Looking for Learning: Auditory, Visual and Optomotor Processing of Children with Learning Problems

Author: Burkhart Fischer

Organization: University of Freiburg, Optomotor Lab., Freiburg, Germany

Nova Science Publishers, New York, 2007

Book Description (by Nova Publishers):
Readership: Neuroscience, Learning, Reading, Education, Children's Studies

"Neuroscience is one field of the natural sciences that has produced millions of items of experimental data. It has provided a lot of knowledge about the basic physical and chemical processes in and between nerve cells. However, neuroscience has provided little understanding of the functional principles that make our brain what it is: an organ with a huge memory, which finds relationships between the contents of memory, which is able to learn functions, even for those for which it was not constructed, e.g. reading.This book deals with the diagnosis of deficits and the effects training (i.e. repetition of specified tasks) in the domain of auditory and visual perception as well as in the control of eye movements.Not only are the diagnostic aspects covered but also the therapeutic possibilities are described insofar as they are already established and evaluated. It will also be shown that successful training of functional deficits transfers to learning at school." (Nova Publishers)

Table of Contents:

Preface

Introduction

Part I. Development

Chapter 1 - An Overview of Human Development; pp. 3-7
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Brain Development
1.3 Maturation
1.4 Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Development
1.5 Language and Written Language
1.6 Dealing with Numbers
1.7 Working Memory
1.8 Development of Motor and Sensory Systems

Chaptetr 2 - Development of Auditory Functions; pp. 9-17
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Low Level Auditory Functions
2.3 The Auditory Tasks
2.4 Procedure and Analysis
2.5 Age Curves of Low Level Auditory Functions

Chapter 3 - Development of Visual Functions; pp. 19-30
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Dynamic Vision
3.3 Subitizing and Counting by Memory

Chapter 4 - Development of Saccade Control; pp. 31-57
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Fixation and Fixation Stability
4.2.1 Monocular Instability
4.2.2 Binocular Instability
4.2.3 Eye Dominance in Binocular Instability
4.2.4 Independence of Mono- and Bino-Fixation Instability
4.3 Development of Saccade Control
4.3.1 The Optomotor Cycle and the Components of Saccade Control
4.3.2 Methods and Definition of Variables
4.3.3 Prosaccades and Reflexes
4.3.4 Antisaccades: Voluntary Saccade Control
4.3.5 The age curves of saccade control
4.3.6 Left-Right Asymmetries
4.3.7 Correlations and Independence

Part II. Deficits

Chapter 5 - Overview and Gender; pp. 61-63

Chapter 6 - Dyslexia; pp. 65-84
6.1 What is Dyslexia?
6.2 Low Level Auditory Functions in Dyslexia
6.3 Dynamic Vision in Dyslexia
6.4 Subitizing and Counting by Memory in Dyslexia
6.5 Saccade Control in Dyslexia
6.6 Fixation Instability in Dyslexia

Chapter 7 - Dyscalculia; pp. 85-94
7.1 What is Dyscalculia?
7.2 Auditory Functions in Dyscalculia
7.3 Visual Functions in Dyscalculia
7.4 Saccade Control in Dyscalculia

Chapter 8 - Attention Deficit; pp. 95-102
8.1 What is Attention Deficit?
8.2 Low Level Auditory Functions in ADS
8.3 Visual Deficits in ADS
8.4 Saccade Control in ADS

Chapter 9 - General Learning Deficits; pp. 103-111
9.1 Characteristics of the Learning Deficits
9.2 General Learning Deficits: Auditory Functions
9.3 General Learning Deficits: Subitizing
9.4 General Learning Deficits: Saccade Control

Part III. Training

Chapter 10 - Principles of Learning and Training; pp. 115-118
10.1 A Neurophysiological Principle of Learning
10.2 Features of the Training

Chapter 11 - Training of Auditory Functions; pp. 119-124
11.1 Procedure of Auditory Training
11.2 Reduction of Unsolved Tasks
11.3 Task Specific Improvement
11.3.1 Specificity of the Training
11.3.2 Training Effects of Severely Impaired Subjects
11.4 Auditory Training: General Learning Deficits

Chapter 12 - Training of Visual Functions; pp. 125-131
12.1 Procedure of the Training of Subitizing
12.2 Changes in the counting process
12.3 Comparison of Pre- and Post-Training Variables
12.4 Success of the Training of Subitizing
12.5 Visual Training in Case of General Learning Deficits

Chapter 13 - Training of Saccade Control and Fixation; pp. 133-154
13.1 The Training Schedule and Procedure
13.2 Comparison of Single Values From Single Subjects
13.3 Pre- and Post-Training Age Curves
13.4 Success of the Saccade Training
13.5 Effects of Training on Express Saccade Generation
13.6 Training Effects on Fixation Stability
13.7 Specificity of the Saccade Training
13.8 The Training Protocol
13.9 Effects of Medication in Attention Deficit
13.10 Training and Medication in Children with ADS
13.11 Saccade Training in Case of General Learning Deficits

Part IV Transfer

Chapter 14 - Transfer of Auditory Training to Spelling; pp. 157-159
14.1 Phonological awareness
14.2 spelling

Chapter 15 - Transfer of Visual Training to Basic Arithmetics;
pp. 161-162

Chapter 16 - Transfer of Saccade Training to Reading; pp. 163-165

Conclusion
Appendix
References
Index

Binding: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 2007
ISBN: 1-60021-502-5
Status: AV