title: Numerical modelling of plasticity induced by Quadri-pulse stimulation

authors: Sorkhabi, Majid Memarian

subjects: Transcranial magnetic stimulation

abstract: Quadri-pulse stimulation (QPS), a type of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can induce a considerable aftereffect on cortical synapses. Human experiments have shown that the type of effect on synaptic efficiency (in terms of potentiation or depression) depends on the time interval between pulses. The maturation of biophysically-based models, which describe the physiological properties of plasticity mathematically, offers a beneficial framework to explore induced plasticity for new stimulation protocols. To model the QPS paradigm, a phenomenological model based on the knowledge of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) mechanisms of synaptic plasticity was utilized where the cortex builds upon the platform of neuronal population modeling. Induced cortical plasticity was modeled for both conventional monophasic pulses and unidirectional pulses generated by the cTMS device, in a total of 117 different scenarios. For the conventional monophasic stimuli, the results of the predictive model broadly follow what is typically seen in human experiments. Unidirectional pulses can produce a similar range of plasticity. Additionally, changing the pulse width had a considerable effect on the plasticity (approximately 20% increase). As the width of the positive phase increases, the size of the potentiation will also increase. The proposed model can generate predictions to guide future plasticity experiments. Estimating the plasticity and optimizing the rTMS protocols might effectively improve the safety implications of TMS experiments by reducing the number of delivered pulses to participants. Finding the optimal stimulation protocol with the maximum potentiation/depression can lead to the design of a new TMS pulse generator device with targeted hardware and control algorithms.

text: Numerical modelling of plasticity induced by Quadri-pulse stimulation Quadri-pulse stimulation (QPS), a type of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can induce a considerable aftereffect on cortical synapses. Human experiments have shown that the type of effect on synaptic efficiency (in terms of potentiation or depression) depends on the time interval between pulses. The maturation of biophysically-based models, which describe the physiological properties of plasticity mathematically, offers a beneficial framework to explore induced plasticity for new stimulation protocols. To model the QPS paradigm, a phenomenological model based on the knowledge of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) mechanisms of synaptic plasticity was utilized where the cortex builds upon the platform of neuronal population modeling. Induced cortical plasticity was modeled for both conventional monophasic pulses and unidirectional pulses generated by the cTMS device, in a total of 117 different scenarios. For the conventional monophasic stimuli, the results of the predictive model broadly follow what is typically seen in human experiments. Unidirectional pulses can produce a similar range of plasticity. Additionally, changing the pulse width had a considerable effect on the plasticity (approximately 20% increase). As the width of the positive phase increases, the size of the potentiation will also increase. The proposed model can generate predictions to guide future plasticity experiments. Estimating the plasticity and optimizing the rTMS protocols might effectively improve the safety implications of TMS experiments by reducing the number of delivered pulses to participants. Finding the optimal stimulation protocol with the maximum potentiation/depression can lead to the design of a new TMS pulse generator device with targeted hardware and control algorithms.

year: 2021

title: 'It's not necessary to have this board to learn English, but it's helpful': student and teacher perceptions of interactive whiteboard use

authors: Johnson, E. Marcia

subjects: interactive whiteboards

abstract: The use of interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology has great potential to invigorate not just language teaching, but any subject in which students and teachers interact with learning content, sound or video in the classroom; however, few research projects have examined and documented IWB implementation in tertiary-level Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) classrooms. In order to address gaps in existing CALL literature, this qualitative research project sought to capture and illuminate both students' and teachers' perspectives of what worked and what needed to be improved. In particular, we aimed to discover the types of changes that teachers made to their pedagogy and whether or not students' motivation and response to the CALL environment were affected, and in what ways. The research findings provided us with valuable insights into the types of personal transformations that both teachers and learners made within the IWB context and lead to a discussion in this paper of the mediation of praxis, affect and motivation. Implications of the findings for the conduct of future multimedia CALL research studies are also examined and discussed.

text: 'It's not necessary to have this board to learn English, but it's helpful': student and teacher perceptions of interactive whiteboard use The use of interactive whiteboard (IWB) technology has great potential to invigorate not just language teaching, but any subject in which students and teachers interact with learning content, sound or video in the classroom; however, few research projects have examined and documented IWB implementation in tertiary-level Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) classrooms. In order to address gaps in existing CALL literature, this qualitative research project sought to capture and illuminate both students' and teachers' perspectives of what worked and what needed to be improved. In particular, we aimed to discover the types of changes that teachers made to their pedagogy and whether or not students' motivation and response to the CALL environment were affected, and in what ways. The research findings provided us with valuable insights into the types of personal transformations that both teachers and learners made within the IWB context and lead to a discussion in this paper of the mediation of praxis, affect and motivation. Implications of the findings for the conduct of future multimedia CALL research studies are also examined and discussed.

year: 2010

title: Measuring Wellbeing for Public Policy in a Bi-Cultural Nation: Update from Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Weijers, Dan M.

abstract: A presentation at Measuring Wellbeing in a Multicultural World: An Interdisciplinary Workshop, Conference held at ANU, Canberra, Australia and online

text: Measuring Wellbeing for Public Policy in a Bi-Cultural Nation: Update from Aotearoa New Zealand A presentation at Measuring Wellbeing in a Multicultural World: An Interdisciplinary Workshop, Conference held at ANU, Canberra, Australia and online

year: 2023-08-11