The Experts below are selected from a list of 27 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Gavin M Bidelman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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inherent auditory skills rather than formal music Training Shape the neural encoding of speech
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Kelsey Mankel, Gavin M BidelmanAbstract:Musical Training is associated with a myriad of neuroplastic changes in the brain, including more robust and efficient neural processing of clean and degraded speech signals at brainstem and cortical levels. These assumptions stem largely from cross-sectional studies between musicians and nonmusicians which cannot address whether Training itself is sufficient to induce physiological changes or whether preexisting superiority in auditory function before Training predisposes individuals to pursue musical interests and appear to have similar neuroplastic benefits as musicians. Here, we recorded neuroelectric brain activity to clear and noise-degraded speech sounds in individuals without formal music Training but who differed in their receptive musical perceptual abilities as assessed objectively via the Profile of Music Perception Skills. We found that listeners with naturally more adept listening skills (“musical sleepers”) had enhanced frequency-following responses to speech that were also more resilient to the detrimental effects of noise, consistent with the increased fidelity of speech encoding and speech-in-noise benefits observed previously in highly trained musicians. Further comparisons between these musical sleepers and actual trained musicians suggested that experience provides an additional boost to the neural encoding and perception of speech. Collectively, our findings suggest that the auditory neuroplasticity of music engagement likely involves a layering of both preexisting (nature) and experience-driven (nurture) factors in complex sound processing. In the absence of formal Training, individuals with intrinsically proficient auditory systems can exhibit musician-like auditory function that can be further Shaped in an experience-dependent manner.
Aymeric Guillot - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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experts bodies experts minds how physical and mental Training Shape the brain
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014Co-Authors: Ursula Debarnot, Marco Sperduti, Franck Di Rienzo, Aymeric GuillotAbstract:Skill learning is the improvement in perceptual, cognitive, or motor performance following practice. Expert performance levels can be achieved with well-organized knowledge, using sophisticated and specific mental representations and cognitive processing, applying automatic sequences quickly and efficiently, being able to deal with large amounts of information, and many other challenging task demands and situations that otherwise paralyze the performance of novices. The neural reorganizations that occur with expertise reflect the optimization of the neurocognitive resources to deal with the complex computational load needed to achieve peak performance. As such, capitalizing on neuronal plasticity, brain modifications take place over time-practice and during the consolidation process. One major challenge is to investigate the neural substrates and cognitive mechanisms engaged in expertise, and to define “expertise” from its neural and cognitive underpinnings. Recent insights showed that many brain structures are recruited during task performance, but only activity in regions related to domain-specific knowledge distinguishes experts from novices. The present review focuses on three expertise domains placed across a motor to mental gradient of skill learning: sequential motor skill, mental simulation of the movement (motor imagery), and meditation as a paradigmatic example of “pure” mental Training. We first describe results on each specific domain from the initial skill acquisition to the achieving of expert performance, including recent results on the corresponding underlying neural mechanisms. We then discuss differences and similarities between these domains with the aim to identify the highlights of the neurocognitive processes underpinning expertise, and conclude with suggestions for future research.
Ursula Debarnot - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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experts bodies experts minds how physical and mental Training Shape the brain
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2014Co-Authors: Ursula Debarnot, Marco Sperduti, Franck Di Rienzo, Aymeric GuillotAbstract:Skill learning is the improvement in perceptual, cognitive, or motor performance following practice. Expert performance levels can be achieved with well-organized knowledge, using sophisticated and specific mental representations and cognitive processing, applying automatic sequences quickly and efficiently, being able to deal with large amounts of information, and many other challenging task demands and situations that otherwise paralyze the performance of novices. The neural reorganizations that occur with expertise reflect the optimization of the neurocognitive resources to deal with the complex computational load needed to achieve peak performance. As such, capitalizing on neuronal plasticity, brain modifications take place over time-practice and during the consolidation process. One major challenge is to investigate the neural substrates and cognitive mechanisms engaged in expertise, and to define “expertise” from its neural and cognitive underpinnings. Recent insights showed that many brain structures are recruited during task performance, but only activity in regions related to domain-specific knowledge distinguishes experts from novices. The present review focuses on three expertise domains placed across a motor to mental gradient of skill learning: sequential motor skill, mental simulation of the movement (motor imagery), and meditation as a paradigmatic example of “pure” mental Training. We first describe results on each specific domain from the initial skill acquisition to the achieving of expert performance, including recent results on the corresponding underlying neural mechanisms. We then discuss differences and similarities between these domains with the aim to identify the highlights of the neurocognitive processes underpinning expertise, and conclude with suggestions for future research.
Kelsey Mankel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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inherent auditory skills rather than formal music Training Shape the neural encoding of speech
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Kelsey Mankel, Gavin M BidelmanAbstract:Musical Training is associated with a myriad of neuroplastic changes in the brain, including more robust and efficient neural processing of clean and degraded speech signals at brainstem and cortical levels. These assumptions stem largely from cross-sectional studies between musicians and nonmusicians which cannot address whether Training itself is sufficient to induce physiological changes or whether preexisting superiority in auditory function before Training predisposes individuals to pursue musical interests and appear to have similar neuroplastic benefits as musicians. Here, we recorded neuroelectric brain activity to clear and noise-degraded speech sounds in individuals without formal music Training but who differed in their receptive musical perceptual abilities as assessed objectively via the Profile of Music Perception Skills. We found that listeners with naturally more adept listening skills (“musical sleepers”) had enhanced frequency-following responses to speech that were also more resilient to the detrimental effects of noise, consistent with the increased fidelity of speech encoding and speech-in-noise benefits observed previously in highly trained musicians. Further comparisons between these musical sleepers and actual trained musicians suggested that experience provides an additional boost to the neural encoding and perception of speech. Collectively, our findings suggest that the auditory neuroplasticity of music engagement likely involves a layering of both preexisting (nature) and experience-driven (nurture) factors in complex sound processing. In the absence of formal Training, individuals with intrinsically proficient auditory systems can exhibit musician-like auditory function that can be further Shaped in an experience-dependent manner.
Olivera Tanceva Crmaric - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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management genetic gain and genetic diversity in clonal seed orchards in croatia
Seed Orchards and Breeding Theory Conference IUFRO, 2012Co-Authors: Davorin Kajba, Saša Bogdan, Ida Katicic, Olivera Tanceva CrmaricAbstract:In accordance with the delineation of Regions of Provenances of forests in Croatia into ecogeographic seed regions and zones, the following productive clonal seed orchards have been established: three orchards of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), two of narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl), one of sessile oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl, ), one of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) and one orchard of black pine (Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold). Phenotypical selection and heterovegetative propagation of plus trees, as well as the establishment of clonal seed orchards were launched with the goal of controlling more regular yield periodicity and obtaining forest seed of good genetic quality in the categories Qualified and Tested. The orchards are regularly subjected to pomotechnical treatments, protection and other measures of maintance. Establishment and evaluation of progeny trials are provided for all clonal seed orchards. Different pomotechnical treatments (Training systems) were applied to each tree species. For pedunculate and sessile oak oval spindle Training system, for narrow-leaved ash spindle pyramid and for wild cherry spindle bush Training system. Training systems should provide a strong framework and good light penetration in the canopy. The forming pruning is used to bring the grafts into the required Training Shape whereas pruning for higher yield maintains the adequate balance between the growth and the seed production. Tree pruning and Training started right after the planting with a goal to gain desired canopy Shape with well-deployed scaffold branches in the next 7 or 8 years. The main function of pruning is the removal of competing shoots to enforce the growth of remaining desired ones. Pruning intensity, i.e. the relation between vegetative and generative buds in the canopy determines the tree’s condition, density and yield. The balance between vegetative and generative buds can only be achieved by appropriate underground and aboveground tree parts pruning. The evaluation of genetic values of selected clones of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) from seed orchards in progeny tests were also started for the purpose of obtaining increased genetic gain. Three open pollinated progeny trials have been established, representing three seed region at the age of 2 + 18 years (TP1) and at 2 + 7 years (TP2, TP3). The realised gain from the tests and expected genetic gains for height were calculated by three methods which included: realised gain (R) calculated as the difference between means of selected plus tree progenies and means of unselected control plants ; expected genetic gain by individual within provenance mass selection of first generation plus trees at the same ages as those represented in studied trial ; expected genetic gain by backward selection among first generation plus trees. In TP1 i TP3 family effect for height was statisticaly significant for the entire period, showing decreasing trend in TP1 and rising in TP3. Family effect was not significant in TP2, ponting to narrowed individual variability of plus trees in that seed region. High values of environmental variance components and family × block interactions suggest strong environmental influences in that particular trial (caused by flushing phenology), which could have led to underestimation of additive variance. High values of additive coefficients of variation in TP1 and TP3 suggest wide genetic variability of selected plus trees and good adaptability of their progeny to changing environmental conditions. In all trials the estimated expected genetic gains by backward selection among first generation plus trees after open-pollinated progeny testing showed the highest values. Realised gains were not very high during the entire period in TP1, showing the decreasing trend in recent years. In TP3 realised gain is improving, due to higher heritabilities and greater differences between selected and control families. Opposite to that, low heritabilities, non significant family variance component and small differences between selected and control families resulted in little, even negative realised gains in TP2. Genotypes from the clonal seed orchard of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) was taken for the investigation of genetic variability and consisted of 24 selected plus trees from the area of north-western Croatia. The clones were analyzed by 15 selected microsatellite markers (SSR), chosen by the ECPGR. A wealth of allelic variations was found in SSR loci, while a high degree of polymorphism confirmed the existence not only of extensive morphological but also a very significant genetic diversity. Based on pairwise proportion of shared allele distance (DPSAM) the average genetic distance of 0.573 was calculated. The genetic distance matrix, based on pairwise proportion of shared allele distance (DPSAM), did not show a clear classification of wild cherry individuals with regard to their origin, i.e. region (Koprivnica, Bjelovar, Zagreb). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a significantly higher percentage (95.88 %) of the total microsatellite diversity caused by the differences among the invidividuals within the regions, compared to that caused by the differences between the studied regions (4.12 %). The - statistics, amounting to 0.041, was highly significant (P < 0.01) and indicates the existence of specific regional structurality of genetic diversity. Clonal seed orchards are also a nucleus of conservation of forest genetic resource using the ex situ statical method, since the relationship between the size of population and the percentage of preserved heterozygosity is thus reduced to minimal loss of total additive genetic variability. Climate changes and new habitat conditions will pose additional challenges to seed production and forest management ; in turn, this will influence their economic and social benefits, as well as biological diversity of forest ecosystems.