2014 |
Thesen, Thomas |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Crcns: Us-German Data Sharing Proposal: Analysis and Visualization of Neural Osci @ New York University School of Medicine
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed grant proposal is to foster international collaboration between two laboratories studying the neuronal basis of perception and cognition. Specific aims of the grant is the analysis of a unique data set obtained from patients with brain implants, the additional collection and analysis of complimentary scalp EEG data and the creation and public dissemination of an analysis toolbox to the wider scientific community. In addition, a publication will be prepared on the analysis of the experimental data sets. The grant will support student and postdoc salaries and medium-term exchange visits. Cognitive neuroscience research benefits vastly from the rapid progression of development in methodological approaches and analysis techniques. Recordings of electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals from neurosurgical patients with subdural electrodes represent a powerful approach for examining the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor and cognitive processes. While ECoG recordings provide an opportunity to study these processes with a unique combination of high spatial and temporal resolution, this approach also has its limitations. Electrode recordings sites rarely overlap across patients and ECoG signals are usually monitored only from a few cortical regions. Non-invasive recordings of neural activity in humans using electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG) have a much lower spatial resolution and measure brain signals with a reduced signal-to-noise ratio compared to ECoG, but have the advantage of covering the entire head simultaneously. In addition, state-of-the-art source analysis techniques, especially the analysis of neural oscillations, may allow a relatively adequate estimation of the cortical sources underlying EEG/MEG signals, however, validating their source solutions requires invasive electrode placement. Therefore, translational studies combing ECoG and EEG/MEG signals from the same experimental paradigm are particularly promising. To date, however, there is no analysis and visualization toolbox for the comparison of ECoG and EEG/MEG signals that specifically focuses on neural oscillations. The proposed project will fuse the expertise of the laboratories of the two PIs by applying the oscillatory data analysis expertise of the Senkowski Lab to the unique multisensory ECoG data sets previously collected from invasive human intracranial recordings at the Thesen Lab. Specifically, available ECoG data from an intersensory attention paradigm will be analyzed and compared with EEG data recorded from the same paradigm. The central goals of the current proposal are (i) to develop a toolbox for the analysis and visualization of neural oscillations in ECoG data, and (ii) to test this ECoG-toolbox by analyzing intracranial and EEG data from an intersensory attention paradigm through collaborative data sharing. The toolbox, which will include functions enabling the comparison of ECoG signals with source-localized EEG/MEG signals, will be shared with the wider scientific community. Due to its functionality and its compatibility with the popular FieldTrip toolbox (http://fieldtrip.fcdonders.nl), the ECoG-toolbox will be of particular interest to the large numbe of researchers in this growing field of cognitive neuroscience. Overall, the development of the ECoG-toolbox could facilitate the translational research on neural oscillations. Since impairments in neural oscillations have often been linked to symptomatology in clinical populations, such as in patients with autism or schizophrenia, this research has significant clinical implications. A better understanding of the role of neural oscillations in cognitive functions could contribute to a better understanding of the symptomatology in these populations. Taken together, the current proposal will lead to empirical output based on collaborative sharing of data from an intersensory attention study. Furthermore, by developing a user-friendly toolbox for the analysis and visualization of neural synchrony in ECoG and combined ECoG-EEG data, there will be a direct benefit to the wider scientific community.
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1 |
2021 — 2024 |
Manuel, Mariam Thesen, Thomas Ekeoba, Jacqueline |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Stem Inquiry Research Summer Enrichment Program
This project aims to serve the national interest by establishing sustainable practices to improve undergraduate engagement and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This IUSE EHR Engaged Student Learning Level 1 project, STEM Research Inquiry Summer Experience (STEM RISE), seeks to better prepare and retain STEM majors as qualified STEM teachers and professionals equipped with tools and resources to serve urban youth. It is a collaboration at the University of Houston between faculty from the secondary STEM teacher preparation program, teachHOUSTON, and the College of Medicine, along with Jack Yates High School in the Historic Third Ward in which the University resides. High quality teacher preparation in the STEM disciplines is critical to student success especially in schools that are underfunded and combatting atmospheres of deficit thinking. Consequently, STEM RISE takes up the charge by implementing targeted professional development, revising curriculum to integrate culturally responsive pedagogy, and providing learning experiences with mentorship facilitated by content experts and peers. The STEM RISE project is the next step in teachHOUSTON’s evolving trajectory towards being a national leader in secondary STEM teacher education programs.
The project intends to engage urban high school youth from a predominantly Black community in summer research experiences to enhance learning and introduce them to STEM career pathways. It is expected that the high school students will learn valuable science skills and experiences that will equip them with the knowledge, motivation, mentorship, and social capital to pursue a STEM career. Supporting this activity is a mentorship structure that will include undergraduate STEM student lab mentors as well as faculty (who also mentor the undergraduates) and pre-service teachers. STEM RISE provides undergraduate STEM majors, pursuing STEM teacher certification, with novel and meaningful opportunities to embed culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in their instruction through a revised Research Methodology in STEM Course and a professional development institute focused on social justice topics. Additionally, the professional development institute supports STEM undergraduates in learning STEM CRT methods with structured practice in lesson design and implementation. The findings from the project are expected to contribute to the knowledge base about mentoring undergraduate STEM majors, preservice teacher professional development, and literature about theory-practice gaps in culturally responsive and inquiry-based STEM education, including research experiences with underrepresented student populations. Thus, the project has the potential to contribute to better STEM teacher preparation, mentoring of undergraduate STEM majors and experiential learning of varying student bodies, especially students of color who are historically underserved and underrepresented in STEM fields. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship (Noyce) Program is providing co-funding for this IUSE: EHR project to support the project's preservice teacher preparation goals, which are well-aligned with Noyce Program goals.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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0.955 |