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The nature of the human brain has preoccupied philosophers and scientists for centuries. As early as the 4th Century BCE, Greek philosophers speculated that the anatomically distinct hemispheres of the brain implied specialisation of function. It was not until the "splitbrain" operations of the 1950s, however, that the precise specialisation of each hemisphere could be demonstrated. The right hemisphere apparently assumed responsibility for spacial, holistic processes, while the left hemisphere processed analytical, sequential tasks. During that same decade, educational psychologists observed two markedly different ways in which individuals perceive and relate to the world. It was later observed that these "cognitive styles" seemed directly related to the bi-polar functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This implied a genetic basis for cognitive style. Subsequent research suggested that cognitive style is to a considerable extent a result of the environment of socialisation, and therefore, different cultures would demonstrate different cognitive styles. Such cultural differences in learning expectations might have serious implications for both teachers and learners in the field of export education. The literature review in this study identified physical, environmental, and experiential factors which appear to influence cognitive style. This information formed the basis of the biographical section of a questionnaire which elicited the learning style preferences of pre-tertiary students from Australia (native speakers), Indonesia and Japan. The study posed the negative hypothesis: There are no significant differences in patterns of cognitive styles between cultures. The results of the field study contradicted the negative hypothesis, identifying significant differences in patterns of cognitive styles between the three cultural groups.

La perception de la verticale repose sur l’intégration des informations vestibulaires, visuelles et somesthésiques. Elle est généralement étudiée dans la modalité visuelle (VVS) ou haptique (VHS) et plus rarement dans la modalité visuo-haptique (VVHS). Cette modalité pose la question de l’intégration des informations mises en jeu par ces deux modalités dans la perception multimodale et du modèle cognitif sous-jacent. Se pose également la question de l'effet des lésions cérébrales perturbant la perception spatiale (hémi-négligence) dans la perception de la verticale.Une comparaison des VVS, VHS et VVHS est réalisée dans les quatre premières études de cette thèse, chez des participants sains jeunes et plus âgés et chez des patients cérébro-lésés droits avecou sans troubles visuo-spatiaux. Les performances observées sont proches de la verticale gravitaire chez les participants sains pour les VVS et VVHS. La VHS (avec la main droite) est déviée, dans le sens horaire chez les jeunes participants et anti-horaire pour les participants plus âgés. La présence d’un cadre visuel perturbe les VVS et VVHS chez les participants dépendants à l'égard du champ.Les patients cérébro-lésés droits présentent une déviation anti-horaire des trois verticales, plus marquée pour la VHS. Les VVHS mesurées sont correctement prédites, dans toutes les conditions,par la somme des VVS et VHS pondérées par leurs précisions relatives. La variance de la VVHS est moindre que les variances des VVS et VHS. La VHS, systématiquement déviée dans ces quatre premières études, fait l’objet d’une évaluation détaillée dans les deux dernières études de cette thèse. Les résultats montrent que la VHS est déviée dans le sens horaire avec la main droite, dans le sens anti-horaire avec la main gauche chez les participants sains jeunes ; les déviations s’inversent avec l’âge. Par ailleurs, les performances sont systématiquement déviées dans le sens des positions initiales. Considérés ensemble, ces résultats montrent que la perception de la verticale implique les informations mises en jeu par les modalités visuelle et haptique mais avec une prépondérance de la première. Ce travail de thèse montre ainsi que la perception de la verticale subjective repose sur une intégration multimodale pondérée des informations sensorielles en accord avec le modèle statistique bayésien du maximum de vraisemblance. Ce mode d'intégration multi-sensorielle n'est pas altéré par l’âge ou la présence de lésions cérébrales affectant la perception visuo-spatiale. Plusieurs pistes restent à explorer, notamment, le poids de la contribution des informations vestibulaires dans la verticale subjective. / The perception of the vertical direction is achieved through vestibular, visual and somatosensory information integration. It is studied in the visual (SVV), haptic (SHV) and less often in the visuo-haptic modality (SVHV). The latter raises the question of the integration of visual the information involved in the visual and haptic modalities and of the cognitive model underlying this integration. SVV, SHV and SVHV were compared in the first four studies of this thesis, inhealthy young and older subjects and in right-brain damaged patients with or without visuo-spatial disorders. Performances were closed to the gravity in healthy participants, for SVV as well as forSVHV. VHS, assessed with the right hand, was tilted clockwise in young participants and anticlockwise in older participants. The presence of a visual frame disrupted SVV and SVHV. The right-brain damaged patients had an anti-clockwise deviation of SVV and SVHV and the SHV was even more tilted. SVHV was well predicted from the sum of the SVV and SHV weighted by their relative variances in all conditions and the SVHV variances were lesser. SHV was evaluated in detail in the two last studies of this thesis because of the systematic tilt in the first four studies. The results show that the SHV is tilted clockwise with the right hand and anti-clockwise with the left hand in young healthy subjects. Moreover, deviations reversed in older group and performances are systematically tilted toward the initial positions in the two groups. Taken together, these results show that the way participants integrate visual and haptic information fits the maximum like lihoodmodel with a greater weighting of information available in visual modality and that ageing and right-brain lesions does not alter the multisensory integration. The weight of vestibular information in the subjective vertical, which has not been evaluated per se in this thesis, needs further investigations.

<p>Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which some people have extraordinary talents despite some serious mental or physical disability. It is a syndrome with remarkable features, standing in stark contrast to a person’s overall character. The term savant, or idiot savant, describes a person who, in spite of low intelligence, has a skill in some specific narrow area. Savants can have a specific talent in, for instance, music, art, calendar calculation or foreign language but whatever the specific talent is, it is always connected to extraordinary memory. Savant syndrome seems to be also connected to autism or autistic characteristics. In this paper I aim to give a clear description of the savant syndrome and explain its connection to autism. Further, I present how specific theories try to describe the causes of savant syndrome, and connect the theories to results of empirical research in order to give an overall view of the syndrome’s appearance. I will also compare the theories and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the discoveries and progress that has been made within the area of savant syndrome research.</p>

As especializações do hemisfério direito (HD) no processamento da função lingüística e da comunicação vêm ganhando destaque na literatura internacional, sendo ainda pouco conhecidas no contexto nacional. Conseqüentemente, há, ainda, limitados procedimentos de avaliação neuropsicológica dos distúrbios comunicativos apresentados em quadros de lesões desse hemisfério. Frente a essa demanda de ferramentas diagnósticas, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo promover estudos teóricos e empíricos com a Bateria Montréal de Avaliação da Comunicação – Bateria MAC, versão Brasileira do instrumento canadense Protocole Montreal d’Évaluation de la Communication – Protocole MEC, analisando-se o processamento de habilidades comunicativas de ativação do HD em adultos não lesados e em indivíduos com lesão vascular nesse lado do cérebro. Essa tese está composta por quatro estudos teóricos, com os objetivos de verificar quais os indícios do papel do HD no processamento comunicativo em estudos de neuroimagem com indivíduos neurologicamente preservados (Estudo teórico 1), apresentar uma meta-análise de estudos com indivíduos com lesão vascular no HD, investigando-se o desempenho desta população no processamento comunicativo (Estudo teórico 2), apresentar uma revisão teórica sobre a avaliação neuropsicológica da linguagem após lesão cerebral, com ênfase nas avaliações funcionais (Estudo teórico 3) e promover uma caracterização da Síndrome do HD (Estudo teórico 4). Além disso, a tese também está formada por três estudos empíricos, que visam a verificar o efeito de variáveis sócio-demográficas no desempenho comunicativo avaliado pela Bateria MAC (Estudo empírico 1), a apresentar normas de desempenho quanto à idade e à escolaridade, assim como dados da fidedignidade desse instrumento (Estudo empírico 2) e a averiguar o desempenho de lesados de HD nas tarefas comunicativas da Bateria MAC, comparando-os com um grupo controle (Estudo empírico 3). Como resultados, os estudos teóricos 1 e 2 mostraram uma importante contribuição do HD no processamento comunicativo tanto em indivíduos neurologicamente saudáveis quanto em indivíduos com lesões cerebrais direitas. O estudo teórico 3 evidenciou um crescente interesse pelo exame dos aspectos funcionais. O quarto estudo caracterizou os principais sintomas cognitivos (anosognosia, heminegligência sensorial, prosopagnosia, alterações de memória visuo-espacial e de trabalho, dispraxia construtiva e disfunção executiva), comunicativos (alterações nos componentes discursivo, pragmático-inferencial, léxico-semântico e prosódico) e comportamentais (dificuldades de compreensão e produção de emoções faciais e vocais e alterações neuropsiquiátricas) da Síndrome do HD. No estudo empírico 1, foram verificados efeitos das variáveis idade e escolaridade em tarefas dos quatro processamento avaliados pela Bateria MAC, sendo o efeito da educação mais significativo. O estudo empírico 2 apresentou normas quanto à idade e à escolaridade e demonstrou uma adequada fidedignidade do instrumento investigado. Por fim, no estudo 3 observou-se efeito da lesão de HD em tarefas discursivas, pragmáticas, léxico-semânticas e prosódicas, além de uma menor homogeneidade do grupo clínico quando comparado ao controle. / Right hemisphere (RH) specializations related to language and communication functions have been focused in international literature, although they are nationally less known. Consequently, there still are reduced neuropsychological assessment procedures to evaluate communication disorders present in right brain damage. Taking this great demand of diagnosis tools into account, this research aimed to present theoretical and empirical studies with the Brazilian version of Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery – Protocole MEC, analyzing the process of communicative abilities related to RH’s activation in non-damaged adults and in individuals with a stroke in this hemisphere. This thesis is formed by four theoretical studies, with the aims to verify the literature index to right hemisphere role on communicative processing in neuroimaging studies with neurologically normal participants (Theoretical study 1), to present a meta-analysis of studies with right brain damaged participants, verifying their communicative processing (Theoretical study 2), to present a theoretical review about the language neuropsychological assessment after brain damage, emphasizing the functional evaluation (Theoretical study 3) and to promote a description of the RH Syndrome (Theoretical study 4). Moreover, the thesis also includes three empirical investigations, witch aim to verify demographic factors’ effects on communication performance evaluated by Protocole MEC (Empirical study 1), to present norms related to age and education, as well as reliability data (Empirical study 2) and to investigate right brain damaged communication performance in Protocole MEC’s tasks, comparing this clinical group with a control one (Empirical study 3). As results, theoretical studies 1 and 2 showed an important contribution of the right hemisphere to communication process in healthy and right brain damaged subjects. In the theoretical study 3, a growing interest in the evaluation of language functional components was observed. The fourth study characterized the main RH Syndrome’s cognitive symptoms (anosognosia, hemineglect, prosopagnosia, working and visual-spatial memory disorders, constructional dyspraxia and executive dysfunction), communication symptoms (discoursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic 12 and prosodic deficits) and behavioral symptoms (difficulties in comprehension and production of facial and vocal expression, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders). In the empirical study 1, age and schooling effects were noted in tasks that evaluate the four communication components covered by the Protocole MEC. The education effect was more significant than the age one. The empirical study 2 presented norms stratified by age and education and it showed that Protocole MEC is a reliable instrument. In the study 3, a right brain damage effect was observed in discursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic and prosodic tasks, followed by a less homogeneous performance of the clinical group compared to the control one.

As especializações do hemisfério direito (HD) no processamento da função lingüística e da comunicação vêm ganhando destaque na literatura internacional, sendo ainda pouco conhecidas no contexto nacional. Conseqüentemente, há, ainda, limitados procedimentos de avaliação neuropsicológica dos distúrbios comunicativos apresentados em quadros de lesões desse hemisfério. Frente a essa demanda de ferramentas diagnósticas, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo promover estudos teóricos e empíricos com a Bateria Montréal de Avaliação da Comunicação – Bateria MAC, versão Brasileira do instrumento canadense Protocole Montreal d’Évaluation de la Communication – Protocole MEC, analisando-se o processamento de habilidades comunicativas de ativação do HD em adultos não lesados e em indivíduos com lesão vascular nesse lado do cérebro. Essa tese está composta por quatro estudos teóricos, com os objetivos de verificar quais os indícios do papel do HD no processamento comunicativo em estudos de neuroimagem com indivíduos neurologicamente preservados (Estudo teórico 1), apresentar uma meta-análise de estudos com indivíduos com lesão vascular no HD, investigando-se o desempenho desta população no processamento comunicativo (Estudo teórico 2), apresentar uma revisão teórica sobre a avaliação neuropsicológica da linguagem após lesão cerebral, com ênfase nas avaliações funcionais (Estudo teórico 3) e promover uma caracterização da Síndrome do HD (Estudo teórico 4). Além disso, a tese também está formada por três estudos empíricos, que visam a verificar o efeito de variáveis sócio-demográficas no desempenho comunicativo avaliado pela Bateria MAC (Estudo empírico 1), a apresentar normas de desempenho quanto à idade e à escolaridade, assim como dados da fidedignidade desse instrumento (Estudo empírico 2) e a averiguar o desempenho de lesados de HD nas tarefas comunicativas da Bateria MAC, comparando-os com um grupo controle (Estudo empírico 3). Como resultados, os estudos teóricos 1 e 2 mostraram uma importante contribuição do HD no processamento comunicativo tanto em indivíduos neurologicamente saudáveis quanto em indivíduos com lesões cerebrais direitas. O estudo teórico 3 evidenciou um crescente interesse pelo exame dos aspectos funcionais. O quarto estudo caracterizou os principais sintomas cognitivos (anosognosia, heminegligência sensorial, prosopagnosia, alterações de memória visuo-espacial e de trabalho, dispraxia construtiva e disfunção executiva), comunicativos (alterações nos componentes discursivo, pragmático-inferencial, léxico-semântico e prosódico) e comportamentais (dificuldades de compreensão e produção de emoções faciais e vocais e alterações neuropsiquiátricas) da Síndrome do HD. No estudo empírico 1, foram verificados efeitos das variáveis idade e escolaridade em tarefas dos quatro processamento avaliados pela Bateria MAC, sendo o efeito da educação mais significativo. O estudo empírico 2 apresentou normas quanto à idade e à escolaridade e demonstrou uma adequada fidedignidade do instrumento investigado. Por fim, no estudo 3 observou-se efeito da lesão de HD em tarefas discursivas, pragmáticas, léxico-semânticas e prosódicas, além de uma menor homogeneidade do grupo clínico quando comparado ao controle. / Right hemisphere (RH) specializations related to language and communication functions have been focused in international literature, although they are nationally less known. Consequently, there still are reduced neuropsychological assessment procedures to evaluate communication disorders present in right brain damage. Taking this great demand of diagnosis tools into account, this research aimed to present theoretical and empirical studies with the Brazilian version of Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery – Protocole MEC, analyzing the process of communicative abilities related to RH’s activation in non-damaged adults and in individuals with a stroke in this hemisphere. This thesis is formed by four theoretical studies, with the aims to verify the literature index to right hemisphere role on communicative processing in neuroimaging studies with neurologically normal participants (Theoretical study 1), to present a meta-analysis of studies with right brain damaged participants, verifying their communicative processing (Theoretical study 2), to present a theoretical review about the language neuropsychological assessment after brain damage, emphasizing the functional evaluation (Theoretical study 3) and to promote a description of the RH Syndrome (Theoretical study 4). Moreover, the thesis also includes three empirical investigations, witch aim to verify demographic factors’ effects on communication performance evaluated by Protocole MEC (Empirical study 1), to present norms related to age and education, as well as reliability data (Empirical study 2) and to investigate right brain damaged communication performance in Protocole MEC’s tasks, comparing this clinical group with a control one (Empirical study 3). As results, theoretical studies 1 and 2 showed an important contribution of the right hemisphere to communication process in healthy and right brain damaged subjects. In the theoretical study 3, a growing interest in the evaluation of language functional components was observed. The fourth study characterized the main RH Syndrome’s cognitive symptoms (anosognosia, hemineglect, prosopagnosia, working and visual-spatial memory disorders, constructional dyspraxia and executive dysfunction), communication symptoms (discoursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic 12 and prosodic deficits) and behavioral symptoms (difficulties in comprehension and production of facial and vocal expression, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders). In the empirical study 1, age and schooling effects were noted in tasks that evaluate the four communication components covered by the Protocole MEC. The education effect was more significant than the age one. The empirical study 2 presented norms stratified by age and education and it showed that Protocole MEC is a reliable instrument. In the study 3, a right brain damage effect was observed in discursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic and prosodic tasks, followed by a less homogeneous performance of the clinical group compared to the control one.

As especializações do hemisfério direito (HD) no processamento da função lingüística e da comunicação vêm ganhando destaque na literatura internacional, sendo ainda pouco conhecidas no contexto nacional. Conseqüentemente, há, ainda, limitados procedimentos de avaliação neuropsicológica dos distúrbios comunicativos apresentados em quadros de lesões desse hemisfério. Frente a essa demanda de ferramentas diagnósticas, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo promover estudos teóricos e empíricos com a Bateria Montréal de Avaliação da Comunicação – Bateria MAC, versão Brasileira do instrumento canadense Protocole Montreal d’Évaluation de la Communication – Protocole MEC, analisando-se o processamento de habilidades comunicativas de ativação do HD em adultos não lesados e em indivíduos com lesão vascular nesse lado do cérebro. Essa tese está composta por quatro estudos teóricos, com os objetivos de verificar quais os indícios do papel do HD no processamento comunicativo em estudos de neuroimagem com indivíduos neurologicamente preservados (Estudo teórico 1), apresentar uma meta-análise de estudos com indivíduos com lesão vascular no HD, investigando-se o desempenho desta população no processamento comunicativo (Estudo teórico 2), apresentar uma revisão teórica sobre a avaliação neuropsicológica da linguagem após lesão cerebral, com ênfase nas avaliações funcionais (Estudo teórico 3) e promover uma caracterização da Síndrome do HD (Estudo teórico 4). Além disso, a tese também está formada por três estudos empíricos, que visam a verificar o efeito de variáveis sócio-demográficas no desempenho comunicativo avaliado pela Bateria MAC (Estudo empírico 1), a apresentar normas de desempenho quanto à idade e à escolaridade, assim como dados da fidedignidade desse instrumento (Estudo empírico 2) e a averiguar o desempenho de lesados de HD nas tarefas comunicativas da Bateria MAC, comparando-os com um grupo controle (Estudo empírico 3). Como resultados, os estudos teóricos 1 e 2 mostraram uma importante contribuição do HD no processamento comunicativo tanto em indivíduos neurologicamente saudáveis quanto em indivíduos com lesões cerebrais direitas. O estudo teórico 3 evidenciou um crescente interesse pelo exame dos aspectos funcionais. O quarto estudo caracterizou os principais sintomas cognitivos (anosognosia, heminegligência sensorial, prosopagnosia, alterações de memória visuo-espacial e de trabalho, dispraxia construtiva e disfunção executiva), comunicativos (alterações nos componentes discursivo, pragmático-inferencial, léxico-semântico e prosódico) e comportamentais (dificuldades de compreensão e produção de emoções faciais e vocais e alterações neuropsiquiátricas) da Síndrome do HD. No estudo empírico 1, foram verificados efeitos das variáveis idade e escolaridade em tarefas dos quatro processamento avaliados pela Bateria MAC, sendo o efeito da educação mais significativo. O estudo empírico 2 apresentou normas quanto à idade e à escolaridade e demonstrou uma adequada fidedignidade do instrumento investigado. Por fim, no estudo 3 observou-se efeito da lesão de HD em tarefas discursivas, pragmáticas, léxico-semânticas e prosódicas, além de uma menor homogeneidade do grupo clínico quando comparado ao controle. / Right hemisphere (RH) specializations related to language and communication functions have been focused in international literature, although they are nationally less known. Consequently, there still are reduced neuropsychological assessment procedures to evaluate communication disorders present in right brain damage. Taking this great demand of diagnosis tools into account, this research aimed to present theoretical and empirical studies with the Brazilian version of Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery – Protocole MEC, analyzing the process of communicative abilities related to RH’s activation in non-damaged adults and in individuals with a stroke in this hemisphere. This thesis is formed by four theoretical studies, with the aims to verify the literature index to right hemisphere role on communicative processing in neuroimaging studies with neurologically normal participants (Theoretical study 1), to present a meta-analysis of studies with right brain damaged participants, verifying their communicative processing (Theoretical study 2), to present a theoretical review about the language neuropsychological assessment after brain damage, emphasizing the functional evaluation (Theoretical study 3) and to promote a description of the RH Syndrome (Theoretical study 4). Moreover, the thesis also includes three empirical investigations, witch aim to verify demographic factors’ effects on communication performance evaluated by Protocole MEC (Empirical study 1), to present norms related to age and education, as well as reliability data (Empirical study 2) and to investigate right brain damaged communication performance in Protocole MEC’s tasks, comparing this clinical group with a control one (Empirical study 3). As results, theoretical studies 1 and 2 showed an important contribution of the right hemisphere to communication process in healthy and right brain damaged subjects. In the theoretical study 3, a growing interest in the evaluation of language functional components was observed. The fourth study characterized the main RH Syndrome’s cognitive symptoms (anosognosia, hemineglect, prosopagnosia, working and visual-spatial memory disorders, constructional dyspraxia and executive dysfunction), communication symptoms (discoursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic 12 and prosodic deficits) and behavioral symptoms (difficulties in comprehension and production of facial and vocal expression, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders). In the empirical study 1, age and schooling effects were noted in tasks that evaluate the four communication components covered by the Protocole MEC. The education effect was more significant than the age one. The empirical study 2 presented norms stratified by age and education and it showed that Protocole MEC is a reliable instrument. In the study 3, a right brain damage effect was observed in discursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic and prosodic tasks, followed by a less homogeneous performance of the clinical group compared to the control one.

Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which some people have extraordinary talents despite some serious mental or physical disability. It is a syndrome with remarkable features, standing in stark contrast to a person’s overall character. The term savant, or idiot savant, describes a person who, in spite of low intelligence, has a skill in some specific narrow area. Savants can have a specific talent in, for instance, music, art, calendar calculation or foreign language but whatever the specific talent is, it is always connected to extraordinary memory. Savant syndrome seems to be also connected to autism or autistic characteristics. In this paper I aim to give a clear description of the savant syndrome and explain its connection to autism. Further, I present how specific theories try to describe the causes of savant syndrome, and connect the theories to results of empirical research in order to give an overall view of the syndrome’s appearance. I will also compare the theories and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses with respect to the discoveries and progress that has been made within the area of savant syndrome research.

Afrikaans text / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didaktiek)

Afrikaans text / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didaktiek)