Tests of sensory and motor function are widely used by clinicians and researchers in neurology, psychiatry, and neuropsychology. Less than perfect performance on many of these tests may be considered pathognomonic of central nervous system dysfunction. Unfortunately, differences across practitioners in specific test selection, administration procedures, and scoring criteria have resulted in inconsistencies which confound attempts to study the incidence and patterns of deficits (Adams & Victor, 1993; Glick, 1993). Although as a group psychologists favor standardized, quantitative instruments, the field has lacked a comprehensive, standardized sensory and motor battery. That psychologists have not developed such a battery may reflect the notion that pathognomonic signs are ambiguous and unstable (Buchanan & Heinrichs, 1989) and the fact that some traditional test development procedures are often inappropriate.For the Dean-Woodcock Sensory and Motor Battery, Dean and Woodcock (1994) selected measures representative of those included in the traditional neurological examination.Measures of subcortical function, unavailable in the major neuropsychological batteries, were included to allow differentiation with right hemisphere impairment.Using standard procedures for administration and scoring, this study gathered preliminary data regarding the incidence of pathognomonic signs in a normal adult population, identified items with difficulty levels likely to result in overidentification of abnormality, and estimated the interrater agreement and interrater reliability for items and tests most vulnerable to subjective interpretation. Data analysis reflected consideration of Franzen's (1989) argument that reliability can be better understood through use of multiple estimation strategies and Cicchetti's argument that data needs to be considered at "finer levels of molecular analysis" (p.621). In addition to investigating interrater agreement, this study applied generalizability theory which allows for simultaneous estimation of the relative proportion of variance contributed by multiple sources and their interactions.Results suggested adequate to excellent rater agreement and reliability (i.e., generalizability). Also, with minor modification of specific items, generalizability of items may be expected to increase. Future studies should sample from a more heterogenous general population and specific clinical populations. / Department of Educational Leadership

Perception has traditionally been studied as a modular function where different sensory systems operate as separate and independent modules. However, multisensory integration is essential for the perception of a coherent and unified representation of the external world that we experience phenomenologically. Mounting evidence suggests that the senses do not operate in isolation but that the brain processes and integrates information across modalities. A standing debate is at what level in the processing hierarchy the sensory streams converge, for example, if multisensory speech information converges first in higher-order polysensory areas such as STS and is then fed back to sensory areas, or if information is already integrated in primary and secondary sensory areas at the early stages of sensory processing. The studies in this thesis aim to investigate this question by focussing on the spatio-temporal aspects of multisensory processing, as well as investigating phonetic and non-phonetic integration in the human brain during auditory-visual speech perception.

I live in a society where a state of multi-tasking and over-stimulation is common. I am inundated with excessive information and seemingly addicted to distraction. My love affair with hi speed digital devices devours all sense of time and space. But in the process of making all information available to everyone, all the time, we are losing our connection with the value of direct experience. What I can see, feel, taste, smell, touch and hear is losing significance and with this loss I am becoming isolated from my own nature and perhaps even my own body. In response to this contemporary condition this thesis proposes a place dedicated to rediscovering our innate sense of rhythm and to re-connecting with our place in the cosmos. This is not intended as a rejection of current technologies, but rather a place that examines the potential of architecture to bring us into the present moment. In doing so we are able to attend to the experience of being in our body and moving from moment to moment in the world; we learn to slow down and enjoy the incremental life of our senses. The site for this exploration is an island in the rocky landscape of the Canadian Shield. Known as Twin Island, this place is the site of my family's cabin where I spend each summer. The journey to the island and the place itself are both a physical and spiritual symbol of transformation; of disconnecting then re-connecting. Architecture is used as an instrument to heighten one’s awareness of the primordial power of water, stone, fire and darkness to spark the cosmological imagination. Sinking deeply into her bed she penetrates earth, rock and ancient memory. Here, she finds her place. This is ‘architecture minimum’; we are simply sheltered within the expanse of the universe.

The taste qualities of acidulants have not been studied in detail despite the fact that they are widely used by the food industry. Studies on characterizing the sensory properties of organic and inorganic acids are very limited. Reported studies are commonly on threshold, equi-sour and the time intensity values of sourness. A series of experiments were conducted to determine the sensory properties of selected acidulants by different sensory and multivariate methods. First, the technique of Free-Choice Profiling was applied in order to characterize the sensory profile of some selected acids (adipic, citric, fumaric, glucono-delta-lactone, hydrochloric, lactic, malic, phosphoric, quinic, succinic, tartaric, citric:fumaric, citric:malic and fumaric:malic) on a weight (0.08% w/v or v/v) basis. Results analyzed through Generalized Procrustes Analysis indicate that on a weight basis (w/v or v/v), acids differed in their flavor and taste dynamics. Likewise, acids were described differently by individual panelists. Second, the sourness power functions of the selected acidulants were generated from five molar concentrations by magnitude estimation involving 16 trained panelists. Equi-sour concentrations were determined by regressing the log of the rescaled response (sensory) on the log of the stimuli (physical). The calculated equi-sour levels ranged from 0.48 ml/L for HCl to 2.34 g/L for glucono-delta-lactone when citric add was set at 1.0 g/L. These theoretical equi-sourness were then tested by using an alternative sensory method, the directional difference from control test. Third, the sensory profile of the acidulants at their equi-sour levels was characterized using two sensory methods, free-choice profiling and the conventional descriptive analysis. The former was analyzed by Generalized Procrustes Analysis while the latter was analyzed by Principal Component Analysis. The two sensory methods gave similar patterns of information regarding the add samples. The similarities of several organic acids and their mixtures were very evident. Hydrochloric and phosphoric acids were astringent while succinic add was bitter and had a monosodium glutamate taste. It was concluded that adds had other sensory properties aside from sourness that must be considered in a given food application. / Graduation date: 1993

Response characteristics and tactile coding capacities of single neurons of the dorsal column nuclei (DCN), and the dorsal horn, in particular, neurons of the spinocervical tract (SCT), were investigated in anaesthetized cats. Purely dynamically-sensitive tactile neurons of the DCN could be divided into two classes, one associated with hair follicle afferent (HFA) input, the other with Pacinian corpuscle (PC) input. The HFA-related class was most sensitive to low-frequency (&lt50 Hz) vibration, had phaselocked responses to vibration frequencies up to ~75 Hz and had a graded response output as a function of vibrotactile intensity changes. PC-related neurons had broader vibrotactile sensitivity, extending to ~300 Hz with tightest phaselocking between 50 and 200 Hz. The SCT neurons in the lumbar dorsal horn had tactile receptive fields on the hairy skin of the hindlimb and a very limited capacity to signal, in a graded way, the intensity parameter of the vibrotactile stimulus. Furthermore, because of their inability to respond on a cycle-by-cycle pattern at vibration frequencies above 5-10 Hz, these neurons were unable to provide any useful signal of vibration frequency beyond ~5-10 Hz, in contrast to DCN neurons. In the parallel human psychophysical study, the capacity for vibrotactile frequency detection and discrimination was examined in five subjects in glabrous and hairy skin. The vibrotactile detection threshold values obtained at four standard frequencies of 20, 50, 100 and 200 Hz were markedly higher on the hairy skin than on the glabrous skin. The discrimination task was examined by means of a two-alternative, forced-choice psychophysical procedure. Measures of the discriminable frequency increment (?????) and the Weber Fraction (????? / ??), revealed similar capacities for frequency discrimination at the two different skin sites at the standard frequencies of 20, 100 and 200 Hz, but an equivocal difference at 50 Hz. Cutaneous local anaesthesia in the dorsal forearm produced a marked impairment in vibrotactile detection and discrimination at the low frequencies of 20 and 50 Hz but little effect at higher frequencies, confirming that vibrotactile detection and discrimination in hairy skin depend upon superficial receptors at low vibrotactile frequencies, but depend on deep, probably Pacinian corpuscle receptors for high frequencies.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2513. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-126).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1240699451&SrchMode=1&sid=15&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1195058296&clientId=5220

Thesis (M. Sc.) (Hons.) -- University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-186).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed May 1, 2007). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Kolling Institute of Medical Research. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed 28 March 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the Dept. of Indian Sub-Continental Studies, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.