Showing 3441 - 3450 of 5708 Items
Theta oscillations support active exploration in human spatial navigation
Date: 2022-11-15
Creator: Elizabeth R. Chrastil, Caroline Rice, Mathias Goncalves, Kylie N. Moore, Syanah C. Wynn, Chantal E. Stern, Erika Nyhus
Access: Open access
- Active navigation seems to yield better spatial knowledge than passive navigation, but it is unclear how active decision-making influences learning and memory. Here, we examined the contributions of theta oscillations to memory-related exploration while testing theories about how they contribute to active learning. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we tested individuals on a maze-learning task in which they made discrete decisions about where to explore at each choice point in the maze. Half the participants were free to make active decisions at each choice point, and the other half passively explored by selecting a marked choice (matched to active exploration) at each intersection. Critically, all decisions were made when stationary, decoupling the active decision-making process from movement and speed factors, which is another prominent potential role for theta oscillations. Participants were then tested on their knowledge of the maze by traveling from object A to object B within the maze. Results show an advantage for active decision-making during learning and indicate that the active group had greater theta power during choice points in exploration, particularly in midfrontal channels. These findings demonstrate that active exploration is associated with theta oscillations during human spatial navigation, and that these oscillations are not exclusively related to movement or speed. Results demonstrating increased theta oscillations in prefrontal regions suggest communication with the hippocampus and integration of new information into memory. We also found evidence for alpha oscillations during active navigation, suggesting a role for attention as well. This study finds support for a general mnemonic role for theta oscillations during navigational learning. © 2022
Interview with Sajjad Jaffer (Class of 1995) by Marina Henke
Date: 2019-11-09
Creator: Sajjad Jaffer
Access: Open access
- Sajjad Jaffer ('95) shares remarks on his experience as an international student from Tanzania. He explores his own journey towards finding a sense of belonging in Brunswick, Maine, worlds away from his life in eastern Africa. Jaffer speaks of the vast privilege that Bowdoin offered compared to his life at home, while also commenting on the difficulties of being a Muslim student and minority student on campus at the time. Jaffer shares the way that he continues to support Bowdoin students coming from African countries. “This is dedicated to the first American-born in my family- my daughter, Sophie Malaika Jaffer. Sophie recently started middle school as a 6th grader at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. Castilleja has a tradition of picking a word as a theme for the academic year. For 2019-20, the theme is “Belonging”. Acknowledgments I want to thank J. Taylor Crandall ’76 for sharing 3 valuable lessons over the years: 1. It is the student who makes the school, not just the school that makes the student 2. Where there’s a will, there’s a way 3. Carpe diem – seize the day This reflection was influenced and reinforced by 5 notable Polar Bears: 1. Staci Williams ’90 for being my Bowdoin Big Sister 2. Geoffrey Canada ’74 who changed the world 3. Hari Kondabolu ’04 for challenging Hank Azaria, creator of The Simpsons 4. Kenneth Chenault ’73 who reminded us that business is the last frontier in the civil rights movement 5. Alvin Hall ’74 my Bowdoin Soul Brother About Sajjad graduated from Bowdoin in 1995 with a double major in Computer Science, Government and minor in Economics. Sajjad lives in Silicon Valley and co-founded a technology company that applies data science to private equity investing. The firm was founded on 25 years of research from Wharton where he did his MBA and serves on the board of the Wharton Customer Analytics research center."
Interview with Paul Wiley (Class of 1971) by Aisha Rickford
Date: 2019-11-09
Creator: Paul Wiley
Access: Open access
- Paul Wiley ‘71 talks about the “turnkey” moment that led him to know Bowdoin was where he wanted to go to college: when visiting Bowdoin as a prospective student, an incredible snowstorm hit Maine and he and his father arrived very late in the night Wiley talks about how surprised he was that Harry Warren, the Secretary of the College, was still awake waiting for them and made sure that they had everything they needed. Building upon this, Wiley shares some of the most important and impactful relationships he made at Bowdoin, particularly his football coach, who acted as a father figure, a gentle and forceful leader, and a great motivator. Wiley also talks about his special relationship with one of the Presidents of the College, Roger Howell, attending Bowdoin College with former College president Barry Mills ‘72, and being the first House Manager of AfAm.
The Architecture of Bowdoin College
Date: 1988-01-01
Creator: Patricia McGraw Anderson
Access: Open access
- The Architecture of Bowdoin College (1988), by Patricia McGraw Anderson, is the best single resource for the architectural history of Bowdoin’s campus buildings, gates, and memorials.