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PubMed1996

[Problem-based learning in a social medicine course--a concept for improving learning achievement and practice relevance].

In many medical curricula around the world, problem-based learning (PBL), i.e. inductive, usually interdisciplinary learning based on real or constructed cases, has been shown to improve the acquisition of knowledge. Additionally, it is valued positively by students. On the other hand, lecturing is usually valued negatively. Teaching of epidemiology and social medicine is further handicapped by the fact that students consider it irrelevant. In 1994/95, one of 18 social medicine courses for fifth year medical students at Hannover Medical School was problem-based. The following "cases" were used: 1. rheumatic patient with various social medical problems (losing sick pay, receiving status as handicapped person, early retirement etc.), 2. cluster of patients with leukaemia in the surroundings of a nuclear power plant and 3. recent newspaper articles on the effects of the 1993 Health Care Reform Law (dentists refusing to treat patients because of a fixed budget, introduction of prepayment methods in hospital etc.). Evaluation by the students at the end of the course revealed that PBL is well accepted in social medicine. Students rated learning success, relevance of the subject compared to other disciplines and the ability to transfer the acquired knowledge into medical practice well above the traditional courses. Besides lectures, practical courses and seminars, PBL should therefore be used as a standard method of learning in undergraduate medical education.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1983

Luck and learning: feedback contingencies and initial success in verbal discrimination learning.

Ninety undergraduate volunteers learned a 12-pair, low frequency, verbal discrimination list. The independent variables were feedback (positive only, negative only, or both) and initial success (17%, 50%, or 83% correct on trial one). With the total errors on nine trials as the dependent variable, the main effect of feedback was found to be not significant. The main effect of initial success was significant. Subjects who started at 50% correct had the most difficulty learning the list and subjects in the 83% correct condition learned quickest. The predicted interaction between feedback and initial success was not significant, even though the means for the three types of feedback at the 17% correct starting level reflect the expected differences. The results are interpreted as supporting the rule-use component of frequency theory. The relationship between initial success and subsequent performance appears to be curvilinear, rather than linear, as many theorists have assumed.

Discrimination Learning↗
PubMed1993

Reduced feedback frequency enhances generalized motor program learning but not parameterization learning.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a reduced feedback frequency on the learning of generalized motor programs and movement parameterization. Subjects practiced three movement patterns with the same relative timing and the same relative amplitude, but with varied movement time (Experiment 1) or varied movement amplitude (Experiment 2). KR was given either on 100% or 63% of the trials, with learning being assessed by retention and transfer tests. In both experiments, reduced KR frequency enhanced GMP learning but generally degraded parameter learning. These data provide converging evidence for the dissociation of the program and parameterization processes postulated in GMP theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Neural basis for motor learning in the vestibuloocular reflex of primates. III. Computational and behavioral analysis of the sites of learning.

1. We have used a combination of eye movement recordings and computer modeling to study long-term adaptive modification (motor learning) in the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR). The eye movement recordings place constraints on possible sites for motor learning. The computer model abides by these constraints, as well as constraints provided by data in previous papers, to formalize a new hypothesis about the sites of motor learning. The model was designed to reproduce as much of the existing neural and behavioral data as possible. 2. Motor learning was induced in monkeys by fitting them with spectacles that caused the gain of the VOR (eye speed divided by head speed) to increase to values > 1.6 or to decrease to values < 0.4. We elicited pursuit by providing ramp motion of a small target at 30 degrees/s along the horizontal axis. Changes in the gain of the VOR caused only small and inconsistent changes in the eye acceleration in the first 100 ms after the onset of pursuit and had no effect on the eye velocity during tracking of steady target motion. Electrical stimulation in the flocculus and ventral paraflocculus with single pulses or trains of pulses caused smooth eye movement toward the side of stimulation after latencies of 9-11 ms. Neither the latency, the peak eye velocity, nor the initial eye acceleration varied as a consistent function of the gain of the VOR. 3. The computer model contained nodes that represented position-vestibular-pause cells (PVP-cells) and flocculus target neurons (FTNs) in the vestibular nucleus, and horizontal gaze-velocity Purkinje cells (HGVP-cells) in the cerebellar flocculus and ventral paraflocculus. Node FTN represented only the "E-c FTNs," which show increased firing for eye motion away from the side of recording. The transfer functions in the model included dynamic elements (filters) as well as static elements (summing junctions, gain elements, and time delays). Except for the transfer functions that converted visual motion inputs into commands for smooth eye movement, the model was linear. 4. The performance of the model was determined both by computer simulation and, for the VOR in the dark, by analytic solution of linear equations. For simulation, we adjusted the parameters by hand to match the output of the model to the eye velocity of monkeys and to match the activity of the relevant nodes in the model to the firing of HGVP-cells, FTNs, and PVP-cells when the gain of the VOR was 0.4, 1.0, and 1.6.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Using accreditation of prior learning and accreditation of prior experiential learning for entry on to the BSc in Medical Illustration.

The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) and Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) scheme described in this paper has been prepared following discussions between the Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) and Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), departments of Learning and Educational Development and Biological Sciences. The scheme gives specific academic credit under the Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) scheme for learning gained from experience, allowing access onto the Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc) in Medical Illustration to potential students who do not have the required Higher National Diploma (HND) or equivalent entry qualification. The need, rationale and structure of the scheme are described.

Accreditation↗
PubMed1984

Ontogenesis of learning: II. Variation in the rat's reflexive and learned responses to acoustic stimulation.

The ontogenesis of the rat's reflexive and simple learned reactions to acoustic stimulation was investigated in five experiments. The pattern of results suggests that (a) reflexive reactions to tonal stimulation emerge earlier in ontogenesis than the capacity to learn about these stimuli, and (b) the age at which simple Pavlovian conditioning is first observed depends on the nature of the acoustic conditioned stimulus (CS). Specifically, these data suggest that pups are not capable of simple Pavlovian conditioning to a 2000-Hz tone (CS) paired with an oral infusion of sucrose (US) until they are 14-15 days old. The same acoustic stimulus will, however, evoke reflexive reactions (startle inspiration) in pups as young as 10-12 days old. Additionally, when a different auditory stimulus (an intermittent train of clicks) serves as the CS, there is evidence of conditioning in pups only 12-13 days old. It is suggested that these age-related dissociations in the emergence of reflexive and simple learned responses to sound reflect a caudal-to-rostral maturational sequence of the components of the ascending auditory system.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1995

Parkinson's disease affects automatic and spares intentional verbal learning. A stochastic approach to explicit learning processes.

We studied word list and paired associates learning in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and normal controls by means of a two-stage stochastic model, which allows independent measurements of encoding, storage and retrieval abilities. We preliminarily ascertained that the model components were both sufficient and necessary to account for the overall performance of the subjects, and then compared the learning abilities between the two groups. Parkinson's disease patients were selectively impaired in identifying well-known engrams, for which learning is superfluous, and in automatic retrieval, namely in abilities that do not need attentional effort. By contrast, they were unimpaired in encoding and intentional retrieval, which require a purposeful effort. The automatic-voluntary dissociation of Parkinson's disease patients' motor behaviour is, therefore, paralleled by some features of their memory performance.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Referential communication abilities of learning-disabled, language-learning-disabled, and normal school-age children.

Past research in referential communication has indicated normally developing children show developmental progression in ability to communicate a specific referent to a listener. In one paradigm subjects were given lists of word-pairs in which one member of each pair was designated as the referent. It was shown that communicating about referents found in word-pairs associated in some way was more difficult than communicating about referents in dissimilar word-pairs. The present study extended this methodology to learning-disabled children. Learning-disabled, language-learning-disabled, and normally achieving children were asked to communicate about 30 pictured referents on three different tasks. On Tasks 1 and 2 each subject was asked to give a clue for the referent that would distinguish it from the other picture. Stimuli for Task 1 were 30 pairs of pictures that were related in some way and the stimuli for Task 2 were 30 pairs of unrelated pictures. Task 3 required the subjects to evaluate the adequacy of the examiner's clues for Task 1 stimuli. The disabled subjects were matched to the normally achieving subjects on the basis of receptive vocabulary age. Few differences were noted among the groups' performances on these referential communication tasks. Implications include the importance of vocabulary and concept development to referential communication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Learning disabilities and learned helplessness: a heuristic approach.

This study investigated whether students with learning disabilities exhibited learned helpless behavior at a greater rate than their normal achieving peers when confronted with reading failure. Forty-five third grade students from a suburban elementary schools were participants in the study. Thirty of the subjects were classified as having a learning disability (LD) and the remaining 15 subjects were from regular education (RE) classrooms. Fifteen of the students with LD were placed in the treatment group and the remaining fifteen were placed in the control group. All the regular education students were placed in the treatment group. After randomly assigning the students with LD into either a treatment (stressed) group or a control (nonstressed) group, the stressed students were administered a reading instrument in order to measure how they dealt with failure. A one-way ANCOVA was conducted to determine whether significant differences existed between the groups based on their posttest scores. The results indicate that stressed students with LD have a significantly more difficult time recovering from stress than their regular education peers.

Child↗
PubMed1980

Differential performance of learning disabled and non-learning disabled children on the McCarthy scales, WISC-R, and WRAT.

Individually administered the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, WISC-R, and WRAT to 30 learning disabled and 30 non-learning disabled second-grade students. The McCarthy General Cognitive Index and the WISC-R Full Scale IQ scores were compared for both groups. In addition, correlations between the General Cognitive Index, WISC-R IQ, and mean WRAT achievement were reported. There was marginal support for previous studies that suggested that the McCarthy Scales are more consistent with the academic functioning of learning disable students. Implications and directions for future research were discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Ontogenesis of learning: III. Variation in the rat's differential reflexive and learned responses to sound frequencies.

The ontogenesis of the rat's differential response to variation in sound frequency was investigated. Two behavioral procedures were employed: (a) a differential Pavlovian conditioning procedure that provided a means of inferring the pup's capacity to learn to respond differentially on the basis of sound frequency (e.g., 2000 Hz vs 900 Hz), and (b) a habituation-generalization task that indexed the capacity to discriminate different sound frequencies from the pup's reflexive behavior. Pups less than 17 days old failed to learn to respond differentially to a 2000-Hz vs 900-Hz tone (Experiment I, IIA, IIB, and III). In contrast, pups only 14 days old discriminated tones that differed by as little as 200 Hz when the reflex-habituation-generalization procedure was employed (Experiment IV). This suggests that the reflexive and learned behaviors, potentially controlled by sound frequency, are dissociated during ontogenesis, the former emerging prior to the latter. These data were interpreted within a neurobiological framework that related ontogenetic changes in behavioral capacity to a caudal-to-rostral maturational sequence in the ascending auditory system of the components that contribute to these capacities.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1990

Analysis of associative learning in the terrestrial mollusc Limax maximus. II. Appetitive learning.

The odor and taste processing systems of the terrestrial mollusc Limax maximus have been shown capable of a number of complex computations. Most of the complex higher-order features of Limax learning have been demonstrated using differential aversive conditioning. The present experiments probe the appetitive learning ability of Limax. In the first experiment a differential appetitive classical conditioning procedure was used. An aversive CS+ odor was paired with an attractive taste while a CS- odor was explicitly unpaired with the attractive taste. This appetitive conditioning procedure dramatically increased the preference for the CS+ odor. Further experiments determined the time course of acquisition, the effect of an extinction procedure and long-term retention of the appetitive conditioning. Now that Limax has been shown capable of appetitive conditioning, the neural network simulation of Limax learning, called LIMAX, can be examined for its ability to display appetitive conditioning.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Synaptic plasticity and learning. II: Do different kinds of plasticity underlie different kinds of learning?

This paper discusses certain issues connected with the question of whether synaptic plasticity is involved in information storage by the brain. We begin by contrasting two well documented types of synaptic plasticity--activity-dependent modulation of presynaptic facilitation ("Kandel synapses") and NMDA receptor triggered alterations in excitatory amino acid transmission ("Hebb synapses"). We then propose that, embedded-into appropriate circuitry, these different forms of plasticity might underlie different kinds of learning. In partial support of this idea, we show that, in freely moving rats, intrahippocampal microinfusion of the NMDA-receptor antagonist D,L-AP5 causes a dose-dependent impairment of a type of spatial learning known to be sensitive to disruption by hippocampal lesions (water-maze place-navigation). In a second experiment, the same drug infusion protocol is shown to cause a blockade of hippocampal long-term potentiation in vivo across a comparable dose range. Finally, third, autoradiographic experiments indicate that diffusion of the drug was largely restricted to the hippocampus. Together, these results (1) suggest that blockade of hippocampal NMDA receptors, under conditions which leave baseline synaptic transmission relatively unaffected, blocks a type of learning with which the vertebrate hippocampus has been implicated on the basis of neuropsychological work; and (2) supports Abrams and Kandel's Trends Neurosci. 11 (1988) recent proposal that there may be several logically distinct forms of synaptic plasticity.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Forebrain serotonin and avoidance learning: behavioural and biochemical studies on the acute effect of p-chloroamphetamine on one-way active avoidance learning in the male rat.

The acute effects of p-chloroamphetamine (PCA) on one-way active avoidance learning and on central monoamine concentrations were examined in the male rat. The 5-HT specificity of the acute behavioural effect of PCA was examined in several experiments. PCA (0.08-5 mg/kg IP) injected 30-60 min before testing produced a dose-related impairment of both avoidance acquisition and retention. Pretreatment with the selective serotonin (5-HT) uptake inhibitors fluoxetine and zimelidine, but not the noradrenaline (NA) uptake inhibitor desipramine, resulted in a blockade of the avoidance deficit. Degeneration of brain 5-HT neurons by a high neurotoxic dose of PCA (2 x 10 mg/kg IP) 7 days prior to the administration of PCA also blocked the avoidance deficit. There was also a complete blockade of the PCA-induced avoidance deficit by pretreatment with metergoline, a central 5-HT receptor blocking agent. A 2.,5 mg/kg dose of PCA examined 60 min after injection produced regional changes in the 5-HT-levels preferentially in the forebrain region with significant reductions in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum while marginal effects were observed in the hypothalamus, midbrain and spinal cord. PCA failed to reduce dopamine and noradrenaline concentrations in the time- and dose-range of the avoidance deficit. Thus, the avoidance learning impairment appears to be specifically related to the acute release of endogenous 5-HT from presynaptic nerve endings possibly in the forebrain resulting in stimulation of postsynaptic 5-HT receptors. These findings indicate that 5-HT neurons in the forebrain play a role in active avoidance learning possibly by an involvement in memorial and/or retrieval processes.

Amphetamines↗
PubMed1989

Learning from each other: peer teaching and learning in student nurse training.

From whom do student nurses learn practical skills? According to the small group of students questioned by the author they learn as much from fellow students as from staff nurses, and clinical teachers have little part in this type of learning. The author discusses this issue and asks whether teachers should be more involved in clinical practice.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1989

Differential influences of corticotropin-releasing factor on memory retention of aversive learning and appetitive learning in rats.

The effects of intraamygdala injections of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) on memory retention of aversive and appetitive learnings were examined in the present study. Other than confirming the results of a previous study that a moderate dose of CRF (0.1 microgram) injected into the amygdala facilitated retention performance of an inhibitory avoidance task (electric shock punishment) 24 h after training, we have further found that this effect lasted for a week. However, CRF produced a differential dose-response effect upon memory of an appetitive learning paradigm (sexual reinforcement). CRF at 0.01 microgram enhanced retention at both 24-h and 1-week intervals, while CRF at 0.1 microgram impaired retention in the same task at 1 week only. These results confirm that the amygdala is important in memory processing and suggest that the mechanisms involved in the action of CRF on memory retention of aversive and appetitive learnings are different. The possible differences are also discussed.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1997

Learning to learn: step one for survival in the new paradigm.

New challenges require new approaches and many of the suggested solutions are in conflict with how we were taught in our formative years. Team work in high school and college was mostly found in sports-related activities. Collaboration in a classroom was not encouraged and could be viewed as cheating. We did not learn to share knowledge in a group nor to group problem solving, yet we are told that those are the very skills we need to have to survive in today's workplace. The first step to success is to look at how we were taught to learn and make the shift to learning in a different manner.

Cooperative Behavior↗