bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spinoza on Mind
Authors: Koistinen Olli
Published: February 2014

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part focuses on the idea of God that Spinoza speaks about in E2p3. It will be claimed that there is a sense in which Spinoza’s so-called parallelism between mental and physical realms can be treated roughly as a corollary to there being an idea of God. Spinoza started his thinking about the relation between thought and extension from above, i.e. from the infinite idea of God and its relation to infinite extension and then descended to particular minds and their relation to particular bodies. This is why any investigation of mind-body relation has to start from God’s mind or intellect. In the second part, these finite thinkers and their relation to modes of extension is investigated. Spinoza’s grand view is that the durational existence of these finite thinkers is dependent on a subset of God’s ideas of actual bodies. Thus, for Spinoza any mind is the idea of its corresponding body.
The Building Blocks of Spinoza’s Metaphysics
Authors: Melamed Yitzhak
Published: February 2014

This chapter provides an outline of the main philosophical and interpretative problems involved in Spinoza’s key concepts: Substance, Attribute, and Modes. Spinoza’s God has infinitely many qualities that constitute, or are adequately conceived as constituting, his essence, while the other qualities of Spinoza’s God, though not constituting God’s essence, follow necessarily from God’s essence. Spinoza calls the former “Attributes [attributa]” and the latter “Modes [modi].” Following a clarification of Spinoza’s understanding of Substance [substantia] in the first part of this essay, we will study in the second and third parts Spinoza’s conception of attributes and modes, respectively.
From Maimonides to Spinoza
Authors: Seeskin Kenneth
Published: February 2014

This chapter focuses on how Maimonides’ thought influenced Spinoza. The problem is that Maimonides’ philosophy is notoriously difficult to interpret. In the Introduction of the Guide to the Perplexed, he says that he will not put all of his thoughts on a given topic in one place and that he intends to contradict himself. The result is that Maimonides appears in the history of philosophy under several guises: Aristotelian and critic of Aristotle, rationalist and skeptic, defender of creation and defender of eternity, pious Jew and Jewish heretic. According to one account, the transition from one thinker to another is smooth; according to another account, it represents a radical break. After discussing both of these views, a third option is offered: that Spinoza had little patience with trying to decipher Maimonides’ inner thoughts and set out to put philosophy on a new and much clearer footing.
The Principle of Sufficient Reason in Spinoza
Authors: Lin Martin
Published: February 2014

This chapter investigates Spinoza’s commitment to the Principle of Sufficient Reason (the PSR) and its role in his system. What sorts of things does Spinoza think require a cause or explanation? What counts, for him, as a cause or explanation? The PSR is often associated with doctrines such as necessitarianism, the Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles, the Principle of Plenitude, and the existence of God. Some commentators have alleged that Spinoza’s commitment to the PSR leads him to accept all of these doctrines. This paper examines each of these doctrines as they pertain to Spinoza’s commitment to the PSR and his metaphysics more generally.
The Metaphysics of Affects or the Unbearable Reality of Confusion
Authors: Alanen Lilli
Published: February 2014

This chapter discusses the reality of the affects in Spinoza’s theory, their nature as objects of knowledge, and their role in his emancipation project. He distinguished two kinds of affect: passive and active. This chapter discusses the tensions this creates in Spinoza’s view of the affects and some problems for his program of developing a naturalistic psychology continuous with the mechanistic science of nature. It also argues that Spinoza’s doctrine of affects leaves very little room for the kind of self-caused activity (or action in his strict sense of adequate causation) that the salvation he seeks requires. If Spinoza’s science of the human mind as well as his overly intellectualist emancipation project are problematic, his theory of the dynamics of the soul remains an important forerunner of later naturalist accounts of human passions—not least that of Hume, who does not hesitate to turn reason into their humble slave.
Leibniz’s Encounter with Spinoza’s Monism, October 1675 to February 1678
Authors: Lærke Mogens
Published: February 2014

This article is concerned with Leibniz’s reading of Spinoza’s substance monism. It focuses on a particular period in Leibniz’s philosophical development, from October 1675 to February 1678. This period spans from the time Leibniz, in his De summa rerum papers, developed a rudimentary system in several aspects reminiscent of Spinozism, to the time he first read Spinoza’s Opera posthuma in early 1678. The article reconstructs a decisive shift in Leibniz’s attitude towards Spinoza’s substance monism that took place around 1677. Around 1675–1676, when Leibniz first heard of Spinoza’s philosophy from Tschirnhaus, Leibniz was playing with the option of a monist system where all things are conceived as modes of a single substance. He was also considering a parallelist metaphysical structure where explanatory parallelism between thought and extension is grounded in ontological parallelism. When Leibniz changed his intellectual setting in late 1676—moving from Paris to Hanover—his intellectual attitude toward Spinoza also changed, maybe in part as a result of his exchanges with the Danish catholic Nicolas Steno. In his critical comments on the first book of Ethics, from early 1678, Leibniz developed a comprehensive critique of Spinoza where he put to use and tested some of his own most recent philosophical discoveries. I thus show how he used his theory of predication to challenge Spinoza’s theory of attributes, and how he used the principle equipollence of the full cause and the entire effect to challenge Spinoza’s theory of causation and refute substance monism.
Nietzsche and Spinoza
Authors: Yovel Yirmiyahu
Published: February 2014

This essay presents Spinoza and Nietzsche as philosophical “enemy brothers” who share a radical philosophy of immanence and the negation of all transcendence. For both, the immanent world, which is devoid of an inner or outer purpose, constitutes the overall horizon of being and the sole possible source of value, and both, in their different ways (either as amor fati or as amor dei), call for a celebrating affirmation of it. Yet, as the paper spells out, within their deep affinity each philosopher maintains a totally different view of immanence and of the existential experience linked to it.
Spinoza’s Unorthodox Metaphysics of the Will
Authors: Hübner Karolina
Published: February 2014

The paper examines how, within Spinoza’s deductively-structured system, his metaphysical commitments lead to unorthodox ethics, in particular an unconventional and unintuitive understanding of the causal nature of will, desire, and appetite, and of their relation to the good. The metaphysical commitments in question are first, Spinoza’s naturalism and second, his rejection of teleology. The former commitment leads to the universal scope of Spinoza’s moral doctrines. The latter dictates that volition, desire, and appetite—three manifestations of striving—can no longer be viewed as end-directed phenomena. The paper examines how Spinoza reconceives the causality of will, appetite, and desire and how he reinterprets the relation between these phenomena and the “goodness” of desired objects or states of being, if this “goodness” can no longer be seen as an end that produces and explains volitions (appetites, desires).
The Highest Good and Perfection in Spinoza
Authors: Carriero John
Published: February 2014

According to Spinoza our highest good or highest happiness consists in a special kind of cognition of God. This chapter explicates this now alien conception by tracing its debt to a medieval conception of the visio dei: both Spinoza’s intuitive cognition of God and the medieval visio dei involve grasping God’s essence and seeing how things flow from that essence. Once this is noticed, we can appreciate an underlying unity in Spinoza’s Ethics. In Part I of the Ethics, Spinoza explains God’s essence and shows, at E1p16, how things flow from God’s essence; he thereby provides, in broad outline, the very sort of knowledge that our highest happiness is supposed to consist in. However, commentators have found E1p16 obscure. In the concluding section, this chapter seeks to clarify E1p16, in part, by comparing and contrasting the position Spinoza takes there with Leibniz’s thesis that God creates the best of all possible worlds.
Improvisation and Time-Consciousness
Authors: Peters Gary
Published: February 2014

This chapter investigates the “being in the moment” sought after and celebrated by improvisers. Through an initial reference to Hegel’s phenomenology of the “unhappy consciousness,” the discussion proper begins with Soren Kierkegaard’s commentary and existential radicalization of this inEither/Or. Understood as precisely an out-of-the-moment experience, such unhappiness is here understood as being at the heart of much post-romantic art, exemplified in Theodor Adorno’s perspective on the yearning of modernism understood as thepromesse de Bonheur. If unhappiness, conceived as temporal dislocation, is considered essential to art, then the question is posed as to how improvisation’s desire for temporal resolution fits (if at all) into such an aesthetic schema. A conclusion is drawn by combining Kierkegaard’s proto-existentialism with both Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology of internal time-consciousness (retention/intention/protention) and Maurice Blanchot’s writings on solitude, fascination, and “time’s absence.” The result is a far more complex and temporally differentiated conception of the “being in the moment” moment, one that attempts to do justice to the interlaced continuity and discontinuity of the improvised event.
Concepts and Definitions of Lifelong Learning
Authors: Hager Paul J.
Published: February 2014

This chapter introduces key concepts, including lifelong education, lifelong learning and recurrent education, and outlines key issues that have shaped this field. First, the origins and main understandings of lifelong learning and cognate concepts from the 1970s are discussed. Commonalities across these key concepts are highlighted, as are crucial differences that create conflicting understandings. A schema is presented to compare and classify different understandings of the concepts. Second, the resurgence of interest in lifelong learning from the 1990s onward is traced, and the reasons for it, including economic competitiveness, globalization, and the focus on knowledge creation, are discussed. A novel emphasis on learning has resulted from the rise to preeminence of the concept “lifelong learning.” Diverse understandings about learning have fueled ongoing disagreements about the role and significance of lifelong learning. Some interpretations limit the scope of learning to the kinds characteristic of formal education systems. Others regard lifelong learning as covering all kinds of informal learning. These differing valuations of learning underpin much of the ongoing disputes about lifelong learning. The emerging notion of the learning society is also outlined and discussed. It features the same conceptual conflicts that marked the earlier concepts. Third, four common criticisms of lifelong learning are outlined and discussed. All criticisms are shown to make assumptions about learning that favor formal learning, while marginalizing informal learning. Thus, even today, understanding of lifelong learning and its significance is hampered by tendencies to adhere to narrow views of learning that many people develop unreflectively from their experiences of formal education.
Models of Lifelong Learning: An Overview
Authors: Fleming Ted
Published: February 2014

Lifelong learning is a familiar concept in ordinary conversation and in public policy discourses. Though the history, genesis, and various meanings of lifelong learning are noble, it has in more recent times been identified with functional interests, economic goals, and one-dimensional interpretations. This chapter identifies the genesis and grounding of lifelong learning in psychology and adult education, disciplines that establish the foundations for understanding learning. Classical and current learning theories are outlined, including behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism from psychology. Adult education learning theory contributes andragogy, self-directed learning, experiential learning, multiple intelligences, and transformative learning. How adults are taught depends on the meaning one gives to learning. How adults learn is outlined. This more comprehensive interpretation of learning contributes to a better understanding of lifelong learning as not only having an economic focus but an interest in enhancing communities and society.
Biological Bases for Learning and Development Across the Lifespan
Authors: Keeling Richard P. , Stevens Dickson Jennifer , Avery Trey
Published: February 2014

Learning at any age is neurobiological: a process occurring through alterations in the microscopic structure and functioning of the brain. The inputs, processes, and outputs of learning are brain functions. Learning can be visualized, located, and measured through brain imaging techniques that depend methodologically on the biological nature of perception, memory, and learning. The stages of cognitive development, which represent the cumulative neurobiological effects of many interactions between persons and the world around them, are generated by multitudes of changes in cells, circuits, and networks of the brain. There is no mind without brain; the experiences of consciousness, thinking, learning, and memory are physical expressions of the work of the brain. The state of mind/brain is a major determinant of a learner’s readiness to learn; recognizing the oneness of mind and brain—and therefore of mind and body—should cause reassessment of many structures, policies, and practices in education.
Improving Self-Awareness and Self-Insight
Authors: Klimoski Richard , Hu Xiaoxiao
Published: February 2014

This chapter is designed to review the multiple ways that one can improve the capacity to seek or generate self-relevant information (self-knowledge) and ways to promote regular self-awareness and (occasional) self-insight. Self-insight generally implies the level of understanding that exists relative to the nature of one’s self-system (self-definition, needs, goals, attributes), while self-knowledge relates to the accuracy of introspection about these internal states and capacities (Wilson, 2009). These are thought to be at the core of interpersonal competence, a capability absolutely essential in today’s work organization. While the “voice” of the chapter is that aimed at informing the human resources (HR) professional or practitioner, the material covered would be useful to individuals who are personally motivated to know more about how they might become more effective interpersonally through efforts at improving self-knowledge and self-insight.
Learning Life Skills of Emotional and Social Intelligence Competencies
Authors: Boyatzis Richard E.
Published: February 2014

Emotional and social intelligence competencies distinguish effective performance among managers, leaders, and professionals. People in power (i.e., leading and helping) roles infect others with their emotional state through the contagion of emotion. The consequences of using emotional and social intelligence competencies are amplified in work and social settings. Although most attempts to develop these competencies at work and in graduate education fail, there is longitudinal evidence that they can be sustainably developed. Intentional Change Theory explains the physiological and psychological processes that result in significant improvement in these competencies. The three most distinctive aspects of this model, in contrast to typical approaches, include: (1) fostering the person’s ideal self, their personal vision, and their dream before exposing them to any data feedback; (2) using coaches to create relationships that help someone through the process; and (3) developing social identity groups that create peer coaching relationships and sustain the developments.
Kegan’s Theory of Development Applied to Community College Students
Authors: Gabb Sally , Tinberg Howard , Weisberger Ron
Published: February 2014

The current study applies the developmental learning theory of Robert Kegan to the community college classroom. In focusing on the work of community college students, the authors will reflect on the observed cognitive abilities of incoming students and proceed to chart their growth as learners. While acknowledging that community college students represent an extremely wide range of age and experience, the authors chose to study “emerging adults,” those students who, in their late teens, are just at the cusp of achieving a complex view of themselves and others. The authors hope to show that such learners stand a much better chance of evolving into complex thinkers and effective problem-solvers when given a support structure (a bridge) to smooth their way.
A Paradigm for Intergenerational Learning
Authors: Strom Paris , Strom Robert
Published: February 2014

Public expectations should be changed so that all age groups experience certain aspects of social transformation together. In this way, each cohort will understand that harmony and cohesion require the adjustment of more than a single generation. This presentation identifies formative elements of a paradigm to support intergenerational learning. Emphasis is placed on the conditions needed to motivate optimal support, societal benefits of reciprocal learning, and ways to improve education in the classroom and at home. Adults want schools to communicate the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that students need to become successful. Grownups must become equally concerned about how to detect and meet their own learning needs. Every age group can become more influential by finding out how their behavior is perceived by other generations.
Corporate Employee Training and Development Strategies
Authors: Rothwell William J. , Whiteford Anita Pane
Published: February 2014

This chapter defines employee training, describes categories of employee training, examines the role of training in onboarding programs, and reviews the benefits of training for individuals and organizations. The chapter also describes how training programs run by organizations meet corporate needs. Training goals can be linked to strategic plans, succession plans, and changes in corporate direction. Methods of training vary and include simulations, “work out” team experiences, and distance education. Training evaluation addresses many issues, including how much people liked training, how much they learned, what they used on their jobs, and how the organization gained from the training. The future of training will require more attention to technology and to individual learning abilities.
Leadership Development Programs That Work: Individual Transformation by Design
Authors: Diamante Thomas
Published: February 2014

This chapter distills leadership development programs into their critical components. Alignment between individual behavior and organization behavior is necessary in advance of the implementation of any developmental intervention. This alignment is viewed as a necessary but not sufficient condition for change. Development is examined as a by-product of a dialectic that is constructed purposefully. Delivered in many forms, the dialectic serves as the fulcrum that brings transformational power to leadership development programs. Leadership development is recognized as a process incorporating experiences that are crafted to compel behavioral, emotional, and intellectual transformation.
Participation in Continuing Education Programs: Antecedents, Consequences, and Implications
Authors: Feldman Daniel C. , Ng Thomas W. H.
Published: February 2014

This chapter focuses on continuing education (CE) opportunities offered to working adults. First, we examine the antecedents to participation in CE programs, considering both individual differences and situational factors. Second, we examine the outcomes of continuing education, including changes in employees’ attitudes, knowledge, skills, and job behaviors. In the third section, we explore the roles that organizations play in encouraging employee participation in CE and in facilitating transfer of learning. Finally, the chapter concludes with directions for future research on continuing education and implications for management practice.
Professionals as Lifelong Learners
Authors: Avergun Amy , Del Gaizo Edward R.
Published: February 2014

Learning for professionals is an ongoing process. They work in an era of changing laws and procedures that drive their need and desire to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date. Lifelong learning can benefit professionals, the organizations in which they work, and the clients they serve. This chapter explores continuing education requirements to maintain licenses of certification, as well as the desire for lifelong learning among professionals from a variety of industries. Suggestions for developing and providing learning experiences are presented, as are various types of learning options. While it is evident that professionals need to continue their learning, they have mixed opinions about the ways in which required training is offered. Ideas for ways in which to improve the quality of lifelong learning are presented.
Business Education and the Liberal Arts: A Rhetorical Approach
Authors: McDonnell Joseph W.
Published: February 2014

This chapter explores the connection between liberal and professional education. It suggests ways to infuse broader learning objectives into business curricula as a foundation for lifelong learning and practice. Drawing on the liberal art of rhetoric, the chapter shows the use of Plato’s dialogue, the Gorgias, in an MBA class as a case study on ethical leadership. Rhetoric teaches leaders to listen and adjust to various constituencies and to develop pragmatic and persuasive policies that benefit both the organization and the community. Through such pedagogical methods and content, business schools can raise larger issues and provide students with ways to think critically, assisting the next generation of business executives to develop their moral characters and align their behaviors and decisions with justice rather than personal advantage.
Assessment Centers: A Blended Adult Development Strategy
Authors: Collins Lynn Gracin , Hartog Sandra B.
Published: February 2014

This chapter addresses and defends a growing trend in the application of Assessment Centers as a management development strategy for adult learning and describes how innovations in technology can elevate a traditional assessment center design to allow for a comprehensive blended learning approach that supports multiple styles of learning and learners. Drawing on best practices, the chapter offers a guideline for designing and implementing an assessment center. The chapter also examines innovations in technology-enhanced assessment centers (TEACs) as a way to add to the fidelity and impact of an assessment center experience. The chapter includes client case studies and directions for practice and research.
360-Degree Feedbackand Executive Coaching
Authors: Battley Susan
Published: February 2014

Two cornerstones of leadership development are 360-degree feedback and executive coaching processes. Coaching is growing rapidly as a follow-on activity to help 360 feedback participants interpret their results, facilitate goal-setting, and achieve behavior change. The purpose and benefits of 360 feedback and coaching are identified, as are the principal ways they are used to advance organizational strategic talent and performance management objectives. Best practices, including how to maximize the effectiveness of feedback and coaching interventions, are addressed. Common methods for evaluating outcomes are discussed, along with their limitations. Recommendations for future practice and research that can improve organizational and individual results are included.
Influences of National Culture on Continuous Learning: Implications for Learning Objectives and Performance Management
Authors: Millington Graham
Published: February 2014

National culture influences the experience of continuous learning for individuals; this has implications for how the multinational organization might support continuous learning and consequent behavioral change. The chapter examines these influences through the comparative frameworks of national culture developed by Hofstede ( 1980 ; 2001 ) and in the GLOBE project (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004). What cultural differences mean for the objectives and management of continuous learning is explored by contrasting job competence and performance management in Confucian Asia (e.g., China and Japan) with that of Anglo societies such as Great Britain and the United States. Insight into how multinational firms might support continuous learning and behavioral change is offered. To be effective in a fast-evolving, global environment, firms must strike a balance between consistency of global imperatives and adaptation to local needs.
Talent Development as an Alternative to Orthodox Career Thinking: The Scandinavian Case
Authors: Larsen Henrik Holt , Schramm-Nielsen Jette , Stensaker Inger
Published: February 2014

This chapter argues that orthodox career thinking–which focuses on vertical progression to higher-level managerial positions—is suffering from three shortcomings. First, it is insufficient to explain career dynamics in modern knowledge organizations. Second, it does not see strategic organizational change as a catalyst for career and disregards the importance of experiential learning on the job. Third, it does not incorporate how career is embedded in the organizational and cultural context, including a wide range of national, institutional features. Based on this, the chapter suggests that we move the focus from narrow career thinking to the more broad-banded concept of talent. The talent concept signifies any kind of outstanding competence of an individual (whether it is managerial or any kind of significant specialist field) which is strategically important to the organization, difficult to achieve, difficult to replace by other types of resources, and difficult to replicate by competitors. Also, a broader definition of how talent can be developed is needed, as it should encompass informal and experiential methods as well as formal education. The broader concept of talent is discussed in relation to the Scandinavian context, which consists of many highly educated knowledge workers.
Globalization and the Impact of Social Change and Economic Transformation in Lifelong Learning in Russia
Authors: Zajda Joseph I.
Published: February 2014

The chapter examines globalization and transformational social and economic changes in Russia and their implications for credentialism, learning, and skills training. Some segments of the Russian economy have recognized how knowledge innovation creates wealth. The chapter demonstrates that learning and development are influenced by past and current conditions as well as the potential for future economic development. The chapter shows the extent to which continuous learning is encouraged and supported in the Russian economy.

This chapter evaluates the impact of globalization, social change and economic transformation on adult education and lifelong learning in the Russian Federation. It begins with a brief economic and historical background to lifelong learning and adult education in terms of its significance as a feature of the Russian cultural heritage. An analysis of Ministerial education policy and curriculum changes reveals that these policies reflect neoliberal and neoconservative paradigms in the Russian economy and education between 1992 and 2008.
Learning Gender: The Effects of Gender-Role Stereotypes on Women’s Lifelong Learning and Career Advancement Opportunities
Authors: Silberstang Joyce
Published: February 2014

The effects of gender-role stereotypes on women’s lifelong learning, earning, and career advancement opportunities are examined. It is proposed that “learning gender” is a critical component of lifelong learning. Based on a review of the literature, it was concluded that gender-role stereotypes create impediments for girls and women worldwide in terms of access to education, the topics they choose to study, and their career choices. These stereotypes also result in large and inequitable disparities in women’s pay, promotion, and career advancement opportunities. Recommendations for actions that individuals, organizations, and society can take to remedy the inequities and “shatter” the glass ceiling are provided. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges inherent in promoting changes within a gendered society.
Social Entrepreneurship: Learning Through Community Service
Authors: Morfopoulos Richard , Tyrie Catherine
Published: February 2014

This chapter examines social entrepreneurship as a lifelong learning opportunity. It considers how people engage in, and learn from, social entrepreneurship as children, college students, mature adults, and seniors. Social entrepreneurship can start as early as childhood. The chapter examines how the field of social entrepreneurship developed and it’s link to corporate social responsibility. Social entrepreneurship is described as a learning process. Programs and methods for learning and supporting social entrepreneurship are described for people at different life stages. The chapter demonstrates that engagement in social entrepreneurship activities in one’s community or with one’s corporate colleagues can be a key to lifelong satisfaction and learning while repairing the world, locally or globally.
Learning Challenges for Adults with Learning Disabilities
Authors: Mostert Mark P. , Spaulding Lucinda S.
Published: February 2014

Similar to school-aged children with a learning disability (LD), adults with LD experience unique challenges as they transition from high school and enter postsecondary institutions and the workplace. This chapter discusses the characteristics of adults with LD and their learning challenges as they adapt to increasing demands in higher education and the workforce. Laws related to accommodating adults with LD in postsecondary institutions and work settings are addressed, and the skills and strategies necessary for adults with LD to successfully transition from dependence to independence are also detailed.
Assessing Learning Needs and Outcomes in Lifelong Learning Support Systems
Authors: Kraiger Kurt , Wolfson Natalie
Published: February 2014

This chapter describes methods of assessing the learning needs and evaluating the development of individuals within the context of a lifelong learning support system. Because lifelong learning is self-directed and informal in nature, we propose a needs assessment and evaluation design that is customized by participant. Participants are first assessed on various organizationally-relevant as well as lifelong-learning-relevant competencies and then linked, in a matrix format, to lifelong learning opportunities within and outside the organization that suit their competency needs. We then propose that, as learners engage in lifelong learning activities, they be periodically evaluated in terms of their improvement along different competencies. This information can be used to modify individuals’ lifelong learning program as well as, on the aggregate level, to inform decisions about how to allocate organizational resources and to provide evidence to support the system.
Trends and Directions for Lifelong Learning Programs and Research
Authors: London Manuel
Published: February 2014

This concluding chapter draws on many of the chapters in the Handbook to examine four trends: the need for continuous learning in light of economic changes, learning challenges for older workers, concern about the readiness of students to enter the workforce and remain productive, technological and cultural changes, and the increasing importance of experiential and active, self-regulated learning. The chapter concludes with a forecast of directions for lifelong learning.
The cortical silent period
Authors: Wolters Alexander , Ziemann Ulf , Benecke Reiner
Published: February 2014

The cortical silent period (cSP) refers to an interruption of voluntary muscle contraction by transcranial stimulation of the contralateral motor cortex. This article summarizes the physiology of cSP and gives guidelines as to how the cSP should be recorded and analysed, and refers to useful clinical applications. It describes the mechanisms at the spinal and supraspinal level can account for the cSP. It is currently thought that the cSP is mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors. cSP measurements are easy to obtain but require a standardized protocol to allow useful interpretation. Conditioning electrical stimulation of cutaneous nerves shortens the cSP. A conditioning transcranial magnetic stimulation pulse also affects cSP duration. The cSP duration is influenced by pathological conditions. cSP is an attractive probe to assess motor cortical inhibition in health and disease.
Paired-pulse measures
Authors: Hanajima Ritsuko , Ugawa Yoshikazu
Published: February 2014

This article reviews the physiology and application of the currently available paired-pulse protocols. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques study the modulation of human motor cortical excitability. Paired-pulse experiments are designed to give insight into the nature of the cortical circuitry activated by TMS. Changes in motor cortical excitability produced by the conditioning pulse are estimated by changes in the size of the conditioned motor-evoked potential (MEP). It is possible to identify specific abnormalities in the balance between inhibitory and facilitatory processes, even if the pathology lies in abnormal afferent signalling to the motor cortex rather than in the motor cortex itself. The conclusion that emerges from the studies on interhemispheric interactions is that it is now possible by means of TMS protocols to chart long-range functional interhemispheric connectivity of remote areas of the human brain.
Evaluating the interaction between cortical inhibitory and excitatory circuits measured by TMS
Authors: Daskalakis Zafiris J. , Chen Robert
Published: February 2014

Transcranial magnetic stimulation was first introduced in the late 1980s. Numerous studies have used TMS as an investigational tool to elucidate cortical physiology and to probe cognitive processes. This article introduces TMS paradigms and presents information gathered on cortical neuronal connectivity. TMS paradigms that demonstrate intracortical inhibition include short-interval cortical inhibition (SICI), cortical silence period (cSP) and long interval cortical inhibition (LICI). There are two types of cortical inhibitions from the stimulation of other brain areas, interhemispheric inhibition and cerebellum inhibition. The inhibition of the motor cortex can also be induced through the stimulation of peripheral nerves. This article talks about studies that describe interaction between inhibitory and facilitatory paradigms, the results of which are discussed in terms of cortical physiology and connectivity. The study of the interactions among cortical inhibitory and excitatory circuits may help to elucidate pathophysiology of neurological and psychiatric diseases.
Pharmacology of TMS measures
Authors: Ziemann Ulf
Published: February 2014

This article discusses various aspects of the pharmacology of transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) measures. TMS measures reflect axonal, or excitatory or inhibitory synaptic excitability in distinct interneuron circuits. TMS measures can be employed to study the effects of a drug with unknown or multiple modes of action, and hence to determine its main mode of action at the systems level of the motor cortex. TMS experiments can also study acute drug effects that may be different from chronic drug effects. TMS or repetitive TMS may induce changes in endogenous neurotransmitter or neuromodulator systems. This allows for the study of neurotransmission along defined neuronal projections in health and disease. This article describes pharmacological experiments that have characterized the physiology of TMS measures of motor cortical excitability. Pharmacological challenging of TMS measures has opened a broad window into human cortical physiology.
Neuroplasticity induced by transcranial direct current stimulation
Authors: Nitsche Michael A. , Antal Andrea , Liebetanz David , Lang Nicolas , Tergau Frithjof , Paulus Walter
Published: February 2014

This article explores the use of brain stimulation as a tool of neuroplasticity. Recent studies have shown that brain stimulation with weak direct currents is a technique used to generate prolonged modifications of cortical excitability and activity. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) generates modulations of excitability. The efficacy of electric brain stimulation is defined by the combination of strength of current, size of stimulated area, and stimulation duration. The two main fields of clinical application on tDCS are: the exploration of pathological alterations of neuroplasticity in neurological and psychiatric diseases, and the evaluation of a possible clinical benefit of tDCS in these diseases. Further studies are needed to explore this area if prolonged, repetitive, or stronger stimulation protocols, for which safety has to be assured, could evolve into clinically more relevant improvement. This article reinforces the fact that brain stimulation with weak direct currents could evolve as a promising tool in neuroplasticity research.
Use-dependent changes in TMS measures
Authors: Buetefisch Cathrin M. , Cohen Leonardo G.
Published: February 2014

Adult brains maintain the ability to reorganize throughout life. Cortical reorganization or plasticity includes modification of synaptic efficacy as well as neuronal networks that carry behavioural implications. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) allows for the study of primary motor cortex reorganization in humans. Motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes change in response to practice. This article gives information about the effect of practice on TMS measures such as motor-evoked potential amplitudes, motor maps, paired-pulse measures, and behavioural measures. These changes may be accompanied by down-regulation of activity in nearby body part representations within the same hemisphere and in homonymous regions of the opposite hemisphere, mediated by interhemispheric interactions. There is evidence pointing towards the influence of practice on a distributed network of cortical representations within regions of cerebral hemispheres. This has lead to the formulation of intervention strategies to enhance the training effects by cortical or somatosensory stimulation in health and disease.
TMS in movement disorders
Authors: Berardelli Alfredo , Hallett Mark
Published: February 2014

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is applied to study patients with movement disorders. This article reviews the findings of such applications in patients with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, Huntington's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and essential tremor. The findings related to Parkinson's disease are characterized by a shortening of the cortical silence period (cSP), a reduction of short intracortical inhibition, an increase in the long-lasting intracortical inhibition, and a reduction of the normal motor evoked potential facilitation after single and repetitive TMS stimuli. Studies with paired-pulse TMS have provided controversial information on cortical motor excitability in Huntington's disease. The findings in dystonia include: a reduction of the short intracortical inhibition and a shortening of the cSP. In Tourette's syndrome patients, the cSP is short and intracortical inhibition is decreased. Patients with essential tremor have normal corticospinal conduction, normal duration of the cSP, and normal intracortical inhibition. Such application of TMS has produced enormous data and continues to do so.
TMS: neurodevelopment and perinatal insults
Authors: Garvey Marjorie A.
Published: February 2014

Neural substrate for changes in neuromotor skills of typically developing children involves the complex and organized maturation of underlying brain structures. This article gives an overview of the changes that occur in motor function, as children get older and those aspects of central nervous development which may form the neural substrates of motor function development. It describes those TMS evoked parameters, related to the motor system, that have been studied in both typically developing children and in those who have suffered perinatal insults to the central nervous system. TMS has its limitations and is especially useful when used in combination with other neurophysiological modalities. The focus for future studies should be on correlating TMS evoked parameters with behavioural measures in typically developing children and explanation of the neural substrates of the motor abnormalities in children with perinatal insults and developmental disabilities.
Tms in Migraine
Authors: Schoenen Jean , Bohotin Valentin , De Noordhout Alain Maertens
Published: February 2014

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to search for cortical dysfunction in migraine. Both, the motor and the visual cortices have been explored in this area. This article reviews and discusses the results of the various studies performed in migraine patients with TMS of motor or visual cortices. The majority of evoked and event-related potential studies in migraine have shown two abnormalities: increased amplitude of grand averaged responses and lack of habituation in successive blocks of averaged responses with decreased amplitude in the first block. These abnormalities suggest that the excitability state of the cerebral cortex, particularly of the visual cortex, is abnormal in migraineurs between attacks. The use of TMS to assess motor and visual cortex excitability has yielded conflicting results, which could be due to methodological differences. Taken together, all studies indicate that the changes in cortical reactivity are more complex in migraineurs than initially thought and suggest that both larger multidisciplinary studies and focused analyses of subgroups of patients with more refined clinical phenotypes are necessary to disentangle the role of the cerebral cortex in migraine pathophysiology.
Inter- and intra-individual variation in the response to TMS
Authors: Wassermann Eric M.
Published: February 2014

The variable amplitude of motor cortex is a striking aspect of the muscle response to transcranial magnetic stimulation. It is easy to produce large motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in some healthy subjects, while others' cortico-muscular pathways seem barely excitable, even by the strongest available stimuli. MEP amplitude and other measures also vary widely within individuals over time. The factors of these differences among and within individuals are age, gross anatomy of the individuals, genetic factors, and physiological differences associated with behavioural and other traits such as personality, conditions like migraine. The MEP varies over time within individuals at rest under laboratory conditions. These variations can be short term or long term. Differences among neurologically normal individuals have important implications for research using TMS. These differences open doors to new fields of study to neurophysiologists in the treatment and etiology of brain disease.
TMS and visual awareness
Authors: Cowey Alan
Published: February 2014

This article describes the ways in which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be a means of studying consciousness by interfering with the physical occurrences of the brain. The focus of this article is aspects of consciousness, i.e. being aware or unaware, and their cerebral basis. TMS has been used to demonstrate regional cortical functional specialization. The reasons for the effects caused by TMS are still not fully known. Further work must be done in order to address this problem. TMS can briefly impose (or disrupt) rhythmic discharge in the underlying cortex and some of these rhythms are thought to be important for selective attention and awareness. TMS can disrupt activity in underlying brain tissue with millisecond precision but thus far it is usually used in isolation. When combined with event-related potentials and functional magnetic resonance imaging its usefulness will expand.
Higher visual cognition: search, neglect, attention, and eye movements
Authors: OʼShea Jacinta , Rushworth Matthew F. S.
Published: February 2014

This article reviews the contribution of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) research to the understanding of attention, eye movements, visual search, and neglect. It considers how TMS studies have confirmed, refined, or challenged prevailing ideas about the neural basis of higher visual cognition. It shows that TMS has enhanced the understanding of the location, timing, and functional roles of visual cognitive processes in the human brain. The main focus is on studies of posterior parietal cortex (PPC), with reference to recent work on the frontal eye fields (FEFs). TMS offers many advantages to complement neuropsychological patient studies to enhance the understanding of how the fronto-parietal cortical nerves function. The visuo-spatial neglect- and extinction-like deficits incurred by parietal damage have been modelled successfully using TMS. Future work might be directed at teasing apart the distinct functional roles of nodes within this frontoparietal network in different sensorimotor contexts.
Higher cognitive functions: memory and reasoning
Authors: Rossi Simone , Cappa Stefano F. , Rossini Paolo Maria
Published: February 2014

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a sophisticated approach for interfering with human memory and reasoning due to its ability to transiently interfere with the functions of the specialized cortical network, especially when applied as repetitive (r)TMS. This article reviews TMS studies dealing with short-term retention, working memory, and with the episodic component of declarative memory. It also considers certain aspects of semantic memory and nonverbal reasoning. Furthermore, it discusses methodological considerations about the experimental designs, which can be used for the investigation of human cognitive functions. This article emphasizes the fact that higher cognitive functions provide an example as to how underlying physiological mechanisms cannot be fully disclosed by investigations based on a single technique. Studies to develop a true multimodal approach are being undertaken. In this light, behavioural interference studies will gain new power in combination with disruptive and correlational methodologies, establishing causality in a more sophisticated manner.