Using EEG to Understand the Effects of Top-Down Processing on Speech Perception

Cognitive psychologists believe that our brain not only interprets bottom-up information received from sensory input, but prior knowledge can also change what we hear in a top-down manner (Getz & Toscano, 2019). In this study, we were interested in collecting electroencephalography (EEG) data to determine how strongly top-down processing impacts the perception process. Our stimuli consisted of common word pairs (e.g., bunk beds, amusement park) in which target words were manipulated to have varying voice onset times (VOTs). The sounds /b/ and /p/ exist on a VOT continuum, with /b/ having a short VOT (voiced) and /p/ having a longer VOT (voiceless); /d/ and /t/ follow the same pattern. During the experiment, participants determined the starting sound (b, d, p, t) of the second word in each pair. The first word was either an association prime or neutral prime. We began with a behavioral pilot test, investigating how various top-down factors would affect reaction times. We varied the word frequency, neighborhood density, and lexical status of the primes. We found that responses were most impacted by lexical status, meaning participants were more likely to perceive ambiguous targets as words (rather than non-words). For associated primes, responses differed based on expected voicing (an ambiguous VOT between b/p was perceived as /b/ in the context of bunk BEDS, but as /p/ in amusement PARK). We are currently using EEG to track brain voltage fluctuations and are conducting ERP analysis to understand the time course of top-down information\u27s influence on speech processing

Teaching Matters: Essays by UMF Faculty

Essays by faculty at the University of Maine at Farmington.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1086/thumbnail.jp

The Effects of Higher-Order Questioning Strategies on Conscience Majors' Achievement in an Introductory Environmental Science Course and Their Attitudes Toward the Environment

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the effect a higher-order questioning strategy (Bloom, 1956) had on undergraduate non-science majors' attitudes toward the environment and their achievement in an introductory environmental science course, EDS 1032, ""Survey of Science 2: Life Science,"" which was offered during the Spring 2000 term. Students from both treatment and control groups (N = 63), which were determined using intact classes, participated in eight cooperative group activities based on the Biological Sciences Curriculum Studies (BSCS) 5E model (Bybee, 1993). The treatment group received a higher-order questioning method combined with the BSCS 5E model. The control group received a lower-order questioning method, combined with the BSCS 5E model. Two instruments were used to measure students' attitude and achievement changes. The Ecology Issue Attitude (EIA) survey (Schindler, 1995) and a comprehensive environmental science final exam. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (KLSI, 1985) was used to measure students' learning style type. After a 15-week treatment period, results were analyzed using MANCOVA. The overall MANCOVA model used to test the statistical difference between the collective influences of the independent variables on the three dependent variables simultaneously was found to be not significant at α = .05. This differs from findings of previous studies in which higher-order questioning techniques had a significant effect on student achievement (King 1989 & 1992; Blosser, 1991; Redfield and Rousseau, 1981; Gall 1970). At the risk of inflated Type I and Type II error rates, separate univariate analyses were performed. However, none of the research factors, when examined collectively or separately, made any significant contribution to explaining the variability in EIA attitude, EIA achievement, and comprehensive environmental science final examination scores. Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence from student's self-reported behavior changes indicated favorable responses to an increased awareness of and positive action toward the environment

La préparation professionnelle de l’enseignant et la formation universitaire américaine : un partenariat trouble, un avenir prometteur

Teacher education in the state of Maine (USA) is founded on shared roles between university preparation and professional preparation, the latter situated in the university. Both disciplinary knowledge and pedagogical knowledge are thus in play. We offer a brief review of the global structure of teacher education in Maine, in particular as it has evolved at the University of Maine-Farmington. We then present specific examples of teacher education curriculum, showing faculty roles from the College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences, both shared and separate. We then explore some resulting tensions, indicative of the broader complications in the relationship between these two domains of knowledge and preparation. Finally, we explore initiatives addressing these relationships, including shared faculty positions, curricular initiatives, and collaborative research and assessment projects, and outline future paths to pursue.La formation des maîtres dans l’État du Maine aux USA est fondée sur un travail partagé entre deux types de structures bien séparées au sein de la même université. L’une des structures est consacrée à l’enseignement des disciplines, l’autre à la préparation professionnelle et aux savoirs pédago-didactiques que celle-ci requiert. L’intégration de ces deux volets d’études dans la même université n’empêche pas des tensions dans la collaboration relative au déroulement des curricula et de l’ensemble des préparations professionnelles. Diverses initiatives sont prises pour tenter de les résorber ou de les atténuer.Berger Rebecca, Nash Marcia, Overstreet Deborah, Eason Grace, Donahue Christiane. La préparation professionnelle de l’enseignant et la formation universitaire américaine : un partenariat trouble, un avenir prometteur. In: Spirale. Revue de recherches en éducation, n°46, 2010. Formations des enseignants, sous la direction de Guy Legrand et Dominique-Guy Brassart. pp. 109-122

Bi-allelic TTI1 variants cause an autosomal-recessive neurodevelopmental disorder with microcephaly.

Telomere maintenance 2 (TELO2), Tel2 interacting protein 2 (TTI2), and Tel2 interacting protein 1 (TTI1) are the three components of the conserved Triple T (TTT) complex that modulates activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related protein kinases (PIKKs), including mTOR, ATM, and ATR, by regulating the assembly of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1). The TTT complex is essential for the expression, maturation, and stability of ATM and ATR in response to DNA damage. TELO2- and TTI2-related bi-allelic autosomal-recessive (AR) encephalopathies have been described in individuals with moderate to severe intellectual disability (ID), short stature, postnatal microcephaly, and a movement disorder (in the case of variants within TELO2). We present clinical, genomic, and functional data from 11 individuals in 9 unrelated families with bi-allelic variants in TTI1. All present with ID, and most with microcephaly, short stature, and a movement disorder. Functional studies performed in HEK293T cell lines and fibroblasts and lymphoblastoid cells derived from 4 unrelated individuals showed impairment of the TTT complex and of mTOR pathway activity which is improved by treatment with Rapamycin. Our data delineate a TTI1-related neurodevelopmental disorder and expand the group of disorders related to the TTT complex