15 research outputs found
The neurophysiology of paediatric movement disorders
Get PDFPurpose of review To demonstrate how neurophysiological tools have advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology of paediatric movement disorders, and of neuroplasticity in the developing brain. Recent findings Delineation of corticospinal tract connectivity using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is being investigated as a potential biomarker for response to therapy. TMS measures of cortical excitability and neuroplasticity are also being used to investigate the effects of therapy, demonstrating neuroplastic changes that relate to functional improvements. Analysis of evoked potentials and event-related changes in the EEG spectral activity provide growing evidence for the important role of aberrant sensory processing in the pathophysiology of many different movement disorders. Neurophysiological findings demonstrate that children with clinically similar phenotypes may have differing underlying pathophysiology, which in turn may explain differential response to therapy. Neurophysiological parameters can act as biomarkers, providing a means to stratify individuals, and are well suited to provide biofeedback. They therefore have enormous potential to facilitate improvements to therapy. Summary Although currently a small field, the role of neurophysiology in paediatric movement disorders is poised to expand, both fuelled by and contributing to the rapidly growing fields of neuro-rehabilitation and neuromodulation and the move towards a more individualized therapeutic approach. <br/
Poetics of the same: a philosophical poetic recourse into sameness
No full textPhDThis study endeavours to investigate the philosophical and poetological
dimensions, the philological origins, and significant philosophical-literary
representations of the Same. It also assesses sameness as a philosophical and
poetological modus operandi; that is to say, it analyzes the ways in which the
Same operates in different types of discourses both as an object of investigation
and as an agent of (poetic) thought. The concept of the Same or the operation of
sameness as the philosophical question par excellence will be considered in the
development of Continental philosophy and philosophical poetics from classical
antiquity to Postmodernism, and its transposition into poetry.
The elaboration of the issue of sameness encompasses any philosophical
inquiry which seeks to establish the essence of Being and make it susceptible to a
general, unifying principle: as a search for an underlying element; for a
metaphysical unity or universal, preceding division or difference and amounting
to the harmony in the Universe; or for a transcendental absolute totality.
Postulations of the pure conceptual difference are likewise examined as part of the
elaboration of sameness, and will be viewed as indispensable for revealing the
genuine plenitude of sameness.
Part One traces the inception of sameness as a concept of pure identity,
amounting to the harmony of the Universe by virtue of the operations of
belonging (Presocratics), participation (Plato), and emanation (Plotinus), anchored
in the relationships between the One and the many, between the Whole and its
parts, between the Original and the copy. Part Two inquires into the limits of
postulating sameness in terms of pure identity and points to two possible solutions
to this problem: a philosophical-aesthetic digression from sameness (Kant and
related aesthetic theories of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) and the
return to sameness as an absolute totality in Part Three (Schelling and Hegel).
Part Four investigates the re-postulation of sameness as pure Difference
(Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida), hence the entire re-organization of thought in
terms of the other. Part Five analyzes the transposition of sameness from
3
philosophy into the poetic language of repetition, using Rilke’s Sonnets to
Orpheus as its prime poetic example.
It will be argued that the philosophical displacement of the Same from a
concept of identity into that of difference does not amount to an abandonment of
its plenitude, but rather points to the need for a precarious balance between
sameness and difference, the simultaneous quest for unity and the absolute
singularity of the other. This balance, it will be argued, must be sought for in
every genuine creation
Childhood in the works of Silvina Ocampo and Alejandra Pizarnik
Get PDFThis thesis
explores childhood as
theme
and perspective
in
the Argentine
cuentista and
poet
Silvina Ocampo (1903-1993)
and traces this thematic
and vital
link to the
Argentine
poet
Alejandra Pizamik (1936-1972). The
study
looks
at childhood not only
in
relation to their literary texts but
also
in the
writers' construction of self-identity
within
their
socio-literary context, and at
the
role played
by
visual art
in their
aesthetic.
Chapter 1
contrasts Silvina
with
her
elder sister
Victoria Ocampo through their
differing literary
appropriation of a shared childhood. It distinguishes Ocampo from
Adolfo Bioy Casares and
Jorge Luis Borges in terms of
her fictional logic
and
her
treatment of games, drawing comparisons instead with Julio Cortdzar.
Chapter 2
undertakes close reading of various Ocampo texts, including
some
for
children,
in
order to explore
her
vision of childhood through nostalgia, adult-child
power relationships, aging and rejuvenation, and moments of
initiation or
imitation.
Chapter 3
turns to Pizarnik
and the myth of the child-poet.
It
analyses
her
child
personae through Andre Breton's Surrealism, Jean Cocteau
and
Octavio Paz, through
her borrowings from Alice in Wonderland
and
Nadja,
and
through
her
obsession with
madness, death,
orphanhood, violation and transgression.
Chapter 4 is
comparative.
It
outlines the context
in
which
Ocampo
and
Pizamik's
passionate friendship developed,
and considers
Pizamik's
essay on
Elpecado
mortal.
It
then explores their broad
mutual
literary
and
thematic
affinities.
My
conclusion is that Ocampo's works achieve equilibrium between childhood and age,
whereas Pizarnik's
much-discussed poetic crisis of exile
from language itself
parallels
her deep sense of anxiety at being
exiled from the world of childhood.
This thesis
contributes to the
study of
Argentine literature by drawing
revealing
comparisons
between
two key
writers
through their shared obsession with childhood,
arguing that
an understanding of their attitudes
to childhood
is fundamental
to
appreciating
fully their
work.
I
refer to unpublished
letters
of
Ocampo,
material
from
private
interviews,
photographs and relevant paintings
by Leonor Fini, Alicia Carletti
and others
Detective fiction in Cuban society and culture.
No full textPhDThe object of this thesis is to reach towards an understanding of Cuban society through a
study of its detective fiction and more particularly contemporary Cuban society through
the novels of the author and critic, Leonardo Padura Fuentes.
The method has been to trace the development of Cuban detective writing and to
read Padura Fuentes in the light of the work of twentieth century Western European
literary critics and philosophers including Raymond Williams, Antonio Gramsci, Terry
Eagleton, Roland Barthes, Jean Paul Sartre, Michel Foucault, Jean François Lyotard and
Jean Baudrillard in order to gain a better understanding of the social and historical
context from which this genre emerged.
By concentrating on the literary texts, I have explored readings which lead out into
an analysis of the broader philosophical, political and historical issues raised by the
Cuban revolution. Since it deals primarily with modes of deviance and notions of legality
and justice within the context of the modern state, detective fiction is particularly well
suited to this type of investigation. The intention is to show how this is as valid in the
Cuban context as it is in advanced capitalist societies where such research has already
been carried out with some success.
The thesis comprises an introduction, ten chapters and a conclusion. The chapters
are divided into three sections. Chapters 1 to 3 attempt a broad theoretical, historical and
socio-political analysis of the cultural reality within which the Cuban revolutionary
detective genre emerged. Chapters 4 to 6 analyse the Cuban detective narrative from its
inception in the early part of the twentieth century until the emergence of Leonardo
Padura Fuentes as the foremost exponent of the genre in Cuba after 1991. Chapters 7-
10 concentrate upon the work of Leonardo Padura Fuentes, offering a reading of his
detective tetralogy informed by the preceding discussion.
The contribution made by the thesis to knowledge of the subject is to build upon the
work of Seymour Menton and Amelia S. Simpson on the development of the Cuban
detective novel and to provide analyses of the pre-Revolutionary Cuban detective
narrative and the work of Leonardo Padura Fuentes for the first time in the English
language. The thesis concludes that the study of this popular genre in Cuba is of crucial
importance to the scholar who wishes to reach as full an understanding of the social
dynamics within that society as possible. In particular, it proves that Cuban detective
fiction provides a useful barometer of social change which records the shifts in the Cuban
Zeitgeist that have taken place over the past century
Investigating Performer Uniqueness: The Case of Jascha Heifetz
No full textThis thesis is based on the conviction that the greatest musical performers of history can and should be granted the same level of academic scrutiny and study as is so often received by the greatest composers. Composers had the early advantage of producing durable manuscripts, while performers prior to the age of recording were unable to leave more than impressions in the minds of those who heard them. With the recent successes of numerous investigations into performance and recordings, including the CHARM and CMPCP projects, such studies are becoming ever more viable and significant.
The thesis focuses on the violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) and primarily his performances of the Bach solo violin works (BWV 1001-1006). While there have been studies of individual pieces, of particular performers, and of multiple recordings of the same piece, a study focussing on specific repertoire played by a specific performer is something that has been somewhat overlooked in the literature. The thesis draws on numerous methods to distil what is distinctive and unique about Heifetz. This includes an examination of what and how the performer played, why the performer played that way, and how that way of playing compares to other performers. The study concludes with a discussion of Heifetz’s unique performer profile in the context of violin performance history.
Focussing on one of the most famous and successful performing musicians of the twentieth century along with some of the most frequently played pieces, this case study will suggest research methods and approaches transferable to related studies. The thesis draws on original interviews with former Heifetz students, friends, and colleagues, and on over thirteen months of archival research in the Jascha Heifetz Collection held by the Library of Congress. This array of previously untapped material aided the analytical and empirical investigations into Heifetz’s uniqueness
Understanding the relationship between brain and upper limb function in children with unilateral motor impairments: A multimodal approach
Get PDFAtypical brain development and early brain injury have profound and long lasting impact on the development, skill acquisition, and subsequent independence of a child. Heterogeneity is present at the brain level and at the motor level; particularly with respect to phenomena of bilateral activation and mirrored movements (MMs). In this multiple case study we consider the feasibility of using several modalities to explore the relationship between brain structure and/or activity and hand function: Electroencephalography (EEG), both structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI, fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Electromyography (EMG) and hand function assessments. Methods : 15 children with unilateral CP (ages: 9.4±2.5 years) undertook hand function assessments and at least two additional neuroimaging and/or neurophysiological procedures: MRI/DTI/fMRI (n=13), TMS (n=11), and/or EEG/EMG (n=8). During the fMRI scans and EEG measurements, a motor task was performed to study cortical motor control activity during simple hand movements. DTI tractography analysis was used to study the corpus-callosum (CC) and cortico-spinal tracts (CST). TMS was used to study cortico-spinal connectivity pattern. Results: Type and range of severity of brain injury was evident across all levels of manual ability with the highest radiological scores corresponded to children poorer manual ability. Evidence of MMs was found in 7 children, mostly detected when moving the affected hand, and not necessarily corresponding to bilateral brain activation. When moving the affected hand, bilateral brain activation was seen in 6/11 children while 3/11 demonstrated unilateral activation in the contralateral hemisphere, and one child demonstrated motor activation predominantly in the supplementary motor area (SMA). TMS revealed three types of connectivity patterns from the cortex to the affected hand: a contralateral (n=3), an ipsilateral (n=4) and a mixed (n=1) connectivity pattern; again without clear association with MMs. No differences were found between children with and without MMs in lesion scores, motor fMRI laterality indices, CST diffusivity values, and upper limb function. In the genu, midbody, and splenium of the CC, higher fractional anisotropy values were found in children with MMs compared to children without MMs. The EEG data indicated a stronger mu-restoration above the contralateral hemisphere in 6/8 children and above the ipsilateral hemisphere in 2/8 children. Conclusion: The current results demonstrate benefits from the use of different modalities when studying upper-limb function in children with CP; not least to accommodate to the variations in tolerance and feasibility of implementation of the differing methods. These exposed multiple individual brain-reorganization patterns corresponding to different functional motor abilities. Additional research is warranted to understand the transactional influences of early brain injury, neuroplasticity and developmental and environmental factors on hand function in order to develop targeted interventions
Hypomethylation of the IL17RC promoter in peripheral blood leukocytes is not a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration
Get PDFThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment worldwide. Aberrant DNA methylation within the promoter of IL17RC in peripheral blood mononuclear cells has recently been reported in AMD. To validate this association, we examined DNA methylation of the IL17RC promoter in peripheral blood. First, we used Illumina Human Methylation450 Bead Arrays, a widely accepted platform for measuring global DNA methylation. Second, methylation status at multiple sites within the IL17RC promoter was determined by bisulfite pyrosequencing in two cohorts. Third, a methylation-sensitive quantitative PCR-based assay was performed on a subset of samples. In contrast to previous findings, we did not find evidence of differential methylation between AMD cases and age-matched controls. We conclude that hypomethylation within the IL17RC gene promoter in peripheral blood is not suitable for use as a clinical biomarker of AMD. This study highlights the need for considerable replication of epigenetic association studies prior to clinical application
Stratified medicine for mental disorders
Get PDFThere is recognition that biomedical research into the causes of mental disorders and their treatment needs to adopt new approaches to research. Novel biomedical techniques have advanced our understanding of how the brain develops and is shaped by behaviour and environment. This has led to the advent of stratified medicine, which translates advances in basic research by targeting aetiological mechanisms underlying mental disorder. The resulting increase in diagnostic precision and targeted treatments may provide a window of opportunity to address the large public health burden, and individual suffering associated with mental disorders. While mental health and mental disorders have significant representation in the "health, demographic change and wellbeing" challenge identified in Horizon 2020, the framework programme for research and innovation of the European Commission (2014-2020), and in national funding agencies, clear advice on a potential strategy for mental health research investment is needed. The development of such a strategy is supported by the EC-funded "Roadmap for Mental Health Research" (ROAMER) which will provide recommendations for a European mental health research strategy integrating the areas of biomedicine, psychology, public health well being, research integration and structuring, and stakeholder participation. Leading experts on biomedical research on mental disorders have provided an assessment of the state of the art in core psychopathological domains, including arousal and stress regulation, affect, cognition social processes, comorbidity and pharmacotherapy. They have identified major advances and promising methods and pointed out gaps to be addressed in order to achieve the promise of a stratified medicine for mental disorders
The politics of fashion: perceptions of power in female clothing and ornamentation as reflected in the sixteenth-century Chinese novel Jin Ping Mei
Get PDFThis thesis examines issues of female power and influence in sixteenth-century China focusing on how women and their roles were perceived in the changing social environment of the mid-late Ming dynasty. Using aspects of a New Historicist approach, information from contemporary literary and historical sources are analysed alongside each other. With its emphasis on the lives of women and preoccupation with the description of material objects, the late Ming novel Jin Ping Mei forms an important element in the thesis. China in the sixteenth century saw expanding urbanisation, the emergence of a new wealthy merchant class, increasing visibility of women and a questioning of traditional morality. Fashion consciousness, as one of the most conspicuous aspects of the new material culture, is a possible indicator of these trends. Traditional Western theories contend that fashion began in the particular context of Renaissance Europe. However, this study argues that a similar fashion awareness existed in China too, and was manifested in a competitive striving for social status, in this case specifically among women. In contrast to previous studies which downplayed the impact women had on defining traditional Chinese culture, this thesis demonstrates how women and their sartorial choices began to redefine the boundaries of material culture, influencing literati discourse which, in turn, re- influenced female behaviour
