Experiential Learning as an Adjunct to the Basic Course: Student Responses to a Pedagogical Model

An experiential learning model requiring regular weekly attendance at a communication lab, videotaped classroom presentations, and journal submissions as adjunctive course requirements is described as assessed. A content analysis of lab evaluation forms and journal entries clearly shows that the model works. Students report they enjoy the experience, improve their interpersonal skills, become more sensitive communicators, experience personal growth, and feel they are more successful in classroom presentations as a results of the lab experience

Communication Lab Peer Facilitators: What\u27s in It for Them?

Peer tutors have been used extensively within the communication discipline to enhance students\u27 learning experiences (Hill, 1981; Webb & Lane, 1986). Research suggests that peer tutoring can have positive rewards for tutors and tutees (Goodland & Hurst, 1989; Topping, 1996). However, there is little to no research that explores the benefits received by peer tutors who run small group communication lab sessions for basic communication course students. The qualitative data from focus group indicate that peer facilitators experienced: 1) self-development in terms of their self-esteem, confidence, and respect from themselves and others; 2) improved public speaking skills and better interpersonal relationship with family and friends, other peer facilitators, and individuals in positions of authority; and 3) external rewards in that they felt better prepared for post baccalaureate programs and to compete in the workplace. The results of this study may be used as a basis for more in-depth research on the benefits derived from the peer facilitation experience in the basic communication course

Subjecting Elite Athletes to Inspiratory Breathing Load Reveals Behavioral and Neural Signatures of Optimal Performers in Extreme Environments

Background: It is unclear whether and how elite athletes process physiological or psychological challenges differently than healthy comparison subjects. In general, individuals optimize exercise level as it relates to differences between expected and experienced exertion, which can be conceptualized as a body prediction error. The process of computing a body prediction error involves the insular cortex, which is important for interoception, i.e. the sense of the physiological condition of the body. Thus, optimal performance may be related to efficient minimization of the body prediction error. We examined the hypothesis that elite athletes, compared to control subjects, show attenuated insular cortex activation during an aversive interoceptive challenge. Methodology/Principal Findings: Elite adventure racers (n = 10) and healthy volunteers (n = 11) performed a continuous performance task with varying degrees of a non-hypercapnic breathing load while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results indicate that (1) non-hypercapnic inspiratory breathing load is an aversive experience associated with a profound activation of a distributed set of brain areas including bilateral insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulated; (2) adventure racers relative to comparison subjects show greater accuracy on the continuous performance task during the aversive interoceptive condition; and (3) adventure racers show an attenuated right insula cortex response during and following the aversive interoceptive condition of non-hypercapnic inspirator

Individual Variations in Maternal Care Early in Life Correlate with Later Life Decision-Making and c-Fos Expression in Prefrontal Subregions of Rats

Early life adversity affects hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, alters cognitive functioning and in humans is thought to increase the vulnerability to psychopathology–e.g. depression, anxiety and schizophrenia- later in life. Here we investigated whether subtle natural variations among individual rat pups in the amount of maternal care received, i.e. differences in the amount of licking and grooming (LG), correlate with anxiety and prefrontal cortex-dependent behavior in young adulthood. Therefore, we examined the correlation between LG received during the first postnatal week and later behavior in the elevated plus maze and in decision-making processes using a rodent version of the Iowa Gambling Task (rIGT). In our cohort of male and female animals a high degree of LG correlated with less anxiety in the elevated plus maze and more advantageous choices during the last 10 trials of the rIGT. In tissue collected 2 hrs after completion of the task, the correlation between LG and c-fos expression (a marker of neuronal activity) was established in structures important for IGT performance. Negative correlations existed between rIGT performance and c-fos expression in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, prelimbic cortex, infralimbic cortex and insular cortex. The insular cortex correlations between c-fos expression and decision-making performance depended on LG background; this was also true for the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in female rats. Dendritic complexity of insular or infralimbic pyramidal neurons did not or weakly correlate with LG background. We conclude that natural variations in maternal care received by pups may significantly contribute to later-life decision-making and activity of underlying brain structures

Tales From Broken Hearts: Women and Recovery from Romantic Relationships

A recent analysis of narratives from women who recovered from romantic relationships indicated that they pass through six sequential stages to full recovery. Further, the analysis indicated that emergent issues such as health, finances, children, and self-esteem must also be addressed. The work resulted in the development of the Romantic Relationship Break-up and Recovery model. The breadth and depth of the self-disclosure among the group participants suggest that focus groups are viable story-collecting tools and are suited to women\u27s interactional styles. The study further underscores the educational role that storytelling plays in our society

Gendered Evaluation Responses to Experiential Learning as an Adjunct to a Basic Communication Skills Course

Abstract: The author examined gendered evaluation responses to experiential learning in terms of how students rated the overall experience, responded to experiential learning, and responded to experiential learning facilitators. An analysis of evaluation forms indicated no difference in the overall rating of the experience. In responses to the experiential learning context, females noted receiving encouragement and claimed communication apprehension reduction. Regarding experiential learning facilitators, males focused on instructional competence and individual practices while females noted facilitators' knowledge and their easy-going natures. The facilitator's sex did not influence responses. The findings underscore the importance of personnel in creating gender-sensitive experiential learning contexts that offer a ``warm climate'' for both men and women. Résumé: L'auteur a comparé les réactions d'étudiants males et femelles à l'égard de l'apprentissage expérentiel examinant selon la leurs perspectives sur l'expérience globale, l'apprentissage expérentiel et les facilitateurs d'apprentissage expérentiel. Une analyse des formulaires d'évaluation ne permet pas d'indiquer une différence entre hommes et femmes quant à la perception de l'expérience globale. En ce qui a trait à l'apprentissage expérentiel, les femmes ont noté les encouragements qu'elles ont reçus et ont déclaré une diminution dans leur appréhension à communiquer. Pour ce qui est des facilitateurs d'apprentissage expérentiel, les hommes ont souligné la compétence d'instruction et les pratiques individuelles tandis que les femmes ont noté le savoir des facilitateurs et leur nature paisible. Le sexe du facilitateur n'a pas influencé les réponses. Les résultats mettent en évidence l'importance pour le personnel de la création de contextes d'apprentissage expérentiel quitiennent compte du sexe des participants et qui offrent un "climat chaleureux" autant pour les hommes que pour les femmes

Acute ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced deficits in reversal learning: neural correlates of affective inflexibility

Despite concerns surrounding the possible adverse effects of marijuana on complex cognitive function, the processes contributing to the observed cognitive deficits are unclear, as are the causal relationships between these impairments and marijuana exposure. In particular, marijuana-related deficits in cognitive flexibility may affect the social functioning of the individual and may contribute to continued marijuana use. We therefore examined the ability of rats to perform affective and attentional shifts following acute administration of D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive marijuana constituent. Administration of 1 mg/kg THC produced marked impairments in the ability to reverse previously relevant associations between stimulus features and reward presentation, while the ability to transfer attentional set between dimensional stimulus properties was unaffected. Concurrent in situ hybridization analysis of regional c-fos and ngfi-b expression highlighted areas of the prefrontal cortex and striatum that were recruited in response to both THC administration and task performance. Furthermore, the alterations in mRNA expression in the orbitofrontal cortex and striatum were associated with the ability to perform the reversal discriminations. These findings suggest that marijuana use may produce inelasticity in updating affective associations between stimuli and reinforcement value, and that this effect may arise through dysregulation of orbitofrontal and striatal circuitr