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Motor Movements (motor + movement)
Selected AbstractsNeuromuscular electrical stimulation in neurorehabilitation,MUSCLE AND NERVE, Issue 5 2007Lynne R. Sheffler MD Abstract This review provides a comprehensive overview of the clinical uses of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for functional and therapeutic applications in subjects with spinal cord injury or stroke. Functional applications refer to the use of NMES to activate paralyzed muscles in precise sequence and magnitude to directly accomplish functional tasks. In therapeutic applications, NMES may lead to a specific effect that enhances function, but does not directly provide function. The specific neuroprosthetic or "functional" applications reviewed in this article include upper- and lower-limb motor movement for self-care tasks and mobility, respectively, bladder function, and respiratory control. Specific therapeutic applications include motor relearning, reduction of hemiplegic shoulder pain, muscle strengthening, prevention of muscle atrophy, prophylaxis of deep venous thrombosis, improvement of tissue oxygenation and peripheral hemodynamic functioning, and cardiopulmonary conditioning. Perspectives on future developments and clinical applications of NMES are presented. Muscle Nerve, 2007 [source] Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT): Pediatric applicationsDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Kathleen Brady Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe theoretical and research bases for constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), to discuss key features and variations in protocols currently in use with children, and to review the results of studies of efficacy. CIMT has been found to be an effective intervention for increasing functional use of the hemiparetic upper extremity in adults with chronic disability from stroke. CIMT developed out of behavioral research on the phenomenon of "learned nonuse" of an upper extremity, commonly observed following sensory and/or motor CNS injury, in which failure to regain use persists even after a period of partial recovery. CIMT includes three key elements: (1) constraining the use of the less-impaired upper extremity (UE); (2) intensive, repetitive daily therapist-directed practice of motor movements with the impaired UE for an extended period (2,3 weeks); and (3) shaping of more complex action patterns through a process of rewarding successive approximations to the target action. Mechanisms responsible for success are thought to be separate but complementary, that is, operant conditioning (reversal of learned nonuse) and experience-driven cortical reorganization. CIMT has recently been extended to children with hemiparesis secondary to perinatal stroke or other CNS pathology. Numerous case studies, as well as a small number of randomized controlled or controlled clinical trials have reported substantial gains in functional use of the hemiplegic UE following CIMT with children. Protocols vary widely in terms of type of constraint used, intensity and duration of training, and outcome measures. In general, all report gains in functional use, with minimal or no adverse effects. Continued research is needed, to clarify optimal protocol parameters and to further understand mechanisms of efficacy. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Dev Disabil Res Rev 2009;15:102,111. [source] Gender-related differences in neonatal imitationINFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2007Emese Nagy Abstract Socio-emotional behaviour is in part sex-related in humans, although the contribution of the biological and socio-cultural factors is not yet known. This study explores sex-related differences during the earliest communicative exchange, the neonatal imitation in 43 newborn infants (3,96 hours old) using an index finger extension imitative gesture. Results showed that although the experimenter presented comparable stimuli to both sexes, and the total number of movements was similar in boys and girls, girls showed more fine motor movements, a higher number of specific imitative gestures, responded faster during the imitation and showed a higher baseline heart rate during the experiment. Newborn girls, with their faster and more accurate imitative abilities, may create a more responsive and interactive social environment, which in turn may lead to differences in socio-emotional and cognitive development between girls and boys. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Taxonomy of Passive Behaviors in People with Alzheimer's DiseaseJOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 3 2000Kathleen Byrne Colling Purpose: To construct a taxonomy of passive behaviors for understanding people with Alzheimer's disease. Passive behaviors are those associated with decreased motor movements, decreasing interactions with the environment, and feelings of apathy and listlessness. Little is known about behaviors associated with passivity, and these behaviors have not been categorized. Organizing Construct: Taxonomy construction. Passive behaviors in people with Alzheimer's disease were conceptualized as disturbing behaviors, patterns of personality change, and negative symptoms. Methods: The taxonomy was developed using critical reviews of 15 empirical studies published 1985 through 1998. Procedures included listing behaviors; clustering behaviors into inductively derived groupings; conducting an expert panel-review, making revisions, and conduting a second review; establishing global and category-by-category reliability using Cohen's Kappa. Findings: The nonhierarchic, natural taxonomy indicated five categories of behaviors associated with passivity in Alzheimer's disease: diminutions of cognition, psychomotor activity, emotions, interactions with people, and interactions with the environment. Analysis indicated substantial agreement beyond chance and showed statistically significant agreement among the six nurse-expert raters. Areas of synchrony between the taxonomy and the Need-Driven Dementia Compromised Behavior Model were identified. Conclusions: This taxonomy of passive behaviors in patients with Alzheimer's disease showed empirical rigor and compatibility with a middle-range theory and can be viewed as a sensitizing analytic scheme to guide future practice, research, and theory development. [source] The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insectsMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 6 2004Jayne E. Yack Abstract Insects are capable of detecting a broad range of acoustic signals transmitted through air, water, or solids. Auditory sensory organs are morphologically diverse with respect to their body location, accessory structures, and number of sensilla, but remarkably uniform in that most are innervated by chordotonal organs. Chordotonal organs are structurally complex Type I mechanoreceptors that are distributed throughout the insect body and function to detect a wide range of mechanical stimuli, from gross motor movements to air-borne sounds. At present, little is known about how chordotonal organs in general function to convert mechanical stimuli to nerve impulses, and our limited understanding of this process represents one of the major challenges to the study of insect auditory systems today. This report reviews the literature on chordotonal organs innervating insect ears, with the broad intention of uncovering some common structural specializations of peripheral auditory systems, and identifying new avenues for research. A general overview of chordotonal organ ultrastructure is presented, followed by a summary of the current theories on mechanical coupling and transduction in monodynal, mononematic, Type 1 scolopidia, which characteristically innervate insect ears. Auditory organs of different insect taxa are reviewed, focusing primarily on tympanal organs, and with some consideration to Johnston's and subgenual organs. It is widely accepted that insect hearing organs evolved from pre-existing proprioceptive chordotonal organs. In addition to certain non-neural adaptations for hearing, such as tracheal expansion and cuticular thinning, the chordotonal organs themselves may have intrinsic specializations for sound reception and transduction, and these are discussed. In the future, an integrated approach, using traditional anatomical and physiological techniques in combination with new methodologies in immunohistochemistry, genetics, and biophysics, will assist in refining hypotheses on how chordotonal organs function, and, ultimately, lead to new insights into the peripheral mechanisms underlying hearing in insects. Microsc. Res. Tech. 63:315,337, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Motor-linked implicit learning in persons with autism spectrum disordersAUTISM RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Brittany G. Travers Abstract Fifteen adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 18 age- and IQ-matched adults with typical development (TD) completed a serial reaction time task (SRT) to examine possible motor-linked implicit learning impairments in persons with ASD. Measures were taken to decrease the role of explicit learning in the SRT. Results showed that participants with ASD demonstrated intact motor-linked implicit learning. Furthermore, the motor-linked implicit learning appeared to take place at a similar rate across trials in the group with ASD compared to the group with TD. These results suggest that persons with ASD are successful in implicit learning of motor-linked behavior. The results of this study, coupled with past findings, suggest that people with ASD may be able to learn motor movements without conscious awareness, especially if the individual is older and is learning fine motor sequences. [source] | ||||||||||