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PubMed2006

[Factors associated with social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area: physical, psychological, and socio-environmental parameters].

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors related to social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area. METHODS: Fifteen hundred individuals aged 65 to 84 years were randomly selected in Osaka City. Data for 771 persons (51.4%) were obtained from a mail survey and these for 654 eligible cases were analyzed for level of social activities from four aspects: personal activities, socially-related activities, learning activities, and job activity. In order to examine factors related to social activities, we used logistic regression analyses with each of the four aspects of social activities as dependent variables. Independent variables were socio-demographic, physical, psychological, and socio-environmental variables. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses revealed the following results: no feeling of difficulty in going outdoors, number of friends, sense of collecting information about social activities, and informational social support were positively associated with personal activities. The attitude toward community score, the motivation to live comfortably score, the number of friends, opportunities to be invited to participate, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to participation in socially-related activities. The attitude toward community score, opportunities to be invited to take part, and sense of collecting information about social activities were also positively associated with learning activities. Furthermore, motivation to active life score, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to job activity. CONCLUSION: Physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors as well as socio-demographic factors were found to be associated with social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

[The characteristics of the effect of the rat neostriatal cholinergic system on normal active avoidance learning and in destruction of the intralaminar thalamic nuclei].

The learning of discriminative avoidance reflex in T-maze was studied on 57 Sprague-Dawley rats (divided into several experimental groups) at the normal conditions, both after carbacholine (0.03 mkg), or scopolamine (0.3 mkg) microinjections into neostriatum bilaterally, after uni- or bilateral lesions of intralaminar thalamic nucleus (Pf) and after neostriatal microinjections followed Pf lesion. It has been shown that bilateral carbacholine microinjections in neostriatum (in 4, 5 and 6 days of learning) significantly increased (p < 0.01) the level of correct realizations of discriminative avoidance reflex. Bilateral lesion of Pf resulted in irreversible destruction of preliminary learned active avoidance movement. In rats with preliminary lesion of Pf nuclei we had no possibility of learn discriminative avoidance reflex during 10 experimental days (160 trials). The neostriatal carbacholine microinjections to these animals didn't show any effect. It was concluded that intact afferent input from Pf nucleus is significant for activation of neostriatal neuronal background, necessary for cholinergic activation effect.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Teaching practice management during residency.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Practice management is a required component in family practice residency education. A few studies have reported that recently graduated primary care physicians indicated that their practice management training was inadequate. Our study describes the current nature of practice management education in family practice residencies and the perceptions of residency directors about the effectiveness of their program's practice management curriculum. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to 421 family practice residency directors, who were asked about their program's curriculum approach to teaching practice management, as well as their evaluation of the effectiveness of the curriculum. After two mailings, 213 surveys (51%) were returned. RESULTS: Eighteen percent of the respondents provided less than the required 60 hours of practice management curricular time. Residency directors indicated that managed care has had a significant effect on their curriculum. Directors' ratings of the effectiveness of their curriculum were associated with more curricular time and specifically with active learning activities. Although directors reported that managed care had affected how they teach practice management, managed care penetration was not associated with perceived curriculum effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Family practice residency program directors described a variety of approaches to teaching practice management. Active learning strategies seem to be important curricular components, although further study is needed about the most-effective methods to prepare physicians for post-residency practice.

Curriculum↗

PubMed1992

[Pharmacological procedures for treating enuresis and operant behavior therapy. A comparison].

In comparison with the highly significant effect of the apparative behavior therapy of enuresis, tricyclic antidepressants, desmopressin and anticholinergic drugs all fail to show statistically significant results. The author presents a model to illustrate and explain how the apparative behavior therapy of enuresis works. The therapy's main aim is for patients to learn active control of the bladder. From this theoretical point of view the aforementioned pharmacological treatments of enuresis cannot yield effects that last a long time after discontinuation of medication. By reducing the frequency of micturition at night only, they prevent active learning of bladder control.

Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic↗

PubMed1997

[Development of index of social activities for the elderly].

In order to develop indices of social activities for the elderly, two surveys with 2 year intervals were conducted on the same 5,201 elderly subjects in four areas in Japan using a self-administered questionnaire. Social activities were defined as "activities which required contact with society" and were measured by 4 major facets of social activities, which were based on 21 questions relating to job activity, socially-plated activities, learning activities, and personal activities. The results were as follows; 1. The Wilcoxon scores in indices for 4 facets were given in sex and age groups. 2. Means of scores of indices increased with the degree of social activities from a subjective judgment. 3. Rank correlation coefficients between indices in two surveys were 0.60-0.71 for the persons whose answers were "no" to the question "did degrees of your activities change over the two years?" 4. Differences between indices in two surveys were higher in the persons with answers of "increase" to the above question than those with answers of "no", and were lower in those with answers of "decrease". These findings suggest that indices are available for assessing social activities as indicated by the reproducibility, validity and responsiveness found in this study.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Marijuana influenced changes in GSR activation peaking during paired-associate learning.

Activation Peaking (AP) refers to a patterned physiological response occurring during learning. Marijuana has been found to interfere with both paired-associate learning and phasic GSR activity. Therefore, a study was performed to assess the effects of marijuana intoxication on paired-associate learning and concomitant GSR AP. Two marijuana usage categories were employed--light and heavy usage Ss. Within each category four groups were run in a design to test state-dependent effects. Each S was seen twice with a seven-day inter-session interval. The groups were P-P, P-M, M-M and P-M with P equals placebo and M equals 14 mg delta-9 THC. At each sessions S learned a nine-word paired-associate list to a criterion of one correct recitation, and then received 100 percent overlearning. No usage or group differences were found in level of basal conductance, except lights showed habituation over sessions and heavies did not. Magnitude of phasic GSR activation, aligned for AP, was significantly reduced for both heavy usage and marijuana intoxicated Ss. Also, only on placebo days was an AP effect evident. The results were discussed in terms of marijuana's effects on learning and physiology with emphasis on possible mechanisms of action.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

An explorative study into learning on international traineeships: experiential learning processes dominate.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the learning processes of undergraduate medical students undertaking international traineeships. METHODS: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 undergraduate medical students from Maastricht University Medical School, the Netherlands. The 24 subjects were selected by purposeful sampling. Research methods resembled the grounded theory method. Although the data were initially gathered for an earlier study, the richness of the data enabled renewed scrutiny. RESULTS: The data yielded the following categories concerning the description of the learning processes: motivation, preparation, internal supervisor, external supervisor, assessment, and positive and negative incidents. The majority of supervisors' influences on the learning process were facilitative or negligible. Socio-cultural differences between students and supervisors sometimes appeared to blur productive learning. The greater proportion of the students seemed to learn by 'experiential learning', a smaller proportion learned by 'active learning', and the learning of a very small minority of the students appeared to be 'guided'. DISCUSSION: Although experiential learning seemed to be the dominant learning process, it is not clear whether this is also the most fruitful approach to learning. It could be argued that structuring learning outcomes by a more active learning process might be more effective. To guide the learning process and learning outcomes, it might be advisable to develop guidelines for writing international traineeship reports. Supervision of these reports should be more co-ordinated to prevent arbitrariness and to scaffold active learning.

Consumer Behavior↗

PubMed2001

Student performance and perceptions of a lecture-based course compared with the same course utilizing group discussion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Self-directed learning is believed to be an important aspect of the reflective clinical practitioner. This study was a comparison of student learning and student perceptions of course and instructor effectiveness, course difficulty, and amount learned between the active learning and lecture sections of a course. SUBJECTS: Participants in this study were 170 physical therapist students in 3 sections of a physiology course in the first year of their professional program. METHODS: Course grades and the results of teacher-course evaluations were compared between a lecture section and an active learning section. The students in the original active learning section were reassessed 1 year later to determine their perceptions of the course. The differences were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Course grades were higher in both active learning sections than in the lecture section. However, the students in both active learning sections perceived that they had learned less than students in the lecture section. Students' perceptions of course and instructor effectiveness were lower in the active learning sections than in the lecture section. There were no differences between the lecture and active learning sections on the students' perceptions of course difficulty. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Although they did better in the active learning environment, physical therapist students in a basic sciences course (physiology) in the first year of their professional program perceived that they had learned less in active learning courses. They also had lower perceptions of course and instructor quality.

Educational Measurement↗

PubMed2004

Development of an online, team-based programme in telecare.

Few health-care providers have experience of delivering telecare and access to formal training is limited. We therefore developed an online training programme in telecare. A participatory design approach was used and telecare providers were invited to participate in each stage of the course design cycle. The course content, learning activities and learning materials such as video were based on the results of interviews with providers from various health disciplines and observations in the telecare workplace. The approach led to the development of a six-week, multimedia, online course for members of the health-care team. Participants were asked to review the prototype course for completeness and accuracy of content, quality of course design and the utility of learning activities. Overall feedback was favourable. Learners found the course content and learning activities helpful, and it met their needs. The learning material was then reviewed by a panel of experts and further revisions were made. Including providers in the development process led to the creation of a course that appears likely to improve the implementation and practice of telecare.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1984

Alcohol-influenced changes in activation peaking during paired-associate verbal learning.

Activation response patterning, termed activation peaking, was examined to understand the effects of alcohol intoxication on complex information processing. A total of 23 men social drinkers were divided into alcohol and placebo groups: Ns = 10 and 13, respectively. The alcohol group was administered enough alcohol to obtain blood alcohol levels of at least 10 mg/dl. Heart rate and skin conductance was measured before and during paired-associate learning. Learning consisted of a random presentation of eight letter-word pairs followed by the presentation of letters only, with subjects required to remember the associated word. Results showed a clear pattern of peripheral activation related to verbal learning behavior in the alcohol group, with no differences between the groups in verbal learning performance.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The learning-related activity that develops in the pontine nuclei during classical eye-blink conditioning is dependent on the interpositus nucleus.

A growing body of research now implicates the cerebellum in the formation and storage of the critical neural plasticity that subserves the classically conditioned eye-blink response. Previous anatomical, physiological, and behavioral research suggests that auditory-conditioned stimulus information is routed to the cerebellum by the pontine nuclei. However, it has also been observed from multiple unit recordings that some populations of pontine cells, in addition to showing auditory-evoked responses, also show changes in activity that is learning-related. It is unknown whether this learning-related activity is generated by the pontine cells or whether it is generated by some other structure and projected to the pontine nuclei. Because the cerebellum has been implicated in the formation of the essential plasticity that subserves this learned behavior, we examined how multiple unit recordings of learning-related activity within the pontine nuclei are affected by reversible inactivation of the interpositus nucleus of the cerebellum. The results indicated clearly that when the interpositus nucleus was inactivated, the learning-related activity in the pontine nuclei was abolished completely and the auditory stimulus-evoked activity was unaffected. In contract, when the facial nucleus was inactivated, both the auditory stimulus and the learning-related activity were still present. These results indicate that the learning-related activity exhibited by some populations of pontine nuclei cells is dependent on the interpositus nucleus and may represent feedback from the cerebellum.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Active avoidance learning in old rats chronically treated with levocarnitine acetyl.

The aging laboratory animal is recognized as a suitable experimental model for the investigation on drugs potentially able to retard the age-dependent decline in cognitive functions. There is robust evidence that levocarnitine acetyl (ALCAR), the acetyl derivative of carnitine, when administered chronically, prevents some age-related deficits of the central nervous system, mainly at the hippocampal level. On the basis of this evidence and because learning of active avoidance was demonstrated to become impaired with age, we decided to investigate the effect of ALCAR in rats. For statistical evaluation of results, the Cluster Analysis technique was chosen. This procedure pointed out the great heterogeneity of the old population and allowed the classification of the animals into homogeneous groups according to their response pattern. The effect of ALCAR was evident in the higher number of treated old animals yielding escape responses, indicating that ALCAR can preserve, at least partially, learning and memory from the natural decay occurring with age.

Acetylcarnitine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Learning-induced activation of protein kinase C. A molecular memory trace.

PKC activation has been shown to mimic the biophysical consequences of classical conditioning in both rabbit hippocampus and Hermissenda type B cells. Furthermore, conditioning in rabbits results in the 24 h translocation of PKC from cytosol to membrane, which is probably responsible for mediating the biophysical consequences of conditioning. A model has been presented that suggests that long-term translocation of PKC occurs via the synergistic activation of a DG dependent pathway that activates PKC and a calcium dependent pathway that activates CaM kinase. Translocation of PKC to the plasma membrane, by altering ion channel properties, could subserve memory lasting for days, whereas translocation to the nuclear membrane could induce cellular change, by genomic regulation, lasting beyond days. We are, therefore, suggesting that protein kinase C may play a critical role in the formation of short, intermediate, and long-term associative memory.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Dental education in Queensland: II. Principles of curriculum design.

A modern dental curriculum must produce graduates who are competent to practise in a variety of settings immediately upon graduation; cognisant of community needs and the social milieu in which they serve their patients' health needs; able to anticipate and cope with changes following graduation; committed to self-improvement, willing to change to reflect best clinical practice; and equipped with skills for self-assessment and lifelong learning. This requires the appropriate balance of emphasis on educational content and educational process. This paper outlines the design considerations underlying the new BDSc curriculum at the University of Queensland. This curriculum uses an integrated rather than subject-based approach, with student-centred modes of learning as the principal learning style. Active learning strategies develop critical thinking and clinical problem-solving skills. Learning occurs in the context of a clinical situation (either overt or implied). Year 2 provides the major scientific foundations, and later years build upon this base, particularly through problem-based learning. Senior clinical staff involved in teaching in earlier parts of the course, help provide an overt clinical context to learning activities. The integrated curriculum model provides clinically relevant education in basic sciences and scientifically based education in clinical care. The curriculum has a focus on outcomes and on preparation for general practice. Importantly, it has an open and transparent structure, and each component is linked explicitly with the competencies expected of the new dental graduate.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationships between attitudes and use of adult-learning teaching activities by medical faculty.

This study examined teaching behaviors of medical faculty and their attitudes toward adult learners. A number of studies have examined characteristics of adult learners and found that certain teaching activities produce more effective learning in adults. Adult learners tend to be more self-directed and bring a variety of experiences to the educational setting; they also profit more from collaborative curriculum planning, learning activities, and evaluation of progress.

Attitude↗

PubMed1998

Modifications of reward expectation-related neuronal activity during learning in primate striatum.

This study investigated neuronal activity in the anterior striatum while monkeys repeatedly learned to associate new instruction stimuli with known behavioral reactions and reinforcers. In a delayed go-nogo task with several trial types, an initial picture instructed the animal to execute or withhold a reaching movement and to expect a liquid reward or not. During learning, new instruction pictures were presented, and animals guessed and performed one of the trial types according to a trial-and-error strategy. Learning of a large number of pictures resulted in a learning set in which learning took place in a few trials and correct performance exceeded 80% in the first 60-90 trials. About 200 task-related striatal neurons studied in both familiar and learning conditions showed three forms of changes during learning. Activations related to the preparation and execution of behavioral reactions and the expectation of reward were maintained in many neurons but occurred in inappropriate trial types when behavioral errors were made. The activations became appropriate for individual trial types when the animals' behavior adapted to the new task contingencies. In particular, reward expectation-related activations occurred initially in both rewarded and unrewarded movement trials and became subsequently restricted to rewarded trials. These changes occurred in parallel with the visible adaptation of reward expectations by the animals. The second learning change consisted in decreases of task-related activations that were either restricted to the initial trials of new learning problems or persisted during the subsequent consolidation phase. They probably reflected reductions in the expectation and preparation of upcoming task events, including reward. The third learning change consisted in transient or sustained increases of activations. These might reflect the increased attention accompanying learning and serve to induce synaptic changes underlying the behavioral adaptations. Both decreases and increases often induced changes in the trial selective occurrence of activations. In conclusion, neurons in anterior striatum showed changes related to adaptations or reductions of expectations in new task situations and displayed activations that might serve to induce structural changes during learning.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase polypeptide (PACAP) on extinction of active avoidance learning in rats: involvement of neurotransmitters.

The effects of PACAP-38 on the extinction of active avoidance learning were studied in rats. The action of transmitter mediation was followed by pretreating the animals with appropriate receptor antagonists. PACAP-38 administered into the lateral brain ventricle caused a transitory facilitation of the extinction of a learned active avoidance response at 3 and 6 h following extinction, which had returned to or even above the control level at the 24-h testing. PACAP 6-38, which is an antagonist of PACAP-38, and an antibody against PACAP-38, prevented this action. When the animals were retested during a further 10 days, the control animals demonstrated response extinction on day 7, while the PACAP-38-treated animals still showed a high proportion (70%) of positive responses. The following receptor blockers diminished the action of PACAP-38 on the facilitation of extinction: propranolol, haloperidol, naloxone, bicuculline and nitro-L-arginine, the latter by blocking nitric oxide formation. Phenoxybenzamine and atropine were ineffective. The data reveal that the transitory action of PACAP-38 within 24 h on the facilitation of extinction is mediated by beta-adrenergic, dopaminergic, GABA-ergic and opiate receptors and nitric oxide. This transitory facilitated extinction is caused partly by depressed locomotion and presumably also an increased body temperature. Following a transitory facilitation of extinction from 24 h on, PACAP-38 demonstrated a greatly delayed extinction, which lasted for more than 7 days, while the control animals displayed complete extinction. The data suggest that PACAP-38 facilitates memory retrieval processes in the extinction of the active avoidance reflex.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

PubMed1978

Proactive and retroactive effects of hippocampal stimulation on active avoidance learning, hippocampal EEG and brain acetylcholinesterase activity in cats.

The subject of this investigation were the effects of electrical stimulation of the hippocampus on the acquisition of active avoidance response (AAR) in a shuttle-box. The stimulation (200 microamperes, 50/s, negative rectangular pulses of 1.0 ms duration) was applied once for 10 s before or after each training session. It was found that the application of hippocampal stimulation before each session facilitated the acquisition of AAR; discontinuation of the stimulation after training did not cause a decrease of AAR performance. Application of the stimulation after each session inhibited learning in four out of six cats. However, the level of AAR performance increased rapidly in these cats after inversion of the trials-stimulation sequence. It was also found that the intensity of the somatic and vegetative symptoms evoked by stimulation (stupor, salivation, twitching of facial muscles, pupil dilatation, crying) increased gradually in successive experimental sessions, suggesting the development of the 'kindling effect in cats stimulated before each session. In cats stimulated after each session the intensity of these symptoms was greatly diminished as compared to sessions where the stimulation was not preceded by the avoidance training, or they did appear at all. However, normal sensitivity to stimulation returned after several applications of hippocampal stimulation before each experimental session. Electroencephalographic studies showed that hippocampal stimulation with the use of the same parameters as those used during training evoked hippocampal afterdischarges lasting 5-60 s. No changes of aceltycholinesterase activity in different brain regions were found in consequence of such stimulation.

Acetylcholinesterase↗