Brain research on Indian children possible (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Brain research on Indian children possible
Yale University expert cites opportunities at education meeting

http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6355

SANTE FE NM
Rick St. Germaine 4/21/2005

When Bill Demmert was much younger, he worked far across the continent
with the Kennedy brothers (Robert and Edward) on a major research study
that resulted in landmark legislation, the Indian Education Act of 1972.
A lot of ground has passed since that time and Demmert, a Tlingit-Oglala
education researcher at Western Washington University, spends much of
his time nowadays exploring questions of Native language and student
learning.

In mid-March, Dr. Demmert co-sponsored a colloquium in Santa Fe on
Improving Academic Performance Among Native Students. A host of eminent
researchers were invited to address the issues of identification and
assessment of learning and learning disabilities in Native children,
including leading brain researchers, Ken Pugh of Yale University and
Elise Temple of Cornell University.

According to Temple, an explosion of student brain studies occurred
within the past ten years as neuroimaging machines became available to
educational psychologists. The applications in child development are
nearly endless and incredibly valuable, especially to those educators
who seek an understanding of reading and literacy development.

Pugh concurred. "Spoken language is a biological specialization," he
said, "while written language is largely a cultural invention."

He elaborated, "Spoken language is mastered naturally in all people
without direct instruction, but reading is difficult and reading
failure occurs in large numbers of children across all languages."

After describing in some detail, the brain research underway in the
Haskins Laboratory at Yale University, Pugh pondered out loud the uses
of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in American Indian
children. He expressed an interest in applying an fMRI study of reading
disorder in American Indian students, to better understand perhaps the
biology of Indian children.

Temple, of Cornell University, explained that when a child forms a
thought, there is an increase in neural activity because of an increase
in blood flow, bringing increased oxygen to special sectors of the
brain.

"Oxygen is what we image in fMRI," she explained. Neuroimaging is
revolutionary because it is a non-invasive measure of brain function,
Temple explained. There is no radioactive material involved and it can
be used with young kids, multiple times.

Temple showed fMRI slides of cross sections of children's brains axial
slices (parallel to the floor) and sagittal slices (side cuts) to
compare what the brains of reading proficient and reading disorder kids
look like.

It was clear from Temple's descriptions that blood flow and oxygen were
not reaching certain vectors of the brains of reading disorder
children. It was scary, seeing it in living color.

Is this what's happening, or rather, not happening in the brains of
Native American children across the land? If you believe the results of
batteries of standardized tests currently in use to measure reading
proficiency, American Indian students have the highest reading score
gaps with white students than any other racial group in America.

Temple explained that the major concern in reading research is how can
we achieve maximum literacy? Researchers in the field hypothesize that
behavioral remediation can alter the effects of dyslexia and other
reading disorders. In other words, interventions or training
programming can improve reading and language arts.

"There's plasticity in the brain, even in older children," added Ken
Pugh, of Yale University. "There's hope!" he continued, as he also
posed questions about research on behavioral remediation in different
cultures (American Indian) with different strategies.

"This research is in its infancy," Pugh stated, as he noted that
environment can modify the brain.

"We are progressing toward brain fluency," he said. "Reading requires a
lot of rewiring in order to work," he continued.

"However, we can describe patterns from the images, observations in the
brain, but we need to explain it," he cautioned.

Pugh is conducting research with two cohorts (experimental and control
groups) of elementary students in Pennsylvania. His team must fly the
students to his laboratory in Connecticut several times a year
following intervals of treatment.

"One fMRI costs $450, plus transportation and travel expenses of each
child," he explained to the audience of Indian educators. Using a
calculator, one can begin to add up the huge cost of such research.

The neuroimaging machine is extremely loud and scares kids. Children
must remain absolutely still, which is hard for kids under five. The
small tube that they move through is claustrophobic.

Responding to questions posed by Indian educators, Pugh offered his
interest in brain research with Native American reading disorders. "I
don't want to get in the way," he asserted, "I'd simply like to be a
resource in this."

~~~
Rick St. Germaine is a school reform and school leader trainer who has
worked in the past fourteen years with over 80 schools, most of them
Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal. He is a former tribal chairman,
school superintendent, and professor of education. Rick can be reached
at stgermainerick at aol.com