Effects of testosterone on spatial learning and memory in adult male rats

PubMed Central

Spritzer, Mark D.; Daviau, Emily D.; Coneeny, Meagan K.; Engelman, Shannon M.; Prince, W. Tyler; Rodriguez-Wisdom, Karlye N.

2011-01-01

A male advantage over females for spatial tasks has been well documented in both humans and rodents, but it remains unclear how the activational effects of testosterone influence spatial ability in males. In a series of experiments, we tested how injections of testosterone influenced the spatial working and reference memory of castrated male rats. In the eight-arm radial maze, testosterone injections (0.500 mg/rat) reduced the number of working memory errors during the early blocks of testing but had no effect on the number of reference memory errors relative to the castrated control group. In a reference memory version of the Morris water maze, injections of a wide range of testosterone doses (0.0625-1.000 mg/rat) reduced path lengths to the hidden platform, indicative of improved spatial learning. This improved learning was independent of testosterone dose, with all treatment groups showing better performance than the castrated control males. Furthermore, this effect was only observed when rats were given testosterone injections starting seven days prior to water maze testing and not when injections were given only on the testing days. We also observed that certain doses of testosterone (0.250 and 1.000 mg/rat) increased perseverative behavior in a reversal-learning task. Finally, testosterone did not have a clear effect on spatial working memory in the Morris water maze, although intermediate doses seemed to optimize performance. Overall, the results indicate that testosterone can have positive activational effects on spatial learning and memory, but the duration of testosterone replacement and the nature of the spatial task modify these effects. PMID:21295035

The Association Between Effective Dose of Magnesium and Mild Compulsive Exercise on Spatial Learning, Memory, and Motor Activity of Adult Male Rats.

PubMed

Hajizade Ghonsulakandi, Shahnaz; Sheikh, Mahmuod; Dehghan Shasaltaneh, Marzieh; Chopani, Samira; Naghdi, Nasser

2017-08-01

One of the most important survival mechanisms is learning and memory processes. To emphasize the role of physical exercises and magnesium (Mg) in improvement of cognitive performance, we planned to investigate the effect of Mg and mild compulsive exercise on spatial learning and memory of adult male rats. Accordingly, we divided male Wistar rats into four groups: (I) control, (II) Mg treatment, (III) exercise, and (IV) Mg-exercise in the different dosages of Mg (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mmol/kbw) were injected in the form of gavage during 1 week. Also, 1-week mild running on treadmill was used for exercise treatment. The Morris water maze (MWM) test and open field tool were used to evaluate spatial learning, memory, and motor activity, respectively. Our results clearly showed that 1 mmol/kbw Mg was applied as an effective dosage. Strikingly, 1-week mild exercise on treadmill had no significant effect on spatial motor activity, learning, and memory. Feeding 1 mmol/kbw Mg for a week showed a significant difference in learning and exploration stages. Compared to control animals, these results reveal exercise and Mg simultaneously had effect on learning and reminding. As a consequence, although mild exercise had no effect on motor activity and memory, Mg intake improved spatial learning, memory, and locomotor activity. The Mg feeding could be a promising supplemental treatment in the neurodegenerative disease. It is worthwhile to mention consumption of Mg leads to enhancement of memory, so animals find the hidden platform with the highest velocity.

Landcover Classification Using Deep Fully Convolutional Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Li, X.; Zhou, S.; Tang, J.

2017-12-01

Land cover classification has always been an essential application in remote sensing. Certain image features are needed for land cover classification whether it is based on pixel or object-based methods. Different from other machine learning methods, deep learning model not only extracts useful information from multiple bands/attributes, but also learns spatial characteristics. In recent years, deep learning methods have been developed rapidly and widely applied in image recognition, semantic understanding, and other application domains. However, there are limited studies applying deep learning methods in land cover classification. In this research, we used fully convolutional networks (FCN) as the deep learning model to classify land covers. The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) within the state of Kansas was used as training dataset and Landsat images were classified using the trained FCN model. We also applied an image segmentation method to improve the original results from the FCN model. In addition, the pros and cons between deep learning and several machine learning methods were compared and explored. Our research indicates: (1) FCN is an effective classification model with an overall accuracy of 75%; (2) image segmentation improves the classification results with better match of spatial patterns; (3) FCN has an excellent ability of learning which can attains higher accuracy and better spatial patterns compared with several machine learning methods.

Hyperammonemia induces glial activation, neuroinflammation and alters neurotransmitter receptors in hippocampus, impairing spatial learning: reversal by sulforaphane.

PubMed

Hernández-Rabaza, Vicente; Cabrera-Pastor, Andrea; Taoro-González, Lucas; Malaguarnera, Michele; Agustí, Ana; Llansola, Marta; Felipo, Vicente

2016-02-16

Patients with liver cirrhosis and minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) show mild cognitive impairment and spatial learning dysfunction. Hyperammonemia acts synergistically with inflammation to induce cognitive impairment in MHE. Hyperammonemia-induced neuroinflammation in hippocampus could contribute to spatial learning impairment in MHE. Two main aims of this work were: (1) to assess whether chronic hyperammonemia increases inflammatory factors in the hippocampus and if this is associated with microglia and/or astrocytes activation and (2) to assess whether hyperammonemia-induced neuroinflammation in the hippocampus is associated with altered membrane expression of glutamate and GABA receptors and spatial learning impairment. There are no specific treatments for cognitive alterations in patients with MHE. A third aim was to assess whether treatment with sulforaphane enhances endogenous the anti-inflammatory system, reduces neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of hyperammonemic rats, and restores spatial learning and if normalization of receptor membrane expression is associated with learning improvement. We analyzed the following in control and hyperammonemic rats, treated or not with sulforaphane: (1) microglia and astrocytes activation by immunohistochemistry, (2) markers of pro-inflammatory (M1) (IL-1β, IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (M2) microglia (Arg1, YM-1) by Western blot, (3) membrane expression of GABA, AMPA, and NMDA receptors using the BS3 cross-linker, and (4) spatial learning using the radial maze. The results reported show that hyperammonemia induces astrocytes and microglia activation in the hippocampus, increasing pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6. This is associated with altered membrane expression of AMPA, NMDA, and GABA receptors which would be responsible for altered neurotransmission and impairment of spatial learning in the radial maze. Treatment with sulforaphane promotes microglia differentiation from pro-inflammatory M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype and reduces activation of astrocytes in hyperammonemic rats. This reduces neuroinflammation, normalizes membrane expression of glutamate and GABA receptors, and restores spatial learning in hyperammonemic rats. Hyperammonemia-induced neuroinflammation impairs glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission by altering membrane expression of glutamate and GABA receptors, resulting in impaired spatial learning. Sulforaphane reverses all these effects. Treatment with sulforaphane could be useful to improve cognitive function in cirrhotic patients with minimal or clinical hepatic encephalopathy.

Effects of a cognitive training on spatial learning and associated functional brain activations

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Both cognitive and physical exercise have been discussed as promising interventions for healthy cognitive aging. The present study assessed the effects of cognitive training (spatial vs. perceptual training) and physical training (endurance training vs. non-endurance training) on spatial learning and associated brain activation in 33 adults (40–55 years). Spatial learning was assessed with a virtual maze task, and at the same time neural correlates were measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results Only the spatial training improved performance in the maze task. These behavioral gains were accompanied by a decrease in frontal and temporal lobe activity. At posttest, participants of the spatial training group showed lower activity than participants of the perceptual training group in a network of brain regions associated with spatial learning, including the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. No significant differences were observed between the two physical intervention groups. Conclusions Functional changes in neural systems associated with spatial navigation can be induced by cognitive interventions and seem to be stronger than effects of physical exercise in middle-aged adults. PMID:23870447

Spatial Cognition and Range Use in Free-Range Laying Hens

PubMed Central

Campbell, Dana L. M.; Loh, Ziyang A.; Dyall, Tim R.; Lee, Caroline

2018-01-01

Simple Summary Individual free-range laying hens vary in their use of the outdoor range. The outdoor environment is typically more complex and variable than indoor housing and thus range use may be related to differences in spatial abilities. Individual adult hens that never went outside were slower to learn a T-maze task—which requires birds to repeatedly find a food reward in one arm of the maze, compared to outdoor-preferring hens. Pullets that were faster to learn the maze also showed more visits to the range in their first month of range access but only in one of two tested groups. Early enrichment improved learning of the maze but only when the birds were tested before onset of lay. Fear may play a role in inhibiting bird’s spatial learning and their range use. More studies of different enriched rearing treatments and their impacts on fear and learning would be needed to confirm these findings. Overall, these results contribute to our understanding of why some birds choose to never access the outdoor range area. Abstract Radio-frequency identification tracking shows individual free-range laying hens vary in range use, with some never going outdoors. The range is typically more environmentally complex, requiring navigation to return to the indoor resources. Outdoor-preferring hens may have improved spatial abilities compared to indoor-preferring hens. Experiment 1 tested 32 adult ISA Brown hens in a T-maze learning task that showed exclusively-indoor birds were slowest to reach the learning success criterion (p < 0.05). Experiment 2 tested 117 pullets from enriched or non-enriched early rearing treatments (1 pen replicate per treatment) in the same maze at 15–16 or 17–18 weeks. Enriched birds reached learning success criterion faster at 15–16 weeks (p < 0.05) but not at 17–18 weeks (p > 0.05), the age that coincided with the onset of lay. Enriched birds that were faster to learn the maze task showed more range visits in the first 4 weeks of range access. Enriched and non-enriched birds showed no differences in telencephalon or hippocampal volume (p > 0.05). Fear may reduce spatial abilities but further testing with more pen replicates per early rearing treatments would improve our understanding of the relationship between spatial cognitive abilities and range use. PMID:29419742

Perceptual learning improves contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and foveal crowding in amblyopia.

PubMed

Barollo, Michele; Contemori, Giulio; Battaglini, Luca; Pavan, Andrea; Casco, Clara

2017-01-01

Amblyopic observers present abnormal spatial interactions between a low-contrast sinusoidal target and high-contrast collinear flankers. It has been demonstrated that perceptual learning (PL) can modulate these low-level lateral interactions, resulting in improved visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. We measured the extent and duration of generalization effects to various spatial tasks (i.e., visual acuity, Vernier acuity, and foveal crowding) through PL on the target's contrast detection. Amblyopic observers were trained on a contrast-detection task for a central target (i.e., a Gabor patch) flanked above and below by two high-contrast Gabor patches. The pre- and post-learning tasks included lateral interactions at different target-to-flankers separations (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 8λ) and included a range of spatial frequencies and stimulus durations as well as visual acuity, Vernier acuity, contrast-sensitivity function, and foveal crowding. The results showed that perceptual training reduced the target's contrast-detection thresholds more for the longest target-to-flanker separation (i.e., 8λ). We also found generalization of PL to different stimuli and tasks: contrast sensitivity for both trained and untrained spatial frequencies, visual acuity for Sloan letters, and foveal crowding, and partially for Vernier acuity. Follow-ups after 5-7 months showed not only complete maintenance of PL effects on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity function but also further improvement in these tasks. These results suggest that PL improves facilitatory lateral interactions in amblyopic observers, which usually extend over larger separations than in typical foveal vision. The improvement in these basic visual spatial operations leads to a more efficient capability of performing spatial tasks involving high levels of visual processing, possibly due to the refinement of bottom-up and top-down networks of visual areas.

Aqueous extract of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) improves the spatial performance of a rat model of Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Kashani, Masoud Soheili; Tavirani, Mostafa Rezaei; Talaei, Sayyed Alireza; Salami, Mahmoud

2011-04-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most important neurodegenerative disorders. It is characterized by dementia including deficits in learning and memory. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) on spatial performance of AD rats. Male Wistar rats were first divided into control and AD groups. Rat model of AD was established by intracerebroventricular injection of 10 μg Aβ1-42 20 d prior to administration of the lavender extract. Rats in both groups were then introduced to 2 stages of task learning (with an interval of 20 d) in Morris water maze, each followed by one probe test. After the first stage of spatial learning, control and AD animals received different doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) of the lavender extract. In the first stage of experiment, the latency to locate the hidden platform in AD group was significantly higher than that in control group. However, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received distilled water (vehicle) showed similar performance, indicating that the maze navigation itself could improve the spatial learning of AD animals. Besides, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received lavender extract administration at different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/ kg) spent less time locating the platform (except for the AD rats with 50 mg/kg extract treatment), as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment, respectively. In addition, lavender extract significantly improved the performance of control and AD rats in the probe test, only at the dose of 200 mg/kg, as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment. The lavender extract can effectively reverse spatial learning deficits in AD rats.

Combining Distance and Face-To Teaching and Learning in Spatial Computations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulland, E.-K.; Schut, A. G. T.; Veenendaal, B.

2011-09-01

Retention and passing rates as well as student engagement in computer programming and problem solving units are a major concern in tertiary spatial science courses. A number of initiatives were implemented to improve this. A pilot study reviews the changes made to the teaching and learning environment, including the addition of new resources and modifications to assessments, and investigates their effectiveness. In particular, the study focuses on the differences between students studying in traditional, oncampus mode and distance, e-learning mode. Student results and retention rates from 2009-2011, data from in-lecture clicker response units and two anonymous surveys collected in 2011 were analysed. Early results indicate that grades improved for engaged students but pass rates or grades of the struggling cohort of students did not improve significantly.

Arginine vasopressin prevents against Abeta(25-35)-induced impairment of spatial learning and memory in rats.

PubMed

Pan, Yan-Fang; Chen, Xiao-Rong; Wu, Mei-Na; Ma, Cun-Gen; Qi, Jin-Shun

2010-04-01

Amyloid beta protein (Abeta) is thought to be responsible for loss of memory in Alzheimer's disease (AD). A significant decrease in [Arg(8)]-vasopressin (AVP) has been found in the AD brain and in plasma; however, it is unclear whether this decrease in AVP is involved in Abeta-induced impairment of spatial cognition and whether AVP can protect against Abeta-induced deficits in cognitive function. The present study examined the effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of AVP on spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze test and investigated the potential protective function of AVP against Abeta-induced impairment in spatial cognition. The results were as follows: (1) i.c.v. injection of 25 nmol Abeta(25-35) resulted in a significant decline in spatial learning and memory; (2) 1 nmol and 10 nmol, but not 0.1 nmol, AVP injections markedly improved learning and memory; (3) pretreatment with 1 nmol or 10 nmol, but not 0.1 nmol, AVP effectively reversed the impairment in spatial learning and memory induced by Abeta(25-35); and (4) none of the drugs, including Abeta(25-35) and different concentrations of AVP, affected the vision or swimming speed of the rats. These results indicate that Abeta(25-35) could significantly impair spatial learning and memory in rats, and pretreatment with AVP centrally can enhance spatial learning and effectively prevent the behavioral impairment induced by neurotoxic Abeta(25-35). Thus, the present study provides further insight into the mechanisms by which Abeta impairs spatial learning and memory, suggesting that up-regulation of central AVP might be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of AD. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reducing Peripheral Inflammation with Infliximab Reduces Neuroinflammation and Improves Cognition in Rats with Hepatic Encephalopathy

PubMed Central

Dadsetan, Sherry; Balzano, Tiziano; Forteza, Jerónimo; Cabrera-Pastor, Andrea; Taoro-Gonzalez, Lucas; Hernandez-Rabaza, Vicente; Gil-Perotín, Sara; Cubas-Núñez, Laura; García-Verdugo, José-Manuel; Agusti, Ana; Llansola, Marta; Felipo, Vicente

2016-01-01

Inflammation contributes to cognitive impairment in patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE). However, the process by which peripheral inflammation results in cognitive impairment remains unclear. In animal models, neuroinflammation and altered neurotransmission mediate cognitive impairment. Taking into account these data, we hypothesized that in rats with HE: (1) peripheral inflammation is a main contributor to neuroinflammation; (2) neuroinflammation in hippocampus impairs spatial learning by altering AMPA and/or NMDA receptors membrane expression; (3) reducing peripheral inflammation with infliximab (anti-TNF-a) would improve spatial learning; (4) this would be associated with reduced neuroinflammation and normalization of the membrane expression of glutamate receptors. The aims of this work were to assess these hypotheses. We analyzed in rats with portacaval shunt (PCS) and control rats, treated or not with infliximab: (a) peripheral inflammation by measuring prostaglandin E2, IL10, IL-17, and IL-6; (b) neuroinflammation in hippocampus by analyzing microglial activation and the content of TNF-a and IL-1b; (c) AMPA and NMDA receptors membrane expression in hippocampus; and (d) spatial learning in the Radial and Morris water mazes. We assessed the effects of treatment with infliximab on peripheral inflammation, on neuroinflammation and AMPA and NMDA receptors membrane expression in hippocampus and on spatial learning and memory. PCS rats show increased serum prostaglandin E2, IL-17, and IL-6 and reduced IL-10 levels, indicating increased peripheral inflammation. PCS rats also show microglial activation and increased nuclear NF-kB and expression of TNF-a and IL-1b in hippocampus. This was associated with altered AMPA and NMDA receptors membrane expression in hippocampus and impaired spatial learning and memory in the radial and Morris water maze. Treatment with infliximab reduces peripheral inflammation in PCS rats, normalizing prostaglandin E2, IL-17, IL-6, and IL-10 levels in serum. Infliximab also prevents neuroinflammation, reduces microglial activation, translocates NF-kB into nucleoli and normalizes TNF-a and IL-1b content in hippocampus. This was associated with normalization of AMPA receptors membrane expression in hippocampus and of spatial learning and memory. The results suggest that peripheral inflammation contributes to spatial learning impairment in PCS rats. Treatment with anti-TNF-a could be a new therapeutic approach to improve cognitive function in patients with HE. PMID:27853420

Combined uridine and choline administration improves cognitive deficits in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

PubMed

De Bruin, N M W J; Kiliaan, A J; De Wilde, M C; Broersen, L M

2003-07-01

Rationale. Hypertension is considered a risk factor for the development of cognitive disorders, because of its negative effects on cerebral vasculature and blood flow. Genetically induced hypertension in rats has been associated with a range of cognitive impairments. Therefore, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) can potentially be used as a model for cognitive deficits in human subjects. Consecutively, it can be determined whether certain food components can improve cognition in these rats. Objective. The present study aimed to determine whether SHR display specific deficits in attention, learning, and memory function. Additionally, effects of chronic uridine and choline administration were studied. Methods. 5-7 months old SHR were compared with normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. (a) The operant delayed non-matching-to-position (DNMTP) test was used to study short-term memory function. (b) The five-choice serial reaction time (5-CSRT) task was used to assess selective visual attention processes. (c) Finally, the Morris water maze (MWM) acquisition was used as a measure for spatial learning and mnemonic capabilities. Results. (1) SHR exhibited significantly impaired performance in the 5-CSRT test in comparison with the two other rat strains. Both the SHR and WKY showed deficits in spatial learning when compared with the SD rats. (2) Uridine and choline supplementation normalized performance of SHR in the 5-CSRT test. (3) In addition, uridine and choline treatment improved MWM acquisition in both WKY and SHR rats. Conclusion. The present results show that the SHR have a deficiency in visual selective attention and spatial learning. Therefore, the SHR may provide an interesting model in the screening of substances with therapeutic potential for treatment of cognitive disorders. A combination of uridine and choline administration improved selective attention and spatial learning in SHR.

Modified Navigation Instructions for Spatial Navigation Assistance Systems Lead to Incidental Spatial Learning

PubMed Central

Gramann, Klaus; Hoepner, Paul; Karrer-Gauss, Katja

2017-01-01

Spatial cognitive skills deteriorate with the increasing use of automated GPS navigation and a general decrease in the ability to orient in space might have further impact on independence, autonomy, and quality of life. In the present study we investigate whether modified navigation instructions support incidental spatial knowledge acquisition. A virtual driving environment was used to examine the impact of modified navigation instructions on spatial learning while using a GPS navigation assistance system. Participants navigated through a simulated urban and suburban environment, using navigation support to reach their destination. Driving performance as well as spatial learning was thereby assessed. Three navigation instruction conditions were tested: (i) a control group that was provided with classical navigation instructions at decision points, and two other groups that received navigation instructions at decision points including either (ii) additional irrelevant information about landmarks or (iii) additional personally relevant information (i.e., individual preferences regarding food, hobbies, etc.), associated with landmarks. Driving performance revealed no differences between navigation instructions. Significant improvements were observed in both modified navigation instruction conditions on three different measures of spatial learning and memory: subsequent navigation of the initial route without navigation assistance, landmark recognition, and sketch map drawing. Future navigation assistance systems could incorporate modified instructions to promote incidental spatial learning and to foster more general spatial cognitive abilities. Such systems might extend mobility across the lifespan. PMID:28243219

The ampakine, Org 26576, bolsters early spatial reference learning and retrieval in the Morris water maze: a subchronic, dose-ranging study in rats.

PubMed

Hamlyn, Eugene; Brand, Linda; Shahid, Mohammed; Harvey, Brian H

2009-10-01

Ampakines have shown beneficial effects on cognition in selected animal models of learning. However, their ability to modify long-term spatial memory tasks has not been studied yet. This would lend credence to their possible value in treating disorders of cognition. We evaluated the actions of subchronic Org 26576 administration on spatial reference memory performance in the 5-day Morris water maze task in male Sprague-Dawley rats, at doses of 1, 3 and 10 mg/kg twice daily through intraperitoneal injection over 12 days. Org 26576 exerted a dose and time-dependent effect on spatial learning, with dosages of 3 and 10 mg/kg significantly enhancing acquisition on day 1. Globally, escape latency decreased significantly as the training days progressed in the saline and Org 26576-treated groups, indicating that significant and equal learning had taken place over the learning period. However, at the end of the learning period, all doses of Org 26576 significantly improved spatial memory storage/retrieval without confounding effects in the cued version of the task. Org 26576 offers early phase spatial memory benefits in rats, but particularly enhances search accuracy during reference memory retrieval. These results support its possible utility in treating disorders characterized by deficits in cognitive performance.

[Stimulation of D1-receptors improves passive avoidance learning of female rats during ovary cycle].

PubMed

Fedotova, Iu O; Sapronov, N S

2012-01-01

The involvement of D1-receptors in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle was assessed in the adult female rats. SKF-38393 (0,1 mg/kg, i.p.), D1-receptor agonist and SCH-23390 (0,1 mg/kg, i.p.), D1-receptor antagonist were injected chronically to adult female rats. Learning of these animals was assessed in different models: passive avoidance performance and Morris water maze. Chronic SKF-3839 administration to females resulted in the appearance of the passive avoidance performance in proestrous and estrous, as distinct from the control animals, but failed to change the dynamics of spatial learning in Morris water maze. Chronic SCH-23390 administration similarly impaired non-spatial and spatial learning in females during all phases of ovary cycle. The results of the study suggest modulating role of D1-receptors in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle in the adult female rats.

Spatial frequency discrimination learning in normal and developmentally impaired human vision

PubMed Central

Astle, Andrew T.; Webb, Ben S.; McGraw, Paul V.

2010-01-01

Perceptual learning effects demonstrate that the adult visual system retains neural plasticity. If perceptual learning holds any value as a treatment tool for amblyopia, trained improvements in performance must generalise. Here we investigate whether spatial frequency discrimination learning generalises within task to other spatial frequencies, and across task to contrast sensitivity. Before and after training, we measured contrast sensitivity and spatial frequency discrimination (at a range of reference frequencies 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 c/deg). During training, normal and amblyopic observers were divided into three groups. Each group trained on a spatial frequency discrimination task at one reference frequency (2, 4, or 8 c/deg). Normal and amblyopic observers who trained at lower frequencies showed a greater rate of within task learning (at their reference frequency) compared to those trained at higher frequencies. Compared to normals, amblyopic observers showed greater within task learning, at the trained reference frequency. Normal and amblyopic observers showed asymmetrical transfer of learning from high to low spatial frequencies. Both normal and amblyopic subjects showed transfer to contrast sensitivity. The direction of transfer for contrast sensitivity measurements was from the trained spatial frequency to higher frequencies, with the bandwidth and magnitude of transfer greater in the amblyopic observers compared to normals. The findings provide further support for the therapeutic efficacy of this approach and establish general principles that may help develop more effective protocols for the treatment of developmental visual deficits. PMID:20832416

Prenatal and postnatal polybrominated diphenyl ether exposure and visual spatial abilities in children

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vuong, Ann M.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are associated with impaired visual spatial abilities in toxicological studies, but no epidemiologic study has investigated PBDEs and visual spatial abilities in children. The Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment Study, a prospective birth cohort (2003–2006, Cincinnati, OH), was used to examine prenatal and childhood PBDEs and visual spatial abilities in 199 children. PBDEs were measured at 16±3 weeks gestation and at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 years using gas chromatography/isotope dilution high-resolution mass spectrometry. We used the Virtual Morris Water Maze to measure visual spatial abilities at 8 years. In covariate-adjusted models, 10-foldmore » increases in BDE-47, −99, and −100 at 5 years were associated with shorter completion times by 5.2 s (95% Confidence Interval [CI] −9.3, −1.1), 4.5 s (95% CI −8.1, −0.9), and 4.7 s (95% CI −9.0, −0.3), respectively. However, children with higher BDE-153 at 3 years had longer completion times (β=5.4 s, 95% CI −0.3, 11.1). Prenatal PBDEs were associated with improved visual spatial memory retention, with children spending a higher percentage of their search path in the correct quadrant. Child sex modified some associations between PBDEs and visual spatial learning. Longer path lengths were observed among males with increased BDE-47 at 2 and 3 years, while females had shorter paths. In conclusion, prenatal and postnatal BDE-28, −47, −99, and −100 at 5 and 8 years were associated with improved visual spatial abilities, whereas a pattern of impairments in visual spatial learning was noted with early childhood BDE-153 concentrations. - Highlights: • The VMWM test was used to assess visual spatial abilities in children at 8 years. • BDE-153 at 3 years was adversely associated with visual spatial learning. • BDE-47, −99, and −100 at 5 years was associated with better visual spatial learning. • Prenatal PBDEs were associated with improved visual spatial memory retention. • Male children were observed to perform more poorly on the VMWM than females.« less

Near or far: The effect of spatial distance and vocabulary knowledge on word learning.

PubMed

Axelsson, Emma L; Perry, Lynn K; Scott, Emilly J; Horst, Jessica S

2016-01-01

The current study investigated the role of spatial distance in word learning. Two-year-old children saw three novel objects named while the objects were either in close proximity to each other or spatially separated. Children were then tested on their retention for the name-object associations. Keeping the objects spatially separated from each other during naming was associated with increased retention for children with larger vocabularies. Children with a lower vocabulary size demonstrated better retention if they saw objects in close proximity to each other during naming. This demonstrates that keeping a clear view of objects during naming improves word learning for children who have already learned many words, but keeping objects within close proximal range is better for children at earlier stages of vocabulary acquisition. The effect of distance is therefore not equal across varying vocabulary sizes. The influences of visual crowding, cognitive load, and vocabulary size on word learning are discussed. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Audiovisual communication of object-names improves the spatial accuracy of recalled object-locations in topographic maps.

PubMed

Lammert-Siepmann, Nils; Bestgen, Anne-Kathrin; Edler, Dennis; Kuchinke, Lars; Dickmann, Frank

2017-01-01

Knowing the correct location of a specific object learned from a (topographic) map is fundamental for orientation and navigation tasks. Spatial reference systems, such as coordinates or cardinal directions, are helpful tools for any geometric localization of positions that aims to be as exact as possible. Considering modern visualization techniques of multimedia cartography, map elements transferred through the auditory channel can be added easily. Audiovisual approaches have been discussed in the cartographic community for many years. However, the effectiveness of audiovisual map elements for map use has hardly been explored so far. Within an interdisciplinary (cartography-cognitive psychology) research project, it is examined whether map users remember object-locations better if they do not just read the corresponding place names, but also listen to them as voice recordings. This approach is based on the idea that learning object-identities influences learning object-locations, which is crucial for map-reading tasks. The results of an empirical study show that the additional auditory communication of object names not only improves memory for the names (object-identities), but also for the spatial accuracy of their corresponding object-locations. The audiovisual communication of semantic attribute information of a spatial object seems to improve the binding of object-identity and object-location, which enhances the spatial accuracy of object-location memory.

Audiovisual communication of object-names improves the spatial accuracy of recalled object-locations in topographic maps

PubMed Central

Bestgen, Anne-Kathrin; Edler, Dennis; Kuchinke, Lars; Dickmann, Frank

2017-01-01

Knowing the correct location of a specific object learned from a (topographic) map is fundamental for orientation and navigation tasks. Spatial reference systems, such as coordinates or cardinal directions, are helpful tools for any geometric localization of positions that aims to be as exact as possible. Considering modern visualization techniques of multimedia cartography, map elements transferred through the auditory channel can be added easily. Audiovisual approaches have been discussed in the cartographic community for many years. However, the effectiveness of audiovisual map elements for map use has hardly been explored so far. Within an interdisciplinary (cartography-cognitive psychology) research project, it is examined whether map users remember object-locations better if they do not just read the corresponding place names, but also listen to them as voice recordings. This approach is based on the idea that learning object-identities influences learning object-locations, which is crucial for map-reading tasks. The results of an empirical study show that the additional auditory communication of object names not only improves memory for the names (object-identities), but also for the spatial accuracy of their corresponding object-locations. The audiovisual communication of semantic attribute information of a spatial object seems to improve the binding of object-identity and object-location, which enhances the spatial accuracy of object-location memory. PMID:29059237

[Influence of stimulation and blockade of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on learning of female rats in basic phases of ovary cycle].

PubMed

Fedotova, Iu O

2014-03-01

The present work was devoted to the comparative analysis of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle in the adult female rats. RJR-2403 (1.0 mg/kg, i. p.), α4β2 nAChRs agonist and mecamylamine (1.0 mg/kg, i. p.), α4β2 nAChRs antagonist were injected chronically during 14 days. The processes of learning/memory were assessed in different models of learning: passive avoidance performance and Morris water maze. Chronic RJR-2403 administration to females improved the passive avoidance performance in proestrous and estrous as compared to the control animals. Also, RJR-2403 restored spatial learning of rats during proestrous phases in Morris water maze, and stimulated the dynamics of spatial learning during estrous phases. On the contrary, the chronic mecamylamine administration impaired non-spatial, and especially, spatial learning in females during key phases of ovary cycle. The results of the study suggest positive effect of α4β2 nAChRs stimulation in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle in the adult female rats.

Ginsenoside Rb1 improves spatial learning and memory by regulation of cell genesis in the hippocampal subregions of rats.

PubMed

Liu, Lei; Hoang-Gia, Trinh; Wu, Hui; Lee, Mi-Ra; Gu, Lijuan; Wang, Chunyan; Yun, Beom-Sik; Wang, Qijun; Ye, Shengquan; Sung, Chang-Keun

2011-03-25

Ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1) is known to improve learning and memory in hippocampus-dependent tasks. However, the cellular mechanism remains unknown. Cell genesis in hippocampus is involved in spatial learning and memory. In the present study, Rb1 was orally administrated to adult rats for 30days. The behavioral training tests indicated that Rb1 improved spatial cognitive performance of rats in Morris water maze (MWM). Furthermore, we investigated the effects of Rb1 on cell genesis in adult rats' hippocampus, using thymidine analog bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) as a marker for dividing cells. It has been shown that hippocampal cell genesis can be influenced by several factors such as learning and exercise. In order to avoid the effects of the interfering factors, only the rats treated with Rb1 without training in MWM were used to investigate cell genesis in hippocampus. When BrdU was given to the rats 30days prior to being killed, it was shown that oral administration of Rb1 significantly increased cell survival in dentate gyrus and hippocampal subregion CA3. However, when BrdU was injected 2h prior to sacrifice, the results indicated that Rb1 had no significant influence on cell proliferation in the hippocampal subregions. Thus, an increase of cell survival in hippocampus stimulated by Rb1 may be one of the mechanisms by which ginseng facilitates spatial learning and memory. Our study also indicates that Rb1 may be developed as a therapeutic agent for patients with memory impairment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improving effect of mild foot electrical stimulation on pentylenetetrazole-induced impairment of learning and memory.

PubMed

Abasi-Moghadam, Monir; Ghasemi-Dehno, Arefe; Sadegh, Mehdi; Palizvan, Mohammad Reza

2018-05-10

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that affects learning and memory. Recently it has been shown that mild foot electrical stimulation (MFES) can increase learning and memory in normal rats. Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) kindling is a model of human epilepsy. As with human epilepsy, PTZ kindling impairs learning and memory in rats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect MFES on kindling-induced learning and memory deficits in rats. Forty-nine male Wistar rats weighting 200 to 250 g were divided into the following seven groups: PTZ only, phenytoin only, MFES only, PTZ plus phenytoin, PTZ plus MFES, phenytoin plus MFES, and saline (control), with the treatments administered for 26 days. Forty-eight hours after the last injection, the animals performed the Morris water maze (MWM) task, and spatial learning and memory were measured. The results indicated that although chronic administration of phenytoin inhibited the development of PTZ kindling, it did not exert a protective effect against kindling-induced spatial learning and memory impairment in rats. On the other hand, pretreatment of PTZ-kindled animals with MFES significantly improved spatial working and reference memory. The results point to potential novel beneficial effects of MFES on learning and memory impairment induced by PTZ kindling in rats. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual landmarks facilitate rodent spatial navigation in virtual reality environments

PubMed Central

Youngstrom, Isaac A.; Strowbridge, Ben W.

2012-01-01

Because many different sensory modalities contribute to spatial learning in rodents, it has been difficult to determine whether spatial navigation can be guided solely by visual cues. Rodents moving within physical environments with visual cues engage a variety of nonvisual sensory systems that cannot be easily inhibited without lesioning brain areas. Virtual reality offers a unique approach to ask whether visual landmark cues alone are sufficient to improve performance in a spatial task. We found that mice could learn to navigate between two water reward locations along a virtual bidirectional linear track using a spherical treadmill. Mice exposed to a virtual environment with vivid visual cues rendered on a single monitor increased their performance over a 3-d training regimen. Training significantly increased the percentage of time avatars controlled by the mice spent near reward locations in probe trials without water rewards. Neither improvement during training or spatial learning for reward locations occurred with mice operating a virtual environment without vivid landmarks or with mice deprived of all visual feedback. Mice operating the vivid environment developed stereotyped avatar turning behaviors when alternating between reward zones that were positively correlated with their performance on the probe trial. These results suggest that mice are able to learn to navigate to specific locations using only visual cues presented within a virtual environment rendered on a single computer monitor. PMID:22345484

Women Match Men when Learning a Spatial Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spence, Ian; Yu, Jingjie Jessica; Feng, Jing; Marshman, Jeff

2009-01-01

Meta-analytic studies have concluded that although training improves spatial cognition in both sexes, the male advantage generally persists. However, because some studies run counter to this pattern, a closer examination of the anomaly is warranted. The authors investigated the acquisition of a basic skill (spatial selective attention) using a…

An Active Learning Framework for Hyperspectral Image Classification Using Hierarchical Segmentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Zhou; Pasolli, Edoardo; Crawford, Melba M.; Tilton, James C.

2015-01-01

Augmenting spectral data with spatial information for image classification has recently gained significant attention, as classification accuracy can often be improved by extracting spatial information from neighboring pixels. In this paper, we propose a new framework in which active learning (AL) and hierarchical segmentation (HSeg) are combined for spectral-spatial classification of hyperspectral images. The spatial information is extracted from a best segmentation obtained by pruning the HSeg tree using a new supervised strategy. The best segmentation is updated at each iteration of the AL process, thus taking advantage of informative labeled samples provided by the user. The proposed strategy incorporates spatial information in two ways: 1) concatenating the extracted spatial features and the original spectral features into a stacked vector and 2) extending the training set using a self-learning-based semi-supervised learning (SSL) approach. Finally, the two strategies are combined within an AL framework. The proposed framework is validated with two benchmark hyperspectral datasets. Higher classification accuracies are obtained by the proposed framework with respect to five other state-of-the-art spectral-spatial classification approaches. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed pruning strategy is also demonstrated relative to the approaches based on a fixed segmentation.

Learning from number board games: you learn what you encode.

PubMed

Laski, Elida V; Siegler, Robert S

2014-03-01

We tested the hypothesis that encoding the numerical-spatial relations in a number board game is a key process in promoting learning from playing such games. Experiment 1 used a microgenetic design to examine the effects on learning of the type of counting procedure that children use. As predicted, having kindergartners count-on from their current number on the board while playing a 0-100 number board game facilitated their encoding of the numerical-spatial relations on the game board and improved their number line estimates, numeral identification, and count-on skill. Playing the same game using the standard count-from-1 procedure led to considerably less learning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that comparable improvement in number line estimation does not occur with practice encoding the numerals 1-100 outside of the context of a number board game. The general importance of aligning learning activities and physical materials with desired mental representations is discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Six Myths About Spatial Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newcombe, Nora S.; Stieff, Mike

2012-04-01

Visualizations are an increasingly important part of scientific education and discovery. However, users often do not gain knowledge from them in a complete or efficient way. This article aims to direct research on visualizations in science education in productive directions by reviewing the evidence for widespread assumptions that learning styles, sex differences, developmental stages, and spatial language determine the impact of visualizations on science learning. First, we examine the assumption that people differ in their verbal versus visual learning style. Due to the lack of rigorous evaluation, there is no current support for this distinction. Future research should distinguish between two different kinds of visual learning style. Second, we consider the belief that there are large and intractable sex differences in spatial ability resultant from immutable biological reasons. Although there are some spatial sex differences (in some types of spatial tests although not all), there is actually only very mixed support for biological causation. Most important, there is conclusive evidence that spatial skills can be improved through training and education. Third, we explore educators' use of Piaget's ideas about spatial development to draw conclusions about 'developmental appropriateness'. However, recent research on spatial development has focused on identifying sequences that begin with early starting points of skill, and spatial education is possible in some form at all ages. Fourth, although spatial language does not determine spatial thought, it does frame attention in a way that can have impact on learning and understanding. We examine the empirical support for each assumption and its relevance to future research on visualizations in science education.

Biphasic effect of citral, a flavoring and scenting agent, on spatial learning and memory in rats.

PubMed

Yang, Zheqiong; Xi, Jinlei; Li, Jihong; Qu, Wen

2009-10-01

Although some central effects of citral have been reported, cognitive effects on spatial memory have not been investigated. The evidence showed that citral can regulate the synthesis of retinoic acid (RA), which exerts a vital function in the development and maintenance of spatial memory. In this study, we applied Morris water maze to test the effect of citral on animals' spatial learning and memory. To elucidate the mechanism of this effect, we also measured the retinoic acid concentration in rats' hippocampus by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our data implied biphasic effects of citral. The low dose (0.1 mg/kg) of citral improved the spatial learning capability, and enhanced the spatial reference memory of rats, whereas the high dose (1.0 mg/kg) was like to produce the opposite effects. Meanwhile, the low dose of citral increased the hippocampal retinoic acid concentration, while the high dose decreased it. Due to the quick elimination and non-bioaccumulation in the body, effects of citral on spatial memory in this study seemed to be indirect actions. The change in hippocampal retinoic acid concentration induced by different doses of citral might be responsible for the biphasic effect of citral on spatial learning and memory.

Spatial Cognition and Range Use in Free-Range Laying Hens.

PubMed

Campbell, Dana L M; Talk, Andrew C; Loh, Ziyang A; Dyall, Tim R; Lee, Caroline

2018-02-08

Radio-frequency identification tracking shows individual free-range laying hens vary in range use, with some never going outdoors. The range is typically more environmentally complex, requiring navigation to return to the indoor resources. Outdoor-preferring hens may have improved spatial abilities compared to indoor-preferring hens. Experiment 1 tested 32 adult ISA Brown hens in a T-maze learning task that showed exclusively-indoor birds were slowest to reach the learning success criterion ( p < 0.05). Experiment 2 tested 117 pullets from enriched or non-enriched early rearing treatments (1 pen replicate per treatment) in the same maze at 15-16 or 17-18 weeks. Enriched birds reached learning success criterion faster at 15-16 weeks ( p < 0.05) but not at 17-18 weeks ( p > 0.05), the age that coincided with the onset of lay. Enriched birds that were faster to learn the maze task showed more range visits in the first 4 weeks of range access. Enriched and non-enriched birds showed no differences in telencephalon or hippocampal volume ( p > 0.05). Fear may reduce spatial abilities but further testing with more pen replicates per early rearing treatments would improve our understanding of the relationship between spatial cognitive abilities and range use.

Overt and covert attention to location-based reward.

PubMed

McCoy, Brónagh; Theeuwes, Jan

2018-01-01

Recent research on the impact of location-based reward on attentional orienting has indicated that reward factors play an influential role in spatial priority maps. The current study investigated whether and how reward associations based on spatial location translate from overt eye movements to covert attention. If reward associations can be tied to locations in space, and if overt and covert attention rely on similar overlapping neuronal populations, then both overt and covert attentional measures should display similar spatial-based reward learning. Our results suggest that location- and reward-based changes in one attentional domain do not lead to similar changes in the other. Specifically, although we found similar improvements at differentially rewarded locations during overt attentional learning, this translated to the least improvement at a highly rewarded location during covert attention. We interpret this as the result of an increased motivational link between the high reward location and the trained eye movement response acquired during learning, leading to a relative slowing during covert attention when the eyes remained fixated and the saccade response was suppressed. In a second experiment participants were not required to keep fixated during the covert attention task and we no longer observed relative slowing at the high reward location. Furthermore, the second experiment revealed no covert spatial priority of rewarded locations. We conclude that the transfer of location-based reward associations is intimately linked with the reward-modulated motor response employed during learning, and alternative attentional and task contexts may interfere with learned spatial priorities. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The effect of cerebellar transplantation and enforced physical activity on motor skills and spatial learning in adult Lurcher mutant mice.

PubMed

Cendelín, Jan; Korelusová, Ivana; Vozeh, Frantisek

2009-03-01

Lurcher mutant mice represent a model of olivocerebellar degeneration. They are used to investigate cerebellar functions, consequences of cerebellar degeneration and methods of therapy influencing them. The aim of the work was to assess the effect of foetal cerebellar graft transplantation, repeated enforced physical activity and the combination of both these types of treatment on motor skills, spontaneous motor activity and spatial learning ability in adult B6CBA Lurcher mice. Foetal cerebellar grafts were applied into the cerebellum of Lurchers in the form of solid tissue pieces. Enforced motor activity was realised through rotarod training. Motor functions were examined using bar, ladder and rotarod tests. Spatial learning was tested in the Morris water maze. Spontaneous motor activity in the open field was observed. The presence of the graft was examined histologically. Enforced physical activity led to moderate improvement of some motor skills and to a significant amelioration of spatial learning ability in Lurchers. The transplantation of cerebellar tissue did not influence motor functions significantly but led to an improvement of spatial learning ability. Mutual advancement of the effects of both types of treatment was not observed. Spontaneous motor activity was influenced neither by physical activity nor by the transplantation. Physical activity did not influence the graft survival and development. Because nerve sprouting and cell migration from the graft to the host cerebellum was poor, the functional effects of the graft should be explained with regard to its trophic influence rather than with any involvement of the grafted cells into neural circuitries.

Becoming a high-fidelity - super - imitator: what are the contributions of social and individual learning?

PubMed

Subiaul, Francys; Patterson, Eric M; Schilder, Brian; Renner, Elizabeth; Barr, Rachel

2015-11-01

In contrast to other primates, human children's imitation performance goes from low to high fidelity soon after infancy. Are such changes associated with the development of other forms of learning? We addressed this question by testing 215 children (26-59 months) on two social conditions (imitation, emulation) - involving a demonstration - and two asocial conditions (trial-and-error, recall) - involving individual learning - using two touchscreen tasks. The tasks required responding to either three different pictures in a specific picture order (Cognitive: Airplane→Ball→Cow) or three identical pictures in a specific spatial order (Motor-Spatial: Up→Down→Right). There were age-related improvements across all conditions and imitation, emulation and recall performance were significantly better than trial-and-error learning. Generalized linear models demonstrated that motor-spatial imitation fidelity was associated with age and motor-spatial emulation performance, but cognitive imitation fidelity was only associated with age. While this study provides evidence for multiple imitation mechanisms, the development of one of those mechanisms - motor-spatial imitation - may be bootstrapped by the development of another social learning skill - motor-spatial emulation. Together, these findings provide important clues about the development of imitation, which is arguably a distinctive feature of the human species. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Can 28-Month-Old Children Learn Spatial Prepositions Robustly from Pictures? Yes, When Narrative Input Is Provided

PubMed Central

Rohlfing, Katharina J.; Nachtigäller, Kerstin

2016-01-01

The learning of spatial prepositions is assumed to be based on experience in space. In a slow mapping study, we investigated whether 31 German 28-month-old children could robustly learn the German spatial prepositions hinter [behind] and neben [next to] from pictures, and whether a narrative input can compensate for a lack of immediate experience in space. One group of children received pictures with a narrative input as a training to understand spatial prepositions. In two further groups, we controlled (a) for the narrative input by providing unconnected speech during the training and (b) for the learning material by training the children on toys rather than pictures. We assessed children’s understanding of spatial prepositions at three different time points: pretest, immediate test, and delayed posttest. Results showed improved word retention in children from the narrative but not the control group receiving unconnected speech. Neither of the trained groups succeeded in generalization to novel referents. Finally, all groups were instructed to deal with untrained material in the test to investigate the robustness of learning across tasks. None of the groups succeeded in this task transfer. PMID:27471479

Function modeling improves the efficiency of spatial modeling using big data from remote sensing

Treesearch

John Hogland; Nathaniel Anderson

2017-01-01

Spatial modeling is an integral component of most geographic information systems (GISs). However, conventional GIS modeling techniques can require substantial processing time and storage space and have limited statistical and machine learning functionality. To address these limitations, many have parallelized spatial models using multiple coding libraries and have...

Learning to echolocate in sighted people: a correlational study on attention, working memory and spatial abilities.

PubMed

Ekkel, M R; van Lier, R; Steenbergen, B

2017-03-01

Echolocation can be beneficial for the orientation and mobility of visually impaired people. Research has shown considerable individual differences for acquiring this skill. However, individual characteristics that affect the learning of echolocation are largely unknown. In the present study, we examined individual factors that are likely to affect learning to echolocate: sustained and divided attention, working memory, and spatial abilities. To that aim, sighted participants with normal hearing performed an echolocation task that was adapted from a previously reported size-discrimination task. In line with existing studies, we found large individual differences in echolocation ability. We also found indications that participants were able to improve their echolocation ability. Furthermore, we found a significant positive correlation between improvement in echolocation and sustained and divided attention, as measured in the PASAT. No significant correlations were found with our tests regarding working memory and spatial abilities. These findings may have implications for the development of guidelines for training echolocation that are tailored to the individual with a visual impairment.

Selective cognitive impairments associated with NMDA receptor blockade in humans.

PubMed

Rowland, Laura M; Astur, Robert S; Jung, Rex E; Bustillo, Juan R; Lauriello, John; Yeo, Ronald A

2005-03-01

Hypofunction of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) may be involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. NMDAR antagonists like ketamine induce schizophrenia-like features in humans. In rodent studies, NMDAR antagonism impairs learning by disrupting long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus. This study investigated the effects of ketamine on spatial learning (acquisition) vs retrieval in a virtual Morris water task in humans. Verbal fluency, working memory, and learning and memory of verbal information were also assessed. Healthy human subjects participated in this double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. On two separate occasions, ketamine/placebo was administered and cognitive tasks were assessed in association with behavioral ratings. Ketamine impaired learning of spatial and verbal information but retrieval of information learned prior to drug administration was preserved. Schizophrenia-like symptoms were significantly related to spatial and verbal learning performance. Ketamine did not significantly impair attention, verbal fluency, or verbal working memory task performance. Spatial working memory was slightly impaired. In conclusion, these results provide evidence for ketamine's differential impairment of verbal and spatial learning vs retrieval. By using the Morris water task, which is hippocampal-dependent, this study helps bridge the gap between nonhuman animal and human NMDAR antagonism research. Impaired cognition is a core feature of schizophrenia. A better understanding of NMDA antagonism, its physiological and cognitive consequences, may provide improved models of psychosis and cognitive therapeutics.

Treadmill Exercise Ameliorates Spatial Learning and Memory Deficits Through Improving the Clearance of Peripheral and Central Amyloid-Beta Levels.

PubMed

Khodadadi, Davar; Gharakhanlou, Reza; Naghdi, Naser; Salimi, Mona; Azimi, Mohammad; Shahed, Atabak; Heysieattalab, Soomaayeh

2018-06-11

Aggregated amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are believed to play a decisive role in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous evidence suggested that exercise contributes to the improvement of cognitive decline and slows down pathogenesis of AD; however, the exact mechanisms for this have not been fully understood. Here, we evaluated the effect of a 4-week moderate treadmill exercise on spatial memory via central and peripheral Aβ clearance mechanisms following developed AD-like neuropathology induced by intra-hippocampal Aβ 1-42 injection in male Wistar rats. We found Aβ 1-42 -treated animals showed spatial learning and memory impairment which was accompanied by increased levels of amyloid plaque load and soluble Aβ 1-42 (sAβ 1-42 ), decreased mRNA and protein expression of neprilysin (NEP), insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP-1) in the hippocampus. Aβ 1-42 -treated animals also exhibited a higher level of sAβ 1-42 and a lower level of soluble LRP-1 (sLRP-1) in plasma, as well as a decreased level of LRP-1 mRNA and protein content in the liver. However, exercise training improved the spatial learning and memory deficits, reduced both plaque load and sAβ 1-42 levels, and up-regulated expression of NEP, IDE, and LRP-1 in the hippocampus of Aβ 1-42 -treated animals. Aβ 1-42 -treated animals subjected to treadmill exercise also revealed decreased levels of sAβ 1-42 and increased levels of sLRP-1 in plasma, as well as increased levels of LRP-1 mRNA and protein in the liver. In conclusion, our findings suggest that exercise-induced improvement in both of central and peripheral Aβ clearance are likely involved in ameliorating spatial learning and memory deficits in an animal model of AD. Future studies need to determine their relative contribution.

Women match men when learning a spatial skill.

PubMed

Spence, Ian; Yu, Jingjie Jessica; Feng, Jing; Marshman, Jeff

2009-07-01

Meta-analytic studies have concluded that although training improves spatial cognition in both sexes, the male advantage generally persists. However, because some studies run counter to this pattern, a closer examination of the anomaly is warranted. The authors investigated the acquisition of a basic skill (spatial selective attention) using a matched-pair two-wave longitudinal design. Participants were screened with the use of an attentional visual field task, with the objective of selecting and matching 10 male-female pairs, over a wide range (30% to 57% correct). Subsequently, 20 participants 17-23 years of age (selected from 43 screened) were trained for 10 hr (distributed over several sessions) by playing a first-person shooter video game. This genre is known to be highly effective in enhancing spatial skills. All 20 participants improved, with matched members of the male-female pairs achieving very similar gains, independent of starting level. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the learning trajectory of women is not inferior to that of men when acquiring a basic spatial skill. Training methods that develop basic spatial skills may be essential to achieve gender parity in both basic and complex spatial tasks.

Evaluation of an online three-dimensional interactive resource for undergraduate neuroanatomy education.

PubMed

Allen, Lauren K; Eagleson, Roy; de Ribaupierre, Sandrine

2016-10-01

Neuroanatomy is one of the most challenging subjects in anatomy, and novice students often experience difficulty grasping the complex three-dimensional (3D) spatial relationships. This study evaluated a 3D neuroanatomy e-learning module, as well as the relationship between spatial abilities and students' knowledge in neuroanatomy. The study's cross-over design divided the participants into two groups, each starting with tests for anatomy knowledge and spatial ability, followed by access to either the 3D online learning module or the gross anatomy laboratory. Participants completed a second knowledge test prior to accessing the other learning modality. Participants in both groups scored significantly higher on Quiz 1 than on the Pretest knowledge assessment (W = 47, P < 0.01; W = 30, P < 0.01). Students who initially accessed the 3D online resources scored significantly better on the Quiz 1 than students who accessed the gross anatomy resources (W = 397.5, P < 0.01). Scores significantly improved on Quiz 2 for participants who accessed the 3D learning module following exposure to the cadaveric resources (W = 94, P < 0.01). After exposure to both learning modalities, there were no significant differences between groups. Significant positive correlations were found between participants' spatial ability score and their performance on the Pretest, Quiz 1, and Quiz 2 assessments (r = 0.22, P = 0.04; r = 0.25, P = 0.02; r = 0.26, P = 0.02). These preliminary results found students appreciated working with the 3D e-learning module, and their learning outcomes significantly improved after accessing the resource. Anat Sci Educ 9: 431-439. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.

Place and direction learning in a spatial T-maze task by neonatal piglets

PubMed Central

Elmore, Monica R. P.; Dilger, Ryan N.; Johnson, Rodney W.

2013-01-01

Pigs are a valuable animal model for studying neurodevelopment in humans due to similarities in brain structure and growth. The development and validation of behavioral tests to assess learning and memory in neonatal piglets are needed. The present study evaluated the capability of 2-wk old piglets to acquire a novel place and direction learning spatial T-maze task. Validity of the task was assessed by the administration of scopolamine, an anti-cholinergic drug that acts on the hippocampus and other related structures, to impair spatial memory. During acquisition, piglets were trained to locate a milk reward in a constant place in space, as well as direction (east or west), in a plus-shaped maze using extra-maze visual cues. Following acquisition, reward location was reversed and piglets were re-tested to assess learning and working memory. The performance of control piglets in the maze improved over time (P < 0.0001), reaching performance criterion (80% correct) on day 5 of acquisition. Correct choices decreased in the reversal phase (P < 0.0001), but improved over time. In a separate study, piglets were injected daily with either phosphate buffered saline (PBS; control) or scopolamine prior to testing. Piglets administered scopolamine showed impaired performance in the maze compared to controls (P = 0.03), failing to reach performance criterion after 6 days of acquisition testing. Collectively, these data demonstrate that neonatal piglets can be tested in a spatial T-maze task to assess hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. PMID:22526690

Making perceptual learning practical to improve visual functions.

PubMed

Polat, Uri

2009-10-01

Task-specific improvement in performance after training is well established. The finding that learning is stimulus-specific and does not transfer well between different stimuli, between stimulus locations in the visual field, or between the two eyes has been used to support the notion that neurons or assemblies of neurons are modified at the earliest stage of cortical processing. However, a debate regarding the proposed mechanism underlying perceptual learning is an ongoing issue. Nevertheless, generalization of a trained task to other functions is an important key, for both understanding the neural mechanisms and the practical value of the training. This manuscript describes a structured perceptual learning method that previously used (amblyopia, myopia) and a novel technique and results that were applied for presbyopia. In general, subjects were trained for contrast detection of Gabor targets under lateral masking conditions. Training improved contrast sensitivity and diminished the lateral suppression when it existed (amblyopia). The improvement was transferred to unrelated functions such as visual acuity. The new results of presbyopia show substantial improvement of the spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity, leading to improved processing speed of target detection as well as reaction time. Consequently, the subjects, who were able to eliminate the need for reading glasses, benefited. Thus, here we show that the transfer of functions indicates that the specificity of improvement in the trained task can be generalized by repetitive practice of target detection, covering a sufficient range of spatial frequencies and orientations, leading to an improvement in unrelated visual functions. Thus, perceptual learning can be a practical method to improve visual functions in people with impaired or blurred vision.

Spatial Reasoning: Improvement of Imagery and Abilities in Sophomore Organic Chemistry. Perspective to Enhance Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornbuckle, Susan F.; Gobin, Latanya; Thurman, Stephanie N.

2014-01-01

Spatial reasoning has become a demanded skill for students pursuing a science emphasis to compete with the dynamic growth of our professional society. The ability to reason spatially includes explorations in memory recollection and problem solving capabilities as well as critical thinking and reasoning skills. With these advancements, educational…

Virtual reality in neurologic rehabilitation of spatial disorientation

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Topographical disorientation (TD) is a severe and persistent impairment of spatial orientation and navigation in familiar as well as new environments and a common consequence of brain damage. Virtual reality (VR) provides a new tool for the assessment and rehabilitation of TD. In VR training programs different degrees of active motor control over navigation may be implemented (i.e. more passive spatial navigation vs. more active). Increasing demands of active motor control may overload those visuo-spatial resources necessary for learning spatial orientation and navigation. In the present study we used a VR-based verbally-guided passive navigation training program to improve general spatial abilities in neurologic patients with spatial disorientation. Methods Eleven neurologic patients with focal brain lesions, which showed deficits in spatial orientation, as well as 11 neurologic healthy controls performed a route finding training in a virtual environment. Participants learned and recalled different routes for navigation in a virtual city over five training sessions. Before and after VR training, general spatial abilities were assessed with standardized neuropsychological tests. Results Route finding ability in the VR task increased over the five training sessions. Moreover, both groups improved different aspects of spatial abilities after VR training in comparison to the spatial performance before VR training. Conclusions Verbally-guided passive navigation training in VR enhances general spatial cognition in neurologic patients with spatial disorientation as well as in healthy controls and can therefore be useful in the rehabilitation of spatial deficits associated with TD. PMID:23394289

"Building" 3D visualization skills in mineralogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaudio, S. J.; Ajoku, C. N.; McCarthy, B. S.; Lambart, S.

2016-12-01

Studying mineralogy is fundamental for understanding the composition and physical behavior of natural materials in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. However, some students struggle and ultimately get discouraged with mineralogy course material because they lack well-developed spatial visualization skills that are needed to deal with three-dimensional (3D) objects, such as crystal forms or atomic-scale structures, typically represented in two-dimensional (2D) space. Fortunately, spatial visualization can improve with practice. Our presentation demonstrates a set of experiential learning activities designed to support the development and improvement of spatial visualization skills in mineralogy using commercially available magnetic building tiles, rods, and spheres. These instructional support activities guide students in the creation of 3D models that replicate macroscopic crystal forms and atomic-scale structures in a low-pressure learning environment and at low cost. Students physically manipulate square and triangularly shaped magnetic tiles to build 3D open and closed crystal forms (platonic solids, prisms, pyramids and pinacoids). Prismatic shapes with different closing forms are used to demonstrate the relationship between crystal faces and Miller Indices. Silica tetrahedra and octahedra are constructed out of magnetic rods (bonds) and spheres (oxygen atoms) to illustrate polymerization, connectivity, and the consequences for mineral formulae. In another activity, students practice the identification of symmetry elements and plane lattice types by laying magnetic rods and spheres over wallpaper patterns. The spatial visualization skills developed and improved through our experiential learning activities are critical to the study of mineralogy and many other geology sub-disciplines. We will also present pre- and post- activity assessments that are aligned with explicit learning outcomes.

Hippocampal 5-HT1A Receptor and Spatial Learning and Memory

PubMed Central

Glikmann-Johnston, Yifat; Saling, Michael M.; Reutens, David C.; Stout, Julie C.

2015-01-01

Spatial cognition is fundamental for survival in the topographically complex environments inhabited by humans and other animals. The hippocampus, which has a central role in spatial cognition, is characterized by high concentration of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) receptor binding sites, particularly of the 1A receptor (5-HT1A) subtype. This review highlights converging evidence for the role of hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors in spatial learning and memory. We consider studies showing that activation or blockade of the 5-HT1A receptors using agonists or antagonists, respectively, lead to changes in spatial learning and memory. For example, pharmacological manipulation to induce 5-HT release, or to block 5-HT uptake, have indicated that increased extracellular 5-HT concentrations maintain or improve memory performance. In contrast, reduced levels of 5-HT have been shown to impair spatial memory. Furthermore, the lack of 5-HT1A receptor subtype in single gene knockout mice is specifically associated with spatial memory impairments. These findings, along with evidence from recent cognitive imaging studies using positron emission tomography (PET) with 5-HT1A receptor ligands, and studies of individual genetic variance in 5-HT1A receptor availability, strongly suggests that 5-HT, mediated by the 5-HT1A receptor subtype, plays a key role in spatial learning and memory. PMID:26696889

Multisubject Learning for Common Spatial Patterns in Motor-Imagery BCI

PubMed Central

Devlaminck, Dieter; Wyns, Bart; Grosse-Wentrup, Moritz; Otte, Georges; Santens, Patrick

2011-01-01

Motor-imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) commonly use the common spatial pattern filter (CSP) as preprocessing step before feature extraction and classification. The CSP method is a supervised algorithm and therefore needs subject-specific training data for calibration, which is very time consuming to collect. In order to reduce the amount of calibration data that is needed for a new subject, one can apply multitask (from now on called multisubject) machine learning techniques to the preprocessing phase. Here, the goal of multisubject learning is to learn a spatial filter for a new subject based on its own data and that of other subjects. This paper outlines the details of the multitask CSP algorithm and shows results on two data sets. In certain subjects a clear improvement can be seen, especially when the number of training trials is relatively low. PMID:22007194

Robot-Assisted Proprioceptive Training with Added Vibro-Tactile Feedback Enhances Somatosensory and Motor Performance.

PubMed

Cuppone, Anna Vera; Squeri, Valentina; Semprini, Marianna; Masia, Lorenzo; Konczak, Jürgen

2016-01-01

This study examined the trainability of the proprioceptive sense and explored the relationship between proprioception and motor learning. With vision blocked, human learners had to perform goal-directed wrist movements relying solely on proprioceptive/haptic cues to reach several haptically specified targets. One group received additional somatosensory movement error feedback in form of vibro-tactile cues applied to the skin of the forearm. We used a haptic robotic device for the wrist and implemented a 3-day training regimen that required learners to make spatially precise goal-directed wrist reaching movements without vision. We assessed whether training improved the acuity of the wrist joint position sense. In addition, we checked if sensory learning generalized to the motor domain and improved spatial precision of wrist tracking movements that were not trained. The main findings of the study are: First, proprioceptive acuity of the wrist joint position sense improved after training for the group that received the combined proprioceptive/haptic and vibro-tactile feedback (VTF). Second, training had no impact on the spatial accuracy of the untrained tracking task. However, learners who had received VTF significantly reduced their reliance on haptic guidance feedback when performing the untrained motor task. That is, concurrent VTF was highly salient movement feedback and obviated the need for haptic feedback. Third, VTF can be also provided by the limb not involved in the task. Learners who received VTF to the contralateral limb equally benefitted. In conclusion, somatosensory training can significantly enhance proprioceptive acuity within days when learning is coupled with vibro-tactile sensory cues that provide feedback about movement errors. The observable sensory improvements in proprioception facilitates motor learning and such learning may generalize to the sensorimotor control of the untrained motor tasks. The implications of these findings for neurorehabilitation are discussed.

High-School Chemistry Students' Performance and Gender Differences in a Computerized Molecular Modeling Learning Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnea, Nitza; Dori, Yehudit J.

1999-12-01

Computerized molecular modeling (CMM) contributes to the development of visualization skills via vivid animation of three dimensional representations. Its power to illustrate and explore phenomena in chemistry teaching stems from the convenience and simplicity of building molecules of any size and color in a number of presentation styles. A new CMM-based learning environment for teaching and learning chemistry in Israeli high schools has been designed and implemented. Three tenth grade experimental classes used this discovery CMM approach, while two other classes, who studied the same topic in the customary approach, served as a control group. We investigated the effects of using molecular modeling on students' spatial ability, understanding of new concepts related to geometric and symbolic representations and students' perception of the model concept. Each variable was examined for gender differences. Students of the experimental group performed better than control group students in all three performance aspects. Experimental group students scored higher than the control group students in the achievement test on structure and bonding. Students' spatial ability improved in both groups, but students from the experimental group scored higher. For the average students in the two groups the improvement in all three spatial ability sub-tests —paper folding, card rotation, and cube comparison—was significantly higher for the experimental group. Experimental group students gained better insight into the model concept than the control group and could explain more phenomena with the aid of a variety of models. Hence, CMM helps in particular to improve the examined cognitive aspects of the average student population. In most of the achievement and spatial ability tests no significant differences between the genders were found, but in some aspects of model perception and verbal argumentation differences still exist. Experimental group females improved their model perception more than the control group females in understanding ways to create models and in the role of models as mental structures and prediction tools. Teachers' and students' feedback on the CMM learning environment was found to be positive, as it helped them understand concepts in molecular geometry and bonding. The results of this study suggest that teaching/learning of topics in chemistry that are related to three dimensional structures can be improved by using a discovery approach in a computerized learning environment.

Effects of Inter-Alpha Inhibitor Proteins on Neonatal Brain Injury: Age, Task and Treatment Dependent Neurobehavioral Outcomes

PubMed Central

Threlkeld, Steven W.; Gaudet, Cynthia M.; La Rue, Molly E.; Dugas, Ethan; Hill, Courtney A.; Lim, Yow-Pin; Stonestreet, Barbara S.

2014-01-01

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is frequently associated with premature and/or full term birth related complications. HI injury often results in learning and processing deficits that reflect widespread damage to an extensive range of cortical and sub-cortical brain structures. Further, inflammation has been implicated in the long-term progression and severity of HI injury. Recently, Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins (IAIPs) have been shown to attenuate inflammation in models of systemic infection. Importantly, preclinical studies of neonatal HI injury and neuroprotection often focus on single time windows of assessment or single behavioral domains. This approach limits translational validity, given evidence for a diverse spectrum of neurobehavioral deficits that may change across developmental windows following neonatal brain injury. Therefore, the aims of this research were to assess the effects of human IAIPs on early neocortical cell death (72 hours post insult), adult regional brain volume measurements (cerebral cortex, hippocampus, striatum, corpus callosum) and long-term behavioral outcomes in juvenile (P38-50) and adult (P80+) periods across two independent learning domains (spatial and non-spatial learning), after postnatal day 7 HI injury in rats. Here, for the first time, we show that IAIPs reduce acute neocortical neuronal cell death and improve brain weight outcome 72 hours following HI injury in the neonatal rat. Further, these longitudinal studies are the first to show age, task and treatment dependent improvements in behavioral outcome for both spatial and non-spatial learning following systemic administration of IAIPs in neonatal HI injured rats. Finally, results also show sparing of brain regions critical for spatial and non-spatial learning in adult animals treated with IAIPs at the time of injury onset. These data support the proposal that Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins may serve as novel therapeutics for brain injury associated with premature birth and/or neonatal brain injury and highlight the importance of assessing multiple ages, brain regions and behavioral domains when investigating experimental treatment efficacy. PMID:25084519

Contributions of dorsal striatal subregions to spatial alternation behavior.

PubMed

Moussa, Roula; Poucet, Bruno; Amalric, Marianne; Sargolini, Francesca

2011-07-01

Considerable evidence has shown a clear dissociation between the dorsomedial (DMS) and the dorsolateral (DLS) striatum in instrumental conditioning. In particular, DMS activity is necessary to form action-outcome associations, whereas the DLS is required for developing habitual behavior. However, few studies have investigated whether a similar dissociation exists in more complex goal-directed learning processes. The present study examined the role of the two structures in such complex learning by analyzing the effects of excitotoxic DMS and DLS lesions during the acquisition and extinction of spatial alternation behavior, in a continuous alternation T-maze task. We demonstrate that DMS and DLS lesions have opposite effects, the former impairing and the latter improving animal performance during learning and extinction. DMS lesions may impair the acquisition of spatial alternation behavior by disrupting the signal necessary to link a goal with a specific spatial sequence. In contrast, DLS lesions may accelerate goal-driven strategies by minimizing the influence of external stimuli on the response, thus increasing the impact of action-reward contingencies. Taken together, these results suggest that DMS- and DLS-mediated learning strategies develop in parallel and compete for the control of the behavioral response early in learning.

Using input feature information to improve ultraviolet retrieval in neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhibin; Chang, Ni-Bin; Gao, Wei; Chen, Maosi; Zempila, Melina

2017-09-01

In neural networks, the training/predicting accuracy and algorithm efficiency can be improved significantly via accurate input feature extraction. In this study, some spatial features of several important factors in retrieving surface ultraviolet (UV) are extracted. An extreme learning machine (ELM) is used to retrieve the surface UV of 2014 in the continental United States, using the extracted features. The results conclude that more input weights can improve the learning capacities of neural networks.

Inclusive fitness analysis of cumulative cultural evolution in an island-structured population.

PubMed

Ohtsuki, Hisashi; Wakano, Joe Yuichiro; Kobayashi, Yutaka

2017-06-01

The success of humans on the globe is largely supported by our cultural excellence. Our culture is cumulative, meaning that it is improved from generation to generation. Previous works have revealed that two modes of learning, individual learning and social learning, play pivotal roles in the accumulation of culture. However, under the trade-off between learning and reproduction, one's investment into learning is easily exploited by those who copy the knowledge of skillful individuals and selfishly invest more efforts in reproduction. It has been shown that in order to prevent such a breakdown, the rate of vertical transmission (i.e. transmission from parents to their offspring) of culture must be unrealistically close to one. Here we investigate what if the population is spatially structured. In particular, we hypothesize that spatial structure should favor highly cumulative culture through endogenously arising high kinship. We employ Wright's island model and assume that cultural transmission occurs within a local island. Our inclusive fitness analysis reveals combined effects of direct fitness of the actor, indirect fitness through relatives in the current generation, and indirect fitness through relatives in future generations. The magnitude of those indirect benefits is measured by intergenerational coefficients of genetic relatedness. Our result suggests that the introduction of spatial structure raises the stationary level of culture in the population, but that the extent of its improvement compared with a well-mixed population is marginal unless spatial localization is extreme. Overall, our model implies that we need an alternative mechanism to explain highly cumulative culture of modern humans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptual Learning Improves Contrast Sensitivity of V1 Neurons in Cats

PubMed Central

Hua, Tianmiao; Bao, Pinglei; Huang, Chang-Bing; Wang, Zhenhua; Xu, Jinwang

2010-01-01

Summary Background Perceptual learning has been documented in adult humans over a wide range of tasks. Although the often observed specificity of learning is generally interpreted as evidence for training-induced plasticity in early cortical areas, physiological evidence for training-induced changes in early visual cortical areas is modest, despite reports of learning-induced changes of cortical activities in fMRI studies. To reveal the physiological bases of perceptual learning, we combined psychophysical measurements with extracellular single-unit recording under anesthetized preparations, and examined the effects of training in grating orientation identification on both perceptual and neuronal contrast sensitivity functions of cats. Results We have found that training significantly improved perceptual contrast sensitivity of the cats to gratings with the spatial frequencies near the ‘trained’ spatial frequency, with stronger effects in the trained eye. Consistent with behavioral assessments, the mean contrast sensitivity of neurons recorded from V1 of the trained cats was significantly higher than that of neurons recorded from the untrained cats. Furthermore, in the trained cats, the contrast sensitivity of V1 neurons responding preferentially to stimuli presented via the trained eyes was significantly greater than that of neurons responding preferentially to stimuli presented via the ‘untrained’ eyes. The effect was confined to the trained spatial frequencies. In both trained and untrained cats, the neuronal contrast sensitivity functions derived from the contrast sensitivity of the individual neurons were highly correlated with behaviorally determined perceptual contrast sensitivity functions. Conclusions We suggest that training-induced neuronal contrast-gain in area V1 underlies behaviorally determined perceptual contrast sensitivity improvements. PMID:20451388

Improved spatial accuracy of functional maps in the rat olfactory bulb using supervised machine learning approach.

PubMed

Murphy, Matthew C; Poplawsky, Alexander J; Vazquez, Alberto L; Chan, Kevin C; Kim, Seong-Gi; Fukuda, Mitsuhiro

2016-08-15

Functional MRI (fMRI) is a popular and important tool for noninvasive mapping of neural activity. As fMRI measures the hemodynamic response, the resulting activation maps do not perfectly reflect the underlying neural activity. The purpose of this work was to design a data-driven model to improve the spatial accuracy of fMRI maps in the rat olfactory bulb. This system is an ideal choice for this investigation since the bulb circuit is well characterized, allowing for an accurate definition of activity patterns in order to train the model. We generated models for both cerebral blood volume weighted (CBVw) and blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI data. The results indicate that the spatial accuracy of the activation maps is either significantly improved or at worst not significantly different when using the learned models compared to a conventional general linear model approach, particularly for BOLD images and activity patterns involving deep layers of the bulb. Furthermore, the activation maps computed by CBVw and BOLD data show increased agreement when using the learned models, lending more confidence to their accuracy. The models presented here could have an immediate impact on studies of the olfactory bulb, but perhaps more importantly, demonstrate the potential for similar flexible, data-driven models to improve the quality of activation maps calculated using fMRI data. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Learning efficient visual search for stimuli containing diagnostic spatial configurations and color-shape conjunctions.

PubMed

Reavis, Eric A; Frank, Sebastian M; Tse, Peter U

2018-04-12

Visual search is often slow and difficult for complex stimuli such as feature conjunctions. Search efficiency, however, can improve with training. Search for stimuli that can be identified by the spatial configuration of two elements (e.g., the relative position of two colored shapes) improves dramatically within a few hundred trials of practice. Several recent imaging studies have identified neural correlates of this learning, but it remains unclear what stimulus properties participants learn to use to search efficiently. Influential models, such as reverse hierarchy theory, propose two major possibilities: learning to use information contained in low-level image statistics (e.g., single features at particular retinotopic locations) or in high-level characteristics (e.g., feature conjunctions) of the task-relevant stimuli. In a series of experiments, we tested these two hypotheses, which make different predictions about the effect of various stimulus manipulations after training. We find relatively small effects of manipulating low-level properties of the stimuli (e.g., changing their retinotopic location) and some conjunctive properties (e.g., color-position), whereas the effects of manipulating other conjunctive properties (e.g., color-shape) are larger. Overall, the findings suggest conjunction learning involving such stimuli might be an emergent phenomenon that reflects multiple different learning processes, each of which capitalizes on different types of information contained in the stimuli. We also show that both targets and distractors are learned, and that reversing learned target and distractor identities impairs performance. This suggests that participants do not merely learn to discriminate target and distractor stimuli, they also learn stimulus identity mappings that contribute to performance improvements.

Perinatal exposure to genistein, a soy phytoestrogen, improves spatial learning and memory but impairs passive avoidance learning and memory in offspring.

PubMed

Kohara, Yumi; Kuwahara, Rika; Kawaguchi, Shinichiro; Jojima, Takeshi; Yamashita, Kimihiro

2014-05-10

This study investigated the effects of perinatal genistein (GEN) exposure on the central nervous system of rat offspring. Pregnant dams orally received GEN (1 or 10 mg/kg/day) or vehicle (1 ml/kg/day) from gestation day 10 to postnatal day 14. In order to assess the effects of GEN on rat offspring, we used a battery of behavioral tests, including the open-field, elevated plus-maze, MAZE and step-through passive avoidance tests. MAZE test is an appetite-motivation test, and we used this mainly for assessing spatial learning and memory. In the MAZE test, GEN groups exhibited shorter latency from start to goal than the vehicle-treated group in both sexes. On the other hand, performances in the step-through passive avoidance test were non-monotonically inhibited by GEN in both sexes, and a significant difference was observed in low dose of the GEN-treated group compared to the vehicle-treated group in female rats. Furthermore, we found that perinatal exposure to GEN did not significantly alter locomotor activity or emotionality as assessed by the open-field and elevated-plus maze tests. These results suggest that perinatal exposure to GEN improved spatial learning and memory of rat offspring, but impaired their passive avoidance learning and memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Active and passive spatial learning in human navigation: acquisition of survey knowledge.

PubMed

Chrastil, Elizabeth R; Warren, William H

2013-09-01

It seems intuitively obvious that active exploration of a new environment would lead to better spatial learning than would passive visual exposure. It is unclear, however, which components of active learning contribute to spatial knowledge, and previous literature is decidedly mixed. This experiment tests the contributions of 4 components to metric survey knowledge: visual, vestibular, and podokinetic information and cognitive decision making. In the learning phase, 6 groups of participants learned the locations of 8 objects in a virtual hedge maze by (a) walking, (b) being pushed in a wheelchair, or (c) watching a video, crossed with (1) making decisions about their path or (2) being guided through the maze. In the test phase, survey knowledge was assessed by having participants walk a novel shortcut from a starting object to the remembered location of a test object, with the maze removed. Performance was slightly better than chance in the passive video condition. The addition of vestibular information did not improve performance in the wheelchair condition, but the addition of podokinetic information significantly improved angular accuracy in the walking condition. In contrast, there was no effect of decision making in any condition. The results indicate that visual and podokinetic information significantly contribute to survey knowledge, whereas vestibular information and decision making do not. We conclude that podokinetic information is the primary component of active learning for the acquisition of metric survey knowledge. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Development of a Web-Based 3D Module for Enhanced Neuroanatomy Education.

PubMed

Allen, Lauren K; Ren, He Zhen; Eagleson, Roy; de Ribaupierre, Sandrine

2016-01-01

Neuroanatomy is a challenging subject, with novice medical students often experiencing difficulty grasping the intricate 3D spatial relationships. Most of the anatomical teaching in undergraduate medicine utilizes conventional 2D resources. E-learning technologies facilitate the development of learner-centered educational tools that can be tailored to meet each student's educational needs, and may foster improved learning in neuroanatomy, however this has yet to be examined fully in the literature. An interactive 3D e-learning module was developed to complement gross anatomy laboratory instruction. Incorporating such 3D modules may provide additional support for students in areas of anatomy that are spatially challenging, such as neuroanatomy. Specific anatomical structures and their relative spatial positions to other structures can be clearly defined in the 3D virtual environment from viewpoints that may not readily be available using cadaveric or 2D image modalities. Providing an interactive user interface for the 3D module in which the student controls many factors may enable the student to develop an improved understanding of the spatial relationships. This work outlines the process for the development of a 3D interactive module of the cerebral structures included in the anatomy curriculum for undergraduate medical students in their second year of study.

Gender, Games and Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Castell, Suzanne; Larios, Hector; Jenson, Jennifer

2017-01-01

We report here a study of spatial learning and action videogame play based on Feng et al.'s (2007) finding that 10 hours spent playing an action videogame significantly improved selective attention and mental rotation. Students with above-average scores on measures of spatial abilities, such as mental rotation, prove more successful in Science,…

Using higher-level inquiry to improve spatial ability in an introductory geology course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Lacey A.

Visuo-spatial skills, the ability to visually take in information and create a mental image are crucial for success in fields involving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as well as fine arts. Unfortunately, due to a lack of curriculum focused on developing spatial skills, students enrolled in introductory college-level science courses tend to have difficulty with spatially-related activities. One of the best ways to engage students in science activities is through a learning and teaching strategy called inquiry. There are lower levels of inquiry wherein learning and problem-solving are guided by instructions and higher levels of inquiry wherein students have a greater degree of autonomy in learning and creating their own problem-solving strategy. A study involving 112 participants was conducted during the fall semester in 2014 at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in an 1040 Introductory Geology Lab to determine if a new, high-level, inquiry-based lab would increase participants' spatial skills more than the traditional, low-level inquiry lab. The study also evaluated whether a higher level of inquiry differentially affected low versus high spatial ability participants. Participants were evaluated using a spatial ability assessment, and pre- and post-tests. The results of this study show that for 3-D to 2-D visualization, the higher-level inquiry lab increased participants' spatial ability more than the lower-level inquiry lab. For spatial rotational skills, all participants' spatial ability scores improved, regardless of the level of inquiry to which they were exposed. Low and high spatial ability participants were not differentially affected. This study demonstrates that a lab designed with a higher level of inquiry can increase students' spatial ability more than a lab with a low level of inquiry. A lab with a higher level of inquiry helped all participants, regardless of their initial spatial ability level. These findings show that curriculum that incorporates a high level of inquiry that integrates practice of spatial skills can increase students' spatial abilities in Geology-related coursework.

Postnatal high-protein diet improves learning and memory in premature rats via activation of mTOR signaling.

PubMed

Su, Zhi-Wen; Liao, Jia-Yi; Zhang, Hui; Zhang, Tao; Wu, Fan; Tian, Xiao-Hua; Zhang, Fei-Tong; Sun, Wei-Wen; Cui, Qi-Liang

2015-06-22

The present study investigated whether a high-protein diet affects spatial learning and memory in premature rats via modulation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Pre- and full-term Sprague-Dawley pups were fed a normal (18% protein) or high-protein (30% protein) diet (HPD) for 6 or 8 weeks after weaning. Spatial learning and memory were tested in the Morris water maze at week 6 and 8. The activation of mTOR signaling pathway components was evaluated by western blotting. Spatial memory performance of premature rats consuming a normal and HPD was lower than that of full-term rats on the same diet at 6 weeks, and was associated with lower levels of ribosomal protein S6 kinase p70 subtype (p70S6K) and initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4EBP1) phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Spatial memory was improved in 8-week-old premature rats on an HPD as compared to those on a normal diet. Premature rats on an HPD had p70S6K and 4EBP1 phosphorylation levels in the hippocampus that were comparable to those of full-term rats on an HPD. Long-term consumption of a protein-rich diet can restore the impairment in learning and memory in pre-term rats via upregulation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Forced and voluntary exercises equally improve spatial learning and memory and hippocampal BDNF levels.

PubMed

Alomari, Mahmoud A; Khabour, Omar F; Alzoubi, Karem H; Alzubi, Mohammad A

2013-06-15

Multiple evidence suggest the importance of exercise for cognitive and brain functions. Few studies however, compared the behavioral and neural adaptations to force versus voluntary exercise training. Therefore, spatial learning and memory formation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were examined in Wister male rats after 6 weeks of either daily forced swimming, voluntary running exercises, or sedentary. Learning capabilities and short, 5-hour, and long term memories improved (p<0.05) similarly in the exercise groups, without changes (p>0.05) in the sedentary. Likewise, both exercises resulted in increased (p<0.05) hippocampal BDNF level. The results suggest that forced and voluntary exercises can similarly enhance cognitive- and brain-related tasks, seemingly vie the BDNF pathway. These data further confirm the health benefits of exercise and advocate both exercise modalities to enhance behavioral and neural functions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acute stress differentially affects spatial configuration learning in high and low cortisol-responding healthy adults

PubMed Central

Meyer, Thomas; Smeets, Tom; Giesbrecht, Timo; Quaedflieg, Conny W. E. M.; Merckelbach, Harald

2013-01-01

Background Stress and stress hormones modulate memory formation in various ways that are relevant to our understanding of stress-related psychopathology, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Particular relevance is attributed to efficient memory formation sustained by the hippocampus and parahippocampus. This process is thought to reduce the occurrence of intrusions and flashbacks following trauma, but may be negatively affected by acute stress. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that the efficiency of visuo-spatial processing and learning based on the hippocampal area is related to PTSD symptoms. Objective The current study investigated the effect of acute stress on spatial configuration learning using a spatial contextual cueing task (SCCT) known to heavily rely on structures in the parahippocampus. Method Acute stress was induced by subjecting participants (N = 34) to the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST). Following a counterbalanced within-subject approach, the effects of stress and the ensuing hormonal (i.e., cortisol) activity on subsequent SCCT performance were compared to SCCT performance following a no-stress control condition. Results Acute stress did not impact SCCT learning overall, but opposing effects emerged for high versus low cortisol responders to the MAST. Learning scores following stress were reduced in low cortisol responders, while high cortisol-responding participants showed improved learning. Conclusions The effects of stress on spatial configuration learning were moderated by the magnitude of endogenous cortisol secretion. These findings suggest a possible mechanism by which cortisol responses serve an adaptive function during stress and trauma, and this may prove to be a promising route for future research in this area. PMID:23671762

The effects of online science instruction using geographic information systems to foster inquiry learning of teachers and middle school science students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagevik, Rita Anne

This study investigated the effects of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve middle school students' and their teachers' understanding of environmental content and GIS. Constructivism provided the theoretical framework with Bonnstetter's inquiry evolution and Swartz's problem solving as the conceptual framework for designing these GIS units and interpreting the results. Teachers from nine schools in five counties attended a one-week workshop and follow-up session, where they learned how to teach the online Mapping Our School Site (www.ncsu.edu/scilink/studysite) and CITYgreen GIS inquiry-based problem-solving units. Two years after the workshop, two teachers from the workshop taught the six week Mapping Our School Site (MOSS) unit in the fall and one teacher from a different school taught the MOSS unit in the fall and the CITYgreen GIS unit in the spring. The students in the MOSS experimental group (n = 131) and the CITYgreen GIS comparison group (n = 33) were compared for differences in understanding of environmental content. Other factors were investigated such as students' spatial abilities, experiences, and learning preferences. Teachers and students completed the online Learning Styles Inventory (LSI), Spatial Experience Survey (SES), and the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R). Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, results indicated that the CITYgreen GIS group learned the environmental content better than the MOSS group. The MOSS group better understood how to design experiments and to use GIS to analyze problem questions. Both groups improved in problem identification and problem solving, data accuracy, and hypothesis testing. The spatial reasoning score was compared to learning style as reported on the LSI, and other spatial experiences as reported on the SES. Males scored higher than females on the spatial reasoning test, the more computer games played the higher the score, and the fewer shop classes taken the higher the score. Results indicated that 75% of the teachers' integrated GIS into classroom instruction two years after the GIS workshop. Even though teaching experience was negatively related to spatial reasoning test scores, implementation of GIS by teachers in the workshop was not influenced by years of teaching experience. The results indicate that GIS can be universally used for classroom instruction.

Creating visual explanations improves learning.

PubMed

Bobek, Eliza; Tversky, Barbara

2016-01-01

Many topics in science are notoriously difficult for students to learn. Mechanisms and processes outside student experience present particular challenges. While instruction typically involves visualizations, students usually explain in words. Because visual explanations can show parts and processes of complex systems directly, creating them should have benefits beyond creating verbal explanations. We compared learning from creating visual or verbal explanations for two STEM domains, a mechanical system (bicycle pump) and a chemical system (bonding). Both kinds of explanations were analyzed for content and learning assess by a post-test. For the mechanical system, creating a visual explanation increased understanding particularly for participants of low spatial ability. For the chemical system, creating both visual and verbal explanations improved learning without new teaching. Creating a visual explanation was superior and benefitted participants of both high and low spatial ability. Visual explanations often included crucial yet invisible features. The greater effectiveness of visual explanations appears attributable to the checks they provide for completeness and coherence as well as to their roles as platforms for inference. The benefits should generalize to other domains like the social sciences, history, and archeology where important information can be visualized. Together, the findings provide support for the use of learner-generated visual explanations as a powerful learning tool.

Improving the Perceptual Performance of Learning Disabled Second Graders through Computer Assisted Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, James P.

The practicum designed a perceptual activities program for learning disabled second graders using computer-assisted instruction. The program develops skills involving visual motor coordination, figure-ground differentiation, form constancy, position in space, and spatial relationships. Five behavioral objectives for each developmental area were…

Augmented Reality as a Visual and Spatial Learning Tool in Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornton, Timothy; Ernst, Jeremy V.; Clark, Aaron C.

2012-01-01

Improvement in instructional practices through dynamic means of delivery remains a central consideration to technology educators. To help accomplish this, one must constantly utilize contemporary and cutting-edge technological applications in attempts to provide a more beneficial learning experience for students. These technologies must…

Hierarchical acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing.

PubMed

Lie, Kin-Pou

2015-01-01

Spatial contextual cueing refers to visual search performance's being improved when invariant associations between target locations and distractor spatial configurations are learned incidentally. Using the instance theory of automatization and the reverse hierarchy theory of visual perceptual learning, this study explores the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing. Two experiments in which detailed visual features were irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts found that spatial contextual cueing was visually generic in difficult trials when the trials were not preceded by easy trials (Experiment 1) but that spatial contextual cueing progressed to visual specificity when difficult trials were preceded by easy trials (Experiment 2). These findings support reverse hierarchy theory, which predicts that even when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing can progress to visual specificity if the stimuli remain constant, the task is difficult, and difficult trials are preceded by easy trials. However, these findings are inconsistent with instance theory, which predicts that when detailed visual features are irrelevant for distinguishing between spatial contexts, spatial contextual cueing will not progress to visual specificity. This study concludes that the acquisition of visual specificity in spatial contextual cueing is more plausibly hierarchical, rather than instance-based.

Time course influences transfer of visual perceptual learning across spatial location.

PubMed

Larcombe, S J; Kennard, C; Bridge, H

2017-06-01

Visual perceptual learning describes the improvement of visual perception with repeated practice. Previous research has established that the learning effects of perceptual training may be transferable to untrained stimulus attributes such as spatial location under certain circumstances. However, the mechanisms involved in transfer have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of altering training time course on the transferability of learning effects. Participants were trained on a motion direction discrimination task or a sinusoidal grating orientation discrimination task in a single visual hemifield. The 4000 training trials were either condensed into one day, or spread evenly across five training days. When participants were trained over a five-day period, there was transfer of learning to both the untrained visual hemifield and the untrained task. In contrast, when the same amount of training was condensed into a single day, participants did not show any transfer of learning. Thus, learning time course may influence the transferability of perceptual learning effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synaptophysin and the dopaminergic system in hippocampus are involved in the protective effect of rutin against trimethyltin-induced learning and memory impairment.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Qi; Chen, Chun-Hai; Qin, Qi-Zhong; Zhou, Zhou; Yu, Zheng-Ping

2014-09-01

This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of rutin against trimethyltin-induced spatial learning and memory impairment in mice. This study focused on the role of synaptophysin, growth-associated protein 43 and the action of the dopaminergic system in mechanisms associated with rutin protection and trimethyltin-induced spatial learning and memory impairment. Cognitive learning and memory was measured by Morris Water Maze. The expression of synaptophysin and growth-associated protein 43 in hippocampus was analyzed by western blot. The concentrations of dopamine, homovanillic acid, and dihyroxyphenylacetic acid in hippocampus were detected using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Trimethyltin-induced spatial learning impairment showed a dose-dependent mode. Synaptophysin but not growth-associated protein 43 was decreased in the hippocampus after trimethyltin administration. The concentration of dopamine decreased, while homovanillic acid increased in the hippocampus after trimethyltin administration. Mice pretreated with 20 mg/kg of rutin for 7 consecutive days exhibited improved water maze performance. Moreover, rutin pretreatment reversed the decrease of synaptophysin expression and dopamine alteration. These results suggest that rutin may protect against spatial memory impairment induced by trimethyltin. Synaptophysin and the dopaminergic system may be involved in trimethyltin-induced neuronal damage in hippocampus.

Postural Motor Learning Deficits in People With MS in Spatial but Not Temporal Control of Center of Mass.

PubMed

Gera, Geetanjali; Fling, Brett W; Van Ooteghem, Karen; Cameron, Michelle; Frank, James S; Horak, Fay B

2016-09-01

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with balance deficits resulting in falls and impaired mobility. Although rehabilitation has been recommended to address these balance deficits, the extent to which people with MS can learn and retain improvements in postural responses is unknown. To determine the ability of people with MS to improve postural control with surface perturbation training. A total of 24 patients with mild MS and 14 age-matched controls underwent postural control training with a set pattern of continuous, forward-backward, sinusoidal, and surface translations provided by a force platform. Postural control was then tested the following day for retention. The primary outcome measures were the relative phase and center-of-mass (CoM) gain between the body CoM and the platform motion. People with MS demonstrated similar improvements in acquiring and retaining changes in the temporal control of the CoM despite significant deficits in postural motor performance at the baseline. Both MS and control groups learned to anticipate the pattern of forward-backward perturbations, so body CoM shifted from a phase-lag (age-matched controls [CS] = -7.1 ± 1.3; MS = -12.9 ± 1.0) toward a phase-lead (CS = -0.7 ± 1.8; MS = -6.1 ± 1.4) relationship with the surface oscillations. However, MS patients were not able to retain the changes in the spatial control of the CoM acquired during training. People with MS have the capacity to improve use of a feed-forward postural strategy with practice and retain the learned behavior for temporal not spatial control of CoM, despite their significant postural response impairments. © The Author(s) 2015.

A tale of two "forests": random forest machine learning AIDS tropical forest carbon mapping.

PubMed

Mascaro, Joseph; Asner, Gregory P; Knapp, David E; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Martin, Roberta E; Anderson, Christopher; Higgins, Mark; Chadwick, K Dana

2014-01-01

Accurate and spatially-explicit maps of tropical forest carbon stocks are needed to implement carbon offset mechanisms such as REDD+ (Reduced Deforestation and Degradation Plus). The Random Forest machine learning algorithm may aid carbon mapping applications using remotely-sensed data. However, Random Forest has never been compared to traditional and potentially more reliable techniques such as regionally stratified sampling and upscaling, and it has rarely been employed with spatial data. Here, we evaluated the performance of Random Forest in upscaling airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-based carbon estimates compared to the stratification approach over a 16-million hectare focal area of the Western Amazon. We considered two runs of Random Forest, both with and without spatial contextual modeling by including--in the latter case--x, and y position directly in the model. In each case, we set aside 8 million hectares (i.e., half of the focal area) for validation; this rigorous test of Random Forest went above and beyond the internal validation normally compiled by the algorithm (i.e., called "out-of-bag"), which proved insufficient for this spatial application. In this heterogeneous region of Northern Peru, the model with spatial context was the best preforming run of Random Forest, and explained 59% of LiDAR-based carbon estimates within the validation area, compared to 37% for stratification or 43% by Random Forest without spatial context. With the 60% improvement in explained variation, RMSE against validation LiDAR samples improved from 33 to 26 Mg C ha(-1) when using Random Forest with spatial context. Our results suggest that spatial context should be considered when using Random Forest, and that doing so may result in substantially improved carbon stock modeling for purposes of climate change mitigation.

A Tale of Two “Forests”: Random Forest Machine Learning Aids Tropical Forest Carbon Mapping

PubMed Central

Mascaro, Joseph; Asner, Gregory P.; Knapp, David E.; Kennedy-Bowdoin, Ty; Martin, Roberta E.; Anderson, Christopher; Higgins, Mark; Chadwick, K. Dana

2014-01-01

Accurate and spatially-explicit maps of tropical forest carbon stocks are needed to implement carbon offset mechanisms such as REDD+ (Reduced Deforestation and Degradation Plus). The Random Forest machine learning algorithm may aid carbon mapping applications using remotely-sensed data. However, Random Forest has never been compared to traditional and potentially more reliable techniques such as regionally stratified sampling and upscaling, and it has rarely been employed with spatial data. Here, we evaluated the performance of Random Forest in upscaling airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-based carbon estimates compared to the stratification approach over a 16-million hectare focal area of the Western Amazon. We considered two runs of Random Forest, both with and without spatial contextual modeling by including—in the latter case—x, and y position directly in the model. In each case, we set aside 8 million hectares (i.e., half of the focal area) for validation; this rigorous test of Random Forest went above and beyond the internal validation normally compiled by the algorithm (i.e., called “out-of-bag”), which proved insufficient for this spatial application. In this heterogeneous region of Northern Peru, the model with spatial context was the best preforming run of Random Forest, and explained 59% of LiDAR-based carbon estimates within the validation area, compared to 37% for stratification or 43% by Random Forest without spatial context. With the 60% improvement in explained variation, RMSE against validation LiDAR samples improved from 33 to 26 Mg C ha−1 when using Random Forest with spatial context. Our results suggest that spatial context should be considered when using Random Forest, and that doing so may result in substantially improved carbon stock modeling for purposes of climate change mitigation. PMID:24489686

“Global” visual training and extent of transfer in amblyopic macaque monkeys

PubMed Central

Kiorpes, Lynne; Mangal, Paul

2015-01-01

Perceptual learning is gaining acceptance as a potential treatment for amblyopia in adults and children beyond the critical period. Many perceptual learning paradigms result in very specific improvement that does not generalize beyond the training stimulus, closely related stimuli, or visual field location. To be of use in amblyopia, a less specific effect is needed. To address this problem, we designed a more general training paradigm intended to effect improvement in visual sensitivity across tasks and domains. We used a “global” visual stimulus, random dot motion direction discrimination with 6 training conditions, and tested for posttraining improvement on a motion detection task and 3 spatial domain tasks (contrast sensitivity, Vernier acuity, Glass pattern detection). Four amblyopic macaques practiced the motion discrimination with their amblyopic eye for at least 20,000 trials. All showed improvement, defined as a change of at least a factor of 2, on the trained task. In addition, all animals showed improvements in sensitivity on at least some of the transfer test conditions, mainly the motion detection task; transfer to the spatial domain was inconsistent but best at fine spatial scales. However, the improvement on the transfer tasks was largely not retained at long-term follow-up. Our generalized training approach is promising for amblyopia treatment, but sustaining improved performance may require additional intervention. PMID:26505868

Supervised Machine Learning for Regionalization of Environmental Data: Distribution of Uranium in Groundwater in Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govorov, Michael; Gienko, Gennady; Putrenko, Viktor

2018-05-01

In this paper, several supervised machine learning algorithms were explored to define homogeneous regions of con-centration of uranium in surface waters in Ukraine using multiple environmental parameters. The previous study was focused on finding the primary environmental parameters related to uranium in ground waters using several methods of spatial statistics and unsupervised classification. At this step, we refined the regionalization using Artifi-cial Neural Networks (ANN) techniques including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Radial Basis Function (RBF), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The study is focused on building local ANN models which may significantly improve the prediction results of machine learning algorithms by taking into considerations non-stationarity and autocorrelation in spatial data.

Spatial ability of slow learners based on Hubert Maier theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Permatasari, I.; Pramudya, I.; Kusmayadi, T. A.

2018-03-01

Slow learners are children who have low learning achievement (under the average of normal children) in one or all of the academic field, but they are not classified as a mentally retarded children. Spatial ability developed according to age and level of knowledge possessed, both from the neighborhood and formal education. Analyzing the spatial ability of students is important for teachers, as an effort to improve the quality of learning for slow learners. Especially on the implementation of inclusion school which is developing in Indonesia. This research used a qualitative method and involved slow learner students as the subject. Based on the data analysis it was found the spatial ability of slow learners, there were: spatial perception, students were able to describe the other shape of object when its position changed; spatial visualisation, students were able to describe the materials that construct an object; mental rotation, students cannot describe the object being rotated; spatial relation, students cannot describe the relations of same objects; spatial orientation, students were able to describe object from the others perspective.

Seeing is believing: effects of visual contextual cues on learning and transfer of locomotor adaptation.

PubMed

Torres-Oviedo, Gelsy; Bastian, Amy J

2010-12-15

Devices such as robots or treadmills are often used to drive motor learning because they can create novel physical environments. However, the learning (i.e., adaptation) acquired on these devices only partially generalizes to natural movements. What determines the specificity of motor learning, and can this be reliably made more general? Here we investigated the effect of visual cues on the specificity of split-belt walking adaptation. We systematically removed vision to eliminate the visual-proprioceptive mismatch that is a salient cue specific to treadmills: vision indicates that we are not moving while leg proprioception indicates that we are. We evaluated the adaptation of temporal and spatial features of gait (i.e., timing and location of foot landing), their transfer to walking over ground, and washout of adaptation when subjects returned to the treadmill. Removing vision during both training (i.e., on the treadmill) and testing (i.e., over ground) strongly improved the transfer of treadmill adaptation to natural walking. Removing vision only during training increased transfer of temporal adaptation, whereas removing vision only during testing increased the transfer of spatial adaptation. This dissociation reveals differences in adaptive mechanisms for temporal and spatial features of walking. Finally training without vision increased the amount that was learned and was linked to the variability in the behavior during adaptation. In conclusion, contextual cues can be manipulated to modulate the magnitude, transfer, and washout of device-induced learning in humans. These results bring us closer to our ultimate goal of developing rehabilitation strategies that improve movements beyond the clinical setting.

Combining spatial and spectral information to improve crop/weed discrimination algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, L.; Jones, G.; Villette, S.; Paoli, J. N.; Gée, C.

2012-01-01

Reduction of herbicide spraying is an important key to environmentally and economically improve weed management. To achieve this, remote sensors such as imaging systems are commonly used to detect weed plants. We developed spatial algorithms that detect the crop rows to discriminate crop from weeds. These algorithms have been thoroughly tested and provide robust and accurate results without learning process but their detection is limited to inter-row areas. Crop/Weed discrimination using spectral information is able to detect intra-row weeds but generally needs a prior learning process. We propose a method based on spatial and spectral information to enhance the discrimination and overcome the limitations of both algorithms. The classification from the spatial algorithm is used to build the training set for the spectral discrimination method. With this approach we are able to improve the range of weed detection in the entire field (inter and intra-row). To test the efficiency of these algorithms, a relevant database of virtual images issued from SimAField model has been used and combined to LOPEX93 spectral database. The developed method based is evaluated and compared with the initial method in this paper and shows an important enhancement from 86% of weed detection to more than 95%.

Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linn, Marcia C.

1995-06-01

Designing effective curricula for complex topics and incorporating technological tools is an evolving process. One important way to foster effective design is to synthesize successful practices. This paper describes a framework called scaffolded knowledge integration and illustrates how it guided the design of two successful course enhancements in the field of computer science and engineering. One course enhancement, the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment, improved learning and resulted in more gender-equitable outcomes. The second course enhancement, the spatial reasoning environment, addressed spatial reasoning in an introductory engineering course. This enhancement minimized the importance of prior knowledge of spatial reasoning and helped students develop a more comprehensive repertoire of spatial reasoning strategies. Taken together, the instructional research programs reinforce the value of the scaffolded knowledge integration framework and suggest directions for future curriculum reformers.

Training in Contrast Detection Improves Motion Perception of Sinewave Gratings in Amblyopia

PubMed Central

Hou, Fang; Huang, Chang-bing; Tao, Liming; Feng, Lixia; Zhou, Yifeng; Lu, Zhong-Lin

2011-01-01

Purpose. One critical concern about using perceptual learning to treat amblyopia is whether training with one particular stimulus and task generalizes to other stimuli and tasks. In the spatial domain, it has been found that the bandwidth of contrast sensitivity improvement is much broader in amblyopes than in normals. Because previous studies suggested the local motion deficits in amblyopia are explained by the spatial vision deficits, the hypothesis for this study was that training in the spatial domain could benefit motion perception of sinewave gratings. Methods. Nine adult amblyopes (mean age, 22.1 ± 5.6 years) were trained in a contrast detection task in the amblyopic eye for 10 days. Visual acuity, spatial contrast sensitivity functions, and temporal modulation transfer functions (MTF) for sinewave motion detection and discrimination were measured for each eye before and after training. Eight adult amblyopes (mean age, 22.6 ± 6.7 years) served as control subjects. Results. In the amblyopic eye, training improved (1) contrast sensitivity by 6.6 dB (or 113.8%) across spatial frequencies, with a bandwidth of 4.4 octaves; (2) sensitivity of motion detection and discrimination by 3.2 dB (or 44.5%) and 3.7 dB (or 53.1%) across temporal frequencies, with bandwidths of 3.9 and 3.1 octaves, respectively; (3) visual acuity by 3.2 dB (or 44.5%). The fellow eye also showed a small amount of improvement in contrast sensitivities and no significant change in motion perception. Control subjects who received no training demonstrated no obvious improvement in any measure. Conclusions. The results demonstrate substantial plasticity in the amblyopic visual system, and provide additional empirical support for perceptual learning as a potential treatment for amblyopia. PMID:21693615

A Barnes Maze for Juvenile Rats Delineates the Emergence of Spatial Navigation Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McHail, Daniel G.; Valibeigi, Nazanin; Dumas, Theodore C.

2018-01-01

The neural bases of cognition may be greatly informed by relating temporally defined developmental changes in behavior with concurrent alterations in neural function. A robust improvement in performance in spatial learning and memory tasks occurs at 3 wk of age in rodents. We reported that the developmental increase of spontaneous alternation in a…

Connected Mathematics Learning and Gender Equity in Predominately Latino/a High Schools: Case of Spatial Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falcon, Raymond

2013-01-01

This study analyzed interventions used in improving the mathematics achievement in spatial reasoning tasks for females called connectedness. Gender achievement in mathematics has been a controversial topic because of the wide variance in research. Some research has found a difference between the genders in mathematics while others argue there is…

Visualizing Time: How Linguistic Metaphors Are Incorporated into Displaying Instruments in the Process of Interpreting Time-Varying Signals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia-Belmonte, Germà

2017-01-01

Spatial visualization is a well-established topic of education research that has allowed improving science and engineering students' skills on spatial relations. Connections have been established between visualization as a comprehension tool and instruction in several scientific fields. Learning about dynamic processes mainly relies upon static…

Prenatal complex rhythmic music sound stimulation facilitates postnatal spatial learning but transiently impairs memory in the domestic chick.

PubMed

Kauser, H; Roy, S; Pal, A; Sreenivas, V; Mathur, R; Wadhwa, S; Jain, S

2011-01-01

Early experience has a profound influence on brain development, and the modulation of prenatal perceptual learning by external environmental stimuli has been shown in birds, rodents and mammals. In the present study, the effect of prenatal complex rhythmic music sound stimulation on postnatal spatial learning, memory and isolation stress was observed. Auditory stimulation with either music or species-specific sounds or no stimulation (control) was provided to separate sets of fertilized eggs from day 10 of incubation. Following hatching, the chicks at age 24, 72 and 120 h were tested on a T-maze for spatial learning and the memory of the learnt task was assessed 24 h after training. In the posthatch chicks at all ages, the plasma corticosterone levels were estimated following 10 min of isolation. The chicks of all ages in the three groups took less (p < 0.001) time to navigate the maze over the three trials thereby showing an improvement with training. In both sound-stimulated groups, the total time taken to reach the target decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in comparison to the unstimulated control group, indicating the facilitation of spatial learning. However, this decline was more at 24 h than at later posthatch ages. When tested for memory after 24 h of training, only the music-stimulated chicks at posthatch age 24 h took a significantly longer (p < 0.001) time to traverse the maze, suggesting a temporary impairment in their retention of the learnt task. In both sound-stimulated groups at 24 h, the plasma corticosterone levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.001) and increased thereafter at 72 h (p < 0.001) and 120 h which may contribute to the differential response in spatial learning. Thus, prenatal auditory stimulation with either species-specific or complex rhythmic music sounds facilitates spatial learning, though the music stimulation transiently impairs postnatal memory. 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Spatial reversal learning in preclinical scrapie-inoculated mice.

PubMed

Lysons, A M; Woollard, S J

1996-04-10

Acquisition and reversal of a two-choice spatial discrimination were tested in scrapie-inoculated mice. Both acquisition and reversal were normal in mice tested 138 and 103 days prior to the onset of clinical symptoms. At 65 days before onset of clinical symptoms, scrapie-inoculated mice required more trails to criterion in reversal learning, but this effect was not significant in a second experiment (68 days preclinical) and was transient: no effect was seen 33 days before symptoms. However, the course of reversal learning was abnormal in all three late preclinical groups (68, 65 and 33 days before symptoms). Reversal learning in these three groups was characterized by a rapid extinction of the original discrimination, followed by a period, absent in controls, during which performance showed no further improvement. This effect corresponds in time of onset to the appearance of characteristic neuropathological features.

Sulforaphane attenuates postnatal proteasome inhibition and improves spatial learning in adult mice.

PubMed

Sunkaria, Aditya; Bhardwaj, Supriya; Yadav, Aarti; Halder, Avishek; Sandhir, Rajat

2018-01-01

Proteasomes are known to degrade proteins involved in various processes like metabolism, signal transduction, cell-cycle regulation, inflammation, and apoptosis. Evidence showed that protein degradation has a strong influence on developing neurons as well as synaptic plasticity. Here, we have shown that sulforaphane (SFN) could prevent the deleterious effects of postnatal proteasomal inhibition on spatial reference and working memory of adult mice. One day old Balb/c mice received intracerebroventricular injections of MG132 and SFN. Sham received an equal volume of aCSF. We observed that SFN pre-administration could attenuate MG132 mediated decrease in proteasome and calpain activities. In vitro findings revealed that SFN could induce proteasomal activity by enhancing the expression of catalytic subunit-β5. SFN pre-administration prevented the hippocampus based spatial memory impairments during adulthood, mediated by postnatal MG132 exposure. Histological examination showed deleterious effects of MG132 on pyramidal neurons and granule cell neurons in DG and CA3 sub-regions respectively. Furthermore, SFN pre-administration has shown to attenuate the effect of MG132 on proteasome subunit-β5 expression and also induce the Nrf2 nuclear translocation. In addition, SFN pre-administered mice have also shown to induce expression of pCaMKII, pCreb, and mature/pro-Bdnf, molecules which play a crucial role in spatial learning and memory consolidation. Our findings have shown that proteasomes play an important role in hippocampal synaptic plasticity during the early postnatal period and SFN pre-administration could enhance the proteasomal activity as well as improve spatial learning and memory consolidation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gains following perceptual learning are closely linked to the initial visual acuity.

PubMed

Yehezkel, Oren; Sterkin, Anna; Lev, Maria; Levi, Dennis M; Polat, Uri

2016-04-28

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the dependence of perceptual learning gains on initial visual acuity (VA), in a large sample of subjects with a wide range of VAs. A large sample of normally sighted and presbyopic subjects (N = 119; aged 40 to 63) with a wide range of uncorrected near visual acuities (VA, -0.12 to 0.8 LogMAR), underwent perceptual learning. Training consisted of detecting briefly presented Gabor stimuli under spatial and temporal masking conditions. Consistent with previous findings, perceptual learning induced a significant improvement in near VA and reading speed under conditions of limited exposure duration. Our results show that the improvements in VA and reading speed observed following perceptual learning are closely linked to the initial VA, with only a minor fraction of the observed improvement that may be attributed to the additional sessions performed by those with the worse VA.

Does Competition Improve Public School Efficiency? A Spatial Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Misra, Kaustav; Grimes, Paul W.; Rogers, Kevin E.

2012-01-01

Advocates for educational reform frequently call for policies to increase competition between schools because it is argued that market forces naturally lead to greater efficiencies, including improved student learning, when schools face competition. Researchers examining this issue are confronted with difficulties in defining reasonable measures…

Dietary ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids improves learning performance of diabetic rats by regulating the neuron excitability.

PubMed

Yang, R-H; Wang, F; Hou, X-H; Cao, Z-P; Wang, B; Xu, X-N; Hu, S-J

2012-06-14

Previous research has demonstrated that diabetes induced learning and memory deficits. However, the mechanism of memory impairment induced by diabetes is poorly understood. Dietary fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), have been shown to enhance learning and memory and prevent memory deficits in various experimental conditions. Sprague-Dawley rats were used in the present study to investigate the effect of fish oil supplementation on spatial learning and memory of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats with the Morris Water Maze. The excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons and the related ionic currents was also examined. Diabetes impaired spatial learning and memory of rats. Diabetes decreased the sodium currents and increased the potassium currents, and further led to the reduction of excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons, effects which may contribute to the behavioral deficits. Fish oil dietary supplementation decreased the transient currents and Kv4.2 expression in the hippocampus and partially improved learning performance of diabetic rats. The results of the present study suggested that sodium and potassium currents contributed to the inhibitory effect of diabetes on neuron excitability, further influencing learning and memory processing. Dietary fish oil may modulate the membrane excitability and is a possible strategy for preventing the impairments of diabetes on hippocampal function. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of prenatal stress and neonatal handling on anxiety, spatial learning and serotonergic system of male offspring mice.

PubMed

Akatsu, Shigemi; Ishikawa, Chihiro; Takemura, Kaori; Ohtani, Akiko; Shiga, Takashi

2015-12-01

Environmental factors during perinatal period have various effects on behavior. The present study examined the effects of prenatal stress and neonatal handling on anxiety and spatial learning of offspring. Prenatal stress increased anxiety-related behavior of adult offspring, whereas neonatal handling had no effect. In contrast, spatial learning was not affected by prenatal stress, but improved by neonatal handling in both prenatally stressed and non-stressed mice. Next, to elucidate possible brain mechanisms mediating effects of environmental factors on behavior, we focused on serotonin (5-HT) system in the frontal cortex and hippocampus which is involved in anxiety and learning. We examined effects of environmental factors on the mRNA expression of 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors in the frontal cortex and hippocampus during postnatal period and adulthood. Both prenatal stress and neonatal handling altered the mRNA expression of 5-HT receptors. These effects were dependent on environmental factors, brain regions and developmental stages. In summary, the present study revealed that prenatal stress and neonatal handling had differential effects on anxiety and spatial learning of offspring, and concomitantly the expression of 5-HT receptors. It was also shown that the effects of prenatal stress on 5-HT system were recovered partially by neonatal handling. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

Using Pop-Up Windows to Improve Multimedia Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erhel, S.; Jamet, E.

2006-01-01

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects on learning of the spatial integration of textual information incorporated into illustrations in the form of pop-up windows that are opened by the user. Three groups of students viewed illustrated texts depicting the functioning of the heart and the replication of the AIDS virus either with…

The HTM Spatial Pooler-A Neocortical Algorithm for Online Sparse Distributed Coding.

PubMed

Cui, Yuwei; Ahmad, Subutai; Hawkins, Jeff

2017-01-01

Hierarchical temporal memory (HTM) provides a theoretical framework that models several key computational principles of the neocortex. In this paper, we analyze an important component of HTM, the HTM spatial pooler (SP). The SP models how neurons learn feedforward connections and form efficient representations of the input. It converts arbitrary binary input patterns into sparse distributed representations (SDRs) using a combination of competitive Hebbian learning rules and homeostatic excitability control. We describe a number of key properties of the SP, including fast adaptation to changing input statistics, improved noise robustness through learning, efficient use of cells, and robustness to cell death. In order to quantify these properties we develop a set of metrics that can be directly computed from the SP outputs. We show how the properties are met using these metrics and targeted artificial simulations. We then demonstrate the value of the SP in a complete end-to-end real-world HTM system. We discuss the relationship with neuroscience and previous studies of sparse coding. The HTM spatial pooler represents a neurally inspired algorithm for learning sparse representations from noisy data streams in an online fashion.

Training, transfer, and retention of three-dimensional spatial memory in virtual environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richards, Jason T.; Oman, Charles M.; Shebilske, Wayne L.; Beall, Andrew C.; Liu, Andrew; Natapoff, Alan

2002-01-01

Human orientation requires one to remember and visualize spatial arrangements of landmarks from different perspectives. Astronauts have reported difficulties remembering relationships between environmental landmarks when imagined in arbitrary 3D orientations. The present study investigated the effects of strategy training on humans' 1) ability to infer their orientation from landmarks presented ahead and below, 2) performance when subsequently learning a different array, and 3) retention of configurational knowledge over time. On the first experiment day, 24 subjects were tested in a virtual cubic chamber in which a picture of an animal was drawn on each wall. Through trial-by-trial exposures, they had to memorize the spatial relationships among the six pictures around them and learn to predict the direction to a specific picture when facing any view direction, and in any roll orientation. Half of the subjects ("strategy group") were taught methods for remembering picture groupings, while the remainder received no such training ("control group"). After learning one picture array, the procedure was repeated in a second. Accuracy (% correct) and response time learning curves were measured. Performance for the second array and configurational memory of both arrays were also retested 1, 7, and 30 days later. Results showed that subjects "learned how to learn" this generic 3D spatial memory task regardless of their relative orientation to the environment, that ability and configurational knowledge was retained for at least a month, that figure rotation ability and field independence correlate with performance, and that teaching subjects specific strategies in advance significantly improves performance. Training astronauts to perform a similar generic 3D spatial memory task, and suggesting strategies in advance, may help them orient in three dimensions.

Influence of late-life exposure to environmental enrichmentor exercise on hippocampal function and CA1 senescent physiology

PubMed Central

Kumar, A.; Rani, A.; Tchigranova, Olga; Lee, Wei-Hua; Foster, T.C.

2011-01-01

Aged (20–22 months) male Fischer 344 rats were randomly assigned to sedentary (A-SED), environmentally enriched (A-ENR) or exercise (A-EX) conditions. After 10–12 weeks of differential experience, the three groups of aged rats and young sedentary controls were tested for physical and cognitive function. Spatial discrimination learning and memory consolidation, tested on the water maze, were enhanced in A-ENR compared to A-SED. A-EX exhibited improved and impaired performance on the cue and spatial task, respectively. Impaired spatial learning in A-EX was likely due to a bias in response selection associated with exercise training, as object recognition memory improved for A-EX rats. An examination of senescent hippocampal physiology revealed that enrichment and exercise reversed age-related changes in long-term depression (LTD) and long-term potentiation (LTP). Rats in the enrichment group exhibited an increase in cell excitability compared to the other two groups of aged animals. The results indicate that differential experience biased the selection of a spatial or a response strategy and factors common across the two conditions, such as increased hippocampal activity associated with locomotion, contribute to reversal of senescent synaptic plasticity. PMID:21820213

Music exposure improves spatial cognition by enhancing the BDNF level of dorsal hippocampal subregions in the developing rats.

PubMed

Xing, Yingshou; Chen, Wenxi; Wang, Yanran; Jing, Wei; Gao, Shan; Guo, Daqing; Xia, Yang; Yao, Dezhong

2016-03-01

Previous research has shown that dorsal hippocampus plays an important role in spatial memory process. Music exposure can enhance brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression level in dorsal hippocampus (DH) and thus enhance spatial cognition ability. But whether music experience may affect different subregions of DH in the same degree remains unclear. Here, we studied the effects of exposure to Mozart K.448 on learning behavior in developing rats using the classical Morris water maze task. The results showed that early music exposure could enhance significantly learning performance of the rats in the water maze test. Meanwhile, the BDNF/TrkB level of dorsal hippocampus CA3 (dCA3) and dentate gyrus (dDG) was significantly enhanced in rats exposed to Mozart music as compared to those without music exposure. In contrast, the BDNF/TrkB level of dorsal hippocampus CA1 (dCA1) was not affected. The results suggest that the spatial memory improvement by music exposure in rats may be associated with the enhanced BDNF/TrkB level of dCA3 and dDG. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Endurance Factors Improve Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Spatial Memory in Mice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobilo, Tali; Yuan, Chunyan; van Praag, Henriette

2011-01-01

Physical activity improves learning and hippocampal neurogenesis. It is unknown whether compounds that increase endurance in muscle also enhance cognition. We investigated the effects of endurance factors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [delta] agonist GW501516 and AICAR, activator of AMP-activated protein kinase on memory and…

Does Competition Improve Public School Efficiency? A Spatial Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Misra, Kaustav

2010-01-01

Proponents of educational reform often call for policies to increase competition between schools. It is argued that market forces naturally lead to greater efficiencies, including improved student learning, when schools face competition. In many parts of the country, public schools experience significant competition from private schools; however,…

A Barnes maze for juvenile rats delineates the emergence of spatial navigation ability.

PubMed

McHail, Daniel G; Valibeigi, Nazanin; Dumas, Theodore C

2018-03-01

The neural bases of cognition may be greatly informed by relating temporally defined developmental changes in behavior with concurrent alterations in neural function. A robust improvement in performance in spatial learning and memory tasks occurs at 3 wk of age in rodents. We reported that the developmental increase of spontaneous alternation in a Y-maze was related to changes in temporal dynamics of fast glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. We also showed that, during allothetic behaviors in the Y-maze, network oscillation power increased at frequency bands known to support spatial learning and memory in adults. However, there are no discrete learning and memory phases during free exploration in the Y-maze. Thus, we adapted the Barnes maze for use with juvenile rats. Following a single platform exposure in dim light on the day before training (to encourage exploration), animals were trained on the subsequent 2 d in bright light to find a hidden escape box and then underwent a memory test 24 h later. During escape training, the older animals learned the task in 1 d, while the younger animals required 2 d and did not reach the performance of older animals. Long-term memory performance was also superior in the older animals. Thus, we have validated the use of the Barnes maze for this developmental period and established a timeline for the ontogeny of spatial navigation ability in this maze around 3 wk of age. Subsequent work will pair in vivo recording of hippocampal oscillations and single units with this task to help identify how hippocampal maturation might relate to performance improvements. © 2018 McHail et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Spatial education: improving conservation delivery through space-structured decision making

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Clinton T.; Shaffer, Terry L.; Gannon, Jill J.

2013-01-01

Adaptive management is a form of structured decision making designed to guide management of natural resource systems when their behaviors are uncertain. Where decision making can be replicated across units of a landscape, learning can be accelerated, and biological processes can be understood in a larger spatial context. Broad-based partnerships among land management agencies, exemplified by Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (conservation partnerships created through the U.S. Department of the Interior), are potentially ideal environments for implementing spatially structured adaptive management programs.

Dynamics of Hippocampal Protein Expression During Long-term Spatial Memory Formation*

PubMed Central

Borovok, Natalia; Nesher, Elimelech; Levin, Yishai; Reichenstein, Michal; Pinhasov, Albert

2016-01-01

Spatial memory depends on the hippocampus, which is particularly vulnerable to aging. This vulnerability has implications for the impairment of navigation capacities in older people, who may show a marked drop in performance of spatial tasks with advancing age. Contemporary understanding of long-term memory formation relies on molecular mechanisms underlying long-term synaptic plasticity. With memory acquisition, activity-dependent changes occurring in synapses initiate multiple signal transduction pathways enhancing protein turnover. This enhancement facilitates de novo synthesis of plasticity related proteins, crucial factors for establishing persistent long-term synaptic plasticity and forming memory engrams. Extensive studies have been performed to elucidate molecular mechanisms of memory traces formation; however, the identity of plasticity related proteins is still evasive. In this study, we investigated protein turnover in mouse hippocampus during long-term spatial memory formation using the reference memory version of radial arm maze (RAM) paradigm. We identified 1592 proteins, which exhibited a complex picture of expression changes during spatial memory formation. Variable linear decomposition reduced significantly data dimensionality and enriched three principal factors responsible for variance of memory-related protein levels at (1) the initial phase of memory acquisition (165 proteins), (2) during the steep learning improvement (148 proteins), and (3) the final phase of the learning curve (123 proteins). Gene ontology and signaling pathways analysis revealed a clear correlation between memory improvement and learning phase-curbed expression profiles of proteins belonging to specific functional categories. We found differential enrichment of (1) neurotrophic factors signaling pathways, proteins regulating synaptic transmission, and actin microfilament during the first day of the learning curve; (2) transcription and translation machinery, protein trafficking, enhancement of metabolic activity, and Wnt signaling pathway during the steep phase of memory formation; and (3) cytoskeleton organization proteins. Taken together, this study clearly demonstrates dynamic assembly and disassembly of protein-protein interaction networks depending on the stage of memory formation engrams. PMID:26598641

Sex effects on spatial learning but not on spatial memory retrieval in healthy young adults.

PubMed

Piber, Dominique; Nowacki, Jan; Mueller, Sven C; Wingenfeld, Katja; Otte, Christian

2018-01-15

Sex differences have been found in spatial learning and spatial memory, with several studies indicating that males outperform females. We tested in the virtual Morris Water Maze (vMWM) task, whether sex differences in spatial cognitive processes are attributable to differences in spatial learning or spatial memory retrieval in a large student sample. We tested 90 healthy students (45 women and 45 men) with a mean age of 23.5 years (SD=3.5). Spatial learning and spatial memory retrieval were measured by using the vMWM task, during which participants had to search a virtual pool for a hidden platform, facilitated by visual cues surrounding the pool. Several learning trials assessed spatial learning, while a separate probe trial assessed spatial memory retrieval. We found a significant sex effect during spatial learning, with males showing shorter latency and shorter path length, as compared to females (all p<0.001). Yet, there was no significant sex effect in spatial memory retrieval (p=0.615). Furthermore, post-hoc analyses revealed significant sex differences in spatial search strategies (p<0.05), but no difference in the number of platform crossings (p=0.375). Our results indicate that in healthy young adults, males show faster spatial learning in a virtual environment, as compared to females. Interestingly, we found no significant sex differences during spatial memory retrieval. Our study raises the question, whether men and women use different learning strategies, which nevertheless result in equal performances of spatial memory retrieval. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Endurance factors improve hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial memory in mice

PubMed Central

Kobilo, Tali; Yuan, Chunyan; van Praag, Henriette

2011-01-01

Physical activity improves learning and hippocampal neurogenesis. It is unknown whether compounds that increase endurance in muscle also enhance cognition. We investigated the effects of endurance factors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ agonist GW501516 and AICAR, activator of AMP-activated protein kinase on memory and neurogenesis. Mice were injected with GW for 7 d or AICAR for 7 or 14 d. Two weeks thereafter mice were tested in the Morris water maze. AICAR (7 d) and GW improved spatial memory. Moreover, AICAR significantly, and GW modestly, elevated dentate gyrus neurogenesis. Thus, pharmacological activation of skeletal muscle may mediate cognitive effects. PMID:21245211

An Experiential-Based Learning Method Aiming to Improve Spatial Awareness Utilizing GPS, Geocaching, and Geo-Selfies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, K. Colton; Popp, Jennie

2016-01-01

Many educators have suggested that spatial awareness is vital in the foundation of geography curricula, as well as the ability to utilize geospatial technologies (National Research Council 2006; Kerski 2008; Lee and Bednarz 2009; Favier and Van der Schee 2014). The purpose of this research was to identify a low-cost and effective method to improve…

Discovering Communicable Scientific Knowledge from Spatio-Temporal Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwabacher, Mark; Langley, Pat; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper describes how we used regression rules to improve upon a result previously published in the Earth science literature. In such a scientific application of machine learning, it is crucially important for the learned models to be understandable and communicable. We recount how we selected a learning algorithm to maximize communicability, and then describe two visualization techniques that we developed to aid in understanding the model by exploiting the spatial nature of the data. We also report how evaluating the learned models across time let us discover an error in the data.

Discovering Communicable Models from Earth Science Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwabacher, Mark; Langley, Pat; Potter, Christopher; Klooster, Steven; Torregrosa, Alicia

2002-01-01

This chapter describes how we used regression rules to improve upon results previously published in the Earth science literature. In such a scientific application of machine learning, it is crucially important for the learned models to be understandable and communicable. We recount how we selected a learning algorithm to maximize communicability, and then describe two visualization techniques that we developed to aid in understanding the model by exploiting the spatial nature of the data. We also report how evaluating the learned models across time let us discover an error in the data.

A combination cocktail improves spatial attention in a canine model of human aging and Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Head, Elizabeth; Murphey, Heather L; Dowling, Amy L S; McCarty, Katie L; Bethel, Samuel R; Nitz, Jonathan A; Pleiss, Melanie; Vanrooyen, Jenna; Grossheim, Mike; Smiley, Jeffery R; Murphy, M Paul; Beckett, Tina L; Pagani, Dieter; Bresch, Frederick; Hendrix, Curt

2012-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves multiple pathological processes in the brain, including increased inflammation and oxidative damage, as well as the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques. We hypothesized that a combinatorial therapeutic approach to target these multiple pathways may provide cognitive and neuropathological benefits for AD patients. To test this hypothesis, we used a canine model of human aging and AD. Aged dogs naturally develop learning and memory impairments, human-type Aβ deposits, and oxidative damage in the brain. Thus, 9 aged beagles (98-115 months) were treated with a medical food cocktail containing (1) an extract of turmeric containing 95% curcuminoids; (2) an extract of green tea containing 50% epigallocatechingallate; (3) N-acetyl cysteine; (4) R-alpha lipoic acid; and (5) an extract of black pepper containing 95% piperine. Nine similarly aged dogs served as placebo-treated controls. After 3 months of treatment, 13 dogs completed a variable distance landmark task used as a measure of spatial attention. As compared to placebo-treated animals, dogs receiving the medical food cocktail had significantly lower error scores (t11 = 4.3, p = 0.001) and were more accurate across all distances (F(1,9) = 20.7, p = 0.001), suggesting an overall improvement in spatial attention. Measures of visual discrimination learning, executive function and spatial memory, and levels of brain and cerebrospinal fluid Aβ were unaffected by the cocktail. Our results indicate that this medical food cocktail may be beneficial for improving spatial attention and motivation deficits associated with impaired cognition in aging and AD.

Grids in topographic maps reduce distortions in the recall of learned object locations.

PubMed

Edler, Dennis; Bestgen, Anne-Kathrin; Kuchinke, Lars; Dickmann, Frank

2014-01-01

To date, it has been shown that cognitive map representations based on cartographic visualisations are systematically distorted. The grid is a traditional element of map graphics that has rarely been considered in research on perception-based spatial distortions. Grids do not only support the map reader in finding coordinates or locations of objects, they also provide a systematic structure for clustering visual map information ("spatial chunks"). The aim of this study was to examine whether different cartographic kinds of grids reduce spatial distortions and improve recall memory for object locations. Recall performance was measured as both the percentage of correctly recalled objects (hit rate) and the mean distance errors of correctly recalled objects (spatial accuracy). Different kinds of grids (continuous lines, dashed lines, crosses) were applied to topographic maps. These maps were also varied in their type of characteristic areas (LANDSCAPE) and different information layer compositions (DENSITY) to examine the effects of map complexity. The study involving 144 participants shows that all experimental cartographic factors (GRID, LANDSCAPE, DENSITY) improve recall performance and spatial accuracy of learned object locations. Overlaying a topographic map with a grid significantly reduces the mean distance errors of correctly recalled map objects. The paper includes a discussion of a square grid's usefulness concerning object location memory, independent of whether the grid is clearly visible (continuous or dashed lines) or only indicated by crosses.

Dissociation of spatial memory systems in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Bostelmann, Mathilde; Fragnière, Emilie; Costanzo, Floriana; Di Vara, Silvia; Menghini, Deny; Vicari, Stefano; Lavenex, Pierre; Lavenex, Pamela Banta

2017-11-01

Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic deletion syndrome, is characterized by severe visuospatial deficits affecting performance on both tabletop spatial tasks and on tasks which assess orientation and navigation. Nevertheless, previous studies of WS spatial capacities have ignored the fact that two different spatial memory systems are believed to contribute parallel spatial representations supporting navigation. The place learning system depends on the hippocampal formation and creates flexible relational representations of the environment, also known as cognitive maps. The spatial response learning system depends on the striatum and creates fixed stimulus-response representations, also known as habits. Indeed, no study assessing WS spatial competence has used tasks which selectively target these two spatial memory systems. Here, we report that individuals with WS exhibit a dissociation in their spatial abilities subserved by these two memory systems. As compared to typically developing (TD) children in the same mental age range, place learning performance was impaired in individuals with WS. In contrast, their spatial response learning performance was facilitated. Our findings in individuals with WS and TD children suggest that place learning and response learning interact competitively to control the behavioral strategies normally used to support human spatial navigation. Our findings further suggest that the neural pathways supporting place learning may be affected by the genetic deletion that characterizes WS, whereas those supporting response learning may be relatively preserved. The dissociation observed between these two spatial memory systems provides a coherent theoretical framework to characterize the spatial abilities of individuals with WS, and may lead to the development of new learning strategies based on their facilitated response learning abilities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Super-resolution reconstruction of MR image with a novel residual learning network algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jun; Liu, Qingping; Wang, Chaofeng; Zhang, Qi; Ying, Shihui; Xu, Haoyu

2018-04-01

Spatial resolution is one of the key parameters of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The image super-resolution (SR) technique offers an alternative approach to improve the spatial resolution of MRI due to its simplicity. Convolutional neural networks (CNN)-based SR algorithms have achieved state-of-the-art performance, in which the global residual learning (GRL) strategy is now commonly used due to its effectiveness for learning image details for SR. However, the partial loss of image details usually happens in a very deep network due to the degradation problem. In this work, we propose a novel residual learning-based SR algorithm for MRI, which combines both multi-scale GRL and shallow network block-based local residual learning (LRL). The proposed LRL module works effectively in capturing high-frequency details by learning local residuals. One simulated MRI dataset and two real MRI datasets have been used to evaluate our algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed SR algorithm achieves superior performance to all of the other compared CNN-based SR algorithms in this work.

Acute Exposure to Stress Improves Performance in Trace Eyeblink Conditioning and Spatial Learning Tasks in Healthy Men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncko, Roman; Cornwell, Brian; Cui, Lihong; Merikangas, Kathleen R.; Grillon, Christian

2007-01-01

The present study investigated the effects of acute stress exposure on learning performance in humans using analogs of two paradigms frequently used in animals. Healthy male participants were exposed to the cold pressor test (CPT) procedure, i.e., insertion of the dominant hand into ice water for 60 sec. Following the CPT or the control procedure,…

Environmental enrichment normalizes hippocampal timing coding in a malformed hippocampus.

PubMed

Hernan, Amanda E; Mahoney, J Matthew; Curry, Willie; Richard, Greg; Lucas, Marcella M; Massey, Andrew; Holmes, Gregory L; Scott, Rod C

2018-01-01

Neurodevelopmental insults leading to malformations of cortical development (MCD) are a common cause of psychiatric disorders, learning impairments and epilepsy. In the methylazoxymethanol (MAM) model of MCDs, animals have impairments in spatial cognition that, remarkably, are improved by post-weaning environmental enrichment (EE). To establish how EE impacts network-level mechanisms of spatial cognition, hippocampal in vivo single unit recordings were performed in freely moving animals in an open arena. We took a generalized linear modeling approach to extract fine spike timing (FST) characteristics and related these to place cell fidelity used as a surrogate of spatial cognition. We find that MAM disrupts FST and place-modulated rate coding in hippocampal CA1 and that EE improves many FST parameters towards normal. Moreover, FST parameters predict spatial coherence of neurons, suggesting that mechanisms determining altered FST are responsible for impaired cognition in MCDs. This suggests that FST parameters could represent a therapeutic target to improve cognition even in the context of a brain that develops with a structural abnormality.

Spatial short-term memory in children with nonverbal learning disabilities: impairment in encoding spatial configuration.

PubMed

Narimoto, Tadamasa; Matsuura, Naomi; Takezawa, Tomohiro; Mitsuhashi, Yoshinori; Hiratani, Michio

2013-01-01

The authors investigated whether impaired spatial short-term memory exhibited by children with nonverbal learning disabilities is due to a problem in the encoding process. Children with or without nonverbal learning disabilities performed a simple spatial test that required them to remember 3, 5, or 7 spatial items presented simultaneously in random positions (i.e., spatial configuration) and to decide if a target item was changed or all items including the target were in the same position. The results showed that, even when the spatial positions in the encoding and probe phases were similar, the mean proportion correct of children with nonverbal learning disabilities was 0.58 while that of children without nonverbal learning disabilities was 0.84. The authors argue with the results that children with nonverbal learning disabilities have difficulty encoding relational information between spatial items, and that this difficulty is responsible for their impaired spatial short-term memory.

Huperzine A: Behavioral and Pharmacological Evaluation in Rhesus Monkeys

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

challenged with 30 ug/kg scopolamine . Doses of 1 and 10 ug/kg HUP improved choice accuracy on a previously learned delayed spatial memory task in the...elderly subjects, and doses of 10 and 100 ug/kg reversed the scopolamine -induced deficits in the younger monkeys. Unfortunately, no data regarding...interval) in the spatial memory task differentially modulated the drug effects on performance. Specifically, scopolamine impaired accuracy

Does Chronic Unpredictable Stress during Adolescence Affect Spatial Cognition in Adulthood?

PubMed

Chaby, Lauren E; Sheriff, Michael J; Hirrlinger, Amy M; Lim, James; Fetherston, Thomas B; Braithwaite, Victoria A

2015-01-01

Spatial abilities allow animals to retain and cognitively manipulate information about their spatial environment and are dependent upon neural structures that mature during adolescence. Exposure to stress in adolescence is thought to disrupt neural maturation, possibly compromising cognitive processes later in life. We examined whether exposure to chronic unpredictable stress in adolescence affects spatial ability in late adulthood. We evaluated spatial learning, reference and working memory, as well as long-term retention of visuospatial cues using a radial arm water maze. We found that stress in adolescence decreased the rate of improvement in spatial learning in adulthood. However, we found no overall performance impairments in adult reference memory, working memory, or retention caused by adolescent-stress. Together, these findings suggest that adolescent-stress may alter the strategy used to solve spatial challenges, resulting in performance that is more consistent but is not refined by incorporating available spatial information. Interestingly, we also found that adolescent-stressed rats showed a shorter latency to begin the water maze task when re-exposed to the maze after an overnight delay compared with control rats. This suggests that adolescent exposure to reoccurring stressors may prepare animals for subsequent reoccurring challenges. Overall, our results show that stress in adolescence does not affect all cognitive processes, but may affect cognition in a context-dependent manner.

Does Chronic Unpredictable Stress during Adolescence Affect Spatial Cognition in Adulthood?

PubMed Central

Chaby, Lauren E.; Sheriff, Michael J.; Hirrlinger, Amy M.; Lim, James; Fetherston, Thomas B.; Braithwaite, Victoria A.

2015-01-01

Spatial abilities allow animals to retain and cognitively manipulate information about their spatial environment and are dependent upon neural structures that mature during adolescence. Exposure to stress in adolescence is thought to disrupt neural maturation, possibly compromising cognitive processes later in life. We examined whether exposure to chronic unpredictable stress in adolescence affects spatial ability in late adulthood. We evaluated spatial learning, reference and working memory, as well as long-term retention of visuospatial cues using a radial arm water maze. We found that stress in adolescence decreased the rate of improvement in spatial learning in adulthood. However, we found no overall performance impairments in adult reference memory, working memory, or retention caused by adolescent-stress. Together, these findings suggest that adolescent-stress may alter the strategy used to solve spatial challenges, resulting in performance that is more consistent but is not refined by incorporating available spatial information. Interestingly, we also found that adolescent-stressed rats showed a shorter latency to begin the water maze task when re-exposed to the maze after an overnight delay compared with control rats. This suggests that adolescent exposure to reoccurring stressors may prepare animals for subsequent reoccurring challenges. Overall, our results show that stress in adolescence does not affect all cognitive processes, but may affect cognition in a context-dependent manner. PMID:26580066

Pairwise graphical models for structural health monitoring with dense sensor arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi Ghazi, Reza; Chen, Justin G.; Büyüköztürk, Oral

2017-09-01

Through advances in sensor technology and development of camera-based measurement techniques, it has become affordable to obtain high spatial resolution data from structures. Although measured datasets become more informative by increasing the number of sensors, the spatial dependencies between sensor data are increased at the same time. Therefore, appropriate data analysis techniques are needed to handle the inference problem in presence of these dependencies. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that uses graphical models (GM) for considering the spatial dependencies between sensor measurements in dense sensor networks or arrays to improve damage localization accuracy in structural health monitoring (SHM) application. Because there are always unobserved damaged states in this application, the available information is insufficient for learning the GMs. To overcome this challenge, we propose an approximated model that uses the mutual information between sensor measurements to learn the GMs. The study is backed by experimental validation of the method on two test structures. The first is a three-story two-bay steel model structure that is instrumented by MEMS accelerometers. The second experimental setup consists of a plate structure and a video camera to measure the displacement field of the plate. Our results show that considering the spatial dependencies by the proposed algorithm can significantly improve damage localization accuracy.

Perceptual Learning Improves Adult Amblyopic Vision Through Rule-Based Cognitive Compensation

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jun-Yun; Cong, Lin-Juan; Klein, Stanley A.; Levi, Dennis M.; Yu, Cong

2014-01-01

Purpose. We investigated whether perceptual learning in adults with amblyopia could be enabled to transfer completely to an orthogonal orientation, which would suggest that amblyopic perceptual learning results mainly from high-level cognitive compensation, rather than plasticity in the amblyopic early visual brain. Methods. Nineteen adults (mean age = 22.5 years) with anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia were trained following a training-plus-exposure (TPE) protocol. The amblyopic eyes practiced contrast, orientation, or Vernier discrimination at one orientation for six to eight sessions. Then the amblyopic or nonamblyopic eyes were exposed to an orthogonal orientation via practicing an irrelevant task. Training was first performed at a lower spatial frequency (SF), then at a higher SF near the cutoff frequency of the amblyopic eye. Results. Perceptual learning was initially orientation specific. However, after exposure to the orthogonal orientation, learning transferred to an orthogonal orientation completely. Reversing the exposure and training order failed to produce transfer. Initial lower SF training led to broad improvement of contrast sensitivity, and later higher SF training led to more specific improvement at high SFs. Training improved visual acuity by 1.5 to 1.6 lines (P < 0.001) in the amblyopic eyes with computerized tests and a clinical E acuity chart. It also improved stereoacuity by 53% (P < 0.001). Conclusions. The complete transfer of learning suggests that perceptual learning in amblyopia may reflect high-level learning of rules for performing a visual discrimination task. These rules are applicable to new orientations to enable learning transfer. Therefore, perceptual learning may improve amblyopic vision mainly through rule-based cognitive compensation. PMID:24550359

Perceptual learning improves adult amblyopic vision through rule-based cognitive compensation.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun-Yun; Cong, Lin-Juan; Klein, Stanley A; Levi, Dennis M; Yu, Cong

2014-04-01

We investigated whether perceptual learning in adults with amblyopia could be enabled to transfer completely to an orthogonal orientation, which would suggest that amblyopic perceptual learning results mainly from high-level cognitive compensation, rather than plasticity in the amblyopic early visual brain. Nineteen adults (mean age = 22.5 years) with anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia were trained following a training-plus-exposure (TPE) protocol. The amblyopic eyes practiced contrast, orientation, or Vernier discrimination at one orientation for six to eight sessions. Then the amblyopic or nonamblyopic eyes were exposed to an orthogonal orientation via practicing an irrelevant task. Training was first performed at a lower spatial frequency (SF), then at a higher SF near the cutoff frequency of the amblyopic eye. Perceptual learning was initially orientation specific. However, after exposure to the orthogonal orientation, learning transferred to an orthogonal orientation completely. Reversing the exposure and training order failed to produce transfer. Initial lower SF training led to broad improvement of contrast sensitivity, and later higher SF training led to more specific improvement at high SFs. Training improved visual acuity by 1.5 to 1.6 lines (P < 0.001) in the amblyopic eyes with computerized tests and a clinical E acuity chart. It also improved stereoacuity by 53% (P < 0.001). The complete transfer of learning suggests that perceptual learning in amblyopia may reflect high-level learning of rules for performing a visual discrimination task. These rules are applicable to new orientations to enable learning transfer. Therefore, perceptual learning may improve amblyopic vision mainly through rule-based cognitive compensation.

Blue Corn Tortillas: Effects on Learning and Spatial Memory in Rats.

PubMed

Aguirre López, L O; Chávez Servia, J L; Gómez Rodiles, C C; Beltrán Ramírez, J R; Bañuelos Pineda, J

2017-12-01

Consumption of pigmented corn has been associated with health benefits due to its flavonoid contents (mainly anthocyanins) and antioxidant ability. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of blue corn tortilla (BM) consumption on memory and learning ability adult rats. Eighteen adult female rats were divided into three groups and fed for 38 consecutive days with commercial food (Control group) or the commercial food plus 6 g/day of either blue corn (BM) or white corn (WM) tortillas. Memory and learning capabilities were assessed using Barnes's labyrinth at the end of the feeding period. Short-and long-term memory was improved in the BM group, showing that consumption of blue maize tortillas improves learning and memory capabilities in adult rats.

Spatial and reversal learning in the Morris water maze are largely resistant to six hours of REM sleep deprivation following training

PubMed Central

Walsh, Christine M.; Booth, Victoria; Poe, Gina R.

2011-01-01

This first test of the role of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in reversal spatial learning is also the first attempt to replicate a much cited pair of papers reporting that REM sleep deprivation impairs the consolidation of initial spatial learning in the Morris water maze. We hypothesized that REM sleep deprivation following training would impair both hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and learning a new target location within a familiar environment: reversal learning. A 6-d protocol was divided into the initial spatial learning phase (3.5 d) immediately followed by the reversal phase (2.5 d). During the 6 h following four or 12 training trials/day of initial or reversal learning phases, REM sleep was eliminated and non-REM sleep left intact using the multiple inverted flowerpot method. Contrary to our hypotheses, REM sleep deprivation during four or 12 trials/day of initial spatial or reversal learning did not affect training performance. However, some probe trial measures indicated REM sleep-deprivation–associated impairment in initial spatial learning with four trials/day and enhancement of subsequent reversal learning. In naive animals, REM sleep deprivation during normal initial spatial learning was followed by a lack of preference for the subsequent reversal platform location during the probe. Our findings contradict reports that REM sleep is essential for spatial learning in the Morris water maze and newly reveal that short periods of REM sleep deprivation do not impair concurrent reversal learning. Effects on subsequent reversal learning are consistent with the idea that REM sleep serves the consolidation of incompletely learned items. PMID:21677190

In vivo administration of extracellular cGMP normalizes TNF-α and membrane expression of AMPA receptors in hippocampus and spatial reference memory but not IL-1β, NMDA receptors in membrane and working memory in hyperammonemic rats.

PubMed

Cabrera-Pastor, Andrea; Hernandez-Rabaza, Vicente; Taoro-Gonzalez, Lucas; Balzano, Tiziano; Llansola, Marta; Felipo, Vicente

2016-10-01

Patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) show working memory and visuo-spatial orientation deficits. Hyperammonemia is a main contributor to cognitive impairment in HE. Hyperammonemic rats show impaired spatial learning and learning ability in the Y maze. Intracerebral administration of extracellular cGMP restores learning in the Y-maze. The underlying mechanisms remain unknown. It also remains unknown whether extracellular cGMP improves neuroinflammation or restores spatial learning in hyperammonemic rats and if it affects differently reference and working memory. The aims of this work were: Spatial working and reference memory were assessed using the radial and Morris water mazes and neuroinflammation by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Membrane expression of NMDA and AMPA receptor subunits was analyzed using the BS3 crosslinker. Extracellular cGMP was administered intracerebrally using osmotic minipumps. Chronic hyperammonemia induces neuroinflammation in hippocampus, with astrocytes activation and increased IL-1β, which are associated with increased NMDA receptors membrane expression and impaired working memory. This process is not affected by extracellular cGMP. Hyperammonemia also activates microglia and increases TNF-α, alters membrane expression of AMPA receptor subunits (increased GluA1 and reduced GluA2) and impairs reference memory. All these changes are reversed by extracellular cGMP. These results show that extracellular cGMP modulates spatial reference memory but not working memory. This would be mediated by modulation of TNF-α levels and of membrane expression of GluA1 and GluA2 subunits of AMPA receptors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item-specific and generalization effects on brain activation when learning Chinese characters

PubMed Central

Deng, Yuan; Booth, James R.; Chou, Tai-Li; Ding, Guo-Sheng; Peng, Dan-Ling

2009-01-01

Neural changes related to learning of the meaning of Chinese characters in English speakers were examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We examined item specific learning effects for trained characters, but also the generalization of semantic knowledge to novel transfer characters that shared a semantic radical (part of a character that gives a clue to word meaning, e.g. water for lake) with trained characters. Behavioral results show that acquired semantic knowledge improves performance for both trained and transfer characters. Neuroimaging results show that the left fusiform gyrus plays a central role in the visual processing of orthographic information in characters. The left superior parietal cortex seems to play a crucial role in learning the visual–spatial aspects of the characters because it shows learning related decreases for trained characters, is correlated with behavioral improvement from early to late in learning for the trained characters, and is correlated with better long-term retention for the transfer characters. The inferior frontal gyrus seems to be associated with the efficiency of retrieving and manipulating semantic representations because there are learning related decreases for trained characters and this decrease is correlated with greater behavioral improvement from early to late in learning. PMID:18514678

Effects of alcoholic beverage treatment on spatial learning and fear memory in mice.

PubMed

Hashikawa-Hobara, Narumi; Mishima, Shuta; Nagase, Shotaro; Morita, Keishi; Otsuka, Ami; Hashikawa, Naoya

2018-04-24

Although chronic ethanol treatment is known to impair learning and memory, humans commonly consume a range of alcoholic beverages. However, the specific effects of some alcoholic beverages on behavioral performance are largely unknown. The present study compared the effects of a range of alcoholic beverages (plain ethanol solution, red wine, sake and whiskey; with a matched alcohol concentration of 10%) on learning and memory. 6-week-old C57BL6J mice were orally administered alcohol for 7 weeks. The results revealed that red wine treatment exhibited a trend toward improvement of spatial memory and advanced extinction of fear memory. Additionally, red wine treatment significantly increased mRNA levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in mice hippocampus. These results support previous reports that red wine has beneficial effects.

A robot-aided visuo-motor training that improves proprioception and spatial accuracy of untrained movement.

PubMed

Elangovan, Naveen; Cappello, Leonardo; Masia, Lorenzo; Aman, Joshua; Konczak, Jürgen

2017-12-06

Proprioceptive function can become enhanced during motor learning. Yet, we have incomplete knowledge to what extent proprioceptive function is trainable and how a training that enhances proprioception may influence performance in untrained motor skills. To address this knowledge gap, healthy young adults (N = 14) trained in a visuomotor task that required learners to make increasingly accurate wrist movements. Using a robotic exoskeleton coupled with a virtual visual environment, participants tilted a virtual table through continuous wrist flexion/extension movements with the goal to position a rolling ball on table into a target. With learning progress, the level of difficulty increased by altering the virtual ball mechanics and the gain between joint movement and ball velocity. Before and after training, wrist position sense acuity and spatial movement accuracy in an untrained, discrete wrist-pointing task was assessed using the same robot. All participants showed evidence of proprioceptive-motor learning. Mean position sense discrimination threshold improved by 34%. Wrist movement accuracy in the untrained pointing task improved by 27% in 13/14 participants. This demonstrates that a short sensorimotor training challenging proprioception can a) effectively enhance proprioceptive acuity and b) improve the accuracy of untrained movement. These findings provide a scientific basis for applying such somatosensory-based motor training to clinical populations with known proprioceptive dysfunction to enhance sensorimotor performance.

Chronic administration of R-flurbiprofen attenuates learning impairments in transgenic amyloid precursor protein mice

PubMed Central

Kukar, Thomas; Prescott, Sonya; Eriksen, Jason L; Holloway, Vallie; Murphy, M Paul; Koo, Edward H; Golde, Todd E; Nicolle, Michelle M

2007-01-01

Background Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We and others have shown that certain NSAIDs reduce secretion of Aβ42 in cell culture and animal models, and that the effect of NSAIDs on Aβ42 is independent of the inhibition of cyclooxygenase by these compounds. Since Aβ42 is hypothesized to be the initiating pathologic molecule in AD, the ability of these compounds to lower Aβ42 selectively may be associated with their protective effect. We have previously identified R-flurbiprofen (tarenflurbil) as a selective Aβ42 lowering agent with greatly reduced cyclooxygenase activity that shows promise for testing this hypothesis. In this study we report the effect of chronic R-flurbiprofen treatment on cognition and Aβ loads in Tg2576 APP mice. Results A four-month preventative treatment regimen with R-flurbiprofen (10 mg/kg/day) was administered to young Tg2576 mice prior to robust plaque or Aβ pathology. This treatment regimen improved spatial learning as assessed by the Morris water maze, indicated by an increased spatial bias during the third probe trial and an increased utilization of a place strategy to solve the water maze. These results are consistent with an improvement in hippocampal- and medial temporal lobe-dependent memory function. A modest, though not statistically significant, reduction in formic acid-soluble levels of Aβ was also observed. To determine if R-flurbiprofen could reverse cognitive deficits in Tg2576 mice where plaque pathology was already robust, a two-week therapeutic treatment was given to older Tg2576 mice with the same dose of R-flurbiprofen. This approach resulted in a significant decrease in Aβ plaque burden but no significant improvement in spatial learning. Conclusion We have found that chronic administration of R-flurbiprofen is able to attenuate spatial learning deficits if given prior to plaque deposition in Tg2576 mice. Given its ability to selectively target Aβ42 production and improve cognitive impairments in transgenic APP mice, as well as promising data from a phase 2 human clinical trial, future studies are needed to investigate the utility of R-flurbiprofen as an AD therapeutic and its possible mechanisms of action. PMID:17650315

The effect of Vitamin E on learning and memory deficits in intrahippocampal kainate-induced temporal lobe epilepsy in rats.

PubMed

Kiasalari, Zahra; Khalili, Mohsen; Shafiee, Samaneh; Roghani, Mehrdad

2016-01-01

Since temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is associated with learning and memory impairment, we investigated the beneficial effect of Vitamin E on the impaired learning and memory in the intrahippocampal kainate model of TLE in rats. Rats were divided into sham, Vitamin E-treated sham, kainate, and Vitamin E-treated kainate. Intrahippocampal kainate was used for induction of epilepsy. Vitamin E was injected intraperitoneal (i.p.) at a dose of 200 mg/kg/day started 1 week before surgery until 1 h presurgery. Initial and step-through latencies in the passive avoidance test and alternation behavior percentage in Y-maze were finally determined in addition to measurement of some oxidative stress markers. Kainate injection caused a higher severity and rate of seizures and deteriorated learning and memory performance in passive avoidance paradigm and spontaneous alternation as an index of spatial recognition memory in Y-maze task. Intrahippocampal kainate also led to the elevation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitrite and reduced activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Vitamin E pretreatment significantly attenuated severity and incidence rate of seizures, significantly improved retrieval and recall in passive avoidance, did not ameliorate spatial memory deficit in Y-maze, and lowered MDA and enhanced SOD activity. Vitamin E improves passive avoidance learning and memory and part of its beneficial effect is due to its potential to mitigate hippocampal oxidative stress.

Environmental impoverishment and aging alter object recognition, spatial learning, and dentate gyrus astrocytes.

PubMed

Diniz, Daniel G; Foro, César A R; Rego, Carla M D; Gloria, David A; de Oliveira, Fabio R R; Paes, Juliana M P; de Sousa, Aline A; Tokuhashi, Tatyana P; Trindade, Lucas S; Turiel, Maíra C P; Vasconcelos, Erick G R; Torres, João B; Cunnigham, Colm; Perry, Victor H; Vasconcelos, Pedro F da Costa; Diniz, Cristovam W P

2010-08-01

Environmental and age-related effects on learning and memory were analysed and compared with changes observed in astrocyte laminar distribution in the dentate gyrus. Aged (20 months) and young (6 months) adult female albino Swiss mice were housed from weaning either in impoverished conditions or in enriched conditions, and tested for episodic-like and water maze spatial memories. After these behavioral tests, brain hippocampal sections were immunolabeled for glial fibrillary acid protein to identify astrocytes. The effects of environmental enrichment on episodic-like memory were not dependent on age, and may protect water maze spatial learning and memory from declines induced by aging or impoverished environment. In the dentate gyrus, the number of astrocytes increased with both aging and enriched environment in the molecular layer, increased only with aging in the polymorphic layer, and was unchanged in the granular layer. We suggest that long-term experience-induced glial plasticity by enriched environment may represent at least part of the circuitry groundwork for improvements in behavioral performance in the aged mice brain.

Intense Exercise Promotes Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis But Not Spatial Discrimination

PubMed Central

So, Ji H.; Huang, Chao; Ge, Minyan; Cai, Guangyao; Zhang, Lanqiu; Lu, Yisheng; Mu, Yangling

2017-01-01

Hippocampal neurogenesis persists throughout adult life and plays an important role in learning and memory. Although the influence of physical exercise on neurogenesis has been intensively studied, there is controversy in regard to how the impact of exercise may vary with its regime. Less is known about how distinct exercise paradigms may differentially affect the learning behavior. Here we found that, chronic moderate treadmill running led to an increase of cell proliferation, survival, neuronal differentiation, and migration. In contrast, intense running only promoted neuronal differentiation and migration, which was accompanied with lower expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factor 1, and erythropoietin. In addition, the intensely but not mildly exercised animals exhibited a lower mitochondrial activity in the dentate gyrus. Correspondingly, neurogenesis induced by moderate but not intense exercise was sufficient to improve the animal’s ability in spatial pattern separation. Our data indicate that the effect of exercise on spatial learning is intensity-dependent and may involve mechanisms other than a simple increase in the number of new neurons. PMID:28197080

Dorsal Hippocampus Function in Learning and Expressing a Spatial Discrimination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Norman M.; Gaskin, Stephane

2006-01-01

Learning to discriminate between spatial locations defined by two adjacent arms of a radial maze in the conditioned cue preference paradigm requires two kinds of information: latent spatial learning when the rats explore the maze with no food available, and learning about food availability in two spatial locations when the rats are then confined…

Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training.

PubMed

Graziano, A B; Peterson, M; Shaw, G L

1999-03-01

It was predicted, based on a mathematical model of the cortex, that early music training would enhance spatial-temporal reasoning. We have demonstrated that preschool children given six months of piano keyboard lessons improved dramatically on spatial-temporal reasoning while children in appropriate control groups did not improve. It was then predicted that the enhanced spatial-temporal reasoning from piano keyboard training could lead to enhanced learning of specific math concepts, in particular proportional math, which is notoriously difficult to teach using the usual language-analytic methods. We report here the development of Spatial-Temporal Math Video Game software designed to teach fractions and proportional math, and its strikingly successful use in a study involving 237 second-grade children (age range six years eight months-eight years five months). Furthermore, as predicted, children given piano keyboard training along with the Math Video Game training scored significantly higher on proportional math and fractions than children given a control training along with the Math Video Game. These results were readily measured using the companion Math Video Game Evaluation Program. The training time necessary for children on the Math Video Game is very short, and they rapidly reach a high level of performance. This suggests that, as predicted, we are tapping into fundamental cortical processes of spatial-temporal reasoning. This spatial-temporal approach is easily generalized to teach other math and science concepts in a complementary manner to traditional language-analytic methods, and at a younger age. The neural mechanisms involved in thinking through fractions and proportional math during training with the Math Video Game might be investigated in EEG coherence studies along with priming by specific music.

Spatial and temporal adaptations that accompany increasing catching performance during learning.

PubMed

Mazyn, Liesbeth I N; Lenoir, Matthieu; Montagne, Gilles; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

2007-11-01

The authors studied changes in performance and kinematics during the acquisition of a 1-handed catch. Participants were 8 women who took an intensive 2-week training program during which they evolved from poor catchers to subexpert catchers. An increased temporal consistency, shift in spatial location of ball-hand contact away from the body, and higher peak velocity of the transport of the hand toward the ball accompanied their improvement in catching performance. Moreover, novice catchers first adjusted spatial characteristics of the catch to the task constraints and fine-tuned temporal features only later during learning. A principal components analysis on a large set of kinematic variables indicated that a successful catch depends on (a) forward displacement of the hand and (b) the dynamics of the hand closure, thereby providing a kinematic underpinning for the traditional transport-manipulation dissociation in the grasping and catching literature.

SeaTouch: A Haptic and Auditory Maritime Environment for Non Visual Cognitive Mapping of Blind Sailors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simonnet, Mathieu; Jacobson, Dan; Vieilledent, Stephane; Tisseau, Jacques

Navigating consists of coordinating egocentric and allocentric spatial frames of reference. Virtual environments have afforded researchers in the spatial community with tools to investigate the learning of space. The issue of the transfer between virtual and real situations is not trivial. A central question is the role of frames of reference in mediating spatial knowledge transfer to external surroundings, as is the effect of different sensory modalities accessed in simulated and real worlds. This challenges the capacity of blind people to use virtual reality to explore a scene without graphics. The present experiment involves a haptic and auditory maritime virtual environment. In triangulation tasks, we measure systematic errors and preliminary results show an ability to learn configurational knowledge and to navigate through it without vision. Subjects appeared to take advantage of getting lost in an egocentric “haptic” view in the virtual environment to improve performances in the real environment.

Cognitive and emotional alterations in periadolescent mice exposed to 2 g hypergravity field.

PubMed

Francia, Nadia; Santucci, Daniela; Chiarotti, Flavia; Alleva, Enrico

2004-12-15

The development of the nervous system is a dynamic process where epigenetic factors play a fundamental role. Both ground-based and space research indicate that exposure to an altered gravitational environment affects rodent neurobehavioral profile and stage of development as well as duration of exposure appear to be critical for the observed effects. The behavioral profile of adolescent (28-day-old) male and female CD-1 mice upon acute 2 g exposure was characterized and emotional/anxiety responses (plus-maze), as well as spatial learning performance (Morris water-maze), were assessed respectively 24 and 48 h after hypergravity exposure. Behavioral observation indicated a transient mild sickness associated with hypergravity, with a decrease in spontaneous activity. Rotation per se induced an increase in emotional/anxious responses and a deterioration of spatial learning acquisition, while hypergravity specifically improved flexibility of spatial orientation.

Learning and memory for sequences of pictures, words, and spatial locations: an exploration of serial position effects.

PubMed

Bonk, William J; Healy, Alice F

2010-01-01

A serial reproduction of order with distractors task was developed to make it possible to observe successive snapshots of the learning process at each serial position. The new task was used to explore the effect of several variables on serial memory performance: stimulus content (words, blanks, and pictures), presentation condition (spatial information vs. none), semantically categorized item clustering (grouped vs. ungrouped), and number of distractors relative to targets (none, equal, double). These encoding and retrieval variables, along with learning attempt number, affected both overall performance levels and the shape of the serial position function, although a large and extensive primacy advantage and a small 1-item recency advantage were found in each case. These results were explained well by a version of the scale-independent memory, perception, and learning model that accounted for improved performance by increasing the value of only a single parameter that reflects reduced interference from distant items.

Blockade of 5-HT2A/2C-type receptors impairs learning in female rats in the course of estrous cycle.

PubMed

Fedotova, Yu O; Ordyan, N E

2010-12-01

We studied the effects of chronic administration (14 days) of agonist of 5-HT2B/2C serotonin receptors m-CPP (0.5 mg/kg subcutaneously) and agonist of 5-HT2A/2C serotonin receptors ketanserin (0.1 mg/kg intraperitoneally) on conditioned reactions in female rats in different phases of the estrous cycle. Passive avoidance (PA) paradigm and Morris water maze were used as behavioral tests. Chronic administration of m-CPP did not affect PA retrieval during the proestrus and estrus phases, but improved the dynamics of spatial learning in Morris water maze in comparison with control rats. Chronic administration of ketanserin uniformly impaired processes of spatial and nonspatial learning in female rats irrespective to the phase of the estrous cycle. A modulating role of 5-HT2A/2C and 5-HT2B/2C serotonin receptors in process of learning in female rats during the key phases of the estrous cycle was demonstrated.

Learning to identify crowded letters: Does the learning depend on the frequency of training?

PubMed Central

Chung, Susana T. L.; Truong, Sandy R.

2012-01-01

Performance for many visual tasks improves with training. The magnitude of improvement following training depends on the training task, number of trials per training session and the total amount of training. Does the magnitude of improvement also depend on the frequency of training sessions? In this study, we compared the learning effect for three groups of normally sighted observers who repeatedly practiced the task of identifying crowded letters in the periphery for six sessions (1000 trials per session), according to three different training schedules — one group received one session of training everyday, the second group received a training session once a week and the third group once every two weeks. Following six sessions of training, all observers improved in their performance of identifying crowded letters in the periphery. Most importantly, the magnitudes of improvement were similar across the three training groups. The improvement was accompanied by a reduction in the spatial extent of crowding, an increase in the size of visual span and a reduction in letter-size threshold. The magnitudes of these accompanied improvements were also similar across the three training groups. Our finding that the effectiveness of visual perceptual learning is similar for daily, weekly and biweekly training has significant implication for adopting perceptual learning as an option to improve visual functions for clinical patients. PMID:23206551

Direct Patlak Reconstruction From Dynamic PET Data Using the Kernel Method With MRI Information Based on Structural Similarity.

PubMed

Gong, Kuang; Cheng-Liao, Jinxiu; Wang, Guobao; Chen, Kevin T; Catana, Ciprian; Qi, Jinyi

2018-04-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging modality widely used in oncology, cardiology, and neuroscience. It is highly sensitive, but suffers from relatively poor spatial resolution, as compared with anatomical imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). With the recent development of combined PET/MR systems, we can improve the PET image quality by incorporating MR information into image reconstruction. Previously, kernel learning has been successfully embedded into static and dynamic PET image reconstruction using either PET temporal or MRI information. Here, we combine both PET temporal and MRI information adaptively to improve the quality of direct Patlak reconstruction. We examined different approaches to combine the PET and MRI information in kernel learning to address the issue of potential mismatches between MRI and PET signals. Computer simulations and hybrid real-patient data acquired on a simultaneous PET/MR scanner were used to evaluate the proposed methods. Results show that the method that combines PET temporal information and MRI spatial information adaptively based on the structure similarity index has the best performance in terms of noise reduction and resolution improvement.

Effects of prolonged agmatine treatment in aged male Sprague-Dawley rats.

PubMed

Rushaidhi, M; Zhang, H; Liu, P

2013-03-27

Increasing evidence suggests that altered arginine metabolism contributes to cognitive decline during ageing. Agmatine, decarboxylated arginine, has a variety of pharmacological effects, including the modulation of behavioural function. A recent study demonstrated the beneficial effects of short-term agmatine treatment in aged rats. The present study investigated how intraperitoneal administration of agmatine (40mg/kg, once daily) over 4-6weeks affected behavioural function and neurochemistry in aged Sprague-Dawley rats. Aged rats treated with saline displayed significantly reduced exploratory activity in the open field, impaired spatial learning and memory in the water maze and object recognition memory relative to young rats. Prolonged agmatine treatment improved animals' performance in the reversal test of the water maze and object recognition memory test, and significantly suppressed age-related elevation in nitric oxide synthase activity in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. However, this prolonged supplementation was unable to improve exploratory activity and spatial reference learning and memory in aged rats. These findings further demonstrate that exogenous agmatine selectively improves behavioural function in aged rats. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formation of spatial and nonspatial memory in different condensed versions of short-term learning in Morris water maze.

PubMed

Zots, M A; Ivashkina, O I; Ivanova, A A; Anokhin, K V

2014-03-01

We studied the formation of spatial and nonspatial memory in mice during learning in three different condensed versions of Morris water maze task. Learning in combined version caused the formation of both spatial and nonspatial memory, whereas learning in condensed versions (spatial and nonspatial) led to memory formation specific for the version.

Search strategy selection in the Morris water maze indicates allocentric map formation during learning that underpins spatial memory formation.

PubMed

Rogers, Jake; Churilov, Leonid; Hannan, Anthony J; Renoir, Thibault

2017-03-01

Using a Matlab classification algorithm, we demonstrate that a highly salient distal cue array is required for significantly increased likelihoods of spatial search strategy selection during Morris water maze spatial learning. We hypothesized that increased spatial search strategy selection during spatial learning would be the key measure demonstrating the formation of an allocentric map to the escape location. Spatial memory, as indicated by quadrant preference for the area of the pool formally containing the hidden platform, was assessed as the main measure that this allocentric map had formed during spatial learning. Our C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice exhibit quadrant preference in the highly salient cue paradigm but not the low, corresponding with a 120% increase in the odds of a spatial search strategy selection during learning. In contrast, quadrant preference remains absent in serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT 1A R) knockout (KO) mice, who exhibit impaired search strategy selection during spatial learning. Additionally, we also aimed to assess the impact of the quality of the distal cue array on the spatial learning curves of both latency to platform and path length using mixed-effect regression models and found no significant associations or interactions. In contrast, we demonstrated that the spatial learning curve for search strategy selection was absent during training in the low saliency paradigm. Therefore, we propose that allocentric search strategy selection during spatial learning is the learning parameter in mice that robustly indicates the formation of a cognitive map for the escape goal location. These results also suggest that both latency to platform and path length spatial learning curves do not discriminate between allocentric and egocentric spatial learning and do not reliably predict spatial memory formation. We also show that spatial memory, as indicated by the absolute time in the quadrant formerly containing the hidden platform alone (without reference to the other areas of the pool), was not sensitive to cue saliency or impaired in 5-HT 1A R KO mice. Importantly, in the absence of a search strategy analysis, this suggests that to establish that the Morris water maze has worked (i.e. control mice have formed an allocentric map to the escape goal location), a measure of quadrant preference needs to be reported to establish spatial memory formation. This has implications for studies that claim hippocampal functioning is impaired using latency to platform or path length differences within the existing Morris water maze literature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploration, anxiety, and spatial memory in transgenic anophthalmic mice.

PubMed

Buhot, M C; Dubayle, D; Malleret, G; Javerzat, S; Segu, L

2001-04-01

Contradictory results are found in the literature concerning the role of vision in the perception of space or in spatial navigation, in part because of the lack of murine models of total blindness used so far. The authors evaluated the spatial abilities of anophthalmic transgenic mice. These mice did not differ qualitatively from their wild-type littermates in general locomotor activity, spontaneous alternation, object exploration, or anxiety, but their level of exploratory activity was generally lower. In the spatial version of the water maze, they displayed persistent thigmotaxic behavior and showed severe spatial learning impairments. However, their performances improved with training, suggesting that they may have acquired a rough representation of the platform position. These results suggest that modalities other than vision enable some degree of spatial processing in proximal and structured spaces but that vision is critical for accurate spatial navigation.

Remote sensing-based measurement of Living Environment Deprivation: Improving classical approaches with machine learning

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This paper provides evidence on the usefulness of very high spatial resolution (VHR) imagery in gathering socioeconomic information in urban settlements. We use land cover, spectral, structure and texture features extracted from a Google Earth image of Liverpool (UK) to evaluate their potential to predict Living Environment Deprivation at a small statistical area level. We also contribute to the methodological literature on the estimation of socioeconomic indices with remote-sensing data by introducing elements from modern machine learning. In addition to classical approaches such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and a spatial lag model, we explore the potential of the Gradient Boost Regressor and Random Forests to improve predictive performance and accuracy. In addition to novel predicting methods, we also introduce tools for model interpretation and evaluation such as feature importance and partial dependence plots, or cross-validation. Our results show that Random Forest proved to be the best model with an R2 of around 0.54, followed by Gradient Boost Regressor with 0.5. Both the spatial lag model and the OLS fall behind with significantly lower performances of 0.43 and 0.3, respectively. PMID:28464010

Remote sensing-based measurement of Living Environment Deprivation: Improving classical approaches with machine learning.

PubMed

Arribas-Bel, Daniel; Patino, Jorge E; Duque, Juan C

2017-01-01

This paper provides evidence on the usefulness of very high spatial resolution (VHR) imagery in gathering socioeconomic information in urban settlements. We use land cover, spectral, structure and texture features extracted from a Google Earth image of Liverpool (UK) to evaluate their potential to predict Living Environment Deprivation at a small statistical area level. We also contribute to the methodological literature on the estimation of socioeconomic indices with remote-sensing data by introducing elements from modern machine learning. In addition to classical approaches such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and a spatial lag model, we explore the potential of the Gradient Boost Regressor and Random Forests to improve predictive performance and accuracy. In addition to novel predicting methods, we also introduce tools for model interpretation and evaluation such as feature importance and partial dependence plots, or cross-validation. Our results show that Random Forest proved to be the best model with an R2 of around 0.54, followed by Gradient Boost Regressor with 0.5. Both the spatial lag model and the OLS fall behind with significantly lower performances of 0.43 and 0.3, respectively.

Cabri 3D - assisted collaborative learning to enhance junior high school students’ spatial ability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muntazhimah; Miatun, A.

2018-01-01

The main purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the enhancement of spatial ability of junior high school students who learned through Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning. The methodology of this study was the nonequivalent group that was conducted to students of the eighth grade in a junior high school as a population. Samples consisted one class of the experimental group who studied with Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and one class as a control group who got regular learning activity. The instrument used in this study was a spatial ability test. Analyzing normalized gain of students’ spatial ability based on mathemathical prior knowledge (MPK) and its interactions was tested by two-way ANOVA at a significance level of 5% then continued with using Post Hoc Scheffe test. The research results showed that there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with Cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning, there was significant difference in enhancement of the spatial ability between students who learnt with cabri 3D assisted collaborative learning and students who got regular learning in terms of MPK and there is no significant interaction between learning (Cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning and regular learning) with students’ MPK (high, medium, and low) toward the enhancement of students’ spatial abilities. From the above findings, it can be seen that cabri-3D assisted collaborative learning could enhance spatial ability of junior high school students.

Testing domain general learning in an Australian lizard.

PubMed

Qi, Yin; Noble, Daniel W A; Fu, Jinzhong; Whiting, Martin J

2018-06-02

A key question in cognition is whether animals that are proficient in a specific cognitive domain (domain specific hypothesis), such as spatial learning, are also proficient in other domains (domain general hypothesis) or whether there is a trade-off. Studies testing among these hypotheses are biased towards mammals and birds. To understand constraints on the evolution of cognition more generally, we need broader taxonomic and phylogenetic coverage. We used Australian eastern water skinks (Eulamprus quoyii) with known spatial learning ability in three additional tasks: an instrumental and two discrimination tasks. Under domain specific learning we predicted that lizards that were good at spatial learning would perform less well in the discrimination tasks. Conversely, we predicted that lizards that did not meet our criterion for spatial learning would likewise perform better in discrimination tasks. Lizards with domain general learning should perform approximately equally well (or poorly) in these tasks. Lizards classified as spatial learners performed no differently to non-spatial learners in both the instrumental and discrimination learning tasks. Nevertheless, lizards were proficient in all tasks. Our results reveal two patterns: domain general learning in spatial learners and domain specific learning in non-spatial learners. We suggest that delineating learning into domain general and domain specific may be overly simplistic and we need to instead focus on individual variation in learning ability, which ultimately, is likely to play a key role in fitness. These results, in combination with previously published work on this species, suggests that this species has behavioral flexibility because they are competent across multiple cognitive domains and are capable of reversal learning.

A Mouse Model of Visual Perceptual Learning Reveals Alterations in Neuronal Coding and Dendritic Spine Density in the Visual Cortex.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Wu, Wei; Zhang, Xian; Hu, Xu; Li, Yue; Lou, Shihao; Ma, Xiao; An, Xu; Liu, Hui; Peng, Jing; Ma, Danyi; Zhou, Yifeng; Yang, Yupeng

2016-01-01

Visual perceptual learning (VPL) can improve spatial vision in normally sighted and visually impaired individuals. Although previous studies of humans and large animals have explored the neural basis of VPL, elucidation of the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remains a challenge. Owing to the advantages of molecular genetic and optogenetic manipulations, the mouse is a promising model for providing a mechanistic understanding of VPL. Here, we thoroughly evaluated the effects and properties of VPL on spatial vision in C57BL/6J mice using a two-alternative, forced-choice visual water task. Briefly, the mice underwent prolonged training at near the individual threshold of contrast or spatial frequency (SF) for pattern discrimination or visual detection for 35 consecutive days. Following training, the contrast-threshold trained mice showed an 87% improvement in contrast sensitivity (CS) and a 55% gain in visual acuity (VA). Similarly, the SF-threshold trained mice exhibited comparable and long-lasting improvements in VA and significant gains in CS over a wide range of SFs. Furthermore, learning largely transferred across eyes and stimulus orientations. Interestingly, learning could transfer from a pattern discrimination task to a visual detection task, but not vice versa. We validated that this VPL fully restored VA in adult amblyopic mice and old mice. Taken together, these data indicate that mice, as a species, exhibit reliable VPL. Intrinsic signal optical imaging revealed that mice with perceptual training had higher cut-off SFs in primary visual cortex (V1) than those without perceptual training. Moreover, perceptual training induced an increase in the dendritic spine density in layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons of V1. These results indicated functional and structural alterations in V1 during VPL. Overall, our VPL mouse model will provide a platform for investigating the neurobiological basis of VPL.

Effects of voluntary running on plasma levels of neurotrophins, hippocampal cell proliferation and learning and memory in stressed rats.

PubMed

Yau, S-Y; Lau, B W-M; Zhang, E-D; Lee, J C-D; Li, A; Lee, T M C; Ching, Y-P; Xu, A-M; So, K-F

2012-10-11

Previous studies have shown that a 2-week treatment with 40 mg/kg corticosterone (CORT) in rats suppresses hippocampal neurogenesis and decreases hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and impairs spatial learning, all of which could be counteracted by voluntary wheel running. BDNF and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) have been suggested to mediate physical exercise-enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis and cognition. Here we examined whether such running-elicited benefits were accompanied by corresponding changes of peripheral BDNF and IGF-1 levels in a rat model of stress. We examined the effects of acute (5 days) and chronic (4 weeks) treatment with CORT and/or wheel running on (1) hippocampal cell proliferation, (2) spatial learning and memory and (3) plasma levels of BDNF and IGF-1. Acute CORT treatment improved spatial learning without altered cell proliferation compared to vehicle treatment. Acute CORT-treated non-runners showed an increased trend in plasma BDNF levels together with a significant increase in hippocampal BDNF levels. Acute running showed no effect on cognition, cell proliferation and peripheral BDNF and IGF-1 levels. Conversely, chronic CORT treatment in non-runners significantly impaired spatial learning and suppressed cell proliferation in association with a decreased trend in plasma BDNF level and a significant increase in hippocampal BDNF levels. Running counteracted cognitive deficit and restored hippocampal cell proliferation following chronic CORT treatment; but without corresponding changes in plasma BDNF and IGF-1 levels. The results suggest that the beneficial effects of acute stress on cognitive improvement may be mediated by BDNF-enhanced synaptic plasticity that is hippocampal cell proliferation-independent, whereas chronic stress may impair cognition by decreasing hippocampal cell proliferation and BDNF levels. Furthermore, the results indicate a trend in changes of plasma BDNF levels associated with a significant alteration in hippocampal levels, suggesting that treatment with running/CORT for 4 weeks may induce a change in central levels of hippocampal BDNF level, which may not lead to a significant change in peripheral levels. Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid effects of estrogens on short-term memory: Possible mechanisms.

PubMed

Paletta, Pietro; Sheppard, Paul A S; Matta, Richard; Ervin, Kelsy S J; Choleris, Elena

2018-06-01

Estrogens affect learning and memory through rapid and delayed mechanisms. Here we review studies on rapid effects on short-term memory. Estradiol rapidly improves social and object recognition memory, spatial memory, and social learning when administered systemically. The dorsal hippocampus mediates estrogen rapid facilitation of object, social and spatial short-term memory. The medial amygdala mediates rapid facilitation of social recognition. The three estrogen receptors, α (ERα), β (ERβ) and the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) appear to play different roles depending on the task and brain region. Both ERα and GPER agonists rapidly facilitate short-term social and object recognition and spatial memory when administered systemically or into the dorsal hippocampus and facilitate social recognition in the medial amygdala. Conversely, only GPER can facilitate social learning after systemic treatment and an ERβ agonist only rapidly improved short-term spatial memory when given systemically or into the hippocampus, but also facilitates social recognition in the medial amygdala. Investigations into the mechanisms behind estrogens' rapid effects on short term memory showed an involvement of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) kinase pathways. Recent evidence also showed that estrogens interact with the neuropeptide oxytocin in rapidly facilitating social recognition. Estrogens can increase the production and/or release of oxytocin and other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and acetylcholine. Therefore, it is possible that estrogens' rapid effects on short-term memory may occur through the regulation of various neurotransmitters, although more research is need on these interactions as well as the mechanisms of estrogens' actions on short-term memory. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

GH improves spatial memory and reverses certain anabolic androgenic steroid-induced effects in intact rats.

PubMed

Grönbladh, Alfhild; Johansson, Jenny; Nöstl, Anatole; Nyberg, Fred; Hallberg, Mathias

2013-01-01

GH has previously been shown to promote cognitive functions in GH-deficient rodents. In this study we report the effects of GH on learning and memory in intact rats pretreated with the anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone. Male Wistar rats received nandrolone decanoate (15 mg/kg) or peanut oil every third day for 3 weeks and were subsequently treated with recombinant human GH (1.0 IU/kg) or saline for 10 consecutive days. During the GH/saline treatment spatial learning and memory were tested in the Morris water maze (MWM). Also, plasma levels of IGF1 were assessed and the gene expression of the GH receptors (Ghr), Igf1 and Igf2, in hippocampus and frontal cortex was analyzed. The results demonstrated a significant positive effect of GH on memory functions and increased gene expression of Igf1 in the hippocampus was found in the animals treated with GH. In addition, GH was demonstrated to increase the body weight gain and was able to attenuate the reduced body weight seen in nandrolone-treated animals. In general, the rats treated with nandrolone alone did not exhibit any pronounced alteration in memory compared with controls in the MWM, and in many cases GH did not induce any alteration. Regarding target zone crossings, considered to be associated with spatial memory, the difference between GH- and steroid-treated animals was significant and administration of GH improved this parameter in the latter group. In conclusion, GH improves spatial memory in intact rats and can reverse certain effects induced by anabolic androgenic steroid.

Perceptual Learning in the Absence of Task or Stimulus Specificity

PubMed Central

Webb, Ben S.; Roach, Neil W.; McGraw, Paul V.

2007-01-01

Performance on most sensory tasks improves with practice. When making particularly challenging sensory judgments, perceptual improvements in performance are tightly coupled to the trained task and stimulus configuration. The form of this specificity is believed to provide a strong indication of which neurons are solving the task or encoding the learned stimulus. Here we systematically decouple task- and stimulus-mediated components of trained improvements in perceptual performance and show that neither provides an adequate description of the learning process. Twenty-four human subjects trained on a unique combination of task (three-element alignment or bisection) and stimulus configuration (vertical or horizontal orientation). Before and after training, we measured subjects' performance on all four task-configuration combinations. What we demonstrate for the first time is that learning does actually transfer across both task and configuration provided there is a common spatial axis to the judgment. The critical factor underlying the transfer of learning effects is not the task or stimulus arrangements themselves, but rather the recruitment of commons sets of neurons most informative for making each perceptual judgment. PMID:18094748

Chronic cyanidin-3-glucoside administration improves short-term spatial recognition memory but not passive avoidance learning and memory in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

PubMed

Nasri, Sima; Roghani, Mehrdad; Baluchnejadmojarad, Tourandokht; Balvardi, Mahboubeh; Rabani, Tahereh

2012-08-01

This research study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of chronic cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) on alleviation of learning and memory deficits in diabetic rats as a result of the observed antidiabetic and antioxidant activity of C3G. Male Wistar rats were divided into control, diabetic, C3G-treated-control and -diabetic groups. The C3G was administered i.p. at a dose of 10 mg/kg on alternate days for eight weeks. For evaluation of learning and memory, initial latency (IL) and step-through latency (STL) were determined at the end of study using passive avoidance test. Meanwhile, spatial recognition memory was assessed as alternation in the Y-maze task. Oxidative stress markers in brain tissue were also measured. It was found that the alternation score of the diabetic rats was lower than that of control (p < 0.01) and C3G-treated diabetic rats showed a higher alternation score as compared to diabetic group (p < 0.05). Diabetic rats also developed a significant impairment in retention and recall in passive avoidance test (p < 0.01) and C3G treatment of diabetic rats did not produce any significant improvement. Meanwhile, increased level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in diabetic rats was significantly reduced following C3G treatment (p < 0.05). Taken together, chronic C3G could improve short-term spatial recognition memory disturbance in the Y-maze test but not retention and recall capability in passive avoidance test in STZ-diabetic rats. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Coccomyxa Gloeobotrydiformis Improves Learning and Memory in Intrinsic Aging Rats.

PubMed

Sun, Luning; Jin, Ying; Dong, Liming; Sui, Hai-Juan; Sumi, Ryo; Jahan, Rabita; Hu, Dahai; Li, Zhi

2015-01-01

Declining in learning and memory is one of the most common and prominent problems during the aging process. Neurotransmitter changes, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal signal transduction were considered to participate in this process. In the present study, we examined the effects of Coccomyxa gloeobotrydiformis (CGD) on learning and memory ability of intrinsic aging rats. As a result, CGD treated (50 mg/kg·d or 100 mg/kg ·d for a duration of 8 weeks) 22-month-old male rats, which have shown significant improvement on learning and spatial memory ability compared with control, which was evidently revealed in both the hidden platform tasks and probe trials. The following immunohistochemistry and Western blot experiments suggested that CGD could increase the content of Ach and thereby improve the function of the cholinergic neurons in the hippocampus, and therefore also improving learning and memory ability of the aged rats by acting as an anti-inflammatory agent. The effects of CGD on learning and memory might also have an association with the ERK/CREB signalling. The results above suggest that the naturally made drug CGD may have several great benefit as a multi-target drug in the process of prevention and/or treatment of age-dependent cognitive decline and aging process.

Uses of virtual reality in clinical training: developing the spatial skills of children with mobility impairments.

PubMed

Stanton, D; Foreman, N; Wilson, P N

1998-01-01

In this chapter we review some of the ways in which the skills learned in virtual environments (VEs) transfer to real situations, and in particular how information about the spatial layouts of virtual buildings acquired from the exploration of three-dimensional computer-simulations transfers to their real equivalents. Four experiments are briefly described which examined VR use by disabled children. We conclude that spatial information of the kind required for navigation transfers effectively from virtual to real situations. Spatial skills in disabled children showed progressive improvement with repeated exploration of virtual environments. The results are discussed in relation to the potential future benefits of VR in special needs education and training.

The effects of working memory resource depletion and training on sensorimotor adaptation

PubMed Central

Anguera, Joaquin A.; Bernard, Jessica A.; Jaeggi, Susanne M.; Buschkuehl, Martin; Benson, Bryan L.; Jennett, Sarah; Humfleet, Jennifer; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia; Jonides, John; Seidler, Rachael D.

2011-01-01

We have recently demonstrated that visuospatial working memory performance predicts the rate of motor skill learning, particularly during the early phase of visuomotor adaptation. Here, we follow up these correlational findings with direct manipulations of working memory resources to determine the impact on visuomotor adaptation, a form of motor learning. We conducted two separate experiments. In the first one, we used a resource depletion strategy to investigate whether the rate of early visuomotor adaptation would be negatively affected by fatigue of spatial working memory resources. In the second study, we employed a dual n-back task training paradigm that has been shown to result in transfer effects [1] over five weeks to determine whether training-related improvements would boost the rate of early visuomotor adaptation. The depletion of spatial working memory resources negatively affected the rate of early visuomotor adaptation. However, enhancing working memory capacity via training did not lead to improved rates of visuomotor adaptation, suggesting that working memory capacity may not be the factor limiting maximal rate of visuomotor adaptation in young adults. These findings are discussed from a resource limitation / capacity framework with respect to current views of motor learning. PMID:22155489

Down-Regulation of Neuregulin1/ErbB4 Signaling in the Hippocampus Is Critical for Learning and Memory.

PubMed

Tian, Jia; Geng, Fei; Gao, Feng; Chen, Yi-Hua; Liu, Ji-Hong; Wu, Jian-Lin; Lan, Yu-Jie; Zeng, Yuan-Ning; Li, Xiao-Wen; Yang, Jian-Ming; Gao, Tian-Ming

2017-08-01

Hippocampal function is important for learning and memory, and dysfunction of the hippocampus has been linked to the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia. Neuregulin1 (NRG1) and ErbB4, two susceptibility genes for schizophrenia, reportedly modulate long-term potentiation (LTP) at hippocampal Schaffer collateral (SC)-CA1 synapses. However, little is known regarding the contribution of hippocampal NRG1/ErbB4 signaling to learning and memory function. Here, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to assess the mRNA and protein levels of NRG1 and ErbB4. Pharmacological and genetic approaches were used to manipulate NRG1/ErbB4 signaling, following which learning and memory behaviors were evaluated using the Morris water maze, Y-maze test, and the novel object recognition test. Spatial learning was found to reduce hippocampal NRG1 and ErbB4 expression. The blockade of NRG1/ErbB4 signaling in hippocampal CA1, either by neutralizing endogenous NRG1 or inhibiting/ablating ErbB4 receptor activity, enhanced hippocampus-dependent spatial learning, spatial working memory, and novel object recognition memory. Accordingly, administration of exogenous NRG1 impaired those functions. More importantly, the specific ablation of ErbB4 in parvalbumin interneurons also improved learning and memory performance. The manipulation of NRG1/ErbB4 signaling in the present study revealed that NRG1/ErbB4 activity in the hippocampus is critical for learning and memory. These findings might provide novel insights on the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia and a new target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive function.

Spatial Visualization ability improves with and without studying Technical Drawing.

PubMed

Contreras, María José; Escrig, Rebeca; Prieto, Gerardo; Elosúa, M Rosa

2018-03-27

The results of several studies suggest that spatial ability can be improved through direct training with tasks similar to those integrated in the tests used to measure the ability. However, there is a greater interest in analyzing the effectiveness of indirect training such as games or of learning subjects that involve spatial processes to a certain extent. Thus, the objective of the present study was to analyze whether the indirect training in Technical Drawing improved the Spatial Visualization ability of Architecture students. For this purpose, a group of students enrolled in Fundamentals of Architecture were administered two tests, a Spatial Visualization task and an Abstract Reasoning task, at the beginning and the end of a semester, after having received training through the subjects "Technical Drawing I: Geometry and Perception" and "Projects I." The results of this group were compared with those of a control group of students enrolled in a Mathematics degree, who were also pre-post evaluated but had not received the training in Technical Drawing. The study showed a significant pre-post improvement in both, Visualization and reasoning. However, this improvement occurred in both groups, thereby concluding that this improvement was not due to indirect training. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between men and women in any of the groups or conditions. These results clarify those of an earlier study where improvement in Visualization after training in Technical Drawing was found but did not include a comparison with a control condition. The control condition has proved to be important in order to consider the limitations of the effect of Technical Drawing on said improvement.

Vision improvement in pilots with presbyopia following perceptual learning.

PubMed

Sterkin, Anna; Levy, Yuval; Pokroy, Russell; Lev, Maria; Levian, Liora; Doron, Ravid; Yehezkel, Oren; Fried, Moshe; Frenkel-Nir, Yael; Gordon, Barak; Polat, Uri

2017-11-24

Israeli Air Force (IAF) pilots continue flying combat missions after the symptoms of natural near-vision deterioration, termed presbyopia, begin to be noticeable. Because modern pilots rely on the displays of the aircraft control and performance instruments, near visual acuity (VA) is essential in the cockpit. We aimed to apply a method previously shown to improve visual performance of presbyopes, and test whether presbyopic IAF pilots can overcome the limitation imposed by presbyopia. Participants were selected by the IAF aeromedical unit as having at least initial presbyopia and trained using a structured personalized perceptual learning method (GlassesOff application), based on detecting briefly presented low-contrast Gabor stimuli, under the conditions of spatial and temporal constraints, from a distance of 40 cm. Our results show that despite their initial visual advantage over age-matched peers, training resulted in robust improvements in various basic visual functions, including static and temporal VA, stereoacuity, spatial crowding, contrast sensitivity and contrast discrimination. Moreover, improvements generalized to higher-level tasks, such as sentence reading and aerial photography interpretation (specifically designed to reflect IAF pilots' expertise in analyzing noisy low-contrast input). In concert with earlier suggestions, gains in visual processing speed are plausible to account, at least partially, for the observed training-induced improvements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comprehending 3D Diagrams: Sketching to Support Spatial Reasoning.

PubMed

Gagnier, Kristin M; Atit, Kinnari; Ormand, Carol J; Shipley, Thomas F

2017-10-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines commonly illustrate 3D relationships in diagrams, yet these are often challenging for students. Failing to understand diagrams can hinder success in STEM because scientific practice requires understanding and creating diagrammatic representations. We explore a new approach to improving student understanding of diagrams that convey 3D relations that is based on students generating their own predictive diagrams. Participants' comprehension of 3D spatial diagrams was measured in a pre- and post-design where students selected the correct 2D slice through 3D geologic block diagrams. Generating sketches that predicated the internal structure of a model led to greater improvement in diagram understanding than visualizing the interior of the model without sketching, or sketching the model without attempting to predict unseen spatial relations. In addition, we found a positive correlation between sketched diagram accuracy and improvement on the diagram comprehension measure. Results suggest that generating a predictive diagram facilitates students' abilities to make inferences about spatial relationships in diagrams. Implications for use of sketching in supporting STEM learning are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Neuroprotective Effects of Herbal Extract (Rosa canina, Tanacetum vulgare and Urtica dioica) on Rat Model of Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Daneshmand, Parvaneh; Saliminejad, Kioomars; Dehghan Shasaltaneh, Marzieh; Kamali, Koorosh; Riazi, Gholam Hossein; Nazari, Reza; Azimzadeh, Pedram; Khorram Khorshid, Hamid Reza

2016-01-01

Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (SAD) is caused by genetic risk factors, aging and oxidative stresses. The herbal extract of Rosa canina (R. canina), Tanacetum vulgare (T. vulgare) and Urtica dioica (U. dioica) has a beneficial role in aging, as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of this herbal extract in the rat model of SAD was investigated. The rats were divided into control, sham, model, herbal extract -treated and ethanol-treated groups. Drug interventions were started on the 21(st) day after modeling and each treatment group was given the drugs by intraperitoneal (I.P.) route for 21 days. The expression levels of the five important genes for pathogenesis of SAD including Syp, Psen1, Mapk3, Map2 and Tnf-α were measured by qPCR between the hippocampi of SAD model which were treated by this herbal extract and control groups. The Morris Water Maze was adapted to test spatial learning and memory ability of the rats. Treatment of the rat model of SAD with herbal extract induced a significant change in expression of Syp (p=0.001) and Psen1 (p=0.029). In Morris Water Maze, significant changes in spatial learning seen in the rat model group were improved in herbal-treated group. This herbal extract could have anti-dementia properties and improve spatial learning and memory in SAD rat model.

Video Salient Object Detection via Fully Convolutional Networks.

PubMed

Wang, Wenguan; Shen, Jianbing; Shao, Ling

This paper proposes a deep learning model to efficiently detect salient regions in videos. It addresses two important issues: 1) deep video saliency model training with the absence of sufficiently large and pixel-wise annotated video data and 2) fast video saliency training and detection. The proposed deep video saliency network consists of two modules, for capturing the spatial and temporal saliency information, respectively. The dynamic saliency model, explicitly incorporating saliency estimates from the static saliency model, directly produces spatiotemporal saliency inference without time-consuming optical flow computation. We further propose a novel data augmentation technique that simulates video training data from existing annotated image data sets, which enables our network to learn diverse saliency information and prevents overfitting with the limited number of training videos. Leveraging our synthetic video data (150K video sequences) and real videos, our deep video saliency model successfully learns both spatial and temporal saliency cues, thus producing accurate spatiotemporal saliency estimate. We advance the state-of-the-art on the densely annotated video segmentation data set (MAE of .06) and the Freiburg-Berkeley Motion Segmentation data set (MAE of .07), and do so with much improved speed (2 fps with all steps).This paper proposes a deep learning model to efficiently detect salient regions in videos. It addresses two important issues: 1) deep video saliency model training with the absence of sufficiently large and pixel-wise annotated video data and 2) fast video saliency training and detection. The proposed deep video saliency network consists of two modules, for capturing the spatial and temporal saliency information, respectively. The dynamic saliency model, explicitly incorporating saliency estimates from the static saliency model, directly produces spatiotemporal saliency inference without time-consuming optical flow computation. We further propose a novel data augmentation technique that simulates video training data from existing annotated image data sets, which enables our network to learn diverse saliency information and prevents overfitting with the limited number of training videos. Leveraging our synthetic video data (150K video sequences) and real videos, our deep video saliency model successfully learns both spatial and temporal saliency cues, thus producing accurate spatiotemporal saliency estimate. We advance the state-of-the-art on the densely annotated video segmentation data set (MAE of .06) and the Freiburg-Berkeley Motion Segmentation data set (MAE of .07), and do so with much improved speed (2 fps with all steps).

Active and Passive Spatial Learning in Human Navigation: Acquisition of Graph Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chrastil, Elizabeth R.; Warren, William H.

2015-01-01

It is known that active exploration of a new environment leads to better spatial learning than does passive visual exposure. We ask whether specific components of active learning differentially contribute to particular forms of spatial knowledge--the "exploration-specific learning hypothesis". Previously, we found that idiothetic…

Spatial Contiguity and Incidental Learning in Multimedia Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paek, Seungoh; Hoffman, Daniel L.; Saravanos, Antonios

2017-01-01

Drawing on dual-process theories of cognitive function, the degree to which spatial contiguity influences incidental learning outcomes was examined. It was hypothesized that spatial contiguity would mediate what was learned even in the absence of an explicit learning goal. To test this hypothesis, 149 adults completed a multimedia-related task…

The role of the central histaminergic receptors in the exercise-induced improvements of the spatial learning and memory in rats.

PubMed

Taati, Majid; Moghaddasi, Mehrnoush; Esmaeili, Masoumeh; Pourkhodadad, Soheila; Nayebzadeh, Hassan

2014-10-31

While it is well known that exercise can improve cognitive performance, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. There is now evidence that histamine can modulate learning and memory in different types of behavioral tasks. The present study was designed to examine the possible role of central histamine H1 and H2 receptors in forced treadmill running-induced enhancement of learning and memory in rats. For this purpose the animals received intracerebroventricularly chlorpheniramine (H1 receptor blocker) and cimetidine (H2 receptor blocker) before each day of fifteen consecutive days of exercise. Then their learning and memory were tested on the water maze task using a four-trial-per-day for 4 consecutive days. A probe trial was performed after the last training day. Our data showed that cimetidine reversed the exercise-induced improvement in learning and memory in rats; however, this was not the case regarding chlorpheniramine. Our findings indicate that central histamine H2 receptors play an important role in mediating the beneficial effects of forced exercise on learning and memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Curcuma comosa improves learning and memory function on ovariectomized rats in a long-term Morris water maze test

PubMed Central

Su, Jian; Sripanidkulchai, Kittisak; Wyss, J. Michael; Sripanidkulchai, Bungorn

2010-01-01

Aim of the study Curcuma comosa extract and some purified compounds from this plant have been reported to have estrogenic-like effects, and estrogen improves learning in some animals and potentially in postmenopausal women; therefore, this study tested the hypothesis that Curcuma comosa and estrogen have similar beneficial effects on spatial learning and memory. Materials and methods Curcuma comosa hexane extract, containing 0.165 mg of (4E,6E)-1,7-diphenylhepta-4,6-dien-3-one per mg of the crude extract, was orally administered to ovariectomized Wistar rats at the doses of 250 or 500 mg/kg body weight. 17β-estradiol (10 μg/kg body weight, subcutaneously) was used as a positive control. Thirty days after the initiation of treatment, animals were tested in a Morris water maze for spatial learning and memory. They were re-tested every 30 days and a final probe trial was run on day 119. Results Compared to control rats, OVX rats displayed significant memory impairment for locating the platform in the water maze from day 67 after the surgery, onward. In contrast, OVX rats treated with either Curcuma comosa or estrogen were significantly protected from this decline in cognitive function. Further, the protection of cognitive effects by Curcuma comosa was larger at higher dose. Conclusions These results suggest that long-term treatment with Curcuma comosa has beneficial effects on learning and memory function in rats. PMID:20420894

Tart cherries improve working memory in aged rats

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aged rats show impaired performance on cognitive tasks that require the use of spatial learning and memory. In previous studies, we have shown the beneficial effects of various dark-colored berry fruits (blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries) in reversing age-related deficits in behavioral and...

Structural geology practice and learning, from the perspective of cognitive science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shipley, Thomas F.; Tikoff, Basil; Ormand, Carol; Manduca, Cathy

2013-09-01

Spatial ability is required by practitioners and students of structural geology and so, considering spatial skills in the context of cognitive science has the potential to improve structural geology teaching and practice. Spatial thinking skills may be organized using three dichotomies, which can be linked to structural geology practice. First, a distinction is made between separating (attending to part of a whole) and combining (linking together aspects of the whole). While everyone has a basic ability to separate and combine, experts attend to differences guided by experiences of rock properties in context. Second, a distinction is made between seeing the relations among multiple objects as separate items or the relations within a single object with multiple parts. Experts can flexibly consider relations among or between objects to optimally reason about different types of spatial problems. Third, a distinction is made between reasoning about stationary and moving objects. Experts recognize static configurations that encode a movement history, and create mental models of the processes that led to the static state. The observations and inferences made by a geologist leading a field trip are compared with the corresponding observations and inferences made by a cognitive psychologist interested in spatial learning. The presented framework provides a vocabulary for discussing spatial skills both within and between the fields of structural geology and cognitive psychology.

Closed-Loop Targeted Memory Reactivation during Sleep Improves Spatial Navigation.

PubMed

Shimizu, Renee E; Connolly, Patrick M; Cellini, Nicola; Armstrong, Diana M; Hernandez, Lexus T; Estrada, Rolando; Aguilar, Mario; Weisend, Michael P; Mednick, Sara C; Simons, Stephen B

2018-01-01

Sounds associated with newly learned information that are replayed during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep can improve recall in simple tasks. The mechanism for this improvement is presumed to be reactivation of the newly learned memory during sleep when consolidation takes place. We have developed an EEG-based closed-loop system to precisely deliver sensory stimulation at the time of down-state to up-state transitions during NREM sleep. Here, we demonstrate that applying this technology to participants performing a realistic navigation task in virtual reality results in a significant improvement in navigation efficiency after sleep that is accompanied by increases in the spectral power especially in the fast (12-15 Hz) sleep spindle band. Our results show promise for the application of sleep-based interventions to drive improvement in real-world tasks.

Map Learning with a 3D Printed Interactive Small-Scale Model: Improvement of Space and Text Memorization in Visually Impaired Students.

PubMed

Giraud, Stéphanie; Brock, Anke M; Macé, Marc J-M; Jouffrais, Christophe

2017-01-01

Special education teachers for visually impaired students rely on tools such as raised-line maps (RLMs) to teach spatial knowledge. These tools do not fully and adequately meet the needs of the teachers because they are long to produce, expensive, and not versatile enough to provide rapid updating of the content. For instance, the same RLM can barely be used during different lessons. In addition, those maps do not provide any interactivity, which reduces students' autonomy. With the emergence of 3D printing and low-cost microcontrollers, it is now easy to design affordable interactive small-scale models (SSMs) which are adapted to the needs of special education teachers. However, no study has previously been conducted to evaluate non-visual learning using interactive SSMs. In collaboration with a specialized teacher, we designed a SSM and a RLM representing the evolution of the geography and history of a fictitious kingdom. The two conditions were compared in a study with 24 visually impaired students regarding the memorization of the spatial layout and historical contents. The study showed that the interactive SSM improved both space and text memorization as compared to the RLM with braille legend. In conclusion, we argue that affordable home-made interactive small scale models can improve learning for visually impaired students. Interestingly, they are adaptable to any teaching situation including students with specific needs.

Spatial and Angular Resolution Enhancement of Light Fields Using Convolutional Neural Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gul, M. Shahzeb Khan; Gunturk, Bahadir K.

2018-05-01

Light field imaging extends the traditional photography by capturing both spatial and angular distribution of light, which enables new capabilities, including post-capture refocusing, post-capture aperture control, and depth estimation from a single shot. Micro-lens array (MLA) based light field cameras offer a cost-effective approach to capture light field. A major drawback of MLA based light field cameras is low spatial resolution, which is due to the fact that a single image sensor is shared to capture both spatial and angular information. In this paper, we present a learning based light field enhancement approach. Both spatial and angular resolution of captured light field is enhanced using convolutional neural networks. The proposed method is tested with real light field data captured with a Lytro light field camera, clearly demonstrating spatial and angular resolution improvement.

Spatial and Angular Resolution Enhancement of Light Fields Using Convolutional Neural Networks.

PubMed

Gul, M Shahzeb Khan; Gunturk, Bahadir K

2018-05-01

Light field imaging extends the traditional photography by capturing both spatial and angular distribution of light, which enables new capabilities, including post-capture refocusing, post-capture aperture control, and depth estimation from a single shot. Micro-lens array (MLA) based light field cameras offer a cost-effective approach to capture light field. A major drawback of MLA based light field cameras is low spatial resolution, which is due to the fact that a single image sensor is shared to capture both spatial and angular information. In this paper, we present a learning based light field enhancement approach. Both spatial and angular resolution of captured light field is enhanced using convolutional neural networks. The proposed method is tested with real light field data captured with a Lytro light field camera, clearly demonstrating spatial and angular resolution improvement.

Learning outdoors: male lizards show flexible spatial learning under semi-natural conditions

PubMed Central

Noble, Daniel W. A.; Carazo, Pau; Whiting, Martin J.

2012-01-01

Spatial cognition is predicted to be a fundamental component of fitness in many lizard species, and yet some studies suggest that it is relatively slow and inflexible. However, such claims are based on work conducted using experimental designs or in artificial contexts that may underestimate their cognitive abilities. We used a biologically realistic experimental procedure (using simulated predatory attacks) to study spatial learning and its flexibility in the lizard Eulamprus quoyii in semi-natural outdoor enclosures under similar conditions to those experienced by lizards in the wild. To evaluate the flexibility of spatial learning, we conducted a reversal spatial-learning task in which positive and negative reinforcements of learnt spatial stimuli were switched. Nineteen (32%) male lizards learnt both tasks within 10 days (spatial task mean: 8.16 ± 0.69 (s.e.) and reversal spatial task mean: 10.74 ± 0.98 (s.e.) trials). We demonstrate that E. quoyii are capable of flexible spatial learning and suggest that future studies focus on a range of lizard species which differ in phylogeny and/or ecology, using biologically relevant cognitive tasks, in an effort to bridge the cognitive divide between ecto- and endotherms. PMID:23075525

Spatial Thinking in Atmospheric Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNeal, P. M.; Petcovic, H. L.; Ellis, T. D.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric science is a STEM discipline that involves the visualization of three-dimensional processes from two-dimensional maps, interpretation of computer-generated graphics and hand plotting of isopleths. Thus, atmospheric science draws heavily upon spatial thinking. Research has shown that spatial thinking ability can be a predictor of early success in STEM disciplines and substantial evidence demonstrates that spatial thinking ability is improved through various interventions. Therefore, identification of the spatial thinking skills and cognitive processes used in atmospheric science is the first step toward development of instructional strategies that target these skills and scaffold the learning of students in atmospheric science courses. A pilot study of expert and novice meteorologists identified mental animation and disembedding as key spatial skills used in the interpretation of multiple weather charts and images. Using this as a starting point, we investigated how these spatial skills, together with expertise, domain specific knowledge, and working memory capacity affect the ability to produce an accurate forecast. Participants completed a meteorology concept inventory, experience questionnaire and psychometric tests of spatial thinking ability and working memory capacity prior to completing a forecasting task. A quantitative analysis of the collected data investigated the effect of the predictor variables on the outcome task. A think-aloud protocol with individual participants provided a qualitative look at processes such as task decomposition, rule-based reasoning and the formation of mental models in an attempt to understand how individuals process this complex data and describe outcomes of particular meteorological scenarios. With our preliminary results we aim to inform atmospheric science education from a cognitive science perspective. The results point to a need to collaborate with the atmospheric science community broadly, such that multiple educational pipelines are affected including university meteorology courses for majors and non-majors, military weather forecaster preparation and professional training for operational meteorologists, thus improving student learning and the continued development of the current and future workforce.

Is Order the Defining Feature of Magnitude Representation? An ERP Study on Learning Numerical Magnitude and Spatial Order of Artificial Symbols

PubMed Central

Zhao, Hui; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhang, Hongchuan; Zhou, Xinlin; Mei, Leilei; Chen, Chunhui; Chen, Lan; Cao, Zhongyu; Dong, Qi

2012-01-01

Using an artificial-number learning paradigm and the ERP technique, the present study investigated neural mechanisms involved in the learning of magnitude and spatial order. 54 college students were divided into 2 groups matched in age, gender, and school major. One group was asked to learn the associations between magnitude (dot patterns) and the meaningless Gibson symbols, and the other group learned the associations between spatial order (horizontal positions on the screen) and the same set of symbols. Results revealed differentiated neural mechanisms underlying the learning processes of symbolic magnitude and spatial order. Compared to magnitude learning, spatial-order learning showed a later and reversed distance effect. Furthermore, an analysis of the order-priming effect showed that order was not inherent to the learning of magnitude. Results of this study showed a dissociation between magnitude and order, which supports the numerosity code hypothesis of mental representations of magnitude. PMID:23185363

Cognitive effects of methylphenidate and levodopa in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Linssen, A M W; Sambeth, A; Vuurman, E F P M; Riedel, W J

2014-02-01

Our previous study showed enhanced declarative memory consolidation after acute methylphenidate (MPH) administration. The primary aim of the current study was to investigate the duration of this effect. Secondary, the dopaminergic contribution of MPH effects, the electrophysiological correlates of declarative memory, and the specificity of memory enhancing effects of MPH to declarative memory were assessed. Effects of 40 mg of MPH on memory performance were compared to 100mg of levodopa (LEV) in a placebo-controlled crossover study with 30 healthy volunteers. Memory performance testing included a word learning test, the Sternberg memory scanning task, a paired associates learning task, and a spatial working memory task. During the word learning test, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were measured. MPH failed to enhance retention of words at a 30 min delay, but it improved 24 h delayed memory recall relative to PLA and LEV. Furthermore, during encoding, the P3b and P600 ERP latencies were prolonged and the P600 amplitude was larger after LEV compared to PLA and MPH. MPH speeded response times on the Sternberg Memory Scanning task and improved performance on the Paired Associates Learning task, relative to LEV, but not PLA. Performance on the Spatial working memory task was not affected by the treatments. These findings suggest that MPH and LEV might have opposite effects on memory. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. and ECNP.

Consumption of fig fruits grown in Oman can improve memory, anxiety, and learning skills in a transgenic mice model of Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Subash, Selvaraju; Essa, Musthafa Mohamed; Braidy, Nady; Al-Jabri, Ahood; Vaishnav, Ragini; Al-Adawi, Samir; Al-Asmi, Abdullah; Guillemin, Gilles J

2016-12-01

Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia in the elderly. Several reports have suggested neurotoxic effects of amyloid beta protein (Aβ) and role of oxidative stress in AD. Figs are rich in fiber, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamin K, and are a good source of proanthocyanidins and quercetin which demonstrate potent antioxidant properties. We studied the effect of dietary supplementation with 4% figs grown in Oman on the memory, anxiety, and learning skills in APPsw/Tg2576 (Tg mice) mice model for AD. We assessed spatial memory and learning ability, psychomotor coordination, and anxiety-related behavior in Tg and wild-type mice at the age of 4 months and after 15 months using the Morris water maze test, rota-rod test, elevated plus maze test, and open-field test. Tg mice that were fed a control diet without figs showed significant memory deficits, increased anxiety-related behavior, and severe impairment in spatial, position discrimination learning ability, and motor coordination compared to the wild-type control mice on the same diet, and Tg mice fed on 4% fig diet supplementation for 15 months. Our results suggest that dietary supplementation of figs may be useful for the improvement of cognitive and behavioral deficits in AD.

Connecting Spatial Literacy and Climate Literacy Using a Place-Based GIS Approach in a Collaborative Online Educational Setting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, R.; Boger, R. A.; Mandryk, C. A.

2014-12-01

On-line learning is already revolutionizing higher education, and emerging cloud-based Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities are poised to revolutionize the acquisition and sharing of spatial knowledge in a variety of fields. In this project, we deployed ESRI's ArcGIS Online in an on-line course environment to provide a place-based quantitative exploration of the impacts of environmental changes specifically related to climate change. As spatial thinking is not necessarily transferrable from one domain to another, we hypothesized that combining spatial literacy and climate change domain knowledge would transform student conceptions and mental models of climate change in measurable ways. To this end, we adapted and employed existing instruments for pre- post testing of general pattern recognition, interpretation, and spatial transformational skills, as well as climate system content knowledge and attitudes. A collaborative on-line course platform offered to students from University of Nebraska, Lincoln and from City College of New York (CUNY) colleges, Brooklyn and Lehman, brought to the discussion distinct urban and rural perspectives, which were the basis of place-based climate, water and food explorations in the course. The course has been offered 3 times in a shared LMS over the past 3 years. Participants in the most recent iteration of the course demonstrated statistically significant improvements in spatial skills, but they did not show the expected statistically significant improvement overall in climate knowledge that we see in other online courses where climate change literacy is the sole focus of the course. Ongoing research by our team shows strong correlation between active peer engagement in online discussions and student learning outcomes. Student-initiated discussions in the GIS-based climate change courses revealed a shift away from discussing the climate change science and a focus on technology and analyzing the spatial products created using GIS. As we improve the effectiveness of this course, we will be developing interventions in the discussion board activities that we hypothesize will increase the effectiveness of climate knowledge construction in future iterations.

Acai fruit improves motor and cognitive function in aged rats

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aged rats show impaired performance on motor and cognitive tasks that require the use of spatial learning and memory. In previous studies, we have shown the beneficial effects of various berry fruits (blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries) in reversing age-related deficits in behavioral and ne...

Learning from Animation Enabled by Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rebetez, Cyril; Betrancourt, Mireille; Sangin, Mirweis; Dillenbourg, Pierre

2010-01-01

Animated graphics are extensively used in multimedia instructions explaining how natural or artificial dynamic systems work. As animation directly depicts spatial changes over time, it is legitimate to believe that animated graphics will improve comprehension over static graphics. However, the research failed to find clear evidence in favour of…

Making Sense of Space: Distributed Spatial Sensemaking in a Middle School Summer Engineering Camp

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramey, Kay E.; Uttal, David H.

2017-01-01

Spatial thinking is important for success in engineering. However, little is known about "how" students learn and apply spatial skills, particularly in kindergarten to Grade 12 engineering learning. The present study investigated the role of spatial thinking in engineering learning at a middle school summer camp. Participants were 26…

Neural correlates of reward-based spatial learning in persons with cocaine dependence.

PubMed

Tau, Gregory Z; Marsh, Rachel; Wang, Zhishun; Torres-Sanchez, Tania; Graniello, Barbara; Hao, Xuejun; Xu, Dongrong; Packard, Mark G; Duan, Yunsuo; Kangarlu, Alayar; Martinez, Diana; Peterson, Bradley S

2014-02-01

Dysfunctional learning systems are thought to be central to the pathogenesis of and impair recovery from addictions. The functioning of the brain circuits for episodic memory or learning that support goal-directed behavior has not been studied previously in persons with cocaine dependence (CD). Thirteen abstinent CD and 13 healthy participants underwent MRI scanning while performing a task that requires the use of spatial cues to navigate a virtual-reality environment and find monetary rewards, allowing the functional assessment of the brain systems for spatial learning, a form of episodic memory. Whereas both groups performed similarly on the reward-based spatial learning task, we identified disturbances in brain regions involved in learning and reward in CD participants. In particular, CD was associated with impaired functioning of medial temporal lobe (MTL), a brain region that is crucial for spatial learning (and episodic memory) with concomitant recruitment of striatum (which normally participates in stimulus-response, or habit, learning), and prefrontal cortex. CD was also associated with enhanced sensitivity of the ventral striatum to unexpected rewards but not to expected rewards earned during spatial learning. We provide evidence that spatial learning in CD is characterized by disturbances in functioning of an MTL-based system for episodic memory and a striatum-based system for stimulus-response learning and reward. We have found additional abnormalities in distributed cortical regions. Consistent with findings from animal studies, we provide the first evidence in humans describing the disruptive effects of cocaine on the coordinated functioning of multiple neural systems for learning and memory.

Learning from graphically integrated 2D and 3D representations improves retention of neuroanatomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naaz, Farah

Visualizations in the form of computer-based learning environments are highly encouraged in science education, especially for teaching spatial material. Some spatial material, such as sectional neuroanatomy, is very challenging to learn. It involves learning the two dimensional (2D) representations that are sampled from the three dimensional (3D) object. In this study, a computer-based learning environment was used to explore the hypothesis that learning sectional neuroanatomy from a graphically integrated 2D and 3D representation will lead to better learning outcomes than learning from a sequential presentation. The integrated representation explicitly demonstrates the 2D-3D transformation and should lead to effective learning. This study was conducted using a computer graphical model of the human brain. There were two learning groups: Whole then Sections, and Integrated 2D3D. Both groups learned whole anatomy (3D neuroanatomy) before learning sectional anatomy (2D neuroanatomy). The Whole then Sections group then learned sectional anatomy using 2D representations only. The Integrated 2D3D group learned sectional anatomy from a graphically integrated 3D and 2D model. A set of tests for generalization of knowledge to interpreting biomedical images was conducted immediately after learning was completed. The order of presentation of the tests of generalization of knowledge was counterbalanced across participants to explore a secondary hypothesis of the study: preparation for future learning. If the computer-based instruction programs used in this study are effective tools for teaching anatomy, the participants should continue learning neuroanatomy with exposure to new representations. A test of long-term retention of sectional anatomy was conducted 4-8 weeks after learning was completed. The Integrated 2D3D group was better than the Whole then Sections group in retaining knowledge of difficult instances of sectional anatomy after the retention interval. The benefit of learning from an integrated 2D3D representation suggests that there are some spatial transformations which are better retained if they are learned through an explicit demonstration. Participants also showed evidence of continued learning on the tests of generalization with the help of cues and practice, even without feedback. This finding suggests that the computer-based learning programs used in this study were good tools for instruction of neuroanatomy.

Discrete Regularization for Calibration of Geologic Facies Against Dynamic Flow Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaninezhad, Mohammad-Reza; Golmohammadi, Azarang; Jafarpour, Behnam

2018-04-01

Subsurface flow model calibration involves many more unknowns than measurements, leading to ill-posed problems with nonunique solutions. To alleviate nonuniqueness, the problem is regularized by constraining the solution space using prior knowledge. In certain sedimentary environments, such as fluvial systems, the contrast in hydraulic properties of different facies types tends to dominate the flow and transport behavior, making the effect of within facies heterogeneity less significant. Hence, flow model calibration in those formations reduces to delineating the spatial structure and connectivity of different lithofacies types and their boundaries. A major difficulty in calibrating such models is honoring the discrete, or piecewise constant, nature of facies distribution. The problem becomes more challenging when complex spatial connectivity patterns with higher-order statistics are involved. This paper introduces a novel formulation for calibration of complex geologic facies by imposing appropriate constraints to recover plausible solutions that honor the spatial connectivity and discreteness of facies models. To incorporate prior connectivity patterns, plausible geologic features are learned from available training models. This is achieved by learning spatial patterns from training data, e.g., k-SVD sparse learning or the traditional Principal Component Analysis. Discrete regularization is introduced as a penalty functions to impose solution discreteness while minimizing the mismatch between observed and predicted data. An efficient gradient-based alternating directions algorithm is combined with variable splitting to minimize the resulting regularized nonlinear least squares objective function. Numerical results show that imposing learned facies connectivity and discreteness as regularization functions leads to geologically consistent solutions that improve facies calibration quality.

Evaluation of chronic alcohol self-administration by a 3-bottle choice paradigm in adult male rats. Effects on behavioural reactivity, spatial learning and reference memory.

PubMed

Cacace, Silvana; Plescia, Fulvio; La Barbera, Marco; Cannizzaro, Carla

2011-06-01

Chronic ethanol consumption is able to modify emotional behaviour and cognition in humans. In particular, the effects exerted by alcohol may depend on doses, time and modalities of administration. In this study we investigated, in adult male rats, ethanol self-administration and preference patterns using a 3-bottle choice paradigm with water, 10% ethanol solution, and white wine (10%, v/v), along a four-week period. The influence of alcohol free-access on novelty-induced explorative behaviour in the open field, and on spatial learning and reference memory in the Morris water maze was also evaluated. Our results indicate that: (i) rats show a higher preference for alcohol, in the first two weeks of the paradigm, displaying a higher consumption of 10% ethanol solution than white wine; in the last two weeks, they reduce their alcoholic preference, drinking the same moderate amounts of the two alcoholic beverages; (ii) at the fourth week of the free-access paradigm rats show a high explorative behaviour in the central squares of the open field and an improvement in spatial information processing in the new-place learning task of the Morris water maze. In conclusion our data suggest that, interestingly, rats exposed to the free-access paradigm were able to self-regulate their alcoholic intake, and indicated that a moderate alcohol consumption was able to induce an increase in behavioural reactivity and an enhancement in spatial learning flexibility. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Virtual navigation performance: the relationship to field of view and prior video gaming experience.

PubMed

Richardson, Anthony E; Collaer, Marcia L

2011-04-01

Two experiments examined whether learning a virtual environment was influenced by field of view and how it related to prior video gaming experience. In the first experiment, participants (42 men, 39 women; M age = 19.5 yr., SD = 1.8) performed worse on a spatial orientation task displayed with a narrow field of view in comparison to medium and wide field-of-view displays. Counter to initial hypotheses, wide field-of-view displays did not improve performance over medium displays, and this was replicated in a second experiment (30 men, 30 women; M age = 20.4 yr., SD = 1.9) presenting a more complex learning environment. Self-reported video gaming experience correlated with several spatial tasks: virtual environment pointing and tests of Judgment of Line Angle and Position, mental rotation, and Useful Field of View (with correlations between .31 and .45). When prior video gaming experience was included as a covariate, sex differences in spatial tasks disappeared.

Berry fruit can improve age-associated neuronal and cognitive deficits: from the laboratory to the clinic

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research has demonstrated, in both human and animals, that cognitive functioning decreases with age, to include deficits in processing speed, executive function, memory, and spatial learning. The cause of these functional declines is not entirely understood; however, neuronal losses and the associat...

Polyphenols found in berry fruit improve age-associated changes in cognitive function and brain inflammation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research has demonstrated, in both human and animals, that cognitive functioning decreases with age, to include deficits in processing speed, executive function, memory, and spatial learning. The cause of these functional declines is not entirely understood; however, neuronal losses and the associat...

Acquisition of an instrumental activity of daily living in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome: a comparison of trial and error and errorless learning.

PubMed

Oudman, Erik; Nijboer, Tanja C W; Postma, Albert; Wijnia, Jan W; Kerklaan, Sandra; Lindsen, Karen; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

2013-01-01

Patients with Korsakoff's syndrome show devastating amnesia and executive deficits. Consequently, the ability to perform instrumental activities such as making coffee is frequently diminished. It is currently unknown whether patients with Korsakoff's syndrome are able to (re)learn instrumental activities. A good candidate for an effective teaching technique in Korsakoff's syndrome is errorless learning as it is based on intact implicit memory functioning. Therefore, the aim of the current study was two-fold: to investigate whether patients with Korsakoff's syndrome are able to (re)learn instrumental activities, and to compare the effectiveness of errorless learning with trial and error learning in the acquisition and maintenance of an instrumental activity, namely using a washing machine to do the laundry. Whereas initial learning performance in the errorless learning condition was superior, both intervention techniques resulted in similar improvement over eight learning sessions. Moreover, performance in a different spatial layout showed a comparable improvement. Notably, in follow-up sessions starting after four weeks without practice, performance was still elevated in the errorless learning condition, but not in the trial and error condition. The current study demonstrates that (re)learning and maintenance of an instrumental activity is possible in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome.

Unconscious learning processes: mental integration of verbal and pictorial instructional materials.

PubMed

Kuldas, Seffetullah; Ismail, Hairul Nizam; Hashim, Shahabuddin; Bakar, Zainudin Abu

2013-12-01

This review aims to provide an insight into human learning processes by examining the role of cognitive and emotional unconscious processing in mentally integrating visual and verbal instructional materials. Reviewed literature shows that conscious mental integration does not happen all the time, nor does it necessarily result in optimal learning. Students of all ages and levels of experience cannot always have conscious awareness, control, and the intention to learn or promptly and continually organize perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processes of learning. This review suggests considering the role of unconscious learning processes to enhance the understanding of how students form or activate mental associations between verbal and pictorial information. The understanding would assist in presenting students with spatially-integrated verbal and pictorial instructional materials as a way of facilitating mental integration and improving teaching and learning performance.

A Spatially Constrained Multi-autoencoder Approach for Multivariate Geochemical Anomaly Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lirong, C.; Qingfeng, G.; Renguang, Z.; Yihui, X.

2017-12-01

Separating and recognizing geochemical anomalies from the geochemical background is one of the key tasks in geochemical exploration. Many methods have been developed, such as calculating the mean ±2 standard deviation, and fractal/multifractal models. In recent years, deep autoencoder, a deep learning approach, have been used for multivariate geochemical anomaly recognition. While being able to deal with the non-normal distributions of geochemical concentrations and the non-linear relationships among them, this self-supervised learning method does not take into account the spatial heterogeneity of geochemical background and the uncertainty induced by the randomly initialized weights of neurons, leading to ineffective recognition of weak anomalies. In this paper, we introduce a spatially constrained multi-autoencoder (SCMA) approach for multivariate geochemical anomaly recognition, which includes two steps: spatial partitioning and anomaly score computation. The first step divides the study area into multiple sub-regions to segregate the geochemical background, by grouping the geochemical samples through K-means clustering, spatial filtering, and spatial constraining rules. In the second step, for each sub-region, a group of autoencoder neural networks are constructed with an identical structure but different initial weights on neurons. Each autoencoder is trained using the geochemical samples within the corresponding sub-region to learn the sub-regional geochemical background. The best autoencoder of a group is chosen as the final model for the corresponding sub-region. The anomaly score at each location can then be calculated as the euclidean distance between the observed concentrations and reconstructed concentrations of geochemical elements.The experiments using the geochemical data and Fe deposits in the southwestern Fujian province of China showed that our SCMA approach greatly improved the recognition of weak anomalies, achieving the AUC of 0.89, compared with the AUC of 0.77 using a single deep autoencoder approach.

Sex-specific impairment and recovery of spatial learning following the end of chronic unpredictable restraint stress: potential relevance of limbic GAD.

PubMed

Ortiz, J Bryce; Taylor, Sara B; Hoffman, Ann N; Campbell, Alyssa N; Lucas, Louis R; Conrad, Cheryl D

2015-04-01

Chronic restraint stress alters hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory in a sex-dependent manner, impairing spatial performance in male rats and leaving intact or facilitating performance in female rats. Moreover, these stress-induced spatial memory deficits improve following post-stress recovery in males. The current study examined whether restraint administered in an unpredictable manner would eliminate these sex differences and impact a post-stress period on spatial ability and limbic glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) expression. Male (n=30) and female (n=30) adult Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to non-stressed control (Con), chronic stress (Str-Imm), or chronic stress given a post-stress recovery period (Str-Rec). Stressed rats were unpredictably restrained for 21 days using daily non-repeated combinations of physical context, duration, and time of day. Then, all rats were tested on the radial arm water maze (RAWM) for 2 days and given one retention trial on the third day, with brains removed 30min later to assess GAD65 mRNA. In Str-Imm males, deficits occurred on day 1 of RAWM acquisition, an impairment that was not evident in the Str-Rec group. In contrast, females did not show significant outcomes following chronic stress or post-stress recovery. In males, amygdalar GAD65 expression negatively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. In females, hippocampal CA1 GAD65 positively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. These results demonstrate that GABAergic function may contribute to the sex differences observed following chronic stress. Furthermore, unpredictable restraint and a recovery period failed to eliminate the sex differences on spatial learning and memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex-specific impairment and recovery of spatial learning following the end of chronic unpredictable restraint stress: Potential relevance of limbic GAD

PubMed Central

Ortiz, J. Bryce; Taylor, Sara B.; Hoffman, Ann N.; Campbell, Alyssa N.; Lucas, Louis R.; Conrad, Cheryl D.

2015-01-01

Chronic restraint stress alters hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory in a sex-dependent manner, impairing spatial performance in male rats and leaving intact or facilitating performance in female rats. Moreover, these stress-induced spatial memory deficits improve following post-stress recovery in males. The current study examined whether restraint administered in an unpredictable manner would eliminate these sex differences and impact a post-stress period on spatial ability and limbic glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) expression. Male (n=30) and female (n=30) adult Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to non-stressed control (Con), chronic stress (Str-Imm), or chronic stress given a post-stress recovery period (Str-Rec). Stressed rats were unpredictably restrained for 21 days using daily non-repeated combinations of physical context, duration, and time of day. Then, all rats were tested on the radial arm water maze (RAWM) for two days and given one retention trial on the third day, with brains removed 30 minutes later to assess GAD65 mRNA. In Str-Imm males, deficits occurred on day 1 of RAWM acquisition, an impairment that was not evident in the Str-Rec group. In contrast, females did not show significant outcomes following chronic stress or post-stress recovery. In males, amygdalar GAD65 expression negatively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. In females, hippocampal CA1 GAD65 positively correlated with RAWM performance on day 1. These results demonstrate that GABAergic function may contribute to the sex differences observed following chronic stress. Furthermore, unpredictable restraint and a recovery period failed to eliminate the sex differences on spatial learning and memory. PMID:25591480

Spatial Object Recognition Enables Endogenous LTD that Curtails LTP in the Mouse Hippocampus

PubMed Central

Goh, Jinzhong Jeremy

2013-01-01

Although synaptic plasticity is believed to comprise the cellular substrate for learning and memory, limited direct evidence exists that hippocampus-dependent learning actually triggers synaptic plasticity. It is likely, however, that long-term potentiation (LTP) works in concert with its counterpart, long-term depression (LTD) in the creation of spatial memory. It has been reported in rats that weak synaptic plasticity is facilitated into persistent plasticity if afferent stimulation is coupled with a novel spatial learning event. It is not known if this phenomenon also occurs in other species. We recorded from the hippocampal CA1 of freely behaving mice and observed that novel spatial learning triggers endogenous LTD. Specifically, we observed that LTD is enabled when test-pulse afferent stimulation is given during the learning of object constellations or during a spatial object recognition task. Intriguingly, LTP is significantly impaired by the same tasks, suggesting that LTD is the main cellular substrate for this type of learning. These data indicate that learning-facilitated plasticity is not exclusive to rats and that spatial learning leads to endogenous LTD in the hippocampus, suggesting an important role for this type of synaptic plasticity in the creation of hippocampus-dependent memory. PMID:22510536

Ageing and spatial reversal learning in humans: findings from a virtual water maze.

PubMed

Schoenfeld, R; Foreman, N; Leplow, B

2014-08-15

Deterioration in spatial memory with normal ageing is well accepted. Animal research has shown spatial reversal learning to be most vulnerable to pathological changes in the brain, but this has never been tested in humans. We studied ninety participants (52% females, 20-80 yrs) in a virtual water maze with a reversal learning procedure. Neuropsychological functioning, mood and personality were assessed to control moderator effects. For data analysis, participants were subdivided post hoc into groups aged 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-64 and 65-80 yrs. Initial spatial learning occurred in all age groups but 65-80-yrs-olds never reached the level of younger participants. When tested for delayed recall of spatial memory, younger people frequented the target area but those over 65 yrs did not. In spatial reversal learning, age groups over 45 yrs were deficient and the 65-80-yrs-olds showed no evidence of reversal. Spatial measures were associated with neuropsychological functioning. Extraversion and measures of depression moderated the age effect on the learning index with older introverted and non-depressed individuals showing better results. Measures of anxiety moderated the age effect on reversal learning with older people having higher anxiety scores showing a preserved reversal learning capability. Results confirmed age to be a major factor in spatial tasks but further showed neuropsychological functioning, psycho-affective determinants and personality traits to be significant predictors of individual differences. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Discrimination performance in aging is vulnerable to interference and dissociable from spatial memory

PubMed Central

Johnson, Sarah A.; Sacks, Patricia K.; Turner, Sean M.; Gaynor, Leslie S.; Ormerod, Brandi K.; Maurer, Andrew P.; Bizon, Jennifer L.

2016-01-01

Hippocampal-dependent episodic memory and stimulus discrimination abilities are both compromised in the elderly. The reduced capacity to discriminate between similar stimuli likely contributes to multiple aspects of age-related cognitive impairment; however, the association of these behaviors within individuals has never been examined in an animal model. In the present study, young and aged F344×BN F1 hybrid rats were cross-characterized on the Morris water maze test of spatial memory and a dentate gyrus-dependent match-to-position test of spatial discrimination ability. Aged rats showed overall impairments relative to young in spatial learning and memory on the water maze task. Although young and aged learned to apply a match-to-position response strategy in performing easy spatial discriminations within a similar number of trials, a majority of aged rats were impaired relative to young in performing difficult spatial discriminations on subsequent tests. Moreover, all aged rats were susceptible to cumulative interference during spatial discrimination tests, such that error rate increased on later trials of test sessions. These data suggest that when faced with difficult discriminations, the aged rats were less able to distinguish current goal locations from those of previous trials. Increasing acetylcholine levels with donepezil did not improve aged rats’ abilities to accurately perform difficult spatial discriminations or reduce their susceptibility to interference. Interestingly, better spatial memory abilities were not significantly associated with higher performance on difficult spatial discriminations. This observation, along with the finding that aged rats made more errors under conditions in which interference was high, suggests that match-to-position spatial discrimination performance may rely on extra-hippocampal structures such as the prefrontal cortex, in addition to the dentate gyrus. PMID:27317194

Effect of low frequency electrical stimulation on seizure-induced short- and long-term impairments in learning and memory in rats.

PubMed

Esmaeilpour, Khadijeh; Sheibani, Vahid; Shabani, Mohammad; Mirnajafi-Zadeh, Javad

2017-01-01

Kindled seizures can impair learning and memory. In the present study the effect of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFS) on kindled seizure-induced impairment in spatial learning and memory was investigated and followed up to one month. Animals were kindled by electrical stimulation of hippocampal CA1 area in a semi-rapid manner (12 stimulations per day). One group of animals received four trials of LFS at 30s, 6h, 24h, and 30h following the last kindling stimulation. Each LFS trial was consisted of 4 packages at 5min intervals. Each package contained 200 monophasic square wave pulses of 0.1ms duration at 1Hz. The Open field, Morris water maze, and novel object recognition tests were done 48h, 1week, 2weeks, and one month after the last kindling stimulation respectively. Kindled animals showed a significant impairment in learning and memory compared to control rats. LFS decreased the kindling-induced learning and memory impairments at 24h and one week following its application, but not at 2week or 1month after kindling. In the group of animals that received the same 4 trials of LFS again one week following the last kindling stimulation, the improving effect of LFS was observed even after one month. Obtained results showed that application of LFS in fully kindled animals has a long-term improving effect on spatial learning and memory. This effect can remain for a long duration (one month in this study) by increasing the number of applied LFS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Acquisition and long-term retention of spatial learning in the human immunodeficiency virus-1 transgenic rat: Effects of repeated nicotine treatment

PubMed Central

Vigorito, Michael; Cao, Junran; Li, Ming D.; Chang, Sulie L.

2013-01-01

The HIV-1 transgenic (HIV-1Tg) rat shows a deficit in learning to locate a submerged platform in a multiple-trial water maze task compared to transgenic littermate and F344 control rats (Vigorito et al. 2008; Lashomb et al. 2009). Nicotine is known to have neuroprotective effects possibly by minimizing cytotoxic effects of glutamate or by modulating a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Nicotine also improves performance in a variety of learning tasks by enhancing attention and short-term memory (STM). The purpose of this study was to determine if the learning deficit in HIV-1Tg is ameliorated by repeated nicotine treatment independent of its effects on STM. HIV-1Tg and F344 rats were treated (subcutaneous) with nicotine (0.25mg/kg/injection) or saline twice daily and tested in a single-trial-per-day procedure which precludes the impact of STM on the acquisition of the spatial learning task. HIV-1Tg rats showed a deficit in the acquisition of the task and in the long-term retention for the platform location in a probe test. Nicotine did not ameliorate the deficit in HIV-1Tg rats and slightly worsened performance during acquisition. Analysis of individual differences in performance during the probe test suggested that nicotine improved performance in some F344 rats but not in HIV-1Tg rats. These results indicate that a deficit in the consolidation of long-term memory (LTM) contributes to the acquisition deficit of HIV1-Tg rats. The results, however, do not provide any evidence of the amelioration of the learning deficit observed in this behavioral model at least with the nicotine dose tested. PMID:23456952

Educational utility of advanced three-dimensional virtual imaging in evaluating the anatomical configuration of the frontal recess.

PubMed

Agbetoba, Abib; Luong, Amber; Siow, Jin Keat; Senior, Brent; Callejas, Claudio; Szczygielski, Kornel; Citardi, Martin J

2017-02-01

Endoscopic sinus surgery represents a cornerstone in the professional development of otorhinolaryngology trainees. Mastery of these surgical skills requires an understanding of paranasal sinus and skull-base anatomy. The frontal sinus is associated with a wide range of variation and complex anatomical configuration, and thus represents an important challenge for all trainees performing endoscopic sinus surgery. Forty-five otorhinolaryngology trainees and 20 medical school students from 5 academic institutions were enrolled and randomized into 1 of 2 groups. Each subject underwent learning of frontal recess anatomy with both traditional 2-dimensional (2D) learning methods using a standard Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) viewing software (RadiAnt Dicom Viewer Version 1.9.16) and 3-dimensional (3D) learning utilizing a novel preoperative virtual planning software (Scopis Building Blocks), with one half learning with the 2D method first and the other half learning with the 3D method first. Four questionnaires that included a total of 20 items were scored for subjects' self-assessment on knowledge of frontal recess and frontal sinus drainage pathway anatomy following each learned modality. A 2-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used in the statistical analysis comparing the 2 groups. Most trainees (89%) believed that the virtual 3D planning software significantly improved their understanding of the spatial orientation of the frontal sinus drainage pathway. Incorporation of virtual 3D planning surgical software may help augment trainees' understanding and spatial orientation of the frontal recess and sinus anatomy. The potential increase in trainee proficiency and comprehension theoretically may translate to improved surgical skill and patient outcomes and in reduced surgical time. © 2016 ARS-AAOA, LLC.

Stereological Investigation of the Effects of Treadmill Running Exercise on the Hippocampal Neurons in Middle-Aged APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice.

PubMed

Chao, Fenglei; Jiang, Lin; Zhang, Yi; Zhou, Chunni; Zhang, Lei; Tang, Jing; Liang, Xin; Qi, Yingqiang; Zhu, Yanqing; Ma, Jing; Tang, Yong

2018-01-01

The risk of cognitive decline during Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be reduced if physical activity is maintained; however, the specific neural events underlying this beneficial effect are still uncertain. To quantitatively investigate the neural events underlying the effect of running exercise on middle-aged AD subjects, 12-month-old male APP/PS1 mice were randomly assigned to a control group or running group, and age-matched non-transgenic littermates were used as a wild-type group. AD running group mice were subjected to a treadmill running protocol (regular and moderate intensity) for four months. Spatial learning and memory abilities were assessed using the Morris water maze. Hippocampal amyloid plaques were observed using Thioflavin S staining and immunohistochemistry. Hippocampal volume, number of neurons, and number of newborn cells (BrdU+ cells) in the hippocampus were estimated using stereological techniques, and newborn neurons were observed using double-labelling immunofluorescence. Marked neuronal loss in both the CA1 field and dentate gyrus (DG) and deficits in both the neurogenesis and survival of new neurons in the DG of middle-aged APP/PS1 mice were observed. Running exercise could improve the spatial learning and memory abilities, reduce amyloid plaques in the hippocampi, delay neuronal loss, induce neurogenesis, and promote the survival of newborn neurons in the DG of middle-aged APP/PS1 mice. Exercise-induced protection of neurons and adult neurogenesis within the DG might be part of the important structural basis of the improved spatial learning and memory abilities observed in AD mice.

The impact of fornix lesions in rats on spatial learning tasks sensitive to anterior thalamic and hippocampal damage

PubMed Central

Dumont, Julie R.; Amin, Eman; Wright, Nicholas F.; Dillingham, Christopher M.; Aggleton, John P.

2015-01-01

The present study sought to understand how the hippocampus and anterior thalamic nuclei are conjointly required for spatial learning by examining the impact of cutting a major tract (the fornix) that interconnects these two sites. The initial experiments examined the consequences of fornix lesions in rats on spatial biconditional discrimination learning. The rationale arose from previous findings showing that fornix lesions spare the learning of spatial biconditional tasks, despite the same task being highly sensitive to both hippocampal and anterior thalamic nuclei lesions. In the present study, fornix lesions only delayed acquisition of the spatial biconditional task, pointing to additional contributions from non-fornical routes linking the hippocampus with the anterior thalamic nuclei. The same fornix lesions spared the learning of an analogous nonspatial biconditional task that used local contextual cues. Subsequent tests, including T-maze place alternation, place learning in a cross-maze, and a go/no-go place discrimination, highlighted the impact of fornix lesions when distal spatial information is used flexibly to guide behaviour. The final experiment examined the ability to learn incidentally the spatial features of a square water-maze that had differently patterned walls. Fornix lesions disrupted performance but did not stop the rats from distinguishing the various corners of the maze. Overall, the results indicate that interconnections between the hippocampus and anterior thalamus, via the fornix, help to resolve problems with flexible spatial and temporal cues, but the results also signal the importance of additional, non-fornical contributions to hippocampal-anterior thalamic spatial processing, particularly for problems with more stable spatial solutions. PMID:25453745

Cardiovascular Fitness and Cognitive Spatial Learning in Rodents and in Humans.

PubMed

Barak, Boaz; Feldman, Noa; Okun, Eitan

2015-09-01

The association between cardiovascular fitness and cognitive functions in both animals and humans is intensely studied. Research in rodents shows that a higher cardiovascular fitness has beneficial effects on hippocampus-dependent spatial abilities, and the underlying mechanisms were largely teased out. Research into the impact of cardiovascular fitness on spatial learning in humans, however, is more limited, and involves mostly behavioral and imaging studies. Herein, we point out the state of the art in the field of spatial learning and cardiovascular fitness. The differences between the methodologies utilized to study spatial learning in humans and rodents are emphasized along with the neuronal basis of these tasks. Critical gaps in the study of spatial learning in the context of cardiovascular fitness between the two species are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.

Spatial-spectral blood cell classification with microscopic hyperspectral imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ran, Qiong; Chang, Lan; Li, Wei; Xu, Xiaofeng

2017-10-01

Microscopic hyperspectral images provide a new way for blood cell examination. The hyperspectral imagery can greatly facilitate the classification of different blood cells. In this paper, the microscopic hyperspectral images are acquired by connecting the microscope and the hyperspectral imager, and then tested for blood cell classification. For combined use of the spectral and spatial information provided by hyperspectral images, a spatial-spectral classification method is improved from the classical extreme learning machine (ELM) by integrating spatial context into the image classification task with Markov random field (MRF) model. Comparisons are done among ELM, ELM-MRF, support vector machines(SVM) and SVMMRF methods. Results show the spatial-spectral classification methods(ELM-MRF, SVM-MRF) perform better than pixel-based methods(ELM, SVM), and the proposed ELM-MRF has higher precision and show more accurate location of cells.

The Michelin red guide of the brain: role of dopamine in goal-oriented navigation.

PubMed

Retailleau, Aude; Boraud, Thomas

2014-01-01

Spatial learning has been recognized over the years to be under the control of the hippocampus and related temporal lobe structures. Hippocampal damage often causes severe impairments in the ability to learn and remember a location in space defined by distal visual cues. Such cognitive disabilities are found in Parkinsonian patients. We recently investigated the role of dopamine in navigation in the 6-Hydroxy-dopamine (6-OHDA) rat, a model of Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly used to investigate the pathophysiology of dopamine depletion (Retailleau et al., 2013). We demonstrated that dopamine (DA) is essential to spatial learning as its depletion results in spatial impairments. Our results showed that the behavioral effect of DA depletion is correlated with modification of the neural encoding of spatial features and decision making processes in hippocampus. However, the origin of these alterations in the neural processing of the spatial information needs to be clarified. It could result from a local effect: dopamine depletion disturbs directly the processing of relevant spatial information at hippocampal level. Alternatively, it could result from a more distributed network effect: dopamine depletion elsewhere in the brain (entorhinal cortex, striatum, etc.) modifies the way hippocampus processes spatial information. Recent experimental evidence in rodents, demonstrated indeed, that other brain areas are involved in the acquisition of spatial information. Amongst these, the cortex-basal ganglia (BG) loop is known to be involved in reinforcement learning and has been identified as an important contributor to spatial learning. In particular, it has been shown that altered activity of the BG striatal complex can impair the ability to perform spatial learning tasks. The present review provides a glimpse of the findings obtained over the past decade that support a dialog between these two structures during spatial learning under DA control.

Postnatal TLR2 activation impairs learning and memory in adulthood.

PubMed

Madar, Ravit; Rotter, Aviva; Waldman Ben-Asher, Hiba; Mughal, Mohamed R; Arumugam, Thiruma V; Wood, W H; Becker, K G; Mattson, Mark P; Okun, Eitan

2015-08-01

Neuroinflammation in the central nervous system is detrimental for learning and memory, as evident form epidemiological studies linking developmental defects and maternal exposure to harmful pathogens. Postnatal infections can also induce neuroinflammatory responses with long-term consequences. These inflammatory responses can lead to motor deficits and/or behavioral disabilities. Toll like receptors (TLRs) are a family of innate immune receptors best known as sensors of microbial-associated molecular patterns, and are the first responders to infection. TLR2 forms heterodimers with either TLR1 or TLR6, is activated in response to gram-positive bacterial infections, and is expressed in the brain during embryonic development. We hypothesized that early postnatal TLR2-mediated neuroinflammation would adversely affect cognitive behavior in the adult. Our data indicate that postnatal TLR2 activation affects learning and memory in adult mice in a heterodimer-dependent manner. TLR2/6 activation improved motor function and fear learning, while TLR2/1 activation impaired spatial learning and enhanced fear learning. Moreover, developmental TLR2 deficiency significantly impairs spatial learning and enhances fear learning, stressing the involvement of the TLR2 pathway in learning and memory. Analysis of the transcriptional effects of TLR2 activation reveals both common and unique transcriptional programs following heterodimer-specific TLR2 activation. These results imply that adult cognitive behavior could be influenced in part, by activation or alterations in the TLR2 pathway at birth. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Effect of object consistency in a spatial contextual cueing paradigm].

PubMed

Takeda, Yuji

2008-04-01

Previous studies demonstrated that attention can be quickly guided to a target location in a visual search task when the spatial configurations of search items and/or the object identities were repeated in the previous trials. This phenomenon is termed contextual cueing. Recently, it was reported that spatial configuration learning and object identity learning occurred independently, when novel contours were used as search items. The present study examined whether this learning occurred independently even when the search items were meaningful. The results showed that the contextual cueing effect was observed even if the relationships between the spatial locations and object identities were jumbled (Experiment 1). However, it disappeared when the search items were changed into geometric patterns (Experiment 2). These results suggest that the spatial configuration can be learned independent of the object identities; however, the use of the learned configuration is restricted by the learning situations.

Rapid effects of dorsal hippocampal G-protein coupled estrogen receptor on learning in female mice.

PubMed

Lymer, Jennifer; Robinson, Alana; Winters, Boyer D; Choleris, Elena

2017-03-01

Through rapid mechanisms of action, estrogens affect learning and memory processes. It has been shown that 17β-estradiol and an Estrogen Receptor (ER) α agonist enhances performance in social recognition, object recognition, and object placement tasks when administered systemically or infused in the dorsal hippocampus. In contrast, systemic and dorsal hippocampal ERβ activation only promote spatial learning. In addition, 17β-estradiol, the ERα and the G-protein coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) agonists increase dendritic spine density in the CA1 hippocampus. Recently, we have shown that selective systemic activation of the GPER also rapidly facilitated social recognition, object recognition, and object placement learning in female mice. Whether activation the GPER specifically in the dorsal hippocampus can also rapidly improve learning and memory prior to acquisition is unknown. Here, we investigated the rapid effects of infusion of the GPER agonist, G-1 (dose: 50nM, 100nM, 200nM), in the dorsal hippocampus on social recognition, object recognition, and object placement learning tasks in home cage. These paradigms were completed within 40min, which is within the range of rapid estrogenic effects. Dorsal hippocampal administration of G-1 improved social (doses: 50nM, 200nM G-1) and object (dose: 200nM G-1) recognition with no effect on object placement. Additionally, when spatial cues were minimized by testing in a Y-apparatus, G-1 administration promoted social (doses: 100nM, 200nM G-1) and object (doses: 50nM, 100nM, 200nM G-1) recognition. Therefore, like ERα, the GPER in the hippocampus appears to be sufficient for the rapid facilitation of social and object recognition in female mice, but not for the rapid facilitation of object placement learning. Thus, the GPER in the dorsal hippocampus is involved in estrogenic mediation of learning and memory and these effects likely occur through rapid signalling mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Map Learning with a 3D Printed Interactive Small-Scale Model: Improvement of Space and Text Memorization in Visually Impaired Students

PubMed Central

Giraud, Stéphanie; Brock, Anke M.; Macé, Marc J.-M.; Jouffrais, Christophe

2017-01-01

Special education teachers for visually impaired students rely on tools such as raised-line maps (RLMs) to teach spatial knowledge. These tools do not fully and adequately meet the needs of the teachers because they are long to produce, expensive, and not versatile enough to provide rapid updating of the content. For instance, the same RLM can barely be used during different lessons. In addition, those maps do not provide any interactivity, which reduces students’ autonomy. With the emergence of 3D printing and low-cost microcontrollers, it is now easy to design affordable interactive small-scale models (SSMs) which are adapted to the needs of special education teachers. However, no study has previously been conducted to evaluate non-visual learning using interactive SSMs. In collaboration with a specialized teacher, we designed a SSM and a RLM representing the evolution of the geography and history of a fictitious kingdom. The two conditions were compared in a study with 24 visually impaired students regarding the memorization of the spatial layout and historical contents. The study showed that the interactive SSM improved both space and text memorization as compared to the RLM with braille legend. In conclusion, we argue that affordable home-made interactive small scale models can improve learning for visually impaired students. Interestingly, they are adaptable to any teaching situation including students with specific needs. PMID:28649209

Improvement and decline in tactile discrimination behavior after cortical plasticity induced by passive tactile coactivation.

PubMed

Hodzic, Amra; Veit, Ralf; Karim, Ahmed A; Erb, Michael; Godde, Ben

2004-01-14

Perceptual learning can be induced by passive tactile coactivation without attention or reinforcement. We used functional MRI (fMRI) and psychophysics to investigate in detail the specificity of this type of learning for different tactile discrimination tasks and the underlying cortical reorganization. We found that a few hours of Hebbian coactivation evoked a significant increase of primary (SI) and secondary (SII) somatosensory cortical areas representing the stimulated body parts. The amount of plastic changes was strongly correlated with improvement in spatial discrimination performance. However, in the same subjects, frequency discrimination was impaired after coactivation, indicating that even maladaptive processes can be induced by intense passive sensory stimulation.

Immersive and interactive virtual reality to improve learning and retention of neuroanatomy in medical students: a randomized controlled study.

PubMed

Ekstrand, Chelsea; Jamal, Ali; Nguyen, Ron; Kudryk, Annalise; Mann, Jennifer; Mendez, Ivar

2018-02-23

Spatial 3-dimensional understanding of the brain is essential to learning neuroanatomy, and 3-dimensional learning techniques have been proposed as tools to enhance neuroanatomy training. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of immersive virtual-reality neuroanatomy training and compare it to traditional paper-based methods. In this randomized controlled study, participants consisted of first- or second-year medical students from the University of Saskatchewan recruited via email and posters displayed throughout the medical school. Participants were randomly assigned to the virtual-reality group or the paper-based group and studied the spatial relations between neural structures for 12 minutes after performing a neuroanatomy baseline test, with both test and control questions. A postintervention test was administered immediately after the study period and 5-9 days later. Satisfaction measures were obtained. Of the 66 participants randomly assigned to the study groups, 64 were included in the final analysis, 31 in the virtual-reality group and 33 in the paper-based group. The 2 groups performed comparably on the baseline questions and showed significant performance improvement on the test questions following study. There were no significant differences between groups for the control questions, the postintervention test questions or the 7-day postintervention test questions. Satisfaction survey results indicated that neurophobia was decreased. Results from this study provide evidence that training in neuroanatomy in an immersive and interactive virtual-reality environment may be an effective neuroanatomy learning tool that warrants further study. They also suggest that integration of virtual-reality into neuroanatomy training may improve knowledge retention, increase study motivation and decrease neurophobia. Copyright 2018, Joule Inc. or its licensors.

Immersive and interactive virtual reality to improve learning and retention of neuroanatomy in medical students: a randomized controlled study

PubMed Central

Ekstrand, Chelsea; Jamal, Ali; Nguyen, Ron; Kudryk, Annalise; Mann, Jennifer; Mendez, Ivar

2018-01-01

Background: Spatial 3-dimensional understanding of the brain is essential to learning neuroanatomy, and 3-dimensional learning techniques have been proposed as tools to enhance neuroanatomy training. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of immersive virtual-reality neuroanatomy training and compare it to traditional paper-based methods. Methods: In this randomized controlled study, participants consisted of first- or second-year medical students from the University of Saskatchewan recruited via email and posters displayed throughout the medical school. Participants were randomly assigned to the virtual-reality group or the paper-based group and studied the spatial relations between neural structures for 12 minutes after performing a neuroanatomy baseline test, with both test and control questions. A postintervention test was administered immediately after the study period and 5-9 days later. Satisfaction measures were obtained. Results: Of the 66 participants randomly assigned to the study groups, 64 were included in the final analysis, 31 in the virtual-reality group and 33 in the paper-based group. The 2 groups performed comparably on the baseline questions and showed significant performance improvement on the test questions following study. There were no significant differences between groups for the control questions, the postintervention test questions or the 7-day postintervention test questions. Satisfaction survey results indicated that neurophobia was decreased. Interpretation: Results from this study provide evidence that training in neuroanatomy in an immersive and interactive virtual-reality environment may be an effective neuroanatomy learning tool that warrants further study. They also suggest that integration of virtual-reality into neuroanatomy training may improve knowledge retention, increase study motivation and decrease neurophobia. PMID:29510979

Pilocarpine and physostigmine attenuate spatial memory impairments produced by lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis.

PubMed

Murray, C L; Fibiger, H C

1986-02-01

The effects of bilateral ibotenic acid-induced lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nBM) on the acquisition and retention of several spatial memory tasks were studied in the rat. Maintenance of spatial memory in a food search task was impaired following nBM lesions. Acquisition of spontaneous alternation and reinforced alternation in a T-maze was also significantly impaired in animals with these lesions. In contrast, the animals with nBM lesions were not impaired in the acquisition of a position habit in a T-maze. In several of the tasks there was evidence of some learning in the lesion animals after substantial training, although they were significantly deficient when compared with the controls. Administration of the cholinergic agonists physostigmine sulfate or pilocarpine nitrate prior to behavioral testing resulted in a rapid and significant improvement in the performance of the lesion animals. The ibotenate-induced lesions significantly reduced the activity of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) in the anterior and the posterior neocortex. Hippocampal CAT activity was not changed. The results indicate that the cholinergic projections originating in the nBM are involved in the learning and memory of spatial tasks.

Acute social stress increases biochemical and self report markers of stress without altering spatial learning in humans.

PubMed

Klopp, Christine; Garcia, Carlos; Schulman, Allan H; Ward, Christopher P; Tartar, Jaime L

2012-01-01

Spatial learning is shown to be influenced by acute stress in both human and other animals. However, the intricacies of this relationship are unclear. Based on prior findings we hypothesized that compared to a control condition, a social stress condition would not affect spatial learning performance despite elevated biochemical markers of stress. The present study tested the effects of social stress in human males and females on a subsequent spatial learning task. Social stress induction consisted of evaluative stress (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) compared to a placebo social stress. Compared to the placebo condition, the TSST resulted in significantly elevated cortisol and alpha amylase levels at multiple time points following stress induction. In accord, cognitive appraisal measures also showed that participants in the TSST group experienced greater perceived stress compared to the placebo group. However, there were no group differences in performance on a spatial learning task. Our findings suggest that unlike physiological stress, social stress does not result in alterations in spatial learning in humans. It is possible that moderate social evaluative stress in humans works to prevent acute stress-mediated alterations in hippocampal learning processes..

Modulation of spatial attention by goals, statistical learning, and monetary reward.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuhong V; Sha, Li Z; Remington, Roger W

2015-10-01

This study documented the relative strength of task goals, visual statistical learning, and monetary reward in guiding spatial attention. Using a difficult T-among-L search task, we cued spatial attention to one visual quadrant by (i) instructing people to prioritize it (goal-driven attention), (ii) placing the target frequently there (location probability learning), or (iii) associating that quadrant with greater monetary gain (reward-based attention). Results showed that successful goal-driven attention exerted the strongest influence on search RT. Incidental location probability learning yielded a smaller though still robust effect. Incidental reward learning produced negligible guidance for spatial attention. The 95 % confidence intervals of the three effects were largely nonoverlapping. To understand these results, we simulated the role of location repetition priming in probability cuing and reward learning. Repetition priming underestimated the strength of location probability cuing, suggesting that probability cuing involved long-term statistical learning of how to shift attention. Repetition priming provided a reasonable account for the negligible effect of reward on spatial attention. We propose a multiple-systems view of spatial attention that includes task goals, search habit, and priming as primary drivers of top-down attention.

Modulation of spatial attention by goals, statistical learning, and monetary reward

PubMed Central

Sha, Li Z.; Remington, Roger W.

2015-01-01

This study documented the relative strength of task goals, visual statistical learning, and monetary reward in guiding spatial attention. Using a difficult T-among-L search task, we cued spatial attention to one visual quadrant by (i) instructing people to prioritize it (goal-driven attention), (ii) placing the target frequently there (location probability learning), or (iii) associating that quadrant with greater monetary gain (reward-based attention). Results showed that successful goal-driven attention exerted the strongest influence on search RT. Incidental location probability learning yielded a smaller though still robust effect. Incidental reward learning produced negligible guidance for spatial attention. The 95 % confidence intervals of the three effects were largely nonoverlapping. To understand these results, we simulated the role of location repetition priming in probability cuing and reward learning. Repetition priming underestimated the strength of location probability cuing, suggesting that probability cuing involved long-term statistical learning of how to shift attention. Repetition priming provided a reasonable account for the negligible effect of reward on spatial attention. We propose a multiple-systems view of spatial attention that includes task goals, search habit, and priming as primary drivers of top-down attention. PMID:26105657

Different Perspectives: Spatial Ability Influences Where Individuals Look on a Timed Spatial Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Victoria A.; Fraser, Graham M.; Kryklywy, James H.; Mitchell, Derek G. V.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2017-01-01

Learning in anatomy can be both spatially and visually complex. Pedagogical investigations have begun exploration as to how spatial ability may mitigate learning. Emerging hypotheses suggests individuals with higher spatial reasoning may attend to images differently than those who are lacking. To elucidate attentional patterns associated with…

How spatial abilities and dynamic visualizations interplay when learning functional anatomy with 3D anatomical models.

PubMed

Berney, Sandra; Bétrancourt, Mireille; Molinari, Gaëlle; Hoyek, Nady

2015-01-01

The emergence of dynamic visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) models in anatomy curricula may be an adequate solution for spatial difficulties encountered with traditional static learning, as they provide direct visualization of change throughout the viewpoints. However, little research has explored the interplay between learning material presentation formats, spatial abilities, and anatomical tasks. First, to understand the cognitive challenges a novice learner would be faced with when first exposed to 3D anatomical content, a six-step cognitive task analysis was developed. Following this, an experimental study was conducted to explore how presentation formats (dynamic vs. static visualizations) support learning of functional anatomy, and affect subsequent anatomical tasks derived from the cognitive task analysis. A second aim was to investigate the interplay between spatial abilities (spatial visualization and spatial relation) and presentation formats when the functional anatomy of a 3D scapula and the associated shoulder flexion movement are learned. Findings showed no main effect of the presentation formats on performances, but revealed the predictive influence of spatial visualization and spatial relation abilities on performance. However, an interesting interaction between presentation formats and spatial relation ability for a specific anatomical task was found. This result highlighted the influence of presentation formats when spatial abilities are involved as well as the differentiated influence of spatial abilities on anatomical tasks. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Improved analyses using function datasets and statistical modeling

Treesearch

John S. Hogland; Nathaniel M. Anderson

2014-01-01

Raster modeling is an integral component of spatial analysis. However, conventional raster modeling techniques can require a substantial amount of processing time and storage space and have limited statistical functionality and machine learning algorithms. To address this issue, we developed a new modeling framework using C# and ArcObjects and integrated that framework...

Experimental Evidence for Improved Neuroimaging Interpretation Using Three-Dimensional Graphic Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruisoto, Pablo; Juanes, Juan Antonio; Contador, Israel; Mayoral, Paula; Prats-Galino, Alberto

2012-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) or volumetric visualization is a useful resource for learning about the anatomy of the human brain. However, the effectiveness of 3D spatial visualization has not yet been assessed systematically. This report analyzes whether 3D volumetric visualization helps learners to identify and locate subcortical structures more…

Active and Passive Spatial Learning in Human Navigation: Acquisition of Survey Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chrastil, Elizabeth R.; Warren, William H.

2013-01-01

It seems intuitively obvious that active exploration of a new environment would lead to better spatial learning than would passive visual exposure. It is unclear, however, which components of active learning contribute to spatial knowledge, and previous literature is decidedly mixed. This experiment tests the contributions of 4 components to…

Guidance of Spatial Attention by Incidental Learning and Endogenous Cuing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Yuhong V.; Swallow, Khena M.; Rosenbaum, Gail M.

2013-01-01

Our visual system is highly sensitive to regularities in the environment. Locations that were important in one's previous experience are often prioritized during search, even though observers may not be aware of the learning. In this study we characterized the guidance of spatial attention by incidental learning of a target's spatial probability,…

A Cognitive Component Analysis Approach for Developing Game-Based Spatial Learning Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Pi-Hsia; Hwang, Gwo-Jen; Lee, Yueh-Hsun; Su, I-Hsiang

2012-01-01

Spatial ability has been recognized as one of the most important factors affecting the mathematical performance of students. Previous studies on spatial learning have mainly focused on developing strategies to shorten the problem-solving time of learners for very specific learning tasks. Such an approach usually has limited effects on improving…

Simulating geriatric home safety assessments in a three-dimensional virtual world.

PubMed

Andrade, Allen D; Cifuentes, Pedro; Mintzer, Michael J; Roos, Bernard A; Anam, Ramanakumar; Ruiz, Jorge G

2012-01-01

Virtual worlds could offer inexpensive and safe three-dimensional environments in which medical trainees can learn to identify home safety hazards. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of virtual worlds for geriatric home safety assessments and to correlate performance efficiency in hazard identification with spatial ability, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and presence. In this study, 30 medical trainees found the home safety simulation easy to use, and their self-efficacy was improved. Men performed better than women in hazard identification. Presence and spatial ability were correlated significantly with performance. Educators should consider spatial ability and gender differences when implementing virtual world training for geriatric home safety assessments.

Remediation of spatial processing disorder (SPD).

PubMed

Graydon, Kelley; Van Dun, Bram; Tomlin, Dani; Dowell, Richard; Rance, Gary

2018-05-01

To determine the efficacy of deficit-specific remediation for spatial processing disorder, quantify effects of remediation on functional listening, and determine if remediation is maintained. Participants had SPD, diagnosed using the Listening in Spatialised Noise-Sentences test. The LiSN and Learn software was provided as auditory training. Post-training, repeat LiSN-S testing was conducted. Questionnaires pre- and post-training acted as subjective measures of remediation. A late-outcome assessment established long-term effects of remediation. Sixteen children aged between 6;3 [years; months] and 10;0 completed between 20 and 146 training games. Post-training LiSN-S improved in measures containing spatial cues (p ≤ 0.001) by 2.0 SDs (3.6 dB) for DV90, 1.8 SDs for SV90 (3.2 dB), 1.4 SDs for spatial advantage (2.9 dB) and 1.6 SDs for total advantage (3.3 dB). Improvement was also found in the DV0 condition (1.4 dB or 0.5 SDs). Post-training changes were not significant in the talker advantage measure (1.0 dB or 0.4 SDs) or the SV0 condition (0.3 dB or 0.1 SDs). The late-outcome assessment demonstrated improvement was maintained. Subjective improvement post-remediation was observed using the parent questionnaire. Children with SPD had improved ability to utilise spatial cues following deficit-specific remediation, with the parent questionnaire sensitive to remediation. Effects of the remediation also appear to be sustained.

Prenatal Stress Impairs Spatial Learning and Memory Associated with Lower mRNA Level of the CAMKII and CREB in the Adult Female Rat Hippocampus.

PubMed

Sun, Hongli; Wu, Haibin; Liu, Jianping; Wen, Jun; Zhu, Zhongliang; Li, Hui

2017-05-01

Prenatal stress (PS) results in various behavioral and emotional alterations observed in later life. In particular, PS impairs spatial learning and memory processes but the underlying mechanism involved in this pathogenesis still remains unknown. Here, we reported that PS lowered the body weight in offspring rats, particularly in female rats, and impaired spatial learning and memory of female offspring rats in the Morris water maze. Correspondingly, the decreased CaMKII and CREB mRNA in the hippocampus were detected in prenatally stressed female offspring, which partially explained the effect of PS on the spatial learning and memory. Our findings suggested that CaMKII and CREB may be involved in spatial learning and memory processes in the prenatally stressed adult female offspring.

The effect of Scutellaria baicalensis stem-leaf flavonoids on spatial learning and memory in chronic cerebral ischemia-induced vascular dementia of rats.

PubMed

Cao, Yanjing; Liang, Lizhen; Xu, Jian; Wu, Jiali; Yan, Yongxing; Lin, Ping; Chen, Qiang; Zheng, Fengming; Wang, Qin; Ren, Qian; Gou, Zengmei; Du, Yifeng

2016-05-01

Flavonoids have been shown to improve cognitive function and delay the dementia progression. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In the present study, we examined the effect of Scutellaria baicalensis stem-leaf total flavonoids (SSTFs) extracted from S. baicalensis Georgi on spatial learning and memory in a vascular dementia (VaD) rat model and explored its molecular mechanisms. The VaD rats were developed by permanent bilateral occlusion of the common carotid artery. Seven days after recovery, the VaD rats were treated with either 50 or 100 mg/kg of SSTF for 60 days. The spatial learning and memory was evaluated in the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The tau hyperphosphorylation and the levels of the related protein kinases or phosphatases were examined by western blot analysis. In VaD rats, SSTF treatment at 100 mg/kg significantly reduced the escape latency in training trial in MWM test. In the probe trial, SSTF treatment increased the searching time and travel distance in the target quadrant. SSTF treatment inhibited the tau phosphorylation in both cortex and hippocampus in VaD rats. Meanwhile, SSTF reduced the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3β and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in VaD rats. In contrast, SSTF treatment increased the level of the protein phosphatase 2A subunit B in VaD rats. SSTF treatment significantly improved the spatial cognition in VaD rats. Our results suggest that SSTF may alleviate tau-hyperphosphorylation-induced neurotoxicity through coordinating the activity of kinases and phosphatase after a stroke. SSTF may be developed into promising novel therapeutics for VaD. © The Author 2016. Published by ABBS Editorial Office in association with Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Cell segmentation in histopathological images with deep learning algorithms by utilizing spatial relationships.

PubMed

Hatipoglu, Nuh; Bilgin, Gokhan

2017-10-01

In many computerized methods for cell detection, segmentation, and classification in digital histopathology that have recently emerged, the task of cell segmentation remains a chief problem for image processing in designing computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. In research and diagnostic studies on cancer, pathologists can use CAD systems as second readers to analyze high-resolution histopathological images. Since cell detection and segmentation are critical for cancer grade assessments, cellular and extracellular structures should primarily be extracted from histopathological images. In response, we sought to identify a useful cell segmentation approach with histopathological images that uses not only prominent deep learning algorithms (i.e., convolutional neural networks, stacked autoencoders, and deep belief networks), but also spatial relationships, information of which is critical for achieving better cell segmentation results. To that end, we collected cellular and extracellular samples from histopathological images by windowing in small patches with various sizes. In experiments, the segmentation accuracies of the methods used improved as the window sizes increased due to the addition of local spatial and contextual information. Once we compared the effects of training sample size and influence of window size, results revealed that the deep learning algorithms, especially convolutional neural networks and partly stacked autoencoders, performed better than conventional methods in cell segmentation.

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls.

PubMed

Merrill, Edward C; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children's performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults.

Effects of treadmill exercise intensity on spatial working memory and long-term memory in rats.

PubMed

Wang, Xiao-Qin; Wang, Gong-Wu

2016-03-15

Moderate exercise promotes learning and memory. Most studies mainly focused on memory exercise effects of in the ageing and patients. There is lack of quantitative research about effect of regular exercise intensity on different memory types in normal subjects. Present study investigated the effects of different intensities of treadmill exercise on working memory and long-term memory. Fifty female Wistar rats were trained by T-maze delayed spatial alternation (DSA) task with 3 delays (10s, 60s and 300s). Then they got a 30min treadmill exercise for 30days in 4 intensities (control, 0m/min; lower, 15m/min; middle, 20m/min, and higher, 30m/min). Then animals were tested in DSA, passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks. 1. Exercise increased the neuronal density of hippocampal subregions (CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus) vs. naïve/control. 2. In DSA task, all groups have similar baseline, lower intensity improved 10s delay accuracy vs. baseline/control; middle and higher intensities improved 300s delay accuracy vs. baseline/control. 3. In water maze learning, all groups successfully found the platform, but middle intensity improved platform field crossing times vs. control in test phase. Present results suggested that treadmill exercise can improve long-term spatial memory and working memory; lower intensity benefits to short-term delayed working memory, and middle or higher intensity benefits to long-term delayed working memory. There was an inverted U dose-effect relationship between exercise intensity and memory performance, but exercise -working memory effect was impacted by delay duration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of spatial information and search strategies in a water maze analog in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Foucaud, Julien; Burns, James G; Mery, Frederic

2010-12-03

Learning the spatial organization of the environment is crucial to fitness in most animal species. Understanding proximate and ultimate factors underpinning spatial memory is thus a major goal in the study of animal behavior. Despite considerable interest in various aspects of its behavior and biology, the model species Drosophila melanogaster lacks a standardized apparatus to investigate spatial learning and memory. We propose here a novel apparatus, the heat maze, conceptually based on the Morris water maze used in rodents. Using the heat maze, we demonstrate that D. melanogaster flies are able to use either proximal or distal visual cues to increase their performance in navigating to a safe zone. We also show that flies are actively using the orientation of distal visual cues when relevant in targeting the safe zone, i.e., Drosophila display spatial learning. Parameter-based classification of search strategies demonstrated the progressive use of spatially precise search strategies during learning. We discuss the opportunity to unravel the mechanistic and evolutionary bases of spatial learning in Drosophila using the heat maze.

Ensemble learning for spatial interpolation of soil potassium content based on environmental information.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Du, Peijun; Wang, Dongchen

2015-01-01

One important method to obtain the continuous surfaces of soil properties from point samples is spatial interpolation. In this paper, we propose a method that combines ensemble learning with ancillary environmental information for improved interpolation of soil properties (hereafter, EL-SP). First, we calculated the trend value for soil potassium contents at the Qinghai Lake region in China based on measured values. Then, based on soil types, geology types, land use types, and slope data, the remaining residual was simulated with the ensemble learning model. Next, the EL-SP method was applied to interpolate soil potassium contents at the study site. To evaluate the utility of the EL-SP method, we compared its performance with other interpolation methods including universal kriging, inverse distance weighting, ordinary kriging, and ordinary kriging combined geographic information. Results show that EL-SP had a lower mean absolute error and root mean square error than the data produced by the other models tested in this paper. Notably, the EL-SP maps can describe more locally detailed information and more accurate spatial patterns for soil potassium content than the other methods because of the combined use of different types of environmental information; these maps are capable of showing abrupt boundary information for soil potassium content. Furthermore, the EL-SP method not only reduces prediction errors, but it also compliments other environmental information, which makes the spatial interpolation of soil potassium content more reasonable and useful.

Learning Linear Spatial-Numeric Associations Improves Accuracy of Memory for Numbers

PubMed Central

Thompson, Clarissa A.; Opfer, John E.

2016-01-01

Memory for numbers improves with age and experience. One potential source of improvement is a logarithmic-to-linear shift in children’s representations of magnitude. To test this, Kindergartners and second graders estimated the location of numbers on number lines and recalled numbers presented in vignettes (Study 1). Accuracy at number-line estimation predicted memory accuracy on a numerical recall task after controlling for the effect of age and ability to approximately order magnitudes (mapper status). To test more directly whether linear numeric magnitude representations caused improvements in memory, half of children were given feedback on their number-line estimates (Study 2). As expected, learning linear representations was again linked to memory for numerical information even after controlling for age and mapper status. These results suggest that linear representations of numerical magnitude may be a causal factor in development of numeric recall accuracy. PMID:26834688

Learning Linear Spatial-Numeric Associations Improves Accuracy of Memory for Numbers.

PubMed

Thompson, Clarissa A; Opfer, John E

2016-01-01

Memory for numbers improves with age and experience. One potential source of improvement is a logarithmic-to-linear shift in children's representations of magnitude. To test this, Kindergartners and second graders estimated the location of numbers on number lines and recalled numbers presented in vignettes (Study 1). Accuracy at number-line estimation predicted memory accuracy on a numerical recall task after controlling for the effect of age and ability to approximately order magnitudes (mapper status). To test more directly whether linear numeric magnitude representations caused improvements in memory, half of children were given feedback on their number-line estimates (Study 2). As expected, learning linear representations was again linked to memory for numerical information even after controlling for age and mapper status. These results suggest that linear representations of numerical magnitude may be a causal factor in development of numeric recall accuracy.

Predicting student performance in sonographic scanning using spatial ability as an ability determinent of skill acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clem, Douglas Wayne

Spatial ability refers to an individual's capacity to visualize and mentally manipulate three dimensional objects. Since sonographers manually manipulate 2D and 3D sonographic images to generate multi-viewed, logical, sequential renderings of an anatomical structure, it can be assumed that spatial ability is central to the perception and interpretation of these medical images. Using Ackerman's theory of ability determinants of skilled performance as a conceptual framework, this study explored the relationship of spatial ability and learning sonographic scanning. Beginning first year sonography students from four different educational institutions were administered a spatial abilities test prior to their initial scanning lab coursework. The students' spatial test scores were compared with their scanning competency performance scores. A significant relationship between the students' spatial ability scores and their scanning performance scores was found. This result suggests that the use of spatial ability tests for admission to sonography programs may improve candidate selection, as well as assist programs in adjusting instruction and curriculum for students who demonstrate low spatial ability.

Connecting mathematics learning through spatial reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulligan, Joanne; Woolcott, Geoffrey; Mitchelmore, Michael; Davis, Brent

2018-03-01

Spatial reasoning, an emerging transdisciplinary area of interest to mathematics education research, is proving integral to all human learning. It is particularly critical to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This project will create an innovative knowledge framework based on spatial reasoning that identifies new pathways for mathematics learning, pedagogy and curriculum. Novel analytical tools will map the unknown complex systems linking spatial and mathematical concepts. It will involve the design, implementation and evaluation of a Spatial Reasoning Mathematics Program (SRMP) in Grades 3 to 5. Benefits will be seen through development of critical spatial skills for students, increased teacher capability and informed policy and curriculum across STEM education.

The effect of childhood trauma on spatial cognition in adults: a possible role of sex.

PubMed

Syal, Supriya; Ipser, Jonathan; Phillips, Nicole; Thomas, Kevin G F; van der Honk, Jack; Stein, Dan J

2014-06-01

Although animal evidence indicates that early life trauma results in pervasive hippocampal deficits underlying spatial and cognitive impairment, visuo-spatial data from adult humans with early childhood adversity are lacking. We administered 4 tests of visuo-spatial ability from the Cambridge Neuorpsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) to adults with a history of childhood trauma (measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) and a matched sample of healthy controls (trauma/control = 27/28). We observed a significant effect of trauma history on spatial/pattern learning. These effects could not be accounted for by adverse adult experiences, and were sex-specific, with prior adversity improving performance in men but worsening performance in women, relative to controls. Limitations include the small sample size and reliance of our study design on a retrospective, self report measure. Our results suggest that early adversity can lead to specific and pervasive deficits in adult cognitive function.

Clozapine blockade of MK-801-induced learning/memory impairment in the mEPM: Role of 5-HT1A receptors and hippocampal BDNF levels.

PubMed

López Hill, Ximena; Richeri, Analía; Scorza, María Cecilia

2017-10-01

Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS) is highly prevalent and affects the overall functioning of patients. Clozapine (Clz), an atypical antipsychotic drug, significantly improves CIAS although the underlying mechanisms remain under study. The role of the 5-HT 1A receptor (5-HT 1A -R) in the ability of Clz to prevent the learning/memory impairment induced by MK-801 was investigated using the modified elevated plus-maze (mEPM) considering the Transfer latency (TL) as an index of spatial memory. We also investigated if changes in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels underlie the behavioral prevention induced by Clz. Clz (0.5 and 1mg/kg)- or vehicle-pretreated Wistar rats were injected with MK-801 (0.05mg/kg) or saline. TL was evaluated 35min later (TL1, acquisition session) while learning/memory performance was measured 24h (TL2, retention session) and 48h later (TL3, long-lasting effect). WAY-100635, a 5-HT 1A -R antagonist, was pre-injected (0.3mg/kg) to examine the presumed 5-HT 1A -R involvement in Clz action. At TL2, another experimental group treated with Clz and MK-801 and its respective control groups were added to measure BDNF protein levels by ELISA. TL1 and TL3 were not significantly modified by the different treatments. MK-801 increased TL2 compared to control group leading a disruption of spatial memory processing which was markedly attenuated by Clz. WAY-100635 suppressed this action supporting a relevant role of 5-HT 1A -R in the Clz mechanism of action to improve spatial memory dysfunction. Although a significant decrease of hippocampal BDNF levels underlies the learning/memory impairment induced by MK-801, this effect was not significantly prevented by Clz. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cooperation enhanced by indirect reciprocity in spatial prisoner's dilemma games for social P2P systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Lin-Lin; Li, Ming-Chu; Wang, Zhen

2016-11-01

With the growing interest in social Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications, relationships of individuals are further exploited to improve the performances of reputation systems. It is an on-going challenge to investigate how spatial reciprocity aids indirect reciprocity in sustaining cooperation in practical P2P environments. This paper describes the construction of an extended prisoner's dilemma game on square lattice networks with three strategies, i.e., defection, unconditional cooperation, and reciprocal cooperation. Reciprocators discriminate partners according to their reputations based on image scoring, where mistakes in judgment of reputations may occur. The independent structures of interaction and learning neighborhood are discussed, with respect to the situation in which learning environments differ from interaction networks. The simulation results have indicated that the incentive mechanism enhances cooperation better in structured peers than among a well-mixed population. Given the realistic condition of inaccurate reputation scores, defection is still successfully held down when the players interact and learn within the unified neighborhoods. Extensive simulations have further confirmed the positive impact of spatial structure on cooperation with different sizes of lattice neighborhoods. And similar conclusions can also be drawn on regular random networks and scale-free networks. Moreover, for the separated structures of the neighborhoods, the interaction network has a critical effect on the evolution dynamics of cooperation and learning environments only have weaker impacts on the process. Our findings further provide some insights concerning the evolution of collective behaviors in social systems.

Temporal and Region-Specific Requirements of αCaMKII in Spatial and Contextual Learning

PubMed Central

Achterberg, Katharina G.; Buitendijk, Gabriëlle H.S.; Kool, Martijn J.; Goorden, Susanna M.I.; Post, Laura; Slump, Denise E.; Silva, Alcino J.; van Woerden, Geeske M.

2014-01-01

The α isoform of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (αCaMKII) has been implicated extensively in molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying spatial and contextual learning in a wide variety of species. Germline deletion of Camk2a leads to severe deficits in spatial and contextual learning in mice. However, the temporal and region-specific requirements for αCaMKII have remained largely unexplored. Here, we generated conditional Camk2a mutants to examine the influence of spatially restricted and temporally controlled expression of αCaMKII. Forebrain-specific deletion of the Camk2a gene resulted in severe deficits in water maze and contextual fear learning, whereas mice with deletion restricted to the cerebellum learned normally. Furthermore, we found that temporally controlled deletion of the Camk2a gene in adult mice is as detrimental as germline deletion for learning and synaptic plasticity. Together, we confirm the requirement for αCaMKII in the forebrain, but not the cerebellum, in spatial and contextual learning. Moreover, we highlight the absolute requirement for intact αCaMKII expression at the time of learning. PMID:25143599

Assimilating a decade of hydrometeorological ship measurements across the North American Great Lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fries, K. J.; Kerkez, B.

2015-12-01

We use a decade of measurements made by the Volunteer Observing Ships (VOS) program on the North American Great Lakes to derive spatial estimates of over-lake air temperature, sea surface temperature, dewpoint, and wind speed. This Lagrangian data set, which annually comprises over 200,000 point observations from over 80,000 ship reports across a 244,000 square kilometer study area, is assimilated using a Gaussian Process machine learning algorithm. This algorithm classifies a model for each hydrometeorological variable using a combination of latitudes, longitudes, seasons of the year, as well as predictions made by the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) and Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System (GLCFS) operational models. We show that our data-driven method significantly improves the spatial and temporal estimation of overlake hydrometeorological variables, while simultaneously providing uncertainty estimates that can be used to improve historical and future predictions on dense spatial and temporal scales. This method stands to improve the prediction of water levels on the Great Lakes, which comprise over 90% of America's surface fresh water, and impact the lives of millions of people living in the basin.

Stilt walking: how do we learn those first steps?

PubMed

Akram, Sakineh B; Frank, James S

2009-09-01

This study examined how young healthy adults learn stilt walking. Ten healthy male university students attended two sessions of testing held on two consecutive days. In each session participants performed three blocks of 10 stilt-walking trials. Angular movements of head and trunk and the spatial and temporal gait parameters were recorded. When walking on stilts young adults improved their gait velocity through modifications of step parameters while maintaining trunk movements close to that observed during normal over-ground walking. Participants improved their performance by increasing their step frequency and step length and reducing the double support percentage of the gait cycle. Stilts are often used for drywall installation, painting over-the-head areas and raising workers above the ground without the burden of erecting scaffolding. This research examines the locomotor adaptation as young healthy adults learn the complex motor task of stilt walking; a task that is frequently used in the construction industry.

Improving students' understanding of quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Guangtian

2011-12-01

Learning physics is challenging at all levels. Students' difficulties in the introductory level physics courses have been widely studied and many instructional strategies have been developed to help students learn introductory physics. However, research shows that there is a large diversity in students' preparation and skills in the upper-level physics courses and it is necessary to provide scaffolding support to help students learn advanced physics. This thesis explores issues related to students' common difficulties in learning upper-level undergraduate quantum mechanics and how these difficulties can be reduced by research-based learning tutorials and peer instruction tools. We investigated students' difficulties in learning quantum mechanics by administering written tests and surveys to many classes and conducting individual interviews with a subset of students. Based on these investigations, we developed Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorials (QuILTs) and peer instruction tools to help students build a hierarchical knowledge structure of quantum mechanics through a guided approach. Preliminary assessments indicate that students' understanding of quantum mechanics is improved after using the research-based learning tools in the junior-senior level quantum mechanics courses. We also designed a standardized conceptual survey that can help instructors better probe students' understanding of quantum mechanics concepts in one spatial dimension. The validity and reliability of this quantum mechanics survey is discussed.

Development of Critical Spatial Thinking through GIS Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Minsung; Bednarz, Robert

2013-01-01

This study developed an interview-based critical spatial thinking oral test and used the test to investigate the effects of Geographic Information System (GIS) learning on three components of critical spatial thinking: evaluating data reliability, exercising spatial reasoning, and assessing problem-solving validity. Thirty-two students at a large…

Teachers' perceptions about children's movement and learning in early childhood education programmes.

PubMed

Gehris, J S; Gooze, R A; Whitaker, R C

2015-01-01

Efforts to improve the academic skills of preschool-aged children have resulted in approaches that tend to limit children's movement. However, movement experiences have long been considered important to children's learning and have received increased attention because of the obesity epidemic. Early childhood educators are important sources of information about if and how to promote learning and school readiness through movement, but little effort has been made to understand teachers' views on this topic. We conducted six focus groups with 37 teachers from a Head Start programme with centres in three cities in eastern Pennsylvania. We inquired about: (1) how movement influences children's learning; (2) what types of movement experiences are most beneficial for children; (3) what settings best support children's movement; and (4) challenges related to children's movement. To identify key themes from the focus groups, transcripts were analysed using an inductive method of coding. Teachers' views were expressed in four major themes. First, young children have an innate need to move, and teachers respond to this need by using movement experiences to prepare children to learn and to teach academic concepts and spatial awareness. However, teachers wanted more training in these areas. Second, movement prepares children for school and for life by building children's confidence and social skills. Third, teachers and children benefit from moving together because it motivates children and promotes teacher-child relationships. Finally, moving outdoors promotes learning by engaging children's senses and promoting community interaction. More training may be required to help early childhood educators use movement experiences to teach academic concepts and improve children's spatial awareness. Future interventions could examine the impacts on children's movement and learning of having teachers move with children during outdoor free play and including more natural features in the design of outdoor play areas. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Isorhynchophylline improves learning and memory impairments induced by D-galactose in mice.

PubMed

Xian, Yan-Fang; Su, Zi-Ren; Chen, Jian-Nan; Lai, Xiao-Ping; Mao, Qing-Qiu; Cheng, Christopher H K; Ip, Siu-Po; Lin, Zhi-Xiu

2014-10-01

Isorhynchophylline (IRN), an alkaloid isolated from Uncaria rhynchophylla, has been reported to improve cognitive impairment induced by beta-amyloid in rats. However, whether IRN could also ameliorate the D-galactose (D-gal)-induced mouse memory deficits is still not clear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether IRN had potential protective effect against the D-gal-induced cognitive deficits in mice. Mice were given a subcutaneous injection of D-gal (100mg/kg) and orally administered IRN (20 or 40mg/kg) daily for 8weeks, followed by assessing spatial learning and memory function by the Morris water maze test. The results showed that IRN significantly improved spatial learning and memory function in the D-gal-treated mice. In the mechanistic studies, IRN significantly increased the level of glutathione (GSH) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), while decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain tissues of the D-gal-treated mice. Moreover, IRN (20 or 40mg/kg) significantly inhibited the production of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO), and the mRNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as well as the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in the brain tissues of D-gal-treated mice. Our results amply demonstrated that IRN was able to ameliorate cognitive deficits induced by D-gal in mice, and the observed cognition-improving action may be mediated, at least in part, through enhancing the antioxidant status and anti-inflammatory effect of brain tissues via NFκB signaling. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creating Dynamic Learning Environment to Enhance Students’ Engagement in Learning Geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sariyasa

2017-04-01

Learning geometry gives many benefits to students. It strengthens the development of deductive thinking and reasoning; it also provides an opportunity to improve visualisation and spatial ability. Some studies, however, have pointed out the difficulties that students encountered when learning geometry. A preliminary study by the author in Bali revealed that one of the main problems was teachers’ difficulties in delivering geometry instruction. It was partly due to the lack of appropriate instructional media. Coupling with dynamic geometry software, dynamic learning environments is a promising solution to this problem. Employing GeoGebra software supported by the well-designed instructional process may result in more meaningful learning, and consequently, students are motivated to engage in the learning process more deeply and actively. In this paper, we provide some examples of GeoGebra-aided learning activities that allow students to interactively explore and investigate geometry concepts and the properties of geometry objects. Thus, it is expected that such learning environment will enhance students’ internalisation process of geometry concepts.

Enhancing Spatial Resolution of Remotely Sensed Imagery Using Deep Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, J. M.; Bridges, S.; Collins, C.; Rushing, J.; Graves, S. J.

2017-12-01

Researchers at the Information Technology and Systems Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville are using Deep Learning with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to develop a method for enhancing the spatial resolutions of moderate resolution (10-60m) multispectral satellite imagery. This enhancement will effectively match the resolutions of imagery from multiple sensors to provide increased global temporal-spatial coverage for a variety of Earth science products. Our research is centered on using Deep Learning for automatically generating transformations for increasing the spatial resolution of remotely sensed images with different spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions. One of the most important steps in using images from multiple sensors is to transform the different image layers into the same spatial resolution, preferably the highest spatial resolution, without compromising the spectral information. Recent advances in Deep Learning have shown that CNNs can be used to effectively and efficiently upscale or enhance the spatial resolution of multispectral images with the use of an auxiliary data source such as a high spatial resolution panchromatic image. In contrast, we are using both the spatial and spectral details inherent in low spatial resolution multispectral images for image enhancement without the use of a panchromatic image. This presentation will discuss how this technology will benefit many Earth Science applications that use remotely sensed images with moderate spatial resolutions.

Interactive Inverse Groundwater Modeling - Addressing User Fatigue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, A.; Minsker, B. S.

2006-12-01

This paper builds on ongoing research on developing an interactive and multi-objective framework to solve the groundwater inverse problem. In this work we solve the classic groundwater inverse problem of estimating a spatially continuous conductivity field, given field measurements of hydraulic heads. The proposed framework is based on an interactive multi-objective genetic algorithm (IMOGA) that not only considers quantitative measures such as calibration error and degree of regularization, but also takes into account expert knowledge about the structure of the underlying conductivity field expressed as subjective rankings of potential conductivity fields by the expert. The IMOGA converges to the optimal Pareto front representing the best trade- off among the qualitative as well as quantitative objectives. However, since the IMOGA is a population-based iterative search it requires the user to evaluate hundreds of solutions. This leads to the problem of 'user fatigue'. We propose a two step methodology to combat user fatigue in such interactive systems. The first step is choosing only a few highly representative solutions to be shown to the expert for ranking. Spatial clustering is used to group the search space based on the similarity of the conductivity fields. Sampling is then carried out from different clusters to improve the diversity of solutions shown to the user. Once the expert has ranked representative solutions from each cluster a machine learning model is used to 'learn user preference' and extrapolate these for the solutions not ranked by the expert. We investigate different machine learning models such as Decision Trees, Bayesian learning model, and instance based weighting to model user preference. In addition, we also investigate ways to improve the performance of these models by providing information about the spatial structure of the conductivity fields (which is what the expert bases his or her rank on). Results are shown for each of these machine learning models and the advantages and disadvantages for each approach are discussed. These results indicate that using the proposed two-step methodology leads to significant reduction in user-fatigue without deteriorating the solution quality of the IMOGA.

Social isolation induces deficit of latent learning performance in mice: a putative animal model of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Ouchi, Hirofumi; Ono, Kazuya; Murakami, Yukihisa; Matsumoto, Kinzo

2013-02-01

Social isolation of rodents (SI) elicits a variety of stress responses such as increased aggressiveness, hyper-locomotion, and reduced susceptibility to pentobarbital. To obtain a better understanding of the relevance of SI-induced behavioral abnormalities to psychiatric disorders, we examined the effect of SI on latent learning as an index of spatial attention, and discussed the availability of SI as an epigenetic model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Except in specially stated cases, 4-week-old male mice were housed in a group or socially isolated for 3-70 days before experiments. The animals socially isolated for 1 week or more exhibited spatial attention deficit in the water-finding test. Re-socialized rearing for 5 weeks after 1-week SI failed to attenuate the spatial attention deficit. The effect of SI on spatial attention showed no gender difference or correlation with increased aggressive behavior. Moreover, SI had no effect on cognitive performance elucidated in a modified Y-maze or an object recognition test, but it significantly impaired contextual and conditional fear memory elucidated in the fear-conditioning test. Drugs used for ADHD therapy, methylphenidate (1-10 mg/kg, i.p.) and caffeine (0.5-1 mg/kg, i.p.), improved SI-induced latent learning deficit in a manner reversible with cholinergic but not dopaminergic antagonists. Considering the behavioral features of SI mice together with their susceptibility to ADHD drugs, the present findings suggest that SI provides an epigenetic animal model of ADHD and that central cholinergic systems play a role in the effect of methylphenidate on SI-induced spatial attention deficit. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Protective Effects of 17β-Estradiol on Hippocampal Myelinated Fibers in Ovariectomized Middle-aged Rats.

PubMed

Xiao, Qian; Luo, Yanmin; Lv, Fulin; He, Qi; Wu, Hong; Chao, Fenglei; Qiu, Xuan; Zhang, Lei; Gao, Yuan; Huang, Chunxia; Wang, Sanrong; Zhou, Chunni; Zhang, Yi; Jiang, Lin; Tang, Yong

2018-06-14

Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) improves hippocampus-dependent cognition. This study investigated the impact of estrogen on hippocampal volume, CA1 subfield volume and myelinated fibers in the CA1 subfield of middle-aged ovariectomized rats. Ten-month-old bilaterally ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were randomly divided into OVX + E2 and OVX + Veh groups. After four weeks of subcutaneous injection with 17β-estradiol or a placebo, the OVX + E2 rats exhibited significantly short mean escape latency in a spatial learning task than that in the OVX + Veh rats. Using stereological methods, we did not observe significant differences in the volumes of the hippocampus and CA1 subfields between the two groups. However, using stereological methods and electron microscopy techniques, the total length of myelinated fibers and the total volumes of myelinated fibers, myelin sheaths and myelinated axons in the CA1 subfields of OVX + E2 rats were significantly 38.1%, 34.2%, 36.1% and 32.5%, respectively, higher than those in the OVX + Veh rats. After the parameters were calculated according to different diameter ranges, the estrogen replacement-induced remodeling of myelinated fibers in CA1 was mainly manifested in the myelinated fibers with a diameter of <1.0 μm. Therefore, four weeks of continuous E2 replacement improved the spatial learning capabilities of middle-aged ovariectomized rats. The E2 replacement-induced protection of spatial learning abilities might be associated with the beneficial effects of estrogen on myelinated fibers, particularly those with the diameters less than 1.0 μm, in the hippocampal CA1 region of middle-aged ovariectomized rats. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dendrobium alkaloids prevent Aβ25–35-induced neuronal and synaptic loss via promoting neurotrophic factors expression in mice

PubMed Central

Nie, Jing; Tian, Yong; Zhang, Yu; Lu, Yan-Liu; Li, Li-Sheng

2016-01-01

Background Neuronal and synaptic loss is the most important risk factor for cognitive impairment. Inhibiting neuronal apoptosis and preventing synaptic loss are promising therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we investigate the protective effects of Dendrobium alkaloids (DNLA), a Chinese medicinal herb extract, on β-amyloid peptide segment 25–35 (Aβ25-35)-induced neuron and synaptic loss in mice. Method Aβ25–35(10 µg) was injected into the bilateral ventricles of male mice followed by an oral administration of DNLA (40 mg/kg) for 19 days. The Morris water maze was used for evaluating the ability of spatial learning and memory function of mice. The morphological changes were examined via H&E staining and Nissl staining. TUNEL staining was used to check the neuronal apoptosis. The ultrastructure changes of neurons were observed under electron microscope. Western blot was used to evaluate the protein expression levels of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus and cortex. Results DNLA significantly attenuated Aβ25–35-induced spatial learning and memory impairments in mice. DNLA prevented Aβ25–35-induced neuronal loss in the hippocampus and cortex, increased the number of Nissl bodies, improved the ultrastructural injury of neurons and increased the number of synapses in neurons. Furthermore, DNLA increased the protein expression of neurotrophic factors BDNF, CNTF and GDNF in the hippocampus and cortex. Conclusions DNLA can prevent neuronal apoptosis and synaptic loss. This effect is mediated at least in part via increasing the expression of BDNF, GDNF and CNTF in the hippocampus and cortex; improving Aβ-induced spatial learning and memory impairment in mice. PMID:27994964

Developmental changes in spatial learning in the Morris water-maze in young meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus.

PubMed

Galea, L A; Ossenkopp, K P; Kavaliers, M

1994-01-31

Spatial learning in pre- and postweaning meadow voles, (Microtus pennsylvanicus) was examined in a Morris water-maze task. The learning performance of 10-day-old (preweaning) and 15-, 20- and 25-day-old (postweaning) male and female voles was assessed by measuring the latency to reach a hidden platform by each animal twice a day for 5 days. Voles of all age groups were able to learn the spatial task with Day 10 and Day 15 voles acquiring the task more slowly than did Day 20 and Day 25 voles. There were no significant sex differences in task acquisition in any of the four age groups. In addition, although swimming speed was related to age, with older animals swimming faster than younger ones, differences in swim speed did not account for the faster acquisition by the older animals. These results show that both preweaning and postweaning voles can successfully learn a spatial task. This is in contrast to preweaning laboratory rats which cannot successfully acquire a similar spatial task. These findings indicate that there are species differences in the ontogeny of spatial learning, which are likely related to the ecological and behavioural developmental characteristics of the species. Furthermore, in contrast to the sex difference in water-maze performance obtained in adult, breeding meadow voles who demonstrate a sex difference, there were no significant sex differences in the spatial performance of the juvenile voles. This suggests that sex differences in spatial learning in the meadow vole do not appear until voles reach reproductive adulthood.

Dreaming of a Learning Task is Associated with Enhanced Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation

PubMed Central

Wamsley, Erin J.; Tucker, Matthew; Payne, Jessica D.; Benavides, Joseph; Stickgold, Robert

2010-01-01

Summary It is now well established that post-learning sleep is beneficial for human memory performance [1–5]. Meanwhile, human and animal studies demonstrate that learning-related neural activity is re-expressed during post-training non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) [6–9]. NREM sleep processes appear to be particularly beneficial for hippocampus-dependent forms of memory [1–3, 10]. These observations suggest that learning triggers the reactivation and reorganization of memory traces during sleep, a systems-level process that in turn enhances behavioral performance. Here, we hypothesized that dreaming about a learning experience during NREM sleep would be associated with improved performance on a hippocampus-dependent spatial memory task. Subjects (n=99) were trained on a virtual navigation task, and then retested on the same task 5 hours after initial training. Improved performance at retest was strongly associated with task-related dream imagery during an intervening afternoon nap. Task-related thoughts during wakefulness, in contrast, did not predict improved performance. These observations suggest that sleep-dependent memory consolidation in humans is facilitated by the offline reactivation of recently formed memories, and furthermore, that dream experiences reflect this memory processing. That similar effects were not seen during wakefulness suggests that these mnemonic processes are specific to the sleep state. PMID:20417102

Semi-supervised manifold learning with affinity regularization for Alzheimer's disease identification using positron emission tomography imaging.

PubMed

Lu, Shen; Xia, Yong; Cai, Tom Weidong; Feng, David Dagan

2015-01-01

Dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) in particular is a global problem and big threat to the aging population. An image based computer-aided dementia diagnosis method is needed to providing doctors help during medical image examination. Many machine learning based dementia classification methods using medical imaging have been proposed and most of them achieve accurate results. However, most of these methods make use of supervised learning requiring fully labeled image dataset, which usually is not practical in real clinical environment. Using large amount of unlabeled images can improve the dementia classification performance. In this study we propose a new semi-supervised dementia classification method based on random manifold learning with affinity regularization. Three groups of spatial features are extracted from positron emission tomography (PET) images to construct an unsupervised random forest which is then used to regularize the manifold learning objective function. The proposed method, stat-of-the-art Laplacian support vector machine (LapSVM) and supervised SVM are applied to classify AD and normal controls (NC). The experiment results show that learning with unlabeled images indeed improves the classification performance. And our method outperforms LapSVM on the same dataset.

Containment and Support: Core and Complexity in Spatial Language Learning.

PubMed

Landau, Barbara; Johannes, Kristen; Skordos, Dimitrios; Papafragou, Anna

2017-04-01

Containment and support have traditionally been assumed to represent universal conceptual foundations for spatial terms. This assumption can be challenged, however: English in and on are applied across a surprisingly broad range of exemplars, and comparable terms in other languages show significant variation in their application. We propose that the broad domains of both containment and support have internal structure that reflects different subtypes, that this structure is reflected in basic spatial term usage across languages, and that it constrains children's spatial term learning. Using a newly developed battery, we asked how adults and 4-year-old children speaking English or Greek distribute basic spatial terms across subtypes of containment and support. We found that containment showed similar distributions of basic terms across subtypes among all groups while support showed such similarity only among adults, with striking differences between children learning English versus Greek. We conclude that the two domains differ considerably in the learning problems they present, and that learning in and on is remarkably complex. Together, our results point to the need for a more nuanced view of spatial term learning. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Hippocampus-dependent place learning enables spatial flexibility in C57BL6/N mice

PubMed Central

Kleinknecht, Karl R.; Bedenk, Benedikt T.; Kaltwasser, Sebastian F.; Grünecker, Barbara; Yen, Yi-Chun; Czisch, Michael; Wotjak, Carsten T.

2012-01-01

Spatial navigation is a fundamental capability necessary in everyday life to locate food, social partners, and shelter. It results from two very different strategies: (1) place learning which enables for flexible way finding and (2) response learning that leads to a more rigid “route following.” Despite the importance of knockout techniques that are only available in mice, little is known about mice' flexibility in spatial navigation tasks. Here we demonstrate for C57BL6/N mice in a water-cross maze (WCM) that only place learning enables spatial flexibility and relearning of a platform position, whereas response learning does not. This capability depends on an intact hippocampal formation, since hippocampus lesions by ibotenic acid (IA) disrupted relearning. In vivo manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed a volume loss of ≥60% of the hippocampus as a critical threshold for relearning impairments. In particular the changes in the left ventral hippocampus were indicative of relearning deficits. In summary, our findings establish the importance of hippocampus-dependent place learning for spatial flexibility and provide a first systematic analysis on spatial flexibility in mice. PMID:23293591

Sex Differences in Using Spatial and Verbal Abilities Influence Route Learning Performance in a Virtual Environment: A Comparison of 6- to 12-Year Old Boys and Girls

PubMed Central

Merrill, Edward C.; Yang, Yingying; Roskos, Beverly; Steele, Sara

2016-01-01

Previous studies have reported sex differences in wayfinding performance among adults. Men are typically better at using Euclidean information and survey strategies while women are better at using landmark information and route strategies. However, relatively few studies have examined sex differences in wayfinding in children. This research investigated relationships between route learning performance and two general abilities: spatial ability and verbal memory in 153 boys and girls between 6- to 12-years-old. Children completed a battery of spatial ability tasks (a two-dimension mental rotation task, a paper folding task, a visuo-spatial working memory task, and a Piagetian water level task) and a verbal memory task. In the route learning task, they had to learn a route through a series of hallways presented via computer. Boys had better overall route learning performance than did girls. In fact, the difference between boys and girls was constant across the age range tested. Structural equation modeling of the children’s performance revealed that spatial abilities and verbal memory were significant contributors to route learning performance. However, there were different patterns of correlates for boys and girls. For boys, spatial abilities contributed to route learning while verbal memory did not. In contrast, for girls both spatial abilities and verbal memory contributed to their route learning performance. This difference may reflect the precursor of a strategic difference between boys and girls in wayfinding that is commonly observed in adults. PMID:26941701

Simultaneous Spectral-Spatial Feature Selection and Extraction for Hyperspectral Images.

PubMed

Zhang, Lefei; Zhang, Qian; Du, Bo; Huang, Xin; Tang, Yuan Yan; Tao, Dacheng

2018-01-01

In hyperspectral remote sensing data mining, it is important to take into account of both spectral and spatial information, such as the spectral signature, texture feature, and morphological property, to improve the performances, e.g., the image classification accuracy. In a feature representation point of view, a nature approach to handle this situation is to concatenate the spectral and spatial features into a single but high dimensional vector and then apply a certain dimension reduction technique directly on that concatenated vector before feed it into the subsequent classifier. However, multiple features from various domains definitely have different physical meanings and statistical properties, and thus such concatenation has not efficiently explore the complementary properties among different features, which should benefit for boost the feature discriminability. Furthermore, it is also difficult to interpret the transformed results of the concatenated vector. Consequently, finding a physically meaningful consensus low dimensional feature representation of original multiple features is still a challenging task. In order to address these issues, we propose a novel feature learning framework, i.e., the simultaneous spectral-spatial feature selection and extraction algorithm, for hyperspectral images spectral-spatial feature representation and classification. Specifically, the proposed method learns a latent low dimensional subspace by projecting the spectral-spatial feature into a common feature space, where the complementary information has been effectively exploited, and simultaneously, only the most significant original features have been transformed. Encouraging experimental results on three public available hyperspectral remote sensing datasets confirm that our proposed method is effective and efficient.

In Touch with Molecules: Improving Student Learning with Innovative Molecular Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davenport, Jodi; Silberglitt, Matt; Olson, Arthur

2013-01-01

How do viruses self-assemble? Why do DNA bases pair the way they do? What factors determine whether strands of proteins fold into sheets or helices? Why does handedness matter? A deep understanding of core issues in biology requires students to understand both complex spatial structures of molecules and the interactions involved in dynamic…

Introduction of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Technical University Education in Ghana: Challenges and the Way Forward

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acquah, Prince C.; Asamoah, Jack N.; Konadu, Daniel D.

2017-01-01

Geographic Information System (GIS) continue to play very important role in improving spatial thinking skills of graduates from higher educational institutions. However, teaching and learning of GIS at the technical university level in Ghana remains very limited due to some implementation challenges. This paper reviews the implementation of GIS in…

Mathematics and Science Curricula in Elementary and Secondary Education for American Indian and Alaska Native Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Vera

Issues related to the improvement of mathematics and science education pertain to Native students as well as to the general population. Native students are most successful at tasks that use visual and spatial abilities and that involve simultaneous processing. Instruction should build on Native students' strengths. Experiential learning and…

Global view of the mechanisms of improved learning and memory capability in mice with music-exposure by microarray.

PubMed

Meng, Bo; Zhu, Shujia; Li, Shijia; Zeng, Qingwen; Mei, Bing

2009-08-28

Music has been proved beneficial to improve learning and memory in many species including human in previous research work. Although some genes have been identified to contribute to the mechanisms, it is believed that the effect of music is manifold, behind which must concern a complex regulation network. To further understand the mechanisms, we exposed the mice to classical music for one month. The subsequent behavioral experiments showed improvement of spatial learning capability and elevation of fear-motivated memory in the mice with music-exposure as compared to the naïve mice. Meanwhile, we applied the microarray to compare the gene expression profiles of the hippocampus and cortex between the mice with music-exposure and the naïve mice. The results showed approximately 454 genes in cortex (200 genes up-regulated and 254 genes down-regulated) and 437 genes in hippocampus (256 genes up-regulated and 181 genes down-regulated) were significantly affected in music-exposing mice, which mainly involved in ion channel activity and/or synaptic transmission, cytoskeleton, development, transcription, hormone activity. Our work may provide some hints for better understanding the effects of music on learning and memory.

Reduced spatial learning in mice infected with the nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus.

PubMed

Kavaliers, M; Colwell, D D

1995-06-01

Parasite modification of host behaviour influences a number of critical responses, but little is known about the effects on host spatial abilities. This study examined the effects of infection with the intestinal trichostrongylid nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, on spatial water maze learning by male laboratory mice, Mus musculus. In this task individual mice had to learn the spatial location of a submerged hidden platform using extramaze visual cues. Determinations of spatial performance were made on day 19 post-infection with mice that had been administered either 50 or 200 infective larvae of H. polygyrus. The infected mice displayed over 1 day of testing (6 blocks of 4 trials) significantly poorer acquisition and retention of the water maze task than either sham-infected or control mice, with mice that had received 200 infective larvae displaying significantly poorer spatial performance than individuals receiving 50 larvae. The decrease in spatial learning occurred in the absence of either any symptoms of illness and malaise, or any evident motor, visual and motivational impairments. It is suggested that in this single host system the parasitic infection-induced decrease in spatial learning arises as a side-effect of the host's immunological and neuromodulatory responses and represents a fitness cost of response to infection.

A Deep Similarity Metric Learning Model for Matching Text Chunks to Spatial Entities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, K.; Wu, L.; Tao, L.; Li, W.; Xie, Z.

2017-12-01

The matching of spatial entities with related text is a long-standing research topic that has received considerable attention over the years. This task aims at enrich the contents of spatial entity, and attach the spatial location information to the text chunk. In the data fusion field, matching spatial entities with the corresponding describing text chunks has a big range of significance. However, the most traditional matching methods often rely fully on manually designed, task-specific linguistic features. This work proposes a Deep Similarity Metric Learning Model (DSMLM) based on Siamese Neural Network to learn similarity metric directly from the textural attributes of spatial entity and text chunk. The low-dimensional feature representation of the space entity and the text chunk can be learned separately. By employing the Cosine distance to measure the matching degree between the vectors, the model can make the matching pair vectors as close as possible. Mearnwhile, it makes the mismatching as far apart as possible through supervised learning. In addition, extensive experiments and analysis on geological survey data sets show that our DSMLM model can effectively capture the matching characteristics between the text chunk and the spatial entity, and achieve state-of-the-art performance.

Hyperspectral imagery super-resolution by compressive sensing inspired dictionary learning and spatial-spectral regularization.

PubMed

Huang, Wei; Xiao, Liang; Liu, Hongyi; Wei, Zhihui

2015-01-19

Due to the instrumental and imaging optics limitations, it is difficult to acquire high spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery (HSI). Super-resolution (SR) imagery aims at inferring high quality images of a given scene from degraded versions of the same scene. This paper proposes a novel hyperspectral imagery super-resolution (HSI-SR) method via dictionary learning and spatial-spectral regularization. The main contributions of this paper are twofold. First, inspired by the compressive sensing (CS) framework, for learning the high resolution dictionary, we encourage stronger sparsity on image patches and promote smaller coherence between the learned dictionary and sensing matrix. Thus, a sparsity and incoherence restricted dictionary learning method is proposed to achieve higher efficiency sparse representation. Second, a variational regularization model combing a spatial sparsity regularization term and a new local spectral similarity preserving term is proposed to integrate the spectral and spatial-contextual information of the HSI. Experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively recover spatial information and better preserve spectral information. The high spatial resolution HSI reconstructed by the proposed method outperforms reconstructed results by other well-known methods in terms of both objective measurements and visual evaluation.

Spatial Integration under Contextual Control in a Virtual Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molet, Mikael; Gambet, Boris; Bugallo, Mehdi; Miller, Ralph R.

2012-01-01

The role of context was examined in the selection and integration of independently learned spatial relationships. Using a dynamic 3D virtual environment, participants learned one spatial relationship between landmarks A and B which was established in one virtual context (e.g., A is left of B) and a different spatial relationship which was…

Using Mobile Devices to Enhance the Interactive Learning for Spatial Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Kuo-En; Wu, Lin-Jung; Lai, Shing-Chuang; Sung, Yao-Ting

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research is to develop a hands-on spatial geometry learning system to facilitate the learning of geometry. The development of this system was based on Duval's four critical elements of geometric learning: perceptual apprehension, sequential apprehension, operative apprehension, and discursive apprehension. The system offers…

Spatial affect learning restricted in major depression relative to anxiety disorders and healthy controls.

PubMed

Gollan, Jackie K; Norris, Catherine J; Hoxha, Denada; Irick, John Stockton; Hawkley, Louise C; Cacioppo, John T

2014-01-01

Detecting and learning the location of unpleasant or pleasant scenarios, or spatial affect learning, is an essential skill that safeguards well-being (Crawford & Cacioppo, 2002). Potentially altered by psychiatric illness, this skill has yet to be measured in adults with and without major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (AD). This study enrolled 199 adults diagnosed with MDD and AD (n=53), MDD (n=47), AD (n=54), and no disorders (n=45). Measures included clinical interviews, self-reports, and a validated spatial affect task using affective pictures (IAPS; Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2005). Participants with MDD showed impaired spatial affect learning of negative stimuli and irrelevant learning of pleasant pictures compared with non-depressed adults. Adults with MDD may use a "GOOD is UP" heuristic reflected by their impaired learning of the opposite correlation (i.e., "BAD is UP") and performance in the pleasant version of the task.

The integration of elastic wave properties and machine learning for the distribution of petrophysical properties in reservoir modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratnam, T. C.; Ghosh, D. P.; Negash, B. M.

2018-05-01

Conventional reservoir modeling employs variograms to predict the spatial distribution of petrophysical properties. This study aims to improve property distribution by incorporating elastic wave properties. In this study, elastic wave properties obtained from seismic inversion are used as input for an artificial neural network to predict neutron porosity in between well locations. The method employed in this study is supervised learning based on available well logs. This method converts every seismic trace into a pseudo-well log, hence reducing the uncertainty between well locations. By incorporating the seismic response, the reliance on geostatistical methods such as variograms for the distribution of petrophysical properties is reduced drastically. The results of the artificial neural network show good correlation with the neutron porosity log which gives confidence for spatial prediction in areas where well logs are not available.

Mixture of Segmenters with Discriminative Spatial Regularization and Sparse Weight Selection*

PubMed Central

Chen, Ting; Rangarajan, Anand; Eisenschenk, Stephan J.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a novel segmentation algorithm which automatically learns the combination of weak segmenters and builds a strong one based on the assumption that the locally weighted combination varies w.r.t. both the weak segmenters and the training images. We learn the weighted combination during the training stage using a discriminative spatial regularization which depends on training set labels. A closed form solution to the cost function is derived for this approach. In the testing stage, a sparse regularization scheme is imposed to avoid overfitting. To the best of our knowledge, such a segmentation technique has never been reported in literature and we empirically show that it significantly improves on the performances of the weak segmenters. After showcasing the performance of the algorithm in the context of atlas-based segmentation, we present comparisons to the existing weak segmenter combination strategies on a hippocampal data set. PMID:22003748

The R package "sperrorest" : Parallelized spatial error estimation and variable importance assessment for geospatial machine learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schratz, Patrick; Herrmann, Tobias; Brenning, Alexander

2017-04-01

Computational and statistical prediction methods such as the support vector machine have gained popularity in remote-sensing applications in recent years and are often compared to more traditional approaches like maximum-likelihood classification. However, the accuracy assessment of such predictive models in a spatial context needs to account for the presence of spatial autocorrelation in geospatial data by using spatial cross-validation and bootstrap strategies instead of their now more widely used non-spatial equivalent. The R package sperrorest by A. Brenning [IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 1, 374 (2012)] provides a generic interface for performing (spatial) cross-validation of any statistical or machine-learning technique available in R. Since spatial statistical models as well as flexible machine-learning algorithms can be computationally expensive, parallel computing strategies are required to perform cross-validation efficiently. The most recent major release of sperrorest therefore comes with two new features (aside from improved documentation): The first one is the parallelized version of sperrorest(), parsperrorest(). This function features two parallel modes to greatly speed up cross-validation runs. Both parallel modes are platform independent and provide progress information. par.mode = 1 relies on the pbapply package and calls interactively (depending on the platform) parallel::mclapply() or parallel::parApply() in the background. While forking is used on Unix-Systems, Windows systems use a cluster approach for parallel execution. par.mode = 2 uses the foreach package to perform parallelization. This method uses a different way of cluster parallelization than the parallel package does. In summary, the robustness of parsperrorest() is increased with the implementation of two independent parallel modes. A new way of partitioning the data in sperrorest is provided by partition.factor.cv(). This function gives the user the possibility to perform cross-validation at the level of some grouping structure. As an example, in remote sensing of agricultural land uses, pixels from the same field contain nearly identical information and will thus be jointly placed in either the test set or the training set. Other spatial sampling resampling strategies are already available and can be extended by the user.

Spatial Thinking: Precept for Understanding Operational Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-10

A Computer Movie Simulating Urban Growth in the Detroit Region,” 236. 29 U.S. National Research Council, Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a... children and spatial language, the article focuses on the use of geospatial information systems (GIS) as a support mechanism for learning to think...Thinking, Cognition, Learning , Geospatial, Operating Environment, Space Perception 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18

Spatial parameters at the basis of social transfer of learning.

PubMed

Lugli, Luisa; Iani, Cristina; Milanese, Nadia; Sebanz, Natalie; Rubichi, Sandro

2015-06-01

Recent research indicates that practicing on a joint spatial compatibility task with an incompatible stimulus-response mapping affects subsequent joint Simon task performance, eliminating the social Simon effect. It has been well established that in individual contexts, for transfer of learning to occur, participants need to practice an incompatible association between stimulus and response positions. The mechanisms underlying transfer of learning in joint task performance are, however, less well understood. The present study was aimed at assessing the relative contribution of 3 different spatial relations characterizing the joint practice context: stimulus-response, stimulus-participant, and participant-response relations. In 3 experiments, the authors manipulated the stimulus-response, stimulus-participant, and response-participant associations. We found that learning from the practice task did not transfer to the subsequent task when during practice stimulus-response associations were spatially incompatible and stimulus-participant associations were compatible (Experiment 1). However, a transfer of learning was evident when stimulus-participant associations were spatially incompatible. This occurred both when response-participant associations were incompatible (Experiment 2) and when they were compatible (Experiment 3). These results seem to support an agent corepresentation account of correspondence effects emerging in joint settings since they suggest that, in social contexts, critical to obtain transfer-of-learning effects is the spatial relation between stimulus and participant positions while the spatial relation between stimulus and response positions is irrelevant. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

The relation between space and math: developmental and educational implications.

PubMed

Mix, Kelly S; Cheng, Yi-Ling

2012-01-01

There is a well-known relation between spatial ability and mathematics dating back to the work of early twentieth century factor analysts. This connection is a ripe opportunity for educators, who might use spatial training to improve math learning. However, a closer look at the literature reveals gaps that impede direct application. The primary problem is that although this relation is well established in older children and adults, its emergence in early development and subsequent developmental interactions are not well documented. Moreover, there is a need for more mechanistic explanations that might be leveraged to improve math education. In this chapter, we attempt to address these issues by reviewing the existing literature to identify instances where answers are available and others where further research is needed.

Intra-hippocampal D-cycloserine rescues decreased social memory, spatial learning reversal, and synaptophysin levels in aged rats.

PubMed

Portero-Tresserra, Marta; Martí-Nicolovius, Margarita; Tarrés-Gatius, Mireia; Candalija, Ana; Guillazo-Blanch, Gemma; Vale-Martínez, Anna

2018-05-01

Aging is characterized by a decrease in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in the hippocampus, which might be one of the factors involved in the age-dependent cognitive decline. D-Cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist of the NMDAR glycine recognition site, could improve memory deficits associated to neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive deficits observed in normal aging. The aim of the present study was to explore whether DCS would reverse age-dependent memory deficits and decreases in NMDA receptor subunits (GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B) and the presynaptic protein synaptophysin in Wistar rats. We investigated the effects of pre-training infusions of DCS (10 μg/hemisphere) in the ventral hippocampus on two hippocampal-dependent learning tasks, the social transmission of food preference (STFP), and the Morris water maze (MWM). The results revealed that infusions of DCS administered before the acquisition sessions rescued deficits in the STFP retention and MWM reversal learning in old rats. DCS also significantly increased the hippocampal levels of synaptophysin in old rats, which correlated with STFP and MWM performance in all tests. Moreover, although the levels of the GluN1 subunit correlated with the MWM acquisition and reversal, DCS did not enhance the expression of such synaptic protein. The present behavioral results support the role of DCS as a cognitive enhancer and suggest that enhancing the function of NMDARs and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus may be related to improvement in social memory and spatial learning reversal in aged animals.

View-invariant object category learning, recognition, and search: how spatial and object attention are coordinated using surface-based attentional shrouds.

PubMed

Fazl, Arash; Grossberg, Stephen; Mingolla, Ennio

2009-02-01

How does the brain learn to recognize an object from multiple viewpoints while scanning a scene with eye movements? How does the brain avoid the problem of erroneously classifying parts of different objects together? How are attention and eye movements intelligently coordinated to facilitate object learning? A neural model provides a unified mechanistic explanation of how spatial and object attention work together to search a scene and learn what is in it. The ARTSCAN model predicts how an object's surface representation generates a form-fitting distribution of spatial attention, or "attentional shroud". All surface representations dynamically compete for spatial attention to form a shroud. The winning shroud persists during active scanning of the object. The shroud maintains sustained activity of an emerging view-invariant category representation while multiple view-specific category representations are learned and are linked through associative learning to the view-invariant object category. The shroud also helps to restrict scanning eye movements to salient features on the attended object. Object attention plays a role in controlling and stabilizing the learning of view-specific object categories. Spatial attention hereby coordinates the deployment of object attention during object category learning. Shroud collapse releases a reset signal that inhibits the active view-invariant category in the What cortical processing stream. Then a new shroud, corresponding to a different object, forms in the Where cortical processing stream, and search using attention shifts and eye movements continues to learn new objects throughout a scene. The model mechanistically clarifies basic properties of attention shifts (engage, move, disengage) and inhibition of return. It simulates human reaction time data about object-based spatial attention shifts, and learns with 98.1% accuracy and a compression of 430 on a letter database whose letters vary in size, position, and orientation. The model provides a powerful framework for unifying many data about spatial and object attention, and their interactions during perception, cognition, and action.

Longitudinal attentional engagement rescues mice from age-related cognitive declines and cognitive inflexibility

PubMed Central

Matzel, Louis D.; Light, Kenneth R.; Wass, Christopher; Colas-Zelin, Danielle; Denman-Brice, Alexander; Waddel, Adam C.; Kolata, Stefan

2011-01-01

Learning, attentional, and perseverative deficits are characteristic of cognitive aging. In this study, genetically diverse CD-1 mice underwent longitudinal training in a task asserted to tax working memory capacity and its dependence on selective attention. Beginning at 3 mo of age, animals were trained for 12 d to perform in a dual radial-arm maze task that required the mice to remember and operate on two sets of overlapping guidance (spatial) cues. As previously reported, this training resulted in an immediate (at 4 mo of age) improvement in the animals' aggregate performance across a battery of five learning tasks. Subsequently, these animals received an additional 3 d of working memory training at 3-wk intervals for 15 mo (totaling 66 training sessions), and at 18 mo of age were assessed on a selective attention task, a second set of learning tasks, and variations of those tasks that required the animals to modify the previously learned response. Both attentional and learning abilities (on passive avoidance, active avoidance, and reinforced alternation tasks) were impaired in aged animals that had not received working memory training. Likewise, these aged animals exhibited consistent deficits when required to modify a previously instantiated learned response (in reinforced alternation, active avoidance, and spatial water maze). In contrast, these attentional, learning, and perseverative deficits were attenuated in aged animals that had undergone lifelong working memory exercise. These results suggest that general impairments of learning, attention, and cognitive flexibility may be mitigated by a cognitive exercise regimen that requires chronic attentional engagement. PMID:21521768

Longitudinal attentional engagement rescues mice from age-related cognitive declines and cognitive inflexibility.

PubMed

Matzel, Louis D; Light, Kenneth R; Wass, Christopher; Colas-Zelin, Danielle; Denman-Brice, Alexander; Waddel, Adam C; Kolata, Stefan

2011-01-01

Learning, attentional, and perseverative deficits are characteristic of cognitive aging. In this study, genetically diverse CD-1 mice underwent longitudinal training in a task asserted to tax working memory capacity and its dependence on selective attention. Beginning at 3 mo of age, animals were trained for 12 d to perform in a dual radial-arm maze task that required the mice to remember and operate on two sets of overlapping guidance (spatial) cues. As previously reported, this training resulted in an immediate (at 4 mo of age) improvement in the animals' aggregate performance across a battery of five learning tasks. Subsequently, these animals received an additional 3 d of working memory training at 3-wk intervals for 15 mo (totaling 66 training sessions), and at 18 mo of age were assessed on a selective attention task, a second set of learning tasks, and variations of those tasks that required the animals to modify the previously learned response. Both attentional and learning abilities (on passive avoidance, active avoidance, and reinforced alternation tasks) were impaired in aged animals that had not received working memory training. Likewise, these aged animals exhibited consistent deficits when required to modify a previously instantiated learned response (in reinforced alternation, active avoidance, and spatial water maze). In contrast, these attentional, learning, and perseverative deficits were attenuated in aged animals that had undergone lifelong working memory exercise. These results suggest that general impairments of learning, attention, and cognitive flexibility may be mitigated by a cognitive exercise regimen that requires chronic attentional engagement.

Dimensionality-varied convolutional neural network for spectral-spatial classification of hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wanjun; Liang, Xuejian; Qu, Haicheng

2017-11-01

Hyperspectral image (HSI) classification is one of the most popular topics in remote sensing community. Traditional and deep learning-based classification methods were proposed constantly in recent years. In order to improve the classification accuracy and robustness, a dimensionality-varied convolutional neural network (DVCNN) was proposed in this paper. DVCNN was a novel deep architecture based on convolutional neural network (CNN). The input of DVCNN was a set of 3D patches selected from HSI which contained spectral-spatial joint information. In the following feature extraction process, each patch was transformed into some different 1D vectors by 3D convolution kernels, which were able to extract features from spectral-spatial data. The rest of DVCNN was about the same as general CNN and processed 2D matrix which was constituted by by all 1D data. So that the DVCNN could not only extract more accurate and rich features than CNN, but also fused spectral-spatial information to improve classification accuracy. Moreover, the robustness of network on water-absorption bands was enhanced in the process of spectral-spatial fusion by 3D convolution, and the calculation was simplified by dimensionality varied convolution. Experiments were performed on both Indian Pines and Pavia University scene datasets, and the results showed that the classification accuracy of DVCNN improved by 32.87% on Indian Pines and 19.63% on Pavia University scene than spectral-only CNN. The maximum accuracy improvement of DVCNN achievement was 13.72% compared with other state-of-the-art HSI classification methods, and the robustness of DVCNN on water-absorption bands noise was demonstrated.

Mechanisms of value-learning in the guidance of spatial attention.

PubMed

Anderson, Brian A; Kim, Haena

2018-05-11

The role of associative reward learning in the guidance of feature-based attention is well established. The extent to which reward learning can modulate spatial attention has been much more controversial. At least one demonstration of a persistent spatial attention bias following space-based associative reward learning has been reported. At the same time, multiple other experiments have been published failing to demonstrate enduring attentional biases towards locations at which a target, if found, yields high reward. This is in spite of evidence that participants use reward structures to inform their decisions where to search, leading some to suggest that, unlike feature-based attention, spatial attention may be impervious to the influence of learning from reward structures. Here, we demonstrate a robust bias towards regions of a scene that participants were previously rewarded for selecting. This spatial bias relies on representations that are anchored to the configuration of objects within a scene. The observed bias appears to be driven specifically by reinforcement learning, and can be observed with equal strength following non-reward corrective feedback. The time course of the bias is consistent with a transient shift of attention, rather than a strategic search pattern, and is evident in eye movement patterns during free viewing. Taken together, our findings reconcile previously conflicting reports and offer an integrative account of how learning from feedback shapes the spatial attention system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integration of spectral, spatial and morphometric data into lithological mapping: A comparison of different Machine Learning Algorithms in the Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Othman, Arsalan A.; Gloaguen, Richard

2017-09-01

Lithological mapping in mountainous regions is often impeded by limited accessibility due to relief. This study aims to evaluate (1) the performance of different supervised classification approaches using remote sensing data and (2) the use of additional information such as geomorphology. We exemplify the methodology in the Bardi-Zard area in NE Iraq, a part of the Zagros Fold - Thrust Belt, known for its chromite deposits. We highlighted the improvement of remote sensing geological classification by integrating geomorphic features and spatial information in the classification scheme. We performed a Maximum Likelihood (ML) classification method besides two Machine Learning Algorithms (MLA): Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) to allow the joint use of geomorphic features, Band Ratio (BR), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), spatial information (spatial coordinates) and multispectral data of the Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) satellite. The RF algorithm showed reliable results and discriminated serpentinite, talus and terrace deposits, red argillites with conglomerates and limestone, limy conglomerates and limestone conglomerates, tuffites interbedded with basic lavas, limestone and Metamorphosed limestone and reddish green shales. The best overall accuracy (∼80%) was achieved by Random Forest (RF) algorithms in the majority of the sixteen tested combination datasets.

Teachers' Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st-and 2nd-Graders' Spatial Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunderson, Elizabeth A.; Ramirez, Gerardo; Beilock, Sian L.; Levine, Susan C.

2013-01-01

Teachers' anxiety about an academic domain, such as math, can impact students' learning in that domain. We asked whether this relation held in the domain of spatial skill, given the importance of spatial skill for success in math and science and its malleability at a young age. We measured 1st-and 2nd-grade teachers' spatial anxiety…

Active Learning Environments with Robotic Tangibles: Children's Physical and Virtual Spatial Programming Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burleson, Winslow S.; Harlow, Danielle B.; Nilsen, Katherine J.; Perlin, Ken; Freed, Natalie; Jensen, Camilla Nørgaard; Lahey, Byron; Lu, Patrick; Muldner, Kasia

2018-01-01

As computational thinking becomes increasingly important for children to learn, we must develop interfaces that leverage the ways that young children learn to provide opportunities for them to develop these skills. Active Learning Environments with Robotic Tangibles (ALERT) and Robopad, an analogous on-screen virtual spatial programming…

The Role of Cognitive Abilities in Laparoscopic Simulator Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groenier, M.; Schraagen, J. M. C.; Miedema, H. A. T.; Broeders, I. A. J. M.

2014-01-01

Learning minimally invasive surgery (MIS) differs substantially from learning open surgery and trainees differ in their ability to learn MIS. Previous studies mainly focused on the role of visuo-spatial ability (VSA) on the learning curve for MIS. In the current study, the relationship between spatial memory, perceptual speed, and general…

Improvement of uncorrected visual acuity and contrast sensitivity with perceptual learning and transcranial random noise stimulation in individuals with mild myopia

PubMed Central

Camilleri, Rebecca; Pavan, Andrea; Ghin, Filippo; Battaglini, Luca; Campana, Gianluca

2014-01-01

Perceptual learning has been shown to produce an improvement of visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) both in subjects with amblyopia and refractive defects such as myopia or presbyopia. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) has proven to be efficacious in accelerating neural plasticity and boosting perceptual learning in healthy participants. In this study, we investigated whether a short behavioral training regime using a contrast detection task combined with online tRNS was as effective in improving visual functions in participants with mild myopia compared to a 2-month behavioral training regime without tRNS (Camilleri et al., 2014). After 2 weeks of perceptual training in combination with tRNS, participants showed an improvement of 0.15 LogMAR in uncorrected VA (UCVA) that was comparable with that obtained after 8 weeks of training with no tRNS, and an improvement in uncorrected CS (UCCS) at various spatial frequencies (whereas no UCCS improvement was seen after 8 weeks of training with no tRNS). On the other hand, a control group that trained for 2 weeks without stimulation did not show any significant UCVA or UCCS improvement. These results suggest that the combination of behavioral and neuromodulatory techniques can be fast and efficacious in improving sight in individuals with mild myopia. PMID:25400610

Functional Equivalence of Spatial Images from Touch and Vision: Evidence from Spatial Updating in Blind and Sighted Individuals

PubMed Central

Giudice, Nicholas A.; Betty, Maryann R.; Loomis, Jack M.

2012-01-01

This research examines whether visual and haptic map learning yield functionally equivalent spatial images in working memory, as evidenced by similar encoding bias and updating performance. In three experiments, participants learned four-point routes either by seeing or feeling the maps. At test, blindfolded participants made spatial judgments about the maps from imagined perspectives that were either aligned or misaligned with the maps as represented in working memory. Results from Experiments 1 and 2 revealed a highly similar pattern of latencies and errors between visual and haptic conditions. These findings extend the well known alignment biases for visual map learning to haptic map learning, provide further evidence of haptic updating, and most importantly, show that learning from the two modalities yields very similar performance across all conditions. Experiment 3 found the same encoding biases and updating performance with blind individuals, demonstrating that functional equivalence cannot be due to visual recoding and is consistent with an amodal hypothesis of spatial images. PMID:21299331

Contextual cueing: implicit learning and memory of visual context guides spatial attention.

PubMed

Chun, M M; Jiang, Y

1998-06-01

Global context plays an important, but poorly understood, role in visual tasks. This study demonstrates that a robust memory for visual context exists to guide spatial attention. Global context was operationalized as the spatial layout of objects in visual search displays. Half of the configurations were repeated across blocks throughout the entire session, and targets appeared within consistent locations in these arrays. Targets appearing in learned configurations were detected more quickly. This newly discovered form of search facilitation is termed contextual cueing. Contextual cueing is driven by incidentally learned associations between spatial configurations (context) and target locations. This benefit was obtained despite chance performance for recognizing the configurations, suggesting that the memory for context was implicit. The results show how implicit learning and memory of visual context can guide spatial attention towards task-relevant aspects of a scene.

Perceptual Learning as a potential treatment for amblyopia: a mini-review

PubMed Central

Levi, Dennis M.; Li, Roger W.

2009-01-01

Amblyopia is a developmental abnormality that results from physiological alterations in the visual cortex and impairs form vision. It is a consequence of abnormal binocular visual experience during the “sensitive period” early in life. While amblyopia can often be reversed when treated early, conventional treatment is generally not undertaken in older children and adults. A number of studies over the last twelve years or so suggest that Perceptual Learning (PL) may provide an important new method for treating amblyopia. The aim of this mini-review is to provide a critical review and “meta-analysis” of perceptual learning in adults and children with amblyopia, with a view to extracting principles that might make PL more effective and efficient. Specifically we evaluate: What factors influence the outcome of perceptual learning?Specificity and generalization – two sides of the coin.Do the improvements last?How does PL improve visual function?Should PL be part of the treatment armamentarium? A review of the extant studies makes it clear that practicing a visual task results in a long-lasting improvement in performance in an amblyopic eye. The improvement is generally strongest for the trained eye, task, stimulus and orientation, but appears to have a broader spatial frequency bandwidth than in normal vision. Importantly, practicing on a variety of different tasks and stimuli seems to transfer to improved visual acuity. Perceptual learning operates via a reduction of internal neural noise and/or through more efficient use of the stimulus information by retuning the weighting of the information. The success of PL raises the question of whether it should become a standard part of the armamentarium for the clinical treatment of amblyopia, and suggests several important principles for effective perceptual learning in amblyopia. PMID:19250947

Spatial and Reversal Learning in the Morris Water Maze Are Largely Resistant to Six Hours of REM Sleep Deprivation Following Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Christine M.; Booth, Victoria; Poe, Gina R.

2011-01-01

This first test of the role of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in reversal spatial learning is also the first attempt to replicate a much cited pair of papers reporting that REM sleep deprivation impairs the consolidation of initial spatial learning in the Morris water maze. We hypothesized that REM sleep deprivation following training would impair…

Caloric restriction and spatial learning in old mice.

PubMed

Bellush, L L; Wright, A M; Walker, J P; Kopchick, J; Colvin, R A

1996-08-01

Spatial learning in old mice (19 or 24 months old), some of which had been calorically restricted beginning at 14 weeks of age, was compared to that of young mice, in two separate experiments using a Morris water maze. In the first experiment, only old mice reaching criterion performance on a cued learning task were tested in a subsequent spatial task. Thus, all old mice tested for spatial learning had achieved escape latencies equivalent to those of young controls. Despite equivalent swimming speeds, only about half the old mice in each diet group achieved criterion performance in the spatial task. In the second experiment, old and young mice all received the same number of training trials in a cued task and then in a spatial task. Immediately following spatial training, they were given a 60-s probe trial, with no platform in the pool. Both groups of old mice spent significantly less time in the quadrant where the platform had been and made significantly fewer direct crosses over the previous platform location than did the young control group. As in Experiment 1, calorie restriction failed to provide protection against aging-related deficits. However, in both experiments, some individual old mice evidenced performance in spatial learning indistinguishable from that of young controls. Separate comparisons of "age-impaired" and "age-unimpaired" old mice with young controls may facilitate the identification of neurobiological mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline.

Altering spatial priority maps via reward-based learning.

PubMed

Chelazzi, Leonardo; Eštočinová, Jana; Calletti, Riccardo; Lo Gerfo, Emanuele; Sani, Ilaria; Della Libera, Chiara; Santandrea, Elisa

2014-06-18

Spatial priority maps are real-time representations of the behavioral salience of locations in the visual field, resulting from the combined influence of stimulus driven activity and top-down signals related to the current goals of the individual. They arbitrate which of a number of (potential) targets in the visual scene will win the competition for attentional resources. As a result, deployment of visual attention to a specific spatial location is determined by the current peak of activation (corresponding to the highest behavioral salience) across the map. Here we report a behavioral study performed on healthy human volunteers, where we demonstrate that spatial priority maps can be shaped via reward-based learning, reflecting long-lasting alterations (biases) in the behavioral salience of specific spatial locations. These biases exert an especially strong influence on performance under conditions where multiple potential targets compete for selection, conferring competitive advantage to targets presented in spatial locations associated with greater reward during learning relative to targets presented in locations associated with lesser reward. Such acquired biases of spatial attention are persistent, are nonstrategic in nature, and generalize across stimuli and task contexts. These results suggest that reward-based attentional learning can induce plastic changes in spatial priority maps, endowing these representations with the "intelligent" capacity to learn from experience. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/348594-11$15.00/0.

A Novel 1,4-Dihydropyridine Derivative Improves Spatial Learning and Memory and Modifies Brain Protein Expression in Wild Type and Transgenic APPSweDI Mice.

PubMed

Jansone, Baiba; Kadish, Inga; van Groen, Thomas; Beitnere, Ulrika; Moore, Doyle Ray; Plotniece, Aiva; Pajuste, Karlis; Klusa, Vija

2015-01-01

Ca2+ blockers, particularly those capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), have been suggested as a possible treatment or disease modifying agents for neurodegenerative disorders, e.g., Alzheimer's disease. The present study investigated the effects of a novel 4-(N-dodecyl) pyridinium group-containing 1,4-dihydropyridine derivative (AP-12) on cognition and synaptic protein expression in the brain. Treatment of AP-12 was investigated in wild type C57BL/6J mice and transgenic Alzheimer's disease model mice (Tg APPSweDI) using behavioral tests and immunohistochemistry, as well as mass spectrometry to assess the blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. The data demonstrated the ability of AP-12 to cross the BBB, improve spatial learning and memory in both mice strains, induce anxiolytic action in transgenic mice, and increase expression of hippocampal and cortical proteins (GAD67, Homer-1) related to synaptic plasticity. The compound AP-12 can be seen as a prototype molecule for use in the design of novel drugs useful to halt progression of clinical symptoms (more specifically, anxiety and decline in memory) of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease.

Computer-Based Learning: Graphical Integration of Whole and Sectional Neuroanatomy Improves Long-Term Retention

PubMed Central

Naaz, Farah; Chariker, Julia H.; Pani, John R.

2013-01-01

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that instruction with graphically integrated representations of whole and sectional neuroanatomy is especially effective for learning to recognize neural structures in sectional imagery (such as MRI images). Neuroanatomy was taught to two groups of participants using computer graphical models of the human brain. Both groups learned whole anatomy first with a three-dimensional model of the brain. One group then learned sectional anatomy using two-dimensional sectional representations, with the expectation that there would be transfer of learning from whole to sectional anatomy. The second group learned sectional anatomy by moving a virtual cutting plane through the three-dimensional model. In tests of long-term retention of sectional neuroanatomy, the group with graphically integrated representation recognized more neural structures that were known to be challenging to learn. This study demonstrates the use of graphical representation to facilitate a more elaborated (deeper) understanding of complex spatial relations. PMID:24563579

How Does the Low-Rank Matrix Decomposition Help Internal and External Learnings for Super-Resolution.

PubMed

Wang, Shuang; Yue, Bo; Liang, Xuefeng; Jiao, Licheng

2018-03-01

Wisely utilizing the internal and external learning methods is a new challenge in super-resolution problem. To address this issue, we analyze the attributes of two methodologies and find two observations of their recovered details: 1) they are complementary in both feature space and image plane and 2) they distribute sparsely in the spatial space. These inspire us to propose a low-rank solution which effectively integrates two learning methods and then achieves a superior result. To fit this solution, the internal learning method and the external learning method are tailored to produce multiple preliminary results. Our theoretical analysis and experiment prove that the proposed low-rank solution does not require massive inputs to guarantee the performance, and thereby simplifying the design of two learning methods for the solution. Intensive experiments show the proposed solution improves the single learning method in both qualitative and quantitative assessments. Surprisingly, it shows more superior capability on noisy images and outperforms state-of-the-art methods.

Silver nano particles ameliorate learning and spatial memory of male Wistar rats by prevention of amyloid fibril-induced neurotoxicity.

PubMed

Ramshini, H; Moghaddasi, A-S; Aldaghi, L-S; Mollania, N; Ebrahim-Habibi, A

2017-12-08

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic degenerative disease characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which results into memory and learning impairments. In the present study, we showed that the aggregates formed by a protein that has no link with Alzheimer's disease, namely the hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), were cytotoxic and decreased spatial learning and memory in rats. The effect of Ag-nano particles (Ag-NPs) was investigated on disruption of amyloid aggregation and preservation of cognitive behavior of rats. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups including a control group, and injected with either scopolamine, lysozyme or aggregates pre-incubated with Ag-NPs. Rats' behavior was monitored using Morris water maze (MWM) twenty days after injections. HEWL aggregation in the presence and absence of the Ag-NPs was assayed by Thioflavin T binding, atomic force microscopy and cell-based cytotoxicity assay. Ag-NPs were capable to directly disrupt HEWL oligomerization and the resulting aggregates were non-toxic. We also showed that rats of the Ag-NPs group found MWM test platform in less time and with less distance traveled, in comparison with lysozyme group. Ag-NPs also increased the percentage of time elapsed and the distance swum in the target quadrant in the rat model of AD, in probe test. These observations suggest that Ag-NPs improved spatial learning and memory by inhibiting amyloid fibril-induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, we suggest using model proteins as a valid tool to investigate the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Connecting Mathematics Learning through Spatial Reasoning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mulligan, Joanne; Woolcott, Geoffrey; Mitchelmore, Michael; Davis, Brent

2018-01-01

Spatial reasoning, an emerging transdisciplinary area of interest to mathematics education research, is proving integral to all human learning. It is particularly critical to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This project will create an innovative knowledge framework based on spatial reasoning that identifies new…

Emerging trends in geospatial artificial intelligence (geoAI): potential applications for environmental epidemiology.

PubMed

VoPham, Trang; Hart, Jaime E; Laden, Francine; Chiang, Yao-Yi

2018-04-17

Geospatial artificial intelligence (geoAI) is an emerging scientific discipline that combines innovations in spatial science, artificial intelligence methods in machine learning (e.g., deep learning), data mining, and high-performance computing to extract knowledge from spatial big data. In environmental epidemiology, exposure modeling is a commonly used approach to conduct exposure assessment to determine the distribution of exposures in study populations. geoAI technologies provide important advantages for exposure modeling in environmental epidemiology, including the ability to incorporate large amounts of big spatial and temporal data in a variety of formats; computational efficiency; flexibility in algorithms and workflows to accommodate relevant characteristics of spatial (environmental) processes including spatial nonstationarity; and scalability to model other environmental exposures across different geographic areas. The objectives of this commentary are to provide an overview of key concepts surrounding the evolving and interdisciplinary field of geoAI including spatial data science, machine learning, deep learning, and data mining; recent geoAI applications in research; and potential future directions for geoAI in environmental epidemiology.

Explaining technological change of wind power in China and the United States: Roles of energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tian

The following dissertation explains how technological change of wind power, in terms of cost reduction and performance improvement, is achieved in China and the US through energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration. The objective of this dissertation is to understand how energy policies affect key actors in the power sector to promote renewable energy and achieve cost reductions for climate change mitigation in different institutional arrangements. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the learning processes and technological change of wind power in China. I integrate collaboration and technological learning theories to model how wind technologies are acquired and diffused among various wind project participants in China through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)--an international carbon trade program, and empirically test whether different learning channels lead to cost reduction of wind power. Using pooled cross-sectional data of Chinese CDM wind projects and spatial econometric models, I find that a wind project developer's previous experience (learning-by-doing) and industrywide wind project experience (spillover effect) significantly reduce the costs of wind power. The spillover effect provides justification for subsidizing users of wind technologies so as to offset wind farm investors' incentive to free-ride on knowledge spillovers from other wind energy investors. The CDM has played such a role in China. Most importantly, this essay provides the first empirical evidence of "learning-by-interacting": CDM also drives wind power cost reduction and performance improvement by facilitating technology transfer through collaboration between foreign turbine manufacturers and local wind farm developers. The second essay extends this learning framework to the US wind power sector, where I examine how state energy policies, restructuring of the electricity market, and learning among actors in wind industry lead to performance improvement of wind farms. Unlike China, the restructuring of the US electricity market created heterogeneity in transmission network governance across regions. Thus, I add transmission network governance to my learning framework to test the impacts of different transmission network governance models. Using panel data of existing utility-scale wind farms in US during 2001-2012 and spatial models, I find that the performance of a wind project is improved through more collaboration among project participants (learning-by-interacting), and this improvement is even greater if the wind project is interconnected to a regional transmission network coordinated by an independent system operator or a regional transmission organization (ISO/RTO). In the third essay, I further explore how different transmission network governance models affect wind power integration through a comparative case study. I compare two regional transmission networks, which represent two major transmission network governance models in the US: the ISO/RTO-governance model and the non-RTO model. Using archival data and interviews with key network participants, I find that a centralized transmission network coordinated through an ISO/RTO is more effective in integrating wind power because it allows resource pooling and optimal allocating of the resources by the central network administrative agency (NAO). The case study also suggests an alternative path to improved network effectiveness for a less cohesive network, which is through more frequent resource exchange among subgroups within a large network. On top of that, this essay contributes to the network governance literature by providing empirical evidence on the coexistence of hierarchy, market, and collaboration in complex service delivery networks. These coordinating mechanisms complement each other to provide system flexibility and stability, particularly when the network operates in a turbulent environment with changes and uncertainties.

Functional Equivalence of Spatial Images from Touch and Vision: Evidence from Spatial Updating in Blind and Sighted Individuals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giudice, Nicholas A.; Betty, Maryann R.; Loomis, Jack M.

2011-01-01

This research examined whether visual and haptic map learning yield functionally equivalent spatial images in working memory, as evidenced by similar encoding bias and updating performance. In 3 experiments, participants learned 4-point routes either by seeing or feeling the maps. At test, blindfolded participants made spatial judgments about the…

4SPPIces: A Case Study of Factors in a Scripted Collaborative-Learning Blended Course across Spatial Locations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez-Sanagustin, Mar; Santos, Patricia; Hernandez-Leo, Davinia; Blat, Josep

2012-01-01

Computer-Supported Collaborative Blended Learning (CSCBL) scripts are complex learning situations in which formal and informal activities conducted at different spatial locations are coordinated and integrated into one unique learning setting through the use of technology. We define a conceptual model identifying four factors to be considered when…

Spatial Visualization Learning in Engineering: Traditional Methods vs. a Web-Based Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pedrosa, Carlos Melgosa; Barbero, Basilio Ramos; Miguel, Arturo Román

2014-01-01

This study compares an interactive learning manager for graphic engineering to develop spatial vision (ILMAGE_SV) to traditional methods. ILMAGE_SV is an asynchronous web-based learning tool that allows the manipulation of objects with a 3D viewer, self-evaluation, and continuous assessment. In addition, student learning may be monitored, which…

Individual variations in dose response for spatial memory learning among outbred wistar rats exposed from 5 to 20 cGy of (56) Fe particles.

PubMed

Wyrobek, Andrew J; Britten, Richard A

2016-06-01

Exposures of brain tissue to ionizing radiation can lead to persistent deficits in cognitive functions and behaviors. However, little is known about the quantitative relationships between exposure dose and neurological risks, especially for lower doses and among genetically diverse individuals. We investigated the dose relationship for spatial memory learning among genetically outbred male Wistar rats exposed to graded doses of (56) Fe particles (sham, 5, 10, 15, and 20 cGy; 1 GeV/n). Spatial memory learning was assessed on a Barnes maze using REL3 ratios measured at three months after exposure. Irradiated animals showed dose-dependent declines in spatial memory learning that were fit by a linear regression (P for slope <0.0002). The irradiated animals showed significantly impaired learning at 10 cGy exposures, no detectable learning between 10 and 15 cGy, and worsened performances between 15 and 20 cGy. The proportions of poor learners and the magnitude of their impairment were fit by linear regressions with doubling doses of ∼10 cGy. In contrast, there were no detectable deficits in learning among the good learners in this dose range. Our findings suggest that genetically diverse individuals can vary substantially in their spatial memory learning, and that exposures at low doses appear to preferentially impact poor learners. This hypothesis invites future investigations of the genetic and physiological mechanisms of inter-individual variations in brain function related to spatial memory learning after low-dose HZE radiation exposures and to determine whether it also applies to physical trauma to brain tissue and exposures to chemical neurotoxicants. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 57:331-340, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The perirhinal cortex of the rat is necessary for spatial memory retention long after but not soon after learning.

PubMed

Ramos, Juan M J; Vaquero, Joaquín M M

2005-09-15

Many observations in humans and experimental animals support the view that the hippocampus is critical immediately after learning in order for long-term memory formation to take place. However, exactly when the medial temporal cortices adjacent to the hippocampus are necessary for this process to occur normally is not yet well known. Using a spatial task, we studied whether the perirhinal cortex of rats is necessary to establish representations in long-term memory. Results showed that, in a spatial task sensitive to hippocampal lesions, control and perirhinal lesioned rats can both learn at the same rate (Experiment 1). Interestingly, a differential involvement of the perirhinal cortex in memory retention was observed as time passes after learning. Thus, 24 days following the end of learning, lesioned and control rats remembered the task perfectly as measured by a retraining test. In contrast, 74 days after the learning the perirhinal animals showed a profound impairment in the retention of the spatial information (Experiment 2). Taken together, these results suggest that the perirhinal region is critical for the formation of long-term spatial memory. However, its contribution to memory formation and retention is time-dependent, it being necessary only long after learning takes place and not during the phase immediately following acquisition.

Sex and boldness explain individual differences in spatial learning in a lizard.

PubMed

Carazo, Pau; Noble, Daniel W A; Chandrasoma, Dani; Whiting, Martin J

2014-05-07

Understanding individual differences in cognitive performance is a major challenge to animal behaviour and cognition studies. We used the Eastern water skink (Eulamprus quoyii) to examine associations between exploration, boldness and individual variability in spatial learning, a dimension of lizard cognition with important bearing on fitness. We show that males perform better than females in a biologically relevant spatial learning task. This is the first evidence for sex differences in learning in a reptile, and we argue that it is probably owing to sex-specific selective pressures that may be widespread in lizards. Across the sexes, we found a clear association between boldness after a simulated predatory attack and the probability of learning the spatial task. In contrast to previous studies, we found a nonlinear association between boldness and learning: both 'bold' and 'shy' behavioural types were more successful learners than intermediate males. Our results do not fit with recent predictions suggesting that individual differences in learning may be linked with behavioural types via high-low-risk/reward trade-offs. We suggest the possibility that differences in spatial cognitive performance may arise in lizards as a consequence of the distinct environmental variability and complexity experienced by individuals as a result of their sex and social tactics.

How to enhance route learning and visuo-spatial working memory in aging: a training for residential care home residents.

PubMed

Mitolo, Micaela; Borella, Erika; Meneghetti, Chiara; Carbone, Elena; Pazzaglia, Francesca

2017-05-01

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. We verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained - route-learning tasks - as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes - visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) - and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months. Thirty 70-90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities). The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up. These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults' environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.

[Effects of the neurogenesis stimulator Ro 25-6981 upon formation of spatial skill in adult rats depend on the term of its administration and the animals' ability to learn].

PubMed

Solov'eva, O A; Storozheva, Z I; Proshin, A T; Sherstnev, V V

2011-02-01

Effect of administration of selective N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 on learning and memory in a dose which is known to stimulate neoneurogenesis was assessed in adult rats with different abilities to formation of spatial skills in different time periods after the antagonist injection. Wistar male rats were trained to find hidden platform in the Morris water maze for 5 consecutive days. Rats' learning ability for spatial skill formation was evaluated depending on platform speed achievements. In re-training sessions (cues and platform location changed), it was found that all rats received Ro 25-6981 13 days before the re-training demonstrated impaired spatial memory. At the same time the inhibitor injected 29 days before re-training selectively facilitated the formation of spatial skill in animals with initially low learning abilities.

[Learning to solve a spatial task in a water maze in aggressive and submissive mice].

PubMed

Dubrovina, N I; Tomilenko, R A

2007-01-01

Learning and retention of the spatial memory were studied in mice with alternative under conditions of various experimental protocols. Visible and hidden platform acquisition in a simple model of the water maze was similarly fast both in aggressive and submissive mice, but extinction differed. Retention of the platform location preference persisted in aggressive mice in four testing trials. In submissive mice, extiction of the spatial memory was accompanied with a prolongation of search with parallel production of episodes of "passive drift". Differences in spatial learning between aggressive and submissive mice were revealed in a water maze complicated with partitions. In this case, aggressors were able to learn the position of a hidden platform (in contrast to submissive mice with the dominant response of "passive drift"). During testing the response, aggressive mice longer retained the spatial preference without extinction.

The Effects of Theta Precession on Spatial Learning and Simplicial Complex Dynamics in a Topological Model of the Hippocampal Spatial Map

PubMed Central

Arai, Mamiko; Brandt, Vicky; Dabaghian, Yuri

2014-01-01

Learning arises through the activity of large ensembles of cells, yet most of the data neuroscientists accumulate is at the level of individual neurons; we need models that can bridge this gap. We have taken spatial learning as our starting point, computationally modeling the activity of place cells using methods derived from algebraic topology, especially persistent homology. We previously showed that ensembles of hundreds of place cells could accurately encode topological information about different environments (“learn” the space) within certain values of place cell firing rate, place field size, and cell population; we called this parameter space the learning region. Here we advance the model both technically and conceptually. To make the model more physiological, we explored the effects of theta precession on spatial learning in our virtual ensembles. Theta precession, which is believed to influence learning and memory, did in fact enhance learning in our model, increasing both speed and the size of the learning region. Interestingly, theta precession also increased the number of spurious loops during simplicial complex formation. We next explored how downstream readout neurons might define co-firing by grouping together cells within different windows of time and thereby capturing different degrees of temporal overlap between spike trains. Our model's optimum coactivity window correlates well with experimental data, ranging from ∼150–200 msec. We further studied the relationship between learning time, window width, and theta precession. Our results validate our topological model for spatial learning and open new avenues for connecting data at the level of individual neurons to behavioral outcomes at the neuronal ensemble level. Finally, we analyzed the dynamics of simplicial complex formation and loop transience to propose that the simplicial complex provides a useful working description of the spatial learning process. PMID:24945927

Cross-Sensory Transfer of Reference Frames in Spatial Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Jonathan W.; Avraamides, Marios N.

2011-01-01

Two experiments investigated whether visual cues influence spatial reference frame selection for locations learned through touch. Participants experienced visual cues emphasizing specific environmental axes and later learned objects through touch. Visual cues were manipulated and haptic learning conditions were held constant. Imagined perspective…

Group social rank is associated with performance on a spatial learning task.

PubMed

Langley, Ellis J G; van Horik, Jayden O; Whiteside, Mark A; Madden, Joah R

2018-02-01

Dominant individuals differ from subordinates in their performances on cognitive tasks across a suite of taxa. Previous studies often only consider dyadic relationships, rather than the more ecologically relevant social hierarchies or networks, hence failing to account for how dyadic relationships may be adjusted within larger social groups. We used a novel statistical method: randomized Elo-ratings, to infer the social hierarchy of 18 male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus , while in a captive, mixed-sex group with a linear hierarchy. We assayed individual learning performance of these males on a binary spatial discrimination task to investigate whether inter-individual variation in performance is associated with group social rank. Task performance improved with increasing trial number and was positively related to social rank, with higher ranking males showing greater levels of success. Motivation to participate in the task was not related to social rank or task performance, thus indicating that these rank-related differences are not a consequence of differences in motivation to complete the task. Our results provide important information about how variation in cognitive performance relates to an individual's social rank within a group. Whether the social environment causes differences in learning performance or instead, inherent differences in learning ability predetermine rank remains to be tested.

Spatiotemporal prediction of continuous daily PM2.5 concentrations across China using a spatially explicit machine learning algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Yu; Luo, Yuzhou; Deng, Xunfei; Chen, Huajin; Grieneisen, Michael L.; Shen, Xueyou; Zhu, Lizhong; Zhang, Minghua

2017-04-01

A high degree of uncertainty associated with the emission inventory for China tends to degrade the performance of chemical transport models in predicting PM2.5 concentrations especially on a daily basis. In this study a novel machine learning algorithm, Geographically-Weighted Gradient Boosting Machine (GW-GBM), was developed by improving GBM through building spatial smoothing kernels to weigh the loss function. This modification addressed the spatial nonstationarity of the relationships between PM2.5 concentrations and predictor variables such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and meteorological conditions. GW-GBM also overcame the estimation bias of PM2.5 concentrations due to missing AOD retrievals, and thus potentially improved subsequent exposure analyses. GW-GBM showed good performance in predicting daily PM2.5 concentrations (R2 = 0.76, RMSE = 23.0 μg/m3) even with partially missing AOD data, which was better than the original GBM model (R2 = 0.71, RMSE = 25.3 μg/m3). On the basis of the continuous spatiotemporal prediction of PM2.5 concentrations, it was predicted that 95% of the population lived in areas where the estimated annual mean PM2.5 concentration was higher than 35 μg/m3, and 45% of the population was exposed to PM2.5 >75 μg/m3 for over 100 days in 2014. GW-GBM accurately predicted continuous daily PM2.5 concentrations in China for assessing acute human health effects.

Ketogenic diet improves the spatial memory impairment caused by exposure to hypobaric hypoxia through increased acetylation of histones in rats.

PubMed

Zhao, Ming; Huang, Xin; Cheng, Xiang; Lin, Xiao; Zhao, Tong; Wu, Liying; Yu, Xiaodan; Wu, Kuiwu; Fan, Ming; Zhu, Lingling

2017-01-01

Exposure to hypobaric hypoxia causes neuron cell damage, resulting in impaired cognitive function. Effective interventions to antagonize hypobaric hypoxia-induced memory impairment are in urgent need. Ketogenic diet (KD) has been successfully used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy and improves cognitive behaviors in epilepsy patients and other pathophysiological animal models. In the present study, we aimed to explore the potential beneficial effects of a KD on memory impairment caused by hypobaric hypoxia and the underlying possible mechanisms. We showed that the KD recipe used was ketogenic and increased plasma levels of ketone bodies, especially β-hydroxybutyrate. The results of the behavior tests showed that the KD did not affect general locomotor activity but obviously promoted spatial learning. Moreover, the KD significantly improved the spatial memory impairment caused by hypobaric hypoxia (simulated altitude of 6000 m, 24 h). In addition, the improving-effect of KD was mimicked by intraperitoneal injection of BHB. The western blot and immunohistochemistry results showed that KD treatment not only increased the acetylated levels of histone H3 and histone H4 compared to that of the control group but also antagonized the decrease in the acetylated histone H3 and H4 when exposed to hypobaric hypoxia. Furthermore, KD-hypoxia treatment also promoted PKA/CREB activation and BDNF protein expression compared to the effects of hypoxia alone. These results demonstrated that KD is a promising strategy to improve spatial memory impairment caused by hypobaric hypoxia, in which increased modification of histone acetylation plays an important role.

Automatic segmentation of fibroglandular tissue in breast MRI using anatomy-driven three-dimensional spatial context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Dong; Weinstein, Susan; Hsieh, Meng-Kang; Pantalone, Lauren; Kontos, Despina

2018-03-01

The relative amount of fibroglandular tissue (FGT) in the breast has been shown to be a risk factor for breast cancer. However, automatic segmentation of FGT in breast MRI is challenging due mainly to its wide variation in anatomy (e.g., amount, location and pattern, etc.), and various imaging artifacts especially the prevalent bias-field artifact. Motivated by a previous work demonstrating improved FGT segmentation with 2-D a priori likelihood atlas, we propose a machine learning-based framework using 3-D FGT context. The framework uses features specifically defined with respect to the breast anatomy to capture spatially varying likelihood of FGT, and allows (a) intuitive standardization across breasts of different sizes and shapes, and (b) easy incorporation of additional information helpful to the segmentation (e.g., texture). Extended from the concept of 2-D atlas, our framework not only captures spatial likelihood of FGT in 3-D context, but also broadens its applicability to both sagittal and axial breast MRI rather than being limited to the plane in which the 2-D atlas is constructed. Experimental results showed improved segmentation accuracy over the 2-D atlas method, and demonstrated further improvement by incorporating well-established texture descriptors.

Spatial learning in rats: correlation with cortical choline acetyltransferase and improvement with NGF following NBM damage.

PubMed

Mandel, R J; Gage, F H; Thal, L J

1989-06-01

Rats display an acquisition deficit in a circular water maze following excitotoxic lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). Experiments were therefore performed to determine if acquisition behavior on this task could predict the degree of cortical cholinergic deafferentation and if the acquisition deficit could be pharmacologically reversed. Performance on acquisition was highly correlated with the lesion-induced reduction in cortical choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity. Accuracy of spatial behavior was highly correlated to percentage ChAT depletion (r = 0.75). Neither lesioned rats nor controls displayed a retention deficit after a 9-day interval, nor did either group display a passive-avoidance retention deficit. To test the causal relationship between cholinergic dysfunction and spatial behavior, the central nervous system cholinergic enhancer nerve growth factor (NGF) was intraventricularly infused for 4 weeks. NGF infusion resulted in improved acquisition of the water maze task compared to NBM-lesioned rats receiving vehicle infusion and untreated rats with NBM lesions. These studies indicate that the decrease in cortical ChAT activity is likely to be responsible for the observed acquisition deficit and that pharmacological manipulations can be successfully used to improve behavior following NBM lesions.

Contextual Cueing: Implicit Learning and Memory of Visual Context Guides Spatial Attention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chun, Marvin M.; Jiang, Yuhong

1998-01-01

Six experiments involving a total of 112 college students demonstrate that a robust memory for visual context exists to guide spatial attention. Results show how implicit learning and memory of visual context can guide spatial attention toward task-relevant aspects of a scene. (SLD)

MICROINJECTION OF DYNORPHIN INTO THE HIPPOCAMPUS IMPAIRS SPATIAL LEARNING IN RATS

EPA Science Inventory

The effect of hippocampal dynorphin administration on learning and memory was examined in spatial and nonspatial tasks. ilateral infusion of dynorphin A(1-8)(DYN; 10 or 20 ug in one ul) into the dorsal hippocampus resulted in dose-related impairment of spatial working memory in a...

Nonparametric Bayesian Dictionary Learning for Analysis of Noisy and Incomplete Images

PubMed Central

Zhou, Mingyuan; Chen, Haojun; Paisley, John; Ren, Lu; Li, Lingbo; Xing, Zhengming; Dunson, David; Sapiro, Guillermo; Carin, Lawrence

2013-01-01

Nonparametric Bayesian methods are considered for recovery of imagery based upon compressive, incomplete, and/or noisy measurements. A truncated beta-Bernoulli process is employed to infer an appropriate dictionary for the data under test and also for image recovery. In the context of compressive sensing, significant improvements in image recovery are manifested using learned dictionaries, relative to using standard orthonormal image expansions. The compressive-measurement projections are also optimized for the learned dictionary. Additionally, we consider simpler (incomplete) measurements, defined by measuring a subset of image pixels, uniformly selected at random. Spatial interrelationships within imagery are exploited through use of the Dirichlet and probit stick-breaking processes. Several example results are presented, with comparisons to other methods in the literature. PMID:21693421

The Predictive Power of Fifth Graders' Learning Styles on Their Mathematical Reasoning and Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danisman, Sahin; Erginer, Ergin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine fifth graders' mathematical reasoning and spatial ability, to identify a correlation with their learning styles, and to determine the predictive power of their learning styles on their mathematical learning profiles. This causal study was conducted with 97 fifth graders (60 females, 61.9% and 37 males,…

Mobile Devices and Spatial Enactments of Learning: iPads in Lower Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Bente

2016-01-01

Based on ethnographic studies of students' learning, this paper investigates how new spatial enactments of learning that include mobile technologies engage students in specific ways that enable them to learn. Data used in the paper have been collected in three lower secondary schools (7-9th form, ages 13-15) where students and teachers have been…

Spatial Learning and Computer Simulations in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindgren, Robb; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2009-01-01

Interactive simulations are entering mainstream science education. Their effects on cognition and learning are often framed by the legacy of information processing, which emphasized amodal problem solving and conceptual organization. In contrast, this paper reviews simulations from the vantage of research on perception and spatial learning,…

Effects of Chinese herbal medicine Yinsiwei compound on spatial learning and memory ability and the ultrastructure of hippocampal neurons in a rat model of sporadic Alzheimer disease.

PubMed

Diwu, Yong-chang; Tian, Jin-zhou; Shi, Jing

2011-02-01

To study the effects of Chinese herbal medicine Yinsiwei compound (YSW) on spatial learning and memory ability in rats with sporadic Alzheimer disease (SAD) and the ultrastructural basis of the hippocampal neurons. A rat model of SAD was established by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin. The rats were divided into six groups: sham-operation group, model group, donepezil control group, and YSW low, medium and high dose groups. Drug interventions were started on the 21st day after modeling and each treatment group was given the corresponding drugs by gavage for two months. Meanwhile, the model group and the sham-operation group were given the same volume of distilled water by gavage once a day for two months. The Morris water maze was adopted to test spatial learning and memory ability of the rats. The place navigation test and the spatial probe test were conducted. The escape latency, total swimming distance and swimming time in the target quadrant of the rats were recorded. Also, the hippocampus tissues of rats were taken out and the ultrastructure of hippocampus neurons were observed by an electron microscope. In the place navigation test, compared with the model group, the mean escape latency and the total swimming distance of the donepezil group and the YSW low, medium and high dose groups were significantly shortened (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In the space probe test, the swimming time of each treatment group in the target quadrant was significantly longer than that of the model group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). For most of the test period, the donepezil group had no significant change compared with the YSW low, medium and high dose groups, respectively. The ultrastructure of the hippocampus neurons under the electron microscope also confirmed the efficacy of the drug treatment. Chinese herbal medicine YSW compound can improve spatial learning and memory impairment of rats with SAD. The ultrastructural basis may be that it can protect the microtubule structures of hippocampal neurons and prevent nerve axons from being damaged.

Interprofessional learning at work: what spatial theory can tell us about workplace learning in an acute care ward.

PubMed

Gregory, Linda Rosemary; Hopwood, Nick; Boud, David

2014-05-01

It is widely recognized that every workplace potentially provides a rich source of learning. Studies focusing on health care contexts have shown that social interaction within and between professions is crucial in enabling professionals to learn through work, address problems and cope with challenges of clinical practice. While hospital environments are beginning to be understood in spatial terms, the links between space and interprofessional learning at work have not been explored. This paper draws on Lefebvre's tri-partite theoretical framework of perceived, conceived and lived space to enrich understandings of interprofessional learning on an acute care ward in an Australian teaching hospital. Qualitative analysis was undertaken using data from observations of Registered Nurses at work and semi-structured interviews linked to observed events. The paper focuses on a ward round, the medical workroom and the Registrar's room, comparing and contrasting the intended (conceived), practiced (perceived) and pedagogically experienced (lived) spatial dimensions. The paper concludes that spatial theory has much to offer understandings of interprofessional learning in work, and the features of work environments and daily practices that produce spaces that enable or constrain learning.

Easy rider: monkeys learn to drive a wheelchair to navigate through a complex maze.

PubMed

Etienne, Stephanie; Guthrie, Martin; Goillandeau, Michel; Nguyen, Tho Hai; Orignac, Hugues; Gross, Christian; Boraud, Thomas

2014-01-01

The neurological bases of spatial navigation are mainly investigated in rodents and seldom in primates. The few studies led on spatial navigation in both human and non-human primates are performed in virtual, not in real environments. This is mostly because of methodological difficulties inherent in conducting research on freely-moving monkeys in real world environments. There is some incertitude, however, regarding the extrapolation of rodent spatial navigation strategies to primates. Here we present an entirely new platform for investigating real spatial navigation in rhesus monkeys. We showed that monkeys can learn a pathway by using different strategies. In these experiments three monkeys learned to drive the wheelchair and to follow a specified route through a real maze. After learning the route, probe tests revealed that animals successively use three distinct navigation strategies based on i) the place of the reward, ii) the direction taken to obtain reward or iii) a cue indicating reward location. The strategy used depended of the options proposed and the duration of learning. This study reveals that monkeys, like rodents and humans, switch between different spatial navigation strategies with extended practice, implying well-conserved brain learning systems across different species. This new task with freely driving monkeys provides a good support for the electrophysiological and pharmacological investigation of spatial navigation in the real world by making possible electrophysiological and pharmacological investigations.

The association between cognition and academic performance in Ugandan children surviving malaria with neurological involvement.

PubMed

Bangirana, Paul; Menk, Jeremiah; John, Chandy C; Boivin, Michael J; Hodges, James S

2013-01-01

The contribution of different cognitive abilities to academic performance in children surviving cerebral insult can guide the choice of interventions to improve cognitive and academic outcomes. This study's objective was to identify which cognitive abilities are associated with academic performance in children after malaria with neurological involvement. 62 Ugandan children with a history of malaria with neurological involvement were assessed for cognitive ability (working memory, reasoning, learning, visual spatial skills, attention) and academic performance (reading, spelling, arithmetic) three months after the illness. Linear regressions were fit for each academic score with the five cognitive outcomes entered as predictors. Adjusters in the analysis were age, sex, education, nutrition, and home environment. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation models (SEM) were used to determine the nature of the association between cognition and academic performance. Predictive residual sum of squares was used to determine which combination of cognitive scores was needed to predict academic performance. In regressions of a single academic score on all five cognitive outcomes and adjusters, only Working Memory was associated with Reading (coefficient estimate = 0.36, 95% confidence interval = 0.10 to 0.63, p<0.01) and Spelling (0.46, 0.13 to 0.78, p<0.01), Visual Spatial Skills was associated with Arithmetic (0.15, 0.03 to 0.26, p<0.05), and Learning was associated with Reading (0.06, 0.00 to 0.11, p<0.05). One latent cognitive factor was identified using EFA. The SEM found a strong association between this latent cognitive ability and each academic performance measure (P<0.0001). Working memory, visual spatial ability and learning were the best predictors of academic performance. Academic performance is strongly associated with the latent variable labelled "cognitive ability" which captures most of the variation in the individual specific cognitive outcome measures. Working memory, visual spatial skills, and learning together stood out as the best combination to predict academic performance.

Adaptive social learning strategies in temporally and spatially varying environments : how temporal vs. spatial variation, number of cultural traits, and costs of learning influence the evolution of conformist-biased transmission, payoff-biased transmission, and individual learning.

PubMed

Nakahashi, Wataru; Wakano, Joe Yuichiro; Henrich, Joseph

2012-12-01

Long before the origins of agriculture human ancestors had expanded across the globe into an immense variety of environments, from Australian deserts to Siberian tundra. Survival in these environments did not principally depend on genetic adaptations, but instead on evolved learning strategies that permitted the assembly of locally adaptive behavioral repertoires. To develop hypotheses about these learning strategies, we have modeled the evolution of learning strategies to assess what conditions and constraints favor which kinds of strategies. To build on prior work, we focus on clarifying how spatial variability, temporal variability, and the number of cultural traits influence the evolution of four types of strategies: (1) individual learning, (2) unbiased social learning, (3) payoff-biased social learning, and (4) conformist transmission. Using a combination of analytic and simulation methods, we show that spatial-but not temporal-variation strongly favors the emergence of conformist transmission. This effect intensifies when migration rates are relatively high and individual learning is costly. We also show that increasing the number of cultural traits above two favors the evolution of conformist transmission, which suggests that the assumption of only two traits in many models has been conservative. We close by discussing how (1) spatial variability represents only one way of introducing the low-level, nonadaptive phenotypic trait variation that so favors conformist transmission, the other obvious way being learning errors, and (2) our findings apply to the evolution of conformist transmission in social interactions. Throughout we emphasize how our models generate empirical predictions suitable for laboratory testing.

Healthy older adults demonstrate generalized postural motor learning in response to variable amplitude oscillations of the support surface

PubMed Central

Van Ooteghem, Karen; Frank, James S.; Allard, Fran; Horak, Fay B

2011-01-01

Postural motor learning for dynamic balance tasks has been demonstrated in healthy older adults (Van Ooteghem et al. 2009). The purpose of this study was to investigate the type of knowledge (general or specific) obtained with balance training in this age group and to examine whether embedding perturbation regularities within a balance task masks specific learning. Two groups of older adults maintained balance on a constant frequency-variable amplitude oscillating platform. One group was trained using an embedded sequence (ES) protocol which contained the same 15-s sequence of variable amplitude oscillations in the middle of each trial. A second group was trained using a looped sequence (LS) protocol which contained a 15-s sequence repeated three times to form each trial. All trials were 45-s. Participants were not informed of any repetition. To examine learning, participants performed a retention test following a 24-h delay. LS participants also completed a transfer task. Specificity of learning was examined by comparing performance for repeated versus random sequences (ES) and training versus transfer sequences (LS). Performance was measured by deriving spatial and temporal measures of whole body centre of mass (COM), and trunk orientation. Both groups improved performance with practice as characterized by reduced COM displacement, improved COM-platform phase relationships, and decreased angular trunk motion. Improvements were also characterized by general rather than specific postural motor learning. These findings are similar to young adults (Van Ooteghem et al. 2008) and indicate that age does not influence the type of learning which occurs for balance control. PMID:20544184

Spatial and Visual Reasoning: Do These Abilities Improve in First-Year Veterinary Medical Students Exposed to an Integrated Curriculum?

PubMed

Gutierrez, J Claudio; Chigerwe, Munashe; Ilkiw, Jan E; Youngblood, Patricia; Holladay, Steven D; Srivastava, Sakti

Spatial visualization ability refers to the human cognitive ability to form, retrieve, and manipulate mental models of spatial nature. Visual reasoning ability has been linked to spatial ability. There is currently limited information about how entry-level spatial and visual reasoning abilities may predict veterinary anatomy performance or may be enhanced with progression through the veterinary anatomy content in an integrated curriculum. The present study made use of two tests that measure spatial ability and one test that measures visual reasoning ability in veterinary students: Guay's Visualization of Views Test, adapted version (GVVT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices Test, short form (RavenT). The tests were given to the entering class of veterinary students during their orientation week and at week 32 in the veterinary medical curriculum. Mean score on the MRT significantly increased from 15.2 to 20.1, and on the RavenT significantly increased from 7.5 to 8.8. When females only were evaluated, results were similar to the total class outcome; however, all three tests showed significant increases in mean scores. A positive correlation between the pre- and post-test scores was found for all three tests. The present results should be considered preliminary at best for associating anatomic learning in an integrated curriculum with spatial and visual reasoning abilities. Other components of the curriculum, for instance histology or physiology, could also influence the improved spatial visualization and visual reasoning test scores at week 32.

Supplementation with a mixture of complex lipids derived from milk to growing rats results in improvements in parameters related to growth and cognition.

PubMed

Vickers, Mark H; Guan, Jian; Gustavsson, Malin; Krägeloh, Christian U; Breier, Bernhard H; Davison, Michael; Fong, Bertram; Norris, Carmen; McJarrow, Paul; Hodgkinson, Steve C

2009-06-01

Alterations in nutritional factors during early development can exert long-term effects on growth, neural function, and associated behaviors. The lipid component of milk provides a critical nutritional source for generating both energy and essential nutrients for the growth of the newborn. The present study, therefore, investigated the hypothesis that nutritional supplementation with a complex milk lipid (CML) preparation, derived from the milk fat globule membrane rich in phospholipids and gangliosides from young rats, has beneficial effects on learning behavior and postnatal growth and development. Male Wistar rat offspring from normal pregnancies were treated from neonatal day 10 until postnatal day 80 with either vehicle or CML at a dose of 0.2% (low) and 1.0% (high) based on total food intake (n = 16 per group). Neonatal dosing was via daily oral gavage, while postweaning dosing was via gel supplementation to a standard chow diet. Animals underwent behavioral tasks related to spatial memory, learning, and cognitive function. Complex milk lipid supplementation significantly increased linear growth rate (P < .05), and the improved growth trajectory was not related to changes in body composition as quantified by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scanning or altered plasma lipid profiles. Moreover, this effect was not dose dependent and not attributable to the contribution to total energy intake of the CML composition. Supplementation of the CML to growing rats resulted in statistically significant improvements in parameters related to novelty recognition (P < .02) and spatial memory (P < .05) using standard behavioral techniques, but operant testing showed no significant differences between treatment groups. Supplementation with a CML containing gangliosides had positive growth and learning behavioral effects in young normal growing rats.

Preliminary evidence that abscisic acid improves spatial memory in rats.

PubMed

Qi, Cong-Cong; Ge, Jin-Fang; Zhou, Jiang-Ning

2015-02-01

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a crucial phytohormone that exists in a wide range of animals, including humans, and has multiple bioactivities. As direct derivatives of carotenoids, ABA and retinoic acid (RA) share similar molecular structures, and RA has been reported to improve spatial memory in rodents. To explore the potential effects of ABA on spatial learning and memory in rodents, 20mg/kg ABA was administered to young rats for 6weeks, and its effects on behaviour performance were evaluated through a series of behavioural tests. ABA pharmacokinetic analysis revealed that the exogenous ABA was distributed widely in the rat brain, characterised by rapid absorption and slow elimination. The behavioural tests showed that ABA increased both the duration spent in the target quadrant and the frequency it was entered in the probe test of the Morris water maze (MWM) and decreased the latency to locate the target quadrant. Moreover, ABA decreased the latency to enter the novel arm in the Y-maze test, accompanied by increases in the total entries and distance travelled in the three arms. However, there were no significant differences between the ABA-treated and control rats in the open field test and elevated plus-maze test. These results preliminarily indicate that ABA improves spatial memory in MWM and exploratory activity in Y-maze in young rats. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reconstruction of magnetic resonance imaging by three-dimensional dual-dictionary learning.

PubMed

Song, Ying; Zhu, Zhen; Lu, Yang; Liu, Qiegen; Zhao, Jun

2014-03-01

To improve the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data acquisition speed while maintaining the reconstruction quality, a novel method is proposed for multislice MRI reconstruction from undersampled k-space data based on compressed-sensing theory using dictionary learning. There are two aspects to improve the reconstruction quality. One is that spatial correlation among slices is used by extending the atoms in dictionary learning from patches to blocks. The other is that the dictionary-learning scheme is used at two resolution levels; i.e., a low-resolution dictionary is used for sparse coding and a high-resolution dictionary is used for image updating. Numerical experiments are carried out on in vivo 3D MR images of brains and abdomens with a variety of undersampling schemes and ratios. The proposed method (dual-DLMRI) achieves better reconstruction quality than conventional reconstruction methods, with the peak signal-to-noise ratio being 7 dB higher. The advantages of the dual dictionaries are obvious compared with the single dictionary. Parameter variations ranging from 50% to 200% only bias the image quality within 15% in terms of the peak signal-to-noise ratio. Dual-DLMRI effectively uses the a priori information in the dual-dictionary scheme and provides dramatically improved reconstruction quality. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lesions of the fornix and anterior thalamic nuclei dissociate different aspects of hippocampal-dependent spatial learning: implications for the neural basis of scene learning.

PubMed

Aggleton, John P; Poirier, Guillaume L; Aggleton, Hugh S; Vann, Seralynne D; Pearce, John M

2009-06-01

The present study used 2 different discrimination tasks designed to isolate distinct components of visuospatial learning: structural learning and geometric learning. Structural learning refers to the ability to learn the precise combination of stimulus identity with stimulus location. Rats with anterior thalamic lesions and fornix lesions were unimpaired on a configural learning task in which the rats learned 3 concurrent mirror-image discriminations (structural learning). Indeed, both lesions led to facilitated learning. In contrast, anterior thalamic lesions impaired the geometric discrimination (e.g., swim to the corner with the short wall to the right of the long wall). Finally, both the fornix and anterior thalamic lesions severely impaired T-maze alternation, a task that taxes an array of spatial strategies including allocentric learning. This pattern of dissociations and double dissociations highlights how distinct classes of spatial learning rely on different systems, even though they may converge on the hippocampus. Consequently, the findings suggest that structural learning is heavily dependent on cortico-hippocampal interactions. In contrast, subcortical inputs (such as those from the anterior thalamus) contribute to geometric learning. Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The experiment of cooperative learning model type team assisted individualization (TAI) on three-dimensional space subject viewed from spatial intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manapa, I. Y. H.; Budiyono; Subanti, S.

2018-03-01

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of TAI or direct learning (DL) on student’s mathematics achievement viewed from spatial intelligence. This research was quasi experiment. The population was 10th grade senior high school students in Alor Regency on academic year of 2015/2016 chosen by stratified cluster random sampling. The data were collected through achievement and spatial intelligence test. The data were analyzed by two ways, ANOVA with unequal cell and scheffe test. This research showed that student’s mathematics achievement used in TAI had better results than DL models one. In spatial intelligence category, student’s mathematics achievement with high spatial intelligence has better result than the other spatial intelligence category and students with high spatial intelligence have better results than those with middle spatial intelligence category. At TAI, student’s mathematics achievement with high spatial intelligence has better result than those with the other spatial intelligence category and students with middle spatial intelligence have better results than students with low spatial intelligence. In DL model, student’s mathematics achievement with high and middle spatial intelligence has better result than those with low spatial intelligence, but students with high spatial intelligence and middle spatial intelligence have no significant difference. In each category of spatial intelligence and learning model, mathematics achievement has no significant difference.

Supporting Student Differences in Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning with Multimedia Annotations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Linda C.

2009-01-01

This article describes how effectively multimedia learning environments can assist second language (L2) students of different spatial and verbal abilities with listening comprehension and vocabulary learning. In particular, it explores how written and pictorial annotations interacted with high/low spatial and verbal ability learners and thus…

Oleanolic Acid Ameliorates Aβ25-35 Injection-induced Spatial Learning and Memory Deficit in Alzheimer's Disease Model Rats.

PubMed

Wang, Kai; Sun, Weiming; Zhang, Linlin; Guo, Wei; Xu, Jiachun; Liu, Shuang; Zhou, Zhen; Zhang, Yulian

2018-05-24

Abnormal amyloid β (Aβ) accumulation and deposition in hippocampus is an essential process in Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate whether Oleanolic acid (OA) could improve learning and memory deficit and its possible mechanism. Forty-five SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, model group, and OA group. AD models by injection of Aβ25-35 were built. Morris water maze (MWM) was applied to investigate learning and memory, transmission electron microscope (TEM) to observe the ultrastructure of synapse, western blot to the key targets of synapse, electrophysiology for long-term potentiation (LTP), and Ca2+ concentration in synapse was also measured. The latency time in model group was significantly longer than that in sham operation group (P=0.0001<0.05); while it was significantly shorter in the OA group than that in model group (P=0.0001<0.05); compared with model group, the times of cross-platform in OA group significantly increased (P = 0.0001 <0.05). TEM results showed OA couldalleviate neuron damage and synapses changes induced by Aβ25-35. The expression of CaMKII, PKC, NMDAR2B, BDNF, TrkB, and CREB protein were significantly improved by OA; the concentration of Ca2+ were significantly lower and the slope and amplitude of f-EPSP increased in OA group. OA could ameliorate Aβ-induced spatial learning and memory loss of AD rats, and the mechanism might be involved with maintaining synaptic integrity to restore synaptic plasticity and increasing the NMDAR2B protein, CaMKII and PKC protein in postsynaptic density (PSD), reducing synaptic Ca2+ concentration, enhancing LTP by up-regulating BDNF, TrkB, CREB proteins. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning

PubMed Central

Mendes de Jesus, Jorge; Heuvelink, Gerard B. M.; Ruiperez Gonzalez, Maria; Kilibarda, Milan; Blagotić, Aleksandar; Shangguan, Wei; Wright, Marvin N.; Geng, Xiaoyuan; Bauer-Marschallinger, Bernhard; Guevara, Mario Antonio; Vargas, Rodrigo; MacMillan, Robert A.; Batjes, Niels H.; Leenaars, Johan G. B.; Ribeiro, Eloi; Wheeler, Ichsani; Mantel, Stephan; Kempen, Bas

2017-01-01

This paper describes the technical development and accuracy assessment of the most recent and improved version of the SoilGrids system at 250m resolution (June 2016 update). SoilGrids provides global predictions for standard numeric soil properties (organic carbon, bulk density, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), pH, soil texture fractions and coarse fragments) at seven standard depths (0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 100 and 200 cm), in addition to predictions of depth to bedrock and distribution of soil classes based on the World Reference Base (WRB) and USDA classification systems (ca. 280 raster layers in total). Predictions were based on ca. 150,000 soil profiles used for training and a stack of 158 remote sensing-based soil covariates (primarily derived from MODIS land products, SRTM DEM derivatives, climatic images and global landform and lithology maps), which were used to fit an ensemble of machine learning methods—random forest and gradient boosting and/or multinomial logistic regression—as implemented in the R packages ranger, xgboost, nnet and caret. The results of 10–fold cross-validation show that the ensemble models explain between 56% (coarse fragments) and 83% (pH) of variation with an overall average of 61%. Improvements in the relative accuracy considering the amount of variation explained, in comparison to the previous version of SoilGrids at 1 km spatial resolution, range from 60 to 230%. Improvements can be attributed to: (1) the use of machine learning instead of linear regression, (2) to considerable investments in preparing finer resolution covariate layers and (3) to insertion of additional soil profiles. Further development of SoilGrids could include refinement of methods to incorporate input uncertainties and derivation of posterior probability distributions (per pixel), and further automation of spatial modeling so that soil maps can be generated for potentially hundreds of soil variables. Another area of future research is the development of methods for multiscale merging of SoilGrids predictions with local and/or national gridded soil products (e.g. up to 50 m spatial resolution) so that increasingly more accurate, complete and consistent global soil information can be produced. SoilGrids are available under the Open Data Base License. PMID:28207752

SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning.

PubMed

Hengl, Tomislav; Mendes de Jesus, Jorge; Heuvelink, Gerard B M; Ruiperez Gonzalez, Maria; Kilibarda, Milan; Blagotić, Aleksandar; Shangguan, Wei; Wright, Marvin N; Geng, Xiaoyuan; Bauer-Marschallinger, Bernhard; Guevara, Mario Antonio; Vargas, Rodrigo; MacMillan, Robert A; Batjes, Niels H; Leenaars, Johan G B; Ribeiro, Eloi; Wheeler, Ichsani; Mantel, Stephan; Kempen, Bas

2017-01-01

This paper describes the technical development and accuracy assessment of the most recent and improved version of the SoilGrids system at 250m resolution (June 2016 update). SoilGrids provides global predictions for standard numeric soil properties (organic carbon, bulk density, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), pH, soil texture fractions and coarse fragments) at seven standard depths (0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 100 and 200 cm), in addition to predictions of depth to bedrock and distribution of soil classes based on the World Reference Base (WRB) and USDA classification systems (ca. 280 raster layers in total). Predictions were based on ca. 150,000 soil profiles used for training and a stack of 158 remote sensing-based soil covariates (primarily derived from MODIS land products, SRTM DEM derivatives, climatic images and global landform and lithology maps), which were used to fit an ensemble of machine learning methods-random forest and gradient boosting and/or multinomial logistic regression-as implemented in the R packages ranger, xgboost, nnet and caret. The results of 10-fold cross-validation show that the ensemble models explain between 56% (coarse fragments) and 83% (pH) of variation with an overall average of 61%. Improvements in the relative accuracy considering the amount of variation explained, in comparison to the previous version of SoilGrids at 1 km spatial resolution, range from 60 to 230%. Improvements can be attributed to: (1) the use of machine learning instead of linear regression, (2) to considerable investments in preparing finer resolution covariate layers and (3) to insertion of additional soil profiles. Further development of SoilGrids could include refinement of methods to incorporate input uncertainties and derivation of posterior probability distributions (per pixel), and further automation of spatial modeling so that soil maps can be generated for potentially hundreds of soil variables. Another area of future research is the development of methods for multiscale merging of SoilGrids predictions with local and/or national gridded soil products (e.g. up to 50 m spatial resolution) so that increasingly more accurate, complete and consistent global soil information can be produced. SoilGrids are available under the Open Data Base License.

"Wherever You Go, You Will Be a Polis": Spatial Practices and Political Education in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Discussions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slakmon, Benzi; Schwarz, Baruch B.

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to increase understanding of the development of spatial practices in virtual learning environments. The spatial change and development in 38 small-group e-discussions taken from a data set of a yearlong 8th-grade humanities course are described and analyzed. We show that the focus on spatial changes in computer-supported…

Spatial learning in the genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rat stock and RLA-I/RHA-I rats: revisiting the relationship with unconditioned and conditioned anxiety.

PubMed

Martínez-Membrives, Esther; López-Aumatell, Regina; Blázquez, Gloria; Cañete, Toni; Tobeña, Adolf; Fernández-Teruel, Alberto

2015-05-15

To characterize learning/memory profiles for the first time in the genetically heterogeneous NIH-HS rat stock, and to examine whether these are associated with anxiety, we evaluated NIH-HS rats for spatial learning/memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) and in the following anxiety/fear tests: the elevated zero-maze (ZM; unconditioned anxiety), a context-conditioned fear test and the acquisition of two-way active avoidance (conditioned anxiety). NIH-HS rats were compared with the Roman High- (RHA-I) and Low-Avoidance (RLA-I) rat strains, given the well-known differences between the Roman strains/lines in anxiety-related behavior and in spatial learning/memory. The results show that: (i) As expected, RLA-I rats were more anxious in the ZM test, displayed more frequent context-conditioned freezing episodes and fewer avoidances than RHA-I rats. (ii) Scores of NIH-HS rats in these tests/tasks mostly fell in between those of the Roman rat strains, and were usually closer to the values of the RLA-I strain. (iii) Pigmented NIH-HS (only a small part of NIH-HS rats were albino) rats were the best spatial learners and displayed better spatial memory than the other three (RHA-I, RLA-I and NIH-HS albino) groups. (iv) Albino NIH-HS and RLA-I rats also showed better learning/memory than the RHA-I strain. (v) Within the NIH-HS stock, the most anxious rats in the ZM test presented the best learning and/or memory efficiency (regardless of pigmentation). In summary, NIH-HS rats display a high performance in spatial learning/memory tasks and a passive coping strategy when facing conditioned conflict situations. In addition, unconditioned anxiety in NIH-HS rats predicts better spatial learning/memory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reference Frames during the Acquisition and Development of Spatial Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Jonathan W.; McNamara, Timothy P.

2010-01-01

Four experiments investigated the role of reference frames during the acquisition and development of spatial knowledge, when learning occurs incrementally across views. In two experiments, participants learned overlapping spatial layouts. Layout 1 was first studied in isolation, and Layout 2 was later studied in the presence of Layout 1. The…

Learning to Think Spatially: What Do Students "See" in Numeracy Test Items?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diezmann, Carmel M.; Lowrie, Tom

2012-01-01

Learning to think spatially in mathematics involves developing proficiency with graphics. This paper reports on 2 investigations of spatial thinking and graphics. The first investigation explored the importance of graphics as 1 of 3 communication systems (i.e. text, symbols, graphics) used to provide information in numeracy test items. The results…

Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta) Maintain Learning Set Despite Second-Order Stimulus-Response Spatial Discontiguity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beran, Michael J.; Washburn, David A.; Rumbaugh, Duane M.

2007-01-01

In many discrimination-learning tests, spatial separation between stimuli and response loci disrupts performance in rhesus macaques. However, monkeys are unaffected by such stimulus-response spatial discontiguity when responses occur through joystick-based computerized movement of a cursor. To examine this discrepancy, five monkeys were tested on…

Effective Teaching Strategies for Gifted/Learning-Disabled Students with Spatial Strengths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mann, Rebecca L.

2006-01-01

This study sought to determine effective teaching strategies for use with high-ability students who have spatial strengths and sequential weaknesses. Gifted students with spatial strengths and weak verbal skills often struggle in the traditional classroom. Their learning style enables them to grasp complex systems and excel at higher levels of…

Visual-Spatial Art and Design Literacy as a Prelude to Aesthetic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lerner, Fern

2018-01-01

In bridging ideas from the forum of visual-spatial learning with those of art and design learning, inspiration is taken from Piaget who explained that the evolution of spatial cognition occurs through perception, as well as through thought and imagination. Insights are embraced from interdisciplinary educational theorists, intertwining and…

Why do lesions in the rodent anterior thalamic nuclei cause such severe spatial deficits?

PubMed Central

Aggleton, John P.; Nelson, Andrew J.D.

2015-01-01

Lesions of the rodent anterior thalamic nuclei cause severe deficits to multiple spatial learning tasks. Possible explanations for these effects are examined, with particular reference to T-maze alternation. Anterior thalamic lesions not only impair allocentric place learning but also disrupt other spatial processes, including direction learning, path integration, and relative length discriminations, as well as aspects of nonspatial learning, e.g., temporal discriminations. Working memory tasks, such as T-maze alternation, appear particularly sensitive as they combine an array of these spatial and nonspatial demands. This sensitivity partly reflects the different functions supported by individual anterior thalamic nuclei, though it is argued that anterior thalamic lesion effects also arise from covert pathology in sites distal to the thalamus, most critically in the retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus. This two-level account, involving both local and distal lesion effects, explains the range and severity of the spatial deficits following anterior thalamic lesions. These findings highlight how the anterior thalamic nuclei form a key component in a series of interdependent systems that support multiple spatial functions. PMID:25195980

Potentiating mGluR5 function with a positive allosteric modulator enhances adaptive learning.

PubMed

Xu, Jian; Zhu, Yongling; Kraniotis, Stephen; He, Qionger; Marshall, John J; Nomura, Toshihiro; Stauffer, Shaun R; Lindsley, Craig W; Conn, P Jeffrey; Contractor, Anis

2013-07-18

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) plays important roles in modulating neural activity and plasticity and has been associated with several neuropathological disorders. Previous work has shown that genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of mGluR5 disrupts fear extinction and spatial reversal learning, suggesting that mGluR5 signaling is required for different forms of adaptive learning. Here, we tested whether ADX47273, a selective positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of mGluR5, can enhance adaptive learning in mice. We found that systemic administration of the ADX47273 enhanced reversal learning in the Morris Water Maze, an adaptive task. In addition, we found that ADX47273 had no effect on single-session and multi-session extinction, but administration of ADX47273 after a single retrieval trial enhanced subsequent fear extinction learning. Together these results demonstrate a role for mGluR5 signaling in adaptive learning, and suggest that mGluR5 PAMs represent a viable strategy for treatment of maladaptive learning and for improving behavioral flexibility.

Potentiating mGluR5 function with a positive allosteric modulator enhances adaptive learning

PubMed Central

Xu, Jian; Zhu, Yongling; Kraniotis, Stephen; He, Qionger; Marshall, John J.; Nomura, Toshihiro; Stauffer, Shaun R.; Lindsley, Craig W.; Conn, P. Jeffrey; Contractor, Anis

2013-01-01

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) plays important roles in modulating neural activity and plasticity and has been associated with several neuropathological disorders. Previous work has shown that genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of mGluR5 disrupts fear extinction and spatial reversal learning, suggesting that mGluR5 signaling is required for different forms of adaptive learning. Here, we tested whether ADX47273, a selective positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of mGluR5, can enhance adaptive learning in mice. We found that systemic administration of the ADX47273 enhanced reversal learning in the Morris Water Maze, an adaptive task. In addition, we found that ADX47273 had no effect on single-session and multi-session extinction, but administration of ADX47273 after a single retrieval trial enhanced subsequent fear extinction learning. Together these results demonstrate a role for mGluR5 signaling in adaptive learning, and suggest that mGluR5 PAMs represent a viable strategy for treatment of maladaptive learning and for improving behavioral flexibility. PMID:23869026

Effects of developmental exposure to bisphenol A and ethinyl estradiol on spatial navigational learning and memory in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta).

PubMed

Manshack, Lindsey K; Conard, Caroline M; Johnson, Sarah A; Alex, Jorden M; Bryan, Sara J; Deem, Sharon L; Holliday, Dawn K; Ellersieck, Mark R; Rosenfeld, Cheryl S

2016-09-01

Developmental exposure of turtles and other reptiles to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including bisphenol A (BPA) and ethinyl estradiol (EE2, estrogen present in birth control pills), can induce partial to full gonadal sex-reversal in males. No prior studies have considered whether in ovo exposure to EDCs disrupts normal brain sexual differentiation. Yet, rodent model studies indicate early exposure to these chemicals disturbs sexually selected behavioral traits, including spatial navigational learning and memory. Thus, we sought to determine whether developmental exposure of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) to BPA and EE2 results in sex-dependent behavioral changes. At developmental stage 17, turtles incubated at 26⁰C (male-inducing temperature) were treated with 1) BPA High (100μg /mL), 2) BPA Low (0.01μg/mL), 3) EE2 (0.2μg/mL), or 4) vehicle or no vehicle control groups. Five months after hatching, turtles were tested with a spatial navigational test that included four food containers, only one of which was baited with food. Each turtle was randomly assigned one container that did not change over the trial period. Each individual was tested for 14 consecutive days. Results show developmental exposure to BPA High and EE2 improved spatial navigational learning and memory, as evidenced by increased number of times spent in the correct target zone and greater likelihood of solving the maze compared to control turtles. This study is the first to show that in addition to overriding temperature sex determination (TSD) of the male gonad, these EDCs may induce sex-dependent behavioral changes in turtles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Premarin improves memory, prevents scopolamine-induced amnesia and increases number of basal forebrain choline acetyltransferase positive cells in middle-aged surgically menopausal rats.

PubMed

Acosta, Jazmin I; Mayer, Loretta; Talboom, Joshua S; Zay, Cynthia; Scheldrup, Melissa; Castillo, Jonathan; Demers, Laurence M; Enders, Craig K; Bimonte-Nelson, Heather A

2009-03-01

Conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) is the most commonly prescribed estrogen therapy, and is the estrogen used in the Women's Health Initiative study. While in-vitro studies suggest that CEE is neuroprotective, no study has evaluated CEE's effects on a cognitive battery and brain immunohistochemistry in an animal model. The current experiment tested whether CEE impacted: I) spatial learning, reference memory, working memory and long-term retention, as well as ability to handle mnemonic delay and interference challenges; and, II) the cholinergic system, via pharmacological challenge during memory testing and ChAT-immunoreactive cell counts in the basal forebrain. Middle-aged ovariectomized (Ovx) rats received chronic cyclic injections of either Oil (vehicle), CEE-Low (10 microg), CEE-Medium (20 microg) or CEE-High (30 microg) treatment. Relative to the Oil group, all three CEE groups showed less overnight forgetting on the spatial reference memory task, and the CEE-High group had enhanced platform localization during the probe trial. All CEE groups exhibited enhanced learning on the spatial working memory task, and CEE dose-dependently protected against scopolamine-induced amnesia with every rat receiving the highest CEE dose maintaining zero errors after scopolamine challenge. CEE also increased number of ChAT-immunoreactive neurons in the vertical diagonal band of the basal forebrain. Neither the ability to remember after a delay nor interference, nor long-term retention, was influenced by the CEE regimen used in this study. These findings are similar to those reported previously for 17 beta-estradiol, and suggest that CEE can provide cognitive benefits on spatial learning, reference and working memory, possibly through cholinergic mechanisms.

Smad4 SUMOylation is essential for memory formation through upregulation of the skeletal myopathy gene TPM2.

PubMed

Hsu, Wei L; Ma, Yun L; Liu, Yen C; Lee, Eminy H Y

2017-11-28

Smad4 is a critical effector of TGF-β signaling that regulates a variety of cellular functions. However, its role in the brain has rarely been studied. Here, we examined the molecular mechanisms underlying the post-translational regulation of Smad4 function by SUMOylation, and its role in spatial memory formation. In the hippocampus, Smad4 is SUMOylated by the E3 ligase PIAS1 at Lys-113 and Lys-159. Both spatial training and NMDA injection enhanced Smad4 SUMOylation. Inhibition of Smad4 SUMOylation impaired spatial learning and memory in rats by downregulating TPM2, a gene associated with skeletal myopathies. Similarly, knockdown of TPM2 expression impaired spatial learning and memory, while TPM2 mRNA and protein expression increased after spatial training. Among the TPM2 mutations associated with skeletal myopathies, the TPM2E122K mutation was found to reduce TPM2 expression and impair spatial learning and memory in rats. We have identified a novel role of Smad4 SUMOylation and TPM2 in learning and memory formation. These results suggest that patients with skeletal myopathies who carry the TPM2E122K mutation may also have deficits in learning and memory functions.

A look at spatial abilities in undergraduate women science majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lord, Thomas R.

Contemporary investigations indicate that men generally perform significantly better in tasks involving visuo-spatial awareness than do women. Researchers have attempted to explain this difference through several hypotheses but as yet the reason for the dimorphism has not been established. Further, contemporary studies have indicated that enhancement of mental image formation and manipulation is possible when students are subjected to carefully designed spatial interventions. Present research was conducted to see if women in the sciences were as spatial perceptively accurate as their male counterparts. The researcher also was interested to find if the women that received the intervention excercises improved in their visuo-spatial awareness as rapidly as their male counterparts.The study was conducted on science majors at a suburban two year college. The population was randomly divided into groups (experimental, placebo, and control) each containing approximately the same number of men and women. All groups were given a battery of spatial perception tests (Ekstrom et al, 1976) at the onset of the winter semester and a second version of the battery at the conclusion of the semester. An analysis of variance followed by Scheffe contrasts were run on the results. The statistics revealed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the nonexperimental groups on the tests. When the differences between the mean scores for the women in the experimental group were statistically compared to those of the men in the experimental group the women were improving at a more rapid rate. Many women have the capacity to develop visuo-spatial aptitude and although they may start out behind men in spatial ability, they learn quickly and often catch up to the men's level when given meaningful visuo-spatial interventions.

Excitotoxic lesions of the infralimbic, but not prelimbic cortex facilitate reversal of appetitive discriminative context conditioning: the role of the infralimbic cortex in context generalization

PubMed Central

Ashwell, Rachel; Ito, Rutsuko

2014-01-01

The prelimbic and infralimbic regions of the rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are important components of the limbic cortico-striatal circuit, receiving converging projections from the hippocampus (HPC) and amygdala. Mounting evidence points to these regions having opposing roles in the regulation of the expression of contextual fear and context-induced cocaine-seeking. To investigate this functional differentiation in motivated behavior further, this study employed a novel radial maze task previously shown to be dependent on the integrity of the hippocampus and its functional connection to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell, to investigate the effects of selective excitotoxic lesions of the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) upon the spatial contextual control over reward learning. To this end, rats were trained to develop discriminative responding towards a reward-associated discrete cue presented in three out of six spatial locations (3 arms out of 6 radial maze arms), and to avoid the same discrete cue presented in the other three spatial locations. Once acquired, the reward contingencies of the spatial locations were reversed, such that responding to the cue presented in a previously rewarded location was no longer rewarded. Furthermore, the acquisition of spatial learning was probed separately using conditioned place preference (CPP) and the monitoring of arm selection at the beginning of each training session. Lesions of the PL transiently attenuated the acquisition of the initial cue approach training and spatial learning, while leaving reversal learning intact. In contrast, IL lesions led to a significantly superior performance of spatial context-dependent discriminative cue approach and reversal learning, in the absence of a significant preference for the new reward-associated spatial locations. These results indicate that the PL and IL have functionally dissociative, and potentially opposite roles in the regulation of spatial contextual control over appetitive learning. PMID:24616678

Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) modelling using spatial dose metrics and machine learning methods for severe acute oral mucositis resulting from head and neck radiotherapy.

PubMed

Dean, Jamie A; Wong, Kee H; Welsh, Liam C; Jones, Ann-Britt; Schick, Ulrike; Newbold, Kate L; Bhide, Shreerang A; Harrington, Kevin J; Nutting, Christopher M; Gulliford, Sarah L

2016-07-01

Severe acute mucositis commonly results from head and neck (chemo)radiotherapy. A predictive model of mucositis could guide clinical decision-making and inform treatment planning. We aimed to generate such a model using spatial dose metrics and machine learning. Predictive models of severe acute mucositis were generated using radiotherapy dose (dose-volume and spatial dose metrics) and clinical data. Penalised logistic regression, support vector classification and random forest classification (RFC) models were generated and compared. Internal validation was performed (with 100-iteration cross-validation), using multiple metrics, including area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration slope, to assess performance. Associations between covariates and severe mucositis were explored using the models. The dose-volume-based models (standard) performed equally to those incorporating spatial information. Discrimination was similar between models, but the RFCstandard had the best calibration. The mean AUC and calibration slope for this model were 0.71 (s.d.=0.09) and 3.9 (s.d.=2.2), respectively. The volumes of oral cavity receiving intermediate and high doses were associated with severe mucositis. The RFCstandard model performance is modest-to-good, but should be improved, and requires external validation. Reducing the volumes of oral cavity receiving intermediate and high doses may reduce mucositis incidence. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Learning from Heterogeneous Data Sources: An Application in Spatial Proteomics

PubMed Central

Breckels, Lisa M.; Holden, Sean B.; Wojnar, David; Mulvey, Claire M.; Christoforou, Andy; Groen, Arnoud; Trotter, Matthew W. B.; Kohlbacher, Oliver; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Gatto, Laurent

2016-01-01

Sub-cellular localisation of proteins is an essential post-translational regulatory mechanism that can be assayed using high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS). These MS-based spatial proteomics experiments enable us to pinpoint the sub-cellular distribution of thousands of proteins in a specific system under controlled conditions. Recent advances in high-throughput MS methods have yielded a plethora of experimental spatial proteomics data for the cell biology community. Yet, there are many third-party data sources, such as immunofluorescence microscopy or protein annotations and sequences, which represent a rich and vast source of complementary information. We present a unique transfer learning classification framework that utilises a nearest-neighbour or support vector machine system, to integrate heterogeneous data sources to considerably improve on the quantity and quality of sub-cellular protein assignment. We demonstrate the utility of our algorithms through evaluation of five experimental datasets, from four different species in conjunction with four different auxiliary data sources to classify proteins to tens of sub-cellular compartments with high generalisation accuracy. We further apply the method to an experiment on pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells to classify a set of previously unknown proteins, and validate our findings against a recent high resolution map of the mouse stem cell proteome. The methodology is distributed as part of the open-source Bioconductor pRoloc suite for spatial proteomics data analysis. PMID:27175778

An evaluation of semi-automated methods for collecting ecosystem-level data in temperate marine systems.

PubMed

Griffin, Kingsley J; Hedge, Luke H; González-Rivero, Manuel; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove I; Johnston, Emma L

2017-07-01

Historically, marine ecologists have lacked efficient tools that are capable of capturing detailed species distribution data over large areas. Emerging technologies such as high-resolution imaging and associated machine-learning image-scoring software are providing new tools to map species over large areas in the ocean. Here, we combine a novel diver propulsion vehicle (DPV) imaging system with free-to-use machine-learning software to semi-automatically generate dense and widespread abundance records of a habitat-forming algae over ~5,000 m 2 of temperate reef. We employ replicable spatial techniques to test the effectiveness of traditional diver-based sampling, and better understand the distribution and spatial arrangement of one key algal species. We found that the effectiveness of a traditional survey depended on the level of spatial structuring, and generally 10-20 transects (50 × 1 m) were required to obtain reliable results. This represents 2-20 times greater replication than have been collected in previous studies. Furthermore, we demonstrate the usefulness of fine-resolution distribution modeling for understanding patterns in canopy algae cover at multiple spatial scales, and discuss applications to other marine habitats. Our analyses demonstrate that semi-automated methods of data gathering and processing provide more accurate results than traditional methods for describing habitat structure at seascape scales, and therefore represent vastly improved techniques for understanding and managing marine seascapes.

Perceptual learning shapes multisensory causal inference via two distinct mechanisms

PubMed Central

McGovern, David P.; Roudaia, Eugenie; Newell, Fiona N.; Roach, Neil W.

2016-01-01

To accurately represent the environment, our brains must integrate sensory signals from a common source while segregating those from independent sources. A reasonable strategy for performing this task is to restrict integration to cues that coincide in space and time. However, because multisensory signals are subject to differential transmission and processing delays, the brain must retain a degree of tolerance for temporal discrepancies. Recent research suggests that the width of this ‘temporal binding window’ can be reduced through perceptual learning, however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these experience-dependent effects. Here, in separate experiments, we measure the temporal and spatial binding windows of human participants before and after training on an audiovisual temporal discrimination task. We show that training leads to two distinct effects on multisensory integration in the form of (i) a specific narrowing of the temporal binding window that does not transfer to spatial binding and (ii) a general reduction in the magnitude of crossmodal interactions across all spatiotemporal disparities. These effects arise naturally from a Bayesian model of causal inference in which learning improves the precision of audiovisual timing estimation, whilst concomitantly decreasing the prior expectation that stimuli emanate from a common source. PMID:27091411

Perceptual learning shapes multisensory causal inference via two distinct mechanisms.

PubMed

McGovern, David P; Roudaia, Eugenie; Newell, Fiona N; Roach, Neil W

2016-04-19

To accurately represent the environment, our brains must integrate sensory signals from a common source while segregating those from independent sources. A reasonable strategy for performing this task is to restrict integration to cues that coincide in space and time. However, because multisensory signals are subject to differential transmission and processing delays, the brain must retain a degree of tolerance for temporal discrepancies. Recent research suggests that the width of this 'temporal binding window' can be reduced through perceptual learning, however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these experience-dependent effects. Here, in separate experiments, we measure the temporal and spatial binding windows of human participants before and after training on an audiovisual temporal discrimination task. We show that training leads to two distinct effects on multisensory integration in the form of (i) a specific narrowing of the temporal binding window that does not transfer to spatial binding and (ii) a general reduction in the magnitude of crossmodal interactions across all spatiotemporal disparities. These effects arise naturally from a Bayesian model of causal inference in which learning improves the precision of audiovisual timing estimation, whilst concomitantly decreasing the prior expectation that stimuli emanate from a common source.

Spatial learning while navigating with severely degraded viewing: The role of attention and mobility monitoring

PubMed Central

Rand, Kristina M.; Creem-Regehr, Sarah H.; Thompson, William B.

2015-01-01

The ability to navigate without getting lost is an important aspect of quality of life. In five studies, we evaluated how spatial learning is affected by the increased demands of keeping oneself safe while walking with degraded vision (mobility monitoring). We proposed that safe low-vision mobility requires attentional resources, providing competition for those needed to learn a new environment. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants navigated along paths in a real-world indoor environment with simulated degraded vision or normal vision. Memory for object locations seen along the paths was better with normal compared to degraded vision. With degraded vision, memory was better when participants were guided by an experimenter (low monitoring demands) versus unguided (high monitoring demands). In Experiments 3 and 4, participants walked while performing an auditory task. Auditory task performance was superior with normal compared to degraded vision. With degraded vision, auditory task performance was better when guided compared to unguided. In Experiment 5, participants performed both the spatial learning and auditory tasks under degraded vision. Results showed that attention mediates the relationship between mobility-monitoring demands and spatial learning. These studies suggest that more attention is required and spatial learning is impaired when navigating with degraded viewing. PMID:25706766

Structural and functional neuroplasticity in human learning of spatial routes.

PubMed

Keller, Timothy A; Just, Marcel Adam

2016-01-15

Recent findings with both animals and humans suggest that decreases in microscopic movements of water in the hippocampus reflect short-term neuroplasticity resulting from learning. Here we examine whether such neuroplastic structural changes concurrently alter the functional connectivity between hippocampus and other regions involved in learning. We collected both diffusion-weighted images and fMRI data before and after humans performed a 45min spatial route-learning task. Relative to a control group with equal practice time, there was decreased diffusivity in the posterior-dorsal dentate gyrus of the left hippocampus in the route-learning group accompanied by increased synchronization of fMRI-measured BOLD signal between this region and cortical areas, and by changes in behavioral performance. These concurrent changes characterize the multidimensionality of neuroplasticity as it enables human spatial learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Spatial Abilities and Dynamic Visualizations Interplay When Learning Functional Anatomy with 3D Anatomical Models

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berney, Sandra; Bétrancourt, Mireille; Molinari, Gaëlle; Hoyek, Nady

2015-01-01

The emergence of dynamic visualizations of three-dimensional (3D) models in anatomy curricula may be an adequate solution for spatial difficulties encountered with traditional static learning, as they provide direct visualization of change throughout the viewpoints. However, little research has explored the interplay between learning material…

Attending Globally or Locally: Incidental Learning of Optimal Visual Attention Allocation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beck, Melissa R.; Goldstein, Rebecca R.; van Lamsweerde, Amanda E.; Ericson, Justin M.

2018-01-01

Attention allocation determines the information that is encoded into memory. Can participants learn to optimally allocate attention based on what types of information are most likely to change? The current study examined whether participants could incidentally learn that changes to either high spatial frequency (HSF) or low spatial frequency (LSF)…

Sleep to the beat: A nap favours consolidation of timing.

PubMed

Verweij, Ilse M; Onuki, Yoshiyuki; Van Someren, Eus J W; Van der Werf, Ysbrand D

2016-06-01

Growing evidence suggests that sleep is important for procedural learning, but few studies have investigated the effect of sleep on the temporal aspects of motor skill learning. We assessed the effect of a 90-min day-time nap on learning a motor timing task, using 2 adaptations of a serial interception sequence learning (SISL) task. Forty-two right-handed participants performed the task before and after a 90-min period of sleep or wake. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded throughout. The motor task consisted of a sequential spatial pattern and was performed according to 2 different timing conditions, that is, either following a sequential or a random temporal pattern. The increase in accuracy was compared between groups using a mixed linear regression model. Within the sleep group, performance improvement was modeled based on sleep characteristics, including spindle- and slow-wave density. The sleep group, but not the wake group, showed improvement in the random temporal, but especially and significantly more strongly in the sequential temporal condition. None of the sleep characteristics predicted improvement on either general of the timing conditions. In conclusion, a daytime nap improves performance on a timing task. We show that performance on the task with a sequential timing sequence benefits more from sleep than motor timing. More important, the temporal sequence did not benefit initial learning, because differences arose only after an offline period and specifically when this period contained sleep. Sleep appears to aid in the extraction of regularities for optimal subsequent performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The Neurogenesis Actuator and NR2B/NMDA Receptor Antagonist Ro25-6981 Consistently Improves Spatial Memory Retraining Via Brain Region-Specific Gene Expression.

PubMed

Gruden, Marina A; Ratmirov, Alexander M; Storozheva, Zinaida I; Solovieva, Olga A; Sherstnev, Vladimir V; Sewell, Robert D E

2018-05-22

NR2B-containing NMDA (NR2B/NMDA) receptors are important in controlling neurogenesis and are involved in generating spatial memory. Ro25-6981 is a selective antagonist at these receptors and actuates neurogenesis and spatial memory. Inter-structural neuroanatomical profiles of gene expression regulating adult neurogenesis and neuroapoptosis require examination in the context of memory retrieval and reversal learning. The aim was to investigate spatial memory retrieval and reversal learning in relation to gene expression-linked neurogenetic processes following blockade of NR2B/NMDA receptors by Ro25-6981. Rats were trained in Morris water maze (MWM) platform location for 5 days. Ro25-6981 was administered (protocol days 6-7) followed by retraining (days 15-18 or 29-32). Platform location was tested (on days 19 or 33) then post-mortem brain tissue sampling (on days 20 or 34). The expression of three genes known to regulate cell proliferation (S100a6), differentiation (Ascl1), and apoptosis (Casp-3) were concomitantly evaluated in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and cerebellum in relation to the MWM performance protocol. Following initial training, Ro25-6981 enhanced visuospatial memory retrieval performance during further retraining (protocol days 29-32) but did not influence visuospatial reversal learning (day 33). Hippocampal Ascl1 and Casp-3 expressions were correspondingly increased and decreased while cerebellar S100a6 and Casp-3 activities were decreased and increased respectively 27 days after Ro25-6981 treatment. Chronological analysis indicated a possible involvement of new mature neurons in the reconfiguration of memory processes. This was attended by behavioral/gene correlations which revealed direct links between spatial memory retrieval enhancement and modified gene activity induced by NR2B/NMDA receptor blockade and upregulation.

E-Learning in Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vyas, Anjana; König, Gerhard

2016-06-01

Science and technology are evolving leaps and bounds. The advancements in GI-Science for natural and built environment helps in improving the quality of life. Learning through education and training needs to be at par with those advancements, which plays a vital role in utilization of technology. New technologies that creates new opportunities have enabled Geomatics to broaden the horizon (skills and competencies). Government policies and decisions support the use of geospatial science in various sectors of governance. Mapping, Land management, Urban planning, Environmental planning, Industrialization are some of the areas where the geomatics has become a baseline for decision making at national level. There is a need to bridge the gap between developments in geospatial science and its utilization and implementation. To prepare a framework for standardisation it is important to understand the theories of education and prevailing practices, with articulate goals exploring variety of teaching techniques. E-Learning is an erudition practice shaped for facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources through digital and network-enabled technology. It is a shift from traditional education or training to ICT-based flexible and collaborative learning based on the community of learners, academia, professionals, experts and facilitators. Developments in e-learning is focussed on computer assisted learning which has become popular because of its potential for providing more flexible access to content and instruction at any time, from any place (Means et al, 2009). With the advent of the geo-spatial technology, fast development in the software and hardware, the demand for skilled manpower is increasing and the need is for training, education, research and dissemination. It suggests inter-organisational cooperation between academia, industry, government and international collaboration. There is a nascent need to adopt multi-specialisation approach to examine the issues and challenges of research in such a valued topic of education and training in multi-disciplinary areas. Learning involve a change in an individual's knowledge, ability to perform a skill, participate and communicate. There is considerable variation among the theories about the nature of this change. This paper derives from a scientific research grant received from ISPRS, reveals a summary result from assessing various theories and methods of evaluation of learning through education, system and structure of it for GeoInformatics.

Sharp wave ripples during learning stabilize hippocampal spatial map

PubMed Central

Roux, Lisa; Hu, Bo; Eichler, Ronny; Stark, Eran; Buzsáki, György

2017-01-01

Cognitive representation of the environment requires a stable hippocampal map but the mechanisms maintaining map representation are unknown. Because sharp wave-ripples (SPW-R) orchestrate both retrospective and prospective spatial information, we hypothesized that disrupting neuronal activity during SPW-Rs affects spatial representation. Mice learned daily a new set of three goal locations on a multi-well maze. We used closed-loop SPW-R detection at goal locations to trigger optogenetic silencing of a subset of CA1 pyramidal neurons. Control place cells (non-silenced or silenced outside SPW-Rs) largely maintained the location of their place fields after learning and showed increased spatial information content. In contrast, the place fields of SPW-R-silenced place cells remapped, and their spatial information remained unaltered. SPW-R silencing did not impact the firing rates or the proportions of place cells. These results suggest that interference with SPW-R-associated activity during learning prevents the stabilization and refinement of the hippocampal map. PMID:28394323

Cognitive styles and mental rotation ability in map learning.

PubMed

Pazzaglia, Francesca; Moè, Angelica

2013-11-01

In inspecting, learning and reproducing a map, a wide range of abilities is potentially involved. This study examined the role of mental rotation (MR) and verbal ability, together with that of cognitive styles in map learning. As regards cognitive styles, the traditional distinction between verbalizers and visualizers has been taken into account, together with a more recent distinction between two styles of visualization: spatial and object. One hundred and seven participants filled in two questionnaires on cognitive styles: the Verbalizer-Visualizer Questionnaire (Richardson in J Ment Imag 1:109-125, 1977) and the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire (Blajenkova et al. in Appl Cogn Psych 20:239-263, 2006), performed MR and verbal tests, learned two maps, and were then tested for their recall. It was found that MR ability and cognitive styles played a role in predicting map learning, with some distinctions within cognitive styles: verbal style favoured learning of one of the two maps (the one rich in verbal labels), which in turn was disadvantaged by the adoption of spatial style. Conversely, spatial style predicted learning of the other map, rich in visual features. The discussion focuses on implications for cognitive psychology and everyday cognition.

Learning Low-Rank Decomposition for Pan-Sharpening With Spatial-Spectral Offsets.

PubMed

Yang, Shuyuan; Zhang, Kai; Wang, Min

2017-08-25

Finding accurate injection components is the key issue in pan-sharpening methods. In this paper, a low-rank pan-sharpening (LRP) model is developed from a new perspective of offset learning. Two offsets are defined to represent the spatial and spectral differences between low-resolution multispectral and high-resolution multispectral (HRMS) images, respectively. In order to reduce spatial and spectral distortions, spatial equalization and spectral proportion constraints are designed and cast on the offsets, to develop a spatial and spectral constrained stable low-rank decomposition algorithm via augmented Lagrange multiplier. By fine modeling and heuristic learning, our method can simultaneously reduce spatial and spectral distortions in the fused HRMS images. Moreover, our method can efficiently deal with noises and outliers in source images, for exploring low-rank and sparse characteristics of data. Extensive experiments are taken on several image data sets, and the results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed LRP.

Fingolimod (FTY720) attenuates social deficits, learning and memory impairments, neuronal loss and neuroinflammation in the rat model of autism.

PubMed

Wu, Hongmei; Wang, Xuelai; Gao, Jingquan; Liang, Shuang; Hao, Yanqiu; Sun, Caihong; Xia, Wei; Cao, Yonggang; Wu, Lijie

2017-03-15

To investigate the effect of FTY720 on the valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. As an animal model of autism, we used intraperitoneal injection of VPA on embryonic day 12.5 in Wistar rats. The pups were given FTY720 orally at doses of 0.25, 0.5 and 1mg/kg daily from postnatal day 15 to 35. Social behavior, spatial learning and memory were assessed at the end of FTY720 treatment. The histological change, oxidative stress, neuroinflammatory responses, and apoptosis-related proteins in the hippocampus were evaluated. FTY720 (1mg/kg) administration to VPA-exposed rats (1) improved social behavior, spatial learning and memory impairment; (2) resulted in a reduction in neuronal loss and apoptosis of pyramidal cells in hippocampal CA1 regions; (3) inhibited activation of microglial cells, in turn lowering the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in the hippocampus; (4) changed Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, Glutathione (GSH) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and Glutathione Peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in the hippocampus; (6) inhibited the elevated Bax and caspase-3 protein levels and enhanced the relative expression level of Bcl-2 in the hippocampus; and (7) increased phospho-Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (p-CaMKII), phospho-cAMP-response element binding protein (p-CREB) and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) protein expression in the hippocampus. FTY720 rescues social deficit, spatial learning and memory impairment in VPA-exposed rats. FTY720 exerts both a direct protection for neurons and an indirect modulation of inflammation-mediated neuron loss as a possible mechanism of neuroprotection. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Attenuation of brain edema and spatial learning deficits by the inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity using apocynin following diffuse traumatic brain injury in rats.

PubMed

Song, Si-Xin; Gao, Jun-Ling; Wang, Kai-Jie; Li, Ran; Tian, Yan-Xia; Wei, Jian-Qiang; Cui, Jian-Zhong

2013-01-01

Diffuse brain injury (DBI) is a leading cause of mortality and disability among young individuals and adults worldwide. In specific cases, DBI is associated with permanent spatial learning dysfunction and motor deficits due to primary and secondary brain damage. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase (NOX) is a major complex that produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the ischemic period. The complex aggravates brain damage and cell death following ischemia/reperfusion injury; however, its role in DBI remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that levels of NOX2 (a catalytic subunit of NOX) protein expression and the activation of NOX are enhanced following DBI induction in rats and are involved in aggravating secondary brain damage. A rat model of DBI was created using a modified weight-drop device. Our results demonstrated that NOX2 protein expression and NOX activity were enhanced in the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus at 48 and 72 h following DBI induction. Treatment with apocynin (50 mg/kg body weight), a specific inhibitor of NOX, injected intraperitoneally 30 min prior to DBI significantly attenuated NOX2 protein expression and NOX activation. Moreover, treatment with apocynin reduced brain edema and improved spatial learning function assessed using the Morris water maze. These results reveal that treatment with apocynin may provide a new neuroprotective therapeutic strategy against DBI by diminishing the upregulation of NOX2 protein and NOX activity.

Rapamycin Reverses Status Epilepticus-Induced Memory Deficits and Dendritic Damage

PubMed Central

Brewster, Amy L.; Lugo, Joaquin N.; Patil, Vinit V.; Lee, Wai L.; Qian, Yan; Vanegas, Fabiola; Anderson, Anne E.

2013-01-01

Cognitive impairments are prominent sequelae of prolonged continuous seizures (status epilepticus; SE) in humans and animal models. While often associated with dendritic injury, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway is hyperactivated following SE. This pathway modulates learning and memory and is associated with regulation of neuronal, dendritic, and glial properties. Thus, in the present study we tested the hypothesis that SE-induced mTORC1 hyperactivation is a candidate mechanism underlying cognitive deficits and dendritic pathology seen following SE. We examined the effects of rapamycin, an mTORC1 inhibitor, on the early hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory deficits associated with an episode of pilocarpine-induced SE. Rapamycin-treated SE rats performed significantly better than the vehicle-treated rats in two spatial memory tasks, the Morris water maze and the novel object recognition test. At the molecular level, we found that the SE-induced increase in mTORC1 signaling was localized in neurons and microglia. Rapamycin decreased the SE-induced mTOR activation and attenuated microgliosis which was mostly localized within the CA1 area. These findings paralleled a reversal of the SE-induced decreases in dendritic Map2 and ion channels levels as well as improved dendritic branching and spine density in area CA1 following rapamycin treatment. Taken together, these findings suggest that mTORC1 hyperactivity contributes to early hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory deficits and dendritic dysregulation associated with SE. PMID:23536771

Reference frames in allocentric representations are invariant across static and active encoding

PubMed Central

Chan, Edgar; Baumann, Oliver; Bellgrove, Mark A.; Mattingley, Jason B.

2013-01-01

An influential model of spatial memory—the so-called reference systems account—proposes that relationships between objects are biased by salient axes (“frames of reference”) provided by environmental cues, such as the geometry of a room. In this study, we sought to examine the extent to which a salient environmental feature influences the formation of spatial memories when learning occurs via a single, static viewpoint and via active navigation, where information has to be integrated across multiple viewpoints. In our study, participants learned the spatial layout of an object array that was arranged with respect to a prominent environmental feature within a virtual arena. Location memory was tested using judgments of relative direction. Experiment 1A employed a design similar to previous studies whereby learning of object-location information occurred from a single, static viewpoint. Consistent with previous studies, spatial judgments were significantly more accurate when made from an orientation that was aligned, as opposed to misaligned, with the salient environmental feature. In Experiment 1B, a fresh group of participants learned the same object-location information through active exploration, which required integration of spatial information over time from a ground-level perspective. As in Experiment 1A, object-location information was organized around the salient environmental cue. Taken together, the findings suggest that the learning condition (static vs. active) does not affect the reference system employed to encode object-location information. Spatial reference systems appear to be a ubiquitous property of spatial representations, and might serve to reduce the cognitive demands of spatial processing. PMID:24009595

Quantification of histone modification ChIP-seq enrichment for data mining and machine learning applications

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The advent of ChIP-seq technology has made the investigation of epigenetic regulatory networks a computationally tractable problem. Several groups have applied statistical computing methods to ChIP-seq datasets to gain insight into the epigenetic regulation of transcription. However, methods for estimating enrichment levels in ChIP-seq data for these computational studies are understudied and variable. Since the conclusions drawn from these data mining and machine learning applications strongly depend on the enrichment level inputs, a comparison of estimation methods with respect to the performance of statistical models should be made. Results Various methods were used to estimate the gene-wise ChIP-seq enrichment levels for 20 histone methylations and the histone variant H2A.Z. The Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) algorithm was applied for each estimation method using the estimation of enrichment levels as predictors and gene expression levels as responses. The methods used to estimate enrichment levels included tag counting and model-based methods that were applied to whole genes and specific gene regions. These methods were also applied to various sizes of estimation windows. The MARS model performance was assessed with the Generalized Cross-Validation Score (GCV). We determined that model-based methods of enrichment estimation that spatially weight enrichment based on average patterns provided an improvement over tag counting methods. Also, methods that included information across the entire gene body provided improvement over methods that focus on a specific sub-region of the gene (e.g., the 5' or 3' region). Conclusion The performance of data mining and machine learning methods when applied to histone modification ChIP-seq data can be improved by using data across the entire gene body, and incorporating the spatial distribution of enrichment. Refinement of enrichment estimation ultimately improved accuracy of model predictions. PMID:21834981

Distinct discrimination learning strategies and their relation with spatial memory and attentional control in 4- to 14-year-olds.

PubMed

Schmittmann, Verena D; van der Maas, Han L J; Raijmakers, Maartje E J

2012-04-01

Behavioral, psychophysiological, and neuropsychological studies have revealed large developmental differences in various learning paradigms where learning from positive and negative feedback is essential. The differences are possibly due to the use of distinct strategies that may be related to spatial working memory and attentional control. In this study, strategies in performing a discrimination learning task were distinguished in a cross-sectional sample of 302 children from 4 to 14 years of age. The trial-by-trial accuracy data were analyzed with mathematical learning models. The best-fitting model revealed three learning strategies: hypothesis testing, slow abrupt learning, and nonlearning. The proportion of hypothesis-testing children increased with age. Nonlearners were present only in the youngest age group. Feature preferences for the irrelevant dimension had a detrimental effect on performance in the youngest age group. The executive functions spatial working memory and attentional control significantly predicted posterior learning strategy probabilities after controlling for age. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Behavioral Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury-associated Visual Dysfunction Based on Adult Cortical Plasticity

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

protocol for training the TBI patients.    References    Bonneh, Y.S., Sagi, D., & Polat, U. (2007). Spatial and temporal crowding in  amblyopia ...evidence from treatment  of adult  amblyopia . Restor Neurol Neurosci, 26 (4‐5), 413‐424.  Polat, U. (2009). Making perceptual learning practical to improve...visual functions. Vision Res,   13    Polat, U., Ma‐Naim, T., Belkin, M., & Sagi, D. (2004). Improving vision in adult  amblyopia  by  perceptual learning

Coordinated learning of grid cell and place cell spatial and temporal properties: multiple scales, attention and oscillations.

PubMed

Grossberg, Stephen; Pilly, Praveen K

2014-02-05

A neural model proposes how entorhinal grid cells and hippocampal place cells may develop as spatial categories in a hierarchy of self-organizing maps (SOMs). The model responds to realistic rat navigational trajectories by learning both grid cells with hexagonal grid firing fields of multiple spatial scales, and place cells with one or more firing fields, that match neurophysiological data about their development in juvenile rats. Both grid and place cells can develop by detecting, learning and remembering the most frequent and energetic co-occurrences of their inputs. The model's parsimonious properties include: similar ring attractor mechanisms process linear and angular path integration inputs that drive map learning; the same SOM mechanisms can learn grid cell and place cell receptive fields; and the learning of the dorsoventral organization of multiple spatial scale modules through medial entorhinal cortex to hippocampus (HC) may use mechanisms homologous to those for temporal learning through lateral entorhinal cortex to HC ('neural relativity'). The model clarifies how top-down HC-to-entorhinal attentional mechanisms may stabilize map learning, simulates how hippocampal inactivation may disrupt grid cells, and explains data about theta, beta and gamma oscillations. The article also compares the three main types of grid cell models in the light of recent data.

Neurobiological and Endocrine Correlates of Individual Differences in Spatial Learning Ability

PubMed Central

Sandi, Carmen; Cordero, M. Isabel; Merino, José J.; Kruyt, Nyika D.; Regan, Ciaran M.; Murphy, Keith J.

2004-01-01

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses revealed a learning-induced up-regulation of PSA-NCAM in the hippocampal dentate gyrus that was related to the spatial learning abilities displayed by rats during training. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between latency to find the platform and subsequent activated PSA levels, indicating that greater induction of polysialylation was observed in rats with the slower acquisition curve. At posttraining times when no learning-associated activation of PSA was observed, no such correlation was found. Further experiments revealed that performance in the massed water maze training is related to a pattern of spatial learning and memory abilities, and to learning-related glucocorticoid responsiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the learning-related neural circuits of fast learners are better suited to solving the water maze task than those of slow learners, the latter relying more on structural reorganization to form memory, rather than the relatively economic mechanism of altering synaptic efficacy that is likely used by the former. PMID:15169853

Neurobiological and endocrine correlates of individual differences in spatial learning ability.

PubMed

Sandi, Carmen; Cordero, M Isabel; Merino, José J; Kruyt, Nyika D; Regan, Ciaran M; Murphy, Keith J

2004-01-01

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been implicated in activity-dependent synaptic remodeling and memory formation. Here, we questioned whether training-induced modulation of PSA-NCAM expression might be related to individual differences in spatial learning abilities. At 12 h posttraining, immunohistochemical analyses revealed a learning-induced up-regulation of PSA-NCAM in the hippocampal dentate gyrus that was related to the spatial learning abilities displayed by rats during training. Specifically, a positive correlation was found between latency to find the platform and subsequent activated PSA levels, indicating that greater induction of polysialylation was observed in rats with the slower acquisition curve. At posttraining times when no learning-associated activation of PSA was observed, no such correlation was found. Further experiments revealed that performance in the massed water maze training is related to a pattern of spatial learning and memory abilities, and to learning-related glucocorticoid responsiveness. Taken together, our findings suggest that the learning-related neural circuits of fast learners are better suited to solving the water maze task than those of slow learners, the latter relying more on structural reorganization to form memory, rather than the relatively economic mechanism of altering synaptic efficacy that is likely used by the former.

From brain synapses to systems for learning and memory: Object recognition, spatial navigation, timed conditioning, and movement control.

PubMed

Grossberg, Stephen

2015-09-24

This article provides an overview of neural models of synaptic learning and memory whose expression in adaptive behavior depends critically on the circuits and systems in which the synapses are embedded. It reviews Adaptive Resonance Theory, or ART, models that use excitatory matching and match-based learning to achieve fast category learning and whose learned memories are dynamically stabilized by top-down expectations, attentional focusing, and memory search. ART clarifies mechanistic relationships between consciousness, learning, expectation, attention, resonance, and synchrony. ART models are embedded in ARTSCAN architectures that unify processes of invariant object category learning, recognition, spatial and object attention, predictive remapping, and eye movement search, and that clarify how conscious object vision and recognition may fail during perceptual crowding and parietal neglect. The generality of learned categories depends upon a vigilance process that is regulated by acetylcholine via the nucleus basalis. Vigilance can get stuck at too high or too low values, thereby causing learning problems in autism and medial temporal amnesia. Similar synaptic learning laws support qualitatively different behaviors: Invariant object category learning in the inferotemporal cortex; learning of grid cells and place cells in the entorhinal and hippocampal cortices during spatial navigation; and learning of time cells in the entorhinal-hippocampal system during adaptively timed conditioning, including trace conditioning. Spatial and temporal processes through the medial and lateral entorhinal-hippocampal system seem to be carried out with homologous circuit designs. Variations of a shared laminar neocortical circuit design have modeled 3D vision, speech perception, and cognitive working memory and learning. A complementary kind of inhibitory matching and mismatch learning controls movement. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Brain and Memory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors, learning and memory: chronic intraventricular infusion of the NMDA receptor antagonist d-AP5 interacts directly with the neural mechanisms of spatial learning.

PubMed

Morris, R G M; Steele, R J; Bell, J E; Martin, S J

2013-03-01

Three experiments were conducted to contrast the hypothesis that hippocampal N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors participate directly in the mechanisms of hippocampus-dependent learning with an alternative view that apparent impairments of learning induced by NMDA receptor antagonists arise because of drug-induced neuropathological and/or sensorimotor disturbances. In experiment 1, rats given a chronic i.c.v. infusion of d-AP5 (30 mm) at 0.5 μL/h were selectively impaired, relative to aCSF-infused animals, in place but not cued navigation learning when they were trained during the 14-day drug infusion period, but were unimpaired on both tasks if trained 11 days after the minipumps were exhausted. d-AP5 caused sensorimotor disturbances in the spatial task, but these gradually worsened as the animals failed to learn. Histological assessment of potential neuropathological changes revealed no abnormalities in d-AP5-treated rats whether killed during or after chronic drug infusion. In experiment 2, a deficit in spatial learning was also apparent in d-AP5-treated rats trained on a spatial reference memory task involving two identical but visible platforms, a task chosen and shown to minimise sensorimotor disturbances. HPLC was used to identify the presence of d-AP5 in selected brain areas. In Experiment 3, rats treated with d-AP5 showed a delay-dependent deficit in spatial memory in the delayed matching-to-place protocol for the water maze. These data are discussed with respect to the learning mechanism and sensorimotor accounts of the impact of NMDA receptor antagonists on brain function. We argue that NMDA receptor mechanisms participate directly in spatial learning. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Age Differences in Recall and Information Processing in Verbal and Spatial Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungas, Dan; And Others

1991-01-01

Three age groups of 24 people each completed verbal word list tasks and spatial learning tasks 5 times each. Significant age differences were found for total recall and type of task. Younger subjects showed increased levels of clustering--organizing information according to semantic or spatial clusters. Age was not related to temporal order of…

Spatial abstraction for autonomous robot navigation.

PubMed

Epstein, Susan L; Aroor, Anoop; Evanusa, Matthew; Sklar, Elizabeth I; Parsons, Simon

2015-09-01

Optimal navigation for a simulated robot relies on a detailed map and explicit path planning, an approach problematic for real-world robots that are subject to noise and error. This paper reports on autonomous robots that rely on local spatial perception, learning, and commonsense rationales instead. Despite realistic actuator error, learned spatial abstractions form a model that supports effective travel.

Rectangular Array Model Supporting Students' Spatial Structuring in Learning Multiplication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanty, Nenden Octavarulia; Wijaya, Surya

2012-01-01

We examine how rectangular array model can support students' spatial structuring in learning multiplication. To begin, we define what we mean by spatial structuring as the mental operation of constructing an organization or form for an object or set of objects. For that reason, the eggs problem was chosen as the starting point in which the…

Spatial Thinking Concepts in Early Grade-Level Geography Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anthamatten, Peter

2010-01-01

Research in the cognition and learning sciences has demonstrated that the human brain contains basic structures whose functions are to perform a variety of specific spatial reasoning tasks and that children are capable of learning basic spatial concepts at an early age. There has been a call from within geography to recognize research on spatial…

Stills, Not Full Motion, for Interactive Spatial Training: American, Turkish and Taiwanese Female Pre-Service Teachers Learn Spatial Visualization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Glenn Gordon; Gerretson, Helen; Olkun, Sinan; Yuan, Yuan; Dogbey, James; Erdem, Aliye

2009-01-01

This study investigated how female elementary education pre-service teachers in the United States, Turkey and Taiwan learned spatial skills from structured activities involving discrete, as opposed to continuous, transformations in interactive computer programs, and how these activities transferred to non-related standardized tests of spatial…

Using the van Hiele K-12 Geometry Learning Theory to Modify Engineering Mechanics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Janet M.; Zachary, Loren W.

2004-01-01

Engineering students use spatial thinking when examining diagrams or models to study structure design. It is expected that most engineering students have solidified spatial thinking skills during K-12 schooling. However, according to what we know about geometry learning and teaching, spatial thinking probably needs to be explicitly taught within…

Push-pull training reduces foveal sensory eye dominance within the early visual channels

PubMed Central

Xu, Jingping P.; He, Zijiang J.; Ooi, Teng Leng

2011-01-01

A push-pull training protocol is applied to reduce sensory eye dominance in the foveal region. The training protocol consists of cueing the weak eye to force it to become dominant while the strong eye is suppressed when a pair of dichoptic orthogonal grating stimulus is subsequently presented to it (Ooi and He, 1999). We trained with four pairs of dichoptic orthogonal gratings (0°/90°, 90°/0°, 45°/135° and 135°/45° at 3 cpd) to affect the interocular inhibitory interaction tuned to the four trained orientations (0°, 45°, 90° and 135°). After a 10-day training session, we found a significant learning effect (reduced sensory eye dominance) at the trained orientations as well as at two other untrained orientations (22.5° and 67.5°). This suggests that the four pairs of oriented training stimuli are sufficient to produce a learning effect at any other orientation. The nearly complete transfer of the learning effect across orientation is attributed to the fact that the trained and untrained orientations are close enough to fall in the same orientation tuning function of the early visual cortical neurons (~37.5°). Applying the same notion of transfer of learning within the same feature channel, we also found a large transfer effect to an untrained spatial frequency (6 cpd), which is 1 octave higher than the trained spatial frequency (3 cpd). Furthermore, we found that stereopsis is improved, as is the competitive ability between the two eyes, after the push-pull training. Our data analysis suggests that these improvements are correlated with the reduced sensory eye dominance after the training, i.e., due to a more balanced interocular inhibition. We also found that the learning effect (reduced SED and stereo threshold) can be retained for more than a year after the termination of the push-pull training. PMID:21689673

Spatial Visualization in Introductory Geology Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynolds, S. J.

2004-12-01

Visualization is critical to solving most geologic problems, which involve events and processes across a broad range of space and time. Accordingly, spatial visualization is an essential part of undergraduate geology courses. In such courses, students learn to visualize three-dimensional topography from two-dimensional contour maps, to observe landscapes and extract clues about how that landscape formed, and to imagine the three-dimensional geometries of geologic structures and how these are expressed on the Earth's surface or on geologic maps. From such data, students reconstruct the geologic history of areas, trying to visualize the sequence of ancient events that formed a landscape. To understand the role of visualization in student learning, we developed numerous interactive QuickTime Virtual Reality animations to teach students the most important visualization skills and approaches. For topography, students can spin and tilt contour-draped, shaded-relief terrains, flood virtual landscapes with water, and slice into terrains to understand profiles. To explore 3D geometries of geologic structures, they interact with virtual blocks that can be spun, sliced into, faulted, and made partially transparent to reveal internal structures. They can tilt planes to see how they interact with topography, and spin and tilt geologic maps draped over digital topography. The GeoWall system allows students to see some of these materials in true stereo. We used various assessments to research the effectiveness of these materials and to document visualization strategies students use. Our research indicates that, compared to control groups, students using such materials improve more in their geologic visualization abilities and in their general visualization abilities as measured by a standard spatial visualization test. Also, females achieve greater gains, improving their general visualization abilities to the same level as males. Misconceptions that students carry obstruct learning, but are largely undocumented. Many students, for example, cannot visualize that the landscape in which rock layers were deposited was different than the landscape in which the rocks are exposed today, even in the Grand Canyon.

Effects of dorsal hippocampus catecholamine depletion on paired-associates learning and place learning in rats.

PubMed

Roschlau, Corinna; Hauber, Wolfgang

2017-04-14

Growing evidence suggests that the catecholamine (CA) neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenaline support hippocampus-mediated learning and memory. However, little is known to date about which forms of hippocampus-mediated spatial learning are modulated by CA signaling in the hippocampus. Therefore, in the current study we examined the effects of 6-hydroxydopamine-induced CA depletion in the dorsal hippocampus on two prominent forms of hippocampus-based spatial learning, that is learning of object-location associations (paired-associates learning) as well as learning and choosing actions based on a representation of the context (place learning). Results show that rats with CA depletion of the dorsal hippocampus were able to learn object-location associations in an automated touch screen paired-associates learning (PAL) task. One possibility to explain this negative result is that object-location learning as tested in the touchscreen PAL task seems to require relatively little hippocampal processing. Results further show that in rats with CA depletion of the dorsal hippocampus the use of a response strategy was facilitated in a T-maze spatial learning task. We suspect that impaired hippocampus CA signaling may attenuate hippocampus-based place learning and favor dorsolateral striatum-based response learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mice lacking hippocampal left-right asymmetry show non-spatial learning deficits.

PubMed

Shimbo, Akihiro; Kosaki, Yutaka; Ito, Isao; Watanabe, Shigeru

2018-01-15

Left-right asymmetry is known to exist at several anatomical levels in the brain and recent studies have provided further evidence to show that it also exists at a molecular level in the hippocampal CA3-CA1 circuit. The distribution of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor NR2B subunits in the apical and basal synapses of CA1 pyramidal neurons is asymmetrical if the input arrives from the left or right CA3 pyramidal neurons. In the present study, we examined the role of hippocampal asymmetry in cognitive function using β2-microglobulin knock-out (β2m KO) mice, which lack hippocampal asymmetry. We tested β2m KO mice in a series of spatial and non-spatial learning tasks and compared the performances of β2m KO and C57BL6/J wild-type (WT) mice. The β2m KO mice appeared normal in both spatial reference memory and spatial working memory tasks but they took more time than WT mice in learning the two non-spatial learning tasks (i.e., a differential reinforcement of lower rates of behavior (DRL) task and a straight runway task). The β2m KO mice also showed less precision in their response timing in the DRL task and showed weaker spontaneous recovery during extinction in the straight runway task. These results indicate that hippocampal asymmetry is important for certain characteristics of non-spatial learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environment learning using descriptions or navigation: The involvement of working memory in young and older adults.

PubMed

Meneghetti, Chiara; Borella, Erika; Carbone, Elena; Martinelli, Massimiliano; De Beni, Rossana

2016-05-01

This study examined age-related differences between young and older adults in the involvement of verbal and visuo-spatial components of working memory (WM) when paths are learned from verbal and visuo-spatial inputs. A sample of 60 young adults (20-30 years old) and 58 older adults (60-75 years old) learned two paths from the person's point of view, one displayed in the form of a video showing the path, the other presenting the path in a verbal description. During the learning phase, participants concurrently performed a verbal task (articulatory suppression, AS group), or a visuo-spatial task (spatial tapping, ST group), or no secondary task (control, C group). After learning each path, participants completed tasks that involved the following: (1) recalling the sequential order and the location of landmarks; and (2) judging spatial sentences as true or false (verification test). The results showed that young adults outperformed older adults in all recall tasks. In both age groups performance in all types of task was worse in the AS and ST groups than in the C group, irrespective of the type of input. Overall, these findings suggest that verbal and visuo-spatial components of WM underpin the processing of environmental information in both young and older adults. The results are discussed in terms of age-related differences and according to the spatial cognition framework. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Learning strategy preference of 5XFAD transgenic mice depends on the sequence of place/spatial and cued training in the water maze task.

PubMed

Cho, Woo-Hyun; Park, Jung-Cheol; Chung, ChiHye; Jeon, Won Kyung; Han, Jung-Soo

2014-10-15

Learning strategy preference was assessed in 5XFAD mice, which carry 5 familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) mutations. Mice were sequentially trained in cued and place/spatial versions of the water maze task. After training, a strategy preference test was conducted in which mice were required to choose between the spatial location where the platform had previously been during the place/spatial training, and a visible platform in a new location. 5XFAD and non-transgenic control mice showed equivalent escape performance in both training tasks. However, in the strategy preference test, 5XFAD mice preferred a cued strategy relative to control mice. When the training sequence was presented in the reverse order (i.e., place/spatial training before cued training), 5XFAD mice showed impairments in place/spatial training, but no differences in cued training or in the strategy preference test comparing to control. Analysis of regional Aβ42 deposition in brains of 5XFAD mice showed that the hippocampus, which is involved in the place/spatial learning strategy, had the highest levels of Aβ42 and the dorsal striatum, which is involved in cued learning strategy, showed a small increase in Aβ42 levels. The effect of training protocol order on performance, and regional differences in Aβ42 deposition observed in 5XFAD mice, suggest differential functional recruitment of brain structures related to learning in healthy and AD individuals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Infants learn better from left to right: a directional bias in infants' sequence learning.

PubMed

Bulf, Hermann; de Hevia, Maria Dolores; Gariboldi, Valeria; Macchi Cassia, Viola

2017-05-26

A wealth of studies show that human adults map ordered information onto a directional spatial continuum. We asked whether mapping ordinal information into a directional space constitutes an early predisposition, already functional prior to the acquisition of symbolic knowledge and language. While it is known that preverbal infants represent numerical order along a left-to-right spatial continuum, no studies have investigated yet whether infants, like adults, organize any kind of ordinal information onto a directional space. We investigated whether 7-month-olds' ability to learn high-order rule-like patterns from visual sequences of geometric shapes was affected by the spatial orientation of the sequences (left-to-right vs. right-to-left). Results showed that infants readily learn rule-like patterns when visual sequences were presented from left to right, but not when presented from right to left. This result provides evidence that spatial orientation critically determines preverbal infants' ability to perceive and learn ordered information in visual sequences, opening to the idea that a left-to-right spatially organized mental representation of ordered dimensions might be rooted in biologically-determined constraints on human brain development.

Endogenous hippocampal LTD that is enabled by spatial object recognition requires activation of NMDA receptors and the metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGlu5.

PubMed

Goh, Jinzhong Jeremy; Manahan-Vaughan, Denise

2013-02-01

Learning-facilitated synaptic plasticity describes the ability of hippocampal synapses to respond with persistent plasticity to afferent stimulation when coupled with a spatial learning event, whereby the afferent stimulation normally produces short-term plasticity or no change in synaptic strength if given in the absence of novel learning. Recently, it was reported that in the mouse hippocampus intrinsic long-term depression (LTD > 24 h) occurs when test-pulse afferent stimulation is coupled with a novel spatial learning. It is not known to what extent this phenomenon shares molecular properties with synaptic plasticity that is typically induced by means of patterned electrical afferent stimulation. In previous work, we showed that a novel spatial object recognition task facilitates LTD at the Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapse of freely behaving adult mice, whereas reexposure to the familiar spatial configuration ∼24 h later elicited no such facilitation. Here we report that treatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist, (±)-3-(2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propanephosphonic acid (CPP), or antagonism of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor, mGlu5, using 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl) pyridine (MPEP), completely prevented LTD under the novel learning conditions. Behavioral assessment during re-exposure after application of the antagonists revealed that the animals did not remember the object during novel exposure and treated them as if they were novel. Under these circumstances, where the acquisition of novel spatial information was involved, LTD was facilitated. Our data support that the endogenous LTD that is enabled through novel spatial learning in adult mice is critically dependent on the activation of both the NMDA receptors and mGlu5. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluation of Alternative Conceptual Models Using Interdisciplinary Information: An Application in Shallow Groundwater Recharge and Discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Y.; Bajcsy, P.; Valocchi, A. J.; Kim, C.; Wang, J.

2007-12-01

Natural systems are complex, thus extensive data are needed for their characterization. However, data acquisition is expensive; consequently we develop models using sparse, uncertain information. When all uncertainties in the system are considered, the number of alternative conceptual models is large. Traditionally, the development of a conceptual model has relied on subjective professional judgment. Good judgment is based on experience in coordinating and understanding auxiliary information which is correlated to the model but difficult to be quantified into the mathematical model. For example, groundwater recharge and discharge (R&D) processes are known to relate to multiple information sources such as soil type, river and lake location, irrigation patterns and land use. Although hydrologists have been trying to understand and model the interaction between each of these information sources and R&D processes, it is extremely difficult to quantify their correlations using a universal approach due to the complexity of the processes, the spatiotemporal distribution and uncertainty. There is currently no single method capable of estimating R&D rates and patterns for all practical applications. Chamberlin (1890) recommended use of "multiple working hypotheses" (alternative conceptual models) for rapid advancement in understanding of applied and theoretical problems. Therefore, cross analyzing R&D rates and patterns from various estimation methods and related field information will likely be superior to using only a single estimation method. We have developed the Pattern Recognition Utility (PRU), to help GIS users recognize spatial patterns from noisy 2D image. This GIS plug-in utility has been applied to help hydrogeologists establish alternative R&D conceptual models in a more efficient way than conventional methods. The PRU uses numerical methods and image processing algorithms to estimate and visualize shallow R&D patterns and rates. It can provide a fast initial estimate prior to planning labor intensive and time consuming field R&D measurements. Furthermore, the Spatial Pattern 2 Learn (SP2L) was developed to cross analyze results from the PRU with ancillary field information, such as land coverage, soil type, topographic maps and previous estimates. The learning process of SP2L cross examines each initially recognized R&D pattern with the ancillary spatial dataset, and then calculates a quantifiable reliability index for each R&D map using a supervised machine learning technique called decision tree. This JAVA based software package is capable of generating alternative R&D maps if the user decides to apply certain conditions recognized by the learning process. The reliability indices from SP2L will improve the traditionally subjective approach to initiating conceptual models by providing objectively quantifiable conceptual bases for further probabilistic and uncertainty analyses. Both the PRU and SP2L have been designed to be user-friendly and universal utilities for pattern recognition and learning to improve model predictions from sparse measurements by computer-assisted integration of spatially dense geospatial image data and machine learning of model dependencies.

Low dose EGCG treatment beginning in adolescence does not improve cognitive impairment in a Down syndrome mouse model.

PubMed

Stringer, Megan; Abeysekera, Irushi; Dria, Karl J; Roper, Randall J; Goodlett, Charles R

2015-11-01

Down syndrome (DS) or Trisomy 21 causes intellectual disabilities in humans and the Ts65Dn DS mouse model is deficient in learning and memory tasks. DYRK1A is triplicated in DS and Ts65Dn mice. Ts65Dn mice were given up to ~20mg/kg/day epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a Dyrk1a inhibitor, or water beginning on postnatal day 24 and continuing for three or seven weeks, and were tested on a series of behavioral and learning tasks, including a novel balance beam test. Ts65Dn as compared to control mice exhibited higher locomotor activity, impaired novel object recognition, impaired balance beam and decreased spatial learning and memory. Neither EGCG treatment improved performance of the Ts65Dn mice on these tasks. Ts65Dn mice had a non-significant increase in Dyrk1a activity in the hippocampus and cerebellum. Given the translational value of the Ts65Dn mouse model, further studies will be needed to identify the EGCG doses (and mechanisms) that may improve cognitive function. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dissociable effects of practice variability on learning motor and timing skills.

PubMed

Caramiaux, Baptiste; Bevilacqua, Frédéric; Wanderley, Marcelo M; Palmer, Caroline

2018-01-01

Motor skill acquisition inherently depends on the way one practices the motor task. The amount of motor task variability during practice has been shown to foster transfer of the learned skill to other similar motor tasks. In addition, variability in a learning schedule, in which a task and its variations are interweaved during practice, has been shown to help the transfer of learning in motor skill acquisition. However, there is little evidence on how motor task variations and variability schedules during practice act on the acquisition of complex motor skills such as music performance, in which a performer learns both the right movements (motor skill) and the right time to perform them (timing skill). This study investigated the impact of rate (tempo) variability and the schedule of tempo change during practice on timing and motor skill acquisition. Complete novices, with no musical training, practiced a simple musical sequence on a piano keyboard at different rates. Each novice was assigned to one of four learning conditions designed to manipulate the amount of tempo variability across trials (large or small tempo set) and the schedule of tempo change (randomized or non-randomized order) during practice. At test, the novices performed the same musical sequence at a familiar tempo and at novel tempi (testing tempo transfer), as well as two novel (but related) sequences at a familiar tempo (testing spatial transfer). We found that practice conditions had little effect on learning and transfer performance of timing skill. Interestingly, practice conditions influenced motor skill learning (reduction of movement variability): lower temporal variability during practice facilitated transfer to new tempi and new sequences; non-randomized learning schedule improved transfer to new tempi and new sequences. Tempo (rate) and the sequence difficulty (spatial manipulation) affected performance variability in both timing and movement. These findings suggest that there is a dissociable effect of practice variability on learning complex skills that involve both motor and timing constraints.

Finding faults: analogical comparison supports spatial concept learning in geoscience.

PubMed

Jee, Benjamin D; Uttal, David H; Gentner, Dedre; Manduca, Cathy; Shipley, Thomas F; Sageman, Bradley

2013-05-01

A central issue in education is how to support the spatial thinking involved in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We investigated whether and how the cognitive process of analogical comparison supports learning of a basic spatial concept in geoscience, fault. Because of the high variability in the appearance of faults, it may be difficult for students to learn the category-relevant spatial structure. There is abundant evidence that comparing analogous examples can help students gain insight into important category-defining features (Gentner in Cogn Sci 34(5):752-775, 2010). Further, comparing high-similarity pairs can be especially effective at revealing key differences (Sagi et al. 2012). Across three experiments, we tested whether comparison of visually similar contrasting examples would help students learn the fault concept. Our main findings were that participants performed better at identifying faults when they (1) compared contrasting (fault/no fault) cases versus viewing each case separately (Experiment 1), (2) compared similar as opposed to dissimilar contrasting cases early in learning (Experiment 2), and (3) viewed a contrasting pair of schematic block diagrams as opposed to a single block diagram of a fault as part of an instructional text (Experiment 3). These results suggest that comparison of visually similar contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from category-irrelevant features for participants. When such comparisons occurred early in learning, participants were more likely to form an accurate conceptual representation. Thus, analogical comparison of images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in geoscience and other STEM disciplines.

The Method of Loci as a Mnemonic Device to Facilitate Learning in Endocrinology Leads to Improvement in Student Performance as Measured by Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Qureshi, Ayisha; Rizvi, Farwa; Syed, Anjum; Shahid, Aqueel; Manzoor, Hana

2014-01-01

Cognitive psychology has demonstrated that the way knowledge is structured in memory determines the ability to retain, recall, and use it to solve problems. The method of loci (MOL) is a mnemonic device that relies on spatial relationships between "loci" (e.g., locations on a familiar route or rooms in a familiar building) to arrange and…

Chimeric Peptide Tat-HA-NR2B9c Improves Regenerative Repair after Transient Global Ischemia.

PubMed

Zhou, Hai-Hui; Zhang, Li; Zhang, Hai-Xia; Zhang, Jin-Ping; Ge, Wei-Hong

2017-01-01

Transient global ischemia (TGI) is a major public health problem, and it heightens the need of effective treatments. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether recombinant polypeptide Tat-HA-NR2B9c improves spatial learning and memory deficits in rats after TGI. Rats were subjected to 20-min ischemia induced by four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) method and daily injected with Tat-HA-NR2B9c (1.12 mg/kg) for 1 week. Tat-HA-NR2B9c increased CREB activity, upregulated B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) expression after treated for 24 h. There was a significant increase in dendrite spine density in hippocampal CA1 region and BrdU-positive cells and BrdU/NeuN-positive cells in the dentate gyrus after Tat-HA-NR2B9c treatment, compared with ischemia group at postischemic day 28. Inhibition of the CREB activation by recombinant lentivirus, LV-CREB133-GFP, abolished the upregulation effects of Tat-HA-NR2B9c on Bcl-2 expression. Moreover, Tat-HA-NR2B9c improved the impaired spatial learning and memory ability in Morris water maze. These results suggest that Tat-HA-NR2B9c substantially ameliorated the TGI-induced loss of dendrite spine in hippocampal CA1, increased neurogenesis in dentate gyrus, and significantly improved cognitive abilities by the CREB pathway in rats after transient global cerebral ischemia. It may be served as a treatment for TGI.

Training Classifiers with Shadow Features for Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition.

PubMed

Fong, Simon; Song, Wei; Cho, Kyungeun; Wong, Raymond; Wong, Kelvin K L

2017-02-27

In this paper, a novel training/testing process for building/using a classification model based on human activity recognition (HAR) is proposed. Traditionally, HAR has been accomplished by a classifier that learns the activities of a person by training with skeletal data obtained from a motion sensor, such as Microsoft Kinect. These skeletal data are the spatial coordinates (x, y, z) of different parts of the human body. The numeric information forms time series, temporal records of movement sequences that can be used for training a classifier. In addition to the spatial features that describe current positions in the skeletal data, new features called 'shadow features' are used to improve the supervised learning efficacy of the classifier. Shadow features are inferred from the dynamics of body movements, and thereby modelling the underlying momentum of the performed activities. They provide extra dimensions of information for characterising activities in the classification process, and thereby significantly improve the classification accuracy. Two cases of HAR are tested using a classification model trained with shadow features: one is by using wearable sensor and the other is by a Kinect-based remote sensor. Our experiments can demonstrate the advantages of the new method, which will have an impact on human activity detection research.

Training Classifiers with Shadow Features for Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition

PubMed Central

Fong, Simon; Song, Wei; Cho, Kyungeun; Wong, Raymond; Wong, Kelvin K. L.

2017-01-01

In this paper, a novel training/testing process for building/using a classification model based on human activity recognition (HAR) is proposed. Traditionally, HAR has been accomplished by a classifier that learns the activities of a person by training with skeletal data obtained from a motion sensor, such as Microsoft Kinect. These skeletal data are the spatial coordinates (x, y, z) of different parts of the human body. The numeric information forms time series, temporal records of movement sequences that can be used for training a classifier. In addition to the spatial features that describe current positions in the skeletal data, new features called ‘shadow features’ are used to improve the supervised learning efficacy of the classifier. Shadow features are inferred from the dynamics of body movements, and thereby modelling the underlying momentum of the performed activities. They provide extra dimensions of information for characterising activities in the classification process, and thereby significantly improve the classification accuracy. Two cases of HAR are tested using a classification model trained with shadow features: one is by using wearable sensor and the other is by a Kinect-based remote sensor. Our experiments can demonstrate the advantages of the new method, which will have an impact on human activity detection research. PMID:28264470

Just enough, but not too much interactivity leads to better clinical skills performance after a computer assisted learning module.

PubMed

Kalet, A L; Song, H S; Sarpel, U; Schwartz, R; Brenner, J; Ark, T K; Plass, J

2012-01-01

Well-designed computer-assisted instruction (CAI) can potentially transform medical education. Yet little is known about whether specific design features such as direct manipulation of the content yield meaningful gains in clinical learning. We designed three versions of a multimedia module on the abdominal exam incorporating different types of interactivity. As part of their physical diagnosis course, 162 second-year medical students were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to Watch, Click or Drag versions of the abdominal exam module. First, students' prior knowledge, spatial ability, and prior experience with abdominal exams were assessed. After using the module, students took a posttest; demonstrated the abdominal exam on a standardized patient; and wrote structured notes of their findings. Data from 143 students were analyzed. Baseline measures showed no differences among groups regarding prior knowledge, experience, or spatial ability. Overall there was no difference in knowledge across groups. However, physical exam scores were significantly higher for students in the Click group. A mid-range level of behavioral interactivity was associated with small to moderate improvements in performance of clinical skills. These improvements were likely mediated by enhanced engagement with the material, within the bounds of learners' cognitive capacity. These findings have implications for the design of CAI materials to teach procedural skills.

Extract from Fructus cannabis activating calcineurin improved learning and memory in mice with chemical drug-induced dysmnesia.

PubMed

Luo, Jing; Yin, Jiang-Hua; Wu, He-Zhen; Wei, Qun

2003-11-01

To investigate the effects of extract from Fructus cannabis (EFC) that can activate calcineurin on learning and memory impairment induced by chemical drugs in mice. Bovine brain calcineurin and calmodulin were isolated from frozen tissues. The activity of calcineurin was assayed using p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNPP) as the substrate. Step-down type passive avoidance test and water maze were used together to determine the effects of EFC on learning and memory dysfunction. EFC activated calcineurin activity at a concentration range of 0.01-100 g/L. The maximal value of EFC on calcineurin activity (35 %+/-5 %) appeared at a concentration of 10 g/L. The chemical drugs such as scopolamine, sodium nitrite, and 45 % ethanol, and sodium pentobarbital induced learning and memory dysfunction. EFC administration (0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 g/kg, igx7 d) prolonged the latency and decreased the number of errors in the step-down test. EFC, given for 7 d, enhanced the spatial resolution of amnesic mice in water maze test. EFC overcome amnesia of three stages of memory process at the dose of 0.2 g/kg. EFC with an activation role of calcineurin can improve the impaired learning and memory induced by chemical drugs in mice.

Prenatal stress changes learning strategies in adulthood.

PubMed

Schwabe, Lars; Bohbot, Veronique D; Wolf, Oliver T

2012-11-01

It is well known that stressful experiences may shape hippocampus-dependent learning and memory processes. However, although most studies focused on the impact of stress at the time of learning or memory testing, very little is known about how stress during critical periods of brain development affects learning and memory later in life. In this study, we asked whether prenatal stress exposure may influence the engagement of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning strategies and caudate nucleus-dependent response learning strategies in later life. To this end, we tested healthy participants whose mothers had experienced major negative life events during their pregnancy in a virtual navigation task that can be solved by spatial and response strategies. We found that young adults with prenatal stress used rigid response learning strategies more often than flexible spatial learning strategies compared with participants whose mothers did not experience major negative life events during pregnancy. Individual differences in acute or chronic stress do not account for these findings. Our data suggest that the engagement of hippocampal and nonhippocampal learning strategies may be influenced by stress very early in life. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multivariate temporal dictionary learning for EEG.

PubMed

Barthélemy, Q; Gouy-Pailler, C; Isaac, Y; Souloumiac, A; Larue, A; Mars, J I

2013-04-30

This article addresses the issue of representing electroencephalographic (EEG) signals in an efficient way. While classical approaches use a fixed Gabor dictionary to analyze EEG signals, this article proposes a data-driven method to obtain an adapted dictionary. To reach an efficient dictionary learning, appropriate spatial and temporal modeling is required. Inter-channels links are taken into account in the spatial multivariate model, and shift-invariance is used for the temporal model. Multivariate learned kernels are informative (a few atoms code plentiful energy) and interpretable (the atoms can have a physiological meaning). Using real EEG data, the proposed method is shown to outperform the classical multichannel matching pursuit used with a Gabor dictionary, as measured by the representative power of the learned dictionary and its spatial flexibility. Moreover, dictionary learning can capture interpretable patterns: this ability is illustrated on real data, learning a P300 evoked potential. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Action video games improve reading abilities and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

PubMed

Franceschini, Sandro; Trevisan, Piergiorgio; Ronconi, Luca; Bertoni, Sara; Colmar, Susan; Double, Kit; Facoetti, Andrea; Gori, Simone

2017-07-19

Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties in learning to read and there is some evidence that action video games (AVG), without any direct phonological or orthographic stimulation, improve reading efficiency in Italian children with dyslexia. However, the cognitive mechanism underlying this improvement and the extent to which the benefits of AVG training would generalize to deep English orthography, remain two critical questions. During reading acquisition, children have to integrate written letters with speech sounds, rapidly shifting their attention from visual to auditory modality. In our study, we tested reading skills and phonological working memory, visuo-spatial attention, auditory, visual and audio-visual stimuli localization, and cross-sensory attentional shifting in two matched groups of English-speaking children with dyslexia before and after they played AVG or non-action video games. The speed of words recognition and phonological decoding increased after playing AVG, but not non-action video games. Furthermore, focused visuo-spatial attention and visual-to-auditory attentional shifting also improved only after AVG training. This unconventional reading remediation program also increased phonological short-term memory and phoneme blending skills. Our report shows that an enhancement of visuo-spatial attention and phonological working memory, and an acceleration of visual-to-auditory attentional shifting can directly translate into better reading in English-speaking children with dyslexia.

Generalized lessons about sequence learning from the study of the serial reaction time task

PubMed Central

Schwarb, Hillary; Schumacher, Eric H.

2012-01-01

Over the last 20 years researchers have used the serial reaction time (SRT) task to investigate the nature of spatial sequence learning. They have used the task to identify the locus of spatial sequence learning, identify situations that enhance and those that impair learning, and identify the important cognitive processes that facilitate this type of learning. Although controversies remain, the SRT task has been integral in enhancing our understanding of implicit sequence learning. It is important, however, to ask what, if anything, the discoveries made using the SRT task tell us about implicit learning more generally. This review analyzes the state of the current spatial SRT sequence learning literature highlighting the stimulus-response rule hypothesis of sequence learning which we believe provides a unifying account of discrepant SRT data. It also challenges researchers to use the vast body of knowledge acquired with the SRT task to understand other implicit learning literatures too often ignored in the context of this particular task. This broad perspective will make it possible to identify congruences among data acquired using various different tasks that will allow us to generalize about the nature of implicit learning. PMID:22723815

Aging does not affect generalized postural motor learning in response to variable amplitude oscillations of the support surface.

PubMed

Van Ooteghem, Karen; Frank, James S; Allard, Fran; Horak, Fay B

2010-08-01

Postural motor learning for dynamic balance tasks has been demonstrated in healthy older adults (Van Ooteghem et al. in Exp Brain Res 199(2):185-193, 2009). The purpose of this study was to investigate the type of knowledge (general or specific) obtained with balance training in this age group and to examine whether embedding perturbation regularities within a balance task masks specific learning. Two groups of older adults maintained balance on a translating platform that oscillated with variable amplitude and constant frequency. One group was trained using an embedded-sequence (ES) protocol which contained the same 15-s sequence of variable amplitude oscillations in the middle of each trial. A second group was trained using a looped-sequence (LS) protocol which contained a 15-s sequence repeated three times to form each trial. All trials were 45 s. Participants were not informed of any repetition. To examine learning, participants performed a retention test following a 24-h delay. LS participants also completed a transfer task. Specificity of learning was examined by comparing performance for repeated versus random sequences (ES) and training versus transfer sequences (LS). Performance was measured by deriving spatial and temporal measures of whole body center of mass (COM) and trunk orientation. Both groups improved performance with practice as characterized by reduced COM displacement, improved COM-platform phase relationships, and decreased angular trunk motion. Furthermore, improvements reflected general rather than specific postural motor learning regardless of training protocol (ES or LS). This finding is similar to young adults (Van Ooteghem et al. in Exp Brain Res 187(4):603-611, 2008) and indicates that age does not influence the type of learning which occurs for balance control.

Age-related changes in rostral basal forebrain cholinergic and GABAergic projection neurons: Relationship with spatial impairment

PubMed Central

Bañuelos, C.; LaSarge, C. L.; McQuail, J. A.; Hartman, J. J.; Gilbert, R. J.; Ormerod, B. K.; Bizon, J. L.

2013-01-01

Both cholinergic and GABAergic projections from the rostral basal forebrain have been implicated in hippocampal function and mnemonic abilities. While dysfunction of cholinergic neurons has been heavily implicated in age-related memory decline, significantly less is known regarding how age-related changes in co-distributed GABAergic projection neurons contribute to a decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial learning. In the current study, confocal stereology was used to quantify cholinergic (choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunopositive) neurons, GABAergic projection (glutamic decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) immunopositive) neurons, and total (NeuN immunopositive) neurons in the rostral basal forebrain of young and aged rats that were first characterized on a spatial learning task. ChAT immunopositive neurons were significantly but modestly reduced in aged rats. Although ChAT immunopositive neuron number was strongly correlated with spatial learning abilities among young rats, the reduction of ChAT immunopositive neurons was not associated with impaired spatial learning in aged rats. In contrast, the number of GAD67 immunopositive neurons was robustly and selectively elevated in aged rats that exhibited impaired spatial learning. Interestingly, the total number of rostral basal forebrain neurons was comparable in young and aged rats, regardless of their cognitive status. These data demonstrate differential effects of age on phenotypically distinct rostral basal forebrain projection neurons, and implicate dysregulated cholinergic and GABAergic septohippocampal circuitry in age-related mnemonic decline. PMID:22817834

Probing the Relationship between Process of Spatial Problems Solving and Science Learning: An Eye Tracking Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yi-Chun; Yang, Fang-Ying

2014-01-01

There were two purposes in the study. One was to explore the cognitive activities during spatial problem solving and the other to probe the relationship between spatial ability and science concept learning. Twenty university students participated in the study. The Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test (PVRT) was used to assess the spatial…

Spaces in between Us: A Qualitative Study into the Impact of Spatial Practice when Learning in "Second Life"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savin-Baden, Maggi

2013-01-01

This paper will present a study that explored the perceived impact of spatial practice in "Second Life" (SL) on teaching and learning from the point of view of participants in higher education (lecturers, developers and researchers). Narrative inquiry was used to access stories and experiences of space and spatial practice from staff…

Spatial Abilities in an Elective Course of Applied Anatomy after a Problem-Based Learning Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langlois, Jean; Wells, George A.; Lecourtois, Marc; Bergeron, Germain; Yetisir, Elizabeth; Martin, Marcel

2009-01-01

A concern on the level of anatomy knowledge reached after a problem-based learning curriculum has been documented in the literature. Spatial anatomy, arguably the highest level in anatomy knowledge, has been related to spatial abilities. Our first objective was to test the hypothesis that residents are interested in a course of applied anatomy…

Interactions of spatial strategies producing generalization gradient and blocking: A computational approach

PubMed Central

Dollé, Laurent; Chavarriaga, Ricardo

2018-01-01

We present a computational model of spatial navigation comprising different learning mechanisms in mammals, i.e., associative, cognitive mapping and parallel systems. This model is able to reproduce a large number of experimental results in different variants of the Morris water maze task, including standard associative phenomena (spatial generalization gradient and blocking), as well as navigation based on cognitive mapping. Furthermore, we show that competitive and cooperative patterns between different navigation strategies in the model allow to explain previous apparently contradictory results supporting either associative or cognitive mechanisms for spatial learning. The key computational mechanism to reconcile experimental results showing different influences of distal and proximal cues on the behavior, different learning times, and different abilities of individuals to alternatively perform spatial and response strategies, relies in the dynamic coordination of navigation strategies, whose performance is evaluated online with a common currency through a modular approach. We provide a set of concrete experimental predictions to further test the computational model. Overall, this computational work sheds new light on inter-individual differences in navigation learning, and provides a formal and mechanistic approach to test various theories of spatial cognition in mammals. PMID:29630600

Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory impairment due to molar tooth loss is ameliorated by an enriched environment.

PubMed

Kondo, Hiroko; Kurahashi, Minori; Mori, Daisuke; Iinuma, Mitsuo; Tamura, Yasuo; Mizutani, Kenmei; Shimpo, Kan; Sonoda, Shigeru; Azuma, Kagaku; Kubo, Kin-ya

2016-01-01

Teeth are crucial, not only for mastication, but for overall nutrition and general health, including cognitive function. Aged mice with chronic stress due to tooth loss exhibit impaired hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Exposure to an enriched environment restores the reduced hippocampal function. Here, we explored the effects of an enriched environment on learning deficits and hippocampal morphologic changes in aged senescence-accelerated mouse strain P8 (SAMP8) mice with tooth loss. Eight-month-old male aged SAMP8 mice with molar intact or with molars removed were housed in either a standard environment or enriched environment for 3 weeks. The Morris water maze was performed for spatial memory test. The newborn cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation in the hippocampus were analyzed using 5-Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemical method. The hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were also measured. Mice with upper molars removed (molarless) exhibited a significant decline in the proliferation and survival of newborn cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) as well as in hippocampal BDNF levels. In addition, neuronal differentiation of newly generated cells was suppressed and hippocampus-dependent spatial memory was impaired. Exposure of molarless mice to an enriched environment attenuated the reductions in the hippocampal BDNF levels and neuronal differentiation, and partially improved the proliferation and survival of newborn cells, as well as the spatial memory ability. These findings indicated that an enriched environment could ameliorate the hippocampus-dependent spatial memory impairment induced by molar tooth loss. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial cues more salient than color cues in cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) reversal learning.

PubMed

Gaudio, Jennifer L; Snowdon, Charles T

2008-11-01

Animals living in stable home ranges have many potential cues to locate food. Spatial and color cues are important for wild Callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins). Field studies have assigned the highest priority to distal spatial cues for determining the location of food resources with color cues serving as a secondary cue to assess relative ripeness, once a food source is located. We tested two hypotheses with captive cotton-top tamarins: (a) Tamarins will demonstrate higher rates of initial learning when rewarded for attending to spatial cues versus color cues. (b) Tamarins will show higher rates of correct responses when transferred from color cues to spatial cues than from spatial cues to color cues. The results supported both hypotheses. Tamarins rewarded based on spatial location made significantly more correct choices and fewer errors than tamarins rewarded based on color cues during initial learning. Furthermore, tamarins trained on color cues showed significantly increased correct responses and decreased errors when cues were reversed to reward spatial cues. Subsequent reversal to color cues induced a regression in performance. For tamarins spatial cues appear more salient than color cues in a foraging task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).

The interplay of BDNF-TrkB with NMDA receptor in propofol-induced cognition dysfunction : Mechanism for the effects of propofol on cognitive function.

PubMed

Zhou, Junfei; Wang, Fang; Zhang, Jun; Li, Jianfeng; Ma, Li; Dong, Tieli; Zhuang, Zhigang

2018-04-05

The aim of the present study was to verify whether propofol impaired learning and memory through the interplay of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) signaling pathway. 120 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into eight groups. Experimental drugs including saline, intralipid, propofol, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), 7,8-dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF), K252a and MK-801. Spatial learning and memory of rats were tested by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The mRNA and protein expression were determined by immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and western blot. Finally, hippocampus cells proliferation and apoptosis were examined by PCNA immunohistochemistry and TUNEL respectively. The memory and learning was diminished in the propofol exposure group, however, the impaired memory and learning of rats were improved with the addition of NMDA and 7,8-DHF, while the improvement of memory and learning of rats were reversed with the addition of K252a and MK-801. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression levels and hippocampus cells proliferation were the same trend with the results of the MWM test, while apoptosis in hippocampus was reversed. The propofol can impair memory and learning of rats and induce cognition dysfunction through the interplay of NMDA receptor and BDNF-TrkB-CREB signaling pathway.

Prolonged Perceptual Learning of Positional Acuity in Adult Amblyopia

PubMed Central

Li, Roger W; Klein, Stanley A; Levi, Dennis M

2009-01-01

Amblyopia is a developmental abnormality that results in physiological alterations in the visual cortex and impairs form vision. It is often successfully treated by patching the sound eye in infants and young children, but is generally considered to be untreatable in adults. However, a number of recent studies suggest that repetitive practice of a visual task using the amblyopic eye results in improved performance in both children and adults with amblyopia. These perceptual learning studies have used relatively brief periods of practice; however, clinical studies have shown that the time-constant for successful patching is long. The time-constant for perceptual learning in amblyopia is still unknown. Here we show that the time-constant for perceptual learning depends on the degree of amblyopia. Severe amblyopia requires more than 50 hours (≈35,000 trials) to reach plateau, yielding as much as a five-fold improvement in performance at a rate of ≈1.5% per hour. There is significant transfer of learning from the amblyopic to the dominant eye, suggesting that the learning reflects alterations in higher decision stages of processing. Using a reverse correlation technique, we document, for the first time, a dynamic retuning of the amblyopic perceptual decision template and a substantial reduction in internal spatial distortion. These results show that the mature amblyopic brain is surprisingly malleable, and point to more intensive treatment methods for amblyopia. PMID:19109504

Visual learning with reduced adaptation is eccentricity-specific.

PubMed

Harris, Hila; Sagi, Dov

2018-01-12

Visual learning is known to be specific to the trained target location, showing little transfer to untrained locations. Recently, learning was shown to transfer across equal-eccentricity retinal-locations when sensory adaptation due to repetitive stimulation was minimized. It was suggested that learning transfers to previously untrained locations when the learned representation is location invariant, with sensory adaptation introducing location-dependent representations, thus preventing transfer. Spatial invariance may also fail when the trained and tested locations are at different distance from the center of gaze (different retinal eccentricities), due to differences in the corresponding low-level cortical representations (e.g. allocated cortical area decreases with eccentricity). Thus, if learning improves performance by better classifying target-dependent early visual representations, generalization is predicted to fail when locations of different retinal eccentricities are trained and tested in the absence sensory adaptation. Here, using the texture discrimination task, we show specificity of learning across different retinal eccentricities (4-8°) using reduced adaptation training. The existence of generalization across equal-eccentricity locations but not across different eccentricities demonstrates that learning accesses visual representations preceding location independent representations, with specificity of learning explained by inhomogeneous sensory representation.

Stress profile influences learning approach in a marine fish

PubMed Central

Trompf, Larissa; Williamson, Jane E.; Brown, Culum

2017-01-01

The spatial learning skills of high and low stress juvenile mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) were tested in a dichotomous choice apparatus. Groups of fish were formed based on background blood cortisol levels and required to learn the location of a food reward hidden in one of two compartments. Low stress fish characterised by low background levels of the stress hormone cortisol had higher activity levels and entered both rewarded and unrewarded rooms frequently. Within the first week of exposure, however, their preference for the rewarded room increased, indicative of learning. Fish that had high background levels of cortisol, in contrast, showed low levels of activity but when they chose between the two rooms they chose the rewarded room most often but showed less improvement over time. After 12 days in the apparatus, both low and high stress fish had similar ratios of rewarded vs unrewarded room entrances. Our results suggest that proactive coping styles may increase exposure to novel contexts and thus favour faster learning but at the cost of reduced initial accuracy. PMID:28607840

Kernel Temporal Differences for Neural Decoding

PubMed Central

Bae, Jihye; Sanchez Giraldo, Luis G.; Pohlmeyer, Eric A.; Francis, Joseph T.; Sanchez, Justin C.; Príncipe, José C.

2015-01-01

We study the feasibility and capability of the kernel temporal difference (KTD)(λ) algorithm for neural decoding. KTD(λ) is an online, kernel-based learning algorithm, which has been introduced to estimate value functions in reinforcement learning. This algorithm combines kernel-based representations with the temporal difference approach to learning. One of our key observations is that by using strictly positive definite kernels, algorithm's convergence can be guaranteed for policy evaluation. The algorithm's nonlinear functional approximation capabilities are shown in both simulations of policy evaluation and neural decoding problems (policy improvement). KTD can handle high-dimensional neural states containing spatial-temporal information at a reasonable computational complexity allowing real-time applications. When the algorithm seeks a proper mapping between a monkey's neural states and desired positions of a computer cursor or a robot arm, in both open-loop and closed-loop experiments, it can effectively learn the neural state to action mapping. Finally, a visualization of the coadaptation process between the decoder and the subject shows the algorithm's capabilities in reinforcement learning brain machine interfaces. PMID:25866504

Sex-specific effects of prenatal chronic mild stress on adult spatial learning capacity and regional glutamate receptor expression profiles.

PubMed

Wang, Yan; Ma, Yuchao; Hu, Jingmin; Zhang, Xinxin; Cheng, Wenwen; Jiang, Han; Li, Min; Ren, Jintao; Zhang, Xiaosong; Liu, Mengxi; Sun, Anji; Wang, Qi; Li, Xiaobai

2016-07-01

Both animal experiments and clinical studies have demonstrated that prenatal stress can cause cognitive disorders in offspring. To explore the scope of these deficits and identify potential underlying mechanisms, we examined the spatial learning and memory performance and glutamate receptor (GluR) expression patterns of adult rats exposed to prenatal chronic mild stress (PCMS). Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to reveal the interrelationships among spatial learning indices and GluR expression changes. Female PCMS-exposed offspring exhibited markedly impaired spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze (MWM) task compared to control females, while PCMS-exposed males showed better initial spatial learning in the MWM compared to control males. PCMS also altered basal and post-MWM glutamate receptor expression patterns, but these effects differed markedly between sexes. Male PCMS-exposed offspring exhibited elevated basal expression of NR1, mGluR5, and mGluR2/3 in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), whereas females showed no basal expression changes. Following MWM training, PCMS-exposed males expressed higher NR1 in the PFC and mammillary body (MB), higher mGluR2/3 in PFC, and lower NR2B in the hippocampus (HIP), PFC, and MB compared to unstressed MWM-trained males. Female PCMS-exposed offspring showed strongly reduced NR1 in MB and NR2B in the HIP, PFC, and MB, and increased mGluR2/3 in PFC compared to unstressed MWM-trained females. This is the first report suggesting that NMDA subunits in the MB are involved in spatial learning. Additionally, PCA further suggests that the NR1-NR2B form is the most important for spatial memory formation. These results reveal long-term sex-specific effects of PCMS on spatial learning and memory performance in adulthood and implicate GluR expression changes within HIP, PFC, and MB as possible molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in offspring exposed to prenatal stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlates of individual, and age-related, differences in short-term learning.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhiyong; Davis, Hasker P; Salthouse, Timothy A; Tucker-Drob, Elliot M

2007-07-01

Latent growth models were applied to data on multitrial verbal and spatial learning tasks from two independent studies. Although significant individual differences in both initial level of performance and subsequent learning were found in both tasks, age differences were found only in mean initial level, and not in mean learning. In neither task was fluid or crystallized intelligence associated with learning. Although there were moderate correlations among the level parameters across the verbal and spatial tasks, the learning parameters were not significantly correlated with one another across task modalities. These results are inconsistent with the existence of a general (e.g., material-independent) learning ability.

Dimensionality-varied deep convolutional neural network for spectral-spatial classification of hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qu, Haicheng; Liang, Xuejian; Liang, Shichao; Liu, Wanjun

2018-01-01

Many methods of hyperspectral image classification have been proposed recently, and the convolutional neural network (CNN) achieves outstanding performance. However, spectral-spatial classification of CNN requires an excessively large model, tremendous computations, and complex network, and CNN is generally unable to use the noisy bands caused by water-vapor absorption. A dimensionality-varied CNN (DV-CNN) is proposed to address these issues. There are four stages in DV-CNN and the dimensionalities of spectral-spatial feature maps vary with the stages. DV-CNN can reduce the computation and simplify the structure of the network. All feature maps are processed by more kernels in higher stages to extract more precise features. DV-CNN also improves the classification accuracy and enhances the robustness to water-vapor absorption bands. The experiments are performed on data sets of Indian Pines and Pavia University scene. The classification performance of DV-CNN is compared with state-of-the-art methods, which contain the variations of CNN, traditional, and other deep learning methods. The experiment of performance analysis about DV-CNN itself is also carried out. The experimental results demonstrate that DV-CNN outperforms state-of-the-art methods for spectral-spatial classification and it is also robust to water-vapor absorption bands. Moreover, reasonable parameters selection is effective to improve classification accuracy.

Implicit learning of non-spatial sequences in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

MARVEL, CHERIE L.; SCHWARTZ, BARBARA L.; HOWARD, DARLENE V.; HOWARD, JAMES H.

2006-01-01

Recent studies have reported abnormal implicit learning of sequential patterns in patients with schizophrenia. Because these studies were based on visuospatial cues, the question remained whether patients were impaired simply due to the demands of spatial processing. This study examined implicit sequence learning in 24 patients with schizophrenia and 24 healthy controls using a non-spatial variation of the serial reaction time test (SRT) in which pattern stimuli alternated with random stimuli on every other trial. Both groups showed learning by responding faster and more accurately to pattern trials than to random trials. Patients, however, showed a smaller magnitude of sequence learning. Both groups were unable to demonstrate explicit knowledge of the nature of the pattern, confirming that learning occurred without awareness. Clinical variables were not correlated with the patients' learning deficits. Patients with schizophrenia have a decreased ability to develop sensitivity to regularly occurring sequences of events within their environment. This type of deficit may affect an array of cognitive and motor functions that rely on the perception of event regularity. PMID:16248901

Spectral-spatial hyperspectral image classification using super-pixel-based spatial pyramid representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Jiayuan; Tan, Hui Li; Toomik, Maria; Lu, Shijian

2016-10-01

Spatial pyramid matching has demonstrated its power for image recognition task by pooling features from spatially increasingly fine sub-regions. Motivated by the concept of feature pooling at multiple pyramid levels, we propose a novel spectral-spatial hyperspectral image classification approach using superpixel-based spatial pyramid representation. This technique first generates multiple superpixel maps by decreasing the superpixel number gradually along with the increased spatial regions for labelled samples. By using every superpixel map, sparse representation of pixels within every spatial region is then computed through local max pooling. Finally, features learned from training samples are aggregated and trained by a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The proposed spectral-spatial hyperspectral image classification technique has been evaluated on two public hyperspectral datasets, including the Indian Pines image containing 16 different agricultural scene categories with a 20m resolution acquired by AVIRIS and the University of Pavia image containing 9 land-use categories with a 1.3m spatial resolution acquired by the ROSIS-03 sensor. Experimental results show significantly improved performance compared with the state-of-the-art works. The major contributions of this proposed technique include (1) a new spectral-spatial classification approach to generate feature representation for hyperspectral image, (2) a complementary yet effective feature pooling approach, i.e. the superpixel-based spatial pyramid representation that is used for the spatial correlation study, (3) evaluation on two public hyperspectral image datasets with superior image classification performance.

Functional organization of the medial temporal lobe memory system following neonatal hippocampal lesion in rhesus monkeys.

PubMed

Chareyron, Loïc J; Banta Lavenex, Pamela; Amaral, David G; Lavenex, Pierre

2017-12-01

Hippocampal damage in adult humans impairs episodic and semantic memory, whereas hippocampal damage early in life impairs episodic memory but leaves semantic learning relatively preserved. We have previously shown a similar behavioral dissociation in nonhuman primates. Hippocampal lesion in adult monkeys prevents allocentric spatial relational learning, whereas spatial learning persists following neonatal lesion. Here, we quantified the number of cells expressing the immediate-early gene c-fos, a marker of neuronal activity, to characterize the functional organization of the medial temporal lobe memory system following neonatal hippocampal lesion. Ninety minutes before brain collection, three control and four adult monkeys with bilateral neonatal hippocampal lesions explored a novel environment to activate brain structures involved in spatial learning. Three other adult monkeys with neonatal hippocampal lesions remained in their housing quarters. In unlesioned monkeys, we found high levels of c-fos expression in the intermediate and caudal regions of the entorhinal cortex, and in the perirhinal, parahippocampal, and retrosplenial cortices. In lesioned monkeys, spatial exploration induced an increase in c-fos expression in the intermediate field of the entorhinal cortex, the perirhinal, parahippocampal, and retrosplenial cortices, but not in the caudal entorhinal cortex. These findings suggest that different regions of the medial temporal lobe memory system may require different types of interaction with the hippocampus in support of memory. The caudal perirhinal cortex, the parahippocampal cortex, and the retrosplenial cortex may contribute to spatial learning in the absence of functional hippocampal circuits, whereas the caudal entorhinal cortex may require hippocampal output to support spatial learning.

Magpies can use local cues to retrieve their food caches.

PubMed

Feenders, Gesa; Smulders, Tom V

2011-03-01

Much importance has been placed on the use of spatial cues by food-hoarding birds in the retrieval of their caches. In this study, we investigate whether food-hoarding birds can be trained to use local cues ("beacons") in their cache retrieval. We test magpies (Pica pica) in an active hoarding-retrieval paradigm, where local cues are always reliable, while spatial cues are not. Our results show that the birds use the local cues to retrieve their caches, even when occasionally contradicting spatial information is available. The design of our study does not allow us to test rigorously whether the birds prefer using local over spatial cues, nor to investigate the process through which they learn to use local cues. We furthermore provide evidence that magpies develop landmark preferences, which improve their retrieval accuracy. Our findings support the hypothesis that birds are flexible in their use of memory information, using a combination of the most reliable or salient information to retrieve their caches. © Springer-Verlag 2010

Spatial Frequency Discrimination: Effects of Age, Reward, and Practice

PubMed Central

Peters, Judith Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interaction starts with perception of the world around you. This study investigated two fundamental issues regarding the development of discrimination of higher spatial frequencies, which are important building blocks of perception. Firstly, it mapped the typical developmental trajectory of higher spatial frequency discrimination. Secondly, it developed and validated a novel design that could be applied to improve atypically developed vision. Specifically, this study examined the effect of age and reward on task performance, practice effects, and motivation (i.e., number of trials completed) in a higher spatial frequency (reference frequency: 6 cycles per degree) discrimination task. We measured discrimination thresholds in children aged between 7 to 12 years and adults (N = 135). Reward was manipulated by presenting either positive reinforcement or punishment. Results showed a decrease in discrimination thresholds with age, thus revealing that higher spatial frequency discrimination continues to develop after 12 years of age. This development continues longer than previously shown for discrimination of lower spatial frequencies. Moreover, thresholds decreased during the run, indicating that discrimination abilities improved. Reward did not affect performance or improvement. However, in an additional group of 5–6 year-olds (N = 28) punishments resulted in the completion of fewer trials compared to reinforcements. In both reward conditions children aged 5–6 years completed only a fourth or half of the run (64 to 128 out of 254 trials) and were not motivated to continue. The design thus needs further adaptation before it can be applied to this age group. Children aged 7–12 years and adults completed the run, suggesting that the design is successful and motivating for children aged 7–12 years. This study thus presents developmental differences in higher spatial frequency discrimination thresholds. Furthermore, it presents a design that can be used in future developmental studies that require multiple stimulus presentations such as visual perceptual learning. PMID:28135272

Spatial Frequency Discrimination: Effects of Age, Reward, and Practice.

PubMed

van den Boomen, Carlijn; Peters, Judith Carolien

2017-01-01

Social interaction starts with perception of the world around you. This study investigated two fundamental issues regarding the development of discrimination of higher spatial frequencies, which are important building blocks of perception. Firstly, it mapped the typical developmental trajectory of higher spatial frequency discrimination. Secondly, it developed and validated a novel design that could be applied to improve atypically developed vision. Specifically, this study examined the effect of age and reward on task performance, practice effects, and motivation (i.e., number of trials completed) in a higher spatial frequency (reference frequency: 6 cycles per degree) discrimination task. We measured discrimination thresholds in children aged between 7 to 12 years and adults (N = 135). Reward was manipulated by presenting either positive reinforcement or punishment. Results showed a decrease in discrimination thresholds with age, thus revealing that higher spatial frequency discrimination continues to develop after 12 years of age. This development continues longer than previously shown for discrimination of lower spatial frequencies. Moreover, thresholds decreased during the run, indicating that discrimination abilities improved. Reward did not affect performance or improvement. However, in an additional group of 5-6 year-olds (N = 28) punishments resulted in the completion of fewer trials compared to reinforcements. In both reward conditions children aged 5-6 years completed only a fourth or half of the run (64 to 128 out of 254 trials) and were not motivated to continue. The design thus needs further adaptation before it can be applied to this age group. Children aged 7-12 years and adults completed the run, suggesting that the design is successful and motivating for children aged 7-12 years. This study thus presents developmental differences in higher spatial frequency discrimination thresholds. Furthermore, it presents a design that can be used in future developmental studies that require multiple stimulus presentations such as visual perceptual learning.

Blue colour preference in honeybees distracts visual attention for learning closed shapes.

PubMed

Morawetz, Linde; Svoboda, Alexander; Spaethe, Johannes; Dyer, Adrian G

2013-10-01

Spatial vision is an important cue for how honeybees (Apis mellifera) find flowers, and previous work has suggested that spatial learning in free-flying bees is exclusively mediated by achromatic input to the green photoreceptor channel. However, some data suggested that bees may be able to use alternative channels for shape processing, and recent work shows conditioning type and training length can significantly influence bee learning and cue use. We thus tested the honeybees' ability to discriminate between two closed shapes considering either absolute or differential conditioning, and using eight stimuli differing in their spectral characteristics. Consistent with previous work, green contrast enabled reliable shape learning for both types of conditioning, but surprisingly, we found that bees trained with appetitive-aversive differential conditioning could additionally use colour and/or UV contrast to enable shape discrimination. Interestingly, we found that a high blue contrast initially interferes with bee shape learning, probably due to the bees innate preference for blue colours, but with increasing experience bees can learn a variety of spectral and/or colour cues to facilitate spatial learning. Thus, the relationship between bee pollinators and the spatial and spectral cues that they use to find rewarding flowers appears to be a more rich visual environment than previously thought.

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, enhances inhibition of prepotent responding and spatial reversal learning

PubMed Central

Brown, Holden D.; Amodeo, Dionisio A.; Sweeney, John A.; Ragozzino, Michael E.

2011-01-01

Previous findings indicate treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) facilitates behavioral flexibility when conditions require inhibition of a learned response pattern. The present experiment investigated whether acute treatment with the SSRI, escitalopram, affects behavioral flexibility when conditions require inhibition of a naturally-biased response pattern (elevated conflict test) and/or reversal of a learned response pattern (spatial reversal learning). An additional experiment was carried out to determine whether escitalopram, at doses that affected behavioral flexibility, also reduced anxiety as tested in the elevated plus-maze. In each experiment, Long-Evans rats received an intraperitoneal injection of either saline or escitalopram (0.03, 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg) 30 minutes prior to behavioral testing. Escitalopram, at all doses tested, enhanced acquisition in the elevated conflict test, but did not affect performance in the elevated plus-maze. Escitalopram (0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg) did not alter acquisition of the spatial discrimination, but facilitated reversal learning. In the elevated conflict and spatial reversal learning test, escitalopram enhanced the ability to maintain the relevant strategy after being initially selected. The present findings suggest that enhancing serotonin transmission with a SSRI facilitates inhibitory processes when conditions require a shift away from either a naturally-biased response pattern or a learned choice pattern. PMID:22219222

Route-Learning Strategies in Typical and Atypical Development; Eye Tracking Reveals Atypical Landmark Selection in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farran, E. K.; Formby, S.; Daniyal, F.; Holmes, T.; Van Herwegen, J.

2016-01-01

Background: Successful navigation is crucial to everyday life. Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have impaired spatial abilities. This includes a deficit in spatial navigation abilities such as learning the route from A to B. To-date, to determine whether participants attend to landmarks when learning a route, landmark recall tasks have been…

The Effect of Old Age on Supra-Span Learning of Visuo-Spatial Sequences under Incidental and Intentional Encoding Instructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagnon, Sylvain; Bedard, Marie-Josee; Turcotte, Josee

2005-01-01

Recent findings [Turcotte, Gagnon, & Poirier, 2005. The effect of old age on the learning of supra-span sequences. "Psychology and Aging," 20, 251-260.] indicate that incidental learning of visuo-spatial supra-span sequences through immediate serial recall declines with old age (Hebb's paradigm). In this study, we examined whether…

The Synergetic Effect of Learning Styles on the Interaction between Virtual Environments and the Enhancement of Spatial Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauptman, Hanoch; Cohen, Arie

2011-01-01

Students have difficulty learning 3D geometry; spatial thinking is an important aspect of the learning processes in this academic area. In light of the unique features of virtual environments and the influence of metacognitive processes (e.g., self-regulating questions) on the teaching of mathematics, we assumed that a combination of…

Implicit transfer of spatial structure in visuomotor sequence learning.

PubMed

Tanaka, Kanji; Watanabe, Katsumi

2014-11-01

Implicit learning and transfer in sequence learning are essential in daily life. Here, we investigated the implicit transfer of visuomotor sequences following a spatial transformation. In the two experiments, participants used trial and error to learn a sequence consisting of several button presses, known as the m×n task (Hikosaka et al., 1995). After this learning session, participants learned another sequence in which the button configuration was spatially transformed in one of the following ways: mirrored, rotated, and random arrangement. Our results showed that even when participants were unaware of the transformation rules, accuracy of transfer session in the mirrored and rotated groups was higher than that in the random group (i.e., implicit transfer occurred). Both those who noticed the transformation rules and those who did not (i.e., explicit and implicit transfer instances, respectively) showed faster performance in the mirrored sequences than in the rotated sequences. Taken together, the present results suggest that people can use their implicit visuomotor knowledge to spatially transform sequences and that implicit transfers are modulated by a transformation cost, similar to that in explicit transfer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rats with ventral hippocampal damage are impaired at various forms of learning including conditioned inhibition, spatial navigation, and discriminative fear conditioning to similar contexts.

PubMed

McDonald, Robert J; Balog, R J; Lee, Justin Q; Stuart, Emily E; Carrels, Brianna B; Hong, Nancy S

2018-10-01

The ventral hippocampus (vHPC) has been implicated in learning and memory functions that seem to differ from its dorsal counterpart. The goal of this series of experiments was to provide further insight into the functional contributions of the vHPC. Our previous work implicated the vHPC in spatial learning, inhibitory learning, and fear conditioning to context. However, the specific role of vHPC on these different forms of learning are not clear. Accordingly, we assessed the effects of neurotoxic lesions of the ventral hippocampus on retention of a conditioned inhibitory association, early versus late spatial navigation in the water task, and discriminative fear conditioning to context under high ambiguity conditions. The results showed that the vHPC was necessary for the expression of conditioned inhibition, early spatial learning, and discriminative fear conditioning to context when the paired and unpaired contexts have high cue overlap. We argue that this pattern of effects, combined with previous work, suggests a key role for vHPC in the utilization of broad contextual representations for inhibition and discriminative memory in high ambiguity conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Tong Luo Jiu Nao on Aβ-degrading enzymes in AD rat brains.

PubMed

Liu, Yuan; Hua, Qian; Lei, Hongtao; Li, Pengtao

2011-09-02

Tong Luo Jiu Nao (TLJN) is a modern Chinese formula based on Traditional Chinese Medicine theory that has been used to treat ischemic cerebral stroke and vascular dementia. TLJN belongs to the ethnopharmacological family of medicines. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of the TLJN effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate the effect of TLJN on β-amyloid-degrading enzymes and learning and memory in the AD rat brain. AD rats whose disease was induced by Aβ(25-35) injection into the bilateral hippocampus CA1 region were subjected to intragastric administration of various preparations. The experimental animals were healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats which were randomly divided into normal, sham, model, TLJN min, TLJN max and donepezil hydrochloride groups. Spontaneous alternation and passive avoidance behavior, which are regarded as measures of spatial learning and memory, were investigated using Y-maze testing. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to observe the therapeutic effect of TLJN on the deposits of amyloid plaque and on the expression of synaptophysin, insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin. Y-maze results showed that the AD model group presented with spatial learning and memory impairments. Hematoxylin-eosin and Congo red staining indicated neuronal impairment and deposits of amyloid plaque in the model group and these results were consistent with their learning and memory deficits in the Y-maze. The TLJN-treated groups exhibited prolonged a cavity delitescence, decreased arm entries and improvement in learning and memory. Moreover, the structure of the neurons of the treated groups was restored and the expression of synaptophysin increased in both the hippocampus and cortex. In addition, their levels of insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin in the cortex and hippocampus were upregulated and the amyloid plaque was decreased. TLJN can improve learning and memory, up-regulate insulin-degrading enzyme and neprilysin levels, promote the degrading of Aβ and clear amyloid plaque from the AD rat brain. In future, TLJN may have significant therapeutic potential in the treatment of AD patients. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changing viewer perspectives reveals constraints to implicit visual statistical learning.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuhong V; Swallow, Khena M

2014-10-07

Statistical learning-learning environmental regularities to guide behavior-likely plays an important role in natural human behavior. One potential use is in search for valuable items. Because visual statistical learning can be acquired quickly and without intention or awareness, it could optimize search and thereby conserve energy. For this to be true, however, visual statistical learning needs to be viewpoint invariant, facilitating search even when people walk around. To test whether implicit visual statistical learning of spatial information is viewpoint independent, we asked participants to perform a visual search task from variable locations around a monitor placed flat on a stand. Unbeknownst to participants, the target was more often in some locations than others. In contrast to previous research on stationary observers, visual statistical learning failed to produce a search advantage for targets in high-probable regions that were stable within the environment but variable relative to the viewer. This failure was observed even when conditions for spatial updating were optimized. However, learning was successful when the rich locations were referenced relative to the viewer. We conclude that changing viewer perspective disrupts implicit learning of the target's location probability. This form of learning shows limited integration with spatial updating or spatiotopic representations. © 2014 ARVO.

Optimization of Apparatus Design and Behavioral Measures for the Assessment of Visuo-Spatial Learning and Memory of Mice on the Barnes Maze

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Leary, Timothy P.; Brown, Richard E.

2013-01-01

We have previously shown that apparatus design can affect visual-spatial cue use and memory performance of mice on the Barnes maze. The present experiment extends these findings by determining the optimal behavioral measures and test procedure for analyzing visuo-spatial learning and memory in three different Barnes maze designs. Male and female…

Place and Response Learning in the Open-field Tower Maze.

PubMed

Lipatova, Olga; Campolattaro, Matthew M; Toufexis, Donna J; Mabry, Erin A

2015-10-28

This protocol describes how the Open-field Tower Maze (OFTM) paradigm is used to study spatial learning in rodents. This maze is especially useful for examining how rats learn to use a place- or response-learning to successfully navigate in an open-field arena. Additionally, this protocol describes how the OFTM differs from other behavioral maze paradigms that are commonly used to study spatial learning in rodents. The OFTM described in this article was adapted from the one previously described by Cole, Clipperton, and Walt (2007). Specifically, the OFTM was created to test spatial learning in rodents without the experimenter having to consider how "stress" might play a role as a confounding variable. Experiments have shown that stress-alone can significantly affect cognitive function(1). The representative results section contains data from an experiment that used the OFTM to examine the effects of estradiol treatment on place- and response-learning in adult female Sprague Dawley rats(2). Future studies will be designed to examine the role of the hippocampus and striatum in place- and response-learning in the OFTM.

Uncertainty in Random Forests: What does it mean in a spatial context?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klump, Jens; Fouedjio, Francky

2017-04-01

Geochemical surveys are an important part of exploration for mineral resources and in environmental studies. The samples and chemical analyses are often laborious and difficult to obtain and therefore come at a high cost. As a consequence, these surveys are characterised by datasets with large numbers of variables but relatively few data points when compared to conventional big data problems. With more remote sensing platforms and sensor networks being deployed, large volumes of auxiliary data of the surveyed areas are becoming available. The use of these auxiliary data has the potential to improve the prediction of chemical element concentrations over the whole study area. Kriging is a well established geostatistical method for the prediction of spatial data but requires significant pre-processing and makes some basic assumptions about the underlying distribution of the data. Some machine learning algorithms, on the other hand, may require less data pre-processing and are non-parametric. In this study we used a dataset provided by Kirkwood et al. [1] to explore the potential use of Random Forest in geochemical mapping. We chose Random Forest because it is a well understood machine learning method and has the advantage that it provides us with a measure of uncertainty. By comparing Random Forest to Kriging we found that both methods produced comparable maps of estimated values for our variables of interest. Kriging outperformed Random Forest for variables of interest with relatively strong spatial correlation. The measure of uncertainty provided by Random Forest seems to be quite different to the measure of uncertainty provided by Kriging. In particular, the lack of spatial context can give misleading results in areas without ground truth data. In conclusion, our preliminary results show that the model driven approach in geostatistics gives us more reliable estimates for our target variables than Random Forest for variables with relatively strong spatial correlation. However, in cases of weak spatial correlation Random Forest, as a nonparametric method, may give the better results once we have a better understanding of the meaning of its uncertainty measures in a spatial context. References [1] Kirkwood, C., M. Cave, D. Beamish, S. Grebby, and A. Ferreira (2016), A machine learning approach to geochemical mapping, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 163, 28-40, doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.05.003.

KBGIS-II: A knowledge-based geographic information system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Terence; Peuquet, Donna; Menon, Sudhakar; Agarwal, Pankaj

1986-01-01

The architecture and working of a recently implemented Knowledge-Based Geographic Information System (KBGIS-II), designed to satisfy several general criteria for the GIS, is described. The system has four major functions including query-answering, learning and editing. The main query finds constrained locations for spatial objects that are describable in a predicate-calculus based spatial object language. The main search procedures include a family of constraint-satisfaction procedures that use a spatial object knowledge base to search efficiently for complex spatial objects in large, multilayered spatial data bases. These data bases are represented in quadtree form. The search strategy is designed to reduce the computational cost of search in the average case. The learning capabilities of the system include the addition of new locations of complex spatial objects to the knowledge base as queries are answered, and the ability to learn inductively definitions of new spatial objects from examples. The new definitions are added to the knowledge base by the system. The system is performing all its designated tasks successfully. Future reports will relate performance characteristics of the system.

Daytime Sleep Enhances Consolidation of the Spatial but Not Motoric Representation of Motor Sequence Memory

PubMed Central

Albouy, Geneviève; Fogel, Stuart; Pottiez, Hugo; Nguyen, Vo An; Ray, Laura; Lungu, Ovidiu; Carrier, Julie; Robertson, Edwin; Doyon, Julien

2013-01-01

Motor sequence learning is known to rely on more than a single process. As the skill develops with practice, two different representations of the sequence are formed: a goal representation built under spatial allocentric coordinates and a movement representation mediated through egocentric motor coordinates. This study aimed to explore the influence of daytime sleep (nap) on consolidation of these two representations. Through the manipulation of an explicit finger sequence learning task and a transfer protocol, we show that both allocentric (spatial) and egocentric (motor) representations of the sequence can be isolated after initial training. Our results also demonstrate that nap favors the emergence of offline gains in performance for the allocentric, but not the egocentric representation, even after accounting for fatigue effects. Furthermore, sleep-dependent gains in performance observed for the allocentric representation are correlated with spindle density during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep of the post-training nap. In contrast, performance on the egocentric representation is only maintained, but not improved, regardless of the sleep/wake condition. These results suggest that motor sequence memory acquisition and consolidation involve distinct mechanisms that rely on sleep (and specifically, spindle) or simple passage of time, depending respectively on whether the sequence is performed under allocentric or egocentric coordinates. PMID:23300993

Deformation field correction for spatial normalization of PET images

PubMed Central

Bilgel, Murat; Carass, Aaron; Resnick, Susan M.; Wong, Dean F.; Prince, Jerry L.

2015-01-01

Spatial normalization of positron emission tomography (PET) images is essential for population studies, yet the current state of the art in PET-to-PET registration is limited to the application of conventional deformable registration methods that were developed for structural images. A method is presented for the spatial normalization of PET images that improves their anatomical alignment over the state of the art. The approach works by correcting the deformable registration result using a model that is learned from training data having both PET and structural images. In particular, viewing the structural registration of training data as ground truth, correction factors are learned by using a generalized ridge regression at each voxel given the PET intensities and voxel locations in a population-based PET template. The trained model can then be used to obtain more accurate registration of PET images to the PET template without the use of a structural image. A cross validation evaluation on 79 subjects shows that the proposed method yields more accurate alignment of the PET images compared to deformable PET-to-PET registration as revealed by 1) a visual examination of the deformed images, 2) a smaller error in the deformation fields, and 3) a greater overlap of the deformed anatomical labels with ground truth segmentations. PMID:26142272

[Co-administration of RJR-2403 with low dose of 17beta-estradiol on spatial learning in ovariectomized rats].

PubMed

Fedotova, Yu O

2013-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the influence of stimulation or blockade Nalpha7-cholinoreceptors on dynamics of spatial learning in water Morris maze and on behavior in the "open field" test in adult ovariectomized (OVX) females given with a low dose of 17beta-estradiol. Agonist of Nalpha7-cholinoreceptors - RJR-2403 (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) or antagonist of Nalpha7-cholinoreceptors - mecamylamine (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) treated chronically (14 days) alone and in a combination with low dose of 17beta-estradiol (0.5 micro/rat, s.c.) to OVX rats. Co-administration of RJR-2403 with low dose of 17beta-estradiol completely restored impaired spatial learning in water Morris maze in OVX females. Moreover, OVX rats treated with RJR-2403 and low dose of 17beta-estradiol demonstrated increased exploratory and grooming behavior in the "open field" test. Both mecamylamine alone and in combination with low dose of 17beta-estradiol failed to influence on spatial learning and failed to modify behavior in the "open field" test in OVX rats. The results of the present study suggest a positive effect of RJR-2403 in combination with low dose of 17beta-estradiol on spatial learning at estrogen deficiency.

The Development of GIS Educational Resources Sharing among Central Taiwan Universities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chou, T.-Y.; Yeh, M.-L.; Lai, Y.-C.

2011-09-01

Using GIS in the classroom enhance students' computer skills and explore the range of knowledge. The paper highlights GIS integration on e-learning platform and introduces a variety of abundant educational resources. This research project will demonstrate tools for e-learning environment and delivers some case studies for learning interaction from Central Taiwan Universities. Feng Chia University (FCU) obtained a remarkable academic project subsidized by Ministry of Education and developed e-learning platform for excellence in teaching/learning programs among Central Taiwan's universities. The aim of the project is to integrate the educational resources of 13 universities in central Taiwan. FCU is serving as the hub of Center University. To overcome the problem of distance, e-platforms have been established to create experiences with collaboration enhanced learning. The e-platforms provide coordination of web service access among the educational community and deliver GIS educational resources. Most of GIS related courses cover the development of GIS, principles of cartography, spatial data analysis and overlaying, terrain analysis, buffer analysis, 3D GIS application, Remote Sensing, GPS technology, and WebGIS, MobileGIS, ArcGIS manipulation. In each GIS case study, students have been taught to know geographic meaning, collect spatial data and then use ArcGIS software to analyze spatial data. On one of e-Learning platforms provide lesson plans and presentation slides. Students can learn Arc GIS online. As they analyze spatial data, they can connect to GIS hub to get data they need including satellite images, aerial photos, and vector data. Moreover, e-learning platforms provide solutions and resources. Different levels of image scales have been integrated into the systems. Multi-scale spatial development and analyses in Central Taiwan integrate academic research resources among CTTLRC partners. Thus, establish decision-making support mechanism in teaching and learning. Accelerate communication, cooperation and sharing among academic units

Machine learning-based augmented reality for improved surgical scene understanding.

PubMed

Pauly, Olivier; Diotte, Benoit; Fallavollita, Pascal; Weidert, Simon; Euler, Ekkehard; Navab, Nassir

2015-04-01

In orthopedic and trauma surgery, AR technology can support surgeons in the challenging task of understanding the spatial relationships between the anatomy, the implants and their tools. In this context, we propose a novel augmented visualization of the surgical scene that mixes intelligently the different sources of information provided by a mobile C-arm combined with a Kinect RGB-Depth sensor. Therefore, we introduce a learning-based paradigm that aims at (1) identifying the relevant objects or anatomy in both Kinect and X-ray data, and (2) creating an object-specific pixel-wise alpha map that permits relevance-based fusion of the video and the X-ray images within one single view. In 12 simulated surgeries, we show very promising results aiming at providing for surgeons a better surgical scene understanding as well as an improved depth perception. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neurocognitive Treatment for a Patient with Alzheimer’s Disease Using a Virtual Reality Navigational Environment

PubMed Central

White, Paul J.F.; Moussavi, Zahra

2016-01-01

In this case study, a man at the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was enrolled in a cognitive treatment program based upon spatial navigation in a virtual reality (VR) environment. We trained him to navigate to targets in a symmetric, landmark-less virtual building. Our research goals were to determine whether an individual with AD could learn to navigate in a simple VR navigation (VRN) environment and whether that training could also bring real-life cognitive benefits. The results show that our participant learned to perfectly navigate to desired targets in the VRN environment over the course of the training program. Furthermore, subjective feedback from his primary caregiver (his wife) indicated that his skill at navigating while driving improved noticeably and that he enjoyed cognitive improvement in his daily life at home. These results suggest that VRN treatments might benefit other people with AD. PMID:27840579

Running throughout middle-age improves memory function, hippocampal neurogenesis and BDNF levels in female C57Bl/6J mice

PubMed Central

Marlatt, Michael W.; Potter, Michelle C.; Lucassen, Paul J.; van Praag, Henriette

2012-01-01

Age-related memory loss is considered to commence at middle-age and coincides with reduced adult hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophin levels. Consistent physical activity at midlife may preserve brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, new cell genesis and learning. In the present study, 9-month-old female C57Bl/6J mice were housed with or without a running wheel and injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to label newborn cells. Morris water maze learning, open field activity and rotarod behavior were tested 1 and 6 months after exercise onset. Here we show that long-term running improved retention of spatial memory and modestly enhanced rotarod performance at 15 months of age. Both hippocampal neurogenesis and mature BDNF peptide levels were elevated after long-term running. Thus, regular exercise from the onset and during middle-age may maintain brain function. PMID:22252978

Metric Learning to Enhance Hyperspectral Image Segmentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David R.; Castano, Rebecca; Bue, Brian; Gilmore, Martha S.

2013-01-01

Unsupervised hyperspectral image segmentation can reveal spatial trends that show the physical structure of the scene to an analyst. They highlight borders and reveal areas of homogeneity and change. Segmentations are independently helpful for object recognition, and assist with automated production of symbolic maps. Additionally, a good segmentation can dramatically reduce the number of effective spectra in an image, enabling analyses that would otherwise be computationally prohibitive. Specifically, using an over-segmentation of the image instead of individual pixels can reduce noise and potentially improve the results of statistical post-analysis. In this innovation, a metric learning approach is presented to improve the performance of unsupervised hyperspectral image segmentation. The prototype demonstrations attempt a superpixel segmentation in which the image is conservatively over-segmented; that is, the single surface features may be split into multiple segments, but each individual segment, or superpixel, is ensured to have homogenous mineralogy.

A preliminary study of sex differences in brain activation during a spatial navigation task in healthy adults.

PubMed

Sneider, Jennifer Tropp; Sava, Simona; Rogowska, Jadwiga; Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah A

2011-10-01

The hippocampus plays a significant role in spatial memory processing, with sex differences being prominent on various spatial tasks. This study examined sex differences in healthy adults, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in areas implicated in spatial processing during navigation of a virtual analogue of the Morris water-maze. There were three conditions: learning, hidden, and visible control. There were no significant differences in performance measures. However, sex differences were found in regional brain activation during learning in the right hippocampus, right parahippocampal gyrus, and the cingulate cortex. During the hidden condition, the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and cingulate cortex were activated in both men and women. Additional brain areas involved in spatial processing may be recruited in women when learning information about the environment, by utilizing external cues (landmarks) more than do men, contributing to the observed sex differences in brain activation.

Spatial memory and navigation by honeybees on the scale of the foraging range

PubMed

Dyer

1996-01-01

Honeybees and other nesting animals face the problem of finding their way between their nest and distant feeding sites. Many studies have shown that insects can learn foraging routes in reference to both landmarks and celestial cues, but it is a major puzzle how spatial information obtained from these environmental features is encoded in memory. This paper reviews recent progress by my colleagues and me towards understanding three specific aspects of this problem in honeybees: (1) how bees learn the spatial relationships among widely separated locations in a familiar terrain; (2) how bees learn the pattern of movement of the sun over the day; and (3) whether, and if so how, bees learn the relationships between celestial cues and landmarks.

Generating Ground Reference Data for a Global Impervious Surface Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tilton, James C.; deColstoun, Eric Brown; Wolfe, Robert E.; Tan, Bin; Huang, Chengquan

2012-01-01

We are engaged in a project to produce a 30m impervious cover data set of the entire Earth for the years 2000 and 2010 based on the Landsat Global Land Survey (GLS) data set. The GLS data from Landsat provide an unprecedented opportunity to map global urbanization at this resolution for the first time, with unprecedented detail and accuracy. Moreover, the spatial resolution of Landsat is absolutely essential to accurately resolve urban targets such as buildings, roads and parking lots. Finally, with GLS data available for the 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005 time periods, and soon for the 2010 period, the land cover/use changes due to urbanization can now be quantified at this spatial scale as well. Our approach works across spatial scales using very high spatial resolution commercial satellite data to both produce and evaluate continental scale products at the 30m spatial resolution of Landsat data. We are developing continental scale training data at 1m or so resolution and aggregating these to 30m for training a regression tree algorithm. Because the quality of the input training data are critical, we have developed an interactive software tool, called HSegLearn, to facilitate the photo-interpretation of high resolution imagery data, such as Quickbird or Ikonos data, into an impervious versus non-impervious map. Previous work has shown that photo-interpretation of high resolution data at 1 meter resolution will generate an accurate 30m resolution ground reference when coarsened to that resolution. Since this process can be very time consuming when using standard clustering classification algorithms, we are looking at image segmentation as a potential avenue to not only improve the training process but also provide a semi-automated approach for generating the ground reference data. HSegLearn takes as its input a hierarchical set of image segmentations produced by the HSeg image segmentation program [1, 2]. HSegLearn lets an analyst specify pixel locations as being either positive or negative examples, and displays a classification of the study area based on these examples. For our study, the positive examples are examples of impervious surfaces and negative examples are examples of non-impervious surfaces. HSegLearn searches the hierarchical segmentation from HSeg for the coarsest level of segmentation at which selected positive example locations do not conflict with negative example locations and labels the image accordingly. The negative example regions are always defined at the finest level of segmentation detail. The resulting classification map can be then further edited at a region object level using the previously developed HSegViewer tool [3]. After providing an overview of the HSeg image segmentation program, we provide a detailed description of the HSegLearn software tool. We then give examples of using HSegLearn to generate ground reference data and conclude with comments on the effectiveness of the HSegLearn tool.

Exploring the Structure of Spatial Representations

PubMed Central

Madl, Tamas; Franklin, Stan; Chen, Ke; Trappl, Robert; Montaldi, Daniela

2016-01-01

It has been suggested that the map-like representations that support human spatial memory are fragmented into sub-maps with local reference frames, rather than being unitary and global. However, the principles underlying the structure of these ‘cognitive maps’ are not well understood. We propose that the structure of the representations of navigation space arises from clustering within individual psychological spaces, i.e. from a process that groups together objects that are close in these spaces. Building on the ideas of representational geometry and similarity-based representations in cognitive science, we formulate methods for learning dissimilarity functions (metrics) characterizing participants’ psychological spaces. We show that these learned metrics, together with a probabilistic model of clustering based on the Bayesian cognition paradigm, allow prediction of participants’ cognitive map structures in advance. Apart from insights into spatial representation learning in human cognition, these methods could facilitate novel computational tools capable of using human-like spatial concepts. We also compare several features influencing spatial memory structure, including spatial distance, visual similarity and functional similarity, and report strong correlations between these dimensions and the grouping probability in participants’ spatial representations, providing further support for clustering in spatial memory. PMID:27347681

Incidental learning speeds visual search by lowering response thresholds, not by improving efficiency: evidence from eye movements.

PubMed

Hout, Michael C; Goldinger, Stephen D

2012-02-01

When observers search for a target object, they incidentally learn the identities and locations of "background" objects in the same display. This learning can facilitate search performance, eliciting faster reaction times for repeated displays. Despite these findings, visual search has been successfully modeled using architectures that maintain no history of attentional deployments; they are amnesic (e.g., Guided Search Theory). In the current study, we asked two questions: 1) under what conditions does such incidental learning occur? And 2) what does viewing behavior reveal about the efficiency of attentional deployments over time? In two experiments, we tracked eye movements during repeated visual search, and we tested incidental memory for repeated nontarget objects. Across conditions, the consistency of search sets and spatial layouts were manipulated to assess their respective contributions to learning. Using viewing behavior, we contrasted three potential accounts for faster searching with experience. The results indicate that learning does not result in faster object identification or greater search efficiency. Instead, familiar search arrays appear to allow faster resolution of search decisions, whether targets are present or absent.

The Beneficial Effect of Prior Experience on the Acquisition of Spatial Memory in Rats with CA1, but Not Large Hippocampal Lesions: A Possible Role for Schema Formation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ocampo, Amber C.; Squire, Larry R.; Clark, Robert E.

2018-01-01

Prior experience has been shown to improve learning in both humans and animals, but it is unclear what aspects of recent experience are necessary to produce beneficial effects. Here, we examined the capacity of rats with complete hippocampal lesions, restricted CA1 lesions, or sham surgeries to benefit from prior experience. Animals were tested in…

Memory under pressure: secondary-task effects on contextual cueing of visual search.

PubMed

Annac, Efsun; Manginelli, Angela A; Pollmann, Stefan; Shi, Zhuanghua; Müller, Hermann J; Geyer, Thomas

2013-11-04

Repeated display configurations improve visual search. Recently, the question has arisen whether this contextual cueing effect (Chun & Jiang, 1998) is itself mediated by attention, both in terms of selectivity and processing resources deployed. While it is accepted that selective attention modulates contextual cueing (Jiang & Leung, 2005), there is an ongoing debate whether the cueing effect is affected by a secondary working memory (WM) task, specifically at which stage WM influences the cueing effect: the acquisition of configural associations (e.g., Travis, Mattingley, & Dux, 2013) versus the expression of learned associations (e.g., Manginelli, Langer, Klose, & Pollmann, 2013). The present study re-investigated this issue. Observers performed a visual search in combination with a spatial WM task. The latter was applied on either early or late search trials--so as to examine whether WM load hampers the acquisition of or retrieval from contextual memory. Additionally, the WM and search tasks were performed either temporally in parallel or in succession--so as to permit the effects of spatial WM load to be dissociated from those of executive load. The secondary WM task was found to affect cueing in late, but not early, experimental trials--though only when the search and WM tasks were performed in parallel. This pattern suggests that contextual cueing involves a spatial WM resource, with spatial WM providing a workspace linking the current search array with configural long-term memory; as a result, occupying this workspace by a secondary WM task hampers the expression of learned configural associations.

Oculomotor and Manual Indexes of Incidental and Intentional Spatial Sequence Learning during Middle Childhood and Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karatekin, Canan; Marcus, David J.; White, Tonya

2007-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine incidental and intentional spatial sequence learning during middle childhood and adolescence. We tested four age groups (8-10 years, 11-13 years, 14-17 years, and young adults [18+ years]) on a serial reaction time task and used manual and oculomotor measures to examine incidental sequence learning.…

Using discharge data to reduce structural deficits in a hydrological model with a Bayesian inference approach and the implications for the prediction of critical source areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frey, M. P.; Stamm, C.; Schneider, M. K.; Reichert, P.

2011-12-01

A distributed hydrological model was used to simulate the distribution of fast runoff formation as a proxy for critical source areas for herbicide pollution in a small agricultural catchment in Switzerland. We tested to what degree predictions based on prior knowledge without local measurements could be improved upon relying on observed discharge. This learning process consisted of five steps: For the prior prediction (step 1), knowledge of the model parameters was coarse and predictions were fairly uncertain. In the second step, discharge data were used to update the prior parameter distribution. Effects of uncertainty in input data and model structure were accounted for by an autoregressive error model. This step decreased the width of the marginal distributions of parameters describing the lower boundary (percolation rates) but hardly affected soil hydraulic parameters. Residual analysis (step 3) revealed model structure deficits. We modified the model, and in the subsequent Bayesian updating (step 4) the widths of the posterior marginal distributions were reduced for most parameters compared to those of the prior. This incremental procedure led to a strong reduction in the uncertainty of the spatial prediction. Thus, despite only using spatially integrated data (discharge), the spatially distributed effect of the improved model structure can be expected to improve the spatially distributed predictions also. The fifth step consisted of a test with independent spatial data on herbicide losses and revealed ambiguous results. The comparison depended critically on the ratio of event to preevent water that was discharged. This ratio cannot be estimated from hydrological data only. The results demonstrate that the value of local data is strongly dependent on a correct model structure. An iterative procedure of Bayesian updating, model testing, and model modification is suggested.

Evolution of social versus individual learning in a subdivided population revisited: comparative analysis of three coexistence mechanisms using the inclusive-fitness method.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Yutaka; Ohtsuki, Hisashi

2014-03-01

Learning abilities are categorized into social (learning from others) and individual learning (learning on one's own). Despite the typically higher cost of individual learning, there are mechanisms that allow stable coexistence of both learning modes in a single population. In this paper, we investigate by means of mathematical modeling how the effect of spatial structure on evolutionary outcomes of pure social and individual learning strategies depends on the mechanisms for coexistence. We model a spatially structured population based on the infinite-island framework and consider three scenarios that differ in coexistence mechanisms. Using the inclusive-fitness method, we derive the equilibrium frequency of social learners and the genetic load of social learning (defined as average fecundity reduction caused by the presence of social learning) in terms of some summary statistics, such as relatedness, for each of the three scenarios and compare the results. This comparative analysis not only reconciles previous models that made contradictory predictions as to the effect of spatial structure on the equilibrium frequency of social learners but also derives a simple mathematical rule that determines the sign of the genetic load (i.e. whether or not social learning contributes to the mean fecundity of the population). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spatial features of synaptic adaptation affecting learning performance.

PubMed

Berger, Damian L; de Arcangelis, Lucilla; Herrmann, Hans J

2017-09-08

Recent studies have proposed that the diffusion of messenger molecules, such as monoamines, can mediate the plastic adaptation of synapses in supervised learning of neural networks. Based on these findings we developed a model for neural learning, where the signal for plastic adaptation is assumed to propagate through the extracellular space. We investigate the conditions allowing learning of Boolean rules in a neural network. Even fully excitatory networks show very good learning performances. Moreover, the investigation of the plastic adaptation features optimizing the performance suggests that learning is very sensitive to the extent of the plastic adaptation and the spatial range of synaptic connections.

Methylthioninium chloride reverses cognitive deficits induced by scopolamine: comparison with rivastigmine.

PubMed

Deiana, Serena; Harrington, Charles R; Wischik, Claude M; Riedel, Gernot

2009-01-01

The cholinergic system is involved in cognition as well as in age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer disease (AD). Cholinergic enhancers ameliorate AD symptoms and represent the main current therapy for AD. MTC (Methylthioninium chloride), an antioxidant with metabolism-enhancing properties may be a novel candidate with pro-cognitive capacities. This study was performed: (1) to assess the pro-cognitive efficacy of MTC and establish its dose-response; (2) to compare the efficacy of MTC with rivastigmine and (3) to determine the potential for combination therapy by co-administration of MTC and rivastigmine. Spatial cognition of female NMRI mice was tested in a reference memory water maze task. Subjects received intra-peritoneal injections of scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg) followed by vehicle, and/or MTC and/or rivastigmine (0.15-4 mg/kg MTC; 0.1-0.5 mg/kg rivastigmine) in mono or combination treatment. Scopolamine treatment prevented spatial learning in NMRI female mice and the deficit was reversed by both rivastigmine and MTC in a dose-dependent manner. Mono-therapy with high doses of rivastigmine (>0.5 mg/kg) caused severe side effects but MTC was safe up to 4 mg/kg. Co-administration of sub-effective doses of both drugs acted synergistically in reversing learning deficits and scopolamine-induced memory impairments. In our model, MTC reversed the spatial learning impairment. When combined with the ChEI rivastigmine, the effect of MTC appeared to be amplified indicating that combination therapy could potentially improve not only symptoms but also contribute beneficially to neuronal metabolism by minimising side effects at lower doses.

JIP1-Mediated JNK Activation Negatively Regulates Synaptic Plasticity and Spatial Memory.

PubMed

Morel, Caroline; Sherrin, Tessi; Kennedy, Norman J; Forest, Kelly H; Avcioglu Barutcu, Seda; Robles, Michael; Carpenter-Hyland, Ezekiel; Alfulaij, Naghum; Standen, Claire L; Nichols, Robert A; Benveniste, Morris; Davis, Roger J; Todorovic, Cedomir

2018-04-11

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signal transduction pathway is implicated in learning and memory. Here, we examined the role of JNK activation mediated by the JNK-interacting protein 1 (JIP1) scaffold protein. We compared male wild-type mice with a mouse model harboring a point mutation in the Jip1 gene that selectively blocks JIP1-mediated JNK activation. These male mutant mice exhibited increased NMDAR currents, increased NMDAR-mediated gene expression, and a lower threshold for induction of hippocampal long-term potentiation. The JIP1 mutant mice also displayed improved hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and enhanced associative fear conditioning. These results were confirmed using a second JIP1 mutant mouse model that suppresses JNK activity. Together, these observations establish that JIP1-mediated JNK activation contributes to the regulation of hippocampus-dependent, NMDAR-mediated synaptic plasticity and learning. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The results of this study demonstrate that c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation induced by the JNK-interacting protein 1 (JIP1) scaffold protein negatively regulates the threshold for induction of long-term synaptic plasticity through the NMDA-type glutamate receptor. This change in plasticity threshold influences learning. Indeed, mice with defects in JIP1-mediated JNK activation display enhanced memory in hippocampus-dependent tasks, such as contextual fear conditioning and Morris water maze, indicating that JIP1-JNK constrains spatial memory. This study identifies JIP1-mediated JNK activation as a novel molecular pathway that negatively regulates NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity and memory. Copyright © 2018 the authors 0270-6474/18/383708-21$15.00/0.

Development and Evaluation of a Web Map Mind Tool Environment with the Theory of Spatial Thinking and Project-Based Learning Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hou, Huei-Tse; Yu, Tsai-Fang; Wu, Yi-Xuan; Sung, Yao-Ting; Chang, Kuo-En

2016-01-01

The theory of spatial thinking is relevant to the learning and teaching of many academic domains. One promising method to facilitate learners' higher-order thinking is to utilize a web map mind tool to assist learners in applying spatial thinking to cooperative problem solving. In this study, an environment is designed based on the theory of…

Geo-Spatial Social Network Analysis of Social Media to Mitigate Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carley, K. M.

2017-12-01

Understanding the spatial layout of human activity can afford a better understanding many phenomena - such as local cultural, the spread of ideas, and the scope of a disaster. Today, social media is one of the key sensors for acquiring information on socio-cultural activity, some with cues as to the geo-location. We ask, What can be learned by putting such data on maps? For example, are people who chat on line more likely to be near each other? Can Twitter data support disaster planning or early warning? In this talk, such issues are examined using data collected via Twitter and analyzed using ORA. ORA is a network analysis and visualization system. It supports not just social networks (who is interacting with whom), but also high dimensional networks with many types of nodes (e.g. people, organizations, resources, activities …) and relations, geo-spatial network analysis, dynamic network analysis, & geo-temporal analysis. Using ORA lessons learned from five case studies are considered: Arab Spring, Tsunami warning in Padang Indonesia, Twitter around Fukushima in Japan, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), & regional conflict. Using Padang Indonesia data, we characterize the strengths and limitations of social media data to support disaster planning & early warning, identify at risk areas & issues of concern, and estimate where people are and which areas are impacted. Using Fukushima Japanese data, social media is used to estimate geo-spatial regularities in movement and communication that can inform disaster response and risk estimation. Using Arab Spring data, we find that the spread of bots & extremists varies by country and time, to the extent that using twitter to understand who is important or what ideas are critical can be compromised. Bots and extremists can exploit disaster messaging to create havoc and facilitate criminal activity e.g. human trafficking. Event discovery mechanisms support isolating geo-epi-centers for key events become crucial. Spatial inference enables improved country, and city identification. Geo-network analytics with and without these inferences reveal that explicitly geo-tagged data may not be representative and that improved location estimation provides better insight into the social condition. These results demonstrate the value of these technique to mitigate the social impact of disasters.

Effects of the GluN2B-NMDA receptor antagonist Ro 25-6981 on two types of behavioral flexibility in rats.

PubMed

Clark, Emma; Antoniak, Kristen; Feniquito, Alyssandra; Dringenberg, Hans C

2017-02-15

Recent evidence has implicated N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) in several aspects of learning and behavioral flexibility in rodents. Here, we examined the effects of treatment with Ro 25-6981, a selective antagonist of NMDARs containing GluN2B subunits, on two types of behavioral flexibility in rats, spatial reversal learning and set-shifting (spatial vs. motor strategy). To examine spatial reversal learning, rats were trained to swim to a hidden platform in a water maze over four days. On the following day, the platform was moved to a new location in the maze. Administration of Ro 25-6981 (10mg/kg) selectively impaired the early phase of reversal learning, but all rats learned to navigate to the new platform location over 12 trials. To examine set-shifting, independent groups of rats were trained to either swim to a fixed location (spatial strategy) or use a motor response (e.g., "turn left"; motor strategy) to find a hidden escape platform in a cross-shaped water maze apparatus; after task acquisition, rats were trained on the second, novel strategy (set-shift) following treatment with either Ro 25-6981 (10mg/kg) or saline. Administration of Ro 25-6981 had no effect on the ability of rats to perform the set-shift and use the new strategy to locate the escape platform. These results suggest that, in rats, spatial reversal learning, but not set-shifting, is sensitive to Ro-25-6981 treatment. Thus, NMDARs-GluN2B signaling may play a selective role in some forms of behavioral plasticity, particularly for situations involving the updating of information in the spatial domain. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Frames of reference in spatial language acquisition.

PubMed

Shusterman, Anna; Li, Peggy

2016-08-01

Languages differ in how they encode spatial frames of reference. It is unknown how children acquire the particular frame-of-reference terms in their language (e.g., left/right, north/south). The present paper uses a word-learning paradigm to investigate 4-year-old English-speaking children's acquisition of such terms. In Part I, with five experiments, we contrasted children's acquisition of novel word pairs meaning left-right and north-south to examine their initial hypotheses and the relative ease of learning the meanings of these terms. Children interpreted ambiguous spatial terms as having environment-based meanings akin to north and south, and they readily learned and generalized north-south meanings. These studies provide the first direct evidence that children invoke geocentric representations in spatial language acquisition. However, the studies leave unanswered how children ultimately acquire "left" and "right." In Part II, with three more experiments, we investigated why children struggle to master body-based frame-of-reference words. Children successfully learned "left" and "right" when the novel words were systematically introduced on their own bodies and extended these words to novel (intrinsic and relative) uses; however, they had difficulty learning to talk about the left and right sides of a doll. This difficulty was paralleled in identifying the left and right sides of the doll in a non-linguistic memory task. In contrast, children had no difficulties learning to label the front and back sides of a doll. These studies begin to paint a detailed account of the acquisition of spatial terms in English, and provide insights into the origins of diverse spatial reference frames in the world's languages. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

LTP saturation and spatial learning disruption: effects of task variables and saturation levels.

PubMed

Barnes, C A; Jung, M W; McNaughton, B L; Korol, D L; Andreasson, K; Worley, P F

1994-10-01

The prediction that "saturation" of LTP/LTE at hippocampal synapses should impair spatial learning was reinvestigated in the light of a more specific consideration of the theory of Hebbian associative networks, which predicts a nonlinear relationship between LTP "saturation" and memory impairment. This nonlinearity may explain the variable results of studies that have addressed the effects of LTP "saturation" on behavior. The extent of LTP "saturation" in fascia dentata produced by the standard chronic LTP stimulation protocol was assessed both electrophysiologically and through the use of an anatomical marker (activation of the immediate-early gene zif268). Both methods point to the conclusion that the standard protocols used to induce LTP do not "saturate" the process at any dorsoventral level, and leave the ventral half of the hippocampus virtually unaffected. LTP-inducing, bilateral perforant path stimulation led to a significant deficit in the reversal of a well-learned spatial response on the Barnes circular platform task as reported previously, yet in the same animals produced no deficit in learning the Morris water task (for which previous results have been conflicting). The behavioral deficit was not a consequence of any after-discharge in the hippocampal EEG. In contrast, administration of maximal electroconvulsive shock led to robust zif268 activation throughout the hippocampus, enhancement of synaptic responses, occlusion of LTP produced by discrete high-frequency stimulation, and spatial learning deficits in the water task. These data provide further support for the involvement of LTP-like synaptic enhancement in spatial learning.

Expressive writing in people with traumatic brain injury and learning disability.

PubMed

Wheeler, Lisa; Nickerson, Sherry; Long, Kayla; Silver, Rebecca

2014-01-01

There is a dearth of systematic studies of expressive writing disorder (EWD) in persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It is unclear if TBI survivors' written expression differs significantly from that experienced by persons with learning disabilities. It is also unclear which cognitive or neuropsychological variables predict problems with expressive writing (EW) or the EWD. This study investigated the EW skill, and the EWD in adults with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) relative to those with learning disabilities (LD). It also determined which of several cognitive variables predicted EW and EWD. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of writing samples from 28 LD participants and 28 TBI survivors revealed four components of expressive writing skills: Reading Ease, Sentence Fluency, Grammar and Spelling, and Paragraph Fluency. There were no significant differences between the LD and TBI groups on any of the expressive writing components. Several neuropsychological variables predicted skills of written expression. The best predictors included measures of spatial perception, verbal IQ, working memory, and visual memory. TBI survivors and persons with LD do not differ markedly in terms of expressive writing skill. Measures of spatial perception, visual memory, verbal intelligence, and working memory predict writing skill in both groups. Several therapeutic interventions are suggested that are specifically designed to improve deficits in expressive writing skills in individuals with TBI and LD.

The Effect of Programmable Tactile Displays on Spatial Learning Skills in Children and Adolescents of Different Visual Disability.

PubMed

Leo, Fabrizio; Cocchi, Elena; Brayda, Luca

2017-07-01

Vision loss has severe impacts on physical, social and emotional well-being. The education of blind children poses issues as many scholar disciplines (e.g., geometry, mathematics) are normally taught by heavily relying on vision. Touch-based assistive technologies are potential tools to provide graphical contents to blind users, improving learning possibilities and social inclusion. Raised-lines drawings are still the golden standard, but stimuli cannot be reconfigured or adapted and the blind person constantly requires assistance. Although much research concerns technological development, little work concerned the assessment of programmable tactile graphics, in educative and rehabilitative contexts. Here we designed, on programmable tactile displays, tests aimed at assessing spatial memory skills and shapes recognition abilities. Tests involved a group of blind and a group of low vision children and adolescents in a four-week longitudinal schedule. After establishing subject-specific difficulty levels, we observed a significant enhancement of performance across sessions and for both groups. Learning effects were comparable to raised paper control tests: however, our setup required minimal external assistance. Overall, our results demonstrate that programmable maps are an effective way to display graphical contents in educative/rehabilitative contexts. They can be at least as effective as traditional paper tests yet providing superior flexibility and versatility.

Synapse-associated protein 102/dlgh3 couples the NMDA receptor to specific plasticity pathways and learning strategies.

PubMed

Cuthbert, Peter C; Stanford, Lianne E; Coba, Marcelo P; Ainge, James A; Fink, Ann E; Opazo, Patricio; Delgado, Jary Y; Komiyama, Noboru H; O'Dell, Thomas J; Grant, Seth G N

2007-03-07

Understanding the mechanisms whereby information encoded within patterns of action potentials is deciphered by neurons is central to cognitive psychology. The multiprotein complexes formed by NMDA receptors linked to synaptic membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK) proteins including synapse-associated protein 102 (SAP102) and other associated proteins are instrumental in these processes. Although humans with mutations in SAP102 show mental retardation, the physiological and biochemical mechanisms involved are unknown. Using SAP102 knock-out mice, we found specific impairments in synaptic plasticity induced by selective frequencies of stimulation that also required extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling. This was paralleled by inflexibility and impairment in spatial learning. Improvement in spatial learning performance occurred with extra training despite continued use of a suboptimal search strategy, and, in a separate nonspatial task, the mutants again deployed a different strategy. Double-mutant analysis of postsynaptic density-95 and SAP102 mutants indicate overlapping and specific functions of the two MAGUKs. These in vivo data support the model that specific MAGUK proteins couple the NMDA receptor to distinct downstream signaling pathways. This provides a mechanism for discriminating patterns of synaptic activity that lead to long-lasting changes in synaptic strength as well as distinct aspects of cognition in the mammalian nervous system.

True-3D Accentuating of Grids and Streets in Urban Topographic Maps Enhances Human Object Location Memory

PubMed Central

Edler, Dennis; Bestgen, Anne-Kathrin; Kuchinke, Lars; Dickmann, Frank

2015-01-01

Cognitive representations of learned map information are subject to systematic distortion errors. Map elements that divide a map surface into regions, such as content-related linear symbols (e.g. streets, rivers, railway systems) or additional artificial layers (coordinate grids), provide an orientation pattern that can help users to reduce distortions in their mental representations. In recent years, the television industry has started to establish True-3D (autostereoscopic) displays as mass media. These modern displays make it possible to watch dynamic and static images including depth illusions without additional devices, such as 3D glasses. In these images, visual details can be distributed over different positions along the depth axis. Some empirical studies of vision research provided first evidence that 3D stereoscopic content attracts higher attention and is processed faster. So far, the impact of True-3D accentuating has not yet been explored concerning spatial memory tasks and cartography. This paper reports the results of two empirical studies that focus on investigations whether True-3D accentuating of artificial, regular overlaying line features (i.e. grids) and content-related, irregular line features (i.e. highways and main streets) in official urban topographic maps (scale 1/10,000) further improves human object location memory performance. The memory performance is measured as both the percentage of correctly recalled object locations (hit rate) and the mean distances of correctly recalled objects (spatial accuracy). It is shown that the True-3D accentuating of grids (depth offset: 5 cm) significantly enhances the spatial accuracy of recalled map object locations, whereas the True-3D emphasis of streets significantly improves the hit rate of recalled map object locations. These results show the potential of True-3D displays for an improvement of the cognitive representation of learned cartographic information. PMID:25679208

[Effect of agonist and antagonist of 5-HT(1A) receptors on learning in female rats during ovarian cycle].

PubMed

Fedotova, Iu O; Ordian, N E

2010-01-01

The involvement of 5-HT(1A) receptors in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle was assessed in the adult female rats. 8-OH-DPAT (0.05 mg/kg, s.c.), 5-HT(1A) receptor agonist and NAN-190 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.), 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist were injected chronically to adult female rats. Learning of these animals was assessed in different models: passive avoidance performance and Morris water maze. Chronic NAN-190 administration to females resulted in the appearance of the passive avoidance performance in proestrous and estrous, as distinct from the control animals, but failed to change the dynamics of spatial learning in Morris water maze. Chronic 8-OH-DPAT administration similarly impaired non-spatial and spatial learning in females during all phases of ovary cycle. The results of the study suggest modulating role of 5-HT(1A) receptors in learning/memory processes during ovary cycle in the adult female rats.

Early Life Manipulations Alter Learning and Memory in Rats

PubMed Central

Kosten, Therese A; Kim, Jeansok J; Lee, Hongjoo J.

2012-01-01

Much research shows early life manipulations have enduring behavioral, neural, and hormonal effects. However, findings of learning and memory performance vary widely across studies. We reviewed studies in which pre-weaning rat pups were exposed to stressors and tested on learning and memory tasks in adulthood. Tasks were classified as aversive conditioning, inhibitory learning, or spatial/relational memory. Variables of duration, type, and timing of neonatal manipulation and sex and strain of animals were examined to determine if any predict enhanced or impaired performance. Brief separations enhanced and prolonged separations impaired performance on spatial/relational tasks. Performance was impaired in aversive conditioning and enhanced in inhibitory learning tasks regardless of manipulation duration. Opposing effects on performance for spatial/relational memory also depended upon timing of manipulation. Enhanced performance was likely if the manipulation occurred during postnatal week 3 but performance was impaired if it was confined to the first two postnatal weeks. Thus, the relationship between early life experiences and adulthood learning and memory performance is multifaceted and decidedly task-dependent. PMID:22819985

Biased Feedback in Spatial Recall Yields a Violation of Delta Rule Learning

PubMed Central

Lipinski, John; Spencer, John P.; Samuelson, Larissa K.

2010-01-01

This study investigates whether inductive processes influencing spatial memory performance generalize to supervised learning scenarios with differential feedback. After providing a location memory response in a spatial recall task, participants received visual feedback showing the target location. In critical blocks, feedback was systematically biased either 4° towards the vertical axis (Towards condition) or 4° further away from the vertical axis (Away condition). Results showed that the weaker teaching signal (i.e., a smaller difference between the remembered location and the feedback location) in the Away condition produced a stronger experience-dependent change over blocks than in the Towards condition. This violates delta rule learning. Subsequent simulations of the Dynamic Field Theory of spatial cognition provide a theoretically unified account of these results. PMID:20702881

Biased feedback in spatial recall yields a violation of delta rule learning.

PubMed

Lipinski, John; Spencer, John P; Samuelson, Larissa K

2010-08-01

This study investigates whether inductive processes influencing spatial memory performance generalize to supervised learning scenarios with differential feedback. After providing a location memory response in a spatial recall task, participants received visual feedback showing the target location. In critical blocks, feedback was systematically biased either 4 degrees toward the vertical axis (toward condition) or 4 degrees farther away from the vertical axis (away condition). Results showed that the weaker teaching signal (i.e., a smaller difference between the remembered location and the feedback location) produced a stronger experience-dependent change over blocks in the away condition than in the toward condition. This violates delta rule learning. Subsequent simulations of the dynamic field theory of spatial cognition provide a theoretically unified account of these results.

Photography activities for developing students’ spatial orientation and spatial visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendroanto, Aan; van Galen, Frans; van Eerde, D.; Prahmana, R. C. I.; Setyawan, F.; Istiandaru, A.

2017-12-01

Spatial orientation and spatial visualization are the foundation of students’ spatial ability. They assist students’ performance in learning mathematics, especially geometry. Considering its importance, the present study aims to design activities to help young learners developing their spatial orientation and spatial visualization ability. Photography activity was chosen as the context of the activity to guide and support the students. This is a design research study consisting of three phases: 1) preparation and designing 2) teaching experiment, and 3) retrospective analysis. The data is collected by tests and interview and qualitatively analyzed. We developed two photography activities to be tested. In the teaching experiments, 30 students of SD Laboratorium UNESA, Surabaya were involved. The results showed that the activities supported the development of students’ spatial orientation and spatial visualization indicated by students’ learning progresses, answers, and strategies when they solved the problems in the activities.

BDNF Expression in Perirhinal Cortex is Associated with Exercise-Induced Improvement in Object Recognition Memory

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Michael E.; Bucci, David J.

2010-01-01

Physical exercise induces widespread neurobiological adaptations and improves learning and memory. Most research in this field has focused on hippocampus-based spatial tasks and changes in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a putative substrate underlying exercise-induced cognitive improvements. Chronic exercise can also be anxiolytic and causes adaptive changes in stress reactivity. The present study employed a perirhinal cortex-dependent object recognition task as well as the elevated plus maze to directly test for interactions between the cognitive and anxiolytic effects of exercise in male Long Evans rats. Hippocampal and perirhinal cortex tissue was collected to determine whether the relationship between BDNF and cognitive performance extends to this non-spatial and non-hippocampal-dependent task. We also examined whether the cognitive improvements persisted once the exercise regimen was terminated. Our data indicate that 4 weeks of voluntary exercise every-other-day improved object recognition memory. Importantly, BDNF expression in the perirhinal cortex of exercising rats was strongly correlated with object recognition memory. Exercise also decreased anxiety-like behavior, however there was no evidence to support a relationship between anxiety-like behavior and performance on the novel object recognition task. There was a trend for a negative relationship between anxiety-like behavior and hippocampal BDNF. Neither the cognitive improvements nor the relationship between cognitive function and perirhinal BDNF levels persisted after 2 weeks of inactivity. These are the first data demonstrating that region-specific changes in BDNF protein levels are correlated with exercise-induced improvements in non-spatial memory, mediated by structures outside the hippocampus and are consistent with the theory that, with regard to object recognition, the anxiolytic and cognitive effects of exercise may be mediated through separable mechanisms. PMID:20601027

Spatial Learning and Wayfinding in an Immersive Environment: The Digital Fulldome.

PubMed

Hedge, Craig; Weaver, Ruth; Schnall, Simone

2017-05-01

Previous work has examined whether immersive technologies can benefit learning in virtual environments, but the potential benefits of technology in this context are confounded by individual differences such as spatial ability. We assessed spatial knowledge acquisition in male and female participants using a technology not previously examined empirically: the digital fulldome. Our primary aim was to examine whether performance on a test of survey knowledge was better in a fulldome (N = 28, 12 males) relative to a large, flat screen display (N = 27, 13 males). Regression analysis showed that, compared to a flat screen display, males showed higher levels of performance on a test of survey knowledge after learning in the fulldome, but no benefit occurred for females. Furthermore, performance correlated with spatial visualization ability in male participants, but not in female participants. Thus, the digital fulldome is a potentially useful learning aid, capable of accommodating multiple users, but individual differences and use of strategy need to be considered.

Effects of endurance, resistance, and concurrent exercise on learning and memory after morphine withdrawal in rats.

PubMed

Zarrinkalam, Ebrahim; Heidarianpour, Ali; Salehi, Iraj; Ranjbar, Kamal; Komaki, Alireza

2016-07-15

Continuous morphine consumption contributes to the development of cognitive disorders. This work investigates the impacts of different types of exercise on learning and memory in morphine-dependent rats. Forty morphine-dependent rats were randomly divided into five groups: sedentary-dependent (Sed-D), endurance exercise-dependent (En-D), strength exercise-dependent (St-D), and combined (concurrent) exercise-dependent (Co-D). Healthy rats were used as controls (Con). After 10weeks of regular exercise (endurance, strength, and concurrent; each five days per week), spatial and aversive learning and memory were assessed using the Morris water maze and shuttle box tests. The results showed that morphine addiction contributes to deficits in spatial learning and memory. Furthermore, each form of exercise training restored spatial learning and memory performance in morphine-dependent rats to levels similar to those of healthy controls. Aversive learning and memory during the acquisition phase were not affected by morphine addiction or exercise, but were significantly decreased by morphine dependence. Only concurrent training returned the time spent in the dark compartment in the shuttle box test to control levels. These findings show that different types of exercise exert similar effects on spatial learning and memory, but show distinct effects on aversive learning and memory. Further, morphine dependence-induced deficits in cognitive function were blocked by exercise. Therefore, different exercise regimens may represent practical treatment methods for cognitive and behavioral impairments associated with morphine-related disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Deep Learning Representations of Spatial Storm Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gagne, D. J., II; Haupt, S. E.; Nychka, D. W.

2017-12-01

The spatial structure of a severe thunderstorm and its surrounding environment provide useful information about the potential for severe weather hazards, including tornadoes, hail, and high winds. Statistics computed over the area of a storm or from the pre-storm environment can provide descriptive information but fail to capture structural information. Because the storm environment is a complex, high-dimensional space, identifying methods to encode important spatial storm information in a low-dimensional form should aid analysis and prediction of storms by statistical and machine learning models. Principal component analysis (PCA), a more traditional approach, transforms high-dimensional data into a set of linearly uncorrelated, orthogonal components ordered by the amount of variance explained by each component. The burgeoning field of deep learning offers two potential approaches to this problem. Convolutional Neural Networks are a supervised learning method for transforming spatial data into a hierarchical set of feature maps that correspond with relevant combinations of spatial structures in the data. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) are an unsupervised deep learning model that uses two neural networks trained against each other to produce encoded representations of spatial data. These different spatial encoding methods were evaluated on the prediction of severe hail for a large set of storm patches extracted from the NCAR convection-allowing ensemble. Each storm patch contains information about storm structure and the near-storm environment. Logistic regression and random forest models were trained using the PCA and GAN encodings of the storm data and were compared against the predictions from a convolutional neural network. All methods showed skill over climatology at predicting the probability of severe hail. However, the verification scores among the methods were very similar and the predictions were highly correlated. Further evaluations are being performed to determine how the choice of input variables affects the results.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the primary motor cortex does not enhance the learning benefits of self-controlled feedback schedules.

PubMed

Carter, Michael J; Smith, Victoria; Carlsen, Anthony N; Ste-Marie, Diane M

2018-05-01

A distinct learning advantage has been shown when participants control their knowledge of results (KR) scheduling during practice compared to when the same KR schedule is imposed on the learner without choice (i.e., yoked schedules). Although the learning advantages of self-controlled KR schedules are well-documented, the brain regions contributing to these advantages remain unknown. Identifying key brain regions would not only advance our theoretical understanding of the mechanisms underlying self-controlled learning advantages, but would also highlight regions that could be targeted in more applied settings to boost the already beneficial effects of self-controlled KR schedules. Here, we investigated whether applying anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the primary motor cortex (M1) would enhance the typically found benefits of learning a novel motor skill with a self-controlled KR schedule. Participants practiced a spatiotemporal task in one of four groups using a factorial combination of KR schedule (self-controlled vs. yoked) and tDCS (anodal vs. sham). Testing occurred on two consecutive days with spatial and temporal accuracy measured on both days and learning was assessed using 24-h retention and transfer tests without KR. All groups improved their performance in practice and a significant effect for practicing with a self-controlled KR schedule compared to a yoked schedule was found for temporal accuracy in transfer, but a similar advantage was not evident in retention. There were no significant differences as a function of KR schedule or tDCS for spatial accuracy in retention or transfer. The lack of a significant tDCS effect suggests that M1 may not strongly contribute to self-controlled KR learning advantages; however, caution is advised with this interpretation as typical self-controlled learning benefits were not strongly replicated in the present experiment.