Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover

About: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Dystonia & Communication studies. The organization has 64 authors who have published 97 publications receiving 915 citations. The organization is also known as: Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover & Musikhochschule Hannover.

Activity and topographic changes in the somatosensory system in embouchure dystonia.

Abstract: Background Embouchure dystonia is a highly disabling focal task-specific dystonia affecting professional brass players. Objective This study was designed to analyze activity changes along with topographic representations in primary and nonprimary centers for somatosensory processing in patients with embouchure dystonia. Methods We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging with automized tactile stimulation of dystonic (upper lip) and nondystonic (forehead and dorsal hand) body regions in 15 professional brass players with and without embouchure dystonia. Statistical analyses included whole-brain between-group comparisons of stimulation-induced activation and region-of-interest-based single patient analyses of topographic activation characteristics. Results Affected musicians revealed increased stimulation-induced activity in contralateral primary and bilateral secondary somatosensory representations of dystonic and nondystonic body regions as well as in the cerebellum ipsilateral to the left dystonic upper lip. Changes of somatotopic organization with altered intracortical distances and between-group differences of the centers of representations were found in the right primary and the bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex and in the left cerebellum. Positional variability of dystonic and nondystonic body regions was reduced with an emphasis on face representations. Conclusions The present findings are supportive of the concept of an abnormal processing of somatosensory information in embouchure dystonia affecting multiple domains. The underlying neurophysiological mechanisms (eg, changes in inhibition, maladaptive plasticity, changes in baseline activity) remain unclear. The involvement of nondystonic body areas can be viewed in the context of possible compensation or an endophenotypic predisposition. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

Theoretical and empirical support for distinctions between components and conditions of Spatial Presence

Abstract: One of the most important measures of Presence is the questionnaire. Different instruments have been introduced; however, they are based on different and partly implicit theoretical assumptions. The MEC model of Spatial Presence has been proposed as a theoretical framework for the unification and simplification of the existing Presence research. Based on a short explication of this model, the definitions and operationalization of selected constructs (i.e. involvement and presence) within the MEC Spatial Presence Questionnaire (MEC SPQ) will be explained and distinguished from their former use in presence research. Finally, we will present some findings from pretest studies that were conducted with 290 students from three different countries (U.S., Portugal, Finland) to demonstrate the differences between presence and involvement. Testing four different media (linear text, hypertext, film, virtual environment) the data not only supported the constructs’ validity but also allowed to create highly consistent and homogeneous scale versions for these constructs.

Creativity in the Here and Now: A Generic, Micro-Developmental Measure of Creativity.

Abstract: Creativity is a relevant yet elusive concept, and consequently there is a large range of methods to assess creativity in many different contexts. Broadly speaking, we can differentiate between creativity measures on the level of the person (such as the Torrance tests), the level of the creative product (consensual assessment), and the level of the creative process. In the recent literature on children's creativity, 80% of the studies employed measures on either the person or the product level (Kupers et al., submitted). However, for parents, teachers, and employers who wish to stimulate creativity, insight in the (often socially embedded) creative process is badly needed. This move from the inter-individual to the intra-individual level of assessment is furthermore in line with research in many other domains in psychology. Although there is some research focusing more on detailed descriptions of creative processes, the studies are usually purely qualitative and therefore highly context-specific, making generalization difficult. In this paper, we present a newly developed coding frame as a systematic, generic, micro-level measure of creativity. What is unique about this coding frame is that it can be applied to observations of creative processes in many different contexts, and for different kinds of creative tasks. The core of the instrument is that it allows us to assess the two core components of creativity - novelty and appropriateness on an ordinal 4-point scale, at each moment during the creative process. The coding frame can be applied in three steps. The first step is to determine the unit of analysis, that is, the level of detail in which the creative process is assessed. The second step and third steps are coding the units on two ordinal scales of novelty and appropriateness, respectively. In order to illustrate the versatility of our instrument, we apply it to two cases of very different creative processes: a musical composition task (open-ended) and a scientific reasoning task (closed- ended). Last, we demonstrate the possibilities for analyzing this type of dense intra-individual measurements of creativity (time series analysis and state space grids) and discuss the future research that is needed to fully validate the instrument.

Exploring the Book Problem: Text Design, Mental Representations of Space, and Spatial Presence in Readers

Abstract: Based on the MEC model of Spatial Presence, an experiment (N = 34) was conducted that explores the development of Spatial Presence in readers of text. Two techniques for text writing that may facilitate Spatial Presence were derived from the model and implemented in the stimulus production: the number of verbal spatial descriptions (cues) was varied (low versus high), and one text version included repeated instructions to imagine the portrayed space as vividly as possible. Findings indicate that the mental representation of described spaces is more vivid if much space-related information is presented by the text, but Spatial Presence is higher if less spatial cues are provided. These partially surprising results are discussed with respect to the MEC model and future directions of cross-media theorizing about Spatial Presence.

Erratum zu: Nutzung von Gesundheitsinformationen im Internet: personenbezogene und motivationale Einflussfaktoren.

Abstract: Die Ubernahme einer aktiven Patient*innen-Rolle kann nur auf einer entsprechenden Informationsgrundlage gelingen. Die eigene Suche nach Gesundheitsinformationen im Internet kann zu einer solchen adaquaten Wissensbasis beitragen. Daher erscheint es zentral zu fragen, was die derzeitige Nutzung von Onlineangeboten und Gesundheits-Apps in Deutschland auszeichnet und welche personenbezogenen und motivationalen Einflussfaktoren beeinflussen, ob und wie haufig die Burger*innen online nach Gesundheitsinformationen suchen oder Gesundheits-Apps nutzen. Zur Beantwortung der Fragestellungen wurde eine an der deutschen Gesamtbevolkerung stratifizierte Onlinebefragung (N = 3000) durchgefuhrt. Der Fragebogen erfasste die gesundheitsbezogene Nutzung des Internets und von Apps sowie mogliche personenbezogene und motivationale Einflussfaktoren. Die Bedeutung dieser Faktoren fur die Internetnutzung wurde mittels Regressionsanalysen ermittelt. Die gesundheitsbezogene Informationssuche mittels Internet ist in Deutschland weitverbreitet, wahrend Gesundheits-Apps noch deutlich seltener genutzt werden. Am haufigsten werden auf Gesundheitsportalen Informationen zu Krankheitssymptomen gesucht. Die Zuwendung zum Internet wird besonders durch motivationale Faktoren gepragt. Akute Betroffenheit von korperlichen Beschwerden und entsprechende Informationskompetenzen sind die einflussreichsten Faktoren fur die Internetnutzung. Um die mit der Informationssuche im Internet verbundenen Potenziale zu entfalten, ist es notwendig, dass sich Burger*innen zur eigenen Suche motiviert und befahigt fuhlen. Besonders entsprechende Fahigkeiten gilt es zu fordern, um das Risiko der Verstarkung informationaler, gesundheitlicher und sozialer Unterschiede zu reduzieren.