flexibility and the other of attention. In the group of patients with OCD, data indicated relationship between severity of symptoms of OCD and their results on tests of inhibition. These data are further discussed in terms of relationship between “impulsivity and OCD”

No description available.

Cognitive flexibility is an important mechanism enabling organisms to adapt to their changing environment. Different brain structures are involved in this complex process. It has been repeatedly shown that the striatum is one of the key structures controlling cognitive flexibility. Striatum receives rich input from different brain regions while its output is rather uniform. Striatal functions and signalling are greatly modulated by dopamine and acetylcholine. A number of studies have shown involvement of striatal acetylcholine and its receptors in the control of cognitive flexibility but very little is known about the role of M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. These receptors are inhibitory, and they have been shown to induce long-term depression in striatal medium spiny neurons, therefore opposing the action of the dopamine D1 receptors. We hypothesize that the inhibitory effect of M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors may supress spiny projection neurons coding for outdated and no longer effective behavioural strategy and thus they may be necessary for the flexible change of behaviour. In the present thesis, I investigated the effects of pharmacological antagonism of M4 receptors on cognitive flexibility of mice tested in a simple reversal learning paradigm. Key words: striatum; cholinergic...