BACKGROUND: Neurophysiological evidence from primates has demonstrated the presence of mirror neurons, with visual and motor properties, that discharge both when an action is performed and during observation of the same action. A similar system for observation-execution matching may also exist in humans. We postulate that behavioral stimulation of this parietal-frontal system may play an important role in motor learning for speech and thereby aid language recovery after stroke. AIMS: The purpose of this article is to describe the development of IMITATE, a computer-assisted system for aphasia therapy based on action observation and imitation. We also describe briefly the randomized controlled clinical trial that is currently underway to evaluate its efficacy and mechanism of action. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: IMITATE therapy consists of silent observation of audio-visually presented words and phrases spoken aloud by six different speakers, followed by a period during which the participant orally repeats the stimuli. We describe the rationale for the therapeutic features, stimulus selection, and delineation of treatment levels. The clinical trial is a randomized single blind controlled trial in which participants receive two pre-treatment baseline assessments, six weeks apart, followed by either IMITATE or a control therapy. Both treatments are provided intensively (90 minutes per day). Treatment is followed by a post-treatment assessment, and a six-week follow-up assessment. OUTCOMES #ENTITYSTARTX00026; RESULTS: Thus far, five participants have completed IMITATE. We expect the results of the randomized controlled trial to be available by late 2010. CONCLUSIONS: IMITATE is a novel computer-assisted treatment for aphasia that is supported by theoretical rationales and previous human and primate data from neurobiology. The treatment is feasible, and preliminary behavioral data are emerging. However, the results will not be known until the clinical trial data are available to evaluate fully the efficacy of IMITATE and to inform theoretically about the mechanism of action and the role of a human mirror system in aphasia treatment.
The goal of this study was to determine whether a passive or an interactive tutorial design improves understanding of key concepts, as measured by pre- and post-test data. The authors also collected data regarding the participants' preference for taking an interactive versus a passive tutorial. The interactive tutorial group improved statistically significantly from pre-test to post-test for all three learning questions. While the passive tutorial group improved from pre-test to post-test on all three questions, the improvement was statistically significant for just two of the three questions. The majority of the participants preferred interactive tutorials (78%) to passive tutorials (22%).
Remote and virtual laboratories are increasingly prevalent alternatives to the face to face laboratory experience, however the question of their learning outcomes is yet to be fully investigated. There are many presumptions regarding the effectiveness of these approaches; foremost amongst these assumptions is that the experience must be "real" to be effective. Embedding reality into a remote or virtual laboratory can be an expensive and time consuming task. Significant effort has been expended to create 3D VRML models of laboratory equipment, allowing students to pan, zoom and tilt their perspective as they see fit. Multiple camera angles have be embedded into remote interfaces to provide an increased sense of "real-ness". This paper draws upon the literature in the field to show that the necessary threshold for reality varies depending upon how the students are interacting with the equipment. There is one threshold for when they first interact - the Establishment Reality - which allows the students to familiarise themselves with the laboratory equipment, and to build their mental model of the experience. There is, however, a second, lower, threshold - the Maintenance Reality - that is necessary for the students' ongoing operation of the equipment. Students' usage patterns rely upon a limited subset of the available functionality, focussing upon only some aspects of the reality that has been originally established. The two threshold model presented in this paper provides new insight for the development of virtual laboratories in the future.