Educational neuroscience: Mind Brain and Education

I just stumbled upon a new journal that appears worthy to monitor. It is a journal dealing with the field of educational neuroscience--Mind Brain and Education. Below are a select sample of article abstracts.


Blair, C. (2010). Going Down to the Crossroads: Neuroendocrinology, Developmental Psychobiology, and Prospects for Research at the Intersection of Neuroscience and Education. Mind Brain and Education, 4(4), 182-187.

The relation of stress hormones and activity in stress response systems to the development of aspects of cognition and behavior important for educational achievement and attainment is examined from the perspective of the developmental psychobiological model. It is proposed that research in neuroendocrinology supports three general conclusions, namely (1) that there is a neuroscientifically definable optimal level of stress arousal in children against which various curricula and teaching and learning activities can be examined; (2) that consideration of the time course of stress arousal indicates that optimal levels of stress arousal are temporally limited and can be matched to specific instructional activities; and (3) that alterations to stress response systems through processes of allostasis and allostatic load, particularly for children facing early psychosocial disadvantage, can impair the flexible regulation of stress response systems needed for effective learning in school.



Fischer, K. W., Goswami, U., & Geake, J. (2010). The Future of Educational Neuroscience. Mind Brain and Education, 4(2), 68-80

The primary goal of the emerging field of educational neuroscience and the broader movement called Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology with cognitive science, development, and education so that education can be grounded more solidly in research on learning and teaching. To avoid misdirection, the growing worldwide movement needs to avoid the many myths and distortions in popular conceptions of brain and genetics. It should instead focus on integrating research with practice to create useful evidence that illuminates the brain and genetic bases as well as social and cultural influences on learning and teaching. Scientists and educators need to collaborate to build a strong research foundation for analyzing the “black box” of biological and cognitive processes that underpin learning.


Newcombe, N. S., & Frick, A. (2010). Early Education for Spatial Intelligence: Why, What, and How. Mind Brain and Education, 4(3), 102-111

Spatial representation and thinking have evolutionary importance for any mobile organism. In addition, they help reasoning in domains that are not obviously spatial, for example, through the use of graphs and diagrams. This article reviews the literature suggesting that mental spatial transformation abilities, while present in some precursory form in infants, toddlers, and preschool children, also undergo considerable development and show important individual differences, which are malleable. These findings provide the basis for thinking about how to promote spatial thinking in preschools, at home, and in children's play. Integrating spatial content into formal and informal instruction could not only improve spatial functioning in general but also reduce differences related to gender and socioeconomic status that may impede full participation in a technological society.


Sylvan, L. J., & Christodoulou, J. A. (2010). Understanding the Role of Neuroscience in Brain Based Products: A Guide for Educators and Consumers. Mind Brain and Education, 4(1), 1-7.

This article describes an experiment utilizing a research and development strategy to design and implement an innovative school for the future. The development of Cramim Elementary School was a joint effort of researchers from Tel-Aviv University and the staff of the school. The design stage involved constructing a new theoretical framework that defined school as a knowledge system, based on the state of the art, interdisciplinary study of the nature of humans, and the nature of knowledge. A new school design emerged based on this theoretical framework and the school was opened in 1995. Action research followed for 8 years and the results indicated that the school has emerged as a learning organization and successfully integrated knowledge technologies into the learning processes of both students and teachers. Differentiated teaching strategy resulted in a significant increase in achievements (+11% in maths, literacy, and science; +10% in literacy in kindergarten; persistence of higher achievement in junior high schools). The greatest beneficiaries were low-achieving students. As the school is a highly complex system, individual variables contributing to the increased effectiveness could not be isolated. The article's conclusion is that experimental schools are a productive strategy to bring about changes, but unless these schools are part and parcel of the culture of the mainstream education system culture, they are destined to remain isolated cases.


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Research Bytes: Neuro-imaging research--brain networks and public interest

Beck, D. M. (2010). The Appeal of the Brain in the Popular Press. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 762-766.

Since the advent of human neuroimaging, and of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in particular, the popular press has shown an increasing interest in brain-related findings. In this article, I explore possible reasons behind this interest, including recent data suggesting that people find brain images and neuroscience language more convincing than results that make no reference to the brain (McCabe & Castel, 2008; Weisberg, Keil, Goodstein, Rawson, & Gray, 2008). I suggest that part of the allure of these data are the deceptively simply messages they afford, as well as general, but sometimes misguided, confidence in biological data. In addition to cataloging some misunderstandings by the press and public, I highlight the responsibilities of the research scientist in carefully conveying their work to the general public.


Gonsalves, B. D., & Cohen, N. J. (2010). Brain Imaging, Cognitive Processes, and Brain Networks. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 744-752.


McDonald, R. P. (2010). Structural Models and the Art of Approximation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 675-686

Structural equation models have provided a seemingly rigorous method for investigating causal relations in nonexperimental data in the presence of measurement error or multiple measures of putative causes or effects. Methods have been developed for fitting these very complex models globally and obtaining global fit statistics or global measures of their approximation to sample data. Structural equation models are idealizations that can serve only as approximations to real multivariate data. Further, these models are multidimensional, and the approximation is itself multidimensional. Tests of “significance” and global indices of approximation do not provide an adequate basis for judging the acceptability of the approximation. Standard applications of structural models use a composite of two models—a measurement (path) model and a path (causal) model. Separate analyses of the measurement model and the path model provide an informed judgment, whereas the composite global analysis can easily yield unreasonable conclusions. Separating the component models enables a careful assessment of the actual constraints implied by the path model, using recently developed methods. An empirical example shows how the conventional global treatment yields unacceptable conclusions


Poldrack, R. A. (2010). Mapping Mental Function to Brain Structure: How Can Cognitive Neuroimaging Succeed? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(6), 753-761

The goal of cognitive neuroscience is to identify the mapping between brain function and mental processing. In this article, I examine the strategies that have been used to identify such mappings and argue that they may be fundamentally unable to identify selective structure–function mappings. To understand the functional anatomy of mental processes, it will be necessary for researchers to move from the brain-mapping strategies that the field has employed toward a search for selective associations. This will require a greater focus on the structure of cognitive processes, which can be achieved through the development of formal ontologies that describe the structure of mental processes. In this article, I outline the Cognitive Atlas Project, which is developing such ontologies, and show how this knowledge could be used in conjunction with data-mining approaches to more directly relate mental processes and brain function.


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Research Byte: Why we sometimes struggle with cognitive self-regulation

I think the following "in press" article is important. Why? Because I have been actively involved in reading research to better understand cognitive performance (working memory and executive attention in particular), the IQ Brain Clock (role of mental timing in human performance), and neuro-technology interventions (e.g., Interactive Metronome) that seem to improve cognitive efficiency. Across these different strands of research I have CONSTANTLY run across a number of common factors. In particular, I am constantly finding the dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (PFC) as being critical to cognitive efficiency (working memory and cognitive processing speed), which in turn impacts intellectual functioning, especially Gf or fluid reasoning. The same brain area is implicated in mental timing and IM-interventions.

The article below continues to suggest a prominent role of the dlPFC, this time in self-regulation behavior. Of importance, IMHO, is the conclusion (near the end of the article) that this may be a domain-general mechanism. This is important, as it is consistent with my hypothesis why neuro-tech IM and other working memory interventions seem to improve performance across vastly different human performance domains. Clearly the dlPFC, and the functions it regulates (working memory, controlled executive attention, mental timing), is important and focal to understanding a number of related areas of research.


Heatherington & Wagner Cognitive neuroscience of self-regulation failure Review Article. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 26 January 2011

Abstract

Self-regulatory failure is a core feature of many social and mental health problems. Self-regulation can be undermined by failures to transcend overwhelming temptations, negative moods and resource depletion, and when minor lapses in self-control snowball into self-regulatory collapse. Cognitive neuroscience research suggests that successful self-regulation is dependent on top-down control from the prefrontal cortex over subcortical regions involved in reward and emotion. We highlight recent neuroimaging research on self-regulatory failure, the findings of which support a balance model of self-regulation whereby self-regulatory failure occurs whenever the balance is tipped in favor of subcortical areas, either due to particularly strong impulses or when prefrontal function itself is impaired. Such a model is consistent with recent findings in the cognitive neuroscience of addictive behavior, emotion regulation and decision-making.

Click on image to enlarge for better readability.


Article Outline

The advantages of self-control
Self-regulation failure
Negative moods
Lapse-activated consumption
Cue exposure
Self-regulatory resource depletion
Functional neuroimaging studies of self-regulation
Regulation of appetitive behaviors
Regulation of emotions
Regulation of attitudes and prejudice
Prefrontal–subcortical balance model of self-regulation
Why do people fail at self-regulation?
Concluding remarks
Acknowledgements
References


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Research bytes: Interactive Metronome (brain-clock based) efficacy study with stroke patients

If you check out my conflict of interest statement at this blog, it should be no secret that the reason I started this blog is because I became involved in an academic intervention that utilized the Interactive Metronome neurotechnology. The results were very positive and I set out on a mission to determine why it worked across such diverse domains as academics, stroke rehab, ADHD, golf, etc. ("What's happening under the hood" - see PPT slideshow section of blog).

Today I found a report in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy that demonstrated the effectiveness of the IM (brain-clock based IMHO) method in two stroke victims. Yes, this is a clinical n=2 study...but is consistent with other mental timing intervention studies. Of particular interest is the authors discussion of the efficacy of the intervention without the need for large-scale technology and apparatus. Sometimes simple/elegant is better.

Below is the abstract. Click here to read the complete article. Click here to see all prior blog posts that make some mention of the IM method, or non-IM research that is related.

As noted above, I do have a conflict of interest as I am on the IM Scientific Advisory Board. You should be able to enlarge the image by clicking on it. If not, go to the article link.


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mental timing IQ Brain Clock brain clock temporal processing metronome mental time-keeping brain timing educational psychology school psychology special education neuropsychology neuroscience neurology brain rhythm rhythm processing rhythm perception Interactive Metronome stroke stroke rehabilitation stroke intervention stroke treatment

More research supports brain rhythm training benefits for stroke patients.

Research review suggests positive benefits of brain rhythm training (rhythmic auditory stimulation-RAS)/music for stroke rehab. clients.  This is consistent with a prior special report posted at the IQ Brain clock---The efficacy of rhythm-based (mental timing) treatments with subjects with a variety of clinical disorders:  A brief review of theoretical, diagnostic, and treatment research (McGrew & Vega, 2009).

Technorati Tags: Psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, neurosciences, neurotechnology, neurology, brain, brain function, cognitive abilities, intelligence, IQ brain clock, brain timing, mental timekeeping, brain rhythms, rhythm perception, brain synchrony, brain synchronization, neural synchrony, neural synchronization, brain clock, brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, RAS, music therapy

Neuroplasticity and clinical and educational interventions @ SharpBrains

Interesting post at Sharp Brains on clinical and educational interventions and neuroplasticity.

Time Doc Bytes: Two new exciting brain-based brain clock research studies

Two very interesting research studies reported this past week.

The first used a rare procedure (implanting electrodes in Broca's area of the brain) provides useful information on brain mechanisms involved in the speed, timing and sequence of language behaviors.

The second, based on research with primates, is very intriguing as it suggest the use of a "brain stamp" mechanism for keeping time of events.   Interestingly, and consistent with considerable research posted at this blog before, the focus was on certain brain regions/mechanisms (prefrontal cortex; straitum; dopamine), and implications were mentioned for Parkinson's disease treatment.

Technorati Tags: pscyhology, educational psychology, school psychology, developmental psychology, cognition, intelligence, brain clock, mental timing, temporal processing, IQ Brain Clock, prefrontal cortex, language, Brocas area

Arts training improves cognition via attention: More support for IQ brain clock fine tunning hypothesis

I just read an interesting post at Cerebrum regarding the impact of training in the arts and improved cognition, hypothesized to occur due to improvement in attention.

I find the research very consistent with the proposed link between the mental timing (IQ Brain Clock) and improved cognitive performance, which has been hypothesized to impact the same basic cognitive functions (esp., controlled executive attention and executive functions).  I've blogged and PPT'd extensively at this blog, esp. with re: to neurotechnologies that focus on synchronized metronome tapping, a technology that deals with rhythm perception and production.

In my opinion, the research discussed at the Cerebrum adds to the growing literature suggesting a link between "fine tuning the temporal resolution of the brain clock" and improved cognitive efficiency.  Amy Vega and I recently published a research review report supporting the link between brain rhythm-based treatments and improvement in a diverse array of human performance domains. 

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, music, music therapy, metronome, Ineractive Metronome, synchronized metronome tapping, executive function, attention, controlled executive attention, mental timing, brain rhythm, rhythm perception, rhythm perception, IQ Brain Clock

Brain rhythm treatment efficacy: Can we fine-tune our brain clocks?

Brain rhythm. Got it? Need it? Is it important? Can you modify your brain rhythm to improve cognitive or motor performance?

I'm pleased to announce the availability of the Institute for Applied Psychometrics Research Report No. 9: The efficacy of rhythm-based (mental timing) treatments with subjects with a variety of clinical disorders: A brief review of theoretical, diagnostic, and treatment research (McGrew & Vega, 2009).

As faithful readers of the IQ Brain Clock blog know, I started this mental-timing niche blog after serving as a consultant on a neurotechnology intervention treatment program that produced positive academic outcomes in elementary school-age children (Taub, McGrew & Keith, 2007). Since that time I've systematically tracked research related to the concept of human temporal processing and mental timing--which I often refer to as the "IQ Brain Clock." Whenever I've found a research report of interest I've tried to share it via a short blog post. As these studies accumulated, it became clear there was a huge empirical and theoretical literature base, across a very diverse array of disciplines (e.g., neurorehabilitation, biology, neurobiology, neurochemistry, music perception, psychology, neuropsychology, rehabilitation sciences, etc.) that supported the importance of mental time-keeping in understanding an array of human behaviors. As a scientist this has had me intellectually curious for a number of years.

Yet...the applied hat I also wear constantly gnawed at me regarding the potential applied relevance. Even though there was clear evidence for some kind of neural-based brain timing, were there any practical implications? More specifically, could this research lead to improved diagnoses/classification of clinical disorders (and/or atypical development) in a number of human behavior domains and, furthermore, did it have potential treatment implications. I had seen the potential treatment implications in the Taub et al. study, but that was only one study.

Over the past week I, together with Amy Vega (Clinical Education Director at Interactive Metronome; IM), finally gathered together all the research citations I had been accumulating (over the past 3-4 years) and decided to investigate whether mental timing (temporal processing) research had potential diagnostic implications. More importantly, we wanted to see if mental timing-based treatments (specifically brain rhythm perception and production) had positive implications for education and rehabilitation.

Our "first cut" of this effort is the above IAP Research Report. Below are a few quotes from the report:

does sufficient evidence exist to support the temporal processing (mental timekeeping) theory-diagnosis/classification-treatment three-legged stool? With a few caveats, we believe that collectively the preponderance of positive outcomes (across the 23 listed studies) indicates that rhythm-based mental-timing treatments have merit for clinical use and warrant increased clinical use and research attention

positive treatment outcomes were reported for all four forms of rhythm-based treatment. Positive outcomes were also observed for normal subjects and, more importantly, across a variety of clinical disorders (e.g., aphasia, apraxia, coordination/movement disorders, TBI, CP, Parkinson’s disease,
stroke/CVA, Down’s syndrome, ADHD)

One notable observation of interest is that 15 of the 23 studies (the RAS, AOS-RRT and SMT treatment studies) all employed some form of auditory-based metronome to pace or cue the subjects targeted rhtymic behavior.

We conclude that the use of external metronome-based rhythm tools (tapping to a beat, metronome-based rhythmic pacing, rhythmic-cuing via timed pulses/beats) is a central tool to improving temporal processing and mental-timing.

Our concluding statement was:

given the converging research that points toward a possible neurologically-based domain-general internal mental-timing mechanism (i.e., a potentially modifiable internal brain clock), it is possible that the efficacy of all four classes of rhythm-based treatments are operating (in their own way) on “fine tuning the temporal resolution of the human brain clock.” Our temporal resolution fine-tuning hypothesis is consistent with the temporal resolution power (TRP) hypothesis (Rammsayer & Brandler, 2002, 2007) that indicates that oscillatory brain process are responsible for the efficiency and speed of neural-based information processing. We hypothesize, via the temporal resolution fine-tuning hypothesis, that the positive outcomes for rhythm perception and production based treatments may be due to these treatments increasing the efficiency and speed of information processing in brain-based neural networks responsible for the planning, execution and synchronization of complex human behaviors.

We urge both academic and applied researchers to embrace the temporal processing (mental timing) theory--diagnostic/classification--treatment literature reviewed in this report and increase efforts to understand the links between the three legs of the mental timing stool. The positive effects of current “brain rhythm” treatment programs for many types of disorders, across a variety of human performance domains, is encouraging, particularly when placed in the context of the emerging science and theory of the human brain clock.

We consider this report as a first step--providing the foundation for future expanded manuscripts and potential research. The PDF text of the report can be downloaded or viewed by clicking here. The report also includes three appendices. Appendix A (click here), B (click here), and C (click here). Please note that Appendix A and B are large (approx 11 and 9 MB each) and you might want to download then when hooked directly to the internet (not via wifi).

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not report our potential conflicts of interest. These are noted on the cover page of the report. Amy Vega is Clinical Education Director for Interactive Metronome (IM), one of the four major brain rhythm interventions covered in this brief research report. Myself, I'm not employed by IM, but I do serve on the IM Scientific Advisory board.

Enjoy the report. Tune up your brain...get it in rhythm with this emerging field of brain-based science and applied technology.

PS - Appendix B includes "foundational" basic or theoretical mental timing research reports. Unfortunately, our PDF software technology did not allow for the integration of all the PDF files in this appendix. If you want the read the additional six manuscripts, they can be found under the Key Research Articles section of this blog---they are designated with an asterisk (*)

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neurotechnology, brain fitness, brain rhythm, rhythm perception, rhythm production, mental time-keeping, brain clock, interval timing, metronome pacing, metronome treatments

Sharp Brains brain fitness book

SharpBrains, the leading independent source on the rapidly growing brain fitness market, has just published its first book:

The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness:  18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, To Keep Your Brain Sharp

Check it out.

Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, education, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, brain fitness, Sharp Brains

Neuromodulation news issue 3 available (free)

Third issue of Neuromodulation news (free) is now available at Magstim.

Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, TBI, brain injury, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, Neuromodulation

Rewiring the brain

Thanks to MIND HACKS for the link to this post.

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/03/rewiring_the_brain_f.html

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Working memory training changes brain chemistry

Report of an interesting study courtesy of SHARP BRAINS

http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2009/02/22/working-memory-training-can-influence-brain-biochemistry/

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Interactive multimedia resource list

Thanks to IMR for the great resource list.

http://interactivemultimediatechnology.blogspot.com/2008/12/interactive-multimedia-resources.html

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Brain Clock Research Bytes #3: Timing-based interventions improve gait (Parkinsons), stroke rehab, and golf

I've found a number of new (or recent) studies supporting the importance of the brain clock in a variety of areas. Below are the brief bytes....check out articles for detailed information.

Yet another study (Hausdorff et al., 2007) dealing with Parkinson's (a clinical disordery that appears to involve a dysfunctional internal timing-click here for prior posts), this time the use of the RAS (rapid auditory stimulation) therapy to improve gait functioning.

• Abstract: Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) walk with a shortened stride length and high stride-to-stride variability, a measure associated with fall risk. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) improves stride length but the effects on stride-to-stride variability, a marker of fall risk, are unknown. The effects of RAS on stride time variability, swing time variability and spatial-temporal measures were examined during 100-m walks with the RAS beat set to 100 and 110% of each subject’s usual cadence in 29 patients with idiopathic PD and 26 healthy age-matched controls. Carryover effects were also evaluated. During usual walking, variability was significantly higher (worse) in the patients with PD compared with the controls (P < 0.01). For the patients with PD, RAS at 100% improved gait speed, stride length and swing time (P < 0.02) but did not significantly affect variability. With RAS at 110%, reductions in variability were also observed (P < 0.03) and these effects persisted 2 and 15 min later. In the control subjects, the positive effects of RAS were not observed. For example, RAS increased stride time variability at 100 and 110%. These results demonstrate that RAS enables more automatic movement and reduces stride-to-stride variability in patients with PD. Further, these improvements are not simply a by-product of changes in speed or stride length. After walking with RAS, there also appears to be a carryover effect that supports the possibility of motor plasticity in the networks controlling rhythmicity in PD and the potential for using RAS as an intervention to improve mobility and reduce fall risk.

The original Libkuman et al. (2002) study (well designed IMHO) demonstrating the positive effects of the brain-clock based Groove treament (based on the Interactive Metronome technology) on improved golf performance. [see conflict of interest disclosure post]

• Abstract: In this experiment, the authors investigated the influence of training in timing on performance accuracy in golf. During pre- and posttesting, 40 participants hit golf balls with 4 different clubs in a golf course simulator. The dependent measure was the distance in feet that the ball ended from the target. Between the pre- and posttest, participants in the experimental condition received 10 hr of timing training with an instrument that was designed to train participants to tap their hands and feet in synchrony with target sounds. The participants in the control condition read literature about how to improve their golf swing. The results indicated that the participants in the experimental condition significantl improved their accuracy relative to the participants in the control condition, who did not show any improvement. We concluded that training in timing leads to improvement in accuracy, and that our results have implications for training in golf as well as other complex motor activities.

And yet another positive RAS stroke study by the Thaut et al. (2007) research group

• Abstract: Objectives: The effectiveness of 2 different types of gait trainingi n stroke rehabilitation, rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) versus neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT)/Bobath-based training, was compared in 2 groups of hemiparetic stroke patients over a 3-week period of daily training (RAS group, n = 43; NDT/Bobath group =35). Methods.Mean entry date into the study was 21.3 days poststroke for the RAS group and 22.3 days for the control group. Patients entered the study as soon as they were able to complete 5 stride cycles with handheld assistance. Patients were closely equated by age, gender,and lesion site. Motor function in both groups was preassessed by the Barthel Index and the Fugl-Meyer Scales. Results. Pre- to posttest measures showed a significant improvement in the RAS group for velocity (P = .006), stride length (P = .0001), cadence (P = .0001) and symmetry (P = .0049) over the NDT/Bobath group. Effect sizes for RAS over NDT/Bobath training were 13.1 m/min for velocity, 0.18 m for stride length, and 19 steps/min for cadence. Conclusions. The data show that after 3 weeks of gait training, RAS is an effective therapeutic method to enhance gait training in hemiparetic stroke rehabilitation. Gains were significantly higher for RAS compared to NDT/Bobath training.
  

Top 10 neuroscience articles from New Scientist

Thanks to MIMD HACKS for tip regarding free online access to these
articles

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/12/new_scientist_neuros.html

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Should we all use drugs to enhance intelligence

Interesting debate emerging re: cognitive enhancement via drugs

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/12/mainstreaming_cognit.html

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Losing your marbles? Check the Brain Store

Another entry in the brain fitness movement --- Marbles:  The Brain Store.  Provides activities, resources, and self-assessments.  I've NOT reviewed any of them......this is just an FYI.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neurtechnology, Marbles, Brain Store, brain fitness

Neurotech investment graph

See prior post for link to report.

Neurotech investment trends

Thnx to the MINDBLOG.

http://mindblog.dericbownds.net/2008/12/neurotech.html

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