Brincando com embalagens. Um projeto de design colaborativo entre universidade e empresa

The education of design and of the professions that fall under the “culture of project” are being studied by several researchers. In the 1980s, Donald Schön (1983, 1987) investigated with great interest the teaching in architectural design studios. Schön managed to advance in the teaching/learning by proposing the theory of “reflection-in-action.” However, universities in general are often displaced from the social reality in which they operate due to their strong academic tradition. This article starts from a view of the process of innovation driven by design to achieve a reflection of how the relationship between universities and organizations can play an important role in this context. To do so it is presented a collaborative work between the Unisinos School of Design and Litocromart, a graphics services company, specialized in developing and printing packages. At the end we present some conclusions about this experience, which might assist others in making future collaborative projects of this type. Key words: innovation, collaborative design, university, company.O ensino do design e das profissões que se enquadram na “cultura do projeto” vem sendo objeto de estudo por diversos pesquisadores. Nos anos 1980, Donald Schön (1983, 1987) investigou com grande interesse o ensino nos ateliês de projeto de arquitetura. Schön conseguiu avançar nos processos de ensino/aprendizagem propondo a teoria da “reflexão-na-ação”. No entanto, universidades em geral muitas vezes se encontram deslocadas da realidade social onde estão inseridas em função da forte tradição acadêmica. O presente artigo parte de uma visão do processo inovação dirigida pelo design para chegar a uma reflexão de como o relacionamento entre universidades e organizações pode desempenhar um importante papel nesse contexto. Para tanto se apresenta um trabalho colaborativo entre a Escola de Design Unisinos e a empresa de serviços gráficos Litocromart, especializada no desenvolvimento e impressão de embalagens. Ao final são apresentadas algumas conclusões sobre essa experiência que poderão auxiliar na realização de futuros projetos colaborativos deste tipo.Palavras-chave: inovação, design colaborativo, universidade, empresa

Brincando com embalagens. Um projeto de design colaborativo entre universidade e empresa

The education of design and of the professions that fall under the “culture of project” are being studied by several researchers. In the 1980s, Donald Schön (1983, 1987) investigated with great interest the teaching in architectural design studios. Schön managed to advance in the teaching/learning by proposing the theory of “reflection-in-action.” However, universities in general are often displaced from the social reality in which they operate due to their strong academic tradition. This article starts from a view of the process of innovation driven by design to achieve a reflection of how the relationship between universities and organizations can play an important role in this context. To do so it is presented a collaborative work between the Unisinos School of Design and Litocromart, a graphics services company, specialized in developing and printing packages. At the end we present some conclusions about this experience, which might assist others in making future collaborative projects of this type. Key words: innovation, collaborative design, university, company.O ensino do design e das profissões que se enquadram na “cultura do projeto” vem sendo objeto de estudo por diversos pesquisadores. Nos anos 1980, Donald Schön (1983, 1987) investigou com grande interesse o ensino nos ateliês de projeto de arquitetura. Schön conseguiu avançar nos processos de ensino/aprendizagem propondo a teoria da “reflexão-na-ação”. No entanto, universidades em geral muitas vezes se encontram deslocadas da realidade social onde estão inseridas em função da forte tradição acadêmica. O presente artigo parte de uma visão do processo inovação dirigida pelo design para chegar a uma reflexão de como o relacionamento entre universidades e organizações pode desempenhar um importante papel nesse contexto. Para tanto se apresenta um trabalho colaborativo entre a Escola de Design Unisinos e a empresa de serviços gráficos Litocromart, especializada no desenvolvimento e impressão de embalagens. Ao final são apresentadas algumas conclusões sobre essa experiência que poderão auxiliar na realização de futuros projetos colaborativos deste tipo.Palavras-chave: inovação, design colaborativo, universidade, empresa

Cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonism prevents neurochemical and behavioural deficits induced by chronic phencyclidine.

Clinical and laboratory studies suggest that the endocannabinoid system is involved in schizophrenia disorders. Recent evidence indicates that cannabinoid receptor (CB1) antagonists have a pharmacological profile similar to antipsychotic drugs. We investigated the behavioural and biochemical effects of the CB1 antagonist AM251 in a phencyclidine (PCP) animal paradigm modelling the cognitive deficit and some negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Chronic AM251 (0.5 mg/kg for 3 wk) improved the PCP-altered recognition memory, as indicated by a significant amelioration of the discrimination index compared to chronic PCP alone (2.58 mg/kg for 1 month). AM251 also reversed the PCP-induced increase in immobility in the forced swim test resembling avolition, a negative sign of schizophrenia. In order to analyse the mechanisms underlying these behaviours, we studied the effects of AM251 on the endocannabinoid system (in terms of CB1 receptor density and functional activity and endocannabinoid levels) and c-Fos protein expression. The antagonist counteracted the alterations in CB1 receptor function induced by PCP in selected cerebral regions involved in schizophrenia. In addition, in the prefrontal cortex, the key region in the integration of cognitive and negative functions, AM251 markedly raised anandamide levels and reversed the PCP-induced increase of 2-arachidonoylglycerol concentrations. Finally, chronic AM251 fully reversed the PCP-elicited expression of c-Fos protein in the prefrontal cortical region. These findings suggest an antipsychotic-like profile of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor antagonist which, by restoring the function of the endocannabinoid system, might directly or indirectly normalize some of the neurochemical maladaptations present in this schizophrenia-like animal model

The past, present, and future of the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS)

The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) is a community-driven standard for the organization of data and metadata from a growing range of neuroscience modalities. This paper is meant as a history of how the standard has developed and grown over time. We outline the principles behind the project, the mechanisms by which it has been extended, and some of the challenges being addressed as it evolves. We also discuss the lessons learned through the project, with the aim of enabling researchers in other domains to learn from the success of BIDS

Modulating the response of the primary somatosensory cortex with a novel Paired Associative Stimulation protocol

In the last few years, the existence of a Tactile Mirror System in the human brain has been hypothesized: in this system, the same cortical areas implicated in tactile perception, namely the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), also respond to the mere observation of tactile events. In a seminal work, Keysers and Gazzola (2014) suggested that such cross-modal, mirror-like, responses of S1 may arise from Hebbian associative plasticity: the contingency of seeing a touch and the feeling of a tactile sensation on one’s own body may reinforce synapses between visual and somatosensory neurons. We tested this hypothesis by developing a novel cross-modal Paired Associative Stimulation (cmPAS) protocol. In the cmPAS, a visual stimulus (instead of the standard peripheral stimulation) depicting the palm of a left hand being touched is repeatedly presented, paired with a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) pulse over right S1. In Experiment 1, we tested the temporal and the cortical specificity of the plasticity effects induced by the cmPAS. Results show that the cmPAS is effective in eliciting Hebbian Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), modulating tactile acuity (measured by means of a 2-Points Discrimination Task) at the observer’s hand. Importantly, the effect is present only when the Inter-Stimulus Interval (ISI) between the two stimuli is 20 ms and the TMS pulse is delivered over S1. In Experiment 2, we aimed to uncover possible neurophysiological changes in S1 by combining the measurement of subjects’ tactile acuity with the recording of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (SEPs). We also looked for evidence for a selectivity of the visual responsiveness of S1 by replacing the visual stimulus of a touch with one of a static hand (i.e., no-touch condition). Besides confirming the improvement of tactile acuity, preliminary results from the analysis of SEPs showed an increase of the SEPs’ P40 component peak after the delivery of the cmPAS. Consistently with the literature on the Tactile Mirror System, both these findings were present only when the visual stimulus depicted a touch. To sum up, our study provides novel insight of the cross-modal, visual, responsiveness of S1, showing that our cmPAS can induce plastic changes in S1 that follows the Hebbian associative learning rule. Such changes were detected both at a behavioral and at a neurophysiological level. This evidence offers new insights on the neural substrates of the Tactile Mirror System and, in a broader perspective, of early visuo-tactile interactions in the primary stages of somatosensory processing

Tactile acuity as an index of plasticity induced by a novel cross-modal PAS protocol

In the past few years, an increasing number of studies have shown the existence of a Tactile Mirror System in the human brain. This system relies on a shared network of brain areas responding to both the experience of a tactile sensation and to the observation of the same tactile sensations experienced by others. One crucial area of this system is the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). A hypothesis put forward is that the cross-modal responses of the Tactile Mirror System could be a by-product of Hebbian associative learning: the contingency between a seen touch and a felt touch on one’s own body may reinforce the synapses between somatosensory and visual neurons. We developed a novel cross-modal paired associative stimulation (cmPAS) protocol to test the hypothesis that the mirror-like responses of S1 may arise from Hebbian associative plasticity mechanisms. In this new protocol, a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) pulse over S1 is repeatedly paired with the view of a hand being touched. The successful modulation of S1 reactivity by the cmPAS was assessed at a behavioral level, measuring changes in the observer’s tactile acuity as tested with a 2-point discrimination task (2PDT). In the first experiment, we investigated the efficacy of the cmPAS and the temporal specificity of the Hebbian plasticity mechanisms induced by it by varying the inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) between the TMS pulse and the visual stimuli. In the second experiment, we examined the cortical specificity of our protocol applying TMS also over the primary visual cortex (V1). We found that cmPAS was effective in decreasing participants’ sensory threshold, specifically when the ISI between the visual stimulus and the TMS pulse was of 20 ms, and only when TMS was applied over S1. In the third experiment, we investigated the specificity of the visual stimulus in eliciting changes in the sensory threshold: we assessed the effect of a control condition in which TMS pulses were paired with a picture depicting a static hand, that was not touched. Crucially, results showed that the cmPAS protocol induced tactile enhancement only when the visual stimulus paired with the TMS pulse depicted a touch. These results highlight the central role of mirror-touch mechanisms in the success of the cmPAS. Taken together these findings prove the effectiveness of the cmPAS in modulating participants’ tactile acuity as a consequence of the effective mirror-like recruitment of S1