This was originally posted here as one of a series of many TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talks. They cover a huge range of areas but are united in all being presented by very effective communicators. Worth checking out.

PUBLICATIONS

Robb MP, Chen Y (in press). Is /h/ phonetically neutral? Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics.

Wermke K, Robb MP (in press). Fundamental frequency of neonatal crying: Does body size matter? Journal of Voice.

CONFERENCES

Tim Anderson was co-chairperson of the Neurology Association of New Zealand conference in Christchurch, on 20-21^st November.

Tim Anderson was the CMRF Invited Speaker to members of the University of the Third Age (U3A) on 3^rd October at Knox Church, Christchurch.

Tim Anderson was an invited lecturer at the Royal Australasian College of Physicians ‘Brain School’ via videolink on 12^th November.

Tim Anderson was an invited lecturer at a Royal Australasian College of Physicians teaching course in Dunedin, lecturing on ‘Extrapyramidal disorders’ and ‘Video illustration of movement disorders’ on 18^th November.

Phil Bones, Marcus Heitger, Carrie Innes, Richard Jones, Tracy Melzer, Daniel Myall, and Govinda Poudel attended the Engineering and Physical Sciences in Medicine and the Australian Biomedical Engineering (EPSM ABEC) Conference on 16-20^th November in Christchurch. The following papers were presented:

Bones P, Wu B, Millane R P, Watts R. Towards better temporal resolution in magnetic resonance angiography.

Heitger MH, Jones RD, Macleod AD, Snell D, Wilson I, Anderson TJ. A novel biomarker of postconcussion syndrome.

Innes CRH, Jones RD, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Severinsen J, Gray J. Prediction of driving ability in people with dementia- and non-dementia-related brain disorders is more accurate when based upon different models of sensory-motor and cognitive performance.

Melzer TR, Butler AP, Cook NJ, Watts R, Anderson N, Tipples R, Butler PH. Feasibility of spectroscopic biomedical imaging with Medipix2.

Myall D, MacAskill M, Davidson P, Anderson T, Jones RD. A modular low-latency virtual-environment platform for applications in motor adaptation research, neurological disorders, and neurorehabilitation.

Myall D, MacAskill M, Anderson T, Jones RD. Submovements in reaching tasks: the effect of Parkinson’s disease.

Poudel GR, Jones RD, Innes CRH, Davidson PR, Watts R, Signal TL, Bones P. Increased multisensory activity during cued slow-eye-closure while performing a visuomotor tracking task: an fMRI study.

Poudel GR, Jones RD, Innes CRH. A 2-D pursuit tracking task for behavioural detection of lapses.

Daniel Myall attended the symposia ‘New developments in Neural Networks 2008 (NNN’08)’ on 24-25^th November in Auckland.

Daniel Myall attended the ‘15^th International Conference on Neuro-Information Processing of the Asia Pacific Neural Network Assembly (ICONIP 2008)’ on 25-28^th November in Auckland.

Mike Robb attended the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on November 20–22. The following paper was presented:

Schaefer M, Robb M. Stuttering characteristics of German-English bilingual speakers.

EVENTS

A guest seminar was presented at the Van der Veer Institute on the 12^th November by Kathleen Thomas, Associate Professor of Child Psychology at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Associate Professor Thomas presented ‘A neurobehavioral approach to the study of cognitive and emotional development’ in which she presented examples from her work examining links between brain structure and function and the development of cognitive and emotional skills in childhood.

Beaven Lecture Theatre, 7th floor
Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences
12:00 Lunch (in the adjoining foyer)
12:30 – 1:30 Presentation

Dr Greg O’Beirne
Senior Lecturer in Audiology,
Department of Communication Disorders,
University of Canterbury

Waveforms, Boltzmann functions, and tuning curves – What electrophysiological measures can tell us about auditory function.

Kathleen M. Thomas
Assoc. Prof. of Child Psychology, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

Wed 12 November, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Level 2, Van der Veer Institute, 66 Stewart St

ABSTRACT – The human brain is arguably the most complex system in the world.  Each of our everyday thoughts, actions, memories, or emotions stems from a combination of both simple and complex functions of the brain.  Over the past 20 years, neuroscientists have learned much about the cellular structure of the brain and its chemical and electrical signaling pathways, providing valuable insights into the workings of the mind as well as the mechanisms underlying neurological disease. Despite this incredible knowledge base, the development of the brain, and more particularly, its relation to the emergence of higher-level thought and behavior, remains a relative mystery.  In this talk, I will present examples from our work examining links between brain structure and function and the development of cognitive and emotional skills in childhood. This research includes the use of neuroimaging methods as a tool for examining the neural systems supporting learning, memory, and attention in typical children.  In addition, I will describe ongoing research combining multiple behavioral and neuroscience techniques to address brain and cognitive function in children at-risk for atypical development.

BIO – Dr. Kathleen Thomas is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota.  She received her PhD in Child Psychology in 1997.   Her graduate and postdoctoral training focused on the use of neuroimaging methods including event-related potentials (ERP) and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the study of cognitive development in infants and young children. Dr. Thomas was a faculty member at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) and the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology (Weill Medical College of Cornell University) prior to accepting her current position in 2002.  Her current research addresses neurobehavioral development in both typical and atypical child populations.

Phil Bones was a presenter and co-chair of the ‘Image Reconstruction from Incomplete Data V’ conference which was part of the SPIE: International Society for Optical Engineering Annual Meeting held in San Diego, California, August 11-14th.  Following the conference, Phil and his son David travelled north to the High Sierras and climbed one of the higher peaks (Mt Abbot, 4100 m).  The following papers were presented at the conference:

• Bones PJ, Maclaren JR  (2008).  Robust statistical extension to TRELLIS motion correction in MRI.  Image Reconstruction from Incomplete Data V, Proceedings of the SPIE, 7076.
• Wu B, Millane RP, Watts R, Bones PJ  (2008).  Exploiting image sparsity in parallel magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI).  Image Reconstruction from Incomplete Data V, Proceedings of the SPIE, 7076.

John Dalrymple-Alford, Sebastian Doeltgen, Charlotte Graham, Marcus Heitger, Maggie-Lee Huckabee, Carrie Innes, Tracy Melzer, Daniel Myall, Saskia van Stockum, Richard Watts, Juliane Wilcke, and Sarah Wright attended the 26th International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research in Queenstown (23-27 August).  The following papers were presented:

• Doeltgen SH, Huckabee M-L, Dalrymple-Alford JC  (2008).  Influence of muscle contraction on motor evoked potentials of the submental muscle group Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 2008, 26, abstract #10.4
• Graham CF, MacAskill MR, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Livingston L, Anderson TJ  (2008).  Predictive saccades and cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #3.2
• Heitger MH, Jones RD, Macleod AD, Snell D, Wilson I, Anderson TJ  (2008).  Eye movements – functional markers of incomplete recovery in postconcussion syndrome.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #9.5
• Innes CRH, Jones RD, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Severinsen J, Gray J  (2008).  Separate models for people with dementia or other brain disorders increase the accuracy of classifying on-road pass or fail based on sensory-motor and cognitive tests.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #4.26
• Innes CRH, Poudel GR, Watts R, Bones PJ, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Jones RD  (2008).  Investigation of lapses of responsiveness via simultaneous fMRI and EEG.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #5.4
• Melzer TR, Watts R, MacAskill MR, Graham CF, Livingston L, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Anderson TJ  (2008).  Limbic system structural integrity and global cognitive status in Parkinson’s disease: A DTI analysis. Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #3.6
• Myall DJ, MacAskill MR, Anderson TJ, Jones RD  (2008).  Visuomotor adaptation after-effects in Parkinson’s disease.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #4.28
• Van Stockum ES, MacAskill MR, Anderson TJ  (2008).  Reflexive and voluntary saccades in Parkinson’s disease. Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #3.4
• Watts R, Melzer TR, Spencer C, Warfield S, Woodward LJ  (2008).  Motion correction in magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging: Application to neonates.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #5.1
• Wilcke JC, O’Shea RP, Watts R  (2008).  Combined fMRI and DTI study of visual awareness in binocular rivalry.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #5.8
• Wright SL, MacAskill MR, Watts R, Livingston L, Deavoll B, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Anderson TJ  (2008).  Saccadic function in Alzheimer’s disease: An fMRI study.  Proceedings of the International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research, 26, abstract #4.29

Alison Gray, Petra Hoggarth, Kelly Hood, and Rob Hughes attended the New Zealand Psychological Society Annual Conference in Christchurch (29-31 August).  The following papers were presented:

• Aitchison L, Hughes R  ‘Some behavioural implications of exposure to benzylpiperazine (BZP) during different periods of postnatal development’.
• Anderson N, Hughes R  ‘Subsequent behavioural effects of exposure to caffeine during adolescence’.
• Daly F, Hughes R, Woodward L  ‘Developmental effects of exposure to methadone during gestation, lactation or both’.
• Hoggarth PA, Innes CRH, Dalrymple-Alford JC, Jones RD  ‘Cognitive and sensory-motor performance cannot fully predict unsafe driving in healthy older drivers’.
• Hood KM, Woodward L, Champion, P  ‘Social competence of children born very preterm and implications for school functioning’.

Richard Jones and Govinda Poudel attended the 30th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC ‘08) in Vancouver, Canada (20-24 August).  The following papers were presented:

• Poudel GR, Jones RD, Innes CRH, Davidson PR, Watts R, Bones PJ, Signal TL  (2008).  Functional-MRI correlates of cued slow-eye-closure and task non-responsiveness during visuomotor tracking.  Proceedings of 30th Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2008), Vancouver, Canada, 30, 4122-4125.
• Heitger MH, Jones RD, Anderson TJ  (2008).  A new approach to predicting postconcussion syndrome after mild traumatic brain injury based upon eye movement function.  Proceedings of 30th Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2008), Vancouver, Canada, 30, 3570-3573.
• Myall DJ, MacAskill MR, Anderson TJ, Jones RD  (2008).  Submovements in visually-guided and memory-guided reaching tasks: changes in Parkinson’s disease.  Proceedings of 30th Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2008), Vancouver, Canada, 30, 1761-1764.
• Peiris MT, Jones RD, Davidson PR, Bones PJ  (2008).  Event-based detection of lapses of responsiveness.  Proceedings of 30th Annual International Conference of IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC 2008), Vancouver, Canada, 30, 4960-4963.

EVENTS

The Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory and Canterbury Medical Research Foundation hosted an open lecture at the Institute on 21st August by David Paydarfar (Professor of Neurology and Physiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School).  The lecture was titled ‘Managing vulnerable neural oscillators: Squid evasion, infant apnoea, and safe swallowing.  Professor Paydarfars’ research interests are devoted to understanding the neural control of autonomic functions.  Specific areas of interest are the genesis of respiratory rhythm, the coordination of breathing and swallowing, and the maintenance of circulation during upright posture.  The major goal is to understand how normal control mechanisms break down and lead to certain common disease states: central apnea, neurogenic aspiration, and neurally mediated syncope.

AWARDS

Rob Hughes received the New Zealand Psychological Society Hunter Award for “outstanding, internationally acclaimed research in psychology”. The Hunter Award was established in memory of Sir Thomas Hunter of Victoria University of Wellington (who established the first experimental psychology laboratory in New Zealand).

Petra Hoggarth won the Best Student Conference Paper prize at the New Zealand Psychological Society conference.  The prize included $200 plus refund of the conference registration fee.