Sample records for rhythmic movement disorder

  1. Rhythmic movement disorder in childhood: An integrative review.

    PubMed

    Gwyther, Amy R M; Walters, Arthur S; Hill, Catherine M

    2017-10-01

    Rhythmic movement disorder consists of repetitive stereotypic movements, such as head banging or body rocking, that recur every second or so and may last from a few minutes to hours, usually prior to sleep onset. This review of childhood rhythmic movement disorder highlights the lack of systematic research into core aspects of the condition, relying heavily on small case series or case reports. Interpretation is further limited by almost universal failure to confirm the core diagnostic criteria (C) of the International classification of sleep disorders (III), namely that the rhythmic movements should have clinical consequences. Nonetheless, a number of themes emerge. Rhythmic movement disorder is likely to start in infancy and have a developmental course with spontaneous resolution in early childhood in many cases. Factors associated with persistence are, however, unclear. Associations with ADHD and neurodevelopmental disorders are intriguing, require further study and may shed light on the underlying cause of the condition. There is a pressing need for a systematic approach to classify rhythmic movement disorder, to allow standardization of the much needed research into the underlying aetiology and treatment of this relatively neglected sleep disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Multiple forms of rhythmic movements in an adolescent boy with rhythmic movement disorder.

    PubMed

    Su, Changjun; Miao, Jianting; Liu, Yu; Liu, Rui; Lei, Gesheng; Zhang, Wei; Yang, Ting; Li, Zhuyi

    2009-12-01

    Rhythmic movement disorder (RMD) refers to a group of stereotyped, repetitive movements involving large muscles, usually occurring prior to the onset of sleep and persisting into sleep. RMD more commonly exhibits only one or two forms of rhythmic movements (RM) in most reported cases. However, multiple RM forms of RMD occurring in a patient in the same night have rarely been reported. In this report, we present the unique case of a 15-year-old boy with RMD affected by multiple forms of RM in the same night, including four known forms (i.e., body rocking, head banging, leg rolling, and rhythmic feet movements) and two new kinds of RM (bilateral rhythmic arm rocking and rhythmic hands movements). Two video-polysomnographic recordings were performed in this patient before starting pharmacologic treatment and after long-term oral clonazepam treatment (1.0mg nightly for 3 months). The characteristics of RMD with multiple RM forms and the effectiveness of clonazepam on the RM episodes and polysomnographic findings observed in our patient are discussed. This report raises the fact that a patient with RMD may present with multiple complex rhythmic movements disrupting sleep, which emphasizes that better understanding of the clinical features of complex rhythmic movements during sleep in primary care settings is essential for early clinical diagnosis and optimal management.

  3. Rhythmic movement disorder (head banging) in an adult during rapid eye movement sleep.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Kirstie N; Smith, Ian E; Shneerson, John M

    2006-06-01

    Sleep-related rhythmic movements (head banging or body rocking) are extremely common in normal infants and young children, but less than 5% of children over the age of 5 years old exhibit these stereotyped motor behaviors. They characteristically occur during drowsiness or sleep onset rather than in deep sleep or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. We present a 27-year-old man with typical rhythmic movement disorder that had persisted into adult life and was restricted to REM sleep. This man is the oldest subject with this presentation reported to date and highlights the importance of recognizing this nocturnal movement disorder when it does occur in adults.

  4. Sleep-Related Rhythmic Movement Disorder and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Five Adult Patients

    PubMed Central

    Chiaro, Giacomo; Maestri, Michelangelo; Riccardi, Silvia; Haba-Rubio, José; Miano, Silvia; Bassetti, Claudio L.; Heinzer, Raphaël C.; Manconi, Mauro

    2017-01-01

    Sleep-related rhythmic movements (SRRMs) are typical in infancy and childhood, where they usually occur at the wake-to-sleep transition. However, they have rarely been observed in adults, where they can be idiopathic or associated with other sleep disorders including sleep apnea. We report a case series of 5 adults with sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder, 4 of whom had a previous history of SRRMs in childhood. SRRMs mostly occurred in consolidated sleep, in association with pathological respiratory events, predominantly longer ones, especially during stage R sleep, and recovered in 1 patient with continuous positive airway pressure therapy. We hypothesize that sleep apneas may act as a trigger of rhythmic motor events through a respiratory-related arousal mechanism in genetically predisposed subjects. Citation: Chiaro G, Maestri M, Riccardi S, Haba-Rubio J, Miano S, Bassetti CL, Heinzer RC, Manconi M. Sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder and obstructive sleep apnea in five adult patients. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(10):1213–1217. PMID:28859719

  5. Auditory rhythmic cueing in movement rehabilitation: findings and possible mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    Schaefer, Rebecca S.

    2014-01-01

    Moving to music is intuitive and spontaneous, and music is widely used to support movement, most commonly during exercise. Auditory cues are increasingly also used in the rehabilitation of disordered movement, by aligning actions to sounds such as a metronome or music. Here, the effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on movement is discussed and representative findings of cued movement rehabilitation are considered for several movement disorders, specifically post-stroke motor impairment, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. There are multiple explanations for the efficacy of cued movement practice. Potentially relevant, non-mutually exclusive mechanisms include the acceleration of learning; qualitatively different motor learning owing to an auditory context; effects of increased temporal skills through rhythmic practices and motivational aspects of musical rhythm. Further considerations of rehabilitation paradigm efficacy focus on specific movement disorders, intervention methods and complexity of the auditory cues. Although clinical interventions using rhythmic auditory cueing do not show consistently positive results, it is argued that internal mechanisms of temporal prediction and tracking are crucial, and further research may inform rehabilitation practice to increase intervention efficacy. PMID:25385780

  6. Disturbed jaw behavior in whiplash-associated disorders during rhythmic jaw movements.

    PubMed

    Häggman-Henrikson, B; Zafar, H; Eriksson, P-O

    2002-11-01

    As shown previously, "functional jaw movements" are the result of coordinated activation of jaw as well as neck muscles, leading to simultaneous movements in the temporomandibular, atlanto-occipital, and cervical spine joints. In this study, the effect of neck trauma on natural jaw function was evaluated in 12 individuals suffering from whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). Spatiotemporal characteristics of mandibular and concomitant head movements were evaluated for three different modes of rhythmic jaw activities: self-paced continuous maximal jaw-opening/-closing movements, paced continuous maximal jaw-opening/-closing movements at 50 cycles/minute, and unilateral chewing. Compared with healthy subjects, the WAD group showed smaller magnitude and altered coordination pattern (a change in temporal relations) of mandibular and head movements. In conclusion, these results show that neck trauma can derange integrated jaw and neck behavior, and underline the functional coupling between the jaw and head-neck motor systems.

  7. Atypical Headbanging Presentation of Idiopathic Sleep Related Rhythmic Movement Disorder: Three Cases with Video-Polysomnographic Documentation

    PubMed Central

    Yeh, Shih-Bin; Schenck, Carlos H.

    2012-01-01

    Study Objectives: To describe three cases of sleep related, idiopathic rhythmic movement disorder (RMD) with atypical headbanging, consisting of head punching and head slapping. Methods: Three consecutive patients (2 males [11 and 13 years old) and one female [22 years old]) presented with atypical headbanging of 6 years, 7 years, and 17 years duration. In 2 cases, typical rhythmic headbanging (with use of the head) shifted after 3-4 years to atypical headbanging, with frontal head punching that was quasi-rhythmic. In one case, atypical headbanging (head-slapping) was the initial and only RMD. There was no injury from the headbanging. Prenatal, perinatal, developmental, behavioral-psychological, medical-neurological, and family histories were negative. Clinical evaluations and nocturnal video-polysomnography with seizure montage were performed on all patients. Results: Atypical headbanging was documented in all 3 cases; episodes always emerged late in the sleep cycle: from N2 sleep in 11 episodes, from REM sleep in 4 episodes, and from N1 sleep in 1 episode. Epileptiform activity was not detected. Clonazepam therapy was substantially effective in 1 case but not effective in 2 cases. Conclusions: These 3 cases of idiopathic atypical headbanging expand the literature on this RMD variant, as to our knowledge only one previously documented case has been reported. Citation: Yeh SB; Schenck CH. Atypical headbanging presentation of idiopathic sleep related rhythmic movement disorder: three cases with video-polysomnographic documentation. J Clin Sleep Med 2012;8(4):403-411. PMID:22893771

  8. Rhythmic arm movements are less affected than discrete ones after a stroke.

    PubMed

    Leconte, Patricia; Orban de Xivry, Jean-Jacques; Stoquart, Gaëtan; Lejeune, Thierry; Ronsse, Renaud

    2016-06-01

    Recent reports indicate that rhythmic and discrete upper-limb movements are two different motor primitives which recruit, at least partially, distinct neural circuitries. In particular, rhythmic movements recruit a smaller cortical network than discrete movements. The goal of this paper is to compare the levels of disability in performing rhythmic and discrete movements after a stroke. More precisely, we tested the hypothesis that rhythmic movements should be less affected than discrete ones, because they recruit neural circuitries that are less likely to be damaged by the stroke. Eleven stroke patients and eleven age-matched control subjects performed discrete and rhythmic movements using an end-effector robot (REAplan). The rhythmic movement condition was performed with and without visual targets to further decrease cortical recruitment. Movement kinematics was analyzed through specific metrics, capturing the degree of smoothness and harmonicity. We reported three main observations: (1) the movement smoothness of the paretic arm was more severely degraded for discrete movements than rhythmic movements; (2) most of the patients performed rhythmic movements with a lower harmonicity than controls; and (3) visually guided rhythmic movements were more altered than non-visually guided rhythmic movements. These results suggest a hierarchy in the levels of impairment: Discrete movements are more affected than rhythmic ones, which are more affected if they are visually guided. These results are a new illustration that discrete and rhythmic movements are two fundamental primitives in upper-limb movements. Moreover, this hierarchy of impairment opens new post-stroke rehabilitation perspectives.

  9. Different corticospinal control between discrete and rhythmic movement of the ankle.

    PubMed

    Goto, Yumeno; Jono, Yasutomo; Hatanaka, Ryota; Nomura, Yoshifumi; Tani, Keisuke; Chujo, Yuta; Hiraoka, Koichi

    2014-01-01

    We investigated differences in corticospinal and spinal control between discrete and rhythmic ankle movements. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles and soleus H-reflex were elicited in the middle of the plantar flexion phase during discrete ankle movement or in the initial or later cycles of rhythmic ankle movement. The H-reflex was evoked at an intensity eliciting a small M-wave and MEPs were elicited at an intensity of 1.2 times the motor threshold of the soleus MEPs. Only trials in which background EMG level, ankle angle, and ankle velocity were similar among the movement conditions were included for data analysis. In addition, only trials with a similar M-wave were included for data analysis in the experiment evoking H-reflexes. Results showed that H reflex and MEP amplitudes in the soleus muscle during discrete movement were not significantly different from those during rhythmic movement. MEP amplitude in the tibialis anterior muscle during the later cycles of rhythmic movement was significantly larger than that during the initial cycle of the rhythmic movement or during discrete movement. Higher corticospinal excitability in the tibialis anterior muscle during the later cycles of rhythmic movement may reflect changes in corticospinal control from the initial cycle to the later cycles of rhythmic movement.

  10. Sleep-related movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Merlino, Giovanni; Gigli, Gian Luigi

    2012-06-01

    Several movement disorders may occur during nocturnal rest disrupting sleep. A part of these complaints is characterized by relatively simple, non-purposeful and usually stereotyped movements. The last version of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders includes these clinical conditions (i.e. restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, sleep-related leg cramps, sleep-related bruxism and sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder) under the category entitled sleep-related movement disorders. Moreover, apparently physiological movements (e.g. alternating leg muscle activation and excessive hypnic fragmentary myoclonus) can show a high frequency and severity impairing sleep quality. Clinical and, in specific cases, neurophysiological assessments are required to detect the presence of nocturnal movement complaints. Patients reporting poor sleep due to these abnormal movements should undergo non-pharmacological or pharmacological treatments.

  11. Different corticospinal control between discrete and rhythmic movement of the ankle

    PubMed Central

    Goto, Yumeno; Jono, Yasutomo; Hatanaka, Ryota; Nomura, Yoshifumi; Tani, Keisuke; Chujo, Yuta; Hiraoka, Koichi

    2014-01-01

    We investigated differences in corticospinal and spinal control between discrete and rhythmic ankle movements. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles and soleus H-reflex were elicited in the middle of the plantar flexion phase during discrete ankle movement or in the initial or later cycles of rhythmic ankle movement. The H-reflex was evoked at an intensity eliciting a small M-wave and MEPs were elicited at an intensity of 1.2 times the motor threshold of the soleus MEPs. Only trials in which background EMG level, ankle angle, and ankle velocity were similar among the movement conditions were included for data analysis. In addition, only trials with a similar M-wave were included for data analysis in the experiment evoking H-reflexes. Results showed that H reflex and MEP amplitudes in the soleus muscle during discrete movement were not significantly different from those during rhythmic movement. MEP amplitude in the tibialis anterior muscle during the later cycles of rhythmic movement was significantly larger than that during the initial cycle of the rhythmic movement or during discrete movement. Higher corticospinal excitability in the tibialis anterior muscle during the later cycles of rhythmic movement may reflect changes in corticospinal control from the initial cycle to the later cycles of rhythmic movement. PMID:25126066

  12. Parameterization of Movement Execution in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Waelvelde, Hilde; De Weerdt, Willy; De Cock, Paul; Janssens, Luc; Feys, Hilde; Engelsman, Bouwien C. M. Smits

    2006-01-01

    The Rhythmic Movement Test (RMT) evaluates temporal and amplitude parameterization and fluency of movement execution in a series of rhythmic arm movements under different sensory conditions. The RMT was used in combination with a jumping and a drawing task, to evaluate 36 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and a matched…

  13. Modeling discrete and rhythmic movements through motor primitives: a review.

    PubMed

    Degallier, Sarah; Ijspeert, Auke

    2010-10-01

    Rhythmic and discrete movements are frequently considered separately in motor control, probably because different techniques are commonly used to study and model them. Yet the increasing interest in finding a comprehensive model for movement generation requires bridging the different perspectives arising from the study of those two types of movements. In this article, we consider discrete and rhythmic movements within the framework of motor primitives, i.e., of modular generation of movements. In this way we hope to gain an insight into the functional relationships between discrete and rhythmic movements and thus into a suitable representation for both of them. Within this framework we can define four possible categories of modeling for discrete and rhythmic movements depending on the required command signals and on the spinal processes involved in the generation of the movements. These categories are first discussed in terms of biological concepts such as force fields and central pattern generators and then illustrated by several mathematical models based on dynamical system theory. A discussion on the plausibility of theses models concludes the work.

  14. Atypical headbanging presentation of idiopathic sleep related rhythmic movement disorder: three cases with video-polysomnographic documentation.

    PubMed

    Yeh, Shih-Bin; Schenck, Carlos H

    2012-08-15

    To describe three cases of sleep related, idiopathic rhythmic movement disorder (RMD) with atypical headbanging, consisting of head punching and head slapping. Three consecutive patients (2 males [11 and 13 years old) and one female [22 years old]) presented with atypical headbanging of 6 years, 7 years, and 17 years duration. In 2 cases, typical rhythmic headbanging (with use of the head) shifted after 3-4 years to atypical headbanging, with frontal head punching that was quasi-rhythmic. In one case, atypical headbanging (head-slapping) was the initial and only RMD. There was no injury from the headbanging. Prenatal, perinatal, developmental, behavioral-psychological, medical-neurological, and family histories were negative. Clinical evaluations and nocturnal video-polysomnography with seizure montage were performed on all patients. Atypical headbanging was documented in all 3 cases; episodes always emerged late in the sleep cycle: from N2 sleep in 11 episodes, from REM sleep in 4 episodes, and from N1 sleep in 1 episode. Epileptiform activity was not detected. Clonazepam therapy was substantially effective in 1 case but not effective in 2 cases. These 3 cases of idiopathic atypical headbanging expand the literature on this RMD variant, as to our knowledge only one previously documented case has been reported.

  15. Distinct Functional Modules for Discrete and Rhythmic Forelimb Movements in the Mouse Motor Cortex.

    PubMed

    Hira, Riichiro; Terada, Shin-Ichiro; Kondo, Masashi; Matsuzaki, Masanori

    2015-09-30

    Movements of animals are composed of two fundamental dynamics: discrete and rhythmic movements. Although the movements with distinct dynamics are thought to be differently processed in the CNS, it is unclear how they are represented in the cerebral cortex. Here, we investigated the cortical representation of movement dynamics by developing prolonged transcranial optogenetic stimulation (pTOS) using awake, channelrhodopsin-2 transgenic mice. We found two domains that induced discrete forelimb movements in the forward and backward directions, and these sandwiched a domain that generated rhythmic forelimb movements. The forward discrete movement had an intrinsic velocity profile and the rhythmic movement had an intrinsic oscillation frequency. Each of the forward discrete and rhythmic domains possessed intracortical synaptic connections within its own domain, independently projected to the spinal cord, and weakened the neuronal activity and movement induction of the other domain. pTOS-induced movements were also classified as ethologically relevant movements. Forepaw-to-mouth movement was mapped in a part of the forward discrete domain, while locomotion-like movement was in a part of the rhythmic domain. Interestingly, photostimulation of the rhythmic domain resulted in a nonrhythmic, continuous lever-pull movement when a lever was present. The motor cortex possesses functional modules for distinct movement dynamics, and these can adapt to environmental constraints for purposeful movements. Significance statement: Animal behavior has discrete and rhythmic components, such as reaching and locomotion. It is unclear how these movements with distinct dynamics are represented in the cerebral cortex. We investigated the dynamics of movements induced by long-duration transcranial photostimulation on the dorsal cortex of awake channelrhodopsin-2 transgenic mice. We found two domains causing forward and backward discrete forelimb movements and a domain for rhythmic forelimb

  16. Separate representations of dynamics in rhythmic and discrete movements: evidence from motor learning

    PubMed Central

    Ingram, James N.; Wolpert, Daniel M.

    2011-01-01

    Rhythmic and discrete arm movements occur ubiquitously in everyday life, and there is a debate as to whether these two classes of movements arise from the same or different underlying neural mechanisms. Here we examine interference in a motor-learning paradigm to test whether rhythmic and discrete movements employ at least partially separate neural representations. Subjects were required to make circular movements of their right hand while they were exposed to a velocity-dependent force field that perturbed the circularity of the movement path. The direction of the force-field perturbation reversed at the end of each block of 20 revolutions. When subjects made only rhythmic or only discrete circular movements, interference was observed when switching between the two opposing force fields. However, when subjects alternated between blocks of rhythmic and discrete movements, such that each was uniquely associated with one of the perturbation directions, interference was significantly reduced. Only in this case did subjects learn to corepresent the two opposing perturbations, suggesting that different neural resources were employed for the two movement types. Our results provide further evidence that rhythmic and discrete movements employ at least partially separate control mechanisms in the motor system. PMID:21273324

  17. Teaching Rhythmic Movement to Children: "Chock-Let Pie"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hastie, Peter A.; Martin, Ellen H.; Gibson, Gary S.

    2005-01-01

    It is doubtful that any teacher would question the value of rhythmic movement in a physical education program. The benefits of being able to move rhythmically and to keep a beat are numerous. First, children with rhythm have an increased kinesthetic awareness of their body in motion and stillness. As most physical activities have an inherent…

  18. A little elastic for a better performance: kinesiotaping of the motor effector modulates neural mechanisms for rhythmic movements.

    PubMed

    Bravi, Riccardo; Quarta, Eros; Cohen, Erez J; Gottard, Anna; Minciacchi, Diego

    2014-01-01

    A rhythmic motor performance is brought about by an integration of timing information with movements. Investigations on the millisecond time scale distinguish two forms of time control, event-based timing and emergent timing. While event-based timing asserts the existence of a central internal timekeeper for the control of repetitive movements, the emergent timing perspective claims that timing emerges from dynamic control of nontemporal movements parameters. We have recently demonstrated that the precision of an isochronous performance, defined as performance of repeated movements having a uniform duration, was insensible to auditory stimuli of various characteristics (Bravi et al., 2014). Such finding has led us to investigate whether the application of an elastic therapeutic tape (Kinesio® Tex taping; KTT) used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders, is able to reduce the timing variability of repetitive rhythmic movement. Young healthy subjects, tested with and without KTT, have participated in sessions in which sets of repeated isochronous wrist's flexion-extensions (IWFEs) were performed under various auditory conditions and during their recall. Kinematics was recorded and temporal parameters were extracted and analyzed. Our results show that the application of KTT decreases the variability of rhythmic movements by a 2-fold effect: on the one hand KTT provides extra proprioceptive information activating cutaneous mechanoreceptors, on the other KTT biases toward the emergent timing thus modulating the processes for rhythmic movements. Therefore, KTT appears able to render movements less audio dependent by relieving, at least partially, the central structures from time control and making available more resources for an augmented performance.

  19. A little elastic for a better performance: kinesiotaping of the motor effector modulates neural mechanisms for rhythmic movements

    PubMed Central

    Bravi, Riccardo; Quarta, Eros; Cohen, Erez J.; Gottard, Anna; Minciacchi, Diego

    2014-01-01

    A rhythmic motor performance is brought about by an integration of timing information with movements. Investigations on the millisecond time scale distinguish two forms of time control, event-based timing and emergent timing. While event-based timing asserts the existence of a central internal timekeeper for the control of repetitive movements, the emergent timing perspective claims that timing emerges from dynamic control of nontemporal movements parameters. We have recently demonstrated that the precision of an isochronous performance, defined as performance of repeated movements having a uniform duration, was insensible to auditory stimuli of various characteristics (Bravi et al., 2014). Such finding has led us to investigate whether the application of an elastic therapeutic tape (Kinesio® Tex taping; KTT) used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders, is able to reduce the timing variability of repetitive rhythmic movement. Young healthy subjects, tested with and without KTT, have participated in sessions in which sets of repeated isochronous wrist's flexion-extensions (IWFEs) were performed under various auditory conditions and during their recall. Kinematics was recorded and temporal parameters were extracted and analyzed. Our results show that the application of KTT decreases the variability of rhythmic movements by a 2-fold effect: on the one hand KTT provides extra proprioceptive information activating cutaneous mechanoreceptors, on the other KTT biases toward the emergent timing thus modulating the processes for rhythmic movements. Therefore, KTT appears able to render movements less audio dependent by relieving, at least partially, the central structures from time control and making available more resources for an augmented performance. PMID:25309355

  20. Stereotypic movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Singer, Harvey S

    2011-01-01

    Stereotypic movements are repetitive, rhythmic, fixed, patterned in form, amplitude, and localization, but purposeless (e.g., hand shaking, waving, body rocking, head nodding). They are commonly seen in children; both in normal children (primary stereotypy) and in individuals with additional behavioral or neurological signs and symptoms (secondary stereotypy). They should be differentiated from compulsions (OCD), tics (tic disorders), trichotillomania, skin picking disorder, or the direct physiological effect of a substance. There is increasing evidence to support a neurobiological mechanism. Response to behavioral and pharmacological therapies is variable. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Clinical identification of the simple sleep-related movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Walters, Arthur S

    2007-04-01

    Simple sleep-related movement disorders must be distinguished from daytime movement disorders that persist during sleep, sleep-related epilepsy, and parasomnias, which are generally characterized by activity that appears to be simultaneously complex, goal-directed, and purposeful but is outside the conscious awareness of the patient and, therefore, inappropriate. Once it is determined that the patient has a simple sleep-related movement disorder, the part of the body affected by the movement and the age of the patient give clues as to which sleep-related movement disorder is present. In some cases, all-night polysomnography with accompanying video may be necessary to make the diagnosis. Hypnic jerks (ie, sleep starts), bruxism, rhythmic movement disorder (ie, head banging/body rocking), and nocturnal leg cramps are discussed in addition to less well-appreciated disorders such as benign sleep myoclonus of infancy, excessive fragmentary myoclonus, and hypnagogic foot tremor/alternating leg muscle activation.

  2. Processing Rhythmic Pattern during Chinese Sentence Reading: An Eye Movement Study

    PubMed Central

    Luo, Yingyi; Duan, Yunyan; Zhou, Xiaolin

    2015-01-01

    Prosodic constraints play a fundamental role during both spoken sentence comprehension and silent reading. In Chinese, the rhythmic pattern of the verb-object (V-O) combination has been found to rapidly affect the semantic access/integration process during sentence reading (Luo and Zhou, 2010). Rhythmic pattern refers to the combination of words with different syllabic lengths, with certain combinations disallowed (e.g., [2 + 1]; numbers standing for the number of syllables of the verb and the noun respectively) and certain combinations preferred (e.g., [1 + 1] or [2 + 2]). This constraint extends to the situation in which the combination is used to modify other words. A V-O phrase could modify a noun by simply preceding it, forming a V-O-N compound; when the verb is disyllabic, however, the word order has to be O-V-N and the object is preferred to be disyllabic. In this study, we investigated how the reader processes the rhythmic pattern and word order information by recording the reader's eye-movements. We created four types of sentences by crossing rhythmic pattern and word order in compounding. The compound, embedding a disyllabic verb, could be in the correct O-V-N or the incorrect V-O-N order; the object could be disyllabic or monosyllabic. We found that the reader spent more time and made more regressions on and after the compounds when either type of anomaly was detected during the first pass reading. However, during re-reading (after all the words in the sentence have been viewed), less regressive eye movements were found for the anomalous rhythmic pattern, relative to the correct pattern; moreover, only the abnormal rhythmic pattern, not the violated word order, influenced the regressive eye movements. These results suggest that while the processing of rhythmic pattern and word order information occurs rapidly during the initial reading of the sentence, the process of recovering from the rhythmic pattern anomaly may ease the reanalysis processing at the

  3. Processing Rhythmic Pattern during Chinese Sentence Reading: An Eye Movement Study.

    PubMed

    Luo, Yingyi; Duan, Yunyan; Zhou, Xiaolin

    2015-01-01

    Prosodic constraints play a fundamental role during both spoken sentence comprehension and silent reading. In Chinese, the rhythmic pattern of the verb-object (V-O) combination has been found to rapidly affect the semantic access/integration process during sentence reading (Luo and Zhou, 2010). Rhythmic pattern refers to the combination of words with different syllabic lengths, with certain combinations disallowed (e.g., [2 + 1]; numbers standing for the number of syllables of the verb and the noun respectively) and certain combinations preferred (e.g., [1 + 1] or [2 + 2]). This constraint extends to the situation in which the combination is used to modify other words. A V-O phrase could modify a noun by simply preceding it, forming a V-O-N compound; when the verb is disyllabic, however, the word order has to be O-V-N and the object is preferred to be disyllabic. In this study, we investigated how the reader processes the rhythmic pattern and word order information by recording the reader's eye-movements. We created four types of sentences by crossing rhythmic pattern and word order in compounding. The compound, embedding a disyllabic verb, could be in the correct O-V-N or the incorrect V-O-N order; the object could be disyllabic or monosyllabic. We found that the reader spent more time and made more regressions on and after the compounds when either type of anomaly was detected during the first pass reading. However, during re-reading (after all the words in the sentence have been viewed), less regressive eye movements were found for the anomalous rhythmic pattern, relative to the correct pattern; moreover, only the abnormal rhythmic pattern, not the violated word order, influenced the regressive eye movements. These results suggest that while the processing of rhythmic pattern and word order information occurs rapidly during the initial reading of the sentence, the process of recovering from the rhythmic pattern anomaly may ease the reanalysis processing at the

  4. Using an Artificial Neural Bypass to Restore Cortical Control of Rhythmic Movements in a Human with Quadriplegia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharma, Gaurav; Friedenberg, David A.; Annetta, Nicholas; Glenn, Bradley; Bockbrader, Marcie; Majstorovic, Connor; Domas, Stephanie; Mysiw, W. Jerry; Rezai, Ali; Bouton, Chad

    2016-09-01

    Neuroprosthetic technology has been used to restore cortical control of discrete (non-rhythmic) hand movements in a paralyzed person. However, cortical control of rhythmic movements which originate in the brain but are coordinated by Central Pattern Generator (CPG) neural networks in the spinal cord has not been demonstrated previously. Here we show a demonstration of an artificial neural bypass technology that decodes cortical activity and emulates spinal cord CPG function allowing volitional rhythmic hand movement. The technology uses a combination of signals recorded from the brain, machine-learning algorithms to decode the signals, a numerical model of CPG network, and a neuromuscular electrical stimulation system to evoke rhythmic movements. Using the neural bypass, a quadriplegic participant was able to initiate, sustain, and switch between rhythmic and discrete finger movements, using his thoughts alone. These results have implications in advancing neuroprosthetic technology to restore complex movements in people living with paralysis.

  5. Using an Artificial Neural Bypass to Restore Cortical Control of Rhythmic Movements in a Human with Quadriplegia

    PubMed Central

    Sharma, Gaurav; Friedenberg, David A.; Annetta, Nicholas; Glenn, Bradley; Bockbrader, Marcie; Majstorovic, Connor; Domas, Stephanie; Mysiw, W. Jerry; Rezai, Ali; Bouton, Chad

    2016-01-01

    Neuroprosthetic technology has been used to restore cortical control of discrete (non-rhythmic) hand movements in a paralyzed person. However, cortical control of rhythmic movements which originate in the brain but are coordinated by Central Pattern Generator (CPG) neural networks in the spinal cord has not been demonstrated previously. Here we show a demonstration of an artificial neural bypass technology that decodes cortical activity and emulates spinal cord CPG function allowing volitional rhythmic hand movement. The technology uses a combination of signals recorded from the brain, machine-learning algorithms to decode the signals, a numerical model of CPG network, and a neuromuscular electrical stimulation system to evoke rhythmic movements. Using the neural bypass, a quadriplegic participant was able to initiate, sustain, and switch between rhythmic and discrete finger movements, using his thoughts alone. These results have implications in advancing neuroprosthetic technology to restore complex movements in people living with paralysis. PMID:27658585

  6. The ecology of entrainment: Foundations of coordinated rhythmic movement.

    PubMed

    Phillips-Silver, Jessica; Aktipis, C Athena; Bryant, Gregory A

    2010-09-01

    Entrainment has been studied in a variety of contexts including music perception, dance, verbal communication and motor coordination more generally. Here we seek to provide a unifying framework that incorporates the key aspects of entrainment as it has been studied in these varying domains. We propose that there are a number of types of entrainment that build upon pre-existing adaptations that allow organisms to perceive stimuli as rhythmic, to produce periodic stimuli, and to integrate the two using sensory feedback. We suggest that social entrainment is a special case of spatiotemporal coordination where the rhythmic signal originates from another individual. We use this framework to understand the function and evolutionary basis for coordinated rhythmic movement and to explore questions about the nature of entrainment in music and dance. The framework of entrainment presented here has a number of implications for the vocal learning hypothesis and other proposals for the evolution of coordinated rhythmic behavior across an array of species.

  7. The ecology of entrainment: Foundations of coordinated rhythmic movement

    PubMed Central

    Phillips-Silver, Jessica; Aktipis, C. Athena; Bryant, Gregory A.

    2011-01-01

    Entrainment has been studied in a variety of contexts including music perception, dance, verbal communication and motor coordination more generally. Here we seek to provide a unifying framework that incorporates the key aspects of entrainment as it has been studied in these varying domains. We propose that there are a number of types of entrainment that build upon pre-existing adaptations that allow organisms to perceive stimuli as rhythmic, to produce periodic stimuli, and to integrate the two using sensory feedback. We suggest that social entrainment is a special case of spatiotemporal coordination where the rhythmic signal originates from another individual. We use this framework to understand the function and evolutionary basis for coordinated rhythmic movement and to explore questions about the nature of entrainment in music and dance. The framework of entrainment presented here has a number of implications for the vocal learning hypothesis and other proposals for the evolution of coordinated rhythmic behavior across an array of species. PMID:21776183

  8. The impact of the perception of rhythmic music on self-paced oscillatory movements

    PubMed Central

    Peckel, Mathieu; Pozzo, Thierry; Bigand, Emmanuel

    2014-01-01

    Inspired by theories of perception-action coupling and embodied music cognition, we investigated how rhythmic music perception impacts self-paced oscillatory movements. In a pilot study, we examined the kinematic parameters of self-paced oscillatory movements, walking and finger tapping using optical motion capture. In accordance with biomechanical constraints accounts of motion, we found that movements followed a hierarchical organization depending on the proximal/distal characteristic of the limb used. Based on these findings, we were interested in knowing how and when the perception of rhythmic music could resonate with the motor system in the context of these constrained oscillatory movements. In order to test this, we conducted an experiment where participants performed four different effector-specific movements (lower leg, whole arm and forearm oscillation and finger tapping) while rhythmic music was playing in the background. Musical stimuli consisted of computer-generated MIDI musical pieces with a 4/4 metrical structure. The musical tempo of each song increased from 60 BPM to 120 BPM by 6 BPM increments. A specific tempo was maintained for 20 s before a 2 s transition to the higher tempo. The task of the participant was to maintain a comfortable pace for the four movements (self-paced) while not paying attention to the music. No instruction on whether to synchronize with the music was given. Results showed that participants were distinctively influenced by the background music depending on the movement used with the tapping task being consistently the most influenced. Furthermore, eight strategies put in place by participants to cope with the task were unveiled. Despite not instructed to do so, participants also occasionally synchronized with music. Results are discussed in terms of the link between perception and action (i.e., motor/perceptual resonance). In general, our results give support to the notion that rhythmic music is processed in a motoric

  9. Synthesis of asymmetric movement trajectories in timed rhythmic behaviour by means of frequency modulation.

    PubMed

    Waadeland, Carl Haakon

    2017-01-01

    Results from different empirical investigations on gestural aspects of timed rhythmic movements indicate that the production of asymmetric movement trajectories is a feature that seems to be a common characteristic of various performances of repetitive rhythmic patterns. The behavioural or neural origin of these asymmetrical trajectories is, however, not identified. In the present study we outline a theoretical model that is capable of producing syntheses of asymmetric movement trajectories documented in empirical investigations by Balasubramaniam et al. (2004). Characteristic qualities of the extension/flexion profiles in the observed asymmetric trajectories are reproduced, and we conduct an experiment similar to Balasubramaniam et al. (2004) to show that the empirically documented movement trajectories and our modelled approximations share the same spectral components. The model is based on an application of frequency modulated movements, and a theoretical interpretation offered by the model is to view paced rhythmic movements as a result of an unpaced movement being "stretched" and "compressed", caused by the presence of a metronome. We discuss our model construction within the framework of event-based and emergent timing, and argue that a change between these timing modes might be reflected by the strength of the modulation in our model. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Linear and nonlinear stiffness and friction in biological rhythmic movements.

    PubMed

    Beek, P J; Schmidt, R C; Morris, A W; Sim, M Y; Turvey, M T

    1995-11-01

    Biological rhythmic movements can be viewed as instances of self-sustained oscillators. Auto-oscillatory phenomena must involve a nonlinear friction function, and usually involve a nonlinear elastic function. With respect to rhythmic movements, the question is: What kinds of nonlinear friction and elastic functions are involved? The nonlinear friction functions of the kind identified by Rayleigh (involving terms such as theta3) and van der Pol (involving terms such as theta2theta), and the nonlinear elastic functions identified by Duffing (involving terms such as theta3), constitute elementary nonlinear components for the assembling of self-sustained oscillators, Recently, additional elementary nonlinear friction and stiffness functions expressed, respectively, through terms such as theta2theta3 and thetatheta2, and a methodology for evaluating the contribution of the elementary components to any given cyclic activity have been identified. The methodology uses a quantification of the continuous deviation of oscillatory motion from ideal (harmonic) motion. Multiple regression of this quantity on the elementary linear and nonlinear terms reveals the individual contribution of each term to the oscillator's non-harmonic behavior. In the present article the methodology was applied to the data from three experiments in which human subjects produced pendular rhythmic movements under manipulations of rotational inertia (experiment 1), rotational inertia and frequency (experiment 2), and rotational inertia and amplitude (experiment 3). The analysis revealed that the pendular oscillators assembled in the three experiments were compositionally rich, braiding linear and nonlinear friction and elastic functions in a manner that depended on the nature of the task.

  11. Comparison of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity during non-rapid eye movement sleep in guinea pigs and humans.

    PubMed

    Kato, Takafumi; Toyota, Risa; Haraki, Shingo; Yano, Hiroyuki; Higashiyama, Makoto; Ueno, Yoshio; Yano, Hiroshi; Sato, Fumihiko; Yatani, Hirofumi; Yoshida, Atsushi

    2017-09-27

    Rhythmic masticatory muscle activity can be a normal variant of oromotor activity, which can be exaggerated in patients with sleep bruxism. However, few studies have tested the possibility in naturally sleeping animals to study the neurophysiological mechanisms of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity. This study aimed to investigate the similarity of cortical, cardiac and electromyographic manifestations of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity occurring during non-rapid eye movement sleep between guinea pigs and human subjects. Polysomnographic recordings were made in 30 freely moving guinea pigs and in eight healthy human subjects. Burst cycle length, duration and activity of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity were compared with those for chewing. The time between R-waves in the electrocardiogram (RR interval) and electroencephalogram power spectrum were calculated to assess time-course changes in cardiac and cortical activities in relation to rhythmic masticatory muscle activity. In animals, in comparison with chewing, rhythmic masticatory muscle activity had a lower burst activity, longer burst duration and longer cycle length (P < 0.05), and greater variabilities were observed (P < 0.05). Rhythmic masticatory muscle activity occurring during non-rapid eye movement sleep [median (interquartile range): 5.2 (2.6-8.9) times per h] was preceded by a transient decrease in RR intervals, and was accompanied by a transient decrease in delta elelctroencephalogram power. In humans, masseter bursts of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity were characterized by a lower activity, longer duration and longer cycle length than those of chewing (P < 0.05). Rhythmic masticatory muscle activity during non-rapid eye movement sleep [1.4 (1.18-2.11) times per h] was preceded by a transient decrease in RR intervals and an increase in cortical activity. Rhythmic masticatory muscle activity in animals had common physiological components representing transient arousal

  12. Disorders of Upper Limb Movements in Ataxia-Telangiectasia.

    PubMed

    Shaikh, Aasef G; Zee, David S; Mandir, Allen S; Lederman, Howard M; Crawford, Thomas O

    2013-01-01

    Ataxia-telangiectasia is known for cerebellar degeneration, but clinical descriptions of abnormal tone, posture, and movements suggest involvement of the network between cerebellum and basal ganglia. We quantitatively assessed the nature of upper-limb movement disorders in ataxia-telangiectasia. We used a three-axis accelerometer to assess the natural history and severity of abnormal upper-limb movements in 80 ataxia-telangiectasia and 19 healthy subjects. Recordings were made during goal-directed movements of upper limb (kinetic task), while arms were outstretched (postural task), and at rest. Almost all ataxia-telangiectasia subjects (79/80) had abnormal involuntary movements, such as rhythmic oscillations (tremor), slow drifts (dystonia or athetosis), and isolated rapid movements (dystonic jerks or myoclonus). All patients with involuntary movements had both kinetic and postural tremor, while 48 (61%) also had resting tremor. The tremor was present in transient episodes lasting several seconds during two-minute recording sessions of all three conditions. Percent time during which episodic tremor was present was greater for postural and kinetic tasks compared to rest. Resting tremor had higher frequency but smaller amplitude than postural and kinetic tremor. Rapid non-rhythmic movements were minimal during rest, but were triggered during sustained arm postures and goal directed arm movements suggesting they are best considered a form of dystonic jerks or action myoclonus. Advancing age did not correlate with the severity of involuntary limb movements. Abnormal upper-limb movements in ataxia-telangiectasia feature classic cerebellar impairment, but also suggest involvement of the network between the cerebellum and basal ganglia.

  13. Disorders of Upper Limb Movements in Ataxia-Telangiectasia

    PubMed Central

    Shaikh, Aasef G.; Zee, David S.; Mandir, Allen S.; Lederman, Howard M.; Crawford, Thomas O.

    2013-01-01

    Ataxia-telangiectasia is known for cerebellar degeneration, but clinical descriptions of abnormal tone, posture, and movements suggest involvement of the network between cerebellum and basal ganglia. We quantitatively assessed the nature of upper-limb movement disorders in ataxia-telangiectasia. We used a three-axis accelerometer to assess the natural history and severity of abnormal upper-limb movements in 80 ataxia-telangiectasia and 19 healthy subjects. Recordings were made during goal-directed movements of upper limb (kinetic task), while arms were outstretched (postural task), and at rest. Almost all ataxia-telangiectasia subjects (79/80) had abnormal involuntary movements, such as rhythmic oscillations (tremor), slow drifts (dystonia or athetosis), and isolated rapid movements (dystonic jerks or myoclonus). All patients with involuntary movements had both kinetic and postural tremor, while 48 (61%) also had resting tremor. The tremor was present in transient episodes lasting several seconds during two-minute recording sessions of all three conditions. Percent time during which episodic tremor was present was greater for postural and kinetic tasks compared to rest. Resting tremor had higher frequency but smaller amplitude than postural and kinetic tremor. Rapid non-rhythmic movements were minimal during rest, but were triggered during sustained arm postures and goal directed arm movements suggesting they are best considered a form of dystonic jerks or action myoclonus. Advancing age did not correlate with the severity of involuntary limb movements. Abnormal upper-limb movements in ataxia-telangiectasia feature classic cerebellar impairment, but also suggest involvement of the network between the cerebellum and basal ganglia. PMID:23826191

  14. Impaired movement timing in neurological disorders: rehabilitation and treatment strategies.

    PubMed

    Hove, Michael J; Keller, Peter E

    2015-03-01

    Timing abnormalities have been reported in many neurological disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). In PD, motor-timing impairments are especially debilitating in gait. Despite impaired audiomotor synchronization, PD patients' gait improves when they walk with an auditory metronome or with music. Building on that research, we make recommendations for optimizing sensory cues to improve the efficacy of rhythmic cuing in gait rehabilitation. Adaptive rhythmic metronomes (that synchronize with the patient's walking) might be especially effective. In a recent study we showed that adaptive metronomes synchronized consistently with PD patients' footsteps without requiring attention; this improved stability and reinstated healthy gait dynamics. Other strategies could help optimize sensory cues for gait rehabilitation. Groove music strongly engages the motor system and induces movement; bass-frequency tones are associated with movement and provide strong timing cues. Thus, groove and bass-frequency pulses could deliver potent rhythmic cues. These strategies capitalize on the close neural connections between auditory and motor networks; and auditory cues are typically preferred. However, moving visual cues greatly improve visuomotor synchronization and could warrant examination in gait rehabilitation. Together, a treatment approach that employs groove, auditory, bass-frequency, and adaptive (GABA) cues could help optimize rhythmic sensory cues for treating motor and timing deficits. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

  15. Locomotor-Like Leg Movements Evoked by Rhythmic Arm Movements in Humans

    PubMed Central

    Sylos-Labini, Francesca; Ivanenko, Yuri P.; MacLellan, Michael J.; Cappellini, Germana; Poppele, Richard E.; Lacquaniti, Francesco

    2014-01-01

    Motion of the upper limbs is often coupled to that of the lower limbs in human bipedal locomotion. It is unclear, however, whether the functional coupling between upper and lower limbs is bi-directional, i.e. whether arm movements can affect the lumbosacral locomotor circuitry. Here we tested the effects of voluntary rhythmic arm movements on the lower limbs. Participants lay horizontally on their side with each leg suspended in an unloading exoskeleton. They moved their arms on an overhead treadmill as if they walked on their hands. Hand-walking in the antero-posterior direction resulted in significant locomotor-like movements of the legs in 58% of the participants. We further investigated quantitatively the responses in a subset of the responsive subjects. We found that the electromyographic (EMG) activity of proximal leg muscles was modulated over each cycle with a timing similar to that of normal locomotion. The frequency of kinematic and EMG oscillations in the legs typically differed from that of arm oscillations. The effect of hand-walking was direction specific since medio-lateral arm movements did not evoke appreciably leg air-stepping. Using externally imposed trunk movements and biomechanical modelling, we ruled out that the leg movements associated with hand-walking were mainly due to the mechanical transmission of trunk oscillations. EMG activity in hamstring muscles associated with hand-walking often continued when the leg movements were transiently blocked by the experimenter or following the termination of arm movements. The present results reinforce the idea that there exists a functional neural coupling between arm and legs. PMID:24608249

  16. Joint Rhythmic Movement Increases 4-Year-Old Children's Prosocial Sharing and Fairness Toward Peers.

    PubMed

    Rabinowitch, Tal-Chen; Meltzoff, Andrew N

    2017-01-01

    The allocation of resources to a peer partner is a prosocial act that is of fundamental importance. Joint rhythmic movement, such as occurs during musical interaction, can induce positive social experiences, which may play a role in developing and enhancing young children's prosocial skills. Here, we investigated whether joint rhythmic movement, free of musical context, increases 4-year-olds' sharing and sense of fairness in a resource allocation task involving peers. We developed a precise procedure for administering joint synchronous experience, joint asynchronous experience, and a baseline control involving no treatment. Then we tested how participants allocated resources between self and peer. We found an increase in the generous allocation of resources to peers following both synchronous and asynchronous movement compared to no treatment. At a more theoretical level, this result is considered in relation to previous work testing other aspects of child prosociality, for example, peer cooperation, which can be distinguished from judgments of fairness in resource allocation tasks. We draw a conceptual distinction between two types of prosocial behavior: resource allocation (an other-directed individual behavior) and cooperation (a goal-directed collaborative endeavor). Our results highlight how rhythmic interactions, which are prominent in joint musical engagements and synchronized activity, influence prosocial behavior between preschool peers.

  17. Rhythmic engagement with music in infancy

    PubMed Central

    Zentner, Marcel; Eerola, Tuomas

    2010-01-01

    Humans have a unique ability to coordinate their motor movements to an external auditory stimulus, as in music-induced foot tapping or dancing. This behavior currently engages the attention of scholars across a number of disciplines. However, very little is known about its earliest manifestations. The aim of the current research was to examine whether preverbal infants engage in rhythmic behavior to music. To this end, we carried out two experiments in which we tested 120 infants (aged 5–24 months). Infants were exposed to various excerpts of musical and rhythmic stimuli, including isochronous drumbeats. Control stimuli consisted of adult- and infant-directed speech. Infants’ rhythmic movements were assessed by multiple methods involving manual coding from video excerpts and innovative 3D motion-capture technology. The results show that (i) infants engage in significantly more rhythmic movement to music and other rhythmically regular sounds than to speech; (ii) infants exhibit tempo flexibility to some extent (e.g., faster auditory tempo is associated with faster movement tempo); and (iii) the degree of rhythmic coordination with music is positively related to displays of positive affect. The findings are suggestive of a predisposition for rhythmic movement in response to music and other metrically regular sounds. PMID:20231438

  18. Rhythmic engagement with music in infancy.

    PubMed

    Zentner, Marcel; Eerola, Tuomas

    2010-03-30

    Humans have a unique ability to coordinate their motor movements to an external auditory stimulus, as in music-induced foot tapping or dancing. This behavior currently engages the attention of scholars across a number of disciplines. However, very little is known about its earliest manifestations. The aim of the current research was to examine whether preverbal infants engage in rhythmic behavior to music. To this end, we carried out two experiments in which we tested 120 infants (aged 5-24 months). Infants were exposed to various excerpts of musical and rhythmic stimuli, including isochronous drumbeats. Control stimuli consisted of adult- and infant-directed speech. Infants' rhythmic movements were assessed by multiple methods involving manual coding from video excerpts and innovative 3D motion-capture technology. The results show that (i) infants engage in significantly more rhythmic movement to music and other rhythmically regular sounds than to speech; (ii) infants exhibit tempo flexibility to some extent (e.g., faster auditory tempo is associated with faster movement tempo); and (iii) the degree of rhythmic coordination with music is positively related to displays of positive affect. The findings are suggestive of a predisposition for rhythmic movement in response to music and other metrically regular sounds.

  19. Neural control of rhythmic arm cycling after stroke

    PubMed Central

    Loadman, Pamela M.; Hundza, Sandra R.

    2012-01-01

    Disordered reflex activity and alterations in the neural control of walking have been observed after stroke. In addition to impairments in leg movement that affect locomotor ability after stroke, significant impairments are also seen in the arms. Altered neural control in the upper limb can often lead to altered tone and spasticity resulting in impaired coordination and flexion contractures. We sought to address the extent to which the neural control of movement is disordered after stroke by examining the modulation pattern of cutaneous reflexes in arm muscles during arm cycling. Twenty-five stroke participants who were at least 6 mo postinfarction and clinically stable, performed rhythmic arm cycling while cutaneous reflexes were evoked with trains (5 × 1.0-ms pulses at 300 Hz) of constant-current electrical stimulation to the superficial radial (SR) nerve at the wrist. Both the more (MA) and less affected (LA) arms were stimulated in separate trials. Bilateral electromyography (EMG) activity was recorded from muscles acting at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. Analysis was conducted on averaged reflexes in 12 equidistant phases of the movement cycle. Phase-modulated cutaneous reflexes were present, but altered, in both MA and LA arms after stroke. Notably, the pattern was “blunted” in the MA arm in stroke compared with control participants. Differences between stroke and control were progressively more evident moving from shoulder to wrist. The results suggest that a reduced pattern of cutaneous reflex modulation persists during rhythmic arm movement after stroke. The overall implication of this result is that the putative spinal contributions to rhythmic human arm movement remain accessible after stroke, which has translational implications for rehabilitation. PMID:22572949

  20. How Moving Together Brings Us Together: When Coordinated Rhythmic Movement Affects Cooperation

    PubMed Central

    Cross, Liam; Wilson, Andrew D.; Golonka, Sabrina

    2016-01-01

    Although it is well established that rhythmically coordinating with a social partner can increase cooperation, it is as yet unclear when and why intentional coordination has such effects. We distinguish three dimensions along which explanations might vary. First, pro-social effects might require in-phase synchrony or simply coordination. Second, the effects of rhythmic movements on cooperation might be direct or mediated by an intervening variable. Third, the pro-social effects might occur in proportion to the quality of the coordination, or occur once some threshold amount of coordination has occurred. We report an experiment and two follow-ups which sought to identify which classes of models are required to account for the positive effects of coordinated rhythmic movement on cooperation. Across the studies, we found evidence (1) that coordination, and not just synchrony, can have pro-social consequences (so long as the social nature of the task is perceived), (2) that the effects of intentional coordination are direct, not mediated, and (3) that the degree of the coordination did not predict the degree of cooperation. The fact of inter-personal coordination (moving together in time and in a social context) is all that's required for pro-social effects. We suggest that future research should use the kind of carefully controllable experimental task used here to continue to develop explanations for when and why coordination affects pro-social behaviors. PMID:28066301

  1. Joint Rhythmic Movement Increases 4-Year-Old Children’s Prosocial Sharing and Fairness Toward Peers

    PubMed Central

    Rabinowitch, Tal-Chen; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

    2017-01-01

    The allocation of resources to a peer partner is a prosocial act that is of fundamental importance. Joint rhythmic movement, such as occurs during musical interaction, can induce positive social experiences, which may play a role in developing and enhancing young children’s prosocial skills. Here, we investigated whether joint rhythmic movement, free of musical context, increases 4-year-olds’ sharing and sense of fairness in a resource allocation task involving peers. We developed a precise procedure for administering joint synchronous experience, joint asynchronous experience, and a baseline control involving no treatment. Then we tested how participants allocated resources between self and peer. We found an increase in the generous allocation of resources to peers following both synchronous and asynchronous movement compared to no treatment. At a more theoretical level, this result is considered in relation to previous work testing other aspects of child prosociality, for example, peer cooperation, which can be distinguished from judgments of fairness in resource allocation tasks. We draw a conceptual distinction between two types of prosocial behavior: resource allocation (an other-directed individual behavior) and cooperation (a goal-directed collaborative endeavor). Our results highlight how rhythmic interactions, which are prominent in joint musical engagements and synchronized activity, influence prosocial behavior between preschool peers. PMID:28694786

  2. Neurobiological foundations of neurologic music therapy: rhythmic entrainment and the motor system

    PubMed Central

    Thaut, Michael H.; McIntosh, Gerald C.; Hoemberg, Volker

    2015-01-01

    Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system’s motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. This process is a universal phenomenon that can be observed in physical (e.g., pendulum clocks) and biological systems (e.g., fire flies). However, entrainment can also be observed between human sensory and motor systems. The function of rhythmic entrainment in rehabilitative training and learning was established for the first time by Thaut and colleagues in several research studies in the early 1990s. It was shown that the inherent periodicity of auditory rhythmic patterns could entrain movement patterns in patients with movement disorders (see for a review: Thaut et al., 1999). Physiological, kinematic, and behavioral movement analysis showed very quickly that entrainment cues not only changed the timing of movement but also improved spatial and force parameters. Mathematical models have shown that anticipatory rhythmic templates as critical time constraints can result in the complete specification of the dynamics of a movement over the entire movement cycle, thereby optimizing motor planning and execution. Furthermore, temporal rhythmic entrainment has been successfully extended into applications in cognitive rehabilitation and speech and language rehabilitation, and thus become one of the major neurological mechanisms linking music and rhythm to brain rehabilitation. These findings provided a scientific basis for the development of neurologic music therapy. PMID:25774137

  3. Neurobiological foundations of neurologic music therapy: rhythmic entrainment and the motor system.

    PubMed

    Thaut, Michael H; McIntosh, Gerald C; Hoemberg, Volker

    2014-01-01

    Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system's motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. This process is a universal phenomenon that can be observed in physical (e.g., pendulum clocks) and biological systems (e.g., fire flies). However, entrainment can also be observed between human sensory and motor systems. The function of rhythmic entrainment in rehabilitative training and learning was established for the first time by Thaut and colleagues in several research studies in the early 1990s. It was shown that the inherent periodicity of auditory rhythmic patterns could entrain movement patterns in patients with movement disorders (see for a review: Thaut et al., 1999). Physiological, kinematic, and behavioral movement analysis showed very quickly that entrainment cues not only changed the timing of movement but also improved spatial and force parameters. Mathematical models have shown that anticipatory rhythmic templates as critical time constraints can result in the complete specification of the dynamics of a movement over the entire movement cycle, thereby optimizing motor planning and execution. Furthermore, temporal rhythmic entrainment has been successfully extended into applications in cognitive rehabilitation and speech and language rehabilitation, and thus become one of the major neurological mechanisms linking music and rhythm to brain rehabilitation. These findings provided a scientific basis for the development of neurologic music therapy.

  4. The Effects of Rhythmicity and Amplitude on Transfer of Motor Learning

    PubMed Central

    Ben-Tov, Mor; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly; Karniel, Amir

    2012-01-01

    We perform rhythmic and discrete arm movements on a daily basis, yet the motor control literature is not conclusive regarding the mechanisms controlling these movements; does a single mechanism generate both movement types, or are they controlled by separate mechanisms? A recent study reported partial asymmetric transfer of learning from discrete movements to rhythmic movements. Other studies have shown transfer of learning between large-amplitude to small-amplitude movements. The goal of this study is to explore which aspect is important for learning to be transferred from one type of movement to another: rhythmicity, amplitude or both. We propose two hypotheses: (1) Rhythmic and discrete movements are generated by different mechanisms; therefore we expect to see a partial or no transfer of learning between the two types of movements; (2) Within each movement type (rhythmic/discrete), there will be asymmetric transition of learning from larger movements to smaller ones. We used a learning-transfer paradigm, in which 70 participants performed flexion/extension movements with their forearm, and switched between types of movement, which differed in amplitude and/or rhythmicity. We found partial transfer of learning between discrete and rhythmic movements, and an asymmetric transfer of learning from larger movements to smaller movements (within the same type of movement). Our findings suggest that there are two different mechanisms underlying the generation of rhythmic and discrete arm movements, and that practicing on larger movements helps perform smaller movements; the latter finding might have implications for rehabilitation. PMID:23056549

  5. The effects of rhythmicity and amplitude on transfer of motor learning.

    PubMed

    Ben-Tov, Mor; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly; Karniel, Amir

    2012-01-01

    We perform rhythmic and discrete arm movements on a daily basis, yet the motor control literature is not conclusive regarding the mechanisms controlling these movements; does a single mechanism generate both movement types, or are they controlled by separate mechanisms? A recent study reported partial asymmetric transfer of learning from discrete movements to rhythmic movements. Other studies have shown transfer of learning between large-amplitude to small-amplitude movements. The goal of this study is to explore which aspect is important for learning to be transferred from one type of movement to another: rhythmicity, amplitude or both. We propose two hypotheses: (1) Rhythmic and discrete movements are generated by different mechanisms; therefore we expect to see a partial or no transfer of learning between the two types of movements; (2) Within each movement type (rhythmic/discrete), there will be asymmetric transition of learning from larger movements to smaller ones. We used a learning-transfer paradigm, in which 70 participants performed flexion/extension movements with their forearm, and switched between types of movement, which differed in amplitude and/or rhythmicity. We found partial transfer of learning between discrete and rhythmic movements, and an asymmetric transfer of learning from larger movements to smaller movements (within the same type of movement). Our findings suggest that there are two different mechanisms underlying the generation of rhythmic and discrete arm movements, and that practicing on larger movements helps perform smaller movements; the latter finding might have implications for rehabilitation.

  6. Neuromechanical considerations for incorporating rhythmic arm movement in the rehabilitation of walking

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klimstra, Marc D.; Thomas, Evan; Stoloff, Rebecca H.; Ferris, Daniel P.; Zehr, E. Paul

    2009-06-01

    We have extensively used arm cycling to study the neural control of rhythmic movements such as arm swing during walking. Recently rhythmic movement of the arms has also been shown to enhance and shape muscle activity in the legs. However, restricted information is available concerning the conditions necessary to maximally alter lumbar spinal cord excitability. Knowledge on the neuromechanics of a task can assist in the determination of the type, level, and timing of neural signals, yet arm swing during walking and arm cycling have not received a detailed neuromechanical comparison. The purpose of this research was to provide a combined neural and mechanical measurement approach that could be used to assist in the determination of the necessary and sufficient conditions for arm movement to assist in lower limb rehabilitation after stroke and spinal cord injury. Subjects performed three rhythmic arm movement tasks: (1) cycling (cycle); (2) swinging while standing (swing); and (3) swinging while treadmill walking (walk). We hypothesized that any difference in neural control between tasks (i.e., pattern of muscle activity) would reflect changes in the mechanical constraints unique to each task. Three-dimensional kinematics were collected simultaneously with force measurement at the hand and electromyography from the arms and trunk. All data were appropriately segmented to allow a comparison between and across conditions and were normalized and averaged to 100% movement cycle based on shoulder excursion. Separate mathematical principal components analysis of kinematic and neural variables was performed to determine common task features and muscle synergies. The results highlight important neural and mechanical features that distinguish differences between tasks. For example, there are considerable differences in the anatomical positions of the arms during each task, which relate to the moments experienced about the elbow and shoulder. Also, there are differences between

  7. Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population: diagnostic value of actometric movement patterns.

    PubMed

    Janno, Sven; Holi, Matti M; Tuisku, Katinka; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2008-04-18

    Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs) have overlapping co-morbidity. Earlier studies have described typical clinical movement patterns for individual NIMDs. This study aimed to identify specific movement patterns for each individual NIMD using actometry. A naturalistic population of 99 schizophrenia inpatients using conventional antipsychotics and clozapine was evaluated. Subjects with NIMDs were categorized using the criteria for NIMD found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).Two blinded raters evaluated the actometric-controlled rest activity data for activity periods, rhythmical activity, frequencies, and highest acceleration peaks. A simple subjective question was formulated to test patient-based evaluation of NIMD. The patterns of neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) and pseudoakathisia (PsA) were identifiable in actometry with excellent inter-rater reliability. The answers to the subjective question about troubles with movements distinguished NIA patients from other patients rather well. Also actometry had rather good screening performances in distinguishing akathisia from other NIMD. Actometry was not able to reliably detect patterns of neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia. The present study showed that pooled NIA and PsA patients had a different pattern in lower limb descriptive actometry than other patients in a non-selected sample. Careful questioning of patients is a useful method of diagnosing NIA in a clinical setting.

  8. EEG Oscillations Are Modulated in Different Behavior-Related Networks during Rhythmic Finger Movements.

    PubMed

    Seeber, Martin; Scherer, Reinhold; Müller-Putz, Gernot R

    2016-11-16

    Sequencing and timing of body movements are essential to perform motoric tasks. In this study, we investigate the temporal relation between cortical oscillations and human motor behavior (i.e., rhythmic finger movements). High-density EEG recordings were used for source imaging based on individual anatomy. We separated sustained and movement phase-related EEG source amplitudes based on the actual finger movements recorded by a data glove. Sustained amplitude modulations in the contralateral hand area show decrease for α (10-12 Hz) and β (18-24 Hz), but increase for high γ (60-80 Hz) frequencies during the entire movement period. Additionally, we found movement phase-related amplitudes, which resembled the flexion and extension sequence of the fingers. Especially for faster movement cadences, movement phase-related amplitudes included high β (24-30 Hz) frequencies in prefrontal areas. Interestingly, the spectral profiles and source patterns of movement phase-related amplitudes differed from sustained activities, suggesting that they represent different frequency-specific large-scale networks. First, networks were signified by the sustained element, which statically modulate their synchrony levels during continuous movements. These networks may upregulate neuronal excitability in brain regions specific to the limb, in this study the right hand area. Second, movement phase-related networks, which modulate their synchrony in relation to the movement sequence. We suggest that these frequency-specific networks are associated with distinct functions, including top-down control, sensorimotor prediction, and integration. The separation of different large-scale networks, we applied in this work, improves the interpretation of EEG sources in relation to human motor behavior. EEG recordings provide high temporal resolution suitable to relate cortical oscillations to actual movements. Investigating EEG sources during rhythmic finger movements, we distinguish sustained from

  9. Rhythmic Gymnastics: A Challenge with Balls and Ropes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bennett, John P.

    Rhythmic gymnastics is an outgrowth of rhythmic and dance gymnastics and promotes good posture, strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination, along with appreciation of music and movement together. The current status of rhythmic gymnastics and its historical development are briefly discussed. Descriptions are given of rhythmic gymnastic…

  10. Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population: diagnostic value of actometric movement patterns

    PubMed Central

    Janno, Sven; Holi, Matti M; Tuisku, Katinka; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2008-01-01

    Background Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs) have overlapping co-morbidity. Earlier studies have described typical clinical movement patterns for individual NIMDs. This study aimed to identify specific movement patterns for each individual NIMD using actometry. Methods A naturalistic population of 99 schizophrenia inpatients using conventional antipsychotics and clozapine was evaluated. Subjects with NIMDs were categorized using the criteria for NIMD found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Two blinded raters evaluated the actometric-controlled rest activity data for activity periods, rhythmical activity, frequencies, and highest acceleration peaks. A simple subjective question was formulated to test patient-based evaluation of NIMD. Results The patterns of neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) and pseudoakathisia (PsA) were identifiable in actometry with excellent inter-rater reliability. The answers to the subjective question about troubles with movements distinguished NIA patients from other patients rather well. Also actometry had rather good screening performances in distinguishing akathisia from other NIMD. Actometry was not able to reliably detect patterns of neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia. Conclusion The present study showed that pooled NIA and PsA patients had a different pattern in lower limb descriptive actometry than other patients in a non-selected sample. Careful questioning of patients is a useful method of diagnosing NIA in a clinical setting. PMID:18419829

  11. Psychogenic Movement Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Morgante, Francesca; Edwards, Mark J.; Espay, Alberto J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose of Review This review describes the main clinical features of psychogenic (functional) movement disorders and reports recent advances in diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment. Recent Findings The terminology and definition of patients with psychogenic movement disorders remain subjects of controversy; the term “functional” has been used more frequently in the literature in recent years regarding the neurobiological substrate underpinning these disorders. Correct diagnosis of psychogenic movement disorders should rely not on the exclusion of organic disorders or the sole presence of psychological factors but on the observation or elicitation of clinical features related to the specific movement disorder (ie, a positive or inclusionary rather than exclusionary diagnosis). Sudden onset, spontaneous remissions, and variability over time or during clinical examination are useful “red flags” suggestive of a psychogenic movement disorder. Imaging studies have demonstrated impaired connectivity between limbic and motor areas involved in movement programming and hypoactivity of a brain region that compares expected data with actual sensory data occurring during voluntary movement. Treatment of psychogenic movement disorders begins with ensuring the patient’s acceptance of the diagnosis during the initial debriefing and includes nonpharmacologic (cognitive-behavioral therapy, physiotherapy) and pharmacologic options. Summary Psychogenic movement disorders represent a challenging disorder for neurologists to diagnose and treat. Recent advances have increased understanding of the neurobiological mechanism of psychogenic movement disorders. Treatment with cognitive strategies and physical rehabilitation can benefit some patients. As short duration of disease correlates with better prognosis, early diagnosis and initiation of treatment are critical. PMID:24092294

  12. Rhythmic Engagement with Music in Early Childhood: A Replication and Extension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ilari, Beatriz

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous findings on spontaneous movement and rhythmic engagement with music in infancy. Using the identical stimuli and procedures from the original study, I investigated spontaneous rhythmic movements in response to music, infant-directed speech, and contrasting rhythmic patterns in 30…

  13. CRITICAL THERMAL INCREMENTS FOR RHYTHMIC RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS OF INSECTS

    PubMed Central

    Crozier, W. J.; Stier, T. B.

    1925-01-01

    The rhythm of abdominal respiratory movements in various insects, aquatic and terrestrial, is shown to possess critical increments 11,500± or 16,500± calories (Libellula, Dixippus, Anax). These are characteristic of processes involved in respiration, and definitely differ from the increment 12,200 calories which is found in a number of instances of (non-respiratory) rhythmic neuromuscular activities of insects and other arthropods. With grasshoppers (Melanoplus), normal or freshly decapitated, the critical increment is 7,900, again a value encountered in connection with some phenomena of gaseous exchange and agreeing well with the value obtained for CO2 output in Melanoplus. It is shown that by decapitation the temperature characteristic for abdominal rhythm, in Melanoplus, is changed to 16,500, then to 11,300—depending upon the time since decapitation; intermediate values do not appear. The frequency of the respiratory movements seems to be controlled by a metabolically distinct group of neurones. The bearing of these results upon the theory of functional analysis by means of temperature characteristics is discussed, and it is pointed out that a definite standpoint becomes available from which to attempt the specific control of vital processes. PMID:19872148

  14. CRITICAL THERMAL INCREMENTS FOR RHYTHMIC RESPIRATORY MOVEMENTS OF INSECTS.

    PubMed

    Crozier, W J; Stier, T B

    1925-01-20

    The rhythm of abdominal respiratory movements in various insects, aquatic and terrestrial, is shown to possess critical increments 11,500+/- or 16,500+/- calories (Libellula, Dixippus, Anax). These are characteristic of processes involved in respiration, and definitely differ from the increment 12,200 calories which is found in a number of instances of (non-respiratory) rhythmic neuromuscular activities of insects and other arthropods. With grasshoppers (Melanoplus), normal or freshly decapitated, the critical increment is 7,900, again a value encountered in connection with some phenomena of gaseous exchange and agreeing well with the value obtained for CO(2) output in Melanoplus. It is shown that by decapitation the temperature characteristic for abdominal rhythm, in Melanoplus, is changed to 16,500, then to 11,300-depending upon the time since decapitation; intermediate values do not appear. The frequency of the respiratory movements seems to be controlled by a metabolically distinct group of neurones. The bearing of these results upon the theory of functional analysis by means of temperature characteristics is discussed, and it is pointed out that a definite standpoint becomes available from which to attempt the specific control of vital processes.

  15. Motor Performance and Rhythmic Perception of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Developmental Coordination Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kartasidou, Lefkothea; Varsamis, Panagiotis; Sampsonidou, Anna

    2012-01-01

    Professionals who work with children presenting intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are concerned with their motor development and their rhythmic perception. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between a motor performance test and a music rhythmic test that measures…

  16. [Motor disorders in neurodevelopmental disorders. Tics and stereotypies].

    PubMed

    Eirís-Puñal, Jesús

    2014-02-24

    Tics are repetitive, sharp, rapid, non-rhythmic movements or utterances that are the result of sudden, abrupt and involuntary muscular contractions. Stereotypies are repetitive, apparently impulsive, rhythmic, purposeless movements that follow an individual repertoire that is specific to each individual and that occur under a variable time pattern, which may be either transient or persistent. Both are included in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), among the neurodevelopmental disorders, and together with coordination development disorder go to make up the group of motor disorders. For tics, the categories of 'Tourette's disorder', 'chronic motor or vocal tic disorder' and 'unspecified tic disorder' have been maintained, whereas the category 'transient tics' has disappeared and 'provisional tic disorder' and 'other specified tic disorders' have been incorporated. Within stereotypic movement disorder, the DSM-5 replaces 'non-functional' by 'apparently purposeless'; the thresholds of the need for medical care are withdrawn and replaced with the manual's standard involvement criterion; mental retardation is no longer mentioned and emphasis is placed on the severity of the stereotypic movement; and a criterion concerning the onset of symptoms and specifiers of the existence or not of self-injurious behaviours have been added, together with the association with genetic or general medical diseases or extrinsic factors. Moreover, a categorisation depending on severity has also been included.

  17. Resveratrol restores the circadian rhythmic disorder of lipid metabolism induced by high-fat diet in mice.

    PubMed

    Sun, Linjie; Wang, Yan; Song, Yu; Cheng, Xiang-Rong; Xia, Shufang; Rahman, Md Ramim Tanver; Shi, Yonghui; Le, Guowei

    2015-02-27

    Circadian rhythmic disorders induced by high-fat diet are associated with metabolic diseases. Resveratrol could improve metabolic disorder, but few reports focused on its effects on circadian rhythm disorders in a variety of studies. The aim of the present study was to analyze the potential effects of resveratrol on high-fat diet-induced disorders about the rhythmic expression of clock genes and clock-controlled lipid metabolism. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into three groups: a standard diet control group (CON), a high-fat diet (HFD) group and HFD supplemented with 0.1% (w/w) resveratrol (RES). The body weight, fasting blood glucose and insulin, plasma lipids and leptin, whole body metabolic status and the expression of clock genes and clock-controlled lipogenic genes were analyzed at four different time points throughout a 24-h cycle (8:00, 14:00, 20:00, 2:00). Resveratrol, being associated with rhythmic restoration of fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin, significantly decreased the body weight in HFD mice after 11 weeks of feeding, as well as ameliorated the rhythmities of plasma leptin, lipid profiles and whole body metabolic status (respiratory exchange ratio, locomotor activity, and heat production). Meanwhile, resveratrol modified the rhythmic expression of clock genes (Clock, Bmal1 and Per2) and clock-controlled lipid metabolism related genes (Sirt1, Pparα, Srebp-1c, Acc1 and Fas). The response pattern of mRNA expression for Acc1 was similar to the plasma triglyceride. All these results indicated that resveratrol reduced lipogenesis and ultimately normalized rhythmic expression of plasma lipids, possibly via its action on clock machinery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Monkeys time their pauses of movement and not their movement-kinematics during a synchronization-continuation rhythmic task.

    PubMed

    Donnet, Sophie; Bartolo, Ramon; Fernandes, José Maria; Cunha, João Paulo Silva; Prado, Luis; Merchant, Hugo

    2014-05-01

    A critical question in tapping behavior is to understand whether the temporal control is exerted on the duration and trajectory of the downward-upward hand movement or on the pause between hand movements. In the present study, we determined the duration of both the movement execution and pauses of monkeys performing a synchronization-continuation task (SCT), using the speed profile of their tapping behavior. We found a linear increase in the variance of pause-duration as a function of interval, while the variance of the motor implementation was relatively constant across intervals. In fact, 96% of the variability of the duration of a complete tapping cycle (pause + movement) was due to the variability of the pause duration. In addition, we performed a Bayesian model selection to determine the effect of interval duration (450-1,000 ms), serial-order (1-6 produced intervals), task phase (sensory cued or internally driven), and marker modality (auditory or visual) on the duration of the movement-pause and tapping movement. The results showed that the most important parameter used to successfully perform the SCT was the control of the pause duration. We also found that the kinematics of the tapping movements was concordant with a stereotyped ballistic control of the hand pressing the push-button. The present findings support the idea that monkeys used an explicit timing strategy to perform the SCT, where a dedicated timing mechanism controlled the duration of the pauses of movement, while also triggered the execution of fixed movements across each interval of the rhythmic sequence. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  19. The Effect of Haptic Guidance on Learning a Hybrid Rhythmic-Discrete Motor Task.

    PubMed

    Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Bannwart, Mathias; Riener, Robert; Vallery, Heike

    2015-01-01

    Bouncing a ball with a racket is a hybrid rhythmic-discrete motor task, combining continuous rhythmic racket movements with discrete impact events. Rhythmicity is exceptionally important in motor learning, because it underlies fundamental movements such as walking. Studies suggested that rhythmic and discrete movements are governed by different control mechanisms at different levels of the Central Nervous System. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of fixed/fading haptic guidance on learning to bounce a ball to a desired apex in virtual reality with varying gravity. Changing gravity changes dominance of rhythmic versus discrete control: The higher the value of gravity, the more rhythmic the task; lower values reduce the bouncing frequency and increase dwell times, eventually leading to a repetitive discrete task that requires initiation and termination, resembling target-oriented reaching. Although motor learning in the ball-bouncing task with varying gravity has been studied, the effect of haptic guidance on learning such a hybrid rhythmic-discrete motor task has not been addressed. We performed an experiment with thirty healthy subjects and found that the most effective training condition depended on the degree of rhythmicity: Haptic guidance seems to hamper learning of continuous rhythmic tasks, but it seems to promote learning for repetitive tasks that resemble discrete movements.

  20. Transitions between discrete and rhythmic primitives in a unimanual task

    PubMed Central

    Sternad, Dagmar; Marino, Hamal; Charles, Steven K.; Duarte, Marcos; Dipietro, Laura; Hogan, Neville

    2013-01-01

    Given the vast complexity of human actions and interactions with objects, we proposed that control of sensorimotor behavior may utilize dynamic primitives. However, greater computational simplicity may come at the cost of reduced versatility. Evidence for primitives may be garnered by revealing such limitations. This study tested subjects performing a sequence of progressively faster discrete movements in order to “stress” the system. We hypothesized that the increasing pace would elicit a transition to rhythmic movements, assumed to be computationally and neurally more efficient. Abrupt transitions between the two types of movements would support the hypothesis that rhythmic and discrete movements are distinct primitives. Ten subjects performed planar point-to-point arm movements paced by a metronome: starting at 2 s, the metronome intervals decreased by 36 ms per cycle to 200 ms, stayed at 200 ms for several cycles, then increased by similar increments. Instructions emphasized to insert explicit stops between each movement with a duration that equaled the movement time. The experiment was performed with eyes open and closed, and with short and long metronome sounds, the latter explicitly specifying the dwell duration. Results showed that subjects matched instructed movement times but did not preserve the dwell times. Rather, they progressively reduced dwell time to zero, transitioning to continuous rhythmic movements before movement times reached their minimum. The acceleration profiles showed an abrupt change between discrete and rhythmic profiles. The loss of dwell time occurred earlier with long auditory specification, when subjects also showed evidence of predictive control. While evidence for hysteresis was weak, taken together, the results clearly indicated a transition between discrete and rhythmic movements, supporting the proposal that representation is based on primitives rather than on veridical internal models. PMID:23888139

  1. Eye Movement Disorders

    MedlinePlus

    ... t work properly. There are many kinds of eye movement disorders. Two common ones are Strabismus - a disorder ... of the eyes, sometimes called "dancing eyes" Some eye movement disorders are present at birth. Others develop over ...

  2. Paraneoplastic autoimmune movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Lim, Thien Thien

    2017-11-01

    To provide an overview of paraneoplastic autoimmune disorders presenting with various movement disorders. The spectrum of paraneoplastic autoimmune disorders has been expanding with the discovery of new antibodies against cell surface and intracellular antigens. Many of these paraneoplastic autoimmune disorders manifest as a form of movement disorder. With the discovery of new neuronal antibodies, an increasing number of idiopathic or neurodegenerative movement disorders are now being reclassified as immune-mediated movement disorders. These include anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis which may present with orolingual facial dyskinesia and stereotyped movements, CRMP-5 IgG presenting with chorea, anti-Yo paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration presenting with ataxia, anti-VGKC complex (Caspr2 antibodies) neuromyotonia, opsoclonus-myoclonus-ataxia syndrome, and muscle rigidity and episodic spasms (amphiphysin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, glycine receptor, GABA(A)-receptor associated protein antibodies) in stiff-person syndrome. Movement disorders may be a presentation for paraneoplastic autoimmune disorders. Recognition of these disorders and their common phenomenology is important because it may lead to the discovery of an occult malignancy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. [Movement disorders is psychiatric diseases].

    PubMed

    Hidasi, Zoltan; Salacz, Pal; Csibri, Eva

    2014-12-01

    Movement disorders are common in psychiatry. The movement disorder can either be the symptom of a psychiatric disorder, can share a common aetiological factor with it, or can be the consequence of psychopharmacological therapy. Most common features include tic, stereotypy, compulsion, akathisia, dyskinesias, tremor, hypokinesia and disturbances of posture and gait. We discuss characteristics and clinical importance of these features. Movement disorders are frequently present in mood disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, catatonia, Tourette-disorder and psychogenic movement disorder, leading to differential-diagnostic and therapeutical difficulties in everyday practice. Movement disorders due to psychopharmacotherapy can be classified as early-onset, late-onset and tardive. Frequent psychiatric comorbidity is found in primary movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Wilson's disease, Huntington's disease, diffuse Lewy-body disorder. Complex neuropsychiatric approach is effective concerning overlapping clinical features and spectrums of disorders in terms of movement disorders and psychiatric diseases.

  4. Classification of movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Fahn, Stanley

    2011-05-01

    The classification of movement disorders has evolved. Even the terminology has shifted, from an anatomical one of extrapyramidal disorders to a phenomenological one of movement disorders. The history of how this shift came about is described. The history of both the definitions and the classifications of the various neurologic conditions is then reviewed. First is a review of movement disorders as a group; then, the evolving classifications for 3 of them--parkinsonism, dystonia, and tremor--are covered in detail. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

  5. Mathematical model for rhythmic protoplasmic movement in the true slime mold.

    PubMed

    Kobayashi, Ryo; Tero, Atsushi; Nakagaki, Toshiyuki

    2006-08-01

    The plasmodium of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum is a large amoeboid organism that displays "smart" behavior such as chemotaxis and the ability to solve mazes and geometrical puzzles. These amoeboid behaviors are based on the dynamics of the viscoelastic protoplasm and its biochemical rhythms. By incorporating both these aspects, we constructed a mathematical model for the dynamics of the organism as a first step towards understanding the relation between protoplasmic movement and its unusual abilities. We tested the validity of the model by comparing it with physiological observation. Our model reproduces fundamental characteristics of the spatio-temporal pattern of the rhythmic movement: (1) the antiphase oscillation between frontal tip and rear when the front is freely extending; (2) the asynchronous oscillation pattern when the front is not freely extending; and (3) the formation of protoplasmic mounds over a longer time scale. Both our model and physiological observation suggest that cell stiffness plays a primary role in plasmodial behaviors, in contrast to the conventional theory of coupled oscillator systems.

  6. A coupled-oscillator model with a conservation law for the rhythmic amoeboid movements of plasmodial slime molds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tero, A.; Kobayashi, R.; Nakagaki, T.

    2005-06-01

    Experiments on the fusion and partial separation of plasmodia of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum are described, concentrating on the spatio-temporal phase patterns of rhythmic amoeboid movement. On the basis of these experimental results we introduce a new model of coupled oscillators with one conserved quantity. Simulations using the model equations reproduce the experimental results well.

  7. Performance-based robotic assistance during rhythmic arm exercises.

    PubMed

    Leconte, Patricia; Ronsse, Renaud

    2016-09-13

    Rhythmic and discrete upper-limb movements are two fundamental motor primitives controlled by different neural pathways, at least partially. After stroke, both primitives can be impaired. Both conventional and robot-assisted therapies mainly train discrete functional movements like reaching and grasping. However, if the movements form two distinct neural and functional primitives, both should be trained to recover the complete motor repertoire. Recent studies show that rhythmic movements tend to be less impaired than discrete ones, so combining both movement types in therapy could support the execution of movements with a higher degree of impairment by movements that are performed more stably. A new performance-based assistance method was developed to train rhythmic movements with a rehabilitation robot. The algorithm uses the assist-as-needed paradigm by independently assessing and assisting movement features of smoothness, velocity, and amplitude. The method relies on different building blocks: (i) an adaptive oscillator captures the main movement harmonic in state variables, (ii) custom metrics measure the movement performance regarding the three features, and (iii) adaptive forces assist the patient. The patient is encouraged to improve performance regarding these three features with assistance forces computed in parallel to each other. The method was tested with simulated jerky signals and a pilot experiment with two stroke patients, who were instructed to make circular movements with an end-effector robot with assistance during half of the trials. Simulation data reveal sensitivity of the metrics for assessing the features while limiting interference between them. The assistance's effectiveness with stroke patients is established since it (i) adapts to the patient's real-time performance, (ii) improves patient motor performance, and (iii) does not lead the patient to slack. The smoothness assistance was by far the most used by both patients, while it provided

  8. Physiological modules for generating discrete and rhythmic movements: component analysis of EMG signals.

    PubMed

    Bengoetxea, Ana; Leurs, Françoise; Hoellinger, Thomas; Cebolla, Ana Maria; Dan, Bernard; Cheron, Guy; McIntyre, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    A central question in Neuroscience is that of how the nervous system generates the spatiotemporal commands needed to realize complex gestures, such as handwriting. A key postulate is that the central nervous system (CNS) builds up complex movements from a set of simpler motor primitives or control modules. In this study we examined the control modules underlying the generation of muscle activations when performing different types of movement: discrete, point-to-point movements in eight different directions and continuous figure-eight movements in both the normal, upright orientation and rotated 90°. To test for the effects of biomechanical constraints, movements were performed in the frontal-parallel or sagittal planes, corresponding to two different nominal flexion/abduction postures of the shoulder. In all cases we measured limb kinematics and surface electromyographic activity (EMG) signals for seven different muscles acting around the shoulder. We first performed principal component analysis (PCA) of the EMG signals on a movement-by-movement basis. We found a surprisingly consistent pattern of muscle groupings across movement types and movement planes, although we could detect systematic differences between the PCs derived from movements performed in each shoulder posture and between the principal components associated with the different orientations of the figure. Unexpectedly we found no systematic differences between the figure eights and the point-to-point movements. The first three principal components could be associated with a general co-contraction of all seven muscles plus two patterns of reciprocal activation. From these results, we surmise that both "discrete-rhythmic movements" such as the figure eight, and discrete point-to-point movement may be constructed from three different fundamental modules, one regulating the impedance of the limb over the time span of the movement and two others operating to generate movement, one aligned with the

  9. Physiological modules for generating discrete and rhythmic movements: component analysis of EMG signals

    PubMed Central

    Bengoetxea, Ana; Leurs, Françoise; Hoellinger, Thomas; Cebolla, Ana Maria; Dan, Bernard; Cheron, Guy; McIntyre, Joseph

    2015-01-01

    A central question in Neuroscience is that of how the nervous system generates the spatiotemporal commands needed to realize complex gestures, such as handwriting. A key postulate is that the central nervous system (CNS) builds up complex movements from a set of simpler motor primitives or control modules. In this study we examined the control modules underlying the generation of muscle activations when performing different types of movement: discrete, point-to-point movements in eight different directions and continuous figure-eight movements in both the normal, upright orientation and rotated 90°. To test for the effects of biomechanical constraints, movements were performed in the frontal-parallel or sagittal planes, corresponding to two different nominal flexion/abduction postures of the shoulder. In all cases we measured limb kinematics and surface electromyographic activity (EMG) signals for seven different muscles acting around the shoulder. We first performed principal component analysis (PCA) of the EMG signals on a movement-by-movement basis. We found a surprisingly consistent pattern of muscle groupings across movement types and movement planes, although we could detect systematic differences between the PCs derived from movements performed in each shoulder posture and between the principal components associated with the different orientations of the figure. Unexpectedly we found no systematic differences between the figure eights and the point-to-point movements. The first three principal components could be associated with a general co-contraction of all seven muscles plus two patterns of reciprocal activation. From these results, we surmise that both “discrete-rhythmic movements” such as the figure eight, and discrete point-to-point movement may be constructed from three different fundamental modules, one regulating the impedance of the limb over the time span of the movement and two others operating to generate movement, one aligned with the

  10. Functional Movement Disorder

    MedlinePlus

    ... or stress-related movement disorders). A number of biological and psychosocial factors may act together to bring ... or stress-related movement disorders). A number of biological and psychosocial factors may act together to bring ...

  11. Rhythmic Bimanual Coordination Is Impaired in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Isenhower, Robert W.; Marsh, Kerry L.; Richardson, Michael J.; Helt, Molly; Schmidt, R. C.; Fein, Deborah

    2012-01-01

    Impairments in motor coordination are a common behavioral manifestation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We, therefore, used a drumming methodology to examine rhythmic bimanual coordination in children diagnosed with ASD (M = 47.3 months) and age-matched typically developing (TD) children (M = 42.6 months). Both groups were instructed to drum on…

  12. Movement Sonification: Effects on Motor Learning beyond Rhythmic Adjustments.

    PubMed

    Effenberg, Alfred O; Fehse, Ursula; Schmitz, Gerd; Krueger, Bjoern; Mechling, Heinz

    2016-01-01

    motor skill (technique acquisition of indoor rowing). One group was treated with visual information and two groups with audiovisual information (sonification vs. natural sounds). For all three groups learning became evident and remained stable. Participants treated with additional movement sonification showed better performance compared to both other groups. Results indicate that movement sonification enhances motor learning of a complex gross motor skill-even exceeding usually expected acoustic rhythmic effects on motor learning.

  13. Movement Sonification: Effects on Motor Learning beyond Rhythmic Adjustments

    PubMed Central

    Effenberg, Alfred O.; Fehse, Ursula; Schmitz, Gerd; Krueger, Bjoern; Mechling, Heinz

    2016-01-01

    motor skill (technique acquisition of indoor rowing). One group was treated with visual information and two groups with audiovisual information (sonification vs. natural sounds). For all three groups learning became evident and remained stable. Participants treated with additional movement sonification showed better performance compared to both other groups. Results indicate that movement sonification enhances motor learning of a complex gross motor skill—even exceeding usually expected acoustic rhythmic effects on motor learning. PMID:27303255

  14. Clinical features of movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Yung, C Y

    1983-08-01

    The descriptive aspects of all types of movement disorders and their related syndromes and terminologies used in the literature are reviewed and described. This comprises the features of (a) movement disorders secondary to neurological diseases affecting the extrapyramidal motor system, such as: athetosis, chorea, dystonia, hemiballismus, myoclonus, tremor, tics and spasm, (b) drug induced movement disorders, such as: akathisia, akinesia, hyperkinesia, dyskinesias, extrapyramidal syndrome, and tardive dyskinesia, and (c) abnormal movements in psychiatric disorders, such as: mannerism, stereotyped behaviour and psychomotor retardation. It is intended to bring about a more comprehensive overview of these movement disorders from a phenomenological perspective, so that clinicians can familiarize with these features for diagnosis. Some general statements are made in regard to some of the characteristics of movement disorders.

  15. Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders among icelandic music students: differences between students playing classical vs rhythmic music.

    PubMed

    Arnason, Kári; Arnason, Arni; Briem, Kristín

    2014-06-01

    Most research studies investigating the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders affecting musicians and music students have focused on classical music, while less is known about their prevalence in other music genres. The purpose of this study was to document cumulative and point prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) among music students in Iceland and, specifically, to identify differences between those studying classical vs rhythmic music. We hypothesized that students of classical music would report more frequent and more severe musculoskeletal disorders than students involved in rhythmic music, as classical instruments and composition typically require more demanding, sustained postures during practice and performance. A total of 74 students from two classical music schools (schools A and B) and 1 rhythmic school (school C) participated in the study by answering a questionnaire assessing PRMDs. The results showed that 62% of participants had, at some point in their musical career, suffered a PRMD. The cumulative prevalence was highest in music school A (71.4%) and lowest in music school C (38.9%). A statistically significant difference was identified between the cumulative prevalence of PRMD from schools A and B combined compared to music school C (p=0.019). Over 40% of participants reported a "current PRMD," and a significant difference was identified between the three schools (p=0.011), with the highest point prevalence being registered in music school A (66.6%) and the lowest in music school C (22.2%). The prevalence of PRMDs among Icelandic music students was high. The difference found between students who play classical vs rhythmic music may be explained by different demands of the instruments and composition on playing posture.

  16. Jactatio corporis nocturna and dissociative disorder: a case report.

    PubMed

    Pelin, Zerrin; Karataş, Semra; Kesebir, Sermin

    2012-01-01

    Jactatio corporis nocturna is a type of parasomnia. Rhythmic body movements during sleep are commonly observed in infancy and early childhood, and spontaneous resolution is expected after the age of 4 years. Rarely, the body movements persist until adulthood. Rhythmic body movements characteristically occur during the wake-sleep transition period, rather than during other sleep stages. Some psychiatric diseases can co-occur with sleep-related movement disorders. A relationship between parasomnias and dissociative disorders has been recently reported. Herein we present a 33-year-old male with nocturnal repetitive rolling body movements and daytime fatigue. The patient also had loss of memory of some important events (such as the day his daughter underwent surgery), and reported that he sometimes confused reality with dreams had fantasies during which he experienced his spirit rising above to watch his body and fantasy. Detailed neuropsychological assessment showed that the patient also had a dissociative disorder. Video-polysomnographic recordings showed repetitive, rolling body movements that occurred only during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

  17. Proteomic identification of aldolase A as an autoantibody target in patients with atypical movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Privitera, Daniela; Corti, Valeria; Alessio, Massimo; Volontè, Maria Antonietta; Volontè, Antonietta; Lampasona, Vito; Comi, Giancarlo; Martino, Gianvito; Franciotta, Diego; Furlan, Roberto; Fazio, Raffaella

    2013-03-01

    We tried to identify the target/s of autoantibodies to basal ganglia neurons found in a patient with hyperkinetic movement disorders (HMD) characterized by rapid, rhythmic involuntary movements or spasms in both face and neck. Patient and control sera were used in Western blot to probe mouse brain homogenates. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) SDS-PAGE protein spots recognized by the patient's antibodies were excised and sequenced by mass spectrometry analysis, and the glycolytic enzyme aldolase A was identified as the antigen recognized by the patient's autoantibodies. To assess relevance and specificity of these antibodies to the identified targets as biomarkers of autoimmunity in movement disorders, autoantibody responses to the identified target were then measured by ELISA in various diseases of the central nervous system. Anti-aldolase A autoantibodies were associated mainly with HMD (7/17, 41%) and Parkinson's disease (4/30, 13%) patients, and undetectable in subjects with other inflammatory and non-inflammatory central nervous system diseases. We, thus, identified aldolase A as an autoantigen in a sub-group of patients with HMD, a clinically ill-defined syndrome. Anti-aldolase A antibodies may represent a useful biomarker of autoimmunity in HMD patients.

  18. Psychostimulants and Movement Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Asser, Andres; Taba, Pille

    2015-01-01

    Psychostimulants are a diverse group of substances with their main psychomotor effects resembling those of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, or cathinone. Due to their potential as drugs of abuse, recreational use of most of these substances is illegal since 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In recent years, new psychoactive substances have emerged mainly as synthetic cathinones with new molecules frequently complementing the list. Psychostimulant related movement disorders are a known entity often seen in emergency rooms around the world. These admissions are becoming more frequent as are fatalities associated with drug abuse. Still the legal constraints of the novel synthetic molecules are bypassed. At the same time, chronic and permanent movement disorders are much less frequently encountered. These disorders frequently manifest as a combination of movement disorders. The more common symptoms include agitation, tremor, hyperkinetic and stereotypical movements, cognitive impairment, and also hyperthermia and cardiovascular dysfunction. The pathophysiological mechanisms behind the clinical manifestations have been researched for decades. The common denominator is the monoaminergic signaling. Dopamine has received the most attention but further research has demonstrated involvement of other pathways. Common mechanisms linking psychostimulant use and several movement disorders exist. PMID:25941511

  19. Psychostimulants and movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Asser, Andres; Taba, Pille

    2015-01-01

    Psychostimulants are a diverse group of substances with their main psychomotor effects resembling those of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, or cathinone. Due to their potential as drugs of abuse, recreational use of most of these substances is illegal since 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In recent years, new psychoactive substances have emerged mainly as synthetic cathinones with new molecules frequently complementing the list. Psychostimulant related movement disorders are a known entity often seen in emergency rooms around the world. These admissions are becoming more frequent as are fatalities associated with drug abuse. Still the legal constraints of the novel synthetic molecules are bypassed. At the same time, chronic and permanent movement disorders are much less frequently encountered. These disorders frequently manifest as a combination of movement disorders. The more common symptoms include agitation, tremor, hyperkinetic and stereotypical movements, cognitive impairment, and also hyperthermia and cardiovascular dysfunction. The pathophysiological mechanisms behind the clinical manifestations have been researched for decades. The common denominator is the monoaminergic signaling. Dopamine has received the most attention but further research has demonstrated involvement of other pathways. Common mechanisms linking psychostimulant use and several movement disorders exist.

  20. Bilateral coupling facilitates recovery of rhythmical movements from perturbation in healthy and post-stroke subjects.

    PubMed

    Ustinova, Ksenia I; Feldman, Anatol G; Levin, Mindy F

    2013-06-01

    The paretic arm of subjects with stroke has a decreased ability to quickly adapt to and recover from perturbations during rhythmical arm swinging. We investigated whether bilateral coupling in the synchronous motion of two arms may facilitate the restoration of rhythmical movement of the paretic arm in subjects with chronic hemiparesis due to stroke. While standing, stroke and age-matched healthy (control) subjects swung one or both arms synchronously at ~0.8 Hz from the shoulder joints. In randomly selected cycles, one arm was transiently arrested by an electromagnetic device when moving forward or backward. In the control group, bilateral swinging resumed faster than unilateral swinging regardless of which arm was perturbed. In the stroke group, this effect was observed only when the perturbation was applied to the paretic arm, suggesting that the motion of the non-paretic arm accelerated the recovery from perturbation of the paretic arm. In addition, bilateral swinging resumed after reduced anterior-posterior excursions of both arms in stroke subjects. Results confirm previous findings that bilateral swinging is normally guided by central changes in the referent configuration of the two arms that function as a single unit. As a consequence, both arms cooperate in recovery from perturbation of motion applied to one arm. Results also suggest that stroke-related brain damage alters the symmetry of bilateral interaction, resulting in deficits of inter-manual cooperative action. The involvement of the non-paretic arm could be beneficial for the recovery of swinging of both arms and may also facilitate movements of the paretic arm in certain tasks.

  1. Neuronal activity related to spontaneous and capsaicin-induced rhythmical jaw movements in the rat.

    PubMed

    Ohta, M; Sasamoto, K; Kobayashi, J

    1998-02-01

    Intraoral capsaicin induced rhythmical jaw movements (RJM) in anesthetized rats. Neurons in the trigeminal spinal nucleus caudalis or the cortico-peduncular (CP) axons were extracellularly recorded. Capsaicin excited dose-dependently most caudalis neurons, which were activated by stimulation of the oral cavity and/or the tooth pulp and activated during spontaneous or induced RJM. Ten of 55 CP axons were antidromically activated by stimulation of the contralateral trigeminal motor nucleus. All antidromic and 29 other CP axons discharged prior to the spontaneous RJM, but most of them did not during capsaicin-induced RJM. These neuronal activities possibly initiate spontaneous RJM although the activities of caudalis neurons are necessary for capsicin-induced RJM.

  2. Biases in rhythmic sensorimotor coordination: effects of modality and intentionality.

    PubMed

    Debats, Nienke B; Ridderikhoff, Arne; de Boer, Betteco J; Peper, C Lieke E

    2013-08-01

    Sensorimotor biases were examined for intentional (tracking task) and unintentional (distractor task) rhythmic coordination. The tracking task involved unimanual tracking of either an oscillating visual signal or the passive movements of the contralateral hand (proprioceptive signal). In both conditions the required coordination patterns (isodirectional and mirror-symmetric) were defined relative to the body midline and the hands were not visible. For proprioceptive tracking the two patterns did not differ in stability, whereas for visual tracking the isodirectional pattern was performed more stably than the mirror-symmetric pattern. However, when visual feedback about the unimanual hand movements was provided during visual tracking, the isodirectional pattern ceased to be dominant. Together these results indicated that the stability of the coordination patterns did not depend on the modality of the target signal per se, but on the combination of sensory signals that needed to be processed (unimodal vs. cross-modal). The distractor task entailed rhythmic unimanual movements during which a rhythmic visual or proprioceptive distractor signal had to be ignored. The observed biases were similar as for intentional coordination, suggesting that intentionality did not affect the underlying sensorimotor processes qualitatively. Intentional tracking was characterized by active sensory pursuit, through muscle activity in the passively moved arm (proprioceptive tracking task) and rhythmic eye movements (visual tracking task). Presumably this pursuit afforded predictive information serving the coordination process. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Precision of Discrete and Rhythmic Forelimb Movements Requires a Distinct Neuronal Subpopulation in the Interposed Anterior Nucleus.

    PubMed

    Low, Aloysius Y T; Thanawalla, Ayesha R; Yip, Alaric K K; Kim, Jinsook; Wong, Kelly L L; Tantra, Martesa; Augustine, George J; Chen, Albert I

    2018-02-27

    The deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) represent output channels of the cerebellum, and they transmit integrated sensorimotor signals to modulate limb movements. But the functional relevance of identifiable neuronal subpopulations within the DCN remains unclear. Here, we examine a genetically tractable population of neurons in the mouse interposed anterior nucleus (IntA). We show that these neurons represent a subset of glutamatergic neurons in the IntA and constitute a specific element of an internal feedback circuit within the cerebellar cortex and cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway associated with limb control. Ablation and optogenetic stimulation of these neurons disrupt efficacy of skilled reach and locomotor movement and reveal that they control positioning and timing of the forelimb and hindlimb. Together, our findings uncover the function of a distinct neuronal subpopulation in the deep cerebellum and delineate the anatomical substrates and kinematic parameters through which it modulates precision of discrete and rhythmic limb movements. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. The relationship between affective state and the rhythmicity of activity in bipolar disorder.

    PubMed

    Gonzalez, Robert; Tamminga, Carol A; Tohen, Mauricio; Suppes, Trisha

    2014-04-01

    The aim of this study was to test the relationships between mood state and rhythm disturbances as measured via actigraphy in bipolar disorder by assessing the correlations between manic and depressive symptoms as measured via Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and 30-item Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology, Clinician-Rated (IDS-C-30) scores and the actigraphic measurements of rhythm, the 24-hour autocorrelation coefficient and circadian quotient. The research was conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas from February 2, 2009, to March 30, 2010. 42 patients with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of bipolar I disorder were included in the study. YMRS and the IDS-C-30 were used to determine symptom severity. Subjects wore the actigraph continuously for 7 days. The 24-hour autocorrelation coefficient was used as an indicator of overall rhythmicity. The circadian quotient was used to characterize the strength of a circadian rhythm. A greater severity of manic symptoms correlated with a lower degree of rhythmicity and less robust rhythms of locomotor activity as indicated by lower 24-hour autocorrelation (r = -0.3406, P = .03) and circadian quotient (r = -0.5485, P = .0002) variables, respectively. No relationship was noted between the degree of depression and 24-hour autocorrelation scores (r = -0.1190, P = .45) or circadian quotient (r = 0.0083, P = .96). Correlation was noted between the 24-hour autocorrelation and circadian quotient scores (r = 0.6347, P < .0001). These results support the notion that circadian rhythm disturbances are associated with bipolar disorder and that these disturbances may be associated with clinical signatures of the disorder. Further assessment of rhythm disturbances in bipolar disorder is warranted. © Copyright 2014 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

  5. Post-Thalamic Stroke Movement Disorders: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Navnika; Pandey, Sanjay

    2018-06-05

    After a stroke, movement disorders are rare manifestations mainly affecting the deep structures of the brain like the basal ganglia (44%) and thalamus (37%), although there have been case studies of movement disorders in strokes affecting the cerebral cortex also. This review aims to delineate the various movement disorders seen in association with thalamic strokes and tries to identify the location of the nuclei affected in each of the described movement disorders. Cases were identified through a search of PubMed database using different search terms related to post-thalamic stroke movement disorders and a secondary search of references of identified articles. We reviewed 2,520 research articles and only 86 papers met the inclusion criteria. Cases were included if they met criteria for post-thalamic stroke movement disorders. Case-cohort studies were also reviewed and will be discussed further. Key Messages: The most common post-stroke abnormal movement disorder reported in our review was dystonia followed by hemiataxia. There was a higher association between ischaemic stroke and movement disorder. Acute onset movement disorders were more common than delayed. The posterolateral thalamus was most commonly involved in post-thalamic stroke movement disorders. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  6. Physiological modules for generating discrete and rhythmic movements: action identification by a dynamic recurrent neural network.

    PubMed

    Bengoetxea, Ana; Leurs, Françoise; Hoellinger, Thomas; Cebolla, Ana M; Dan, Bernard; McIntyre, Joseph; Cheron, Guy

    2014-01-01

    In this study we employed a dynamic recurrent neural network (DRNN) in a novel fashion to reveal characteristics of control modules underlying the generation of muscle activations when drawing figures with the outstretched arm. We asked healthy human subjects to perform four different figure-eight movements in each of two workspaces (frontal plane and sagittal plane). We then trained a DRNN to predict the movement of the wrist from information in the EMG signals from seven different muscles. We trained different instances of the same network on a single movement direction, on all four movement directions in a single movement plane, or on all eight possible movement patterns and looked at the ability of the DRNN to generalize and predict movements for trials that were not included in the training set. Within a single movement plane, a DRNN trained on one movement direction was not able to predict movements of the hand for trials in the other three directions, but a DRNN trained simultaneously on all four movement directions could generalize across movement directions within the same plane. Similarly, the DRNN was able to reproduce the kinematics of the hand for both movement planes, but only if it was trained on examples performed in each one. As we will discuss, these results indicate that there are important dynamical constraints on the mapping of EMG to hand movement that depend on both the time sequence of the movement and on the anatomical constraints of the musculoskeletal system. In a second step, we injected EMG signals constructed from different synergies derived by the PCA in order to identify the mechanical significance of each of these components. From these results, one can surmise that discrete-rhythmic movements may be constructed from three different fundamental modules, one regulating the co-activation of all muscles over the time span of the movement and two others elliciting patterns of reciprocal activation operating in orthogonal directions.

  7. Acute movement disorders in the medical setting.

    PubMed

    Zawar, Ifrah; Caro, Mario A; Feldman, Lara; Jimenez, Xavier F

    2016-07-01

    Objective Psychosomatic medicine psychiatrists are often tasked with the evaluation and treatment of complex neuropsychiatric states which may be motoric in phenotype. Little energy has been dedicated to understanding acute movement disorders in the hospital environment. Method Recognizing the importance of frontal-subcortical (corticostriatothalamocortical) circuitry and basal ganglia structures, we present a case series of acute movement disorder phenotypes resulting from underlying medical conditions, commonly-administered medications, or the interaction of both. We organize these scenarios into neurodegenerative disorders, primary psychiatric disorders, neuroinflammation, and polypharmacy, demonstrating a clinical example of each followed by background references on a variety of clinical states and medications contributing to acute movement disorders. In addition, we offer visual illustration of implicated neurocircuitry as well as proposed neurotransmitter imbalances involving glutamate, gamma aminobutyric acid, and dopamine. Furthermore, we review the various clinical syndromes and medications involved in the development of acute movement disorders. Results Acute movement disorder's involve complex interactions between frontal-subcortical circuits and acute events. Given the complexity of interactions, psychopharmacological considerations become critical, as some treatments may alleviate acute movement disorders while others will exacerbate them. Conclusion Integrating underlying medical conditions and acutely administered (or discontinued) pharmacological agents offers an interactional, neuromedical approach to acute movement disorders that is critical to the work of psychosomatic medicine.

  8. Effects of rhythmic stimulus presentation on oscillatory brain activity: the physiology of cueing in Parkinson’s disease

    PubMed Central

    te Woerd, Erik S.; Oostenveld, Robert; Bloem, Bastiaan R.; de Lange, Floris P.; Praamstra, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The basal ganglia play an important role in beat perception and patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are impaired in perception of beat-based rhythms. Rhythmic cues are nonetheless beneficial in gait rehabilitation, raising the question how rhythm improves movement in PD. We addressed this question with magnetoencephalography recordings during a choice response task with rhythmic and non-rhythmic modes of stimulus presentation. Analyses focused on (i) entrainment of slow oscillations, (ii) the depth of beta power modulation, and (iii) whether a gain in modulation depth of beta power, due to rhythmicity, is of predictive or reactive nature. The results show weaker phase synchronisation of slow oscillations and a relative shift from predictive to reactive movement-related beta suppression in PD. Nonetheless, rhythmic stimulus presentation increased beta modulation depth to the same extent in patients and controls. Critically, this gain selectively increased the predictive and not reactive movement-related beta power suppression. Operation of a predictive mechanism, induced by rhythmic stimulation, was corroborated by a sensory gating effect in the sensorimotor cortex. The predictive mode of cue utilisation points to facilitation of basal ganglia-premotor interactions, contrasting with the popular view that rhythmic stimulation confers a special advantage in PD, based on recruitment of alternative pathways. PMID:26509117

  9. Developmental and benign movement disorders in childhood.

    PubMed

    Bonnet, Cecilia; Roubertie, Agathe; Doummar, Diane; Bahi-Buisson, Nadia; Cochen de Cock, Valérie; Roze, Emmanuel

    2010-07-30

    Developmental and benign movement disorders are a group of movement disorders with onset in the neonatal period, infancy, or childhood. They are characterized by the absence of associated neurological manifestations and by their favorable outcome, although developmental abnormalities can be occasionally observed. Knowledge of the clinical, neurophysiological, and pathogenetic aspects of these disorders is poor. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature and our practical experience, this article summarizes current knowledge in this area. We pay special attention to the recognition and management of these movement disorders in children. (c) 2010 Movement Disorder Society.

  10. Lower limb motor restlessness in Asperger's disorder, measured using actometry.

    PubMed

    Tuisku, Katinka; Tani, Pekka; Nieminen-von Wendt, Taina; von Wendt, Lennart; Holi, Matti Mikael; Porkka-Heiskanen, Tarja; Lauerma, Hannu; Lindberg, Nina; Appelberg, Björn; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2004-08-30

    The movement disturbances and brain imaging findings in Asperger's disorder (AD) suggest a dopaminergic deficit in movement regulation. Movement disorders of different etiologies have been quantified and specified with actometry. We compared 10 AD patients with 10 healthy controls, measuring their rest-activities by actometry. The lower limb motor activity was significantly higher in the AD group. They also displayed a rhythmic, periodic movement pattern similar to akathisia. These findings suggest a hypothesis of idiopathic akathisia and a special sensitivity to adverse effects of neuroleptic drugs.

  11. Music Games: Potential Application and Considerations for Rhythmic Training

    PubMed Central

    Bégel, Valentin; Di Loreto, Ines; Seilles, Antoine; Dalla Bella, Simone

    2017-01-01

    Rhythmic skills are natural and widespread in the general population. The majority can track the beat of music and move along with it. These abilities are meaningful from a cognitive standpoint given their tight links with prominent motor and cognitive functions such as language and memory. When rhythmic skills are challenged by brain damage or neurodevelopmental disorders, remediation strategies based on rhythm can be considered. For example, rhythmic training can be used to improve motor performance (e.g., gait) as well as cognitive and language skills. Here, we review the games readily available in the market and assess whether they are well-suited for rhythmic training. Games that train rhythm skills may serve as useful tools for retraining motor and cognitive functions in patients with motor or neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, dyslexia, or ADHD). Our criteria were the peripheral used to capture and record the response, the type of response and the output measure. None of the existing games provides sufficient temporal precision in stimulus presentation and/or data acquisition. In addition, games do not train selectively rhythmic skills. Hence, the available music games, in their present form, are not satisfying for training rhythmic skills. Yet, some features such as the device used, the interface or the game scenario provide good indications for devising efficient training protocols. Guidelines are provided for devising serious music games targeting rhythmic training in the future. PMID:28611610

  12. Music Games: Potential Application and Considerations for Rhythmic Training.

    PubMed

    Bégel, Valentin; Di Loreto, Ines; Seilles, Antoine; Dalla Bella, Simone

    2017-01-01

    Rhythmic skills are natural and widespread in the general population. The majority can track the beat of music and move along with it. These abilities are meaningful from a cognitive standpoint given their tight links with prominent motor and cognitive functions such as language and memory. When rhythmic skills are challenged by brain damage or neurodevelopmental disorders, remediation strategies based on rhythm can be considered. For example, rhythmic training can be used to improve motor performance (e.g., gait) as well as cognitive and language skills. Here, we review the games readily available in the market and assess whether they are well-suited for rhythmic training. Games that train rhythm skills may serve as useful tools for retraining motor and cognitive functions in patients with motor or neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, dyslexia, or ADHD). Our criteria were the peripheral used to capture and record the response, the type of response and the output measure. None of the existing games provides sufficient temporal precision in stimulus presentation and/or data acquisition. In addition, games do not train selectively rhythmic skills. Hence, the available music games, in their present form, are not satisfying for training rhythmic skills. Yet, some features such as the device used, the interface or the game scenario provide good indications for devising efficient training protocols. Guidelines are provided for devising serious music games targeting rhythmic training in the future.

  13. Advances in surgery for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Rowland, Nathan C; Sammartino, Francesco; Lozano, Andres M

    2017-01-01

    Movement disorder surgery has evolved throughout history as our knowledge of motor circuits and ways in which to manipulate them have expanded. Today, the positive impact on patient quality of life for a growing number of movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease is now well accepted and confirmed through several decades of randomized, controlled trials. Nevertheless, residual motor symptoms after movement disorder surgery such as deep brain stimulation and lack of a definitive cure for these conditions demand that advances continue to push the boundaries of the field and maximize its therapeutic potential. Similarly, advances in related fields - wireless technology, artificial intelligence, stem cell and gene therapy, neuroimaging, nanoscience, and minimally invasive surgery - mean that movement disorder surgery stands at a crossroads to benefit from unique combinations of all these developments. In this minireview, we outline some of these developments as well as evidence supporting topics of recent discussion and controversy in our field. Moving forward, expectations remain high that these improvements will come to encompass an even broader range of patients who might benefit from this therapy and decrease the burden of disease associated with these conditions. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  14. Neuromuscular-skeletal origins of predominant patterns of coordination in rhythmic two-joint arm movement.

    PubMed

    de Rugy, Aymar; Riek, Stephan; Carson, Richard G

    2006-01-01

    The authors tested for predominant patterns of coordination in the combination of rhythmic flexion-extension (FE) and supination- (SP) at the elbow-joint complex. Participants (N=10) spontaneously established in-phase (supination synchronized with flexion) and antiphase (pronation synchronized with flexion) patterns. In addition, the authors used a motorized robot arm to generate involuntary SP movements with different phase relations with respect to voluntary FE. The involuntarily induced in-phase pattern was accentuated and was more consistent than other patterns. The result provides evidence that the predominance of the in-phase pattern originates in the influence of neuromuscular-skeletal constraints rather than in a preference dictated by perceptual-cognitive factors implicated in voluntary control. Neuromuscular-skeletal constraints involved in the predominance of the in-phase and the antiphase patterns are discussed.

  15. Dynamical entrainment of corticospinal excitability during rhythmic movement observation: a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation study.

    PubMed

    Varlet, Manuel; Novembre, Giacomo; Keller, Peter E

    2017-06-01

    Spontaneous modulations of corticospinal excitability during action observation have been interpreted as evidence for the activation of internal motor representations equivalent to the observed action. Alternatively or complementary to this perspective, growing evidence shows that motor activity during observation of rhythmic movements can be modulated by direct visuomotor couplings and dynamical entrainment. In-phase and anti-phase entrainment spontaneously occur, characterized by cyclic movements proceeding simultaneously in the same (in-phase) or opposite (anti-phase) direction. Here we investigate corticospinal excitability during the observation of vertical oscillations of an index finger using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from participants' flexor and extensor muscles of the right index finger, placed in either a maximal steady flexion or extension position, with stimulations delivered at maximal flexion, maximal extension or mid-trajectory of the observed finger oscillations. Consistent with the occurrence of dynamical motor entrainment, increased and decreased MEP responses - suggesting the facilitation of stable in-phase and anti-phase relations but not an unstable 90° phase relation - were found in participants' flexors. Anti-phase motor facilitation contrasts with the activation of internal motor representation as it involves activity in the motor system opposite from activity required for the execution of the observed movement. These findings demonstrate the relevance of dynamical entrainment theories and methods for understanding spontaneous motor activity in the brain during action observation and the mechanisms underpinning coordinated movements during social interaction. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Computer analysis of the leaf movements of pinto beans.

    PubMed

    Hoshizaki, T; Hamner, K C

    1969-07-01

    Computer analysis was used for the detection of rhythmic components and the estimation of period length in leaf movement records. The results of this study indicated that spectral analysis can be profitably used to determine rhythmic components in leaf movements.In Pinto bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown for 28 days under continuous light of 750 ft-c and at a constant temperature of 28 degrees , there was only 1 highly significant rhythmic component in the leaf movements. The period of this rhythm was 27.3 hr. In plants grown at 20 degrees , there were 2 highly significant rhythmic components: 1 of 13.8 hr and a much stronger 1 of 27.3 hr. At 15 degrees , the highly significant rhythmic components were also 27.3 and 13.8 hr in length but were of equal intensity. Random movements less than 9 hr in length became very pronounced at this temperature. At 10 degrees , no significant rhythm was found in the leaf movements. At 5 degrees , the leaf movements ceased within 1 day.

  17. Intraoperative monitoring of motor symptoms using surface electromyography during stereotactic surgery for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xuguang; Aziz, Tipu Z; Bain, Peter G

    2005-06-01

    The authors present practical evidence for the usefulness of intraoperative monitoring with surface electromyograms (sEMGs) from the affected muscles to assist electrode implantation and lesioning in patients with movement disorders. In 22 consecutive patients with various movement disorders, sEMGs were monitored in selected muscles during stereotactic surgery that involved either lesioning or electrode implantation. The electromyograms related to major motor symptoms such as tremor, rigidity, myoclonus, dystonia, and chorea were monitored and characterized on-line by both amplitude and frequency. Major motor symptoms were revealed by sEMGs recorded from the affected muscles. Tremor manifested as highly rhythmic bursts with a narrow frequency band; dyskinesias and chorea appeared as irregularly repeated bursts within a broad frequency range of 1 to 5 Hz; and rigidity and dystonia appeared as sustained high-frequency activity and co-contraction between antagonist muscles. The results suggest that intraoperative monitoring of sEMGs could help to functionally refine and confirm target localization. Surface EMGs could be used (1) as reference signals of the motor symptoms so that other signals, such as the oscillatory local field potentials simultaneously recorded via the implanted electrodes, could be correlated with the sEMGs and used to fine-tune or confirm the target localization; (2) to quantify the effects of acute electrical stimulation on the motor symptoms; and (3) to sensitively detect unwanted capsular responses induced by direct stimulation of the internal capsule. The authors conclude that intraoperative monitoring of sEMGs of the affected muscles of patients with movement disorders during stereotactic surgery provides sensitive and quantitative information that can contribute to improved electrode or lesion placement.

  18. Sex Differences in Rhythmic Preferences in the Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus): A Comparative Study with Humans

    PubMed Central

    Hoeschele, Marisa; Bowling, Daniel L.

    2016-01-01

    A variety of parrot species have recently gained attention as members of a small group of non-human animals that are capable of coordinating their movements in time with a rhythmic pulse. This capacity is highly developed in humans, who display unparalleled sensitivity to musical beats and appear to prefer rhythmically organized sounds in their music. Do parrots also exhibit a preference for rhythmic over arrhythmic sounds? Here, we presented humans and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) – a small parrot species that have been shown to be able to align movements with a beat – with rhythmic and arrhythmic sound patterns in an acoustic place preference paradigm. Both species were allowed to explore an environment for 5 min. We quantified how much time they spent in proximity to rhythmic vs. arrhythmic stimuli. The results show that humans spent more time with rhythmic stimuli, and also preferred rhythmic stimuli when directly asked in a post-test survey. Budgerigars did not show any such overall preferences. However, further examination of the budgerigar results showed an effect of sex, such that male budgerigars spent more time with arrthymic stimuli, and female budgerigars spent more time with rhythmic stimuli. Our results support the idea that rhythmic information is interesting to budgerigars. We suggest that future investigations into the temporal characteristics of naturalistic social behaviors in budgerigars, such as courtship vocalizations and head-bobbing displays, may help explain the sex difference we observed. PMID:27757099

  19. Movement disorders secondary to craniocerebral trauma.

    PubMed

    Krauss, Joachim K

    2015-01-01

    Over the past few decades it has been recognized that traumatic brain injury may result in various movement disorders. In survivors of severe head injury, post-traumatic movement disorders were reported in about 20%, and they persisted in about 10% of patients. The most frequent persisting movement disorder in this population is kinetic cerebellar outflow tremor in about 9%, followed by dystonia in about 4%. While tremor is associated most frequently with cerebellar or mesencephalic lesions, patients with dystonia frequently have basal ganglia or thalamic lesions. Moderate or mild traumatic brain injury only rarely causes persistent post-traumatic movement disorders. It appears that the frequency of post-traumatic movement disorders overall has been declining which most likely is secondary to improved treatment of brain injury. In patients with disabling post-traumatic movement disorders which are refractory to medical treatment, stereotactic neurosurgery can provide long-lasting benefit. While in the past the primary option for severe kinetic tremor was thalamotomy and for dystonia thalamotomy or pallidotomy, today deep brain stimulation has become the preferred treatment. Parkinsonism is a rare consequence of single head injury, but repeated head injury such as seen in boxing can result in chronic encephalopathy with parkinsonian features. While there is still controversy whether or not head injury is a risk factor for the development of Parkinson's disease, recent studies indicate that genetic susceptibility might be relevant. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Feedback Signal from Motoneurons Influences a Rhythmic Pattern Generator.

    PubMed

    Rotstein, Horacio G; Schneider, Elisa; Szczupak, Lidia

    2017-09-20

    Motoneurons are not mere output units of neuronal circuits that control motor behavior but participate in pattern generation. Research on the circuit that controls the crawling motor behavior in leeches indicated that motoneurons participate as modulators of this rhythmic motor pattern. Crawling results from successive bouts of elongation and contraction of the whole leech body. In the isolated segmental ganglia, dopamine can induce a rhythmic antiphasic activity of the motoneurons that control contraction (DE-3 motoneurons) and elongation (CV motoneurons). The study was performed in isolated ganglia where manipulation of the activity of specific motoneurons was performed in the course of fictive crawling ( crawling ). In this study, the membrane potential of CV was manipulated while crawling was monitored through the rhythmic activity of DE-3. Matching behavioral observations that show that elongation dominates the rhythmic pattern, the electrophysiological activity of CV motoneurons dominates the cycle. Brief excitation of CV motoneurons during crawling episodes resets the rhythmic activity of DE-3, indicating that CV feeds back to the rhythmic pattern generator. CV hyperpolarization accelerated the rhythm to an extent that depended on the magnitude of the cycle period, suggesting that CV exerted a positive feedback on the unit(s) of the pattern generator that controls the elongation phase. A simple computational model was implemented to test the consequences of such feedback. The simulations indicate that the duty cycle of CV depended on the strength of the positive feedback between CV and the pattern generator circuit. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Rhythmic movements of animals are controlled by neuronal networks that have been conceived as hierarchical structures. At the basis of this hierarchy, we find the motoneurons, few neurons at the top control global aspects of the behavior (e.g., onset, duration); and within these two ends, specific neuronal circuits control

  1. Stereotyped movement disorder in ICD-11.

    PubMed

    Stein, Dan J; Woods, Douglas W

    2014-01-01

    According to current proposals for ICD-11, stereotyped movement disorder will be classified in the grouping of neurodevelopmental disorders, with a qualifier to indicate whether self-injury is present, similar to the classification of stereotypic movement disorder in DSM-5. At the same time, the WHO ICD-11 Working Group on the Classification of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders has proposed a grouping of body-focused repetitive behavior disorders within the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRD) cluster to include trichotillomania and skin-picking disorder. DSM-5 has taken a slightly different approach: trichotillomania and excoriation (skin picking) disorder are included in the OCRD grouping, while body-focused repetitive behavior disorder is listed under other specified forms of OCRD. DSM-5 also includes a separate category of nonsuicidal self-injury in the section on "conditions for further study." There are a number of unresolved nosological questions regarding the relationships among stereotyped movement disorder, body-focused repetitive behavior disorders, and nonsuicidal self-injury. In this article, we attempt to provide preliminary answers to some of these questions as they relate to the ICD-11 classification of mental and behavioral disorders.

  2. Group rhythmic synchrony and attention in children

    PubMed Central

    Khalil, Alexander K.; Minces, Victor; McLoughlin, Grainne; Chiba, Andrea

    2013-01-01

    Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of time, is an often-overlooked yet critical context for human interaction. This study tests the relationship between the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting with the ability to attend in 102 elementary schoolchildren. Impairments in temporal processing have frequently been shown to exist in clinical populations with learning disorders, particularly those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting—an instance of the type of temporal processing necessary for successful interaction and learning—would be correlated with the ability to attend across the continuum of the population. A music class is an ideal setting for the study of interpersonal timing. In order to measure synchrony in this context, we constructed instruments that allowed the recording and measurement of individual rhythmic performance. The SWAN teacher questionnaire was used as a measurement of attentional behavior. We find that the ability to synchronize with others in a group music class can predict a child's attentional behavior. PMID:24032021

  3. Post-stroke Movement Disorders: Clinical Manifestations and Pharmacological Management

    PubMed Central

    Siniscalchi, Antonio; Gallelli, Luca; Labate, Angelo; Malferrari, Giovanni; Palleria, Caterina; Sarro, Giovambattista De

    2012-01-01

    Involuntary abnormal movements have been reported after ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. Post stroke movement disorders can appear as acute or delayed sequel. At the moment, for many of these disorders the knowledge of pharmacological treatment is still inadequate. Dopaminergic and GABAergic systems may be mainly involved in post-stroke movement disorders. This article provides a review on drugs commonly used in post-stroke movement disorders, given that some post-stroke movement disorders have shown a partial benefit with pharmacological approach. PMID:23449883

  4. Post-stroke Movement Disorders: Clinical Manifestations and Pharmacological Management.

    PubMed

    Siniscalchi, Antonio; Gallelli, Luca; Labate, Angelo; Malferrari, Giovanni; Palleria, Caterina; Sarro, Giovambattista De

    2012-09-01

    Involuntary abnormal movements have been reported after ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke. Post stroke movement disorders can appear as acute or delayed sequel. At the moment, for many of these disorders the knowledge of pharmacological treatment is still inadequate. Dopaminergic and GABAergic systems may be mainly involved in post-stroke movement disorders. This article provides a review on drugs commonly used in post-stroke movement disorders, given that some post-stroke movement disorders have shown a partial benefit with pharmacological approach.

  5. Different mechanisms may generate sustained hypertonic and rhythmic bursting muscle activity in idiopathic dystonia.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xuguang; Yianni, John; Wang, Shouyan; Bain, Peter G; Stein, John F; Aziz, Tipu Z

    2006-03-01

    Despite that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) is emerging as the favored intervention for patients with medically intractable dystonia, the pathophysiological mechanisms of dystonia are largely unclear. In eight patients with primary dystonia who were treated with bilateral chronic pallidal stimulation, we correlated symptom-related electromyogram (EMG) activity of the most affected muscles with the local field potentials (LFPs) recorded from the globus pallidus electrodes. In 5 dystonic patients with mobile involuntary movements, rhythmic EMG bursts in the contralateral muscles were coherent with the oscillations in the pallidal LFPs at the burst frequency. In contrast, no significant coherence was seen between EMG and LFPs either for the sustained activity separated out from the compound EMGs in those 5 cases, or in the EMGs in 3 other cases without mobile involuntary movements and rhythmic EMG bursts. In comparison with the resting condition, in both active and passive movements, significant modulation in the GPi LFPs was seen in the range of 8-16 Hz. The finding of significant coherence between GPi oscillations and rhythmic EMG bursts but not sustained tonic EMG activity suggests that the synchronized pallidal activity may be directly related to the rhythmic involuntary movements. In contrast, the sustained hypertonic muscle activity may be represented by less synchronized activity in the pallidum. Thus, the pallidum may play different roles in generating different components of the dystonic symptom complex.

  6. Transfer of learning between unimanual and bimanual rhythmic movement coordination: transfer is a function of the task dynamic.

    PubMed

    Snapp-Childs, Winona; Wilson, Andrew D; Bingham, Geoffrey P

    2015-07-01

    Under certain conditions, learning can transfer from a trained task to an untrained version of that same task. However, it is as yet unclear what those certain conditions are or why learning transfers when it does. Coordinated rhythmic movement is a valuable model system for investigating transfer because we have a model of the underlying task dynamic that includes perceptual coupling between the limbs being coordinated. The model predicts that (1) coordinated rhythmic movements, both bimanual and unimanual, are organised with respect to relative motion information for relative phase in the coupling function, (2) unimanual is less stable than bimanual coordination because the coupling is unidirectional rather than bidirectional, and (3) learning a new coordination is primarily about learning to perceive and use the relevant information which, with equal perceptual improvement due to training, yields equal transfer of learning from bimanual to unimanual coordination and vice versa [but, given prediction (2), the resulting performance is also conditioned by the intrinsic stability of each task]. In the present study, two groups were trained to produce 90° either unimanually or bimanually, respectively, and tested in respect to learning (namely improved performance in the trained 90° coordination task and improved visual discrimination of 90°) and transfer of learning (to the other, untrained 90° coordination task). Both groups improved in the task condition in which they were trained and in their ability to visually discriminate 90°, and this learning transferred to the untrained condition. When scaled by the relative intrinsic stability of each task, transfer levels were found to be equal. The results are discussed in the context of the perception-action approach to learning and performance.

  7. Rhythmic Extended Kalman Filter for Gait Rehabilitation Motion Estimation and Segmentation.

    PubMed

    Joukov, Vladimir; Bonnet, Vincent; Karg, Michelle; Venture, Gentiane; Kulic, Dana

    2018-02-01

    This paper proposes a method to enable the use of non-intrusive, small, wearable, and wireless sensors to estimate the pose of the lower body during gait and other periodic motions and to extract objective performance measures useful for physiotherapy. The Rhythmic Extended Kalman Filter (Rhythmic-EKF) algorithm is developed to estimate the pose, learn an individualized model of periodic movement over time, and use the learned model to improve pose estimation. The proposed approach learns a canonical dynamical system model of the movement during online observation, which is used to accurately model the acceleration during pose estimation. The canonical dynamical system models the motion as a periodic signal. The estimated phase and frequency of the motion also allow the proposed approach to segment the motion into repetitions and extract useful features, such as gait symmetry, step length, and mean joint movement and variance. The algorithm is shown to outperform the extended Kalman filter in simulation, on healthy participant data, and stroke patient data. For the healthy participant marching dataset, the Rhythmic-EKF improves joint acceleration and velocity estimates over regular EKF by 40% and 37%, respectively, estimates joint angles with 2.4° root mean squared error, and segments the motion into repetitions with 96% accuracy.

  8. Trichotillomania, stereotypic movement disorder, and related disorders.

    PubMed

    Stein, Dan J; Garner, Joseph P; Keuthen, Nancy J; Franklin, Martin E; Walkup, John T; Woods, Douglas W

    2007-08-01

    Trichotillomania is currently classified as an impulse control disorder not otherwise classified, whereas body-focused behaviors other than hair-pulling may be diagnosed as stereotypic movement disorder. A number of disorders characterized by repetitive, body-focused behaviors (eg, skin-picking) are prevalent and disabling and may have phenomenological and psychobiological overlap. Such disorders deserve greater recognition in the official nosology, and there would seem to be clinical utility in classifying them in the same diagnostic category.

  9. Stereotypic Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    Katherine, Mackenzie

    2018-04-01

    This review summarizes motor stereotypies in terms of description, prevalence, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. They are fixed and persistent movements. Stereotypies begin before 3 years of age and continue into adulthood. Primary motor stereotypies occur in children of normal intelligence, whereas secondary stereotypies ensue in the setting of an additional diagnosis such as autism spectrum disorder or other neurologic disorders. They are highly associated with comorbidities such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, inattention, and tics. The pathophysiology of stereotypies involves fronto-striatal overactive dopaminergic pathways, and underactive cholinergic and GABAergic inhibitory pathways. No genetic markers have been identified despite a clear genetic predisposition. Behavioral therapy is the principle treatment. Future studies will focus on identifying genetic markers, and on better understanding the functional and structural neurobiology of these movements. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Visual cortex responses reflect temporal structure of continuous quasi-rhythmic sensory stimulation.

    PubMed

    Keitel, Christian; Thut, Gregor; Gross, Joachim

    2017-02-01

    Neural processing of dynamic continuous visual input, and cognitive influences thereon, are frequently studied in paradigms employing strictly rhythmic stimulation. However, the temporal structure of natural stimuli is hardly ever fully rhythmic but possesses certain spectral bandwidths (e.g. lip movements in speech, gestures). Examining periodic brain responses elicited by strictly rhythmic stimulation might thus represent ideal, yet isolated cases. Here, we tested how the visual system reflects quasi-rhythmic stimulation with frequencies continuously varying within ranges of classical theta (4-7Hz), alpha (8-13Hz) and beta bands (14-20Hz) using EEG. Our findings substantiate a systematic and sustained neural phase-locking to stimulation in all three frequency ranges. Further, we found that allocation of spatial attention enhances EEG-stimulus locking to theta- and alpha-band stimulation. Our results bridge recent findings regarding phase locking ("entrainment") to quasi-rhythmic visual input and "frequency-tagging" experiments employing strictly rhythmic stimulation. We propose that sustained EEG-stimulus locking can be considered as a continuous neural signature of processing dynamic sensory input in early visual cortices. Accordingly, EEG-stimulus locking serves to trace the temporal evolution of rhythmic as well as quasi-rhythmic visual input and is subject to attentional bias. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Neurobiology of rhythmic motor entrainment.

    PubMed

    Molinari, Marco; Leggio, Maria G; De Martin, Martina; Cerasa, Antonio; Thaut, Michael

    2003-11-01

    Timing is extremely important for movement, and understanding the neurobiological basis of rhythm perception and reproduction can be helpful in addressing motor recovery after brain lesions. In this quest, the science of music might provide interesting hints for better understanding the brain timing mechanism. The report focuses on the neurobiological substrate of sensorimotor transformation of time data, highlighting the power of auditory rhythmic stimuli in guiding motor acts. The cerebellar role of timing is addressed in subjects with cerebellar damage; subsequently, cerebellar timing processing is highlighted through an fMRI study of professional musicians. The two approaches converge to demonstrate that different levels of time processing exist, one conscious and one not, and to support the idea that timing is a distributed function. The hypothesis that unconscious motor responses to auditory rhythmic stimuli can be relevant in guiding motor recovery and modulating music perception is advanced and discussed.

  12. Movement disorder symptoms associated with Unified ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Objectives: The UPDRS is a commonly used neurological measurement to assess the presence and severity of parkinsonian symptoms. It has also been used to assess symptoms associated with Mn exposure. Objectives: to determine 1) if movement disorder symptoms were associated with UPDRS: Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Motor abnormalities; and 2) which symptoms were most related to increased abnormalities on these UPDRS subscales. Participants & Methods: Correlations between self-reported movement disorder symptoms from a health questionnaire and scores obtained on UPDRS: ADL and Motor subscales, and the Bradykinesia domain of the Motor subscale, were assessed during a medical examination among 185 Mn-exposed participants from two Ohio towns. Partial correlations were used for statistical analyses, controlling for age, sex, education and a history of musculoskeletal disease.Results: The presence of movement disorder symptoms was positively associated with ADL (pr =0.647, p = <0.001), Motor (pr =0.449, p = <0.001), and Bradykinesia (pr =0.418, p = <0.001) domains on the UPDRS. Specific movement disorder symptoms most strongly associated with increased ADL and Motor scores included having difficulty getting out of chairs (pr =0.458, p = <0.001), writing (pr =0.481, p = <0.001), skilled movements (pr =0.478, p = <0.001), loss of coordination/balance (pr =0.457, p = <0.001), changes in walking (pr =0.412, p = <0.001) and slowness of movement (pr =0.539, p = <0.0

  13. Intracellular high cholesterol content disorders the clock genes, apoptosis-related genes and fibrinolytic-related genes rhythmic expressions in human plaque-derived vascular smooth muscle cells.

    PubMed

    Lin, Changpo; Tang, Xiao; Xu, Lirong; Qian, Ruizhe; Shi, Zhenyu; Wang, Lixin; Cai, Tingting; Yan, Dong; Fu, Weiguo; Guo, Daqiao

    2017-07-10

    The clock genes are involved in regulating cardiovascular functions, and their expression disorders would lead to circadian rhythm disruptions of clock-controlled genes (CCGs), resulting in atherosclerotic plaque formation and rupture. Our previous study revealed the rhythmic expression of clock genes were attenuated in human plaque-derived vascular smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs), but failed to detect the downstream CCGs expressions and the underlying molecular mechanism. In this study, we examined the difference of CCGs rhythmic expression between human normal carotid VSMCs (NVSMCs) and PVSMCs. Furthermore, we compared the cholesterol and triglycerides levels between two groups and the link to clock genes and CCGs expressions. Seven health donors' normal carotids and 19 carotid plaques yielded viable cultured NVSMCs and PVSMCs. The expression levels of target genes were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Western-blot. The intracellular cholesterol and triglycerides levels were measured by kits. The circadian expressions of apoptosis-related genes and fibrinolytic-related genes were disordered. Besides, the cholesterol levels were significant higher in PVSMCs. After treated with cholesterol or oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), the expressions of clock genes were inhibited; and the rhythmic expressions of clock genes, apoptosis-related genes and fibrinolytic-related genes were disturbed in NVSMCs, which were similar to PVSMCs. The results suggested that intracellular high cholesterol content of PVSMCs would lead to the disorders of clock genes and CCGs rhythmic expressions. And further studies should be conducted to demonstrate the specific molecular mechanisms involved.

  14. Kinematic analysis of basic rhythmic movements of hip-hop dance: motion characteristics common to expert dancers.

    PubMed

    Sato, Nahoko; Nunome, Hiroyuki; Ikegami, Yasuo

    2015-02-01

    In hip-hop dance contests, a procedure for evaluating performances has not been clearly defined, and objective criteria for evaluation are necessary. It is assumed that most hip-hop dance techniques have common motion characteristics by which judges determine the dancer's skill level. This study aimed to extract motion characteristics that may be linked to higher evaluations by judges. Ten expert and 12 nonexpert dancers performed basic rhythmic movements at a rate of 100 beats per minute. Their movements were captured using a motion capture system, and eight judges evaluated the performances. Four kinematic parameters, including the amplitude of the body motions and the phase delay, which indicates the phase difference between two joint angles, were calculated. The two groups showed no significant differences in terms of the amplitudes of the body motions. In contrast, the phase delay between the head motion and the other body parts' motions of expert dancers who received higher scores from the judges, which was approximately a quarter cycle, produced a loop-shaped motion of the head. It is suggested that this slight phase delay was related to the judges' evaluations and that these findings may help in constructing an objective evaluation system.

  15. Saccadic eye movement applications for psychiatric disorders

    PubMed Central

    Bittencourt, Juliana; Velasques, Bruna; Teixeira, Silmar; Basile, Luis F; Salles, José Inácio; Nardi, Antonio Egídio; Budde, Henning; Cagy, Mauricio; Piedade, Roberto; Ribeiro, Pedro

    2013-01-01

    Objective The study presented here analyzed the patterns of relationship between oculomotor performance and psychopathology, focusing on depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety disorder. Methods Scientific articles published from 1967 to 2013 in the PubMed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Cochrane, and SciELO databases were reviewed. Results Saccadic eye movement appears to be heavily involved in psychiatric diseases covered in this review via a direct mechanism. The changes seen in the execution of eye movement tasks in patients with psychopathologies of various studies confirm that eye movement is associated with the cognitive and motor system. Conclusion Saccadic eye movement changes appear to be heavily involved in the psychiatric disorders covered in this review and may be considered a possible marker of some disorders. The few existing studies that approach the topic demonstrate a need to improve the experimental paradigms, as well as the methods of analysis. Most of them report behavioral variables (latency/reaction time), though electrophysiological measures are absent. PMID:24072973

  16. Movement Disorders Induced by the "Atypical" Antipsychotic Aripiprazole.

    PubMed

    Selfani, Karim; Soland, Valérie L; Chouinard, Sylvain; Huot, Philippe

    2017-01-01

    Aripiprazole is an antipsychotic that acts as a partial agonist at dopamine D2 receptors. Because of its partial agonist activity, it was believed that aripiprazole would be less susceptible than typical antipsychotics to induce extrapyramidal side effects. However, a few case-reports and case-series detailing aripiprazole-induced movement disorders have been published, suggesting that aripiprazole-induced movement disorders may arise. Here, we seek to report further cases of aripiprazole-induced movement disorders to raise the awareness of clinicians on this adverse effect. Patients referred to the André-Barbeau Movement Disorder clinic treated with aripiprazole were enrolled in this study. Their charts were retrospectively reviewed and data regarding past psychiatric history, past antipsychotic medication, duration of aripiprazole treatment, daily dose of aripiprazole administered, and resulting movement disorders were collected. We report 14 cases of parkinsonism, tardive dyskinesia and akathisia induced by aripiprazole. Some of these, mostly the parkinsonian phenotype, abated spontaneously following drug discontinuation, whereas others, mostly related to tardive phenomena, persisted after aripiprazole was discontinued, and required treatment. This case-series adds to the existing literature that suggests that movement disorders may arise following treatment with aripiprazole. Clinicians should be aware of this potential side effect when prescribing aripiprazole to patients.

  17. Sensory aspects of movement disorders

    PubMed Central

    Patel, Neepa; Jankovic, Joseph; Hallett, Mark

    2016-01-01

    Movement disorders, which include disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, Tourette’s syndrome, restless legs syndrome, and akathisia, have traditionally been considered to be disorders of impaired motor control resulting predominantly from dysfunction of the basal ganglia. This notion has been revised largely because of increasing recognition of associated behavioural, psychiatric, autonomic, and other non-motor symptoms. The sensory aspects of movement disorders include intrinsic sensory abnormalities and the effects of external sensory input on the underlying motor abnormality. The basal ganglia, cerebellum, thalamus, and their connections, coupled with altered sensory input, seem to play a key part in abnormal sensorimotor integration. However, more investigation into the phenomenology and physiological basis of sensory abnormalities, and about the role of the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and related structures in somatosensory processing, and its effect on motor control, is needed. PMID:24331796

  18. Ictal SPECT in patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder.

    PubMed

    Mayer, Geert; Bitterlich, Marion; Kuwert, Torsten; Ritt, Philipp; Stefan, Hermann

    2015-05-01

    Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder is a rapid eye movement parasomnia clinically characterized by acting out dreams due to disinhibition of muscle tone in rapid eye movement sleep. Up to 80-90% of the patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder develop neurodegenerative disorders within 10-15 years after symptom onset. The disorder is reported in 45-60% of all narcoleptic patients. Whether rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder is also a predictor for neurodegeneration in narcolepsy is not known. Although the pathophysiology causing the disinhibition of muscle tone in rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder has been studied extensively in animals, little is known about the mechanisms in humans. Most of the human data are from imaging or post-mortem studies. Recent studies show altered functional connectivity between substantia nigra and striatum in patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. We were interested to study which regions are activated in rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder during actual episodes by performing ictal single photon emission tomography. We studied one patient with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, one with Parkinson's disease and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, and two patients with narcolepsy and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. All patients underwent extended video polysomnography. The tracer was injected after at least 10 s of consecutive rapid eye movement sleep and 10 s of disinhibited muscle tone accompanied by movements registered by an experienced sleep technician. Ictal single photon emission tomography displayed the same activation in the bilateral premotor areas, the interhemispheric cleft, the periaqueductal area, the dorsal and ventral pons and the anterior lobe of the cerebellum in all patients. Our study shows that in patients with Parkinson's disease and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder-in contrast to wakefulness

  19. Primate beta oscillations and rhythmic behaviors.

    PubMed

    Merchant, Hugo; Bartolo, Ramón

    2018-03-01

    The study of non-human primates in complex behaviors such as rhythm perception and entrainment is critical to understand the neurophysiological basis of human cognition. Next to reviewing the role of beta oscillations in human beat perception, here we discuss the role of primate putaminal oscillatory activity in the control of rhythmic movements that are guided by a sensory metronome or internally gated. The analysis of the local field potentials of the behaving macaques showed that gamma-oscillations reflect local computations associated with stimulus processing of the metronome, whereas beta-activity involves the entrainment of large putaminal circuits, probably in conjunction with other elements of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuit, during internally driven rhythmic tapping. Thus, this review emphasizes the need of parametric neurophysiological observations in non-human primates that display a well-controlled behavior during high-level cognitive processes.

  20. Immune-mediated extrapyramidal movement disorders, including Sydenham chorea.

    PubMed

    Dale, Russell C

    2013-01-01

    Immune-mediated extrapyramidal movement disorders typically occur in previously healthy children. Immune-mediated movement disorders may occur as a postinfectious, paraneoplastic, or idiopathic process. Sydenham chorea (SC) is the classical poststreptococcal movement and psychiatric disorder, and may be associated with other features of rheumatic fever. The outcome is typically good, although residual chorea, psychiatric disturbance, and relapses are possible. Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is a syndrome of streptococcal-induced tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although a number of investigators have reported an association between streptococcal infection and neuropsychiatric syndromes, the PANDAS hypothesis is controversial. Encephalitis lethargica is an encephalitic illness with parkinsonism, dyskinesias, and psychiatric disturbance as dominant features. The exact disease mechanism is not understood, although an autoimmune process is suspected. NMDA-R encephalitis is a new entity characterized by encephalitis with dramatic psychiatric disturbance, dyskinesias, cognitive alteration, and seizures. Patients have autoantibodies against the NMDA-R that appear to be pathogenic: immune therapies appear warranted to minimize disability. Movement disorders are also described associated with systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome. The differential diagnosis and investigation approach of acute-onset movement disorders are also discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. ECEM (Eye Closure, Eye Movements): application to depersonalization disorder.

    PubMed

    Harriet, E Hollander

    2009-10-01

    Eye Closure, Eye Movements (ECEM) is a hypnotically-based approach to treatment that incorporates eye movements adapted from the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) protocol in conjunction with hypnosis for the treatment of depersonalization disorder. Depersonalization Disorder has been differentiated from post-traumatic stress disorders and has recently been conceptualized as a subtype of panic disorder (Baker et al., 2003; David, Phillips, Medford, & Sierra, 2004; Segui et. al., 2000). During ECEM, while remaining in a hypnotic state, clients self-generated six to seven trials of eye movements to reduce anticipatory anxiety associated with depersonalization disorder. Eye movements were also used to process triggers that elicited breath holding, often followed by episodes of depersonalization. Hypnotic suggestions were used to reverse core symptoms of depersonalization, subjectively described as "feeling unreal" (Simeon et al., 1997).

  2. Effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait in cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Ghai, Shashank; Ghai, Ishan; Effenberg, Alfred O

    2018-01-01

    Auditory entrainment can influence gait performance in movement disorders. The entrainment can incite neurophysiological and musculoskeletal changes to enhance motor execution. However, a consensus as to its effects based on gait in people with cerebral palsy is still warranted. A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out to analyze the effects of rhythmic auditory cueing on spatiotemporal and kinematic parameters of gait in people with cerebral palsy. Systematic identification of published literature was performed adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine guidelines, from inception until July 2017, on online databases: Web of Science, PEDro, EBSCO, Medline, Cochrane, Embase and ProQuest. Kinematic and spatiotemporal gait parameters were evaluated in a meta-analysis across studies. Of 547 records, nine studies involving 227 participants (108 children/119 adults) met our inclusion criteria. The qualitative review suggested beneficial effects of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait performance among all included studies. The meta-analysis revealed beneficial effects of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait dynamic index (Hedge's g =0.9), gait velocity (1.1), cadence (0.3), and stride length (0.5). This review for the first time suggests a converging evidence toward application of rhythmic auditory cueing to enhance gait performance and stability in people with cerebral palsy. This article details underlying neurophysiological mechanisms and use of cueing as an efficient home-based intervention. It bridges gaps in the literature, and suggests translational approaches on how rhythmic auditory cueing can be incorporated in rehabilitation approaches to enhance gait performance in people with cerebral palsy.

  3. [Risk factors for tardive movement disorders in schizophrenia].

    PubMed

    Tenback, D E; Bakker, P R; van Harten, P N

    2015-01-01

    Tardive movement disorders are common among patients with schizophrenia. Risk factors for movement disorders are of the utmost importance in the context of preventive strategies. To achieve clearer classification of movement disorders in schizophrenia, to identify the risk factors involved and thereby develop strategies to prevent movement disorders. We searched PubMed for prospective studies which had been performed in homogeneous target populations with schizophrenia and which contained well-defined definitions of the movement disorders. From these we selected studies in which risk factors were repeatedly identified. Tardive dyskinesia is well documented. Risk factors for developing tardive dyskinesia are use of antipsychotics, particularly those belonging to the first generation, 'not belonging to the Caucasian race', early extrapyramidal symptoms and older age. So far, there is very little conclusive evidence regarding the genetics of tardive movement disorders. With regard to tardive dyskinesia, not belonging to the Caucasian race and old age are two risk factors that can be quickly determined for the purpose of prevention. In this case it leads to the choice of medication with a low D2 affinity. Furthermore, it is advisable, after commencing treatment with an antipsychotic drug, to evaluate on a regular basis if the patient is showing (early) signs of TD. If TD does occur, there is a choice between medication with a low D-2 affinity or clozapine.

  4. Rhythmic cognition in humans and animals: distinguishing meter and pulse perception

    PubMed Central

    Fitch, W. Tecumseh

    2013-01-01

    This paper outlines a cognitive and comparative perspective on human rhythmic cognition that emphasizes a key distinction between pulse perception and meter perception. Pulse perception involves the extraction of a regular pulse or “tactus” from a stream of events. Meter perception involves grouping of events into hierarchical trees with differing levels of “strength”, or perceptual prominence. I argue that metrically-structured rhythms are required to either perform or move appropriately to music (e.g., to dance). Rhythms, from this metrical perspective, constitute “trees in time.” Rhythmic syntax represents a neglected form of musical syntax, and warrants more thorough neuroscientific investigation. The recent literature on animal entrainment clearly demonstrates the capacity to extract the pulse from rhythmic music, and to entrain periodic movements to this pulse, in several parrot species and a California sea lion, and a more limited ability to do so in one chimpanzee. However, the ability of these or other species to infer hierarchical rhythmic trees remains, for the most part, unexplored (with some apparent negative results from macaques). The results from this animal comparative research, combined with new methods to explore rhythmic cognition neurally, provide exciting new routes for understanding not just rhythmic cognition, but hierarchical cognition more generally, from a biological and neural perspective. PMID:24198765

  5. High post-movement parietal low-beta power during rhythmic tapping facilitates performance in a stop task.

    PubMed

    Fischer, Petra; Tan, Huiling; Pogosyan, Alek; Brown, Peter

    2016-09-01

    Voluntary movements are followed by a post-movement electroencephalography (EEG) beta rebound, which increases with practice and confidence in a task. We hypothesized that greater beta modulation reflects less load on cognitive resources and may thus be associated with faster reactions to new stimuli. EEG was recorded in 17 healthy subjects during rhythmically paced index finger tapping. In a STOP condition, participants had to interrupt the upcoming tap in response to an auditory cue, which was timed such that stopping was successful only in ~ 50% of all trials. In a second condition, participants carried on tapping twice after the stop signal (CONTINUE condition). Thus the conditions were distinct in whether abrupt stopping was required as a second task. Modulation of 12-20 Hz power over motor and parietal areas developed with time on each trial and more so in the CONTINUE condition. Reduced modulation in the STOP condition went along with reduced negative mean asynchronies suggesting less confident anticipation of the timing of the next tap. Yet participants were more likely to stop when beta modulation prior to the stop cue was more pronounced. In the STOP condition, expectancy of the stop signal may have increased cognitive load during movement execution given that the task might have to be stopped abruptly. However, within this condition, stopping ability was increased if the preceding tap was followed by a relatively larger beta increase. Significant, albeit weak, correlations confirmed that increased post-movement beta power was associated with faster reactions to new stimuli, consistent with reduced cognitive load. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Evolution of central pattern generators and rhythmic behaviours

    PubMed Central

    Katz, Paul S.

    2016-01-01

    Comparisons of rhythmic movements and the central pattern generators (CPGs) that control them uncover principles about the evolution of behaviour and neural circuits. Over the course of evolutionary history, gradual evolution of behaviours and their neural circuitry within any lineage of animals has been a predominant occurrence. Small changes in gene regulation can lead to divergence of circuit organization and corresponding changes in behaviour. However, some behavioural divergence has resulted from large-scale rewiring of the neural network. Divergence of CPG circuits has also occurred without a corresponding change in behaviour. When analogous rhythmic behaviours have evolved independently, it has generally been with different neural mechanisms. Repeated evolution of particular rhythmic behaviours has occurred within some lineages due to parallel evolution or latent CPGs. Particular motor pattern generating mechanisms have also evolved independently in separate lineages. The evolution of CPGs and rhythmic behaviours shows that although most behaviours and neural circuits are highly conserved, the nature of the behaviour does not dictate the neural mechanism and that the presence of homologous neural components does not determine the behaviour. This suggests that although behaviour is generated by neural circuits, natural selection can act separately on these two levels of biological organization. PMID:26598733

  7. Evolution of central pattern generators and rhythmic behaviours.

    PubMed

    Katz, Paul S

    2016-01-05

    Comparisons of rhythmic movements and the central pattern generators (CPGs) that control them uncover principles about the evolution of behaviour and neural circuits. Over the course of evolutionary history, gradual evolution of behaviours and their neural circuitry within any lineage of animals has been a predominant occurrence. Small changes in gene regulation can lead to divergence of circuit organization and corresponding changes in behaviour. However, some behavioural divergence has resulted from large-scale rewiring of the neural network. Divergence of CPG circuits has also occurred without a corresponding change in behaviour. When analogous rhythmic behaviours have evolved independently, it has generally been with different neural mechanisms. Repeated evolution of particular rhythmic behaviours has occurred within some lineages due to parallel evolution or latent CPGs. Particular motor pattern generating mechanisms have also evolved independently in separate lineages. The evolution of CPGs and rhythmic behaviours shows that although most behaviours and neural circuits are highly conserved, the nature of the behaviour does not dictate the neural mechanism and that the presence of homologous neural components does not determine the behaviour. This suggests that although behaviour is generated by neural circuits, natural selection can act separately on these two levels of biological organization. © 2015 The Author(s).

  8. Time-frequency analysis of human motion during rhythmic exercises.

    PubMed

    Omkar, S N; Vyas, Khushi; Vikranth, H N

    2011-01-01

    Biomechanical signals due to human movements during exercise are represented in time-frequency domain using Wigner Distribution Function (WDF). Analysis based on WDF reveals instantaneous spectral and power changes during a rhythmic exercise. Investigations were carried out on 11 healthy subjects who performed 5 cycles of sun salutation, with a body-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as a motion sensor. Variance of Instantaneous Frequency (I.F) and Instantaneous Power (I.P) for performance analysis of the subject is estimated using one-way ANOVA model. Results reveal that joint Time-Frequency analysis of biomechanical signals during motion facilitates a better understanding of grace and consistency during rhythmic exercise.

  9. Exogenous melatonin in periodic limb movement disorder: an open clinical trial and a hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Kunz, D; Bes, F

    2001-03-15

    The etiology of Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD) as well as the precise role of melatonin in human physiology remains poorly understood. Inspired by a single case observation we performed the presented study in order to obtain first evidence for the hypothesis that exogenous melatonin would decrease PLM's and thereby improves symptoms of PLMD patients. N/A. N/A. Nine patients with first time diagnosis of PLMD without RLS were treated over a six-week period with 3 mg melatonin, taken between 10 and 11 p.m. N/A. Melatonin improved well-being in 7 of the 9 patients. Polysomnography, performed prior and at the end of melatonin treatment, demonstrated a significant reduction of investigated movement parameters, such as PLMs, PLM index, PLMs with arousals and PLM-arousal index. Actigraphy, measured over 14 nights prior and during the last 14 days of melatonin treatment, showed a significant reduction in movement rate and minutes with movements during Time in Bed. The temporal distribution of PLMs, as well as the coupling of PLMs with the phase position of circadian temperature curve, suggest an involvement of the circadian timing system in the pathophysiology of PLMD. Locomotor activity in animals clearly exhibits a circadian pattern and can be strongly influenced by exogenous melatonin. Results suggest a chronobiotic effect of exogenous melatonin in PLMD. More specifically, we hypothesize that the mode of action of melatonin in the presented PLMD patients might have been an increase of output-amplitude of the circadian timing system, thereby enhancing the circadian rhythmicity of locomotor activity with a reduction of sleep motor activity.

  10. Effects of Kindermusik Training on Infants' Rhythmic Enculturation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerry, David W.; Faux, Ashley L.; Trainor, Laurel J.

    2010-01-01

    Phillips-Silver and Trainor (2005) demonstrated a link between movement and the metrical interpretation of rhythm patterns in 7-month-old infants. Infants bounced on every second beat of a rhythmic pattern with no auditory accents later preferred to listen to an accented version of the pattern with accents every second beat (duple or march meter),…

  11. Substances of abuse and movement disorders: complex interactions and comorbidities

    PubMed Central

    Deik, Andres; Saunders-Pullman, Rachel; Luciano, Marta San

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between movement disorders and substance abuse which we previously reviewed are updated. We examine these relationships bidirectionally with focus on drugs of abuse which cause movement disorders, as well as primary movement disorders that are associated with use and abuse of alcohol and dopaminergic medications. First, we review the movement disorders that may develop from the acute use or withdrawal of frequent drugs of abuse, including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and methcathinone. We then comment on the interaction between alcoholism and alcohol-responsive movement disorders, such as essential tremor and myoclonus-dystonia. Lastly, we discuss the potential for abuse of antiparkinsonian dopaminergic agents in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). PMID:23030352

  12. Rating Scales for Movement Disorders With Sleep Disturbances: A Narrative Review

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez-Blázquez, Carmen; Forjaz, Maria João; Kurtis, Monica M.; Balestrino, Roberta; Martinez-Martin, Pablo

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: In recent years, a wide variety of rating scales and questionnaires for movement disorders have been developed and published, making reviews on their contents, and attributes convenient for the potential users. Sleep disorders are frequently present in movement disorders, and some movement disorders are accompanied by specific sleep difficulties. Aim: The aim of this study is to perform a narrative review of the most frequently used rating scales for movement disorders with sleep problems, with special attention to those recommended by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society. Methods: Online databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar), related references from papers and websites and personal files were searched for information on comprehensive or global rating scales which assessed sleep disturbances in the following movement disorders: akathisia, chorea, dystonia, essential tremor, myoclonus, multiple system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and tics and Tourette syndrome. For each rating scale, its objective and characteristics, as well as a summary of its psychometric properties and recommendations of use are described. Results: From 22 rating scales identified for the selected movement disorders, only 5 included specific questions on sleep problems. Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating scale (MDS-UPDRS), Non-Motor Symptoms Scale and Questionnaire (NMSS and NMSQuest), Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease (SCOPA)-Autonomic and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale (PSPRS) were the only rating scales that included items for assessing sleep disturbances. Conclusions: Despite sleep problems are frequent in movement disorders, very few of the rating scales addresses these specific symptoms. This may contribute to an infra diagnosis and mistreatment of the sleep problems in patients with movement disorders.

  13. Age-Related Changes in Bimanual Instrument Playing with Rhythmic Cueing

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Soo Ji; Cho, Sung-Rae; Yoo, Ga Eul

    2017-01-01

    Deficits in bimanual coordination of older adults have been demonstrated to significantly limit their functioning in daily life. As a bimanual sensorimotor task, instrument playing has great potential for motor and cognitive training in advanced age. While the process of matching a person’s repetitive movements to auditory rhythmic cueing during instrument playing was documented to involve motor and attentional control, investigation into whether the level of cognitive functioning influences the ability to rhythmically coordinate movement to an external beat in older populations is relatively limited. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine how timing accuracy during bimanual instrument playing with rhythmic cueing differed depending on the degree of participants’ cognitive aging. Twenty one young adults, 20 healthy older adults, and 17 older adults with mild dementia participated in this study. Each participant tapped an electronic drum in time to the rhythmic cueing provided using both hands simultaneously and in alternation. During bimanual instrument playing with rhythmic cueing, mean and variability of synchronization errors were measured and compared across the groups and the tempo of cueing during each type of tapping task. Correlations of such timing parameters with cognitive measures were also analyzed. The results showed that the group factor resulted in significant differences in the synchronization errors-related parameters. During bimanual tapping tasks, cognitive decline resulted in differences in synchronization errors between younger adults and older adults with mild dimentia. Also, in terms of variability of synchronization errors, younger adults showed significant differences in maintaining timing performance from older adults with and without mild dementia, which may be attributed to decreased processing time for bimanual coordination due to aging. Significant correlations were observed between variability of synchronization errors and

  14. Bruxism in Movement Disorders: A Comprehensive Review.

    PubMed

    Ella, Bruno; Ghorayeb, Imad; Burbaud, Pierre; Guehl, Dominique

    2017-10-01

    Bruxism is an abnormal repetitive movement disorder characterized by jaw clenching and tooth gnashing or grinding. It is classified into two overlapping types: awake bruxism (AB) and sleep bruxism (SB). Theories on factors causing bruxism are a matter of controversy, but a line of evidence suggests that it may to some extent be linked to basal ganglia dysfunction although so far, this topic has received little attention. The purpose of this article was to review cases of bruxism reported in various movement disorders. The biomedical literature was searched for publications reporting the association of bruxism with various types of movement disorders. As a whole, very few series were found, and most papers corresponded to clinical reports. In Parkinsonian syndromes, AB was rarely reported, but seems to be exacerbated by medical treatment, whereas SB is mainly observed during non-REM sleep, as in restless leg syndrome. AB is occasionally reported in Huntington's disease, primary dystonia, and secondary dystonia; however, its highest incidence and severity is reported in syndromes combining stereotypies and cognitive impairment, such as Rett's syndrome (97%), Down syndrome (42%), and autistic spectrum disorders (32%). Taken as a whole, AB seems to be more frequent in hyperkinetic movement disorders, notably those with stereotypies, and is influenced by anxiety, suggesting an involvement of the limbic part of the basal ganglia in its pathophysiology. © 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

  15. Trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder), skin picking disorder, and stereotypic movement disorder: toward DSM-V.

    PubMed

    Stein, Dan J; Grant, Jon E; Franklin, Martin E; Keuthen, Nancy; Lochner, Christine; Singer, Harvey S; Woods, Douglas W

    2010-06-01

    In DSM-IV-TR, trichotillomania (TTM) is classified as an impulse control disorder (not classified elsewhere), skin picking lacks its own diagnostic category (but might be diagnosed as an impulse control disorder not otherwise specified), and stereotypic movement disorder is classified as a disorder usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. ICD-10 classifies TTM as a habit and impulse disorder, and includes stereotyped movement disorders in a section on other behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence. This article provides a focused review of nosological issues relevant to DSM-V, given recent empirical findings. This review presents a number of options and preliminary recommendations to be considered for DSM-V: (1) Although TTM fits optimally into a category of body-focused repetitive behavioral disorders, in a nosology comprised of relatively few major categories it fits best within a category of motoric obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, (2) available evidence does not support continuing to include (current) diagnostic criteria B and C for TTM in DSM-V, (3) the text for TTM should be updated to describe subtypes and forms of hair pulling, (4) there are persuasive reasons for referring to TTM as "hair pulling disorder (trichotillomania)," (5) diagnostic criteria for skin picking disorder should be included in DSM-V or in DSM-Vs Appendix of Criteria Sets Provided for Further Study, and (6) the diagnostic criteria for stereotypic movement disorder should be clarified and simplified, bringing them in line with those for hair pulling and skin picking disorder. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  16. Individual Differences in Rhythmic Cortical Entrainment Correlate with Predictive Behavior in Sensorimotor Synchronization

    PubMed Central

    Nozaradan, Sylvie; Peretz, Isabelle; Keller, Peter E.

    2016-01-01

    The current study aims at characterizing the mechanisms that allow humans to entrain the mind and body to incoming rhythmic sensory inputs in real time. We addressed this unresolved issue by examining the relationship between covert neural processes and overt behavior in the context of musical rhythm. We measured temporal prediction abilities, sensorimotor synchronization accuracy and neural entrainment to auditory rhythms as captured using an EEG frequency-tagging approach. Importantly, movement synchronization accuracy with a rhythmic beat could be explained by the amplitude of neural activity selectively locked with the beat period when listening to the rhythmic inputs. Furthermore, stronger endogenous neural entrainment at the beat frequency was associated with superior temporal prediction abilities. Together, these results reveal a direct link between cortical and behavioral measures of rhythmic entrainment, thus providing evidence that frequency-tagged brain activity has functional relevance for beat perception and synchronization. PMID:26847160

  17. Individual Differences in Rhythmic Cortical Entrainment Correlate with Predictive Behavior in Sensorimotor Synchronization.

    PubMed

    Nozaradan, Sylvie; Peretz, Isabelle; Keller, Peter E

    2016-02-05

    The current study aims at characterizing the mechanisms that allow humans to entrain the mind and body to incoming rhythmic sensory inputs in real time. We addressed this unresolved issue by examining the relationship between covert neural processes and overt behavior in the context of musical rhythm. We measured temporal prediction abilities, sensorimotor synchronization accuracy and neural entrainment to auditory rhythms as captured using an EEG frequency-tagging approach. Importantly, movement synchronization accuracy with a rhythmic beat could be explained by the amplitude of neural activity selectively locked with the beat period when listening to the rhythmic inputs. Furthermore, stronger endogenous neural entrainment at the beat frequency was associated with superior temporal prediction abilities. Together, these results reveal a direct link between cortical and behavioral measures of rhythmic entrainment, thus providing evidence that frequency-tagged brain activity has functional relevance for beat perception and synchronization.

  18. [Scenes in movement. Movement disorders on film].

    PubMed

    Olivares Romero, J

    2010-03-01

    There are publications in which various neurological diseases are analysed on film. However, no references have been found on movement disorders in this medium. A total of 104 documents were collected and reviewed using the internet movie data base (IMDb). The majority were associated with dystonia, Parkinson's and tics, were American commercial productions, and the most common genre was drama. The cinema usually depicts old men with developed Parkinson's disease. However, motor complications only appear in 19% and non-motor symptoms in 14%. The image of dystonia is generally that of a young man, with disabling dystonia secondary to childhood cerebral palsy. Tics appear associated with Tourette's syndrome, with the excessive use of obscene expressions and with very few references to other important aspects of this syndrome, such as mood and behavioural changes. The majority of tremors portrayed on film are associated with Parkinsonism and are not pathological. Myoclonus appears anecdotically and is normally symptomatic. Parkinson's disease is the type of movement disorder that the cinema portrays with greater neurological honesty and in a more dignified manner.

  19. Effects of Rhythmic Auditory Cueing in Gait Rehabilitation for Multiple Sclerosis: A Mini Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Ghai, Shashank; Ghai, Ishan

    2018-01-01

    Rhythmic auditory cueing has been shown to enhance gait performance in several movement disorders. The “entrainment effect” generated by the stimulations can enhance auditory motor coupling and instigate plasticity. However, a consensus as to its influence over gait training among patients with multiple sclerosis is still warranted. A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to analyze the effects of rhythmic auditory cueing in studies gait performance in patients with multiple sclerosis. This systematic identification of published literature was performed according to PRISMA guidelines, from inception until Dec 2017, on online databases: Web of science, PEDro, EBSCO, MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, and PROQUEST. Studies were critically appraised using PEDro scale. Of 602 records, five studies (PEDro score: 5.7 ± 1.3) involving 188 participants (144 females/40 males) met our inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis revealed enhancements in spatiotemporal parameters of gait i.e., velocity (Hedge's g: 0.67), stride length (0.70), and cadence (1.0), and reduction in timed 25 feet walking test (−0.17). Underlying neurophysiological mechanisms, and clinical implications are discussed. This present review bridges the gaps in literature by suggesting application of rhythmic auditory cueing in conventional rehabilitation approaches to enhance gait performance in the multiple sclerosis community. PMID:29942278

  20. Could transient hypoxia be associated with rhythmic masticatory muscle activity in sleep bruxism in the absence of sleep-disordered breathing? A preliminary report.

    PubMed

    Dumais, I E; Lavigne, G J; Carra, M C; Rompré, P H; Huynh, N T

    2015-11-01

    Sleep bruxism (SB) is a repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterised by clenching or grinding of the teeth during sleep. Sleep bruxism activity is characterised by rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA). Many but not all RMMA episodes are associated with sleep arousal. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether transient oxygen saturation level change can be temporally associated with genesis of RMMA/SB. Sleep laboratory or home recordings data from 22 SB (tooth grinding history in the absence of reported sleep-disordered breathing) and healthy subjects were analysed. A total of 143 RMMA/SB episodes were classified in four categories: (i) no arousal + no body movement; (ii) arousal + no body movement; (iii) no arousal + body movement; (iv) arousal + body movement. Blood oxygen levels (SaO2 ) were assessed from finger oximetry signal at the baseline (before RMMA), and during RMMA. Significant variation in SaO2 over time (P = 0·001) was found after RMMA onset (+7 to +9 s). No difference between categories (P = 0·91) and no interaction between categories and SaO2 variation over time (P = 0·10) were observed. SaO2 of six of 22 subjects (27%) remained equal or slight increase after the RMMA/SB onset (+8 s) compared to baseline; 10 subjects (45%) slightly decreased (drop 0·01-1%) and the remaining (27%) decreased between 1% and 2%. These preliminary findings suggest that a subgroup of SB subjects had (i) a minor transient hypoxia potentially associated with the onset of RMMA episodes, and this (ii) independently of concomitant sleep arousal or body movements. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Intensive gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke: a pilot randomized controlled study.

    PubMed

    Cha, Yuri; Kim, Young; Hwang, Sujin; Chung, Yijung

    2014-01-01

    Motor relearning protocols should involve task-oriented movement, focused attention, and repetition of desired movements. To investigate the effect of intensive gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation on postural control and gait performance in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Twenty patients with chronic hemiparetic stroke participated in this study. Subjects in the Rhythmic auditory stimulation training group (10 subjects) underwent intensive gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation for a period of 6 weeks (30 min/day, five days/week), while those in the control group (10 subjects) underwent intensive gait training for the same duration. Two clinical measures, Berg balance scale and stroke specific quality of life scale, and a 2-demensional gait analysis system, were used as outcome measure. To provide rhythmic auditory stimulation during gait training, the MIDI Cuebase musical instrument digital interface program and a KM Player version 3.3 was utilized for this study. Intensive gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation resulted in significant improvement in scores on the Berg balance scale, gait velocity, cadence, stride length and double support period in affected side, and stroke specific quality of life scale compared with the control group after training. Findings of this study suggest that intensive gait training with rhythmic auditory stimulation improves balance and gait performance as well as quality of life, in individuals with chronic hemiparetic stroke.

  2. Motor cortex stimulation for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Cioni, Beatrice; Tufo, Tommaso; Bentivoglio, Annarita; Trevisi, Gianluca; Piano, Carla

    2016-06-01

    Motor cortex stimulation (MCS) was introduced by Tsubokawa in 1991 1 for the treatment of thalamic pain, after coming to the conclusion that the hyperactivity of thalamic neurons after spino-thalamic tractotomy was inhibited by stimulation of the motor cortex. MCS has been reported not only to be effective on pain, but also to improve movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, tremor, dystonia, poststroke movement disorders and hemiparesis. Most of these publications are case reports or small series, and the real impact of MCS on movement disorders remains to be determined. In order to clarify this point, we conducted a PubMed search from 1991 to 2016 using established MeSH words. A total of 40 papers were selected and examined. Furthermore, personal experience with MCS for Parkinson's disease and akinesia, is reported. Only four studies were randomized controlled clinical trials: three out of four failed to demonstrate the efficacy of MCS at short term. At long term, MCS seems to show a clinical positive effect in the studies prolonged in an open observational trial.

  3. Movement disorders in paraneoplastic and autoimmune disease

    PubMed Central

    Panzer, Jessica; Dalmau, Josep

    2013-01-01

    Purpose of review The most relevant advances in immune-mediated movement disorders are described, with emphasis on the clinical–immunological associations, novel antigens, and treatment. Recent findings Many movement disorders previously considered idiopathic or degenerative are now recognized as immune-mediated. Some disorders are paraneoplastic, such as anti-CRMP5-associated chorea, anti-Ma2 hypokinesis and rigidity, anti-Yo cerebellar ataxia and tremor, and anti-Hu ataxia and pesudoathetosis. Other disorders such as Sydenham's chorea, or chorea related to systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome occur in association with multiple antibodies, are not paraneoplastic, and are triggered by molecular mimicry or unknown mechanisms. Recent studies have revealed a new category of disorders that can be paraneoplastic or not, and associate with antibodies against cell-surface or synaptic proteins. They include anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis, which may cause dyskinesias, chorea, ballismus or dystonia (NMDAR antibodies), the spectrum of Stiff-person syndrome/muscle rigidity (glutamic acid decarboxylase, amphiphysin, GABAA-receptor-associated protein, or glycine receptor antibodies), neuromyotonia (Caspr2 antibodies), and opsoclonus–myoclonus–ataxia (unknown antigens). Summary Neurologists should be aware that many movement disorders are immune-mediated. Recognition of these disorders is important because it may lead to the diagnosis of an occult cancer, and a substantial number of patients, mainly those with antibodies to cell-surface or synaptic proteins, respond to immunotherapy. PMID:21577108

  4. [Neuropsychiatry Of Movement Disorders].

    PubMed

    Orjuela-Rojas, Juan Manuel; Barrios Vincos, Gustavo Adolfo; Martínez Gallego, Melisa Alejandra

    2017-10-01

    Movement disorders can be defined as neurological syndromes presenting with excessive or diminished automatic or voluntary movements not related to weakness or spasticity. Both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD) are well-known examples of these syndromes. The high prevalence of comorbid psychiatric symptoms like depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, hallucinations, delusions, impulsivity, sleep disorders, apathy and cognitive impairment mean that these conditions must be regarded as neuropsychiatric diseases. In this article, we review neuroanatomical (structural and functional), psychopathological and neuropsychological aspects of PD and HD. The role of fronto-subcortical loops in non-motor functions is particularly emphasised in order to understand the clinical spectrum of both diseases, together with the influence of genetic, psychological and psychosocial aspects. A brief description of the main psychopharmacological approaches for both diseases is also included. Copyright © 2017 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  5. Eye Movement Indices in the Study of Depressive Disorder.

    PubMed

    Li, Yu; Xu, Yangyang; Xia, Mengqing; Zhang, Tianhong; Wang, Junjie; Liu, Xu; He, Yongguang; Wang, Jijun

    2016-12-25

    Impaired cognition is one of the most common core symptoms of depressive disorder. Eye movement testing mainly reflects patients' cognitive functions, such as cognition, memory, attention, recognition, and recall. This type of testing has great potential to improve theories related to cognitive functioning in depressive episodes as well as potential in its clinical application. This study investigated whether eye movement indices of patients with unmedicated depressive disorder were abnormal or not, as well as the relationship between these indices and mental symptoms. Sixty patients with depressive disorder and sixty healthy controls (who were matched by gender, age and years of education) were recruited, and completed eye movement tests including three tasks: fixation task, saccade task and free-view task. The EyeLink desktop eye tracking system was employed to collect eye movement information, and analyze the eye movement indices of the three tasks between the two groups. (1) In the fixation task, compared to healthy controls, patients with depressive disorder showed more fixations, shorter fixation durations, more saccades and longer saccadic lengths; (2) In the saccade task, patients with depressive disorder showed longer anti-saccade latencies and smaller anti-saccade peak velocities; (3) In the free-view task, patients with depressive disorder showed fewer saccades and longer mean fixation durations; (4) Correlation analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the pro-saccade amplitude and anxiety symptoms, and a positive correlation between the anti-saccade latency and anxiety symptoms. The depression symptoms were negatively correlated with fixation times, saccades, and saccadic paths respectively in the free-view task; while the mean fixation duration and depression symptoms showed a positive correlation. Compared to healthy controls, patients with depressive disorder showed significantly abnormal eye movement indices. In addition

  6. Movement disorders in adult surviving patients with maple syrup urine disease.

    PubMed

    Carecchio, Miryam; Schneider, Susanne A; Chan, Heidi; Lachmann, Robin; Lee, Philip J; Murphy, Elaine; Bhatia, Kailash P

    2011-06-01

    Maple syrup urine disease is a rare metabolic disorder caused by mutations in the branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex gene. Patients generally present early in life with a toxic encephalopathy because of the accumulation of the branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine and the corresponding ketoacids. Movement disorders in maple syrup urine disease have typically been described during decompensation episodes or at presentation in the context of a toxic encephalopathy, with complete resolution after appropriate dietary treatment. Movement disorders in patients surviving childhood are not well documented. We assessed 17 adult patients with maple syrup urine disease (mean age, 27.5 years) with a special focus on movement disorders. Twelve (70.6%) had a movement disorder on clinical examination, mainly tremor and dystonia or a combination of both. Parkinsonism and simple motor tics were also observed. Pyramidal signs were present in 11 patients (64.7%), and a spastic-dystonic gait was observed in 6 patients (35.2%). In summary, movement disorders are common in treated adult patients with maple syrup urine disease, and careful neurological examination is advisable to identify those who may benefit from specific therapy. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

  7. Stereotypic movement disorder: easily missed.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Roger D; Soltanifar, Atefeh; Baer, Susan

    2010-08-01

    To expand the understanding of stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) and its differentiation from tics and autistic stereotypies. Forty-two children (31 males, mean age 6y 3mo, SD 2y 8mo; 11 females, mean age 6y 7mo, SD 1y 9mo) consecutively diagnosed with SMD, without-self-injurious behavior, intellectual disability, sensory impairment, or an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), were assessed in a neuropsychiatry clinic. A list of probe questions on the nature of the stereotypy was administered to parents (and to children if developmentally ready). Questionnaires administered included the Stereotypy Severity Scale, Short Sensory Profile, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Repetitive Behavior Scale--Revised, and the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire. The stereotyped movement patterns were directly observed and in some cases further documented by video recordings made by parents. The probe questions were used again on follow-up at a mean age of 10 years 7 months (SD 4y 4mo). Mean age at onset was 17 months. Males exceeded females by 3:1. Family history of a pattern of SMD was reported in 13 and neuropsychiatric comorbidity in 30 (attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder in 16, tics in 18, and developmental coordination disorder in 16). Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurred in only two. The Short Sensory Profile correlated with comorbidity (p<0.001), the Stereotypy Severity Scale (p=0.009), and the Repetitive Behavior Scale (p<0.001); the last correlated with the Stereotypy Severity Scale (p=0.001). Children (but not their parents) liked their movements, which were usually associated with excitement or imaginative play. Mean length of follow-up was 4 years 8 months (SD 2y 10mo). Of the 39 children followed for longer than 6 months, the behavior stopped or was gradually shaped so as to occur primarily privately in 25. Misdiagnosis was common: 26 were initially referred as tics, 10 as ASD, five as compulsions, and one as epilepsy. Co-occurring facial

  8. Association of disrupted circadian rhythmicity with mood disorders, subjective wellbeing, and cognitive function: a cross-sectional study of 91 105 participants from the UK Biobank.

    PubMed

    Lyall, Laura M; Wyse, Cathy A; Graham, Nicholas; Ferguson, Amy; Lyall, Donald M; Cullen, Breda; Celis Morales, Carlos A; Biello, Stephany M; Mackay, Daniel; Ward, Joey; Strawbridge, Rona J; Gill, Jason M R; Bailey, Mark E S; Pell, Jill P; Smith, Daniel J

    2018-06-01

    Disruption of sleep and circadian rhythmicity is a core feature of mood disorders and might be associated with increased susceptibility to such disorders. Previous studies in this area have used subjective reports of activity and sleep patterns, but the availability of accelerometer-based data from UK Biobank participants permits the derivation and analysis of new, objectively ascertained circadian rhythmicity parameters. We examined associations between objectively assessed circadian rhythmicity and mental health and wellbeing phenotypes, including lifetime history of mood disorder. UK residents aged 37-73 years were recruited into the UK Biobank general population cohort from 2006 to 2010. We used data from a subset of participants whose activity levels were recorded by wearing a wrist-worn accelerometer for 7 days. From these data, we derived a circadian relative amplitude variable, which is a measure of the extent to which circadian rhythmicity of rest-activity cycles is disrupted. In the same sample, we examined cross-sectional associations between low relative amplitude and mood disorder, wellbeing, and cognitive variables using a series of regression models. Our final model adjusted for age and season at the time that accelerometry started, sex, ethnic origin, Townsend deprivation score, smoking status, alcohol intake, educational attainment, overall mean acceleration recorded by accelerometry, body-mass index, and a binary measure of childhood trauma. We included 91 105 participants with accelerometery data collected between 2013 and 2015 in our analyses. A one-quintile reduction in relative amplitude was associated with increased risk of lifetime major depressive disorder (odds ratio [OR] 1·06, 95% CI 1·04-1·08) and lifetime bipolar disorder (1·11, 1·03-1·20), as well as with greater mood instability (1·02, 1·01-1·04), higher neuroticism scores (incident rate ratio 1·01, 1·01-1·02), more subjective loneliness (OR 1·09, 1·07-1·11), lower

  9. Prevalence of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in chronic schizophrenia inpatients.

    PubMed

    Janno, Sven; Holi, Matti; Tuisku, Katinka; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2004-01-01

    Since most of the world's schizophrenia patients are treated with conventional antipsychotics, the authors evaluated various methods for establishing the prevalence of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in these patients. DSM-IV criteria and established score thresholds on a movement disorder rating scale were used to identify cases of neuroleptic-induced movement disorder in a representative Estonian patient sample of 99 chronic institutionalized schizophrenia patients, 18-65 years old, treated with conventional neuroleptics (79.8%) or clozapine (20.2%). Neuroleptic-induced movement disorders according to DSM-IV criteria were found in 61.6% of the group: 31.3% had neuroleptic-induced akathisia, 23.2% had neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism, and 32.3% had neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia. Prevalence rates for akathisia and tardive dyskinesia were similar when either DSM-IV criteria or rating scale scores were used, but the prevalence rate for parkinsonism was much lower per DSM-IV criteria than according to rating scale score. Nearly two-thirds of chronic schizophrenia patients suffered from a neuroleptic-induced movement disorder. Globally, extrapyramidal adverse effects still impose a huge burden on the majority of neuroleptic-treated individuals with schizophrenia. The discrepancy between the standard identification methods for neuroleptic-induced movement disorder indicate the need for further research.

  10. Hypnosis and movement disorders: State of the art and perspectives.

    PubMed

    Flamand-Roze, C; Célestin-Lhopiteau, I; Roze, E

    Hypnosis might represent an interesting complementary therapeutic approach to movement disorders, as it takes into account not only symptoms, but also well-being, and empowers patients to take a more active role in their treatment. Our review of the literature on the use of hypnosis to treat movement disorders was done by systematically searching the PubMed database for reports published between 1984 and November 2015. The following variables were extracted from each selected paper: study design; sample size; type of movement disorder; hypnotic procedure; treatment duration; and efficacy. Thirteen papers were selected for detailed analysis. Most concerned tremor in Parkinson's disease and tics in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Although promising, the data were insufficient to allow conclusions to be drawn on the efficacy of hypnosis in movement disorders or to recommend its use in this setting. Well-designed studies taking into account some specific methodological challenges are needed to determine the possible therapeutic utility of hypnosis in movement disorders. In addition to the potential benefits for such patients, hypnosis might also be useful for studying the neuroanatomical and functional underpinnings of normal and abnormal movements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. The improvement of movement and speech during rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder in multiple system atrophy.

    PubMed

    De Cock, Valérie Cochen; Debs, Rachel; Oudiette, Delphine; Leu, Smaranda; Radji, Fatai; Tiberge, Michel; Yu, Huan; Bayard, Sophie; Roze, Emmanuel; Vidailhet, Marie; Dauvilliers, Yves; Rascol, Olivier; Arnulf, Isabelle

    2011-03-01

    Multiple system atrophy is an atypical parkinsonism characterized by severe motor disabilities that are poorly levodopa responsive. Most patients develop rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. Because parkinsonism is absent during rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder in patients with Parkinson's disease, we studied the movements of patients with multiple system atrophy during rapid eye movement sleep. Forty-nine non-demented patients with multiple system atrophy and 49 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease were interviewed along with their 98 bed partners using a structured questionnaire. They rated the quality of movements, vocal and facial expressions during rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder as better than, equal to or worse than the same activities in an awake state. Sleep and movements were monitored using video-polysomnography in 22/49 patients with multiple system atrophy and in 19/49 patients with Parkinson's disease. These recordings were analysed for the presence of parkinsonism and cerebellar syndrome during rapid eye movement sleep movements. Clinical rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder was observed in 43/49 (88%) patients with multiple system atrophy. Reports from the 31/43 bed partners who were able to evaluate movements during sleep indicate that 81% of the patients showed some form of improvement during rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. These included improved movement (73% of patients: faster, 67%; stronger, 52%; and smoother, 26%), improved speech (59% of patients: louder, 55%; more intelligible, 17%; and better articulated, 36%) and normalized facial expression (50% of patients). The rate of improvement was higher in Parkinson's disease than in multiple system atrophy, but no further difference was observed between the two forms of multiple system atrophy (predominant parkinsonism versus cerebellar syndrome). Video-monitored movements during rapid eye movement sleep in patients with multiple system

  12. [Deep brain stimulation in the treatment of movement disorders].

    PubMed

    Goto, Satoshi

    2007-11-01

    The introduction of deep brain stimulation (DBS) was a historical step forward for the treatment of advanced and medically intractable movement disorders that include Parkinson's disease, dystonias, essential tremor, and Holmes' tremor. DBS is able to modulate the target region electrically in a reversible and adjustable fashion in contrast to an irreversible and destructive lesioning procedure. In the treatment of movement disorders, the potential targets are the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim), globus pallidus internus (GPi), subthalamic nucleus (STN), pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), and thalamic Vo-complex nucleus. With the development of DBS technology and stereotactic neurosurgical techniques, its therapeutic efficacy has been increased while reducing surgical complications. DBS has become an established therapy for disabling movement disorders and is currently being used to treat neuropsychiatric disorders.

  13. Eye Movement Indices in the Study of Depressive Disorder

    PubMed Central

    LI, Yu; XU, Yangyang; XIA, Mengqing; ZHANG, Tianhong; WANG, Junjie; LIU, Xu; HE, Yongguang; WANG, Jijun

    2016-01-01

    Background Impaired cognition is one of the most common core symptoms of depressive disorder. Eye movement testing mainly reflects patients’ cognitive functions, such as cognition, memory, attention, recognition, and recall. This type of testing has great potential to improve theories related to cognitive functioning in depressive episodes as well as potential in its clinical application. Aims This study investigated whether eye movement indices of patients with unmedicated depressive disorder were abnormal or not, as well as the relationship between these indices and mental symptoms. Methods Sixty patients with depressive disorder and sixty healthy controls (who were matched by gender, age and years of education) were recruited, and completed eye movement tests including three tasks: fixation task, saccade task and free-view task. The EyeLink desktop eye tracking system was employed to collect eye movement information, and analyze the eye movement indices of the three tasks between the two groups. Results (1) In the fixation task, compared to healthy controls, patients with depressive disorder showed more fixations, shorter fixation durations, more saccades and longer saccadic lengths; (2) In the saccade task, patients with depressive disorder showed longer anti-saccade latencies and smaller anti-saccade peak velocities; (3) In the free-view task, patients with depressive disorder showed fewer saccades and longer mean fixation durations; (4) Correlation analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the pro-saccade amplitude and anxiety symptoms, and a positive correlation between the anti-saccade latency and anxiety symptoms. The depression symptoms were negatively correlated with fixation times, saccades, and saccadic paths respectively in the free-view task; while the mean fixation duration and depression symptoms showed a positive correlation. Conclusion Compared to healthy controls, patients with depressive disorder showed significantly

  14. Quantifying Motor Impairment in Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    FitzGerald, James J; Lu, Zhongjiao; Jareonsettasin, Prem; Antoniades, Chrystalina A

    2018-01-01

    Until recently the assessment of many movement disorders has relied on clinical rating scales that despite careful design are inherently subjective and non-linear. This makes accurate and truly observer-independent quantification difficult and limits the use of sensitive parametric statistical methods. At last, devices capable of measuring neurological problems quantitatively are becoming readily available. Examples include the use of oculometers to measure eye movements and accelerometers to measure tremor. Many applications are being developed for use on smartphones. The benefits include not just more accurate disease quantification, but also consistency of data for longitudinal studies, accurate stratification of patients for entry into trials, and the possibility of automated data capture for remote follow-up. In this mini review, we will look at movement disorders with a particular focus on Parkinson's disease, describe some of the limitations of existing clinical evaluation tools, and illustrate the ways in which objective metrics have already been successful.

  15. Non-equilibrium thermodynamical description of rhythmic motion patterns of active systems: a canonical-dissipative approach.

    PubMed

    Dotov, D G; Kim, S; Frank, T D

    2015-02-01

    We derive explicit expressions for the non-equilibrium thermodynamical variables of a canonical-dissipative limit cycle oscillator describing rhythmic motion patterns of active systems. These variables are statistical entropy, non-equilibrium internal energy, and non-equilibrium free energy. In particular, the expression for the non-equilibrium free energy is derived as a function of a suitable control parameter. The control parameter determines the Hopf bifurcation point of the deterministic active system and describes the effective pumping of the oscillator. In analogy to the equilibrium free energy of the Landau theory, it is shown that the non-equilibrium free energy decays as a function of the control parameter. In doing so, a similarity between certain equilibrium and non-equilibrium phase transitions is pointed out. Data from an experiment on human rhythmic movements is presented. Estimates for pumping intensity as well as the thermodynamical variables are reported. It is shown that in the experiment the non-equilibrium free energy decayed when pumping intensity was increased, which is consistent with the theory. Moreover, pumping intensities close to zero could be observed at relatively slow intended rhythmic movements. In view of the Hopf bifurcation underlying the limit cycle oscillator model, this observation suggests that the intended limit cycle movements were actually more similar to trajectories of a randomly perturbed stable focus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Cognitive and Psychiatric Phenotypes of Movement Disorders in Children: A Systematic Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ben-Pazi, Hilla; Jaworowski, Solomon; Shalev, Ruth S

    2011-01-01

    Aim: The cognitive and psychiatric aspects of adult movement disorders are well established, but specific behavioural profiles for paediatric movement disorders have not been delineated. Knowledge of non-motor phenotypes may guide treatment and determine which symptoms are suggestive of a specific movement disorder and which indicate medication…

  17. Virtual Reality as a Tool for Evaluation of Repetitive Rhythmic Movements in the Elderly and Parkinson's Disease Patients

    PubMed Central

    Arias, Pablo; Robles-García, Verónica; Sanmartín, Gabriel; Flores, Julian; Cudeiro, Javier

    2012-01-01

    This work presents an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) system to evaluate, and potentially treat, the alterations in rhythmic hand movements seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) and the elderly (EC), by comparison with healthy young controls (YC). The system integrates the subjects into a VR environment by means of a Head Mounted Display, such that subjects perceive themselves in a virtual world consisting of a table within a room. In this experiment, subjects are presented in 1st person perspective, so that the avatar reproduces finger tapping movements performed by the subjects. The task, known as the finger tapping test (FT), was performed by all three subject groups, PD, EC and YC. FT was carried out by each subject on two different days (sessions), one week apart. In each FT session all subjects performed FT in the real world (FTREAL) and in the VR (FTVR); each mode was repeated three times in randomized order. During FT both the tapping frequency and the coefficient of variation of inter-tap interval were registered. FTVR was a valid test to detect differences in rhythm formation between the three groups. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and mean difference between days for FTVR (for each group) showed reliable results. Finally, the analysis of ICC and mean difference between FTVR vs FTREAL, for each variable and group, also showed high reliability. This shows that FT evaluation in VR environments is valid as real world alternative, as VR evaluation did not distort movement execution and detects alteration in rhythm formation. These results support the use of VR as a promising tool to study alterations and the control of movement in different subject groups in unusual environments, such as during fMRI or other imaging studies. PMID:22279559

  18. Studies of the phase gradient at the boundary of the phase diffusion equation, motivated by peculiar wave patterns of rhythmic contraction in the amoeboid movement of Physarum polycephalum

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iima, Makoto; Kori, Hiroshi; Nakagaki, Toshiyuki

    2017-04-01

    The boundary of a cell is the interface with its surroundings and plays a key role in controlling the cell movement adaptations to different environments. We propose a study of the boundary effects on the patterns and waves of the rhythmic contractions in plasmodia of Physarum polycephalum, a tractable model organism of the amoeboid type. Boundary effects are defined as the effects of both the boundary conditions and the boundary shape. The rhythmicity of contraction can be modulated by local stimulation of temperature, light and chemicals, and by local deformation of cell shape via mechanosensitive ion channels as well. First, we examined the effects of boundary cell shapes in the case of a special shape resembling a tadpole, while requiring that the natural frequency in the proximity of the boundary is slightly higher and uniform. The simulation model reproduced the approximate propagated wave, from the tail to the head, while the inward waves were observed only near the periphery of the head section of the tadpole-shape. A key finding was that the frequency of the rhythmic contractions depended on the local shape of cell boundary. This implies that the boundary conditions of the phase were not always homogeneous. To understand the dependency, we reduced the two-dimensional model into a one-dimensional continuum model with Neumann boundary conditions. Here, the boundary conditions reflect the frequency distribution at the boundary. We described the analytic solutions and calculated the relationship between the boundary conditions and the wave propagation for a one-dimensional model of the continuous oscillatory field and a discrete coupled oscillator system. The results obtained may not be limited to cell movement of Physarum, but may be applicable to the other physical systems since the analysis used a generic phase diffusion equation.

  19. Principles and approaches to the treatment of immune-mediated movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Mohammad, Shekeeb S; Dale, Russell C

    2018-03-01

    Immune mediated movement disorders include movement disorders in the context of autoimmune encephalitis such as anti-NMDAR encephalitis, post-infectious autoimmune movement disorders such as Sydenham chorea, paraneoplastic autoimmune movement disorders such as opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia syndrome, and infection triggered conditions such as paediatric acute neuropsychiatric syndrome. This review focuses on the approach to treatment of immune mediated movement disorders, which requires an understanding of the immunopathogenesis, whether the disease is destructive or 'altering', and the natural history of disease. Factors that can influence outcome include the severity of disease, the delay before starting therapy, use of multimodal therapy and whether the course is monophasic or relapsing. Although the four main conditions listed above have different pathophysiological processes, there are general themes that broadly apply including: early diagnosis and treatment is better, minimise the severity of disease, escalate treatment if the patient is not responding to initial treatments, and minimise relapse. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Predictive rhythmic tapping to isochronous and tempo changing metronomes in the nonhuman primate.

    PubMed

    Gámez, Jorge; Yc, Karyna; Ayala, Yaneri A; Dotov, Dobromir; Prado, Luis; Merchant, Hugo

    2018-04-30

    Beat entrainment is the ability to entrain one's movements to a perceived periodic stimulus, such as a metronome or a pulse in music. Humans have a capacity to predictively respond to a periodic pulse and to dynamically adjust their movement timing to match the varying music tempos. Previous studies have shown that monkeys share some of the human capabilities for rhythmic entrainment, such as tapping regularly at the period of isochronous stimuli. However, it is still unknown whether monkeys can predictively entrain to dynamic tempo changes like humans. To address this question, we trained monkeys in three tapping tasks and compared their rhythmic entrainment abilities with those of humans. We found that, when immediate feedback about the timing of each movement is provided, monkeys can predictively entrain to an isochronous beat, generating tapping movements in anticipation of the metronome pulse. This ability also generalized to a novel untrained tempo. Notably, macaques can modify their tapping tempo by predicting the beat changes of accelerating and decelerating visual metronomes in a manner similar to humans. Our findings support the notion that nonhuman primates share with humans the ability of temporal anticipation during tapping to isochronous and smoothly changing sequences of stimuli. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  1. Paraneoplastic movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Mehta, Shyamal H; Morgan, John C; Sethi, Kapil D

    2009-07-01

    Neurologic paraneoplastic syndromes (NPSs) result from damage to the nervous system due to the remote effects of cancer not related to metastasis, infection, or metabolic derangements. NPSs are rare, affecting 1 in 10,000 patients with cancer. Pathogenesis is likely related to the immune mechanisms: normal neural tissue is mistakenly attacked due to the similarity in the onconeural antigens expressed by the tumor cells. Among the various "classic" and other NPSs, this review focuses on paraneoplastic movement disorders, including ataxia due to cerebellar degeneration, stiff-person syndrome, opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome, chorea, parkinsonism, and tremor. The recently described syndrome of paraneoplastic anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is also included, given that these patients have complex movements such as stereotypies and dyskinesias in addition to psychiatric symptoms, altered sensorium, and other neurologic signs. Although variable, treatment and prognosis of NPSs rely heavily on treatment of the underlying malignancy and immunotherapy.

  2. Binocular vision and eye movement disorders in older adults.

    PubMed

    Leat, Susan J; Chan, Lisa Li-Li; Maharaj, Priya-Devi; Hrynchak, Patricia K; Mittelstaedt, Andrea; Machan, Carolyn M; Irving, Elizabeth L

    2013-05-31

    To determine the prevalence of binocular vision (BV) and eye movement disorders in a clinic population of older adults. Retrospective clinic data were abstracted from files of 500 older patients seen at the University of Waterloo Optometry Clinic over a 1-year period. Stratified sampling gave equal numbers of patients in the 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and 80+ age groups. Data included age, general and ocular history and symptoms, use of antidepressants, a habit of smoking, refraction, visual acuity, BV and eye movement status for the most recent full oculo-visual assessment, and an assessment 10 years prior. The prevalence of any BV or eye movement abnormal test (AT) result, defined as a test result outside the normal range, was determined. This included strabismus (any) or phoria; incomitancy; poor pursuits; and remote near point of convergence (NPC). The prevalence of significant BV disorders (diagnostic entities, i.e., a clinical condition that may need treatment and may have functional implications) was also determined. The prevalence of any BV or eye movement at was 41%, 44%, and 51% in the 60 to 69, 70 to 79, and 80+ age groups, respectively. These figures were lower for 10 years earlier: 31%, 36%, and 40% for ages 50 to 59, 60 to 69, and 70+, respectively. The prevalence of any BV or eye movement disorder was 27%, 30%, and 38% for the three age groups and 17%, 19%, and 24% for 10 years prior. Age and use of antidepressants most commonly predicted BV or eye movement AT or disorder. BV disorders are common among older adults.

  3. Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Staples, Kerri L.; Reid, Greg

    2010-01-01

    Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the "Test of Gross Motor Development" ("TGMD-2"). The group matched on chronological age…

  4. Movement Disorders in Adult Surviving Patients with Maple Syrup Urine Disease

    PubMed Central

    Carecchio, Miryam; Schneider, Susanne A.; Chan, Heidi; Lachmann, Robin; Lee, Philip J.; Murphy, Elaine; Bhatia, Kailash P.

    2014-01-01

    Maple syrup urine disease is a rare metabolic disorder caused by mutations in the branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex gene. Patients generally present early in life with a toxic encephalopathy because of the accumulation of the branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine and the corresponding ketoacids. Movement disorders in maple syrup urine disease have typically been described during decompensation episodes or at presentation in the context of a toxic encephalopathy, with complete resolution after appropriate dietary treatment. Movement disorders in patients surviving childhood are not well documented. We assessed 17 adult patients with maple syrup urine disease (mean age, 27.5 years) with a special focus on movement disorders. Twelve (70.6%) had a movement disorder on clinical examination, mainly tremor and dystonia or a combination of both. Parkinsonism and simple motor tics were also observed. Pyramidal signs were present in 11 patients (64.7%), and a spastic-dystonic gait was observed in 6 patients (35.2%). In summary, movement disorders are common in treated adult patients with maple syrup urine disease, and careful neurological examination is advisable to identify those who may benefit from specific therapy. PMID:21484869

  5. Theta oscillations locked to intended actions rhythmically modulate perception.

    PubMed

    Tomassini, Alice; Ambrogioni, Luca; Medendorp, W Pieter; Maris, Eric

    2017-07-07

    Ongoing brain oscillations are known to influence perception, and to be reset by exogenous stimulations. Voluntary action is also accompanied by prominent rhythmic activity, and recent behavioral evidence suggests that this might be coupled with perception. Here, we reveal the neurophysiological underpinnings of this sensorimotor coupling in humans. We link the trial-by-trial dynamics of EEG oscillatory activity during movement preparation to the corresponding dynamics in perception, for two unrelated visual and motor tasks. The phase of theta oscillations (~4 Hz) predicts perceptual performance, even >1 s before movement. Moreover, theta oscillations are phase-locked to the onset of the movement. Remarkably, the alignment of theta phase and its perceptual relevance unfold with similar non-monotonic profiles, suggesting their relatedness. The present work shows that perception and movement initiation are automatically synchronized since the early stages of motor planning through neuronal oscillatory activity in the theta range.

  6. Beta oscillatory neurons in the motor thalamus of movement disorder and pain patients.

    PubMed

    Basha, Diellor; Dostrovsky, Jonathan O; Lopez Rios, Adriana L; Hodaie, Mojgan; Lozano, Andres M; Hutchison, William D

    2014-11-01

    Excessive beta oscillations (15-25Hz) in the basal ganglia have been linked to the akineto-rigid symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) although it remains unclear whether the underlying mechanism is causative or associative. While a number of studies have reported beta activity in the subthalamic nucleus and globus pallidus internus, relatively little is known about the beta rhythm of the motor thalamus and its relation to movement disorders. To test whether thalamic beta oscillations are related to parkinsonian symptoms, we examined the spectral properties of neuronal activity in the ventral thalamic nuclei of five Parkinson's disease patients (two female, age range 50-72years) and compared them to five essential tremor (three female, aged 41-75) and four central pain patients (one female, aged 38-60). Spike and local field potential recordings were obtained during microelectrode-guided localization of thalamic nuclei prior to the implantation of deep brain stimulating electrodes. A total of 118 movement-related neurons in the region of the ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) were analyzed across all patient groups. Eighty of these neurons (68%) displayed significant oscillatory firing in the beta range with the limbs at rest. In contrast, only 5.7% of the ventral oral posterior (Vop) (χ(2) test, p<0.05) and only 7.2% of the ventral caudal (Vc) neurons fired rhythmically at beta frequency (χ(2) test, p<0.05). Beta power was significantly decreased during limb movements (ANOVA, p<0.05) and was inversely related to tremor-frequency power during tremor epochs in ET and PD (r(2)=0.44). Comparison between patient groups showed that Vim beta power was significantly higher in ET patients versus pain and PD groups (ANOVA, p<0.05). The findings suggest that beta oscillations are found predominantly in Vim and are involved in movement but are not enhanced in tremor-dominant Parkinson's patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. The Beat Goes on: Rhythmic Modulation of Cortical Potentials by Imagined Tapping

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osman, Allen; Albert, Robert; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard; Band, Guido; van der Molen, Maurits

    2006-01-01

    A frequency analysis was used to tag cortical activity from imagined rhythmic movements. Participants synchronized overt and imagined taps with brief visual stimuli presented at a constant rate, alternating between left and right index fingers. Brain potentials were recorded from across the scalp and topographic maps made of their power at the…

  8. A common neural element receiving rhythmic arm and leg activity as assessed by reflex modulation in arm muscles

    PubMed Central

    Tazoe, Toshiki; Nakajima, Tsuyoshi; Futatsubashi, Genki; Ohtsuka, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Shinya; Zehr, E. Paul; Komiyama, Tomoyoshi

    2016-01-01

    Neural interactions between regulatory systems for rhythmic arm and leg movements are an intriguing issue in locomotor neuroscience. Amplitudes of early latency cutaneous reflexes (ELCRs) in stationary arm muscles are modulated during rhythmic leg or arm cycling but not during limb positioning or voluntary contraction. This suggests that interneurons mediating ELCRs to arm muscles integrate outputs from neural systems controlling rhythmic limb movements. Alternatively, outputs could be integrated at the motoneuron and/or supraspinal levels. We examined whether a separate effect on the ELCR pathways and cortico-motoneuronal excitability during arm and leg cycling is integrated by neural elements common to the lumbo-sacral and cervical spinal cord. The subjects performed bilateral leg cycling (LEG), contralateral arm cycling (ARM), and simultaneous contralateral arm and bilateral leg cycling (A&L), while ELCRs in the wrist flexor and shoulder flexor muscles were evoked by superficial radial (SR) nerve stimulation. ELCR amplitudes were facilitated by cycling tasks and were larger during A&L than during ARM and LEG. A low stimulus intensity during ARM or LEG generated a larger ELCR during A&L than the sum of ELCRs during ARM and LEG. We confirmed this nonlinear increase in single motor unit firing probability following SR nerve stimulation during A&L. Furthermore, motor-evoked potentials following transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation did not show nonlinear potentiation during A&L. These findings suggest the existence of a common neural element of the ELCR reflex pathway that is active only during rhythmic arm and leg movement and receives convergent input from contralateral arms and legs. PMID:26961103

  9. Neuropathology in movement disorders.

    PubMed Central

    Gibb, W R

    1989-01-01

    This review concentrates on the definition and classification of degenerative movement disorders in which Parkinsonian symptoms are often prominent. The pathological spectrum and clinical manifestations of Lewy body disease are described, and associations with Alzheimer's disease and motor neuron disease are explored. A classification of pallidonigral degenerations is based on clinical features, distribution of pathology, and morphological abnormalities; some of these patients have mild nigral degeneration and no Parkinsonian features. Many other juvenile and familial Parkinsonian cases are not included among the pallidonigral degenerations. Most of these latter syndromes have been organised into preliminary groups, in particular, autosomal dominant dystonia-Parkinson syndrome, juvenile Parkinsonian disorder and autosomal dominant Lewy body disease. Images PMID:2547027

  10. Dissociation between melodic and rhythmic processing during piano performance from musical scores.

    PubMed

    Bengtsson, Sara L; Ullén, Fredrik

    2006-03-01

    When performing or perceiving music, we experience the melodic (spatial) and rhythmic aspects as a unified whole. Moreover, the motor program theory stipulates that the relative timing and the serial order of the movement are invariant features of a motor program. Still, clinical and psychophysical observations suggest independent processing of these two aspects, in both production and perception. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to dissociate between brain areas processing the melodic and the rhythmic aspects during piano playing from musical scores. This behavior requires that the pianist decodes two types of information from the score in order to produce the desired piece of music. The spatial location of a note head determines which piano key to strike, and the various features of the note, such as the stem and flags determine the timing of each key stroke. We found that the medial occipital lobe, the superior temporal lobe, the rostral cingulate cortex, the putamen and the cerebellum process the melodic information, whereas the lateral occipital and the inferior temporal cortex, the left supramarginal gyrus, the left inferior and ventral frontal gyri, the caudate nucleus, and the cerebellum process the rhythmic information. Thus, we suggest a dissociate involvement of the dorsal visual stream in the spatial pitch processing and the ventral visual stream in temporal movement preparation. We propose that this dissociate organization may be important for fast learning and flexibility in motor control.

  11. The therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Kluger, Benzi; Triolo, Piera; Jones, Wallace; Jankovic, Joseph

    2015-03-01

    There is growing interest in the therapeutic potential of marijuana (cannabis) and cannabinoid-based chemicals within the medical community and, particularly, for neurological conditions. This interest is driven both by changes in the legal status of cannabis in many areas and increasing research into the roles of endocannabinoids within the central nervous system and their potential as symptomatic and/or neuroprotective therapies. We review basic science as well as preclinical and clinical studies on the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids specifically as it relates to movement disorders. The pharmacology of cannabis is complex, with over 60 neuroactive chemicals identified to date. The endocannabinoid system modulates neurotransmission involved in motor function, particularly within the basal ganglia. Preclinical research in animal models of several movement disorders have shown variable evidence for symptomatic benefits, but more consistently suggest potential neuroprotective effects in several animal models of Parkinson's (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). Clinical observations and clinical trials of cannabinoid-based therapies suggests a possible benefit of cannabinoids for tics and probably no benefit for tremor in multiple sclerosis or dyskinesias or motor symptoms in PD. Data are insufficient to draw conclusions regarding HD, dystonia, or ataxia and nonexistent for myoclonus or RLS. Despite the widespread publicity about the medical benefits of cannabinoids, further preclinical and clinical research is needed to better characterize the pharmacological, physiological, and therapeutic effects of this class of drugs in movement disorders. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  12. Ketotic hyperglycemia with movement disorder

    PubMed Central

    Awasthi, Disha; Tiwari, Akhilesh Kumar; Upadhyaya, Abhinav; Singh, Balwinder; Tomar, Gaurav Singh

    2012-01-01

    Chorea, hemichorea-hemiballismus and severe partial seizures may be the presenting features of nonketotic hyperglycemia in older adults with type 2 diabetes, but cases in young adults with type 1 diabetes are rare. We hereby report a very rare case of diabetic ketosis with movement disorder in a young patient. PMID:22416165

  13. Fundamental movement skills and autism spectrum disorders.

    PubMed

    Staples, Kerri L; Reid, Greg

    2010-02-01

    Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.

  14. Distinct timing mechanisms produce discrete and continuous movements.

    PubMed

    Huys, Raoul; Studenka, Breanna E; Rheaume, Nicole L; Zelaznik, Howard N; Jirsa, Viktor K

    2008-04-25

    The differentiation of discrete and continuous movement is one of the pillars of motor behavior classification. Discrete movements have a definite beginning and end, whereas continuous movements do not have such discriminable end points. In the past decade there has been vigorous debate whether this classification implies different control processes. This debate up until the present has been empirically based. Here, we present an unambiguous non-empirical classification based on theorems in dynamical system theory that sets discrete and continuous movements apart. Through computational simulations of representative modes of each class and topological analysis of the flow in state space, we show that distinct control mechanisms underwrite discrete and fast rhythmic movements. In particular, we demonstrate that discrete movements require a time keeper while fast rhythmic movements do not. We validate our computational findings experimentally using a behavioral paradigm in which human participants performed finger flexion-extension movements at various movement paces and under different instructions. Our results demonstrate that the human motor system employs different timing control mechanisms (presumably via differential recruitment of neural subsystems) to accomplish varying behavioral functions such as speed constraints.

  15. Nonspeech Oral Movements and Oral Motor Disorders: A Narrative Review.

    PubMed

    Kent, Ray D

    2015-11-01

    Speech and other oral functions such as swallowing have been compared and contrasted with oral behaviors variously labeled quasispeech, paraspeech, speechlike, and nonspeech, all of which overlap to some degree in neural control, muscles deployed, and movements performed. Efforts to understand the relationships among these behaviors are hindered by the lack of explicit and widely accepted definitions. This review article offers definitions and taxonomies for nonspeech oral movements and for diverse speaking tasks, both overt and covert. Review of the literature included searches of Medline, Google Scholar, HighWire Press, and various online sources. Search terms pertained to speech, quasispeech, paraspeech, speechlike, and nonspeech oral movements. Searches also were carried out for associated terms in oral biology, craniofacial physiology, and motor control. Nonspeech movements have a broad spectrum of clinical applications, including developmental speech and language disorders, motor speech disorders, feeding and swallowing difficulties, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, trismus, and tardive stereotypies. The role and benefit of nonspeech oral movements are controversial in many oral motor disorders. It is argued that the clinical value of these movements can be elucidated through careful definitions and task descriptions such as those proposed in this review article.

  16. Case vignettes of movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Yung, C Y

    1983-08-01

    This paper reports five movement disorders cases to serve as a basis for discussion of the problems encountered in the clinical management of these cases, and the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in these disorders as presented. Case 1 is a description of the subjective experience of a patient with acute orofacial dystonia from promethazine. Case 2 is the use of clonazepam is post-head injury tics. Case 3 is the complication from discontinuation of haloperidol and benztropine mesylate treatment. Case 4 is myoclonus in subacute sclerosing Panencephalitis, and Case 5 is rebound tremor from withdrawal of a beta-adrenergic blocker.

  17. Gender Differences in Musical Aptitude, Rhythmic Ability and Motor Performance in Preschool Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pollatou, Elisana; Karadimou, Konstantina; Gerodimos, Vasilios

    2005-01-01

    Most of the preschool curricula involve integrated movement activities that combine music, rhythm and locomotor skills. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether there are any differences between boys and girls at the age of five concerning their musical aptitude, rhythmic ability and performance in gross motor skills. Ninety-five…

  18. A common neural element receiving rhythmic arm and leg activity as assessed by reflex modulation in arm muscles.

    PubMed

    Sasada, Syusaku; Tazoe, Toshiki; Nakajima, Tsuyoshi; Futatsubashi, Genki; Ohtsuka, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Shinya; Zehr, E Paul; Komiyama, Tomoyoshi

    2016-04-01

    Neural interactions between regulatory systems for rhythmic arm and leg movements are an intriguing issue in locomotor neuroscience. Amplitudes of early latency cutaneous reflexes (ELCRs) in stationary arm muscles are modulated during rhythmic leg or arm cycling but not during limb positioning or voluntary contraction. This suggests that interneurons mediating ELCRs to arm muscles integrate outputs from neural systems controlling rhythmic limb movements. Alternatively, outputs could be integrated at the motoneuron and/or supraspinal levels. We examined whether a separate effect on the ELCR pathways and cortico-motoneuronal excitability during arm and leg cycling is integrated by neural elements common to the lumbo-sacral and cervical spinal cord. The subjects performed bilateral leg cycling (LEG), contralateral arm cycling (ARM), and simultaneous contralateral arm and bilateral leg cycling (A&L), while ELCRs in the wrist flexor and shoulder flexor muscles were evoked by superficial radial (SR) nerve stimulation. ELCR amplitudes were facilitated by cycling tasks and were larger during A&L than during ARM and LEG. A low stimulus intensity during ARM or LEG generated a larger ELCR during A&L than the sum of ELCRs during ARM and LEG. We confirmed this nonlinear increase in single motor unit firing probability following SR nerve stimulation during A&L. Furthermore, motor-evoked potentials following transcranial magnetic and electrical stimulation did not show nonlinear potentiation during A&L. These findings suggest the existence of a common neural element of the ELCR reflex pathway that is active only during rhythmic arm and leg movement and receives convergent input from contralateral arms and legs. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  19. Time-varying spectral analysis revealing differential effects of sevoflurane anaesthesia: non-rhythmic-to-rhythmic ratio.

    PubMed

    Lin, Y-T; Wu, H-T; Tsao, J; Yien, H-W; Hseu, S-S

    2014-02-01

    Heart rate variability (HRV) may reflect various physiological dynamics. In particular, variation of R-R peak interval (RRI) of electrocardiography appears regularly oscillatory in deeper levels of anaesthesia and less regular in lighter levels of anaesthesia. We proposed a new index, non-rhythmic-to-rhythmic ratio (NRR), to quantify this feature and investigated its potential to estimate depth of anaesthesia. Thirty-one female patients were enrolled in this prospective study. The oscillatory pattern transition of RRI was visualised by the time-varying power spectrum and quantified by NRR. The prediction of anaesthetic events, including skin incision, first reaction of motor movement during emergence period, loss of consciousness (LOC) and return of consciousness (ROC) by NRR were evaluated by serial prediction probability (PK ) analysis; the ability to predict the decrease of effect-site sevoflurane concentration was also evaluated. The results were compared with Bispectral Index (BIS). NRR well-predicted first reaction (PK  > 0.90) 30 s ahead, earlier than BIS and significantly better than HRV indices. NRR well-correlated with sevoflurane concentration, although its correlation was inferior to BIS, while HRV indices had no such correlation. BIS indicated LOC and ROC best. Our findings suggest that NRR provides complementary information to BIS regarding the differential effects of anaesthetics on the brain, especially the subcortical motor activity. © 2014 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Gamma knife radiosurgery in movement disorders: Indications and limitations.

    PubMed

    Higuchi, Yoshinori; Matsuda, Shinji; Serizawa, Toru

    2017-01-01

    Functional radiosurgery has advanced steadily during the past half century since the development of the gamma knife technique for treating intractable cancer pain. Applications of radiosurgery for intracranial diseases have increased with a focus on understanding radiobiology. Currently, the use of gamma knife radiosurgery to ablate deep brain structures is not widespread because visualization of the functional targets remains difficult despite the increased availability of advanced neuroimaging technology. Moreover, most existing reports have a small sample size or are retrospective. However, increased experience with intraoperative neurophysiological evaluations in radiofrequency thalamotomy and deep brain stimulation supports anatomical and neurophysiological approaches to the ventralis intermedius nucleus. Two recent prospective studies have promoted the clinical application of functional radiosurgery for movement disorders. For example, unilateral gamma knife thalamotomy is a potential alternative to radiofrequency thalamotomy and deep brain stimulation techniques for intractable tremor patients with contraindications for surgery. Despite the promising efficacy of gamma knife thalamotomy, however, these studies did not include sufficient follow-up to confirm long-term effects. Herein, we review the radiobiology literature, various techniques, and the treatment efficacy of gamma knife radiosurgery for patients with movement disorders. Future research should focus on randomized controlled studies and long-term effects. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  1. Mathematics, Music, and Movement: Exploring Concepts and Connections.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shilling, Wynne A.

    2002-01-01

    Explores connections between mathematics, music, and movement in early childhood curriculum. Presents music activities in which mathematical concepts are embedded; focuses on activities providing experiences with time-based relationships and rhythmic patterns. Asserts that integrating movement and mathematics into music activities provides a way…

  2. Neurodevelopmental movement disorders - an update on childhood motor stereotypies.

    PubMed

    Barry, Sinéad; Baird, Gillian; Lascelles, Karine; Bunton, Penny; Hedderly, Tammy

    2011-11-01

    The term 'stereotypies' encompasses a diverse range of movements, behaviours, and/or vocalizations that are repetitive, lack clear function, and sometimes appear to have a negative impact upon an individual's life. This review aims to describe motor stereotypies. This study reviewed the current literature on the nature, aetiology, and treatment of motor stereotypies. Motor stereotypies occur commonly but not exclusively in autistic spectrum disorders. Similar movements are also found in otherwise healthy children and those suffering sensory impairment, social isolation, or severe intellectual disabilities; they may be persistent over time. Although often difficult, it is possible to define and differentiate stereotypies from other movement disorders such as tics through features of the history, such as earlier onset and examination, together with the presence or absence of associated neurological impairment or developmental difficulties. Co-occurrence with other disorders affecting frontostriatal brain systems, including attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and tic disorders, is common. The underlying function of motor stereotypies remains unclear but may include the maintenance of arousal levels. A neurogenetic aetiology is proposed but requires further study. When treatment is sought, there are both pharmacological and behavioural options. Behavioural treatments for motor stereotypies may in time be shown to be most effective; however, they are difficult to implement in children younger than 7 years old. © The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2011 Mac Keith Press.

  3. Movement disorders with neuronal antibodies: syndromic approach, genetic parallels and pathophysiology

    PubMed Central

    Balint, Bettina; Vincent, Angela; Meinck, Hans-Michael; Irani, Sarosh R; Bhatia, Kailash P

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Movement disorders are a prominent and common feature in many autoantibody-associated neurological diseases, a group of potentially treatable conditions that can mimic infectious, metabolic or neurodegenerative disease. Certain movement disorders are likely to associate with certain autoantibodies; for example, the characteristic dyskinesias, chorea and dystonia associated with NMDAR antibodies, stiff person spectrum disorders with GAD, glycine receptor, amphiphysin or DPPX antibodies, specific paroxysmal dystonias with LGI1 antibodies, and cerebellar ataxia with various anti-neuronal antibodies. There are also less-recognized movement disorder presentations of antibody-related disease, and a considerable overlap between the clinical phenotypes and the associated antibody spectra. In this review, we first describe the antibodies associated with each syndrome, highlight distinctive clinical or radiological ‘red flags’, and suggest a syndromic approach based on the predominant movement disorder presentation, age, and associated features. We then examine the underlying immunopathophysiology, which may guide treatment decisions in these neuroimmunological disorders, and highlight the exceptional interface between neuronal antibodies and neurodegeneration, such as the tauopathy associated with IgLON5 antibodies. Moreover, we elaborate the emerging pathophysiological parallels between genetic movement disorders and immunological conditions, with proteins being either affected by mutations or targeted by autoantibodies. Hereditary hyperekplexia, for example, is caused by mutations of the alpha subunit of the glycine receptor leading to an infantile-onset disorder with exaggerated startle and stiffness, whereas antibodies targeting glycine receptors can induce acquired hyperekplexia. The spectrum of such immunological and genetic analogies also includes cerebellar ataxias and some encephalopathies. Lastly, we discuss how these pathophysiological considerations

  4. Nonspeech Oral Movements and Oral Motor Disorders: A Narrative Review

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Purpose Speech and other oral functions such as swallowing have been compared and contrasted with oral behaviors variously labeled quasispeech, paraspeech, speechlike, and nonspeech, all of which overlap to some degree in neural control, muscles deployed, and movements performed. Efforts to understand the relationships among these behaviors are hindered by the lack of explicit and widely accepted definitions. This review article offers definitions and taxonomies for nonspeech oral movements and for diverse speaking tasks, both overt and covert. Method Review of the literature included searches of Medline, Google Scholar, HighWire Press, and various online sources. Search terms pertained to speech, quasispeech, paraspeech, speechlike, and nonspeech oral movements. Searches also were carried out for associated terms in oral biology, craniofacial physiology, and motor control. Results and Conclusions Nonspeech movements have a broad spectrum of clinical applications, including developmental speech and language disorders, motor speech disorders, feeding and swallowing difficulties, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, trismus, and tardive stereotypies. The role and benefit of nonspeech oral movements are controversial in many oral motor disorders. It is argued that the clinical value of these movements can be elucidated through careful definitions and task descriptions such as those proposed in this review article. PMID:26126128

  5. Oscillations in sensorimotor cortex in movement disorders: an electrocorticography study.

    PubMed

    Crowell, Andrea L; Ryapolova-Webb, Elena S; Ostrem, Jill L; Galifianakis, Nicholas B; Shimamoto, Shoichi; Lim, Daniel A; Starr, Philip A

    2012-02-01

    Movement disorders of basal ganglia origin may arise from abnormalities in synchronized oscillatory activity in a network that includes the basal ganglia, thalamus and motor cortices. In humans, much has been learned from the study of basal ganglia local field potentials recorded from temporarily externalized deep brain stimulator electrodes. These studies have led to the theory that Parkinson's disease has characteristic alterations in the beta frequency band (13-30 Hz) in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical network. However, different disorders have rarely been compared using recordings in the same structure under the same behavioural conditions, limiting straightforward assessment of current hypotheses. To address this, we utilized subdural electrocorticography to study cortical oscillations in the three most common movement disorders: Parkinson's disease, primary dystonia and essential tremor. We recorded local field potentials from the arm area of primary motor and sensory cortices in 31 subjects using strip electrodes placed temporarily during routine surgery for deep brain stimulator placement. We show that: (i) primary motor cortex broadband gamma power is increased in Parkinson's disease compared with the other conditions, both at rest and during a movement task; (ii) primary motor cortex high beta (20-30 Hz) power is increased in Parkinson's disease during the 'stop' phase of a movement task; (iii) the alpha-beta peaks in the motor and sensory cortical power spectra occur at higher frequencies in Parkinson's disease than in the other two disorders; and (iv) patients with dystonia have impaired movement-related beta band desynchronization in primary motor and sensory cortices. The findings support the emerging hypothesis that disease states reflect abnormalities in synchronized oscillatory activity. This is the first study of sensorimotor cortex local field potentials in the three most common movement disorders.

  6. The Relationship between Reduplicated Babble Onset and Laterality Biases in Infant Rhythmic Arm Movements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iverson, Jana M.; Hall, Amanda J.; Nickel, Lindsay; Wozniak, Robert H.

    2007-01-01

    This study examined changes in rhythmic arm shaking and laterality biases in infants observed longitudinally at three points: just prior to, at, and just following reduplicated babble onset. Infants (ranging in age from 4 to 9 months at babble onset) were videotaped at home as they played with two visually identical audible and silent rattles…

  7. Rhythmic chewing with oral jaws in teleost fishes: a comparison with amniotes.

    PubMed

    Gintof, Chris; Konow, Nicolai; Ross, Callum F; Sanford, Christopher P J

    2010-06-01

    Intra-oral prey processing (chewing) using the mandibular jaws occurs more extensively among teleost fishes than previously documented. The lack of muscle spindles, gamma-motoneurons and periodontal afferents in fishes makes them useful for testing hypotheses regarding the relationship between these sensorimotor components and rhythmic chewing in vertebrates. Electromyography (EMG) data from the adductor mandibulae (AM) were used to quantify variation in chew cycle duration in the bowfin Amia, three osteoglossomorphs (bony-tongues), four salmonids and one esocid (pike). All species chewed prey using their oral jaw in repetitive trains of between 3 and 30 consecutive chews, a pattern that resembles cyclic chewing in amniote vertebrates. Variance in rhythmicity was compared within and between lineages using coefficients of variation and Levene's test for homogeneity of variance. These comparisons revealed that some teleosts exhibit degrees of rhythmicity that are comparable to mammalian mastication and higher than in lepidosaurs. Moreover, chew cycle durations in fishes, as in mammals, scale positively with mandible length. Chewing among basal teleosts may be rhythmic because it is stereotyped and inflexible, the result of patterned interactions between sensory feedback and a central pattern generator, because the lack of a fleshy tongue renders jaw-tongue coordination unnecessary and/or because stereotyped opening and closing movements are important for controlling fluid flow in the oral cavity.

  8. Music, clicks, and their imaginations favor differently the event-based timing component for rhythmic movements.

    PubMed

    Bravi, Riccardo; Quarta, Eros; Del Tongo, Claudia; Carbonaro, Nicola; Tognetti, Alessandro; Minciacchi, Diego

    2015-06-01

    The involvement or noninvolvement of a clock-like neural process, an effector-independent representation of the time intervals to produce, is described as the essential difference between event-based and emergent timing. In a previous work (Bravi et al. in Exp Brain Res 232:1663-1675, 2014a. doi: 10.1007/s00221-014-3845-9 ), we studied repetitive isochronous wrist's flexion-extensions (IWFEs), performed while minimizing visual and tactile information, to clarify whether non-temporal and temporal characteristics of paced auditory stimuli affect the precision and accuracy of the rhythmic motor performance. Here, with the inclusion of new recordings, we expand the examination of the dataset described in our previous study to investigate whether simple and complex paced auditory stimuli (clicks and music) and their imaginations influence in a different way the timing mechanisms for repetitive IWFEs. Sets of IWFEs were analyzed by the windowed (lag one) autocorrelation-wγ(1), a statistical method recently introduced for the distinction between event-based and emergent timing. Our findings provide evidence that paced auditory information and its imagination favor the engagement of a clock-like neural process, and specifically that music, unlike clicks, lacks the power to elicit event-based timing, not counteracting the natural shift of wγ(1) toward positive values as frequency of movements increase.

  9. Telemedicine Use for Movement Disorders: A Global Survey.

    PubMed

    Hassan, Anhar; Dorsey, E Ray; Goetz, Christopher G; Bloem, Bastiaan R; Guttman, Mark; Tanner, Caroline M; Mari, Zoltan; Pantelyat, Alexander; Galifianakis, Nicholas B; Bajwa, Jawad A; Gatto, Emilia M; Cubo, Esther

    2018-03-22

    Telemedicine is increasingly used to care for patients with movement disorders, but data regarding its global use are limited. To obtain baseline international data about telemedicine use among movement disorder clinicians. An online survey was sent to all 6,056 Movement Disorder Society members in 2015. Scope, reimbursement, and perceived quality of telemedicine were assessed. There were 549 respondents (9.1% overall response rate) from 83 countries. Most (85.8%) were physicians, and most (70.9%) worked in an academic or university practice. Half of respondents (n = 287, from 57 countries) used telemedicine for clinical care; activities included e-mail (63.2%), video visits (follow-up [39.7%] and new [35.2%]), and video-based education (35.2%). One hundred five respondents personally conducted video visits, most frequently to outpatient clinics (53.5%), patient homes (30.8%), and hospital inpatients (30.3%). The most common challenges were a limited neurological examination (58.9%) and technological difficulties (53.3%), and the most common benefits were reduced travel time (92.9%) and patient costs (60.1%). The most frequent reimbursements were none (39.0%), public insurance (24.5%), and patient payment (9.3%). Half of respondents planned to use telemedicine in the future, and three-quarters were interested in telemedicine education. More than 250 respondents around the world engage in telemedicine for movement disorders; most perceived benefit for patients, despite challenges and reimbursement for clinicians. Formal instruction on telemedicine is highly desired. Although the survey response was low and possibly biased to over represent those with telemedicine experience, the study provides baseline data for future comparison and to improve telemedicine delivery.

  10. Movement disorders and chronic psychosis

    PubMed Central

    Morgante, Francesca

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Purpose of review: To discuss selected peer-reviewed research articles published between 2014 and 2016 and highlight 5 clinically relevant messages related to hyperkinetic and hypokinetic movement disorders in patients with chronic psychosis. Recent findings: A recent population-based study complemented data from clinical trials in showing increased risk of developing extrapyramidal symptoms with antipsychotic use. A community service–based longitudinal study showed that dopamine transporter imaging could help identify subgroups of patients with parkinsonism associated with antipsychotics with a progressive course, potentially manageable with l-dopa. Data from recent noteworthy clinical trials showed that a new VMAT-2 inhibitor and, for pharmacologically refractory tardive dyskinesia, deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus are promising interventions. Finally, a population-based study has confirmed that hyperkinesias (encompassing chorea, dystonia, and stereotypies) may be early predictors of psychosis even in childhood and adolescence. Summary: Movement disorders associated with new-generation antipsychotics, including widely used agents (e.g., aripiprazole), are not rare occurrences. Better monitoring is needed to assess their true effect on patients' quality of life and functioning and to prevent underascertainment. PMID:29185545

  11. Telemedicine Enables Broader Access to Movement Disorders Curricula for Medical Students.

    PubMed

    Cubo, Esther; Doumbe, Jacques; López, Emiliano; Lopez, Guadalupe A; Gatto, Emilia; Persi, Gabriel; Guttman, Mark

    2017-01-01

    The impact of tele-education for movement disorders on medical students is unknown. The present study had three objectives. First, to create a tele-education program for medical students in regions with limited access to movement disorders curricula. Second, to analyze the feasibility, satisfaction, and improvement of medical knowledge. Third, to assess the main reasons of medical students for attending this course. In 2016, a program was piloted in a low-middle income (Cameroon) and a middle-high income (Argentina) country. Medical students were offered a free movement disorder tele-education program (four medical schools in Argentina, and 1 medical school in Cameroon). Six real-time videoconferences covering hyperkinetic and hypokinetic movement disorders were included. Evaluations included attendance, pre- and post-medical knowledge, and satisfaction questionnaires. The study included 151 undergraduate medical students (79.4% from Argentina, 20.6% from Cameroon). Feasibility was acceptable with 100% and 85.7% of the videoconferences completed in Argentina and Cameroon, respectively. Attendance was higher in Argentina compared to Cameroon (75% vs. 33.1%). According to student reports, the topics and innovative educational environment were the main reasons for attendance. Both groups ranked satisfaction as moderate to high, and medical knowledge improved similarly in both countries. Tele-education can improve movement disorders knowledge in medical schools in high-middle and low-middle income countries lacking access to other educational opportunities.

  12. Interference Effects in Bimanual Coordination Are Independent of Movement Type

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calvin, Sarah; Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor K.

    2010-01-01

    Simultaneously executed limb movements interfere with each other. Whereas the interference between discrete movements is examined mostly from a cognitive perspective, that between rhythmic movements is studied mainly from a dynamical systems perspective. As the tools and concepts developed by both communities are limited in their applicability to…

  13. Optimal control of a hybrid rhythmic-discrete task: the bouncing ball revisited.

    PubMed

    Ronsse, Renaud; Wei, Kunlin; Sternad, Dagmar

    2010-05-01

    Rhythmically bouncing a ball with a racket is a hybrid task that combines continuous rhythmic actuation of the racket with the control of discrete impact events between racket and ball. This study presents experimental data and a two-layered modeling framework that explicitly addresses the hybrid nature of control: a first discrete layer calculates the state to reach at impact and the second continuous layer smoothly drives the racket to this desired state, based on optimality principles. The testbed for this hybrid model is task performance at a range of increasingly slower tempos. When slowing the rhythm of the bouncing actions, the continuous cycles become separated into a sequence of discrete movements interspersed by dwell times and directed to achieve the desired impact. Analyses of human performance show increasing variability of performance measures with slower tempi, associated with a change in racket trajectories from approximately sinusoidal to less symmetrical velocity profiles. Matching results of model simulations give support to a hybrid control model based on optimality, and therefore suggest that optimality principles are applicable to the sensorimotor control of complex movements such as ball bouncing.

  14. Clinical, Genetic, and Radiological Features of Extrapyramidal Movement Disorders in Mitochondrial Disease.

    PubMed

    Martikainen, Mika H; Ng, Yi Shiau; Gorman, Gráinne S; Alston, Charlotte L; Blakely, Emma L; Schaefer, Andrew M; Chinnery, Patrick F; Burn, David J; Taylor, Robert W; McFarland, Robert; Turnbull, Doug M

    2016-06-01

    Extrapyramidal movement disorders associated with mitochondrial disease are difficult to treat and can lead to considerable disability. Moreover, potential new treatment trials on the horizon highlight the importance of genotype-phenotype associations and deep phenotyping of the movement disorders related to mitochondrial disease. To describe the phenotype, genetic etiology, and investigation of extrapyramidal movement disorders in a large and well-defined mitochondrial disease cohort. An observational cohort study at a single national referral center. Among 678 patients (87% adults) followed up at the Newcastle mitochondrial disease specialized referral center between January 1, 2000, and January 31, 2015, 42 patients (12 pediatric, 30 adult) with genetic or biochemical evidence of mitochondrial disease and with 1 or more predefined extrapyramidal movement disorders (parkinsonism, dystonia, tremor, chorea, and restless legs syndrome) were included. We investigated the prevalence and genetic causes of dystonia and parkinsonism as well as radiological findings in the context of movement disorders in mitochondrial disease. All patients were interviewed and examined. All available medical notes and clinical, radiological, and genetic investigations were reviewed. Forty-two patients (mean [SD] age, 37 [25] years; 38% female) with mitochondrial disease (12 pediatric [age range, 4-14 years], 30 adult [age range, 20-81 years]) with extrapyramidal movement disorders were identified. Dystonia manifested in 11 pediatric patients (92%), often in the context of Leigh syndrome; parkinsonism predominated in 13 adult patients (43%), among whom 5 (38%) harbored either dominant (n = 1) or recessive (n = 4) mutations in POLG. Eleven adult patients (37%) manifested with either generalized or multifocal dystonia related to mutations in mitochondrial DNA, among which the most common were the m.11778G>A mutation and mutations in MT-ATP6 (3 of 11 patients [27%] each). Bilateral

  15. The Role of a Neuropsychologist on a Movement Disorders Deep Brain Stimulation Team.

    PubMed

    Kubu, Cynthia S

    2018-05-01

    The term movement disorders is misleading in the implication that the symptoms are limited to motor problems. Most movement disorders include a variety of neurobehavioral and neurocognitive symptoms that require neuropsychological expertise. The goal of this paper is to provide a rationale and practical roadmap for neuropsychologists' involvement in a Movement Disorders team with a specific focus on pre-operative deep brain stimulation (DBS) evaluations. Pragmatic recommendations regarding requisite skills, clinical practice, recommendations, communication, and benefits are outlined.

  16. Sedimentation rhythmicity as a reflection of astronomical cyclicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Avsyuk, Yu. N.; Saltykovskii, A. Ya.; Sokolova, Yu. F.

    2011-05-01

    The Mesozoic-Cenozoic rhythmic continental sedimentary rocks are analyzed for every particular period and epoch from the Triassic to the Pliocene. The maximal distribution areas of rhythmic deposits are within the latitudinal zone of 20°-40°. Investigation of rhythmic Mesozoic-Cenozoic carbonate-containing deposits of Europe and North America enables us to attribute rhythmicity to climate change owing to insolation and eustatic variations of oceanosphere's level, on the one hand, and to compare duration values of the rhythmic unit and rhythmic sequence with cycles of orbital precession, ecliptic plane inclination, and the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, on the other hand.

  17. A tapping device for recording and quantitative characterization of rhythmic/auditory sequences.

    PubMed

    Piazza, Caterina; Cesareo, Ambra; Caccia, Martina; Reni, Gianluigi; Lorusso, Maria L

    2017-07-01

    The processing of auditory stimuli is essential for the correct perception of language and deficits in this ability are often related to the presence or development of language disorders. The motor imitation (e.g. tapping or beating) of rhythmic sequences can be a very sensitive correlate of deficits in auditory processing. Thus, the study of the tapping performance, with the investigation of both temporal and intensity information, might be very useful. The present work is aimed at the development and preliminary testing of a tapping device to be used for the imitation and/or the production of rhythmic sequences, allowing the recording of both tapping duration and intensity. The device is essentially made up of a Force Sensing Resistor and an Arduino UNO board. It was validated using different sampling frequencies (f s ) in a group of 10 young healthy adults investigating its efficacy in terms of touch and intensity detection by means of two testing procedures. Results demonstrated a good performance of the device when programmed with fs equal to 50 and 100Hz. Moreover, both temporal and intensity parameters were extracted, thus supporting the potential use of the device for the analysis of the imitation or production of rhythmic sequences. This work represents a first step for the development of a useful, low cost tool to support the diagnosis, training and rehabilitation of language disorders.

  18. Impairment in Movement Skills of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, Dido; Charman, Tony; Pickles, Andrew; Chandler, Susie; Loucas, Tom; Simonoff, Emily; Baird, Gillian

    2009-01-01

    Aim: We undertook this study to explore the degree of impairment in movement skills in children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and a wide IQ range. Method: Movement skills were measured using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) in a large, well defined, population-derived group of children (n=101: 89 males,12 females; mean…

  19. Learning New Basic Movements for Robotics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kober, Jens; Peters, Jan

    Obtaining novel skills is one of the most important problems in robotics. Machine learning techniques may be a promising approach for automatic and autonomous acquisition of movement policies. However, this requires both an appropriate policy representation and suitable learning algorithms. Employing the most recent form of the dynamical systems motor primitives originally introduced by Ijspeert et al. [1], we show how both discrete and rhythmic tasks can be learned using a concerted approach of both imitation and reinforcement learning, and present our current best performing learning algorithms. Finally, we show that it is possible to include a start-up phase in rhythmic primitives. We apply our approach to two elementary movements, i.e., Ball-in-a-Cup and Ball-Paddling, which can be learned on a real Barrett WAM robot arm at a pace similar to human learning.

  20. Effects of Kindermusik training on infants' rhythmic enculturation.

    PubMed

    Gerry, David W; Faux, Ashley L; Trainor, Laurel J

    2010-05-01

    Phillips-Silver and Trainor (2005) demonstrated a link between movement and the metrical interpretation of rhythm patterns in 7-month-old infants. Infants bounced on every second beat of a rhythmic pattern with no auditory accents later preferred to listen to an accented version of the pattern with accents every second beat (duple or march meter), whereas infants bounced on every third beat of the same rhythmic pattern preferred to listen to a version with accents every third beat (triple or waltz meter). The present study compared infants participating in Kindermusik classes with infants not participating in music classes. In Kindermusik classes infants receive enriched experience moving to music. Following Western musical norms, the majority of the music samples in the classes are in duple meter. During the preference test, Kindermusik infants listened longer overall, indicating heightened interest in musical rhythms. Both groups listened longer to the accented version that matched how they had been bounced, but only the Kindermusik group showed a stronger preference in the case of duple bouncing than in the case of triple bouncing. We conclude that musical classes for infants can accelerate the development of culture-specific metrical perception.

  1. The Psychology of Music: Rhythm and Movement.

    PubMed

    Levitin, Daniel J; Grahn, Jessica A; London, Justin

    2018-01-04

    The urge to move to music is universal among humans. Unlike visual art, which is manifest across space, music is manifest across time. When listeners get carried away by the music, either through movement (such as dancing) or through reverie (such as trance), it is usually the temporal qualities of the music-its pulse, tempo, and rhythmic patterns-that put them in this state. In this article, we review studies addressing rhythm, meter, movement, synchronization, entrainment, the perception of groove, and other temporal factors that constitute a first step to understanding how and why music literally moves us. The experiments we review span a range of methodological techniques, including neuroimaging, psychophysics, and traditional behavioral experiments, and we also summarize the current studies of animal synchronization, engaging an evolutionary perspective on human rhythmic perception and cognition.

  2. Closed-loop brain-machine-body interfaces for noninvasive rehabilitation of movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Broccard, Frédéric D; Mullen, Tim; Chi, Yu Mike; Peterson, David; Iversen, John R; Arnold, Mike; Kreutz-Delgado, Kenneth; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Makeig, Scott; Poizner, Howard; Sejnowski, Terrence; Cauwenberghs, Gert

    2014-08-01

    Traditional approaches for neurological rehabilitation of patients affected with movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dystonia, and essential tremor (ET) consist mainly of oral medication, physical therapy, and botulinum toxin injections. Recently, the more invasive method of deep brain stimulation (DBS) showed significant improvement of the physical symptoms associated with these disorders. In the past several years, the adoption of feedback control theory helped DBS protocols to take into account the progressive and dynamic nature of these neurological movement disorders that had largely been ignored so far. As a result, a more efficient and effective management of PD cardinal symptoms has emerged. In this paper, we review closed-loop systems for rehabilitation of movement disorders, focusing on PD, for which several invasive and noninvasive methods have been developed during the last decade, reducing the complications and side effects associated with traditional rehabilitation approaches and paving the way for tailored individual therapeutics. We then present a novel, transformative, noninvasive closed-loop framework based on force neurofeedback and discuss several future developments of closed-loop systems that might bring us closer to individualized solutions for neurological rehabilitation of movement disorders.

  3. Closed-loop Brain-Machine-Body Interfaces for Noninvasive Rehabilitation of Movement Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Broccard, Frédéric D.; Mullen, Tim; Chi, Yu Mike; Peterson, David; Iversen, John R.; Arnold, Mike; Kreutz-Delgado, Kenneth; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Makeig, Scott; Poizner, Howard; Sejnowski, Terrence; Cauwenberghs, Gert

    2014-01-01

    Traditional approaches for neurological rehabilitation of patients affected with movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), dystonia, and essential tremor (ET) consist mainly of oral medication, physical therapy, and botulinum toxin injections. Recently, the more invasive method of deep brain stimulation (DBS) showed significant improvement of the physical symptoms associated with these disorders. In the past several years, the adoption of feedback control theory helped DBS protocols to take into account the progressive and dynamic nature of these neurological movement disorders that had largely been ignored so far. As a result, a more efficient and effective management of PD cardinal symptoms has emerged. In this paper, we review closed-loop systems for rehabilitation of movement disorders, focusing on PD, for which several invasive and noninvasive methods have been developed during the last decade, reducing the complications and side effects associated with traditional rehabilitation approaches and paving the way for tailored individual therapeutics. We then present a novel, transformative, noninvasive closed-loop framework based on force neurofeedback and discuss several future developments of closed-loop systems that might bring us closer to individualized solutions for neurological rehabilitation of movement disorders. PMID:24833254

  4. More Than Ataxia: Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders in Childhood Autosomal Recessive Ataxia Syndromes.

    PubMed

    Pearson, Toni S

    2016-01-01

    The autosomal recessive ataxias are a heterogeneous group of disorders that are characterized by complex neurological features in addition to progressive ataxia. Hyperkinetic movement disorders occur in a significant proportion of patients, and may sometimes be the presenting motor symptom. Presentations with involuntary movements rather than ataxia are diagnostically challenging, and are likely under-recognized. A PubMed literature search was performed in October 2015 utilizing pairwise combinations of disease-related terms (autosomal recessive ataxia, ataxia-telangiectasia, ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 1 (AOA1), ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 2 (AOA2), Friedreich ataxia, ataxia with vitamin E deficiency), and symptom-related terms (movement disorder, dystonia, chorea, choreoathetosis, myoclonus). Involuntary movements occur in the majority of patients with ataxia-telangiectasia and AOA1, and less frequently in patients with AOA2, Friedreich ataxia, and ataxia with vitamin E deficiency. Clinical presentations with an isolated hyperkinetic movement disorder in the absence of ataxia include dystonia or dystonia with myoclonus with predominant upper limb and cervical involvement (ataxia-telangiectasia, ataxia with vitamin E deficiency), and generalized chorea (ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 1, ataxia-telangiectasia). An awareness of atypical presentations facilitates early and accurate diagnosis in these challenging cases. Recognition of involuntary movements is important not only for diagnosis, but also because of the potential for effective targeted symptomatic treatment.

  5. Neural correlates of cerebellar-mediated timing during finger tapping in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

    PubMed

    du Plessis, Lindie; Jacobson, Sandra W; Molteno, Christopher D; Robertson, Frances C; Peterson, Bradley S; Jacobson, Joseph L; Meintjes, Ernesta M

    2015-01-01

    Classical eyeblink conditioning (EBC), an elemental form of learning, is among the most sensitive indicators of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The cerebellum plays a key role in maintaining timed movements with millisecond accuracy required for EBC. Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to identify cerebellar regions that mediate timing in healthy controls and the degree to which these areas are also recruited in children with prenatal alcohol exposure. fMRI data were acquired during an auditory rhythmic/non-rhythmic finger tapping task. We present results for 17 children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS, 17 heavily exposed (HE) nonsyndromal children and 16 non- or minimally exposed controls. Controls showed greater cerebellar blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation in right crus I, vermis IV-VI, and right lobule VI during rhythmic than non-rhythmic finger tapping. The alcohol-exposed children showed smaller activation increases during rhythmic tapping in right crus I than the control children and the most severely affected children with either FAS or PFAS showed smaller increases in vermis IV-V. Higher levels of maternal alcohol intake per occasion during pregnancy were associated with reduced activation increases during rhythmic tapping in all four regions associated with rhythmic tapping in controls. The four cerebellar areas activated by the controls more during rhythmic than non-rhythmic tapping have been implicated in the production of timed responses in several previous studies. These data provide evidence linking binge-like drinking during pregnancy to poorer function in cerebellar regions involved in timing and somatosensory processing needed for complex tasks requiring precise timing.

  6. Rhythmic Oscillations of Visual Contrast Sensitivity Synchronized with Action

    PubMed Central

    Tomassini, Alice; Spinelli, Donatella; Jacono, Marco; Sandini, Giulio; Morrone, Maria Concetta

    2016-01-01

    It is well known that the motor and the sensory systems structure sensory data collection and cooperate to achieve an efficient integration and exchange of information. Increasing evidence suggests that both motor and sensory functions are regulated by rhythmic processes reflecting alternating states of neuronal excitability, and these may be involved in mediating sensory-motor interactions. Here we show an oscillatory fluctuation in early visual processing time locked with the execution of voluntary action, and, crucially, even for visual stimuli irrelevant to the motor task. Human participants were asked to perform a reaching movement toward a display and judge the orientation of a Gabor patch, near contrast threshold, briefly presented at random times before and during the reaching movement. When the data are temporally aligned to the onset of movement, visual contrast sensitivity oscillates with periodicity within the theta band. Importantly, the oscillations emerge during the motor planning stage, ~500 ms before movement onset. We suggest that brain oscillatory dynamics may mediate an automatic coupling between early motor planning and early visual processing, possibly instrumental in linking and closing up the visual-motor control loop. PMID:25948254

  7. NeuroRhythmics: software for analyzing time-series measurements of saltatory movements in neuronal processes.

    PubMed

    Kerlin, Aaron M; Lindsley, Tara A

    2008-08-15

    Time-lapse imaging of living neurons both in vivo and in vitro has revealed that the growth of axons and dendrites is highly dynamic and characterized by alternating periods of extension and retraction. These growth dynamics are associated with important features of neuronal development and are differentially affected by experimental treatments, but the underlying cellular mechanisms are poorly understood. NeuroRhythmics was developed to semi-automate specific quantitative tasks involved in analysis of two-dimensional time-series images of processes that exhibit saltatory elongation. This software provides detailed information on periods of growth and nongrowth that it identifies by transitions in elongation (i.e. initiation time, average rate, duration) and information regarding the overall pattern of saltatory growth (i.e. time of pattern onset, frequency of transitions, relative time spent in a state of growth vs. nongrowth). Plots and numeric output are readily imported into other applications. The user has the option to specify criteria for identifying transitions in growth behavior, which extends the potential application of the software to neurons of different types or developmental stage and to other time-series phenomena that exhibit saltatory dynamics. NeuroRhythmics will facilitate mechanistic studies of periodic axonal and dendritic growth in neurons.

  8. Difficulty leading interpersonal coordination: towards an embodied signature of social anxiety disorder

    PubMed Central

    Varlet, Manuel; Marin, Ludovic; Capdevielle, Delphine; Del-Monte, Jonathan; Schmidt, R. C.; Salesse, Robin N.; Boulenger, Jean-Philippe; Bardy, Benoît G.; Raffard, Stéphane

    2014-01-01

    Defined by a persistent fear of embarrassment or negative evaluation while engaged in social interaction or public performance, social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychiatric syndromes. Previous research has made a considerable effort to better understand and assess this mental disorder. However, little attention has been paid to social motor behavior of patients with SAD despite its crucial importance in daily social interactions. Previous research has shown that the coordination of arm, head or postural movements of interacting people can reflect their mental states or feelings such as social connectedness and social motives, suggesting that interpersonal movement coordination may be impaired in patients suffering from SAD. The current study was specifically aimed at determining whether SAD affects the dynamics of social motor coordination. We compared the unintentional and intentional rhythmic coordination of a SAD group (19 patients paired with control participants) with the rhythmic coordination of a control group (19 control pairs) in an interpersonal pendulum coordination task. The results demonstrated that unintentional social motor coordination was preserved with SAD while intentional coordination was impaired. More specifically, intentional coordination became impaired when patients with SAD had to lead the coordination as indicated by poorer (i.e., more variable) coordination. These differences between intentional and unintentional coordination as well as between follower and leader roles reveal an impaired coordination dynamics that is specific to SAD, and thus, opens promising research directions to better understand, assess and treat this mental disorder. PMID:24567707

  9. The coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder.

    PubMed

    Ehrminger, Mickael; Latimier, Alice; Pyatigorskaya, Nadya; Garcia-Lorenzo, Daniel; Leu-Semenescu, Smaranda; Vidailhet, Marie; Lehericy, Stéphane; Arnulf, Isabelle

    2016-04-01

    Idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder is characterized by nocturnal violence, increased muscle tone during rapid eye movement sleep and the lack of any other neurological disease. However, idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder can precede parkinsonism and dementia by several years. Using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging and neuromelanin-sensitive sequences, we previously found that the signal intensity was reduced in the locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus area of patients with Parkinson's disease and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. Here, we studied the integrity of the locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex with neuromelanin-sensitive imaging in 21 patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and compared the results with those from 21 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers. All subjects underwent a clinical examination, motor, cognitive, autonomous, psychological, olfactory and colour vision tests, and rapid eye movement sleep characterization using video-polysomnography and 3 T magnetic resonance imaging. The patients more frequently had preclinical markers of alpha-synucleinopathies, including constipation, olfactory deficits, orthostatic hypotension, and subtle motor impairment. Using neuromelanin-sensitive imaging, reduced signal intensity was identified in the locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex of the patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour. The mean sensitivity of the visual analyses of the signal performed by neuroradiologists who were blind to the clinical diagnoses was 82.5%, and the specificity was 81% for the identification of idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour. The results confirm that this complex is affected in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour (to the same degree as it is affected in Parkinson's disease). Neuromelanin-sensitive imaging provides an early marker of non-dopaminergic alpha-synucleinopathy that can be detected on an individual

  10. Eating disorders, energy intake, training volume, and menstrual function in high-level modern rhythmic gymnasts.

    PubMed

    Sundgot-Borgen, J

    1996-06-01

    This study examined clinical and subclinical eating disorders (EDs) in young Norwegian modern rhythmic gymnasts. Subjects were 12 members of the national team, age 13-20 years, and individually matched nonathletic controls. All subjects participated in a structured clinical interview for EDs, medical examination, and dietary analysis. Two of the gymnasts met the DSM-III-R criteria for anorexia nervosa, and 2 met the criteria for anorexia athletica (a subclinical ED). All the gymnasts were dieting in spite of the fact that they were all extremely lean. The avoidance of maturity, menstrual irregularities, energy deficit, high training volume, and high frequency of injuries were common features among the gymnasts. Ther is a need to learn more about risk factors and the etiology of EDs in different sports. Coaches, parents, and athletes need more information about principles of proper nutrition and methods to achieve ideal body composition for optional health and athletic performance.

  11. Differentially phased leaf growth and movements in Arabidopsis depend on coordinated circadian and light regulation.

    PubMed

    Dornbusch, Tino; Michaud, Olivier; Xenarios, Ioannis; Fankhauser, Christian

    2014-10-01

    In contrast to vastly studied hypocotyl growth, little is known about diel regulation of leaf growth and its coordination with movements such as changes in leaf elevation angle (hyponasty). We developed a 3D live-leaf growth analysis system enabling simultaneous monitoring of growth and movements. Leaf growth is maximal several hours after dawn, requires light, and is regulated by daylength, suggesting coupling between growth and metabolism. We identify both blade and petiole positioning as important components of leaf movements in Arabidopsis thaliana and reveal a temporal delay between growth and movements. In hypocotyls, the combination of circadian expression of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR4 (PIF4) and PIF5 and their light-regulated protein stability drives rhythmic hypocotyl elongation with peak growth at dawn. We find that PIF4 and PIF5 are not essential to sustain rhythmic leaf growth but influence their amplitude. Furthermore, EARLY FLOWERING3, a member of the evening complex (EC), is required to maintain the correct phase between growth and movement. Our study shows that the mechanisms underlying rhythmic hypocotyl and leaf growth differ. Moreover, we reveal the temporal relationship between leaf elongation and movements and demonstrate the importance of the EC for the coordination of these phenotypic traits. © 2014 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

  12. Distinguishing rhythmic from non-rhythmic brain activity during rest in healthy neurocognitive aging.

    PubMed

    Caplan, Jeremy B; Bottomley, Monica; Kang, Pardeep; Dixon, Roger A

    2015-05-15

    Rhythmic brain activity at low frequencies (<12Hz) during rest are thought to increase in neurodegenerative disease, but findings in healthy neurocognitive aging are mixed. Here we address two reasons conventional spectral analyses may have led to inconsistent results. First, spectral-power measures are compared to a baseline condition; when resting activity is the signal of interest, it is unclear what the baseline should be. Second, conventional methods do not clearly differentiate power due to rhythmic versus non-rhythmic activity. The Better OSCillation detection method (BOSC; Caplan et al., 2001; Whitten et al., 2011) avoids these problems by using the signal's own spectral characteristics as a reference to detect elevations in power lasting a few cycles. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signal during rest, alternating eyes open and closed, in healthy younger (18-25 years) and older (60-74 years) participants. Topographic plots suggested the conventional and BOSC analyses measured different sources of activity, particularly at frequencies, like delta (1-4Hz), at which rhythms are sporadic; topographies were more similar in the 8-12Hz alpha band. There was little theta-band activity meeting the BOSC method's criteria, suggesting prior findings of theta power in healthy aging may reflect non-rhythmic signal. In contrast, delta oscillations were present at higher levels than theta in both age groups. In summary, applying strict and standardized criteria for rhythmicity, slow rhythms appear present in the resting brain at delta and alpha, but not theta frequencies, and appear unchanged in healthy aging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Distinguishing rhythmic from non-rhythmic brain activity during rest in healthy neurocognitive aging

    PubMed Central

    Caplan, Jeremy B.; Bottomley, Monica; Kang, Pardeep; Dixon, Roger A.

    2015-01-01

    Rhythmic brain activity at low frequencies (<12 Hz) during rest are thought to increase in neurodegenerative disease, but findings in healthy neurocognitive aging are mixed. Here we address two reasons conventional spectral analyses may have led to inconsistent results. First, spectral-power measures are compared to a baseline condition; when resting activity is the signal of interest, it is unclear what the baseline should be. Second, conventional methods do not clearly differentiate power due to rhythmic versus non-rhythmic activity. The Better OSCillation detection method (BOSC; [10], [65]) avoids these problems by using the signal’s own spectral characteristics as a reference to detect elevations in power lasting a few cycles. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signal during rest, alternating eyes open and closed, in healthy younger (18–25 years) and older (60–74 years) participants. Topographic plots suggested the conventional and BOSC analyses measured different sources of activity, particularly at frequencies, like delta (1–4 Hz), at which rhythms are sporadic (but topographies were more similar in the 8–12 Hz alpha band). There was little theta-band activity meeting the BOSC method’s criteria, suggesting prior findings of theta power in healthy aging may reflect non-rhythmic signal. In contrast, delta oscillations were present at higher levels than theta in both age groups. In sum, applying strict and standardized criteria for rhythmicity, slow rhythms appear present in the resting brain at delta and alpha, but not theta frequencies, and appear unchanged in healthy aging. PMID:25769279

  14. Pseudobulbar affect: prevalence and quality of life impact in movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Strowd, Roy E; Cartwright, Michael S; Okun, Michael S; Haq, Ihtsham; Siddiqui, Mustafa S

    2010-08-01

    Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is an affective disinhibition syndrome characterized by sudden, involuntary outbursts of inappropriate crying or laughing. We have previously reported the prevalence of PBA in movement disorders using an interviewer-administered questionnaire that had not been validated. In the current study, a validated self-administered screening instrument, the Center for Neurologic Study-Lability Scale (CNS-LS), was used to study the prevalence of PBA, its association with mood symptoms, and the quality of life impact. Two hundred sixty-nine patients met inclusion criteria (consent, age > 18 years, formal diagnosis, and completion of the CNS-LS). The CNS-LS was used to assess PBA at a cutoff score of 17 (utilized from multiple sclerosis studies). The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale and Parkinson's disease questionnaire (PDQ-39) were used to assess depressive symptoms and quality of life. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict associations with PBA. PBA was prevalent in 7.1% (n = 19) of movement disorder patients. No significant difference in prevalence was observed by patient diagnosis: 7.1% (12/168) in Parkinson's disease (PD), 11.4% (4/35) in essential tremor, 0% (0/13) in dystonia, 0% (0/16) in psychogenic movement disorders, and 10.7% (3/28) in patients with other movement disorders. Patients with PBA had higher BDI depression scores (p < 0.0001) and lower PDQ-39 emotional well-being subscores (p < 0.0001). Patients taking antidepressant medications had significantly higher rates of PBA (p = 0.0008). The prevalence of PBA symptoms was 7.1% in PD and all movement disorders patients. Patients with PBA tend to have more depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life.

  15. The promises of stem cells: stem cell therapy for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Mochizuki, Hideki; Choong, Chi-Jing; Yasuda, Toru

    2014-01-01

    Despite the multitude of intensive research, the exact pathophysiological mechanisms underlying movement disorders including Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and Huntington's disease remain more or less elusive. Treatments to halt these disease progressions are currently unavailable. With the recent induced pluripotent stem cells breakthrough and accomplishment, stem cell research, as the vast majority of scientists agree, holds great promise for relieving and treating debilitating movement disorders. As stem cells are the precursors of all cells in the human body, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that govern how they develop and work would provide us many fundamental insights into human biology of health and disease. Moreover, stem-cell-derived neurons may be a renewable source of replacement cells for damaged neurons in movement disorders. While stem cells show potential for regenerative medicine, their use as tools for research and drug testing is thought to have more immediate impact. The use of stem-cell-based drug screening technology could be a big boost in drug discovery for these movement disorders. Particular attention should also be given to the involvement of neural stem cells in adult neurogenesis so as to encourage its development as a therapeutic option. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Thoughts on selected movement disorder terminology and a plea for clarity.

    PubMed

    Walker, Ruth H

    2013-01-01

    Description of the phenomenology of movement disorders requires precise and accurate terminology. Many of the terms that have been widely used in the literature are imprecise and open to interpretation. An examination of these terms and the assumptions implicit in their usage is important to improve communication and hence the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of movement disorders. I recommend that the term dyskinesia should be used primarily in the settings of Parkinson's disease and tardive dyskinesia, in which its clinical implications are relatively clear; it should not be used in other situations where a precise description could more usefully facilitate diagnosis and treatment. In general dyskinesia should be used in the singular form. Extrapyramidal is based upon obsolete anatomical concepts, is uninformative, and should be discarded. The term abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) is similarly vague and uninformative, although is unlikely to be eliminated from the psychiatric literature. Movement disorder neurologists as teachers, clinicians, article reviewers, and journal editors have the responsibility to educate our colleagues regarding appropriate usage and the importance of employing correct descriptors.

  17. What is the role of genetic testing in movement disorders practice?

    PubMed

    Schneider, Susanne A; Klein, Christine

    2011-08-01

    Genetic testing holds many promises in movement disorders, but also pitfalls that require careful consideration for meaningful results. These include the primary indication for testing in the first place, concerns regarding the implications of symptomatic, presymptomatic, and susceptibility testing, the mutation frequency in the gene of interest, the general lack of neuroprotective treatment options for neurodegenerative movement disorders, the prognosis of the condition diagnosed, and patient confidentiality concerns. Furthermore, new technical achievements and the available technical expertise, feasibility of specific gene testing, and its coverage through a health insurance carrier should be considered. Guidelines for testing have been established by some disease societies to advise clinicians and in parallel legal regulations are being adjusted at a national and international level. We review these and other critical points and recent developments regarding genetic testing in the field of movement disorders.

  18. The Enhanced Musical Rhythmic Perception in Second Language Learners

    PubMed Central

    Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Roor, Drikus A.; Chen, Ao; Sadakata, Makiko

    2016-01-01

    Previous research suggests that mastering languages with distinct rather than similar rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythmic perception. This study investigates whether learning a second language (L2) contributes to enhanced musical rhythmic perception in general, regardless of first and second languages rhythmic properties. Additionally, we investigated whether this perceptual enhancement could be alternatively explained by exposure to musical rhythmic complexity, such as the use of compound meter in Turkish music. Finally, it investigates if an enhancement of musical rhythmic perception could be observed among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as is the case with tonal languages. Therefore, we tested Turkish, Dutch and Mandarin L2 learners of English and Turkish monolinguals on their musical rhythmic perception. Participants’ phonological and working memory capacities, melodic aptitude, years of formal musical training and daily exposure to music were assessed to account for cultural and individual differences which could impact their rhythmic ability. Our results suggest that mastering a L2 rather than exposure to musical rhythmic complexity could explain individuals’ enhanced musical rhythmic perception. An even stronger enhancement of musical rhythmic perception was observed for L2 learners whose first and second languages differ regarding their rhythmic properties, as enhanced performance of Turkish in comparison with Dutch L2 learners of English seem to suggest. Such a stronger enhancement of rhythmic perception seems to be found even among L2 learners whose first language relies heavily on pitch information, as the performance of Mandarin L2 learners of English indicates. Our findings provide further support for a cognitive transfer between the language and music domain. PMID:27375469

  19. Rate control and quality assurance during rhythmic force tracking.

    PubMed

    Huang, Cheng-Ya; Su, Jyong-Huei; Hwang, Ing-Shiou

    2014-02-01

    Movement characteristics can be coded in the single neurons or in the summed activity of neural populations. However, whether neural oscillations are conditional to the frequency demand and task quality of rhythmic force regulation is still unclear. This study was undertaken to investigate EEG dynamics and behavior correlates during force-tracking at different target rates. Fourteen healthy volunteers conducted load-varying isometric abduction of the index finger by coupling the force output to sinusoidal targets at 0.5 Hz, 1.0 Hz, and 2.0 Hz. Our results showed that frequency demand significantly affected EEG delta oscillation (1-4 Hz) in the C3, CP3, CPz, and CP4 electrodes, with the greatest delta power and lowest delta peak around 1.5 Hz for slower tracking at 0.5 Hz. Those who had superior tracking congruency also manifested enhanced alpha oscillation (8-12 Hz). Alpha rhythms of the skilled performers during slow tracking spread through the whole target cycle, except for the phase of direction changes. However, the alpha rhythms centered at the mid phase of a target cycle with increasing target rate. In conclusion, our findings clearly suggest two advanced roles of cortical oscillation in rhythmic force regulation. Rate-dependent delta oscillation involves a paradigm shift in force control under different time scales. Phasic organization of alpha rhythms during rhythmic force tracking is related to behavioral success underlying the selective use of bimodal controls (feedback and feedforward processes) and the timing of attentional focus on the target's peak velocity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Model of rhythmic ball bouncing using a visually controlled neural oscillator.

    PubMed

    Avrin, Guillaume; Siegler, Isabelle A; Makarov, Maria; Rodriguez-Ayerbe, Pedro

    2017-10-01

    The present paper investigates the sensory-driven modulations of central pattern generator dynamics that can be expected to reproduce human behavior during rhythmic hybrid tasks. We propose a theoretical model of human sensorimotor behavior able to account for the observed data from the ball-bouncing task. The novel control architecture is composed of a Matsuoka neural oscillator coupled with the environment through visual sensory feedback. The architecture's ability to reproduce human-like performance during the ball-bouncing task in the presence of perturbations is quantified by comparison of simulated and recorded trials. The results suggest that human visual control of the task is achieved online. The adaptive behavior is made possible by a parametric and state control of the limit cycle emerging from the interaction of the rhythmic pattern generator, the musculoskeletal system, and the environment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The study demonstrates that a behavioral model based on a neural oscillator controlled by visual information is able to accurately reproduce human modulations in a motor action with respect to sensory information during the rhythmic ball-bouncing task. The model attractor dynamics emerging from the interaction between the neuromusculoskeletal system and the environment met task requirements, environmental constraints, and human behavioral choices without relying on movement planning and explicit internal models of the environment. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  1. Sleep less and bite more: sleep disorders associated with occlusal loads during sleep.

    PubMed

    Kato, Takafumi; Yamaguchi, Taihiko; Okura, Kazuo; Abe, Susumu; Lavigne, Gilles J

    2013-04-01

    Occlusal overload during sleep is a significant clinical issue that has negative impacts on the maintenance of teeth and the longevity of dental prostheses. Sleep is usually viewed as an 'out-of-functional' mode for masticatory muscles. However, orodental structures and prostheses are not free from occlusal loads during sleep since masticatory muscles can be activated at a low level within normal sleep continuity. Thus, an increase in masticatory muscle contractions, by whatever the cause, can be associated with a risk of increased occlusal loads during sleep. Among such conditions, sleep bruxism (SB) is a type of sleep-related movement disorders with potential load challenge to the tooth and orofacial structures. Patients with SB usually report frequent tooth grinding noises during sleep and there is a consecutive increase in number and strength of rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA). Other types of masticatory muscle contractions can be non-specifically activated during sleep, such as brief contractions with tooth tapping, sleep talking, non-rhythmic contractions related to non-specific body movements, etc.; these occur more frequently in sleep disorders. Studies have shown that clinical signs and symptoms of SB can be found in patients with sleep disorders. In addition, sleep becomes compromised with aging process, and a prevalence of most sleep disorders is high in the elderly populations, in which prosthodontic rehabilitations are more required. Therefore, the recognition and understanding of the role of sleep disorders can provide a comprehensive vision for prosthodontic rehabilitations when prosthodontists manage complex orodental cases needing interdisciplinary collaborations between dentistry and sleep medicine. Copyright © 2013 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The Therapeutic Potential of Cannabinoids for Movement Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Kluger, Benzi; Triolo, Piera; Jones, Wallace; Jankovic, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    Background There is growing interest in the therapeutic potential of marijuana (cannabis) and cannabinoid-based chemicals within the medical community and particularly for neurologic conditions. This interest is driven both by changes in the legal status of cannabis in many areas and increasing research into the roles of endocannabinoids within the central nervous system and their potential as symptomatic and/or neuroprotective therapies. We review basic science, preclinical and clinical studies on the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids specifically as it relates to movement disorders. Results The pharmacology of cannabis is complex with over 60 neuroactive chemicals identified to date. The endocannabinoid system modulates neurotransmission involved in motor function, particularly within the basal ganglia. Preclinical research in animal models of several movement disorders have shown variable evidence for symptomatic benefits but more consistently suggest potential neuroprotective effects in several animal models of Parkinson’s (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD). Clinical observations and clinical trials of cannabinoid-based therapies suggests a possible benefit of cannabinoids for tics and probably no benefit for tremor in multiple sclerosis or dyskinesias or motor symptoms in PD. Data are insufficient to draw conclusions regarding HD, dystonia or ataxia and nonexistent for myoclonus or restless legs syndrome. Conclusions Despite the widespread publicity about the medical benefits of cannabinoids, further preclinical and clinical research is needed to better characterize the pharmacological, physiological and therapeutic effects of this class of drugs in movement disorders. PMID:25649017

  3. Movement interference in autism-spectrum disorder.

    PubMed

    Gowen, E; Stanley, J; Miall, R C

    2008-03-07

    Movement interference occurs when concurrently observing and executing incompatible actions and is believed to be due to co-activation of conflicting populations of mirror neurons. It has also been suggested that mirror neurons contribute towards the imitation of observed actions. However, the exact neural substrate of imitation may depend on task demands: a processing route for goal-directed meaningful actions may be distinct from one for non-goal-directed actions. A more controversial role proposed for these neurons is in theory of mind processing, along with the subsequent suggestion that impairment in the mirror neuron circuit can contribute to autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) where individuals have theory of mind deficits. We have therefore examined movement interference in nine ASD participants and nine matched controls while performing actions congruent and incongruent with observed meaningless arm movements. We hypothesised that if the mirror neuron system was impaired, reduced interference should be observed in the ASD group. However, control and ASD participants demonstrated an equivalent interference effect in an interpersonal condition, with greater movement variability in the incongruent compared to the congruent condition. A component of movement interference which is independent of congruency did differ between groups: ASD participants made generally more variable movements for the interpersonal task than for biological dot-motion task, while the reverse was true for the control participants. We interpret these results as evidence that the ASD participant group either rely to a greater extent on the goal-directed imitation pathway, supporting claims that they have a specific deficit of the non-goal-directed imitation pathway, or exhibit reduced visuomotor integration.

  4. Cannabidiol as a Promising Strategy to Treat and Prevent Movement Disorders?

    PubMed Central

    Peres, Fernanda F.; Lima, Alvaro C.; Hallak, Jaime E. C.; Crippa, José A.; Silva, Regina H.; Abílio, Vanessa C.

    2018-01-01

    Movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and dyskinesia are highly debilitating conditions linked to oxidative stress and neurodegeneration. When available, the pharmacological therapies for these disorders are still mainly symptomatic, do not benefit all patients and induce severe side effects. Cannabidiol is a non-psychotomimetic compound from Cannabis sativa that presents antipsychotic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Although the studies that investigate the effects of this compound on movement disorders are surprisingly few, cannabidiol emerges as a promising compound to treat and/or prevent them. Here, we review these clinical and pre-clinical studies and draw attention to the potential of cannabidiol in this field. PMID:29867488

  5. Induction of slow oscillations by rhythmic acoustic stimulation.

    PubMed

    Ngo, Hong-Viet V; Claussen, Jens C; Born, Jan; Mölle, Matthias

    2013-02-01

    Slow oscillations are electrical potential oscillations with a spectral peak frequency of ∼0.8 Hz, and hallmark the electroencephalogram during slow-wave sleep. Recent studies have indicated a causal contribution of slow oscillations to the consolidation of memories during slow-wave sleep, raising the question to what extent such oscillations can be induced by external stimulation. Here, we examined whether slow oscillations can be effectively induced by rhythmic acoustic stimulation. Human subjects were examined in three conditions: (i) with tones presented at a rate of 0.8 Hz ('0.8-Hz stimulation'); (ii) with tones presented at a random sequence ('random stimulation'); and (iii) with no tones presented in a control condition ('sham'). Stimulation started during wakefulness before sleep and continued for the first ∼90 min of sleep. Compared with the other two conditions, 0.8-Hz stimulation significantly delayed sleep onset. However, once sleep was established, 0.8-Hz stimulation significantly increased and entrained endogenous slow oscillation activity. Sleep after the 90-min period of stimulation did not differ between the conditions. Our data show that rhythmic acoustic stimulation can be used to effectively enhance slow oscillation activity. However, the effect depends on the brain state, requiring the presence of stable non-rapid eye movement sleep. © 2012 European Sleep Research Society.

  6. Paraneoplastic disorders of eye movements

    PubMed Central

    Wray, Shirley H.; Dalmau, Josep; Chen, Athena; King, Susan; Leigh, R. John

    2011-01-01

    Paraneoplastic syndromes affecting the brainstem and cerebellum are reported to cause a variety of abnormalities of eye movements. Recent studies have begun to account for the mechanisms underlying several syndromes, characterized by opsoclonus, slow, or dysmetric saccades, as well as downbeat nystagmus. We provide evidence that upbeat nystagmus in a patient with pancreatic cancer reflected a cerebellar-induced imbalance of otolithic pathways: she showed marked retropulsion, and her nystagmus was dependent on head position, being absent when supine, and suppressed with convergence. In addition to anti-Hu antibodies, we demonstrated antibodies to a novel neuronal cell surface antigen. Taken with other recent studies, our findings suggest that paraneoplastic syndromes arise due to antibodies against surface neuronal antigens, including receptors and channels. Abnormal eye movements in paraneoplastic syndromes offer insights into the pathogenesis of these disorders and the opportunity to test potential therapies, such as new drugs with effects on neuronal channels. PMID:21951005

  7. Hyperkinetic movement disorder in a child treated by globus pallidus stimulation.

    PubMed

    Sato, Ken; Nakagawa, Eiji; Saito, Yoshiaki; Komaki, Hirofumi; Sakuma, Hiroshi; Sugai, Kenji; Sasaki, Masayuki; Kaido, Takanobu; Nakama, Hideyuki; Otsuki, Taisuke

    2009-06-01

    We report herein the case of a 9-year-old girl with life-threatening hyperkinetic involuntary movement of unknown etiology. Medical treatment was ineffective for her stereotypy and choreoathetotic/ballistic movements, but bilateral stimulation of the globus pallidus immediately alleviated these symptoms. Pallidal deep-brain stimulation may be considered the therapy of choice for children with intractable hyperkinetic movement disorders.

  8. Traumatic memories, eye movements, phobia, and panic: a critical note on the proliferation of EMDR.

    PubMed

    Muris, P; Merckelbach, H

    1999-01-01

    In the past years, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has become increasingly popular as a treatment method for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The current article critically evaluates three recurring assumptions in EMDR literature: (a) the notion that traumatic memories are fixed and stable and that flashbacks are accurate reproductions of the traumatic incident; (b) the idea that eye movements, or other lateralized rhythmic behaviors have an inhibitory effect on emotional memories; and (c) the assumption that EMDR is not only effective in treating PTSD, but can also be successfully applied to other psychopathological conditions. There is little support for any of these three assumptions. Meanwhile, the expansion of the theoretical underpinnings of EMDR in the absence of a sound empirical basis casts doubts on the massive proliferation of this treatment method.

  9. [Role of rhythmicity in infant development].

    PubMed

    Ciccone, A

    2015-09-01

    This article deals with rhythm in the experiences of infants, focusing in particular on the function of rhythmicity in the baby's sense of being and its continuity. Infants are inevitably subjected to experiences of discontinuity. These experiences are necessary to development, but they expose the child to chaotic experiences when a basic rhythmicity is not ensured. The rhythmicity of childcare experiences gives the illusion of permanence and enables anticipation. This nourishes the basic feeling of security and supports the development of thought. Interactive and intersubjective exchanges must be rhythmic and must be in keeping with the rhythm of the baby, who needs to withdraw regularly from the interaction to internalize the experience of the exchange. Without this retreat, the interaction is over-stimulating and prevents internalization. Object presence/ absence must also be rhythmic, to enable the infant to keep the object alive inside him/ herself. Observation of babies has demonstrated their ability to manage experiences of discontinuity: they are able to sustain a continuous link via their gaze, look for clues indicating the presence of a lost object, search for support in sensations, and fabricate rhythmicity to remain open to the self and the world. The author gives some examples of infant observations that provide evidence of these capacities. One observation shows how a baby defends itself against a discontinuity by actively maintaining a link via his/her gaze. Another example shows an infant holding on to "hard sensations" in order to stay away from "soft" ones, which represent the fragility of the separation experience. This example pertains to a seven-month-old's prelanguage and "prosodic tonicity". The author takes this opportunity to propose the notion of "psychic bisensuality" to describe these two sensation poles, which must be harmoniously articulated to guarantee an inner sense of security. Such repairs of discontinuity are only possible if the

  10. Effect of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation on Controlling Stepping Cadence of Individuals with Mental Retardation and Cerebral Palsy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Varsamis, Panagiotis; Staikopoulos, Konstantinos; Kartasidou, Lefkothea

    2012-01-01

    One of the purposes of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) is to improve the control of dysfunctional movement patterns. This study aimed to extend the line of research by focussing on secondary students with mental retardation and cerebral palsy. According to the study's assumption, cadence can be controlled through a stable and low signal…

  11. Listening to Rhythmic Music Reduces Connectivity within the Basal Ganglia and the Reward System.

    PubMed

    Brodal, Hans P; Osnes, Berge; Specht, Karsten

    2017-01-01

    Music can trigger emotional responses in a more direct way than any other stimulus. In particular, music-evoked pleasure involves brain networks that are part of the reward system. Furthermore, rhythmic music stimulates the basal ganglia and may trigger involuntary movements to the beat. In the present study, we created a continuously playing rhythmic, dance floor-like composition where the ambient noise from the MR scanner was incorporated as an additional instrument of rhythm. By treating this continuous stimulation paradigm as a variant of resting-state, the data was analyzed with stochastic dynamic causal modeling (sDCM), which was used for exploring functional dependencies and interactions between core areas of auditory perception, rhythm processing, and reward processing. The sDCM model was a fully connected model with the following areas: auditory cortex, putamen/pallidum, and ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens of both hemispheres. The resulting estimated parameters were compared to ordinary resting-state data, without an additional continuous stimulation. Besides reduced connectivity within the basal ganglia, the results indicated a reduced functional connectivity of the reward system, namely the right ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens from and to the basal ganglia and auditory network while listening to rhythmic music. In addition, the right ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens demonstrated also a change in its hemodynamic parameter, reflecting an increased level of activation. These converging results may indicate that the dopaminergic reward system reduces its functional connectivity and relinquishing its constraints on other areas when we listen to rhythmic music.

  12. Are smooth pursuit eye movements altered in chronic whiplash-associated disorders? A cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Kongsted, A; Jørgensen, L V; Bendix, T; Korsholm, L; Leboeuf-Yde, C

    2007-11-01

    To evaluate whether smooth pursuit eye movements differed between patients with long-lasting whiplash-associated disorders and controls when using a purely computerized method for the eye movement analysis. Cross-sectional study comparing patients with whiplash-associated disorders and controls who had not been exposed to head or neck trauma and had no notable neck complaints. Smooth pursuit eye movements were registered while the subjects were seated with and without rotated cervical spine. Thirty-four patients with whiplash-associated disorders with symptoms more than six months after a car collision and 60 controls. Smooth pursuit eye movements were almost identical in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders and controls, both when the neck was rotated and in the neutral position. Disturbed smooth pursuit eye movements do not appear to be a distinct feature in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders. This is in contrast to results of previous studies and may be due to the fact that analyses were performed in a computerized and objective manner. Other possible reasons for the discrepancy to previous studies are discussed.

  13. Role of the dorsal premotor cortex in rhythmic auditory-motor entrainment: a perturbational approach by rTMS.

    PubMed

    Giovannelli, Fabio; Innocenti, Iglis; Rossi, Simone; Borgheresi, Alessandra; Ragazzoni, Aldo; Zaccara, Gaetano; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Cincotta, Massimo

    2014-04-01

    Synchronization of body movements to an external beat is a universal human ability, which has also been recently documented in nonhuman species. The neural substrates of this rhythmic motor entrainment are still under investigation. Correlational neuroimaging data suggest an involvement of the dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC) and the supplementary motor area (SMA). In 14 healthy volunteers, we more specifically investigated the neural network underlying this phenomenon using a causal approach by an established 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol, which produces a focal suppression of cortical excitability outlasting the stimulation period. Synchronization accuracy between rhythmic cues and right index finger tapping, as measured by the mean time lag (asynchrony) between motor and auditory events, was significantly affected when the right dPMC function was transiently perturbed by "off-line" focal rTMS, whereas the reproduction of the rhythmic sequence per se (inter-tap-interval) was spared. This approach affected metrical rhythms of different complexity, but not non-metrical or isochronous sequences. Conversely, no change in auditory-motor synchronization was observed with rTMS of the SMA, of the left dPMC or over a control site (midline occipital area). Our data strongly support the view that the right dPMC is crucial for rhythmic auditory-motor synchronization in humans.

  14. Proteomic identification of rhythmic proteins in rice seedlings.

    PubMed

    Hwang, Heeyoun; Cho, Man-Ho; Hahn, Bum-Soo; Lim, Hyemin; Kwon, Yong-Kook; Hahn, Tae-Ryong; Bhoo, Seong Hee

    2011-04-01

    Many aspects of plant metabolism that are involved in plant growth and development are influenced by light-regulated diurnal rhythms as well as endogenous clock-regulated circadian rhythms. To identify the rhythmic proteins in rice, periodically grown (12h light/12h dark cycle) seedlings were harvested for three days at six-hour intervals. Continuous dark-adapted plants were also harvested for two days. Among approximately 3000 reproducible protein spots on each gel, proteomic analysis ascertained 354 spots (~12%) as light-regulated rhythmic proteins, in which 53 spots showed prolonged rhythm under continuous dark conditions. Of these 354 ascertained rhythmic protein spots, 74 diurnal spots and 10 prolonged rhythmic spots under continuous dark were identified by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The rhythmic proteins were functionally classified into photosynthesis, central metabolism, protein synthesis, nitrogen metabolism, stress resistance, signal transduction and unknown. Comparative analysis of our proteomic data with the public microarray database (the Plant DIURNAL Project) and RT-PCR analysis of rhythmic proteins showed differences in rhythmic expression phases between mRNA and protein, suggesting that the clock-regulated proteins in rice are modulated by not only transcriptional but also post-transcriptional, translational, and/or post-translational processes. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Identification of a rhythmic firing pattern in the enteric nervous system that generates rhythmic electrical activity in smooth muscle.

    PubMed

    Spencer, Nick J; Hibberd, Timothy J; Travis, Lee; Wiklendt, Lukasz; Costa, Marcello; Hu, Hongzhen; Brookes, Simon J; Wattchow, David A; Dinning, Phil G; Keating, Damien J; Sorensen, Julian

    2018-05-28

    The enteric nervous system (ENS) contains millions of neurons essential for organization of motor behaviour of the intestine. It is well established the large intestine requires ENS activity to drive propulsive motor behaviours. However, the firing pattern of the ENS underlying propagating neurogenic contractions of the large intestine remains unknown. To identify this, we used high resolution neuronal imaging with electrophysiology from neighbouring smooth muscle. Myoelectric activity underlying propagating neurogenic contractions along murine large intestine (referred to as colonic migrating motor complexes, CMMCs) consisted of prolonged bursts of rhythmic depolarizations at a frequency of ∼2 Hz. Temporal coordination of this activity in the smooth muscle over large spatial fields (∼7mm, longitudinally) was dependent on the ENS. During quiescent periods between neurogenic contractions, recordings from large populations of enteric neurons, in mice of either sex, revealed ongoing activity. The onset of neurogenic contractions was characterized by the emergence of temporally synchronized activity across large populations of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. This neuronal firing pattern was rhythmic and temporally synchronized across large numbers of ganglia at ∼2 Hz. ENS activation preceded smooth muscle depolarization, indicating rhythmic depolarizations in smooth muscle were controlled by firing of enteric neurons. The cyclical emergence of temporally coordinated firing of large populations of enteric neurons represents a unique neural motor pattern outside the central nervous system. This is the first direct observation of rhythmic firing in the ENS underlying rhythmic electrical depolarizations in smooth muscle. The pattern of neuronal activity we identified underlies the generation of CMMCs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT How the enteric nervous system (ENS) generates neurogenic contractions of smooth muscle in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has been a long

  16. Delayed-onset progressive movement disorders after static brain lesions.

    PubMed

    Scott, B L; Jankovic, J

    1996-01-01

    We studied 53 patients (64% females) with static brain lesions who developed progressive movement disorders. Of these, 50 (94%) had dystonia, 17 (32%) tremor, eight (15%) parkinsonism, seven (13%) myoclonus, and three (6%) chorea. The precipitating insults included perinatal hypoxia/ischemia in 22 (42%), stroke in 12 (23%), head injury in eight (15%), encephalitis in eight (15%), and carbon monoxide poisoning, kernicterus, and radiation necrosis in one patient (2%) each. Among the 30 patients with initial insult occurring at age 2 years or younger (Infant group), distribution of dystonia at follow-up was focal in three (10%), segmental in eight (27%), unilateral in 10 (33%), and generalized in nine (30%). The mean latency between the original injury and onset of movement disorder was 25.5 +/- 16.7 years. Among the nine patients who developed dystonia after an insult occurring between ages 6 and 17 (Childhood group), the distribution of dystonia at follow-up was segmental in two (33%) and unilateral in seven (78%); the mean latency of dystonia onset was 4.9 +/- 7.8 years. Of the 14 patients in the Adult group (injury at age 25 or older), 11 developed dystonia, two developed parkinsonism, and one had carbon monoxide encephalopathy and parkinsonism. The distribution of dystonia in the 11 patients at follow-up was segmental in three (27%) and unilateral in eight (73%). The mean latency of movement disorder onset in the 14 patients of the Adult group was 2.5 +/- 4.9 years. No individuals in the Childhood or Adult groups became left-hand dominant; by comparison, nine of the 30 individuals in the Infant group became left-handed. In conclusion, brain injury at a young age is associated with a longer latency to onset of subsequent movement disorder, a greater tendency to development of generalized dystonia, and a greater probability of altered handedness. These tendencies may result from differences in age-related neuroplasticity.

  17. Consistent abnormalities in metabolic network activity in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder.

    PubMed

    Wu, Ping; Yu, Huan; Peng, Shichun; Dauvilliers, Yves; Wang, Jian; Ge, Jingjie; Zhang, Huiwei; Eidelberg, David; Ma, Yilong; Zuo, Chuantao

    2014-12-01

    Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder has been evaluated using Parkinson's disease-related metabolic network. It is unknown whether this disorder is itself associated with a unique metabolic network. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography was performed in 21 patients (age 65.0±5.6 years) with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and 21 age/gender-matched healthy control subjects (age 62.5±7.5 years) to identify a disease-related pattern and examine its evolution in 21 hemi-parkinsonian patients (age 62.6±5.0 years) and 16 moderate parkinsonian patients (age 56.9±12.2 years). We identified a rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder-related metabolic network characterized by increased activity in pons, thalamus, medial frontal and sensorimotor areas, hippocampus, supramarginal and inferior temporal gyri, and posterior cerebellum, with decreased activity in occipital and superior temporal regions. Compared to the healthy control subjects, network expressions were elevated (P<0.0001) in the patients with this disorder and in the parkinsonian cohorts but decreased with disease progression. Parkinson's disease-related network activity was also elevated (P<0.0001) in the patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder but lower than in the hemi-parkinsonian cohort. Abnormal metabolic networks may provide markers of idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder to identify those at higher risk to develop neurodegenerative parkinsonism. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. The expanding spectrum of paroxysmal movement disorders: update from clinical features to therapeutics.

    PubMed

    McGovern, Eavan M; Roze, Emmanuel; Counihan, Timothy J

    2018-05-15

    This review will discuss the expanding clinical spectrum of paroxysmal movement disorders and therapeutic options in light of emerging genotypic heterogeneity in these conditions. Paroxysmal movement disorders comprise a heterogeneous group of rare neurological conditions characterized by intermittent episodes of abnormal movement associated with various triggers. As the clinical and genotypic spectrum of these disorders evolves, so also has the range of therapeutic options. Triheptanoin has recently been shown to be a very promising alternative to the ketogenic diet in paroxysmal exercise-induced dyskinesia. Four-aminopyridine is now considered first-line symptomatic therapy for episodic ataxia type-2, with pre-clinical findings indicating cerebellar neuroprotection. In light of the newly emerging therapies, careful clinical phenotyping is needed to ensure diagnostic precision and timely initiation of appropriate therapies.

  19. Effects of task complexity on rhythmic reproduction performance in adults.

    PubMed

    Iannarilli, Flora; Vannozzi, Giuseppe; Iosa, Marco; Pesce, Caterina; Capranica, Laura

    2013-02-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of task complexity on the capability to reproduce rhythmic patterns. Sedentary musically illiterate individuals (age: 34.8±4.2 yrs; M±SD) were administered a rhythmic test including three rhythmic patterns to be reproduced by means of finger-tapping, foot-tapping and walking. For the quantification of subjects' ability in the reproduction of rhythmic patterns, qualitative and quantitative parameters were submitted to analysis. A stereophotogrammetric system was used to reconstruct and evaluate individual performances. The findings indicated a good internal stability of the rhythmic reproduction, suggesting that the present experimental design is suitable to discriminate the participants' rhythmic ability. Qualitative aspects of rhythmic reproduction (i.e., speed of execution and temporal ratios between events) varied as a function of the perceptual-motor requirements of the rhythmic reproduction task, with larger reproduction deviations in the walking task. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Fundamental Movement Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pan, Chien-Yu; Tsai, Chia-Liang; Chu, Chia-Hua

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the movement skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those without disabilities. Ninety-one children (ASD, n = 28; ADHD, n = 29; control, n = 34), ages 6-10 years, were of average IQ participated. After controlling for age, both ASD and…

  1. Adult head-banging and stereotypic movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Mendez, M F; Mirea, A

    1998-09-01

    Stereotypic movement disorders (SMD) such as head-banging, which are common among children with mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorders, may also occur in intellectually normal adults. We report a 27-year history of daily head-banging with self-injury in a 49-year-old man with normal cognition. The patient had no personal or family history of Tourette's syndrome, tic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or mental retardation. The frequency of his stereotypical head-banging increased with anxiety, loud noises with startle, and boredom. He reported a sense of pleasure from his head-banging, and the frequency of this behavior decreased when he was treated with the opioid antagonist naltrexone. Although not diagnostic, the self-stimulatory or pleasurable component of head-banging, body-rocking, thumb-sucking, and other SMD may help distinguish them from tics, Tourette's syndrome, OCD, and deliberate self-harming behavior. This report reviews the disorders associated with SMD and discusses the potential mechanisms for these behaviors. The treatment of SMD includes drugs that work through opioid, serotonergic, or dopaminergic systems.

  2. A Case of KCNQ2-Associated Movement Disorder Triggered by Fever.

    PubMed

    Dhamija, Radhika; Goodkin, Howard P; Bailey, Russell; Chambers, Chelsea; Brenton, J Nicholas

    2017-12-01

    The differential diagnosis of fever-induced movement disorders in childhood is broad. Whole exome sequencing has yielded new insights into those cases with a suspected genetic basis. We report the case of an 8-year-old boy with a history of neonatal seizures who presented with near-continuous hyperkinetic movements of his limbs during a febrile illness. Initial diagnostic testing did not explain his abnormalities; however, given the suspicion for a channelopathy, whole exome sequencing was performed and it demonstrated a de novo pathogenic heterozygous variant in KCNQ2. There is an expanding phenotypic spectrum of heterozygous alterations in KCNQ2; however, this report provides the first description of a pathogenic KCNQ2 variant fever-induced hyperkinetic movement disorder in childhood. We also review the literature of cases previously published with the same pathogenic variant.

  3. Stereotypy and Motor Control: Differences in the Postural Stability Dynamics of Persons with Stereotyped and Dyskinetic Movement Disorders.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bodfish, James W.; Parker, Dawn E.; Lewis, Mark H.; Sprague, Robert L.; Newell, Karl M.

    2001-01-01

    This study examined whether dynamic measures of postural stability differentiated stereotyped movement disorder from dyskinetic movement disorder in a severely mentally retarded population. Participants (N=20) with either stereotypy or dyskinesia movement disorders and a control group were given a goal-oriented postural stability task. Both groups…

  4. Circadian Regulation of Pineal Gland Rhythmicity

    PubMed Central

    Borjigin, Jimo; Zhang, L. Samantha; Calinescu, Anda-Alexandra

    2011-01-01

    The pineal gland is a neuroendocrine organ of the brain. Its main task is to synthesize and secrete melatonin, a nocturnal hormone with diverse physiological functions. This review will focus on the central and pineal mechanisms in generation of mammalian pineal rhythmicity including melatonin production. In particular, this review covers the following topics: (1) local control of serotonin and melatonin rhythms; (2) neurotransmitters involved in central control of melatonin; (3) plasticity of the neural circuit controlling melatonin production; (4) role of clock genes in melatonin formation; (5) phase control of pineal rhythmicity; (6) impact of light at night on pineal rhythms; and (7) physiological function of the pineal rhythmicity. PMID:21782887

  5. Clinical-Radiologic Correlation of Extraocular Eye Movement Disorders: Seeing beneath the Surface.

    PubMed

    Thatcher, Joshua; Chang, Yu-Ming; Chapman, Margaret N; Hovis, Keegan; Fujita, Akifumi; Sobel, Rachel; Sakai, Osamu

    2016-01-01

    Extraocular eye movement disorders are relatively common and may be a significant source of discomfort and morbidity for patients. The presence of restricted eye movement can be detected clinically with quick, easily performed, noninvasive maneuvers that assess medial, lateral, upward, and downward gaze. However, detecting the presence of ocular dysmotility may not be sufficient to pinpoint the exact cause of eye restriction. Imaging plays an important role in excluding, in some cases, and detecting, in others, a specific cause responsible for the clinical presentation. However, the radiologist should be aware that the imaging findings in many of these conditions when taken in isolation from the clinical history and symptoms are often nonspecific. Normal eye movements are directly controlled by the ocular motor cranial nerves (CN III, IV, and VI) in coordination with indirect input or sensory stimuli derived from other cranial nerves. Specific causes of ocular dysmotility can be localized to the cranial nerve nuclei in the brainstem, the cranial nerve pathways in the peripheral nervous system, and the extraocular muscles in the orbit, with disease at any of these sites manifesting clinically as an eye movement disorder. A thorough understanding of central nervous system anatomy, cranial nerve pathways, and orbital anatomy, as well as familiarity with patterns of eye movement restriction, are necessary for accurate detection of radiologic abnormalities that support a diagnostic source of the suspected extraocular movement disorder. © RSNA, 2016.

  6. Evidence for Multiple Rhythmic Skills

    PubMed Central

    Tierney, Adam; Kraus, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Rhythms, or patterns in time, play a vital role in both speech and music. Proficiency in a number of rhythm skills has been linked to language ability, suggesting that certain rhythmic processes in music and language rely on overlapping resources. However, a lack of understanding about how rhythm skills relate to each other has impeded progress in understanding how language relies on rhythm processing. In particular, it is unknown whether all rhythm skills are linked together, forming a single broad rhythmic competence, or whether there are multiple dissociable rhythm skills. We hypothesized that beat tapping and rhythm memory/sequencing form two separate clusters of rhythm skills. This hypothesis was tested with a battery of two beat tapping and two rhythm memory tests. Here we show that tapping to a metronome and the ability to adjust to a changing tempo while tapping to a metronome are related skills. The ability to remember rhythms and to drum along to repeating rhythmic sequences are also related. However, we found no relationship between beat tapping skills and rhythm memory skills. Thus, beat tapping and rhythm memory are dissociable rhythmic aptitudes. This discovery may inform future research disambiguating how distinct rhythm competencies track with specific language functions. PMID:26376489

  7. Listening to Rhythmic Music Reduces Connectivity within the Basal Ganglia and the Reward System

    PubMed Central

    Brodal, Hans P.; Osnes, Berge; Specht, Karsten

    2017-01-01

    Music can trigger emotional responses in a more direct way than any other stimulus. In particular, music-evoked pleasure involves brain networks that are part of the reward system. Furthermore, rhythmic music stimulates the basal ganglia and may trigger involuntary movements to the beat. In the present study, we created a continuously playing rhythmic, dance floor-like composition where the ambient noise from the MR scanner was incorporated as an additional instrument of rhythm. By treating this continuous stimulation paradigm as a variant of resting-state, the data was analyzed with stochastic dynamic causal modeling (sDCM), which was used for exploring functional dependencies and interactions between core areas of auditory perception, rhythm processing, and reward processing. The sDCM model was a fully connected model with the following areas: auditory cortex, putamen/pallidum, and ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens of both hemispheres. The resulting estimated parameters were compared to ordinary resting-state data, without an additional continuous stimulation. Besides reduced connectivity within the basal ganglia, the results indicated a reduced functional connectivity of the reward system, namely the right ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens from and to the basal ganglia and auditory network while listening to rhythmic music. In addition, the right ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens demonstrated also a change in its hemodynamic parameter, reflecting an increased level of activation. These converging results may indicate that the dopaminergic reward system reduces its functional connectivity and relinquishing its constraints on other areas when we listen to rhythmic music. PMID:28400717

  8. Impaired Awareness of Movement Disorders in Parkinson's Disease

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amanzio, Martina; Monteverdi, Silvia; Giordano, Alessandra; Soliveri, Paola; Filippi, Paola; Geminiani, Giuliano

    2010-01-01

    Background: This study analyzed the presence of awareness of movement disorders (dyskinesias and hypokinesias) in 25 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and motor fluctuations (dyskinesias, wearing off, on-off fluctuations). Of the few studies that have dealt with this topic, none have analyzed the differences in the awareness of motor deficits…

  9. Disrupted rapid eye movement sleep predicts poor declarative memory performance in post-traumatic stress disorder.

    PubMed

    Lipinska, Malgorzata; Timol, Ridwana; Kaminer, Debra; Thomas, Kevin G F

    2014-06-01

    Successful memory consolidation during sleep depends on healthy slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep, and on successful transition across sleep stages. In post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep is disrupted and memory is impaired, but relations between these two variables in the psychiatric condition remain unexplored. We examined whether disrupted sleep, and consequent disrupted memory consolidation, is a mechanism underlying declarative memory deficits in post-traumatic stress disorder. We recruited three matched groups of participants: post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 16); trauma-exposed non-post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 15); and healthy control (n = 14). They completed memory tasks before and after 8 h of sleep. We measured sleep variables using sleep-adapted electroencephalography. Post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed participants experienced significantly less sleep efficiency and rapid eye movement sleep percentage, and experienced more awakenings and wake percentage in the second half of the night than did participants in the other two groups. After sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed participants retained significantly less information on a declarative memory task than controls. Rapid eye movement percentage, wake percentage and sleep efficiency correlated with retention of information over the night. Furthermore, lower rapid eye movement percentage predicted poorer retention in post-traumatic stress disorder-diagnosed individuals. Our results suggest that declarative memory consolidation is disrupted during sleep in post-traumatic stress disorder. These data are consistent with theories suggesting that sleep benefits memory consolidation via predictable neurobiological mechanisms, and that rapid eye movement disruption is more than a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.

  10. Rhythmic entrainment source separation: Optimizing analyses of neural responses to rhythmic sensory stimulation.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Michael X; Gulbinaite, Rasa

    2017-02-15

    Steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) are rhythmic brain responses to rhythmic sensory stimulation, and are often used to study perceptual and attentional processes. We present a data analysis method for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio of the narrow-band steady-state response in the frequency and time-frequency domains. The method, termed rhythmic entrainment source separation (RESS), is based on denoising source separation approaches that take advantage of the simultaneous but differential projection of neural activity to multiple electrodes or sensors. Our approach is a combination and extension of existing multivariate source separation methods. We demonstrate that RESS performs well on both simulated and empirical data, and outperforms conventional SSEP analysis methods based on selecting electrodes with the strongest SSEP response, as well as several other linear spatial filters. We also discuss the potential confound of overfitting, whereby the filter captures noise in absence of a signal. Matlab scripts are available to replicate and extend our simulations and methods. We conclude with some practical advice for optimizing SSEP data analyses and interpreting the results. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. [Depression associated with movement disorders].

    PubMed

    Mao, Cheng-jie; Chen, Ju-ping; Hu, Wei-dong; Liu, Chun-feng

    2013-01-01

    To explore the incidence of depression in movement disorders and associated factors. A total of 121 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients from August 2010 to June 2011 and 62 ET patients from July 2009 to June 2010 were recruited. All of them were outpatients of our hospital. PD patients received the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) -motor examination and a modified Hoehn and Yahr scale to stage the severity of their disorders while 62 essential tremor (ET) patients were evaluated with tremor rating scale for tremor-motor examination (items 1 - 15 of rating scale). All participants completed Hamilton depression rating scale (24 items) to measure the presence and degree of symptoms of depression. It was found that 56.2% of PD patients and 53.2% of ET patients were depressed (HAMD score of 8 or higher). Among them, the rates of mild depression were 38.9% and 35.5%, moderate depression 15.7% and 17.7% and severe depression 1.7% and 0% in PD and ET patients respectively. No significant differences existed between each group. The factor scores of cognitive impairment were 1.81 ± 1.86 and 1.04 ± 1.07 in PD and ET patients while those of sense of despair were 2.95 ± 1.97 and 4.09 ± 2.08 in each group. The differences had statistical significance in two factor scores of two groups (P < 0.05). No differences in anxiety/somatization, lose weight, day-and-night changes, block and sleep disorders between two groups. For PD patients, the motor score of UPDRS-III was positively correlated with total HAMD score (r = 0.511, P < 0.01). Similarly, for ET patients, tremor rating scale for tremor-motor subscale score and HAMD score were positively correlated (r = 0.828, P < 0.01). As two common movement disorders, PD and ET have a high incidence of depression. The severity of depression is similar in two groups. There is no significant intra-group difference in severity and frequency of depression. The most common symptoms are anxiety somatization, anhedonia, working

  12. Individualization of music-based rhythmic auditory cueing in Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Bella, Simone Dalla; Dotov, Dobromir; Bardy, Benoît; de Cock, Valérie Cochen

    2018-06-04

    Gait dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease can be partly relieved by rhythmic auditory cueing. This consists in asking patients to walk with a rhythmic auditory stimulus such as a metronome or music. The effect on gait is visible immediately in terms of increased speed and stride length. Moreover, training programs based on rhythmic cueing can have long-term benefits. The effect of rhythmic cueing, however, varies from one patient to the other. Patients' response to the stimulation may depend on rhythmic abilities, often deteriorating with the disease. Relatively spared abilities to track the beat favor a positive response to rhythmic cueing. On the other hand, most patients with poor rhythmic abilities either do not respond to the cues or experience gait worsening when walking with cues. An individualized approach to rhythmic auditory cueing with music is proposed to cope with this variability in patients' response. This approach calls for using assistive mobile technologies capable of delivering cues that adapt in real time to patients' gait kinematics, thus affording step synchronization to the beat. Individualized rhythmic cueing can provide a safe and cost-effective alternative to standard cueing that patients may want to use in their everyday lives. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  13. Effects of cerebellar neuromodulation in movement disorders: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    França, Carina; de Andrade, Daniel Ciampi; Teixeira, Manoel Jacobsen; Galhardoni, Ricardo; Silva, Valquiria; Barbosa, Egberto Reis; Cury, Rubens Gisbert

    The cerebellum is involved in the pathophysiology of many movement disorders and its importance in the field of neuromodulation is growing. To review the current evidence for cerebellar modulation in movement disorders and its safety profile. Eligible studies were identified after a systematic literature review of the effects of cerebellar modulation in cerebellar ataxia, Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), dystonia and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Neuromodulation techniques included transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). The changes in motor scores and the incidence of adverse events after the stimulation were reviewed. Thirty-four studies were included in the systematic review, comprising 431 patients. The evaluation after stimulation ranged from immediately after to 12 months after. Neuromodulation techniques improved cerebellar ataxia due to vascular or degenerative etiologies (TMS, tDCS and DBS), dyskinesias in PD patients (TMS), gross upper limb movement in PD patients (tDCS), tremor in ET (TMS and tDCS), cervical dystonia (TMS and tDCS) and dysarthria in PSP patients (TMS). All the neuromodulation techniques were safe, since only three studies reported the existence of side effects (slight headache after TMS, local skin erythema after tDCS and infectious complication after DBS). Eleven studies did not mention if adverse events occurred. Cerebellar modulation can improve specific symptoms in some movement disorders and is a safe and well-tolerated procedure. Further studies are needed to lay the groundwork for new researches in this promising target. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Dystonia and Paroxysmal Dyskinesias: Under-Recognized Movement Disorders in Domestic Animals? A Comparison with Human Dystonia/Paroxysmal Dyskinesias

    PubMed Central

    Richter, Angelika; Hamann, Melanie; Wissel, Jörg; Volk, Holger A.

    2015-01-01

    Dystonia is defined as a neurological syndrome characterized by involuntary sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing twisting, often repetitive movements, and postures. Paroxysmal dyskinesias are episodic movement disorders encompassing dystonia, chorea, athetosis, and ballism in conscious individuals. Several decades of research have enhanced the understanding of the etiology of human dystonia and dyskinesias that are associated with dystonia, but the pathophysiology remains largely unknown. The spontaneous occurrence of hereditary dystonia and paroxysmal dyskinesia is well documented in rodents used as animal models in basic dystonia research. Several hyperkinetic movement disorders, described in dogs, horses and cattle, show similarities to these human movement disorders. Although dystonia is regarded as the third most common movement disorder in humans, it is often misdiagnosed because of the heterogeneity of etiology and clinical presentation. Since these conditions are poorly known in veterinary practice, their prevalence may be underestimated in veterinary medicine. In order to attract attention to these movement disorders, i.e., dystonia and paroxysmal dyskinesias associated with dystonia, and to enhance interest in translational research, this review gives a brief overview of the current literature regarding dystonia/paroxysmal dyskinesia in humans and summarizes similar hereditary movement disorders reported in domestic animals. PMID:26664992

  15. Dystonia and Paroxysmal Dyskinesias: Under-Recognized Movement Disorders in Domestic Animals? A Comparison with Human Dystonia/Paroxysmal Dyskinesias.

    PubMed

    Richter, Angelika; Hamann, Melanie; Wissel, Jörg; Volk, Holger A

    2015-01-01

    Dystonia is defined as a neurological syndrome characterized by involuntary sustained or intermittent muscle contractions causing twisting, often repetitive movements, and postures. Paroxysmal dyskinesias are episodic movement disorders encompassing dystonia, chorea, athetosis, and ballism in conscious individuals. Several decades of research have enhanced the understanding of the etiology of human dystonia and dyskinesias that are associated with dystonia, but the pathophysiology remains largely unknown. The spontaneous occurrence of hereditary dystonia and paroxysmal dyskinesia is well documented in rodents used as animal models in basic dystonia research. Several hyperkinetic movement disorders, described in dogs, horses and cattle, show similarities to these human movement disorders. Although dystonia is regarded as the third most common movement disorder in humans, it is often misdiagnosed because of the heterogeneity of etiology and clinical presentation. Since these conditions are poorly known in veterinary practice, their prevalence may be underestimated in veterinary medicine. In order to attract attention to these movement disorders, i.e., dystonia and paroxysmal dyskinesias associated with dystonia, and to enhance interest in translational research, this review gives a brief overview of the current literature regarding dystonia/paroxysmal dyskinesia in humans and summarizes similar hereditary movement disorders reported in domestic animals.

  16. Movement behaviour of patients with eating disorders and inflammatory bowel disease: a controlled study.

    PubMed

    Lausberg, H; von Wietersheim, J; Feiereis, H

    1996-01-01

    This study assessed the movement behaviour of patients with eating disorders and inflammatory bowel disease. Ninety female patients with anorexia nervosa (n = 30), bulimia nervosa (n = 30), inflammatory bowel disease (n = 30) and a healthy control group (n = 30) were videotaped during a 10-min standardised movement sequence. A movement analysis instrument was developed for the evaluation. The patient groups had a significantly smaller area of movement, less weight shift, more isolated use of their body parts, less integration of the lower body, more peripheral initiation of movement, less strength. No significant differences could be found among the patient groups with eating disorders and inflammatory bowel disease. The findings are discussed in relation to body scheme disturbances and inhibition of nonverbal expression.

  17. Functional neurosurgery for movement disorders: a historical perspective.

    PubMed

    Benabid, Alim Louis; Chabardes, Stephan; Torres, Napoleon; Piallat, Brigitte; Krack, Paul; Fraix, Valerie; Pollak, Pierre

    2009-01-01

    Since the 1960s, deep brain stimulation and spinal cord stimulation at low frequency (30 Hz) have been used to treat intractable pain of various origins. For this purpose, specific hardware have been designed, including deep brain electrodes, extensions, and implantable programmable generators (IPGs). In the meantime, movement disorders, and particularly parkinsonian and essential tremors, were treated by electrolytic or mechanic lesions in various targets of the basal ganglia, particularly in the thalamus and in the internal pallidum. The advent in the 1960s of levodopa, as well as the side effects and complications of ablative surgery (e.g., thalamotomy and pallidotomy), has sent functional neurosurgery of movement disorders to oblivion. In 1987, the serendipitous discovery of the effect of high-frequency stimulation (HFS), mimicking lesions, allowed the revival of the surgery of movement disorders by stimulation of the thalamus, which treated tremors with limited morbidity, and adaptable and reversible results. The stability along time of these effects allowed extending it to new targets suggested by basic research in monkeys. The HFS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has profoundly challenged the practice of functional surgery as the effect on the triad of dopaminergic symptoms was very significant, allowing to decrease the drug dosage and therefore a decrease of their complications, the levodopa-induced dyskinesias. In the meantime, based on the results of previous basic research in various fields, HFS has been progressively extended to potentially treat epilepsy and, more recently, psychiatric disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorders, Gilles de la Tourette tics, and severe depression. Similarly, suggested by the observation of changes in PET scan, applications have been extended to cluster headaches by stimulation of the posterior hypothalamus and even more recently, to obesity and drug addiction. In the field of movement disorders, it has become

  18. Functional (psychogenic) movement disorders: merging mind and brain.

    PubMed

    Edwards, Mark J; Bhatia, Kailash P

    2012-03-01

    Functional (psychogenic) movement disorders (FMD) are part of the wide spectrum of functional neurological disorders, which together account for over 16% of patients referred to neurology clinics. FMD have been described as a "crisis for neurology" and cause major challenges in terms of diagnosis and treatment. As with other functional disorders, a key issue is the absence of pathophysiological understanding. There has been an influential historical emphasis on causation by emotional trauma, which is not supported by epidemiological studies. The similarity between physical signs in functional disorders and those that occur in feigned illness has also raised important challenges for pathophysiological understanding and has challenged health professionals' attitudes toward patients with these disorders. However, physical signs and selected investigations can help clinicians to reach a positive diagnosis, and modern pathophysiological research is showing an appreciation of the importance of both physical and psychological factors in FMD. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The neuropsychiatry of hyperkinetic movement disorders: insights from neuroimaging into the neural circuit bases of dysfunction.

    PubMed

    Hayhow, Bradleigh D; Hassan, Islam; Looi, Jeffrey C L; Gaillard, Francesco; Velakoulis, Dennis; Walterfang, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Movement disorders, particularly those associated with basal ganglia disease, have a high rate of comorbid neuropsychiatric illness. We consider the pathophysiological basis of the comorbidity between movement disorders and neuropsychiatric illness by 1) reviewing the epidemiology of neuropsychiatric illness in a range of hyperkinetic movement disorders, and 2) correlating findings to evidence from studies that have utilized modern neuroimaging techniques to investigate these disorders. In addition to diseases classically associated with basal ganglia pathology, such as Huntington disease, Wilson disease, the neuroacanthocytoses, and diseases of brain iron accumulation, we include diseases associated with pathology of subcortical white matter tracts, brain stem nuclei, and the cerebellum, such as metachromatic leukodystrophy, dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy, and the spinocerebellar ataxias. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are integral to a thorough phenomenological account of hyperkinetic movement disorders. Drawing on modern theories of cortico-subcortical circuits, we argue that these disorders can be conceptualized as disorders of complex subcortical networks with distinct functional architectures. Damage to any component of these complex information-processing networks can have variable and often profound consequences for the function of more remote neural structures, creating a diverse but nonetheless rational pattern of clinical symptomatology.

  20. Selected sleep disorders: restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder, sleep apnea syndrome, and narcolepsy.

    PubMed

    Erman, Milton K

    2006-12-01

    Sleep disorders, including restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder, sleep apnea syndrome, and narcolepsy, are prevalent medical conditions, likely to be seen by practicing psychiatrists. Awareness of these conditions and their presentations, pathophysiology, and treatment allows psychiatrists to treat these conditions where appropriate, to minimize complications and health consequences associated with delayed diagnosis, and to reduce the burden of disease that these conditions may place on patients already experiencing primary psychiatric disorders.

  1. Diagnosis and treatment of impulse control disorders in patients with movement disorders

    PubMed Central

    Mestre, Tiago A.; Strafella, Antonio P.; Thomsen, Teri; Voon, Valerie

    2013-01-01

    Impulse control disorders are a psychiatric condition characterized by the failure to resist an impulsive act or behavior that may be harmful to self or others. In movement disorders, impulse control disorders are associated with dopaminergic treatment, notably dopamine agonists (DAs). Impulse control disorders have been studied extensively in Parkinson’s disease, but are also recognized in restless leg syndrome and atypical Parkinsonian syndromes. Epidemiological studies suggest younger age, male sex, greater novelty seeking, impulsivity, depression and premorbid impulse control disorders as the most consistent risk factors. Such patients may warrant special monitoring after starting treatment with a DA. Various individual screening tools are available for people without Parkinson’s disease. The Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease has been developed specifically for Parkinson’s disease. The best treatment for impulse control disorders is prevention. However, after the development of impulse control disorders, the mainstay intervention is to reduce or discontinue the offending anti-Parkinsonian medication. In refractory cases, other pharmacological interventions are available, including neuroleptics, antiepileptics, amantadine, antiandrogens, lithium and opioid antagonists. Unfortunately, their use is only supported by case reports, small case series or open-label clinical studies. Prospective, controlled studies are warranted. Ongoing investigations include naltrexone and nicotine. PMID:23634190

  2. Diagnosis and treatment of impulse control disorders in patients with movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Mestre, Tiago A; Strafella, Antonio P; Thomsen, Teri; Voon, Valerie; Miyasaki, Janis

    2013-05-01

    Impulse control disorders are a psychiatric condition characterized by the failure to resist an impulsive act or behavior that may be harmful to self or others. In movement disorders, impulse control disorders are associated with dopaminergic treatment, notably dopamine agonists (DAs). Impulse control disorders have been studied extensively in Parkinson's disease, but are also recognized in restless leg syndrome and atypical Parkinsonian syndromes. Epidemiological studies suggest younger age, male sex, greater novelty seeking, impulsivity, depression and premorbid impulse control disorders as the most consistent risk factors. Such patients may warrant special monitoring after starting treatment with a DA. Various individual screening tools are available for people without Parkinson's disease. The Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease has been developed specifically for Parkinson's disease. The best treatment for impulse control disorders is prevention. However, after the development of impulse control disorders, the mainstay intervention is to reduce or discontinue the offending anti-Parkinsonian medication. In refractory cases, other pharmacological interventions are available, including neuroleptics, antiepileptics, amantadine, antiandrogens, lithium and opioid antagonists. Unfortunately, their use is only supported by case reports, small case series or open-label clinical studies. Prospective, controlled studies are warranted. Ongoing investigations include naltrexone and nicotine.

  3. Movement disorders: role of imaging in diagnosis.

    PubMed

    Mascalchi, Mario; Vella, Alessandra; Ceravolo, Roberto

    2012-02-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) have a considerable role in the diagnosis of the single patient with movement disorders. Conventional MRI demonstrates symptomatic causes of parkinsonism but does not show any specific finding in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, SPECT using tracers of the dopamine transporter (DAT) demonstrates an asymmetric decrease of the uptake in the putamen and caudate from the earliest clinical stages. In other degenerative forms of parkinsonism, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multisystem atrophy (MSA), and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), MRI reveals characteristic patterns of regional atrophy combined with signal changes or microstructural changes in the basal ganglia, pons, middle and superior cerebellar peduncles, and cerebral subcortical white matter. SPECT demonstrates a decreased uptake of tracers of the dopamine D2 receptors in the striata of patients with PSP and MSA, which is not observed in early PD. MRI also significantly contributes to the diagnosis of some inherited hyperkinetic conditions including neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation and fragile-X tremor/ataxia syndrome by revealing characteristic symmetric signal changes in the basal ganglia and middle cerebellar peduncles, respectively. A combination of the clinical features with MRI and SPECT is recommended for optimization of the diagnostic algorithm in movement disorders. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Movement and Dance on the Sea Islands.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Twining, Mary Arnold

    1985-01-01

    Describes the role of movement and dance in the lives of Blacks living on the Sea Islands off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. Claims that the isolation of this area helps preserve its Africanicity and culture. Focuses particularly on the uses of rhythmic chanting in worship and in children's games. (KH)

  5. Importance of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder to the Primary Care Physician.

    PubMed

    McCarter, Stuart J; Howell, Michael J

    2016-10-01

    Sleep disorders and neurodegenerative diseases are commonly encountered in primary care. A common, but underdiagnosed sleep disorder, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD), is highly associated with Parkinson disease and related disorders. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is common. It is estimated to affect 0.5% of the general population and more than 7% of individuals older than 60 years; however, most cases go unrecognized. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder presents as dream enactment, often with patients thrashing, punching, and kicking while they are sleeping. Physicians can quickly assess for the presence of RBD with high sensitivity and specificity by asking patients the question "Have you ever been told that you act out your dreams, for example by punching or flailing your arms in the air or screaming and shouting in your sleep?" Patients with RBD exhibit subtle signs of neurodegenerative disease, such as mild motor slowing, constipation, or changes in sense of smell. These signs and symptoms may predict development of a neurodegenerative disease within 3 years. Ultimately, most patients with RBD develop a neurodegenerative disease, highlighting the importance of serial neurological examinations to assess for the presence of parkinsonism and/or cognitive impairment and prognostic counseling for these patients. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is treatable with melatonin (3-6 mg before bed) or clonazepam (0.5-1 mg before bed) and may be the most common, reversible cause of sleep-related injury. Thus, it is important to identify patients at risk of RBD in a primary care setting so that bedroom safety can be addressed and treatment may be initiated. Copyright © 2016 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. An investigation into the relationship between vigabatrin, movement disorders, and brain magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in children with infantile spasms.

    PubMed

    Fong, Choong Yi; Osborne, John P; Edwards, Stuart W; Hemingway, Cheryl; Hancock, Eleanor; Johnson, Anthony L; Kennedy, Colin R; Kneen, Rachel; Likeman, Marcus; Lux, Andrew L; Mordekar, Santosh R; Murugan, Velayutham; Newton, Richard W; Pike, Michael; Quinn, Michael; Spinty, Stefan; Vassallo, Grace; Verity, Christopher M; Whitney, Andrea; O'Callaghan, Finbar J K

    2013-09-01

    We aimed to investigate the relationship between movement disorders, changes on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and vigabatrin therapy in children with infantile spasms. Retrospective review and brain MRI analysis of children enrolled in the International Collaborative Infantile Spasms Study (ICISS) who developed a movement disorder on vigabatrin therapy. Comparisons were made with controls within ICISS who had no movement disorder. Ten of 124 infants had a movement disorder and in eight it had developed on vigabatrin therapy. Two had a movement disorder that resolved on dose-reduction of vigabatrin, one had improvement on withdrawing vigabatrin, two had resolution without any dose change, and in three it persisted despite vigabatrin withdrawal. The typical brain MRI changes associated with vigabatrin therapy were noted in two infants. Ten control infants were identified. Typical MRI changes noted with vigabatrin were noted in three controls. It is possible that in two out of eight cases, vigabatrin was associated with the development of a movement disorder. In six out of eight cases a causal relationship was less plausible. The majority of infants treated with vigabatrin did not develop a movement disorder. MRI changes associated with vigabatrin do not appear to be specifically related to the movement disorder. © 2013 Mac Keith Press.

  7. Order restricted inference for oscillatory systems for detecting rhythmic signals

    PubMed Central

    Larriba, Yolanda; Rueda, Cristina; Fernández, Miguel A.; Peddada, Shyamal D.

    2016-01-01

    Motivation: Many biological processes, such as cell cycle, circadian clock, menstrual cycles, are governed by oscillatory systems consisting of numerous components that exhibit rhythmic patterns over time. It is not always easy to identify such rhythmic components. For example, it is a challenging problem to identify circadian genes in a given tissue using time-course gene expression data. There is a great potential for misclassifying non-rhythmic as rhythmic genes and vice versa. This has been a problem of considerable interest in recent years. In this article we develop a constrained inference based methodology called Order Restricted Inference for Oscillatory Systems (ORIOS) to detect rhythmic signals. Instead of using mathematical functions (e.g. sinusoidal) to describe shape of rhythmic signals, ORIOS uses mathematical inequalities. Consequently, it is robust and not limited by the biologist's choice of the mathematical model. We studied the performance of ORIOS using simulated as well as real data obtained from mouse liver, pituitary gland and data from NIH3T3, U2OS cell lines. Our results suggest that, for a broad collection of patterns of gene expression, ORIOS has substantially higher power to detect true rhythmic genes in comparison to some popular methods, while also declaring substantially fewer non-rhythmic genes as rhythmic. Availability and Implementation: A user friendly code implemented in R language can be downloaded from http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/atniehs/labs/bb/staff/peddada/index.cfm. Contact: peddada@niehs.nih.gov PMID:27596593

  8. [One of the approaches to psychological-pedagogical help to children with severe movement disorders].

    PubMed

    Levchenko, I Iu; Simonova, T N

    2012-01-01

    The objective of the study was to work out an effective model of complex help to children with severe movement disorders. We examined 440 preschoolers with children cerebral palsy with severe movement disorders and 70 children with mild movement disorders. Functions of motor, emotional-personal and cognitive spheres and independence status with determination of 5 levels were studied in 47 patients. Three groups (from the group without concomitant (sensor, intellectual etc) disorders to the group with most severe disorders) were singled out. The authors characterize the model as an open integral system of methods, tools and ways providing the adaptation of children in response to external circumstances and changes in the state of patients. The creation of a correction-developing environment, consisting of 3 components: spatial-objective, technological (methodological) and social, is discussed. We present results of the development of children, evaluated by the following indices: general technique, sensory perceptive development, social adaptation, anxiety, cognitive activity, from 1997 to 2008. The 15 year follow-up demonstrated the stability of achieved positive results.

  9. Deep Brain Stimulation for Movement Disorders of Basal Ganglia Origin: Restoring Function or Functionality?

    PubMed

    Wichmann, Thomas; DeLong, Mahlon R

    2016-04-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is highly effective for both hypo- and hyperkinetic movement disorders of basal ganglia origin. The clinical use of DBS is, in part, empiric, based on the experience with prior surgical ablative therapies for these disorders, and, in part, driven by scientific discoveries made decades ago. In this review, we consider anatomical and functional concepts of the basal ganglia relevant to our understanding of DBS mechanisms, as well as our current understanding of the pathophysiology of two of the most commonly DBS-treated conditions, Parkinson's disease and dystonia. Finally, we discuss the proposed mechanism(s) of action of DBS in restoring function in patients with movement disorders. The signs and symptoms of the various disorders appear to result from signature disordered activity in the basal ganglia output, which disrupts the activity in thalamocortical and brainstem networks. The available evidence suggests that the effects of DBS are strongly dependent on targeting sensorimotor portions of specific nodes of the basal ganglia-thalamocortical motor circuit, that is, the subthalamic nucleus and the internal segment of the globus pallidus. There is little evidence to suggest that DBS in patients with movement disorders restores normal basal ganglia functions (e.g., their role in movement or reinforcement learning). Instead, it appears that high-frequency DBS replaces the abnormal basal ganglia output with a more tolerable pattern, which helps to restore the functionality of downstream networks.

  10. Quality of life in patients with an idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder in Korea.

    PubMed

    Kim, Keun Tae; Motamedi, Gholam K; Cho, Yong Won

    2017-08-01

    There have been few quality of life studies in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder. We compared the quality of life in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder patients to healthy controls, patients with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus without complication and idiopathic restless legs syndrome. Sixty patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (24 female; mean age: 61.43 ± 8.99) were enrolled retrospectively. The diagnosis was established based on sleep history, overnight polysomnography, neurological examination and Mini-Mental State Examination to exclude secondary rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. All subjects completed questionnaires, including the Short Form 36-item Health Survey for quality of life. The total quality of life score in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (70.63 ± 20.83) was lower than in the healthy control group (83.38 ± 7.96) but higher than in the hypertension (60.55 ± 24.82), diabetes mellitus (62.42 ± 19.37) and restless legs syndrome (61.77 ± 19.25) groups. The total score of idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder patients had a negative correlation with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (r = -0.498, P < 0.001), Insomnia Severity Index (r = -0.645, P < 0.001) and the Beck Depression Inventory-2 (r = -0.694, P < 0.001). Multiple regression showed a negative correlation between the Short Form 36-item Health Survey score and the Insomnia Severity Index (β = -1.100, P = 0.001) and Beck Depression Inventory-2 (β = -1.038, P < 0.001). idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder had a significant negative impact on quality of life, although this effect was less than that of other chronic disorders. This negative effect might be related to a depressive mood associated with the disease. © 2016 European Sleep Research Society.

  11. Rhythmic abilities and musical training in Parkinson's disease: do they help?

    PubMed

    Cochen De Cock, V; Dotov, D G; Ihalainen, P; Bégel, V; Galtier, F; Lebrun, C; Picot, M C; Driss, V; Landragin, N; Geny, C; Bardy, B; Dalla Bella, S

    2018-01-01

    Rhythmic auditory cues can immediately improve gait in Parkinson's disease. However, this effect varies considerably across patients. The factors associated with this individual variability are not known to date. Patients' rhythmic abilities and musicality (e.g., perceptual and singing abilities, emotional response to music, and musical training) may foster a positive response to rhythmic cues. To examine this hypothesis, we measured gait at baseline and with rhythmic cues in 39 non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease and 39 matched healthy controls. Cognition, rhythmic abilities and general musicality were assessed. A response to cueing was qualified as positive when the stimulation led to a clinically meaningful increase in gait speed. We observed that patients with positive response to cueing ( n  = 17) were more musically trained, aligned more often their steps to the rhythmic cues while walking, and showed better music perception as well as poorer cognitive flexibility than patients with non-positive response ( n  = 22). Gait performance with rhythmic cues worsened in six patients. We concluded that rhythmic and musical skills, which can be modulated by musical training, may increase beneficial effects of rhythmic auditory cueing in Parkinson's disease. Screening patients in terms of musical/rhythmic abilities and musical training may allow teasing apart patients who are likely to benefit from cueing from those who may worsen their performance due to the stimulation.

  12. Imagined Steps: Mental Simulation of Coordinated Rhythmic Movements Effects on Pro-sociality

    PubMed Central

    Cross, Liam; Atherton, Gray; Wilson, Andrew D.; Golonka, Sabrina

    2017-01-01

    Rhythmically coordinating with a partner can increase pro-sociality, but pro-sociality does not appear to change in proportion to coordination success, or particular classes of coordination. Pro-social benefits may have more to do with simply coordinating in a social context than the details of the actual coordination (Cross et al., 2016). This begs the question, how stripped down can a coordination task be and still affect pro-sociality? Would it be sufficient simply to imagine coordinating with others? Imagining a social interaction can lead to many of the same effects as actual interaction (Crisp and Turner, 2009). We report the first experiments to explore whether imagined coordination affects pro-sociality similarly to actual coordination. Across two experiments and over 450 participants, mentally simulated coordination is shown to promote some, but not all, of the pro-social consequences of actual coordination. Imagined coordination significantly increased group cohesion and de-individuation, but did not consistently affect cooperation. PMID:29081761

  13. Transcranial sonography in movement disorders: an interesting tool for diagnostic perspectives.

    PubMed

    Sanzaro, E; Iemolo, F

    2016-03-01

    Transcranial sonography has become an important tool for the diagnosis of various movement disorders. In most patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease, a markedly hyperechogenic substantia nigra (SN) was detected on at least one side. We have highlighted the sonographic features that might help the differential diagnosis of PD and other movement disorders. Our investigation involved 30 patients (age 45-85 years) with idiopathic Parkinson disease, 2 multiple system atrophy, 3 progressive supranuclear palsy and 2 patients with restless legs syndrome. In accordance with several previous studies, we detected hyperechogenicity of the SN by TCS in 90% of patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease. Subjects with a marked severity disease had a larger extent of the hyperechogenic SN signal. All progressive supranuclear palsy patients had an enlarged third ventricle and, in two cases, we observed the presence of hyperechoic areas in the lentiform nucleus. This last ultrasonographic feature was also seen in our patients with multiple system atrophy. TCS abnormalities of the SN, midbrain raphe and basal ganglia are characteristics of several movement and affective disorders. These features are less easily detected by other techniques, such as CT and MRI, which enable the exclusion of structural lesions, such as tumours and multi-infarct disease, because the physical principle differs from other imaging methods.

  14. Situational influences on rhythmicity in speech, music, and their interaction.

    PubMed

    Hawkins, Sarah

    2014-12-19

    Brain processes underlying the production and perception of rhythm indicate considerable flexibility in how physical signals are interpreted. This paper explores how that flexibility might play out in rhythmicity in speech and music. There is much in common across the two domains, but there are also significant differences. Interpretations are explored that reconcile some of the differences, particularly with respect to how functional properties modify the rhythmicity of speech, within limits imposed by its structural constraints. Functional and structural differences mean that music is typically more rhythmic than speech, and that speech will be more rhythmic when the emotions are more strongly engaged, or intended to be engaged. The influence of rhythmicity on attention is acknowledged, and it is suggested that local increases in rhythmicity occur at times when attention is required to coordinate joint action, whether in talking or music-making. Evidence is presented which suggests that while these short phases of heightened rhythmical behaviour are crucial to the success of transitions in communicative interaction, their modality is immaterial: they all function to enhance precise temporal prediction and hence tightly coordinated joint action. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  15. Situational influences on rhythmicity in speech, music, and their interaction

    PubMed Central

    Hawkins, Sarah

    2014-01-01

    Brain processes underlying the production and perception of rhythm indicate considerable flexibility in how physical signals are interpreted. This paper explores how that flexibility might play out in rhythmicity in speech and music. There is much in common across the two domains, but there are also significant differences. Interpretations are explored that reconcile some of the differences, particularly with respect to how functional properties modify the rhythmicity of speech, within limits imposed by its structural constraints. Functional and structural differences mean that music is typically more rhythmic than speech, and that speech will be more rhythmic when the emotions are more strongly engaged, or intended to be engaged. The influence of rhythmicity on attention is acknowledged, and it is suggested that local increases in rhythmicity occur at times when attention is required to coordinate joint action, whether in talking or music-making. Evidence is presented which suggests that while these short phases of heightened rhythmical behaviour are crucial to the success of transitions in communicative interaction, their modality is immaterial: they all function to enhance precise temporal prediction and hence tightly coordinated joint action. PMID:25385776

  16. Office-based endoscopic botulinum toxin injection in laryngeal movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Kaderbay, A; Righini, C A; Castellanos, P F; Atallah, I

    2018-06-01

    Botulinum toxin injection is widely used for the treatment of laryngeal movement disorders. Electromyography-guided percutaneous injection is the technique most commonly used to perform intralaryngeal botulinum toxin injection. We describe an endoscopic approach for intralaryngeal botulinum toxin injection under local anaesthesia without using electromyography. A flexible video-endoscope with an operating channel is used. After local anaesthesia of the larynx by instillation of lidocaine, a flexible needle is inserted into the operating channel in order to inject the desired dose of botulinum toxin into the vocal and/or vestibular folds. Endoscopic botulinum toxin injection under local anaesthesia is a reliable technique for the treatment of laryngeal movement disorders. It can be performed by any laryngologist without the need for electromyography. It is easy to perform for the operator and comfortable for the patient. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Optogenetic stimulation of cortex to map evoked whisker movements in awake head-restrained mice.

    PubMed

    Auffret, Matthieu; Ravano, Veronica L; Rossi, Giulia M C; Hankov, Nicolas; Petersen, Merissa F A; Petersen, Carl C H

    2018-01-01

    Whisker movements are used by rodents to touch objects in order to extract spatial and textural tactile information about their immediate surroundings. To understand the mechanisms of such active sensorimotor processing it is important to investigate whisker motor control. The activity of neurons in the neocortex affects whisker movements, but many aspects of the organization of cortical whisker motor control remain unknown. Here, we filmed whisker movements evoked by sequential optogenetic stimulation of different locations across the left dorsal sensorimotor cortex of awake head-restrained mice. Whisker movements were evoked by optogenetic stimulation of many regions in the dorsal sensorimotor cortex. Optogenetic stimulation of whisker sensory barrel cortex evoked retraction of the contralateral whisker after a short latency, and a delayed rhythmic protraction of the ipsilateral whisker. Optogenetic stimulation of frontal cortex evoked rhythmic bilateral whisker protraction with a longer latency compared to stimulation of sensory cortex. Compared to frontal cortex stimulation, larger amplitude bilateral rhythmic whisking in a less protracted position was evoked at a similar latency by stimulating a cortical region posterior to Bregma and close to the midline. These data suggest that whisker motor control might be broadly distributed across the dorsal mouse sensorimotor cortex. Future experiments must investigate the complex neuronal circuits connecting specific cell-types in various cortical regions with the whisker motor neurons located in the facial nucleus. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  18. Teaching Rhythmic Gymnastics: A Developmentally Appropriate Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palmer, Heather C.

    This book is designed to guide teachers through the process of creating a developmentally appropriate rhythmic gymnastics program for children age 5-11. Rhythmic gymnastics programs develop fitness, inspire creativity, and allow all children to work at their own level. The book features 10 chapters in two parts. Part 1, "Getting Started on a…

  19. Plant Stem and Leaf Movements in Microgravity. Preliminary Results from a Study Using the EMCS Hardware on the ISS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Johnsson, Anders; Bokn Solheim, Bjarte Gees; Henning Iversen, Tor

    2008-06-01

    In the 72 days long MULTIGEN-1 experiment movements of Arabidopsis thaliana were recorded using the European Modular Cultivation System, EMCS. One main goal in the experiment was to study possible oscillatory movements of plant parts in weightlessness and under acceleration pulses on centrifuge rotors. Recording was made by video sampling of the plants in cultivation chambers every 5 min. The camera + mirror set-up in the EMCS was developed by alternating the mirror positions to get 'stereoscopic' 2D pictures so that 3D-movements could be constructed. Studies of rhythmic, helical movements of shoots as well as of rhythmic movements of leaves are discussed. It is concluded that gravity amplifies self-sustained circumnutations. Also gravitropical reactions of leaves were successfully documented. The results are of importance, for example in the discussion since Charles Darwin's days on the influence of gravity on circumnutations.

  20. The evolution of locomotor rhythmicity in tetrapods.

    PubMed

    Ross, Callum F; Blob, Richard W; Carrier, David R; Daley, Monica A; Deban, Stephen M; Demes, Brigitte; Gripper, Janaya L; Iriarte-Diaz, Jose; Kilbourne, Brandon M; Landberg, Tobias; Polk, John D; Schilling, Nadja; Vanhooydonck, Bieke

    2013-04-01

    Differences in rhythmicity (relative variance in cycle period) among mammal, fish, and lizard feeding systems have been hypothesized to be associated with differences in their sensorimotor control systems. We tested this hypothesis by examining whether the locomotion of tachymetabolic tetrapods (birds and mammals) is more rhythmic than that of bradymetabolic tetrapods (lizards, alligators, turtles, salamanders). Species averages of intraindividual coefficients of variation in cycle period were compared while controlling for gait and substrate. Variance in locomotor cycle periods is significantly lower in tachymetabolic than in bradymetabolic animals for datasets that include treadmill locomotion, non-treadmill locomotion, or both. When phylogenetic relationships are taken into account the pooled analyses remain significant, whereas the non-treadmill and the treadmill analyses become nonsignificant. The co-occurrence of relatively high rhythmicity in both feeding and locomotor systems of tachymetabolic tetrapods suggests that the anatomical substrate of rhythmicity is in the motor control system, not in the musculoskeletal components. © 2012 The Author(s). Evolution© 2012 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  1. Calculating rhythmicity of infant breathing using wavelets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macey, Katherine E.; Page, Wyatt H.; Harper, Ronald M.; Macey, Paul M.; Ford, Rodney P. K.

    2000-12-01

    Breathing signals are one set of physiological data that may provide information regarding the mechanisms that cause SIDS. Isolated breathing pauses have been implicated in fatal events. Other features of interest include slow amplitude modulation of the breathing signal, a phenomenon whose origin is unclear, and periodic breathing. The latter describes a repetitive series of apnea, and may be considered an extreme manifestation of amplitude modulation with successive cessations of breathing. Rhythmicity is defined to assess the impact of amplitude modulation on breathing signals and describes the extent to which frequency components remain constant for the duration of the signal. The wavelet transform was used to identify sections of constant frequency components within signals. Rhythmicity can be evaluated for all the frequency components in a signal, for individual frequencies. The rhythmicity of eight breathing epochs from sleeping infants at high and low risk for SIDS was calculated. Initial results show breathing from infants at high risk for SIDS exhibits greater rhythmicity of modulating frequencies than breathing from low risk infants.

  2. [The importance of movement-directed interventions in the multidisciplinary treatment of binge eating disorder: an overview].

    PubMed

    Vancampfort, D; Vanderlinden, J; Pieters, G; De Herdt, A; Schueremans, A; Adriaens, A; Van Der Borght, W; De Hert, M; Probst, M

    2012-01-01

    More than three out of four persons with binge eating disorder do not get enough physical exercise. To collect scientific evidence of the effects and benefits that movement and physical exercise can have on persons with a binge eating disorder. PubMed, PsychInfo, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, the Dutch Journal of Psychiatry (Tijdschrift voor Psychiatrie), het Tijdschrift voor Vaktherapie and Actual Themata derived from psychomotor therapy were screened for the period January 1994 to August 2011. The methodological quality of the studies was determined on the basis of a checklist. Evidence for the effectiveness of the interventions was summarised by best-evidence synthesis. Eight studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Strong evidence was found for: 1) significant weight-loss after movement interventions; 2) fewer symptoms of depression after a combination of both movement and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) than after CBT on its own. There was only limited evidence for 1) the fact that the combination of movement and CBT leads to less eating disorder pathology than does CBT alone; 2) the beneficial effects of yoga on weight-loss as well as on the reduction of eating disorder pathology.There are indications that walking can be helpful in reducing of eating disorder pathology. Activities involving movement and physical exercise deserve to play an important role in the multidisciplinary treatment of binge eating disorders.

  3. Daily rhythmicity of body temperature in the dog.

    PubMed

    Refinetti, R; Piccione, G

    2003-08-01

    Research over the past 50 years has demonstrated the existence of circadian or daily rhythmicity in the body core temperature of a large number of mammalian species. However, previous studies have failed to identify daily rhythmicity of body temperature in dogs. We report here the successful recording of daily rhythms of rectal temperature in female Beagle dogs. The low robustness of the rhythms (41% of maximal robustness) and the small range of excursion (0.5 degrees C) are probably responsible for previous failures in detecting rhythmicity in dogs.

  4. Periodic Limb Movements During Sleep Mimicking REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A New Form of Periodic Limb Movement Disorder.

    PubMed

    Gaig, Carles; Iranzo, Alex; Pujol, Montserrat; Perez, Hernando; Santamaria, Joan

    2017-03-01

    To describe a group of patients referred because of abnormal sleep behaviors that were suggestive of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in whom video-polysomnography ruled out RBD and showed the reported behaviors associated with vigorous periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS). Clinical history and video-polysomnography review of patients identified during routine visits in a sleep center. Patients were 15 men and 2 women with a median age of 66 (range: 48-77) years. Reported sleep behaviors were kicking (n = 17), punching (n = 16), gesticulating (n = 8), falling out of bed (n = 5), assaulting the bed partner (n = 2), talking (n = 15), and shouting (n = 10). Behaviors resulted in injuries in 3 bed partners and 1 patient. Twelve (70.6%) patients were not aware of displaying abnormal sleep behaviors that were only noticed by their bed partners. Ten (58.8%) patients recalled unpleasant dreams such as being attacked or chased. Video-polysomnography showed (1) frequent and vigorous stereotyped PLMS involving the lower limbs, upper limbs, and trunk (median PLMS index 61.2; median PLMS index in NREM sleep 61.9; during REM sleep only 8 patients had PLMS and their median PLMS index in REM sleep was 39.5); (2) abnormal behaviors (e.g., punching, groaning) during some of the arousals that immediately followed PLMS in NREM sleep; and (3) ruled out RBD and other sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea. Dopaminergic agents were prescribed in 14 out of the 17 patients and resulted in improvement of abnormal sleep behaviors and unpleasant dreams in all of them. After dopaminergic treatment, follow-up video-polysomnography in 7 patients showed a decrease in the median PLMS index from baseline (108.9 vs. 19.2, p = .002) and absence of abnormal behaviors during the arousals. Abnormal sleep behaviors and unpleasant dreams simulating RBD symptomatology may occur in patients with severe PLMS. In these cases, video-polysomnography ruled out RBD and

  5. Lip movements entrain the observers’ low-frequency brain oscillations to facilitate speech intelligibility

    PubMed Central

    Park, Hyojin; Kayser, Christoph; Thut, Gregor; Gross, Joachim

    2016-01-01

    During continuous speech, lip movements provide visual temporal signals that facilitate speech processing. Here, using MEG we directly investigated how these visual signals interact with rhythmic brain activity in participants listening to and seeing the speaker. First, we investigated coherence between oscillatory brain activity and speaker’s lip movements and demonstrated significant entrainment in visual cortex. We then used partial coherence to remove contributions of the coherent auditory speech signal from the lip-brain coherence. Comparing this synchronization between different attention conditions revealed that attending visual speech enhances the coherence between activity in visual cortex and the speaker’s lips. Further, we identified a significant partial coherence between left motor cortex and lip movements and this partial coherence directly predicted comprehension accuracy. Our results emphasize the importance of visually entrained and attention-modulated rhythmic brain activity for the enhancement of audiovisual speech processing. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14521.001 PMID:27146891

  6. Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency: late onset of movement disorder and preserved expressive language.

    PubMed

    O'Rourke, Declan J; Ryan, Stephanie; Salomons, Gajja; Jakobs, Cornelis; Monavari, Ahmad; King, Mary D

    2009-05-01

    Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency is a disorder of creatine biosynthesis, characterized by early-onset learning disability and epilepsy in most affected children. Severe expressive language delay is a constant feature even in the mildest clinical phenotypes.We report the clinical, biochemical, imaging, and treatment data of two female siblings (18y and 13y) with an unusual phenotype of GAMT deficiency. The oldest sibling had subacute onset of a movement disorder at age 17 years, later than has been previously reported. The younger sibling had better language skills than previously described in this disorder. After treatment with creatine, arginine restriction and ornithine-supplemented diet, seizure severity and movement disorder were reduced but cognition did not improve. This report confirms that GAMT deficiency, a heterogeneous, potentially treatable disorder, detected by increased levels of guanidinoacetate in body fluids (e.g. plasma or urine) or by an abnormal creatine peak on magnetic resonance spectroscopy, should be considered in patients of any age with unexplained, apparently static learning disability and epilepsy.

  7. Low-Frequency Cortical Oscillations Entrain to Subthreshold Rhythmic Auditory Stimuli

    PubMed Central

    Schroeder, Charles E.; Poeppel, David; van Atteveldt, Nienke

    2017-01-01

    Many environmental stimuli contain temporal regularities, a feature that can help predict forthcoming input. Phase locking (entrainment) of ongoing low-frequency neuronal oscillations to rhythmic stimuli is proposed as a potential mechanism for enhancing neuronal responses and perceptual sensitivity, by aligning high-excitability phases to events within a stimulus stream. Previous experiments show that rhythmic structure has a behavioral benefit even when the rhythm itself is below perceptual detection thresholds (ten Oever et al., 2014). It is not known whether this “inaudible” rhythmic sound stream also induces entrainment. Here we tested this hypothesis using magnetoencephalography and electrocorticography in humans to record changes in neuronal activity as subthreshold rhythmic stimuli gradually became audible. We found that significant phase locking to the rhythmic sounds preceded participants' detection of them. Moreover, no significant auditory-evoked responses accompanied this prethreshold entrainment. These auditory-evoked responses, distinguished by robust, broad-band increases in intertrial coherence, only appeared after sounds were reported as audible. Taken together with the reduced perceptual thresholds observed for rhythmic sequences, these findings support the proposition that entrainment of low-frequency oscillations serves a mechanistic role in enhancing perceptual sensitivity for temporally predictive sounds. This framework has broad implications for understanding the neural mechanisms involved in generating temporal predictions and their relevance for perception, attention, and awareness. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The environment is full of rhythmically structured signals that the nervous system can exploit for information processing. Thus, it is important to understand how the brain processes such temporally structured, regular features of external stimuli. Here we report the alignment of slowly fluctuating oscillatory brain activity to

  8. Anticipatory Smooth Eye Movements in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Aitkin, Cordelia D.; Santos, Elio M.; Kowler, Eileen

    2013-01-01

    Smooth pursuit eye movements are important for vision because they maintain the line of sight on targets that move smoothly within the visual field. Smooth pursuit is driven by neural representations of motion, including a surprisingly strong influence of high-level signals representing expected motion. We studied anticipatory smooth eye movements (defined as smooth eye movements in the direction of expected future motion) produced by salient visual cues in a group of high-functioning observers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a condition that has been associated with difficulties in either generating predictions, or translating predictions into effective motor commands. Eye movements were recorded while participants pursued the motion of a disc that moved within an outline drawing of an inverted Y-shaped tube. The cue to the motion path was a visual barrier that blocked the untraveled branch (right or left) of the tube. ASD participants showed strong anticipatory smooth eye movements whose velocity was the same as that of a group of neurotypical participants. Anticipatory smooth eye movements appeared on the very first cued trial, indicating that trial-by-trial learning was not responsible for the responses. These results are significant because they show that anticipatory capacities are intact in high-functioning ASD in cases where the cue to the motion path is highly salient and unambiguous. Once the ability to generate anticipatory pursuit is demonstrated, the study of the anticipatory responses with a variety of types of cues provides a window into the perceptual or cognitive processes that underlie the interpretation of events in natural environments or social situations. PMID:24376667

  9. Anticipatory smooth eye movements in autism spectrum disorder.

    PubMed

    Aitkin, Cordelia D; Santos, Elio M; Kowler, Eileen

    2013-01-01

    Smooth pursuit eye movements are important for vision because they maintain the line of sight on targets that move smoothly within the visual field. Smooth pursuit is driven by neural representations of motion, including a surprisingly strong influence of high-level signals representing expected motion. We studied anticipatory smooth eye movements (defined as smooth eye movements in the direction of expected future motion) produced by salient visual cues in a group of high-functioning observers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a condition that has been associated with difficulties in either generating predictions, or translating predictions into effective motor commands. Eye movements were recorded while participants pursued the motion of a disc that moved within an outline drawing of an inverted Y-shaped tube. The cue to the motion path was a visual barrier that blocked the untraveled branch (right or left) of the tube. ASD participants showed strong anticipatory smooth eye movements whose velocity was the same as that of a group of neurotypical participants. Anticipatory smooth eye movements appeared on the very first cued trial, indicating that trial-by-trial learning was not responsible for the responses. These results are significant because they show that anticipatory capacities are intact in high-functioning ASD in cases where the cue to the motion path is highly salient and unambiguous. Once the ability to generate anticipatory pursuit is demonstrated, the study of the anticipatory responses with a variety of types of cues provides a window into the perceptual or cognitive processes that underlie the interpretation of events in natural environments or social situations.

  10. Characterization of Movement Disorder Phenomenology in Genetically Proven, Familial Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    PubMed

    Gasca-Salas, Carmen; Masellis, Mario; Khoo, Edwin; Shah, Binit B; Fisman, David; Lang, Anthony E; Kleiner-Fisman, Galit

    2016-01-01

    Mutations in granulin (PGRN) and tau (MAPT), and hexanucleotide repeat expansions near the C9orf72 genes are the most prevalent genetic causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Although behavior, language and movement presentations are common, the relationship between genetic subgroup and movement disorder phenomenology is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature characterizing the spectrum and prevalence of movement disorders in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Electronic databases were searched using terms related to frontotemporal lobar degeneration and movement disorders. Articles were included when cases had a proven genetic cause. Study-specific prevalence estimates for clinical features were transformed using Freeman-Tukey arcsine transformation, allowing for pooled estimates of prevalence to be generated using random-effects models. The mean age at onset was earlier in those with MAPT mutations compared to PGRN (p<0.001) and C9orf72 (p = 0.024). 66.5% of subjects had an initial non-movement presentation that was most likely a behavioral syndrome (35.7%). At any point during the disease, parkinsonism was the most common movement syndrome reported in 79.8% followed by progressive supranuclear palsy (PSPS) and corticobasal (CBS) syndromes in 12.2% and 10.7%, respectively. The prevalence of movement disorder as initial presentation was higher in MAPT subjects (35.8%) compared to PGRN subjects (10.1). In those with a non-movement presentation, language disorder was more common in PGRN subjects (18.7%) compared to MAPT subjects (5.4%). This represents the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the occurrence of movement disorder phenomenology in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Standardized prospective collection of clinical information in conjunction with genetic characterization will be crucial for accurate clinico-genetic correlation.

  11. Characterization of Movement Disorder Phenomenology in Genetically Proven, Familial Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Gasca-Salas, Carmen; Masellis, Mario; Khoo, Edwin; Shah, Binit B.; Fisman, David; Lang, Anthony E.; Kleiner-Fisman, Galit

    2016-01-01

    Background Mutations in granulin (PGRN) and tau (MAPT), and hexanucleotide repeat expansions near the C9orf72 genes are the most prevalent genetic causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Although behavior, language and movement presentations are common, the relationship between genetic subgroup and movement disorder phenomenology is unclear. Objective We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature characterizing the spectrum and prevalence of movement disorders in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Methods Electronic databases were searched using terms related to frontotemporal lobar degeneration and movement disorders. Articles were included when cases had a proven genetic cause. Study-specific prevalence estimates for clinical features were transformed using Freeman-Tukey arcsine transformation, allowing for pooled estimates of prevalence to be generated using random-effects models. Results The mean age at onset was earlier in those with MAPT mutations compared to PGRN (p<0.001) and C9orf72 (p = 0.024). 66.5% of subjects had an initial non-movement presentation that was most likely a behavioral syndrome (35.7%). At any point during the disease, parkinsonism was the most common movement syndrome reported in 79.8% followed by progressive supranuclear palsy (PSPS) and corticobasal (CBS) syndromes in 12.2% and 10.7%, respectively. The prevalence of movement disorder as initial presentation was higher in MAPT subjects (35.8%) compared to PGRN subjects (10.1). In those with a non-movement presentation, language disorder was more common in PGRN subjects (18.7%) compared to MAPT subjects (5.4%). Summary This represents the first systematic review and meta-analysis of the occurrence of movement disorder phenomenology in genetic frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Standardized prospective collection of clinical information in conjunction with genetic characterization will be crucial for accurate clinico-genetic correlation. PMID:27100392

  12. Functional contributors to poor movement and balance control in patients with low back pain: A descriptive analysis.

    PubMed

    Ayhan, Cigdem; Bilgin, Sevil; Aksoy, Songul; Yakut, Yavuz

    2016-08-10

    Automatic and voluntary body position control is essential for postural stability; however, little is known about individual factors that impair the sensorimotor system associated with low back pain (LBP). To evaluate automatic and voluntary motor control impairments causing postural instability in patients with LBP. Motor control impairments associated with poor movement and balance control were analyzed prospectively in 32 patients with LBP. Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain assessment, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for disability measurement, and computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) for analysis of postural responses were used to measure outcomes of all patients. Computerized dynamic posturography tests including Sensory organization test (SOT), limits of stability test (movement velocity, directional control, endpoint, and maximum excursion), rhythmic weight shift (rhythmic movement speed and directional control), and adaptation test (toes-up and toes-down tests) were performed and the results compared with NeuroCom normative data. The mean age of the patients was 40.50 ± 12.28 years. Lower equilibrium scores were observed in SOT (p < 0.05). There was a significant increase in reaction time and decrease in movement velocity, directional control, and endpoint excursion (p < 0.05). Speed of rhythmic movement along the anteroposterior direction decreased, while speed increased along the lateral direction (p < 0.05). Poor directional control was recorded in the anteroposterior direction (p < 0.05). Toes-down test showed an increased COG sway in patients compared with that in the controls (p < 0.05). LBP causes poor voluntary control of body positioning, a reduction in movement control, delays in movement initiation, and a difficulty to adapt to sudden surface changes.

  13. [Can music therapy for patients with neurological disorders?].

    PubMed

    Myskja, Audun

    2004-12-16

    Recent developments in brain research and in the field of music therapy have led to the development of music-based methods specifically aimed at relieving symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other neurologic disorders. Rhythmic auditory stimulation uses external rhythmic auditory cues from song, music or metronome to aid patients improving their walking functioning and has been shown to be effective both within sessions and as a result of training over time. Melodic intonation therapy and related vocal techniques can improve expressive dysphasia and aid rehabilitation of neurologic disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, stroke and developmental disorders.

  14. Rhythmic speech and stuttering reduction in a syllable-timed language.

    PubMed

    Law, Thomas; Packman, Ann; Onslow, Mark; To, Carol K-S; Tong, Michael C-F; Lee, Kathy Y-S

    2018-06-06

    Speaking rhythmically, also known as syllable-timed speech (STS), has been known for centuries to be a fluency-inducing condition for people who stutter. Cantonese is a tonal syllable-timed language and it has been shown that, of all languages, Cantonese is the most rhythmic (Mok, 2009). However, it is not known if STS reduces stuttering in Cantonese as it does in English. This is the first study to investigate the effects of STS on stuttering in a syllable-timed language. Nineteen native Cantonese-speaking adults who stutter were engaged in conversational tasks in Cantonese under two conditions: one in their usual speaking style and one using STS. The speakers' percentage syllables stuttered (%SS) and speech rhythmicity were rated. The rhythmicity ratings were used to estimate the extent to which speakers were using STS in the syllable-timed condition. Results revealed a statistically significant reduction in %SS in the STS condition; however, this reduction was not as large as in previous studies in other languages and the amount of stuttering reduction varied across speakers. The rhythmicity ratings showed that some speakers were perceived to be speaking more rhythmically than others and that the perceived rhythmicity correlated positively with reductions in stuttering. The findings were unexpected, as it was anticipated that speakers of a highly rhythmic language such as Cantonese would find STS easy to use and that the consequent reductions in stuttering would be great, even greater perhaps than in a stress-timed language such as English. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

  15. Moving Forward: Advances in the Treatment of Movement Disorders with Deep Brain Stimulation

    PubMed Central

    Schiefer, Terry K.; Matsumoto, Joseph Y.; Lee, Kendall H.

    2011-01-01

    The modern era of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery has ushered in state of the art technologies for the treatment of movement disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease (PD), tremor, and dystonia. After years of experience with various surgical therapies, the eventual shortcomings of both medical and surgical treatments, and several serendipitous discoveries, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has risen to the forefront as a highly effective, safe, and reversible treatment for these conditions. Idiopathic advanced PD can be treated with thalamic, globus pallidus internus (GPi), or subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS. Thalamic DBS primarily relieves tremor while GPi and STN DBS alleviate a wide range of Parkinsonian symptoms. Thalamic DBS is also used in the treatment of other types of tremor, particularly essential tremor, with excellent results. Both primary and various types of secondary dystonia can be treated very effectively with GPi DBS. The variety of anatomical targets for these movement disorders is indicative of the network-level dysfunction mediating these movement disturbances. Despite an increasing understanding of the clinical benefits of DBS, little is known about how DBS can create such wide sweeping neuromodulatory effects. The key to improving this therapeutic modality and discovering new ways to treat these and other neurologic conditions lies in better understanding the intricacies of DBS. Here we review the history and pertinent clinical data for DBS treatment of PD, tremor, and dystonia. While multiple regions of the brain have been targeted for DBS in the treatment of these movement disorders, this review article focuses on those that are most commonly used in current clinical practice. Our search criteria for PubMed included combinations of the following terms: DBS, neuromodulation, movement disorders, PD, tremor, dystonia, and history. Dates were not restricted. PMID:22084629

  16. Effects of rhythmical and extra-rhythmical qualities of music on heart rate during stationary bike activities.

    PubMed

    DI Cagno, Alessandra; Iuliano, Enzo; Fiorilli, Giovanni; Aquino, Giovanna; Giombini, Arrigo; Menotti, Federica; Tsopani, Despina; Calcagno, Giuseppe

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rhythmical and extra-rhythmical qualities of music on the heart rate (HR) and rates of perceived exertion (RPE), during sub-maximal stationary bike activity. HR of 28 female adult participants was monitored during 3 session of physical activity, performed under 3 different conditions: Hi-BPM (music with 150-170 BPM), RHYTHM (rhythmical qualities only of Hi-BPM condition) and control condition without music (CONTROL). Four parameters were analyzed: the highest HR value (High-HR), High-HR minus starting HR (∆HR), time to reach the 75% of Maximal HR (MHR) (TimeTo75%) and time over 75% MHR (TimeOver75%). HR trend analysis was performed to evaluate differences among the three conditions. OMNI-Cycle Scale was administered to evaluate RPE. MANOVA showed significant differences between the three conditions in TimeTo75%, ∆HR (P<0.01) and TimeOver75% (P<0.05). In RHYTHM and CONTROL conditions after reaching 75% MHR, the HR increase were significantly lower than Hi-BPM (P<0.01). No significant differences were found in OMNI-Cycle Scale scores of Hi-BPM and RHYTHM whereas RPE was significantly higher in CONTROL condition (P<0.05). Hi-BPM and RHYTHM music allowed a faster reaching of the aerobic training zone compared to CONTROL conditions. Nevertheless, after 75% MHR, extra-rhythmical qualities are necessary to maintain or to increase the working HR levels.

  17. Movement Disorders and Other Motor Abnormalities in Adults With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Boot, Erik; Butcher, Nancy J; van Amelsvoort, Thérèse AMJ; Lang, Anthony E; Marras, Connie; Pondal, Margarita; Andrade, Danielle M; Fung, Wai Lun Alan; Bassett, Anne S

    2015-01-01

    Movement abnormalities are frequently reported in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), but knowledge in this area is scarce in the increasing adult population. We report on five individuals illustrative of movement disorders and other motor abnormalities in adults with 22q11.2DS. In addition to an increased susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders, seizures, and early-onset Parkinson disease, the underlying brain dysfunction associated with 22q11.2DS may give rise to an increased vulnerability to multiple movement abnormalities, including those influenced by medications. Movement abnormalities may also be secondary to treatable endocrine diseases and congenital musculoskeletal abnormalities. We propose that movement abnormalities may be common in adults with 22q11.2DS and discuss the implications and challenges important to clinical practice. PMID:25684639

  18. First-Time Mothers' Use of Music and Movement with Their Young Infants: The Impact of a Teaching Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vlismas, Wendy; Bowes, Jennifer

    1999-01-01

    Examined impact of a 5-week music/movement program involving relaxation, kinesics, singing, visual contact, and tactile stimulation on first-time mothers' use of music and movement with their infants. Found that the program extended mothers' use of relaxation to music and rhythmical movement with their infants but not the use of song and massage…

  19. Young Children Being Rhythmically Playful: Creating "Musike" Together

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alcock, Sophie

    2008-01-01

    This article explores young children's rhythmic, musical, aesthetic and playful creative communication in an early childhood education centre. Young children's communication is musically rhythmic and social. The data, presented as "events", formed part of an ethnographic-inspired study conducted by the researcher as a participant observer.…

  20. Rhythmic entrainment as a musical affect induction mechanism.

    PubMed

    J Trost, W; Labbé, C; Grandjean, D

    2017-02-01

    One especially important feature of metrical music is that it contains periodicities that listeners' bodily rhythms can adapt to. Recent psychological frameworks have introduced the notion of rhythmic entrainment, among other mechanisms, as an emotion induction principle. In this review paper, we discuss rhythmic entrainment as an affect induction mechanism by differentiating four levels of entrainment in humans-perceptual, autonomic physiological, motor, and social-all of which could contribute to a subjective feeling component. We review the theoretical and empirical literature on rhythmic entrainment to music that supports the existence of these different levels of entrainment by describing the phenomena and characterizing the associated underlying brain processes. The goal of this review is to present the theoretical implications and empirical findings about rhythmic entrainment as an important principle at the basis of affect induction via music, since it rests upon the temporal dimension of music, which is a specificity of music as an affective stimulus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Rhythmic Effects of Syntax Processing in Music and Language.

    PubMed

    Jung, Harim; Sontag, Samuel; Park, YeBin S; Loui, Psyche

    2015-01-01

    Music and language are human cognitive and neural functions that share many structural similarities. Past theories posit a sharing of neural resources between syntax processing in music and language (Patel, 2003), and a dynamic attention network that governs general temporal processing (Large and Jones, 1999). Both make predictions about music and language processing over time. Experiment 1 of this study investigates the relationship between rhythmic expectancy and musical and linguistic syntax in a reading time paradigm. Stimuli (adapted from Slevc et al., 2009) were sentences broken down into segments; each sentence segment was paired with a musical chord and presented at a fixed inter-onset interval. Linguistic syntax violations appeared in a garden-path design. During the critical region of the garden-path sentence, i.e., the particular segment in which the syntactic unexpectedness was processed, expectancy violations for language, music, and rhythm were each independently manipulated: musical expectation was manipulated by presenting out-of-key chords and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated by perturbing the fixed inter-onset interval such that the sentence segments and musical chords appeared either early or late. Reading times were recorded for each sentence segment and compared for linguistic, musical, and rhythmic expectancy. Results showed main effects of rhythmic expectancy and linguistic syntax expectancy on reading time. There was also an effect of rhythm on the interaction between musical and linguistic syntax: effects of violations in musical and linguistic syntax showed significant interaction only during rhythmically expected trials. To test the effects of our experimental design on rhythmic and linguistic expectancies, independently of musical syntax, Experiment 2 used the same experimental paradigm, but the musical factor was eliminated-linguistic stimuli were simply presented silently, and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated at the critical

  2. Rhythmic Effects of Syntax Processing in Music and Language

    PubMed Central

    Jung, Harim; Sontag, Samuel; Park, YeBin S.; Loui, Psyche

    2015-01-01

    Music and language are human cognitive and neural functions that share many structural similarities. Past theories posit a sharing of neural resources between syntax processing in music and language (Patel, 2003), and a dynamic attention network that governs general temporal processing (Large and Jones, 1999). Both make predictions about music and language processing over time. Experiment 1 of this study investigates the relationship between rhythmic expectancy and musical and linguistic syntax in a reading time paradigm. Stimuli (adapted from Slevc et al., 2009) were sentences broken down into segments; each sentence segment was paired with a musical chord and presented at a fixed inter-onset interval. Linguistic syntax violations appeared in a garden-path design. During the critical region of the garden-path sentence, i.e., the particular segment in which the syntactic unexpectedness was processed, expectancy violations for language, music, and rhythm were each independently manipulated: musical expectation was manipulated by presenting out-of-key chords and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated by perturbing the fixed inter-onset interval such that the sentence segments and musical chords appeared either early or late. Reading times were recorded for each sentence segment and compared for linguistic, musical, and rhythmic expectancy. Results showed main effects of rhythmic expectancy and linguistic syntax expectancy on reading time. There was also an effect of rhythm on the interaction between musical and linguistic syntax: effects of violations in musical and linguistic syntax showed significant interaction only during rhythmically expected trials. To test the effects of our experimental design on rhythmic and linguistic expectancies, independently of musical syntax, Experiment 2 used the same experimental paradigm, but the musical factor was eliminated—linguistic stimuli were simply presented silently, and rhythmic expectancy was manipulated at the critical

  3. Antidepressant treatment outcomes of psychogenic movement disorder.

    PubMed

    Voon, Valerie; Lang, Anthony E

    2005-12-01

    Psychogenic movement disorder (PMD) is a subtype of conversion disorder. We describe the outcomes of a series of PMD patients following antidepressant treatment. Twenty-three outpatients with chronic PMD, diagnosed using Fahn and Williams' criteria, underwent psychiatric assessment. The patients were referred for assessment and management from January 2003 to July 2004. Fifteen agreed to be treated with antidepressants. Patients received citalopram or paroxetine; those who did not respond after 4 weeks of taking an optimal dose were switched to venlafaxine. Concurrently, 3 had supportive psychotherapy, and 1 had family intervention. Assessments included the DSM-IV-based Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and scales measuring depression, anxiety, and motor and global severity. Eighteen patients (78%) had at least 1 Axis I diagnosis in addition to the somatoform diagnosis, and 3 (13%) had somatization disorder. Five (22%) had previous psychiatric contact. Nine (39%) had previously been treated with antidepressants, but only 4 (17%) had adequate trials. No significant differences existed in patient characteristics between treated and untreated groups. Among treated patients, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores improved from baseline (p < .01). Two treated subgroups were identified: 10 patients (67%) had primary conversion disorder, of whom 8 had marked motor and global improvements with 7 complete remissions, and 5 (33%) had primary hypochondriasis, somatization disorder, or probable factitious disorder/malingering, of whom none improved. All of the patients with primary conversion disorder had a current or previous depressive or anxiety disorder compared with 40% (N = 2) of the patients with additional somatoform diagnoses. Our preliminary findings suggest that chronic PMD with primary conversion symptoms and with recent or current depression or anxiety may respond to antidepressants. Further well-designed studies, now under way, are required

  4. Analysis of Circadian Leaf Movements.

    PubMed

    Müller, Niels A; Jiménez-Gómez, José M

    2016-01-01

    The circadian clock is a molecular timekeeper that controls a wide variety of biological processes. In plants, clock outputs range from the molecular level, with rhythmic gene expression and metabolite content, to physiological processes such as stomatal conductance or leaf movements. Any of these outputs can be used as markers to monitor the state of the circadian clock. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, much of the current knowledge about the clock has been gained from time course experiments profiling expression of endogenous genes or reporter constructs regulated by the circadian clock. Since these methods require labor-intensive sample preparation or transformation, monitoring leaf movements is an interesting alternative, especially in non-model species and for natural variation studies. Technological improvements both in digital photography and image analysis allow cheap and easy monitoring of circadian leaf movements. In this chapter we present a protocol that uses an autonomous point and shoot camera and free software to monitor circadian leaf movements in tomato.

  5. The Moving Rubber Hand Illusion Reveals that Explicit Sense of Agency for Tapping Movements Is Preserved in Functional Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    Marotta, Angela; Bombieri, Federica; Zampini, Massimiliano; Schena, Federico; Dallocchio, Carlo; Fiorio, Mirta; Tinazzi, Michele

    2017-01-01

    Functional movement disorders (FMD) are characterized by motor symptoms (e.g., tremor, gait disorder, and dystonia) that are not compatible with movement abnormalities related to a known organic cause. One key clinical feature of FMD is that motor symptoms are similar to voluntary movements but are subjectively experienced as involuntary by patients. This gap might be related to abnormal self-recognition of bodily action, which involves two main components: sense of agency and sense of body ownership. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate whether this function is altered in FMD, specifically focusing on the subjective feeling of agency, body ownership, and their interaction during normal voluntary movements. Patients with FMD ( n = 21) and healthy controls ( n = 21) underwent the moving Rubber Hand Illusion (mRHI), in which passive and active movements can differentially elicit agency, ownership or both. Explicit measures of agency and ownership were obtained via a questionnaire. Patients and controls showed a similar pattern of response: when the rubber hand was in a plausible posture, active movements elicited strong agency and ownership; implausible posture of the rubber hand abolished ownership but not agency; passive movements suppressed agency but not ownership. These findings suggest that explicit sense of agency and body ownership are preserved in FMD. The latter finding is shared by a previous study in FMD using a static version of the RHI, whereas the former appears to contrast with studies demonstrating altered implicit measures of agency (e.g., sensory attenuation). Our study extends previous findings by suggesting that in FMD: (i) the sense of body ownership is retained also when interacting with the motor system; (ii) the subjective experience of agency for voluntary tapping movements, as measured by means of mRHI, is preserved.

  6. The Moving Rubber Hand Illusion Reveals that Explicit Sense of Agency for Tapping Movements Is Preserved in Functional Movement Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Marotta, Angela; Bombieri, Federica; Zampini, Massimiliano; Schena, Federico; Dallocchio, Carlo; Fiorio, Mirta; Tinazzi, Michele

    2017-01-01

    Functional movement disorders (FMD) are characterized by motor symptoms (e.g., tremor, gait disorder, and dystonia) that are not compatible with movement abnormalities related to a known organic cause. One key clinical feature of FMD is that motor symptoms are similar to voluntary movements but are subjectively experienced as involuntary by patients. This gap might be related to abnormal self-recognition of bodily action, which involves two main components: sense of agency and sense of body ownership. The aim of this study was to systematically investigate whether this function is altered in FMD, specifically focusing on the subjective feeling of agency, body ownership, and their interaction during normal voluntary movements. Patients with FMD (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 21) underwent the moving Rubber Hand Illusion (mRHI), in which passive and active movements can differentially elicit agency, ownership or both. Explicit measures of agency and ownership were obtained via a questionnaire. Patients and controls showed a similar pattern of response: when the rubber hand was in a plausible posture, active movements elicited strong agency and ownership; implausible posture of the rubber hand abolished ownership but not agency; passive movements suppressed agency but not ownership. These findings suggest that explicit sense of agency and body ownership are preserved in FMD. The latter finding is shared by a previous study in FMD using a static version of the RHI, whereas the former appears to contrast with studies demonstrating altered implicit measures of agency (e.g., sensory attenuation). Our study extends previous findings by suggesting that in FMD: (i) the sense of body ownership is retained also when interacting with the motor system; (ii) the subjective experience of agency for voluntary tapping movements, as measured by means of mRHI, is preserved. PMID:28634447

  7. Complex movement disorders at disease onset in childhood narcolepsy with cataplexy

    PubMed Central

    Pizza, Fabio; Palaia, Vincenzo; Franceschini, Christian; Poli, Francesca; Moghadam, Keivan K.; Cortelli, Pietro; Nobili, Lino; Bruni, Oliviero; Dauvilliers, Yves; Lin, Ling; Edwards, Mark J.; Mignot, Emmanuel; Bhatia, Kailash P.

    2011-01-01

    Narcolepsy with cataplexy is characterized by daytime sleepiness, cataplexy (sudden loss of bilateral muscle tone triggered by emotions), sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and disturbed nocturnal sleep. Narcolepsy with cataplexy is most often associated with human leucocyte antigen-DQB1*0602 and is caused by the loss of hypocretin-producing neurons in the hypothalamus of likely autoimmune aetiology. Noting that children with narcolepsy often display complex abnormal motor behaviours close to disease onset that do not meet the classical definition of cataplexy, we systematically analysed motor features in 39 children with narcolepsy with cataplexy in comparison with 25 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We found that patients with narcolepsy with cataplexy displayed a complex array of ‘negative’ (hypotonia) and ‘active’ (ranging from perioral movements to dyskinetic–dystonic movements or stereotypies) motor disturbances. ‘Active’ and ‘negative’ motor scores correlated positively with the presence of hypotonic features at neurological examination and negatively with disease duration, whereas ‘negative’ motor scores also correlated negatively with age at disease onset. These observations suggest that paediatric narcolepsy with cataplexy often co-occurs with a complex movement disorder at disease onset, a phenomenon that may vanish later in the course of the disease. Further studies are warranted to assess clinical course and whether the associated movement disorder is also caused by hypocretin deficiency or by additional neurochemical abnormalities. PMID:21930661

  8. Entrainment of Breast Cell Lines Results in Rhythmic Fluctuations of MicroRNAs

    PubMed Central

    Chacolla-Huaringa, Rafael; Trevino, Victor; Scott, Sean-Patrick

    2017-01-01

    Circadian rhythms are essential for temporal (~24 h) regulation of molecular processes in diverse species. Dysregulation of circadian gene expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various disorders, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, and cancer. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as critical modulators of gene expression post-transcriptionally, and perhaps involved in circadian clock architecture or their output functions. The aim of the present study is to explore the temporal expression of miRNAs among entrained breast cell lines. For this purpose, we evaluated the temporal (28 h) expression of 2006 miRNAs in MCF-10A, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231 cells using microarrays after serum shock entrainment. We noted hundreds of miRNAs that exhibit rhythmic fluctuations in each breast cell line, and some of them across two or three cell lines. Afterwards, we validated the rhythmic profiles exhibited by miR-141-5p, miR-1225-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-222-5p, miR-769-3p, and miR-548ay-3p in the above cell lines, as well as in ZR-7530 and HCC-1954 using RT-qPCR. Our results show that serum shock entrainment in breast cells lines induces rhythmic fluctuations of distinct sets of miRNAs, which have the potential to be related to endogenous circadian clock, but extensive investigation is required to elucidate that connection. PMID:28704935

  9. Deep brain stimulation for movement disorders. Considerations on 276 consecutive patients.

    PubMed

    Franzini, Angelo; Cordella, Roberto; Messina, Giuseppe; Marras, Carlo Efisio; Romito, Luigi Michele; Carella, Francesco; Albanese, Alberto; Rizzi, Michele; Nardocci, Nardo; Zorzi, Giovanna; Zekay, Edvin; Broggi, Giovanni

    2011-10-01

    The links between Stn DBS and advanced Parkinson disease, and between GPi DBS and dystonia are nearly universally accepted by the neurologists and neurosurgeons. Nevertheless, in some conditions, targets such as the ventral thalamus and the Zona Incerta may be considered to optimize the results and avoid the side effects. Positive and negative aspects of current DBS treatments justify the research of new targets, new stimulation programs and new hardware. Since 1993, at the Istituto Nazionale Neurologico "Carlo Besta" in Milan, 580 deep brain electrodes were implanted in 332 patients. 276 patients were affected by movement disorders. The DBS targets included Stn, GPi, Voa, Vop, Vim, CM-pf, cZi, IC. The long-term follow-up is reported and related to the chosen target. DBS gave a new therapeutic option to patients affected by severe movement disorders, and in some cases resolved life-threatening pathological conditions that would otherwise result in the death of the patient, such as in status dystonicus, and post-stroke hemiballismus. Nevertheless, the potential occurrence of severe complications still limit a wider use of DBS. At today, the use of DBS in severe movement disorders is strongly positive even if further investigations and studies are needed to unveil potential new applications, and to refine the selection criteria for the actual indications and targets. The experience of different targets may be useful to guide and tailor the target choice to the individual clinical condition.

  10. Impulse control disorder and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Bayard, Sophie; Dauvilliers, Yves; Yu, Huan; Croisier-Langenier, Muriel; Rossignol, Alexia; Charif, Mahmoud; Geny, Christian; Carlander, Bertrand; Cochen De Cock, Valérie

    2014-12-01

    The relationship between ICD and RBD is still not yet understood and the results from the current literature are contradictory in PD. We aimed to explore the association between rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and impulse control disorder in Parkinson's disease. Ninety-eight non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease underwent one night of video-polysomnography recording. The diagnosis of RBD was established according to clinical and polysomnographic criteria. Impulse control disorders were determined by a gold standard, semi-structured diagnostic interview. Half of the patients (n = 49) reported clinical history of RBD while polysomnographic diagnosis of RBD was confirmed in 31.6% of the patients (n = 31). At least one impulse control disorder was identified in 21.4% of patients, 22.6% with RBD and 20.9% without. Logistic regression controlling for potential confounders indicated that both clinical RBD (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.07-1.48, P = 0.15) and polysomnographic confirmed RBD diagnoses (OR = 0.1.28, 95% CI = 0.31-5.33, P = 0.34) were not associated with impulse control disorder. In Parkinson's disease, REM Sleep Behavior Disorder is not associated with impulse control disorder. The results of our study do not support the notion that PSG-confirmed RBD and ICD share a common pathophysiology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Path integral learning of multidimensional movement trajectories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    André, João; Santos, Cristina; Costa, Lino

    2013-10-01

    This paper explores the use of Path Integral Methods, particularly several variants of the recent Path Integral Policy Improvement (PI2) algorithm in multidimensional movement parametrized policy learning. We rely on Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs) to codify discrete and rhythmic trajectories, and apply the PI2-CMA and PIBB methods in the learning of optimal policy parameters, according to different cost functions that inherently encode movement objectives. Additionally we merge both of these variants and propose the PIBB-CMA algorithm, comparing all of them with the vanilla version of PI2. From the obtained results we conclude that PIBB-CMA surpasses all other methods in terms of convergence speed and iterative final cost, which leads to an increased interest in its application to more complex robotic problems.

  12. Self-generated sounds of locomotion and ventilation and the evolution of human rhythmic abilities.

    PubMed

    Larsson, Matz

    2014-01-01

    It has been suggested that the basic building blocks of music mimic sounds of moving humans, and because the brain was primed to exploit such sounds, they eventually became incorporated in human culture. However, that raises further questions. Why do genetically close, culturally well-developed apes lack musical abilities? Did our switch to bipedalism influence the origins of music? Four hypotheses are raised: (1) Human locomotion and ventilation can mask critical sounds in the environment. (2) Synchronization of locomotion reduces that problem. (3) Predictable sounds of locomotion may stimulate the evolution of synchronized behavior. (4) Bipedal gait and the associated sounds of locomotion influenced the evolution of human rhythmic abilities. Theoretical models and research data suggest that noise of locomotion and ventilation may mask critical auditory information. People often synchronize steps subconsciously. Human locomotion is likely to produce more predictable sounds than those of non-human primates. Predictable locomotion sounds may have improved our capacity of entrainment to external rhythms and to feel the beat in music. A sense of rhythm could aid the brain in distinguishing among sounds arising from discrete sources and also help individuals to synchronize their movements with one another. Synchronization of group movement may improve perception by providing periods of relative silence and by facilitating auditory processing. The adaptive value of such skills to early ancestors may have been keener detection of prey or stalkers and enhanced communication. Bipedal walking may have influenced the development of entrainment in humans and thereby the evolution of rhythmic abilities.

  13. Content congruency and its interplay with temporal synchrony modulate integration between rhythmic audiovisual streams.

    PubMed

    Su, Yi-Huang

    2014-01-01

    Both lower-level stimulus factors (e.g., temporal proximity) and higher-level cognitive factors (e.g., content congruency) are known to influence multisensory integration. The former can direct attention in a converging manner, and the latter can indicate whether information from the two modalities belongs together. The present research investigated whether and how these two factors interacted in the perception of rhythmic, audiovisual (AV) streams derived from a human movement scenario. Congruency here was based on sensorimotor correspondence pertaining to rhythm perception. Participants attended to bimodal stimuli consisting of a humanlike figure moving regularly to a sequence of auditory beat, and detected a possible auditory temporal deviant. The figure moved either downwards (congruently) or upwards (incongruently) to the downbeat, while in both situations the movement was either synchronous with the beat, or lagging behind it. Greater cross-modal binding was expected to hinder deviant detection. Results revealed poorer detection for congruent than for incongruent streams, suggesting stronger integration in the former. False alarms increased in asynchronous stimuli only for congruent streams, indicating greater tendency for deviant report due to visual capture of asynchronous auditory events. In addition, a greater increase in perceived synchrony was associated with a greater reduction in false alarms for congruent streams, while the pattern was reversed for incongruent ones. These results demonstrate that content congruency as a top-down factor not only promotes integration, but also modulates bottom-up effects of synchrony. Results are also discussed regarding how theories of integration and attentional entrainment may be combined in the context of rhythmic multisensory stimuli.

  14. Muscle Coactivation during Stability Exercises in Rhythmic Gymnastics: A Two-Case Study.

    PubMed

    Rutkowska-Kucharska, Alicja; Szpala, Agnieszka; Jaroszczuk, Sebastian; Sobera, Małgorzata

    2018-01-01

    Balance exercises in rhythmic gymnastics are performed on tiptoes, which causes overload of foot joints. This study aimed to evaluate the engagement of muscles stabilizing ankle and knee joints in balance exercises and determine exercises which may lead to ankle and knee joint injuries. It was hypothesized that long-term training has an influence on balance control and efficient use of muscles in their stabilizing function. Two rhythmic gymnasts (8 and 21 years old) performed balances on tiptoes (side split with hand support, ring with hand support) and on a flat foot (back split without hand support exercise). Surface electromyography, ground reaction forces, and kinematic parameters of movement were measured. The measuring systems applied were synchronized with the BTS SMART system. The results show the necessity to limit balance exercises on tiptoes in children because gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) activity significantly exceeds their activity. Ankle joint stabilizing activity of GM and GL muscles in the younger gymnast was more important than in the older one. Performing this exercise, the younger gymnast distributed load on the anterior side of the foot while the older one did so on its posterior. Gymnastics coaches should be advised to exclude ring with hand support exercise from the training of young gymnasts.

  15. Muscle Coactivation during Stability Exercises in Rhythmic Gymnastics: A Two-Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Jaroszczuk, Sebastian

    2018-01-01

    Balance exercises in rhythmic gymnastics are performed on tiptoes, which causes overload of foot joints. This study aimed to evaluate the engagement of muscles stabilizing ankle and knee joints in balance exercises and determine exercises which may lead to ankle and knee joint injuries. It was hypothesized that long-term training has an influence on balance control and efficient use of muscles in their stabilizing function. Two rhythmic gymnasts (8 and 21 years old) performed balances on tiptoes (side split with hand support, ring with hand support) and on a flat foot (back split without hand support exercise). Surface electromyography, ground reaction forces, and kinematic parameters of movement were measured. The measuring systems applied were synchronized with the BTS SMART system. The results show the necessity to limit balance exercises on tiptoes in children because gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) activity significantly exceeds their activity. Ankle joint stabilizing activity of GM and GL muscles in the younger gymnast was more important than in the older one. Performing this exercise, the younger gymnast distributed load on the anterior side of the foot while the older one did so on its posterior. Gymnastics coaches should be advised to exclude ring with hand support exercise from the training of young gymnasts. PMID:29808099

  16. Rhythmic patterning in Malaysian and Singapore English.

    PubMed

    Tan, Rachel Siew Kuang; Low, Ee-Ling

    2014-06-01

    Previous work on the rhythm of Malaysian English has been based on impressionistic observations. This paper utilizes acoustic analysis to measure the rhythmic patterns of Malaysian English. Recordings of the read speech and spontaneous speech of 10 Malaysian English speakers were analyzed and compared with recordings of an equivalent sample of Singaporean English speakers. Analysis was done using two rhythmic indexes, the PVI and VarcoV. It was found that although the rhythm of read speech of the Singaporean speakers was syllable-based as described by previous studies, the rhythm of the Malaysian speakers was even more syllable-based. Analysis of the syllables in specific utterances showed that Malaysian speakers did not reduce vowels as much as Singaporean speakers in cases of syllables in utterances. Results of the spontaneous speech confirmed the findings for the read speech; that is, the same rhythmic patterning was found which normally triggers vowel reductions.

  17. Fixing the Mirrors: A Feasibility Study of the Effects of Dance Movement Therapy on Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koch, Sabine C.; Mehl, Laura; Sobanski, Esther; Sieber, Maik; Fuchs, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    From the 1970s on, case studies reported the effectiveness of therapeutic mirroring in movement with children with autism spectrum disorder. In this feasibility study, we tested a dance movement therapy intervention based on mirroring in movement in a population of 31 young adults with autism spectrum disorder (mainly high-functioning and…

  18. Effect of rhythmic auditory cueing on gait in people with Alzheimer disease.

    PubMed

    Wittwer, Joanne E; Webster, Kate E; Hill, Keith

    2013-04-01

    To determine whether rhythmic music and metronome cues alter spatiotemporal gait measures and gait variability in people with Alzheimer disease (AD). A repeated-measures study requiring participants to walk under different cueing conditions. University movement laboratory. Of the people (N=46) who met study criteria (a diagnosis of probable AD and ability to walk 100m) at routine medical review, 30 (16 men; mean age ± SD, 80±6y; revised Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination range, 26-79) volunteered to participate. Participants walked 4 times over an electronic walkway synchronizing to (1) rhythmic music and (2) a metronome set at individual mean baseline comfortable speed cadence. Gait spatiotemporal measures and gait variability (coefficient of variation [CV]). Data from individual walks under each condition were combined. A 1-way repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare uncued baseline, cued, and retest measures. Gait velocity decreased with both music and metronome cues compared with baseline (baseline, 110.5cm/s; music, 103.4cm/s; metronome, 105.4cm/s), primarily because of significant decreases in stride length (baseline, 120.9cm; music, 112.5cm; metronome, 114.8cm) with both cue types. This was coupled with increased stride length variability compared with baseline (baseline CV, 3.4%; music CV, 4.3%; metronome CV, 4.5%) with both cue types. These changes did not persist at (uncued) retest. Temporal variability was unchanged. Rhythmic auditory cueing at comfortable speed tempo produced deleterious effects on gait in a single session in this group with AD. The deterioration in spatial gait parameters may result from impaired executive function associated with AD. Further research should investigate whether these instantaneous cue effects are altered with more practice or with learning methods tailored to people with cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

  19. Leg Movement Activity During Sleep in Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

    PubMed

    Garbazza, Corrado; Sauter, Cornelia; Paul, Juliane; Kollek, Jenny; Dujardin, Catharine; Hackethal, Sandra; Dorn, Hans; Peter, Anita; Hansen, Marie-Luise; Manconi, Mauro; Ferri, Raffaele; Danker-Hopfe, Heidi

    2018-01-01

    Objectives: To conduct a first detailed analysis of the pattern of leg movement (LM) activity during sleep in adult subjects with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) compared to healthy controls. Methods: Fifteen ADHD patients and 18 control subjects underwent an in-lab polysomnographic sleep study. The periodic character of LMs was evaluated with established markers of "periodicity," i.e., the periodicity index, intermovement intervals, and time distribution of LM during sleep, in addition to standard parameters such as the periodic leg movement during sleep index (PLMSI) and the periodic leg movement during sleep arousal index (PLMSAI). Subjective sleep and psychiatric symptoms were assessed using several, self-administered, screening questionnaires. Results: Objective sleep parameters from the baseline night did not significantly differ between ADHD and control subjects, except for a longer sleep latency (SL), a longer duration of the periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS) in REM sleep and a higher PLMSI also in REM sleep. Data from the sleep questionnaires showed perception of poor sleep quality in ADHD patients. Conclusions: Leg movements during sleep in ADHD adults are not significantly more frequent than in healthy controls and the nocturnal motor events do not show an increased periodicity in these patients. The non-periodic character of LMs in ADHD has already been shown in children and seems to differentiate ADHD from other pathophysiological related conditions like restless legs syndrome (RLS) or periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). The reduced subjective sleep quality reported by ADHD adults contrasted with the normal objective polysomnographic parameters, which could suggest a sleep-state misperception in these individuals or more subtle sleep abnormalities not picked up by the traditional sleep staging.

  20. Center for the Study of Rhythmic Processes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-12-01

    NO. ;hington, D.C. 20332-6448 161103F 13484 1A4 iE (incude Security Ca--sficarion) iter for the Study of Rhythmic Processes ER$ONAL A~~S Kopell TYPE 9F...Djock number) The Center for the Study of Rhythmic Processes began operation in the academic year 1986-1989 and was supported as a Center of Excellence... Processes Personnel, 1986-1990 1. Nancy Kopell, Department of Mathematics, Boston University, P.I. Steven Strogatz, Postdoctoral Fellow Stephane Laederich

  1. Rhythmic expression of DEC2 protein in vitro and in vivo.

    PubMed

    Sato, Fuyuki; Muragaki, Yasuteru; Kawamoto, Takeshi; Fujimoto, Katsumi; Kato, Yukio; Zhang, Yanping

    2016-06-01

    Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor DEC2 (bHLHE41/Sharp1) is one of the clock genes that show a circadian rhythm in various tissues. DEC2 regulates differentiation, sleep length, tumor cell invasion and apoptosis. Although studies have been conducted on the rhythmic expression of DEC2 mRNA in various tissues, the precise molecular mechanism of DEC2 expression is poorly understood. In the present study, we examined whether DEC2 protein had a rhythmic expression. Western blot analysis for DEC2 protein revealed a rhythmic expression in mouse liver, lung and muscle and in MCF-7 and U2OS cells. In addition, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity (phosphorylation of AMPK) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) exhibited a rhythmic expression under the condition of medium change or glucose-depleted medium. However, the rhythmic expression of DEC2 in MEF gradually decreased in time under these conditions. The medium change affected the levels of DEC2 protein and phosphorylation of AMPK. In addition, the levels of DEC2 protein showed a rhythmic expression in vivo and in MCF-7 and U2OS cells. The results showed that the phosphorylation of AMPK immunoreactivity was strongly detected in the liver and lung of DEC2 knockout mice compared with that of wild-type mice. These results may provide new insights into rhythmic expression and the regulation between DEC2 protein and AMPK activity.

  2. [Electromyography Analysis of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder].

    PubMed

    Nakano, Natsuko; Kinoshita, Fumiya; Takada, Hiroki; Nakayama, Meiho

    2018-01-01

    Polysomnography (PSG), which records physiological phenomena including brain waves, breathing status, and muscle tonus, is useful for the diagnosis of sleep disorders as a gold standard. However, measurement and analysis are complex for several specific sleep disorders, such as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Usually, brain waves during REM sleep indicate an awakening pattern under relaxed conditions of skeletal and antigravity muscles. However, these muscles are activated during REM sleep when patients suffer from RBD. These activated muscle movements during REM, so-called REM without atonia (RWA) recorded by PSG, may be related to a neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson's disease. Thus, careful analysis of RWA is significant not only physically, but also clinically. Commonly, manual viewing measurement analysis of RWA is time-consuming. Therefore, quantitative studies on RWA are rarely reported. A software program, developed from Microsoft Office Excel ® , was used to semiautomatically analyze the RWA ratio extracted from PSG to compare with manual viewing measurement analysis. In addition, a quantitative muscle tonus study was carried out to evaluate the effect of medication on RBD patients. Using this new software program, we were able to analyze RWA on the same cases in approximately 15 min as compared with 60 min in the manual viewing measurement analysis. This software program can not only quantify RWA easily but also identify RWA waves for either phasic or tonic bursts. We consider that this software program will support physicians and scientists in their future research on RBD. We are planning to offer this software program for free to physicians and scientists.

  3. Involuntary craniofacial lingual movements in intensive care-acquired quadriplegia.

    PubMed

    Cartagena, A M; Jog, M; Young, G B

    2012-02-01

    The syndrome of involuntary craniofacial lingual movements in the setting of acute intensive care-acquired quadriplegia (critical illness neuromyopathy) following sepsis-associated encephalopathy has not been previously described. We suggest a localization and treatment for this disabling condition. Three patients (2 female) from our center were quadriplegic from critical illness neuromyopathy when they developed involuntary craniofacial lingual movements following sepsis-associated encephalopathy. Extensive investigations failed to identify an etiology for the abnormal movements. Movements were of large amplitude, of moderate speed, and semi-rhythmic in the jaw, tongue, and palate, persistent and extremely bothersome to all patients. Injection with Botulinum toxin type A was very beneficial. Involuntary craniofacial lingual movements in the setting of flaccid quadriplegia following sepsis-associated encephalopathy are consistent with focal craniofacial brainstem myoclonus and constitutes a new syndrome. Botulinum toxin type A treatment maybe helpful in treatment.

  4. The Rhythmic Group, Liaison, Nouns and Verbs of French

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ashby, William J.

    1975-01-01

    The "rhythmic group" in French (noun group or verb group) is described with examples. The aim is to find some relation between the morphophonological phenomena such as "liaison" occurring within such rhythmic groups and the syntactic structure of French. Available from Liber Laeromedel, Box 1205, S-22105 Lund, Sweden. (TL)

  5. Practical Skills of Rhythmic Gymnastics Judges

    PubMed Central

    Fernandez-Villarino, Maria A.; Bobo-Arce, Marta; Sierra-Palmeiro, Elena

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the practical skills of rhythmic gymnastics judges and to identify how their degree and experience influence the assessment of these skills. Sixty one rhythmic gymnastics judges participated in the study. A questionnaire was used for data collection. This tool was composed of 28 questions and divided into six categories: identification, experience, initial training, continuing education, skills and training needs. The results suggest that the most valued skills are those related to the sport’s technical parameters and the ability to adapt to any level of competition with self-confidence and self-assuredness. Significant differences were found regarding the variables for: the ability to communicate (p = 0.002) and for the ability to observe, identify and register performance (p = 0.005). The results showed that experience was not a decisive factor in assessing skills. This study thus presents evidence that rhythmic gymnastics judges must implement and optimise a set of skills that contribute to the effectiveness of the assessment process. These findings might help in the design of programs and training models that contribute to effective professional development. PMID:24511360

  6. SIL1-related Marinesco-Sjoegren syndrome (MSS) with associated motor neuronopathy and bradykinetic movement disorder.

    PubMed

    Byrne, Susan; Dlamini, Nomazulu; Lumsden, Daniel; Pitt, Matthew; Zaharieva, Irina; Muntoni, Francesco; King, Andrew; Robert, Leema; Jungbluth, Heinz

    2015-07-01

    Marinesco-Sjoegren syndrome (MSS) is a recessively inherited multisystem disorder caused by mutations in SIL1 and characterized by cerebellar atrophy with ataxia, cataracts, a skeletal muscle myopathy, and variable degrees of developmental delay. Pathogenic mechanisms implicated to date include mitochondrial, nuclear envelope and lysosomal-autophagic pathway abnormalities. Here we present a 5-year-old girl with SIL1-related MSS and additional unusual features of an associated motor neuronopathy and a bradykinetic movement disorder preceding the onset of ataxia. These findings suggest that an associated motor neuronopathy may be part of the phenotypical spectrum of SIL1-related MSS and should be actively investigated in genetically confirmed cases. The additional observation of a bradykinetic movement disorder suggests an intriguing continuum between neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative multisystem disorders intricately linked in the same cellular pathways. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Jazz drummers recruit language-specific areas for the processing of rhythmic structure.

    PubMed

    Herdener, Marcus; Humbel, Thierry; Esposito, Fabrizio; Habermeyer, Benedikt; Cattapan-Ludewig, Katja; Seifritz, Erich

    2014-03-01

    Rhythm is a central characteristic of music and speech, the most important domains of human communication using acoustic signals. Here, we investigated how rhythmical patterns in music are processed in the human brain, and, in addition, evaluated the impact of musical training on rhythm processing. Using fMRI, we found that deviations from a rule-based regular rhythmic structure activated the left planum temporale together with Broca's area and its right-hemispheric homolog across subjects, that is, a network also crucially involved in the processing of harmonic structure in music and the syntactic analysis of language. Comparing the BOLD responses to rhythmic variations between professional jazz drummers and musical laypersons, we found that only highly trained rhythmic experts show additional activity in left-hemispheric supramarginal gyrus, a higher-order region involved in processing of linguistic syntax. This suggests an additional functional recruitment of brain areas usually dedicated to complex linguistic syntax processing for the analysis of rhythmical patterns only in professional jazz drummers, who are especially trained to use rhythmical cues for communication.

  8. Classification of Movement of People with Parkinsons Disease Using Wearable Inertial Movement Units and Machine Learning.

    PubMed

    Ireland, David; Wang, Ziwei; Lamont, Robyn; Liddle, Jacki

    2016-01-01

    In this work, inertial movement units were placed on people with Parkinsons disease (PwPD) who subsequently performed a standard test of walking endurance (six-minute walk test - 6MWT). Five devices were placed on each the limbs and small of the back. These devices captured the acceleration and rotational motion while the person walked as far as they can in six minutes. The wearable devices can objectively indicate the pattern and rhythmicity of limb and body movements. It is possible that this data, when subject to machine learning could provide additional objective measures that may support clinical observations related to the quality of movement. The aim of this work is two fold. First, to identify the most useful features of the captured signals; second, to identify the accuracy of using these features to predict the severity of PD as measured by standard clinical assessment.

  9. Body movement selectively shapes the neural representation of musical rhythms.

    PubMed

    Chemin, Baptiste; Mouraux, André; Nozaradan, Sylvie

    2014-12-01

    It is increasingly recognized that motor routines dynamically shape the processing of sensory inflow (e.g., when hand movements are used to feel a texture or identify an object). In the present research, we captured the shaping of auditory perception by movement in humans by taking advantage of a specific context: music. Participants listened to a repeated rhythmical sequence before and after moving their bodies to this rhythm in a specific meter. We found that the brain responses to the rhythm (as recorded with electroencephalography) after body movement were significantly enhanced at frequencies related to the meter to which the participants had moved. These results provide evidence that body movement can selectively shape the subsequent internal representation of auditory rhythms. © The Author(s) 2014.

  10. Uncovering beat deafness: detecting rhythm disorders with synchronized finger tapping and perceptual timing tasks.

    PubMed

    Dalla Bella, Simone; Sowiński, Jakub

    2015-03-16

    A set of behavioral tasks for assessing perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) is presented here with the goal of uncovering rhythm disorders, such as beat deafness. Beat deafness is characterized by poor performance in perceiving durations in auditory rhythmic patterns or poor synchronization of movement with auditory rhythms (e.g., with musical beats). These tasks include the synchronization of finger tapping to the beat of simple and complex auditory stimuli and the detection of rhythmic irregularities (anisochrony detection task) embedded in the same stimuli. These tests, which are easy to administer, include an assessment of both perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities under different conditions (e.g., beat rates and types of auditory material) and are based on the same auditory stimuli, ranging from a simple metronome to a complex musical excerpt. The analysis of synchronized tapping data is performed with circular statistics, which provide reliable measures of synchronization accuracy (e.g., the difference between the timing of the taps and the timing of the pacing stimuli) and consistency. Circular statistics on tapping data are particularly well-suited for detecting individual differences in the general population. Synchronized tapping and anisochrony detection are sensitive measures for identifying profiles of rhythm disorders and have been used with success to uncover cases of poor synchronization with spared perceptual timing. This systematic assessment of perceptual and sensorimotor timing can be extended to populations of patients with brain damage, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease), and developmental disorders (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

  11. DSM-IV stereotypic movement disorder: persistence of stereotypies of infancy in intellectually normal adolescents and adults.

    PubMed

    Castellanos, F X; Ritchie, G F; Marsh, W L; Rapoport, J L

    1996-03-01

    As part of a broader series of studies on unwanted repetitive behaviors, DSM-IV stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) was examined in an intellectually normal population. Repetitive nonfunctional behaviors, or stereotypies, are expressed during early normal development but have not been described in adults without severe psychiatric or intellectual impairment. Lifetime and current psychiatric Axis I diagnoses were determined by structured and clinical interviews in subjects who responded to a newspaper advertisement that specifically mentioned rocking and head banging. Of 52 potential subjects who were screened by telephone, 32 had been previously diagnosed with an Axis I psychiatric disorder, which presumably accounted for the repetitive behavior, or were otherwise excluded. Of 20 who were interviewed in person, 12 met DSM-IV criteria for SMD; rocking or thumb sucking was present in 8 of these 12. Four of 8 rockers had a first-degree relative who had a lifetime history of a similar repetitive behavior. A lifetime history of an affective or anxiety disorder was found for 11 of 12 SMD subjects. DSM-IV stereotypic movement disorder can be diagnosed in intellectually normal individuals. Although sampling bias was probable, prominent stereotypies in individuals meeting the DSM-IV criteria for stereotypic movement disorder, which are narrower than the DSM-III-R criteria for stereotypy/habit disorder, seem likely to include rocking and thumb sucking. The likelihood of persistence of these behaviors, which are developmentally appropriate in infancy, may be enhanced by comorbidity with anxiety or affective disorders.

  12. Differences between the sexes in technical mastery of rhythmic gymnastics.

    PubMed

    Bozanic, Ana; Miletic, Durdica

    2011-02-01

    The aims of this study were to determine possible differences between the sexes in specific rhythmic gymnastics techniques, and to examine the influence of various aspects of technique on rhythmic composition performance. Seventy-five students aged 21 ± 2 years (45 males, 30 female) undertook four test sessions to determine: coefficients of asymmetry, stability, versatility, and the two rhythmic compositions (without apparatus and with rope). An independent-sample t-test revealed sex-based differences in technique acquisition: stability for ball (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.65) and club (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.79) performance and rhythmic composition without apparatus (P < 0.05; effect size = 0.66). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the variables for assessing stability (beta = 0.44; P < 0.05) and versatility (beta = 0.61; P < 0.05) explained 61% of the variance in the rhythmic composition performance of females, and the variables for assessing asymmetry (beta = -0.38; P < 0.05), versatility (beta = 0.32; P < 0.05), and stability (beta = 0.29; P < 0.05) explained 52% of the variance in the rhythmic composition performance of males. The results suggest that female students dominate in body skill technique, while male students have the advantage with apparatus. There was a lack of an expressive aesthetic component in performance for males. The need for ambidexterity should be considered in the planning of training programmes.

  13. Human movement stochastic variability leads to diagnostic biomarkers In Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Di; Torres, Elizabeth B.; Jose, Jorge V.

    2015-03-01

    ASD is a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. The high heterogeneity of the symptoms associated with the disorder impedes efficient diagnoses based on human observations. Recent advances with high-resolution MEM wearable sensors enable accurate movement measurements that may escape the naked eye. It calls for objective metrics to extract physiological relevant information from the rapidly accumulating data. In this talk we'll discuss the statistical analysis of movement data continuously collected with high-resolution sensors at 240Hz. We calculated statistical properties of speed fluctuations within the millisecond time range that closely correlate with the subjects' cognitive abilities. We computed the periodicity and synchronicity of the speed fluctuations' from their power spectrum and ensemble averaged two-point cross-correlation function. We built a two-parameter phase space from the temporal statistical analyses of the nearest neighbor fluctuations that provided a quantitative biomarker for ASD and adult normal subjects and further classified ASD severity. We also found age related developmental statistical signatures and potential ASD parental links in our movement dynamical studies. Our results may have direct clinical applications.

  14. Paroxysmal myoclonic dystonia with vocalisations: new entity or variant of preexisting syndromes?

    PubMed Central

    Feinberg, T E; Shapiro, A K; Shapiro, E

    1986-01-01

    From among 1377 patients with movement disorders, four patients had an unusual movement disorder characterised by paroxysmal bursts of involuntary, regular, repetitive, rhythmic, bilateral, coordinated, simultaneous, stereotypic myoclonus and vocalisations, often associated with tonic symptoms, interference with voluntary functioning, presence of hyperactivity, attention and learning disabilities, and resistance to treatment with haloperidol and other drugs. This symptom complex may represent a new disease entity, referred to here as paroxysmal myoclonic dystonia with vocalisations or a variant or combination of other movement disorders such as Gilles de la Tourette, myoclonic, or dystonic syndromes. PMID:3457101

  15. Postural trials: expertise in rhythmic gymnastics increases control in lateral directions.

    PubMed

    Calavalle, A R; Sisti, D; Rocchi, M B L; Panebianco, R; Del Sal, M; Stocchi, V

    2008-11-01

    The first aim of this paper was to investigate if expertise in rhythmic gymnastics influences postural performance even in an easy non-specific task such as bipedal posture. Rhythmic gymnastics is a unique female sport which encompasses aspects of both artistic gymnastics and ballet and includes the use of a small apparatus (rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon). Most previous studies have shown that expertise achieved by artistic gymnasts and dancers improves postural steadiness only in the situations for which those athletes are trained. Literature has not yet compared rhythmic gymnasts to other athletes in terms of their postural strategies. Hence, the study presented herein tested a group of high level rhythmic gymnasts and a group of female university students, trained in other sports, in the bipedal posture under eyes open and closed conditions. A force platform was used to record body sway. (1) Distance from the centre of sway, (2) lateral and (3) antero-posterior displacements were analyzed in time and frequency domains. Comparing the two groups, it was found that rhythmic gymnasts had better strategies than students in simple postural tasks, especially in lateral directions and in the period from 0.05 to 2 s. The most interesting finding in this study is that rhythmic gymnastics training seems to have a direct effect on the ability to maintain bipedal posture, which may confirm the "transfer" hypothesis of rhythmic gymnastics expertise to bipedal postural sway, especially in medio-lateral displacements. This finding has never been reported in previous studies on artistic gymnasts and ballet dancers. Furthermore, the present study confirmed the visual dependence of all the athletes, irrespective of their disciplines, in their postural trials.

  16. Rhythmic motor entrainment in children with speech and language impairments: tapping to the beat.

    PubMed

    Corriveau, Kathleen H; Goswami, Usha

    2009-01-01

    In prior work (Corriveau et al., 2007), we showed that children with speech and language impairments (SLI) were significantly less sensitive than controls to two auditory cues to rhythmic timing, amplitude envelope rise time and duration. Here we explore whether rhythmic problems extend to rhythmic motor entrainment. Tapping in synchrony with a beat has been described as the simplest rhythmic act that humans perform. We explored whether tapping to a beat would be impaired in children for whom auditory rhythmic timing is impaired. Children with SLI were indeed found to be impaired in a range of measures of paced rhythmic tapping, but were not equally impaired in tapping in an unpaced control condition requiring an internally-generated rhythm. The severity of impairment in paced tapping was linked to language and literacy outcomes.

  17. Rhythmic autocrine activity in cultured insect epidermal cells.

    PubMed

    Mesnier, M; Partiaoglou, N; Oberlander, H; Porcheron, P

    2000-05-01

    It is now well established that ecdysteroids can be produced in insects in the absence of prothoracic glands. In this respect, it has been shown that cells in culture can produce ecdysteroids. Our aims were: (1) to determine whether ecdysteroid target cells of epidermal origin could also be the source of ecdysteroids; (2) to monitor more accurately the kinetics of ecdysteroid production; and (3) to check for possible relationships between this synthetic activity and dynamics of cell division. An insect cell line (IAL-PID2) established from imaginal discs of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, with wild-type sensitivity to ecdysteroids was used in our study. Our results showed that the Plodia cell line exhibited autocrine activity. When division of IAL-PID2 cells was synchronized, a rhythmic production of ecdysteroids was observed. However, further experiments indicated that this rhythmicity could be cell autonomous. This led us to anticipate the existence of two cell subpopulations that would be able to produce ecdysteroids rhythmically, a minor one that would be cell cycle serum-independent population, and a major population that would need serum growth factors to proliferate and produce ecdysteroids. Qualitative study of the ecdysteroid content of the media clearly showed that ecdysone was the major immunoreactive product. Taken together, our findings clearly show that an insect cell line of epidermal origin is capable of rhythmic autocrine production of ecdysteroids. These results support the hypothesis that alternate sites for ecdysteroid production in vivo may exist and could play a role in local regulation of development. We now plan to determine the cellular basis of this rhythmic autocrine activity and to confirm the existence of growth factor-autonomous cells in the culture as well as the potent role played by ecdysteroids in the cross-talk between various cell subpopulations. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Considering Valproate as a Risk Factor for Rapid Exacerbation of Complex Movement Disorder in Progressed Stages of Late-Infantile CLN2 Disease.

    PubMed

    Johannsen, Jessika; Nickel, Miriam; Schulz, Angela; Denecke, Jonas

    2016-06-01

    Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2 (CLN2 disease, OMIM 204500) is a rare autosomal-recessive lysosomal storage disorder. It is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in childhood. Symptoms include epilepsy, rapid motor and language regression, dementia, visual loss, and a complex movement disorder in later stages of the disease. We report on two children with genetically confirmed late-infantile CLN2 disease who developed a severe exacerbation of their complex movement disorder leading to hyperthermia, hyper-CK-emia and decreased level of consciousness over several weeks despite different therapeutic approaches. Both patients were on long-term antiepileptic treatment with valproate and only after the withdrawal of valproate, the movement disorder disappeared and level of consciousness improved. These observations emphasize that valproate has to be considered as a possible risk factor in patients in later stages of late-infantile CLN2 disease who develop a rapidly progressive complex movement disorder. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  19. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for personality disorders in older adults?

    PubMed

    Gielkens, E M J; Sobczak, S; Van Alphen, S P J

    2016-10-01

    Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a kind of psychotherapy, which is growing in popularity, particularly for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When Shapiro first introduced EMDR in 1989, it was approached as a controversial treatment because of lack of evidence. However, nowadays there is growing evidence for EMDR efficacy in PTSD (Mc Guire et al., 2014) and EMDR is recommended by international and national treatment guidelines for PTSD. Moreover, EMDR is also used for the treatment of other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorders (De Jongh et al., 2002). Furthermore, research continues on effects of EMDR in addiction, somatoform disorders and psychosis. So far, there is no empirical research on the efficacy of EMDR treatment in older adults.

  20. Rhythmicity in Mice Selected for Extremes in Stress Reactivity: Behavioural, Endocrine and Sleep Changes Resembling Endophenotypes of Major Depression

    PubMed Central

    Ruschel, Jörg; Palme, Rupert; Holsboer, Florian; Kimura, Mayumi; Landgraf, Rainer

    2009-01-01

    Background Dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, including hyper- or hypo-activity of the stress hormone system, plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of mood disorders such as major depression (MD). Further biological hallmarks of MD are disturbances in circadian rhythms and sleep architecture. Applying a translational approach, an animal model has recently been developed, focusing on the deviation in sensitivity to stressful encounters. This so-called ‘stress reactivity’ (SR) mouse model consists of three separate breeding lines selected for either high (HR), intermediate (IR), or low (LR) corticosterone increase in response to stressors. Methodology/Principle Findings In order to contribute to the validation of the SR mouse model, our study combined the analysis of behavioural and HPA axis rhythmicity with sleep-EEG recordings in the HR/IR/LR mouse lines. We found that hyper-responsiveness to stressors was associated with psychomotor alterations (increased locomotor activity and exploration towards the end of the resting period), resembling symptoms like restlessness, sleep continuity disturbances and early awakenings that are commonly observed in melancholic depression. Additionally, HR mice also showed neuroendocrine abnormalities similar to symptoms of MD patients such as reduced amplitude of the circadian glucocorticoid rhythm and elevated trough levels. The sleep-EEG analyses, furthermore, revealed changes in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep as well as slow wave activity, indicative of reduced sleep efficacy and REM sleep disinhibition in HR mice. Conclusion/Significance Thus, we could show that by selectively breeding mice for extremes in stress reactivity, clinically relevant endophenotypes of MD can be modelled. Given the importance of rhythmicity and sleep disturbances as biomarkers of MD, both animal and clinical studies on the interaction of behavioural, neuroendocrine and sleep parameters may reveal

  1. Fundamental movement skills in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    PubMed

    Pan, Chien-Yu; Tsai, Chia-Liang; Chu, Chia-Hua

    2009-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the movement skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those without disabilities. Ninety-one children (ASD, n = 28; ADHD, n = 29; control, n = 34), ages 6-10 years, were of average IQ participated. After controlling for age, both ASD and ADHD groups scored significantly lower than controls (p's < .05) on overall gross motor development as well as locomotor and object control subtests, and the ASD group performed more poorly than the ADHD group (p's < .01) on both subtests. Of the children with ASD and ADHD, only 16% had clinical levels of impairment. Potential underlying factors are discussed, with suggestions for future research.

  2. Parkinson's disease and other basal ganglia or movement disorders in a large nationwide cohort of Swedish welders

    PubMed Central

    Fored, C M; Fryzek, J P; Brandt, L; Nise, G; Sjögren, B; McLaughlin, J K; Blot, W J; Ekbom, A

    2006-01-01

    Introduction Although it has been hypothesised that metal welding and flame cutting are associated with an increased risk for Parkinson's disease due to manganese released in the welding fume, few rigorous cohort studies have evaluated this risk. Methods The authors examined the relation between employment as a welder and all basal ganglia and movement disorders (ICD‐10, G20–26) in Sweden using nationwide and population based registers. All men recorded as welders or flame cutters (n = 49 488) in the 1960 or 1970 Swedish National Census were identified and their rates of specific basal ganglia and movement disorders between 1964 and 2003 were compared with those in an age and geographical area matched general population comparison cohort of gainfully employed men (n = 489 572). Results The overall rate for basal ganglia and movement disorders combined was similar for the welders and flame cutters compared with the general population (adjusted rate ratio (aRR) = 0.91 (95% CI 0.81 to 1.01). Similarly, the rate ratio for PD was 0.89 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.99). Adjusted rate ratios for other individual basal ganglia and movement disorders were also not significantly increased or decreased. Further analyses of Parkinson's disease by attained age, time period of follow up, geographical area of residency, and educational level revealed no significant differences between the welders and the general population. Rates for Parkinson's disease among welders in shipyards, where exposures to welding fumes are higher, were also similar to the general population (aRR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.70 to 1.28). Conclusion This nationwide record linkage study offers no support for a relation between welding and Parkinson's disease or any other specific basal ganglia and movement disorders. PMID:16421393

  3. The Impact of Rhythmic Entrainment on a Person with Autism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orr, Tracy Jo; Myles, Brenda Smith; Carlson, Judith K.

    1998-01-01

    A study investigated the impact of rhythmic entrainment on an 11-year-old girl with autism who engaged in head jerking and screaming. Rhythmic entrainment intervention was more effective when she exhibited behavior that resulted from a moderate level of stress and less effective when stressors were more severe. (CR)

  4. Fundamental Movement Skills and Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Peer Comparisons and Stimulant Effects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harvey, William J.; Reid, Greg; Grizenko, Natalie; Mbekou, Valentin; Ter-Stepanian, Marina; Joober, Ridha

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the fundamental movement skills of 22 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), from 6 to 12 years of age, to gender- and age-matched peers without ADHD and assess the effects of stimulant medication on the movement skill performance of the children with ADHD. Repeated measures analyses…

  5. Dietary Habits and Physical Self-Concept of Elite Rhythmic Gymnasts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boros, Szilvia

    2009-01-01

    Study aim: To identify main differences in nutrient patterns, food preferences and physical self-concept between the world's elite rhythmic gymnasts and untrained controls. Material and methods: A group of elite rhythmic gymnasts (n = 103) aged 15-21 years volunteered to participate in the study during the 2003 World Championships in Rhythmic…

  6. Trihexyphenidyl for acute life-threatening episodes due to a dystonic movement disorder in Rett syndrome.

    PubMed

    Gika, Artemis D; Hughes, Elaine; Goyal, Sushma; Sparkes, Matthew; Lin, Jean-Pierre

    2010-02-15

    In Rett syndrome (RS), acute life-threatening episodes (ALTEs) are usually attributed to epilepsy or autonomic dysfunction but they can represent a movement disorder (MD). We describe three girls with RS who experienced ALTEs from an early age. These were long considered epileptic until video-EEG in Patients 1 and 3 revealed their non-epileptic nature. A primary dystonic mechanism was suspected and Patients 1 and 2 were treated with Trihexyphenidyl with significantly reduced frequency of the ALTEs. Patient 3 died before Trihexyphenidyl was tried. Trihexyphenidyl in RS patients with similar presentations can modify the dystonia and prevent ALTEs. (c) 2009 Movement Disorder Society.

  7. Decoding magnetoencephalographic rhythmic activity using spectrospatial information.

    PubMed

    Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Parkkonen, Lauri; Hari, Riitta; Hyvärinen, Aapo

    2013-12-01

    We propose a new data-driven decoding method called Spectral Linear Discriminant Analysis (Spectral LDA) for the analysis of magnetoencephalography (MEG). The method allows investigation of changes in rhythmic neural activity as a result of different stimuli and tasks. The introduced classification model only assumes that each "brain state" can be characterized as a combination of neural sources, each of which shows rhythmic activity at one or several frequency bands. Furthermore, the model allows the oscillation frequencies to be different for each such state. We present decoding results from 9 subjects in a four-category classification problem defined by an experiment involving randomly alternating epochs of auditory, visual and tactile stimuli interspersed with rest periods. The performance of Spectral LDA was very competitive compared with four alternative classifiers based on different assumptions concerning the organization of rhythmic brain activity. In addition, the spectral and spatial patterns extracted automatically on the basis of trained classifiers showed that Spectral LDA offers a novel and interesting way of analyzing spectrospatial oscillatory neural activity across the brain. All the presented classification methods and visualization tools are freely available as a Matlab toolbox. © 2013.

  8. Eye-Movement Patterns Are Associated with Communicative Competence in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Brock, Jon; Cragg, Lucy; Einav, Shiri; Griffiths, Helen; Nation, Kate

    2009-01-01

    Background: Investigations using eye-tracking have reported reduced fixations to salient social cues such as eyes when participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) view social scenes. However, these studies have not distinguished different cognitive phenotypes. Methods: The eye-movements of 28 teenagers with ASD and 18 typically developing…

  9. Connecting Phrasal and Rhythmic Events: Evidence from Second Language Speech

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nava, Emily Anne

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation investigates the relation between prosodic events at the phrasal level and component events at the rhythmic level. The overarching hypothesis is that the interaction among component rhythmic events gives rise to prosodic patterns at the phrasal level, while at the same time being constrained by the latter, and that in the case of…

  10. Just a scary dream? A brief review of sleep terrors, nightmares, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

    PubMed

    Haupt, Mark; Sheldon, Stephen H; Loghmanee, Darius

    2013-10-01

    The clinical spectrum of sleep disorders in children is broad, ranging from primary snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome to complex sleep-related behaviors and movement disorders. Although snoring and OSA typically receive significant attention and discussion, other biologically based sleep disorders are as common, if not more common, in children. A general pediatrician is frequently presented with the complaint of sleep talking, sleep walking, or abnormal movements during sleep. Even more alarming is the presentation of the child suddenly and explosively screaming during sleep. Such complaints fall under the category of parasomnias. Exclusive to sleep and wake-to-sleep transitions, these parasomnias include arousals with abnormal motor, behavioral, autonomic, or sensory symptoms. Parasomnias can be noticeably dissimilar in clinical manifestations, but most share biologic characteristics. Three parasomnias associated with loud vocalizations associated with sleep that can present to general practitioners include sleep terrors, nightmares, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Although usually benign, these sleep disorders can be disruptive and even potentially dangerous to the patient and can often be threatening to quality of life. In this article, we describe the clinical features of some of these disorders and how to differentiate between their alarming presentations. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

  11. Physiological and anthropometric determinants of rhythmic gymnastics performance.

    PubMed

    Douda, Helen T; Toubekis, Argyris G; Avloniti, Alexandra A; Tokmakidis, Savvas P

    2008-03-01

    To identify the physiological and anthropometric predictors of rhythmic gymnastics performance, which was defined from the total ranking score of each athlete in a national competition. Thirty-four rhythmic gymnasts were divided into 2 groups, elite (n = 15) and nonelite (n = 19), and they underwent a battery of anthropometric, physical fitness, and physiological measurements. The principal-components analysis extracted 6 components: anthropometric, flexibility, explosive strength, aerobic capacity, body dimensions, and anaerobic metabolism. These were used in a simultaneous multiple-regression procedure to determine which best explain the variance in rhythmic gymnastics performance. Based on the principal-component analysis, the anthropometric component explained 45% of the total variance, flexibility 12.1%, explosive strength 9.2%, aerobic capacity 7.4%, body dimensions 6.8%, and anaerobic metabolism 4.6%. Components of anthropometric (r = .50) and aerobic capacity (r = .49) were significantly correlated with performance (P < .01). When the multiple-regression model-y = 10.708 + (0.0005121 x VO2max) + (0.157 x arm span) + (0.814 x midthigh circumference) - (0.293 x body mass)-was applied to elite gymnasts, 92.5% of the variation was explained by VO2max (58.9%), arm span (12%), midthigh circumference (13.1%), and body mass (8.5%). Selected anthropometric characteristics, aerobic power, flexibility, and explosive strength are important determinants of successful performance. These findings might have practical implications for both training and talent identification in rhythmic gymnastics.

  12. Rhythmic Rhymes for Boosting Phonological Awareness in Socially Disadvantaged Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuppen, Sarah E. A.; Bourke, Emilie

    2017-01-01

    This study evaluated the ability for two rhythmic rhyming programs to raise phonological awareness in the early literacy classroom. Year 1 (5-6-year-olds) from low socioeconomic status schools in Bedfordshire, learned a program of sung or spoken rhythmic rhymes, or acted as controls. The project ran with two independent cohorts (Cohort 1 N = 98,…

  13. [Somatic constitution and the ability to maintain dynamic body equilibrium in girls practicing rhythmic gymnastics].

    PubMed

    Poliszczuk, Tatiana; Broda, Daria

    2010-01-01

    The greatest similarities in body constitution were noted in competitors practising the same discipline. The similarities increase with the training level. A typical body constitution for a given discipline not only favourably affects athletic performance, but is also the factor preventing sportsrelated contusions. The ability to maintain body equilibrium, together with somatic constitution, are the basic selective criteria in rhythmic gymnastics. The objective of this paper was to determine somatotypes, to evaluate the ability to maintain dynamic body equilibrium in girls practicing rhythmic gymnastics and to develop model characteristics enabling early diagnosis of the disorders equilibrium system function. The sample comprised 19 girls aged 8-11 years, practising rhythmic gymnastics. For the evaluation of the competitors' somatotypes, the Heath-Carter method was used, based on the classic concept of Sheldon's body constitution components. Body equilibrium level was evaluated by means of posturography. The mean values of the endomorphic component I, mesomorphic component II and ectomorphic component III in the gymnasts were 2.65+/-1.29, 2.45+/-0.37 and 3.95+/-0.64 respectively. The mean body mass index (BMI) value for this cohort was 15.32, which means advanced slimness. The level of dynamic equilibrium is determined by the following mean values: the time of reaching the equilibrium, the way of reaching it and the duration of stay at the defined point. The model of above mentioned indicates was developed based on the analysis of it's best results. Body constitution type in the qualified gymnasts is characterised by the prevalence of the ectomorphic component. The study results indicate that female gymnasts are generally slim and lean. It is necessary to monitor BMI in order to exclude weight-related disorders and to observe the changes with age. The poorest result was found when the gymnasts bent in the backward direction as this body position is most difficult

  14. Enhanced musical rhythmic perception in Turkish early and late learners of German

    PubMed Central

    Roncaglia-Denissen, M. Paula; Schmidt-Kassow, Maren; Heine, Angela; Vuust, Peter; Kotz, Sonja A.

    2013-01-01

    As language rhythm relies partly on general acoustic properties, such as intensity and duration, mastering two languages with distinct rhythmic properties (i.e., stress position) may enhance musical rhythm perception. We investigated whether competence in a second language (L2) with different rhythmic properties than a L1 affects musical rhythm aptitude. Turkish early (TELG) and late learners (TLLG) of German were compared to German late L2 learners of English (GLE) regarding their musical rhythmic aptitude. While Turkish and German present distinct linguistic rhythm and metric properties, German and English are rather similar in this regard. To account for inter-individual differences, we measured participants' short-term and working memory (WM) capacity, melodic aptitude, and time they spent listening to music. Both groups of Turkish L2 learners of German perceived rhythmic variations significantly better than German L2 learners of English. No differences were found between early and late learners' performance. Our findings suggest that mastering two languages with different rhythmic properties enhances musical rhythm perception, providing further evidence of shared cognitive resources between language and music. PMID:24065946

  15. Comparison between treadmill training with rhythmic auditory stimulation and ground walking with rhythmic auditory stimulation on gait ability in chronic stroke patients: A pilot study.

    PubMed

    Park, Jin; Park, So-yeon; Kim, Yong-wook; Woo, Youngkeun

    2015-01-01

    Generally, treadmill training is very effective intervention, and rhythmic auditory stimulation is designed to feedback during gait training in stroke patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the gait abilities in chronic stroke patients following either treadmill walking training with rhythmic auditory stimulation (TRAS) or over ground walking training with rhythmic auditory stimulation (ORAS). Nineteen subjects were divided into two groups: a TRAS group (9 subjects) and an ORAS group (10 subjects). Temporal and spatial gait parameters and motor recovery ability were measured before and after the training period. Gait ability was measured by the Biodex Gait trainer treadmill system, Timed up and go test (TUG), 6 meter walking distance (6MWD) and Functional gait assessment (FGA). After the training periods, the TRAS group showed a significant improvement in walking speed, step cycle, step length of the unaffected limb, coefficient of variation, 6MWD, and, FGA when compared to the ORAS group (p <  0.05). Treadmill walking training during the rhythmic auditory stimulation may be useful for rehabilitation of patients with chronic stroke.

  16. Beats produced between a rhythmic applied force and the resting tremor of Parkinsonism.

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, E G

    1979-01-01

    Rhythmic forces have been applied to the wrist of patients with Parkinsonism tremor by means of a printed motor. The tremor rate was not altered to that of the applied force. On the contrary, beats were established, the rate of which depended on the difference in rate between the tremor and the applied rhythm. Most of the observations have been for horizontal motion of the hand but similar phenomena have been seen for vertical movements, and for other parts of the body--for example, foot, elbow, finger joint, and head. The observations are regarded as supporting the view that the tremorgenic mechanism is central. There was no electromyographic evidence of servo driving or servo assistance in the genesis of the tremor. PMID:762588

  17. Multi-segmental movement patterns reflect juggling complexity and skill level.

    PubMed

    Zago, Matteo; Pacifici, Ilaria; Lovecchio, Nicola; Galli, Manuela; Federolf, Peter Andreas; Sforza, Chiarella

    2017-08-01

    The juggling action of six experts and six intermediates jugglers was recorded with a motion capture system and decomposed into its fundamental components through Principal Component Analysis. The aim was to quantify trends in movement dimensionality, multi-segmental patterns and rhythmicity as a function of proficiency level and task complexity. Dimensionality was quantified in terms of Residual Variance, while the Relative Amplitude was introduced to account for individual differences in movement components. We observed that: experience-related modifications in multi-segmental actions exist, such as the progressive reduction of error-correction movements, especially in complex task condition. The systematic identification of motor patterns sensitive to the acquisition of specific experience could accelerate the learning process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Fundamental movement skills and children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: peer comparisons and stimulant effects.

    PubMed

    Harvey, William J; Reid, Greg; Grizenko, Natalie; Mbekou, Valentin; Ter-Stepanian, Marina; Joober, Ridha

    2007-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the fundamental movement skills of 22 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), from 6 to 12 years of age, to gender- and age-matched peers without ADHD and assess the effects of stimulant medication on the movement skill performance of the children with ADHD. Repeated measures analyses revealed significant skill differences between children with and without ADHD (p movement skill patterns of children with ADHD. It is concluded that children with ADHD may be at risk for developmental delays in movement skill performance. Potential factors underlying the movement skill difficulties are discussed, with suggestions for future research.

  19. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

    PubMed

    Gugger, James J; Wagner, Mary L

    2007-11-01

    To describe the clinical features of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), evaluate treatment options, and discuss management of patients with comorbid diseases. A MEDLINE search (1977-April 2007) using the terms REM sleep behavior disorder, narcolepsy, parkinsonian disorders, levodopa, dopamine agonists, clonazepam, benzodiazepines, and melatonin was used to retrieve relevant articles. The reference sections of all articles and texts were scanned for additional literature. All articles published in English were evaluated. There were no specific criteria for inclusion of articles in this review. RBD is characterized by enactment of dream content resulting from the loss of normal skeletal muscle atonia during REM sleep. RBD occurs mainly in geriatric patients and in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, especially parkinsonian diseases. The presence of idiopathic RBD may be a sign of an underlying parkinsonian syndrome. Development of RBD may be one of the first manifestations of Parkinson's disease or other parkinsonian syndromes. An acute form of RBD can be drug-induced or occur on drug withdrawal. The potential for injury to the patient and his or her bed partner is as high as 96%. Controlled trials are unavailable for most agents used in the treatment of RBD, although clonazepam is an effective first-line agent and can provide rapid and complete symptom remission based on evidence from 3 large case series. Patients who cannot tolerate clonazepam or who have a suboptimal response may benefit from melatonin alone or as an adjunct. Both drugs are generally well tolerated when taken at bedtime. Management of patients with RBD becomes complicated due to the high incidence of neurologic comorbidity. Clonazepam is the treatment of choice for patients with RBD. The drug is efficacious and has a low incidence of adverse effects. Melatonin is a viable second-line or adjunctive treatment.

  20. Primary bowing tremor: a task-specific movement disorder of string instrumentalists.

    PubMed

    Lederman, Richard J

    2012-12-01

    Fear of a tremulous or unsteady bow is widespread among string instrumentalists. Faulty technique and performance anxiety have generally been blamed. The cases of 4 high-level violinists and 1 violist, 3 women and 2 men, with uncontrollable bow tremor are presented. Age at onset was from 16 to 75 years, and symptom duration 8 months to 20 years at the time of neurological evaluation. The degree of tremor varied with type of bow stroke and even the portion of the bow contacting the string. Only 1 patient had a slight postural tremor of the opposite limb. In 3 of 5 the tremor was task-specific; the other 2 had mild and nontroubling tremor with other activities. The tremor appeared to worsen over time but then seemed to stabilize. The characteristics of this tremor appear to be distinguishable from the features of both essential tremor and focal dystonia; comparison is made with representative string players afflicted by these other disorders. Analogy of this tremor is made with primary writing tremor, a well-defined task-specific movement disorder also sharing at least some features with both essential tremor and writers' cramp, a focal dystonia. Hence, it was decided to call this primary bowing tremor. Clinical features, family history, diagnostic studies, and responsiveness to treatment of primary writing tremor are discussed to emphasize the similarity to primary bowing tremor. This appears to represent a previously unreported form of task-specific movement disorder of string instrumentalists.

  1. Deranged jaw-neck motor control in whiplash-associated disorders.

    PubMed

    Eriksson, Per-Olof; Zafar, Hamayun; Häggman-Henrikson, Birgitta

    2004-02-01

    Recent findings of simultaneous and well coordinated head-neck movements during single as well as rhythmic jaw opening-closing tasks has led to the conclusion that 'functional jaw movements' are the result of activation of jaw as well as neck muscles, leading to simultaneous movements in the temporomandibular, atlanto-occipital and cervical spine joints. It can therefore be assumed that disease or injury to any of these joint systems would disturb natural jaw function. To test this hypothesis, amplitudes, temporal coordination, and spatiotemporal consistency of concomitant mandibular and head-neck movements during single maximal jaw opening-closing tasks were analysed in 25 individuals suffering from whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) using optoelectronic movement recording technique. In addition, the relative durations for which the head position was equal to, leading ahead of, or lagging behind the mandibular position during the entire jaw opening-closing cycle were determined. Compared with healthy individuals, the WAD group showed smaller amplitudes, and changed temporal coordination between mandibular and head-neck movements. No divergence from healthy individuals was found for the spatiotemporal consistency or for the analysis during the entire jaw opening-closing cycle. These findings in the WAD group of a 'faulty', but yet consistent, jaw-neck behavior may reflect a basic importance of linked control of the jaw and neck sensory-motor systems. In conclusion, the present results suggest that neck injury is associated with deranged control of mandibular and head-neck movements during jaw opening-closing tasks, and therefore might compromise natural jaw function.

  2. Movement in Steady Beat: Learning on the Move, Ages 3-7. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weikart, Phyllis S.

    The ability to feel and maintain steady, rhythmic beat is important for children to develop in early childhood and will assist them in mastering concepts in language and literacy, mathematics, and other content areas as well as increase body coordination and related physical abilities. Designed as an activity supplement to High Scope movement and…

  3. Simple neural substrate predicts complex rhythmic structure in duetting birds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amador, Ana; Trevisan, M. A.; Mindlin, G. B.

    2005-09-01

    Horneros (Furnarius Rufus) are South American birds well known for their oven-looking nests and their ability to sing in couples. Previous work has analyzed the rhythmic organization of the duets, unveiling a mathematical structure behind the songs. In this work we analyze in detail an extended database of duets. The rhythms of the songs are compatible with the dynamics presented by a wide class of dynamical systems: forced excitable systems. Compatible with this nonlinear rule, we build a biologically inspired model for how the neural and the anatomical elements may interact to produce the observed rhythmic patterns. This model allows us to synthesize songs presenting the acoustic and rhythmic features observed in real songs. We also make testable predictions in order to support our hypothesis.

  4. A California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) can keep the beat: motor entrainment to rhythmic auditory stimuli in a non vocal mimic.

    PubMed

    Cook, Peter; Rouse, Andrew; Wilson, Margaret; Reichmuth, Colleen

    2013-11-01

    Is the ability to entrain motor activity to a rhythmic auditory stimulus, that is "keep a beat," dependent on neural adaptations supporting vocal mimicry? That is the premise of the vocal learning and synchronization hypothesis, recently advanced to explain the basis of this behavior (A. Patel, 2006, Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Human Evolution, Music Perception, 24, 99-104). Prior to the current study, only vocal mimics, including humans, cockatoos, and budgerigars, have been shown to be capable of motoric entrainment. Here we demonstrate that a less vocally flexible animal, a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), can learn to entrain head bobbing to an auditory rhythm meeting three criteria: a behavioral response that does not reproduce the stimulus; performance transfer to a range of novel tempos; and entrainment to complex, musical stimuli. These findings show that the capacity for entrainment of movement to rhythmic sounds does not depend on a capacity for vocal mimicry, and may be more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously hypothesized.

  5. The Effectiveness of Transcranial Brain Stimulation in Improving Clinical Signs of Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    Obeso, Ignacio; Cerasa, Antonio; Quattrone, Aldo

    2015-01-01

    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a safe and painless method for stimulating cortical neurons. In neurological realm, rTMS has prevalently been applied to understand pathophysiological mechanisms underlying movement disorders. However, this tool has also the potential to be translated into a clinically applicable therapeutic use. Several available studies supported this hypothesis, but differences in protocols, clinical enrollment, and variability of rTMS effects across individuals complicate better understanding of efficient clinical protocols. The aim of this present review is to discuss to what extent the evidence provided by the therapeutic use of rTMS may be generalized. In particular, we attempted to define optimal cortical regions and stimulation protocols that have been demonstrated to maximize the effectiveness seen in the actual literature for the three most prevalent hyperkinetic movement disorders: Parkinson's disease (PD) with levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LIDs), essential tremor (ET) and dystonia. A total of 28 rTMS studies met our search criteria. Despite clinical and methodological differences, overall these studies demonstrated that therapeutic applications of rTMS to "normalize" pathologically decreased or increased levels of cortical activity have given moderate progress in patient's quality of life. Moreover, the present literature suggests that altered pathophysiology in hyperkinetic movement disorders establishes motor, premotor or cerebellar structures as candidate regions to reset cortico-subcortical pathways back to normal. Although rTMS has the potential to become a powerful tool for ameliorating the clinical outcome of hyperkinetic neurological patients, until now there is not a clear consensus on optimal protocols for these motor disorders. Well-controlled multicenter randomized clinical trials with high numbers of patients are urgently required.

  6. Genome-wide profiling of 24 hr diel rhythmicity in the water flea, Daphnia pulex: network analysis reveals rhythmic gene expression and enhances functional gene annotation.

    PubMed

    Rund, Samuel S C; Yoo, Boyoung; Alam, Camille; Green, Taryn; Stephens, Melissa T; Zeng, Erliang; George, Gary F; Sheppard, Aaron D; Duffield, Giles E; Milenković, Tijana; Pfrender, Michael E

    2016-08-18

    Marine and freshwater zooplankton exhibit daily rhythmic patterns of behavior and physiology which may be regulated directly by the light:dark (LD) cycle and/or a molecular circadian clock. One of the best-studied zooplankton taxa, the freshwater crustacean Daphnia, has a 24 h diel vertical migration (DVM) behavior whereby the organism travels up and down through the water column daily. DVM plays a critical role in resource tracking and the behavioral avoidance of predators and damaging ultraviolet radiation. However, there is little information at the transcriptional level linking the expression patterns of genes to the rhythmic physiology/behavior of Daphnia. Here we analyzed genome-wide temporal transcriptional patterns from Daphnia pulex collected over a 44 h time period under a 12:12 LD cycle (diel) conditions using a cosine-fitting algorithm. We used a comprehensive network modeling and analysis approach to identify novel co-regulated rhythmic genes that have similar network topological properties and functional annotations as rhythmic genes identified by the cosine-fitting analyses. Furthermore, we used the network approach to predict with high accuracy novel gene-function associations, thus enhancing current functional annotations available for genes in this ecologically relevant model species. Our results reveal that genes in many functional groupings exhibit 24 h rhythms in their expression patterns under diel conditions. We highlight the rhythmic expression of immunity, oxidative detoxification, and sensory process genes. We discuss differences in the chronobiology of D. pulex from other well-characterized terrestrial arthropods. This research adds to a growing body of literature suggesting the genetic mechanisms governing rhythmicity in crustaceans may be divergent from other arthropod lineages including insects. Lastly, these results highlight the power of using a network analysis approach to identify differential gene expression and provide novel

  7. Arm and Hand Movement in Children Suspected of Having Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Braddock, Barbara A.; Hilton, Jane C.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to describe arm and hand movement in children suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD; age range 29-43 months). A videotaped retrospective review of five children with symptoms of ASD during "Communication Temptation Tasks" was completed at two time points (pre-testing and 6 weeks later). Categories of…

  8. Audio-Visual Stimulation in Conjunction with Functional Electrical Stimulation to Address Upper Limb and Lower Limb Movement Disorder.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Deepesh; Verma, Sunny; Bhattacharya, Sutapa; Lahiri, Uttama

    2016-06-13

    Neurological disorders often manifest themselves in the form of movement deficit on the part of the patient. Conventional rehabilitation often used to address these deficits, though powerful are often monotonous in nature. Adequate audio-visual stimulation can prove to be motivational. In the research presented here we indicate the applicability of audio-visual stimulation to rehabilitation exercises to address at least some of the movement deficits for upper and lower limbs. Added to the audio-visual stimulation, we also use Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). In our presented research we also show the applicability of FES in conjunction with audio-visual stimulation delivered through VR-based platform for grasping skills of patients with movement disorder.

  9. Precompetition warm-up in elite and subelite rhythmic gymnastics.

    PubMed

    Guidetti, Laura; Di Cagno, Alessandra; Gallotta, Maria Chiara; Battaglia, Claudia; Piazza, Marina; Baldari, Carlo

    2009-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate which precompetition warm-up methodologies resulted in the best overall performance in rhythmic gymnastics. The coaches of national and international clubs (60 elite and 90 subelite) were interviewed. The relationship between sport performance and precompetition warm-up routines was examined. A total of 49% of the coaches interviewed spent more than 1 hour to prepare their athletes for the competition, including 45 minutes dedicated to warm-up exercises. In spite of previous studies' suggestions, the time between the end of warm-up and the beginning of competition was more than 5 minutes for 68% of those interviewed. A slow run was the activity of choice used to begin the warm-up (96%). Significant differences between elite and subelite gymnasts were found concerning the total duration of warm-up, duration of slow running, utilization of rhythmic steps and leaps during the warm-up, the use of dynamic flexibility exercises, competition performances repetition (p < 0.01), and utilization of imagery (p < 0.05). A precompetition warm-up in rhythmic gymnastics would include static stretching exercises at least 60 minutes prior to the competition starting time and the active stretching exercises alternated with analytic muscle strengthening aimed at increasing muscle temperature. Rhythmic gymnastics coaches at all levels can use this data as a review of precompetition warm-up practices and a possible source of new ideas.

  10. Psychometric Properties of the Caregiver Assessment of Movement Participation Scale for Screening Children with Development Coordination Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tsang, Kwan Lan; Bond, Trevor; Lo, Sing Kai

    2010-01-01

    Using Rasch analysis, the psychometric properties of a newly developed 35-item parent-proxy instrument, the Caregiver Assessment of Movement Participation (CAMP), designed to measure movement participation problems in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder, were examined. The CAMP was administered to 465 school children aged 5-10 years.…

  11. Movement Rate Is Encoded and Influenced by Widespread, Coherent Activity of Cerebellar Molecular Layer Interneurons.

    PubMed

    Gaffield, Michael A; Christie, Jason M

    2017-05-03

    Inhibition from molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) is thought to play an important role in cerebellar function by sharpening the precision of Purkinje cell spike output. Yet the coding features of MLIs during behavior are poorly understood. To study MLI activity, we used in vivo Ca 2+ imaging in head-fixed mice during the performance of a rhythmic motor behavior, licking during water consumption. MLIs were robustly active during lick-related movement across a lobule-specific region of the cerebellum showing high temporal correspondence within their population. Average MLI Ca 2+ activity strongly correlated with movement rate but not to the intentional, or unexpected, adjustment of lick position or to sensory feedback that varied with task condition. Chemogenetic suppression of MLI output reduced lick rate and altered tongue movements, indicating that activity of these interneurons not only encodes temporal aspects of movement kinematics but also influences motor outcome pointing to an integral role in online control of rhythmic behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The cerebellum helps fine-tune coordinated motor actions via signaling from projection neurons called Purkinje cells. Molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) provide powerful inhibition onto Purkinje cells, but little is understood about how this inhibitory circuit is engaged during behavior or what type of information is transmitted through these neurons. Our work establishes that MLIs in the lateral cerebellum are broadly activated during movement with calcium activity corresponding to movement rate. We also show that suppression of MLI output slows and disorganizes the precise movement pattern. Therefore, MLIs are an important circuit element in the cerebellum allowing for accurate motor control. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/374751-15$15.00/0.

  12. Interactions of Circadian Rhythmicity, Stress and Orexigenic Neuropeptide Systems: Implications for Food Intake Control.

    PubMed

    Blasiak, Anna; Gundlach, Andrew L; Hess, Grzegorz; Lewandowski, Marian H

    2017-01-01

    Many physiological processes fluctuate throughout the day/night and daily fluctuations are observed in brain and peripheral levels of several hormones, neuropeptides and transmitters. In turn, mediators under the "control" of the "master biological clock" reciprocally influence its function. Dysregulation in the rhythmicity of hormone release as well as hormone receptor sensitivity and availability in different tissues, is a common risk-factor for multiple clinical conditions, including psychiatric and metabolic disorders. At the same time circadian rhythms remain in a strong, reciprocal interaction with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Recent findings point to a role of circadian disturbances and excessive stress in the development of obesity and related food consumption and metabolism abnormalities, which constitute a major health problem worldwide. Appetite, food intake and energy balance are under the influence of several brain neuropeptides, including the orexigenic agouti-related peptide, neuropeptide Y, orexin, melanin-concentrating hormone and relaxin-3. Importantly, orexigenic neuropeptide neurons remain under the control of the circadian timing system and are highly sensitive to various stressors, therefore the potential neuronal mechanisms through which disturbances in the daily rhythmicity and stress-related mediator levels contribute to food intake abnormalities rely on reciprocal interactions between these elements.

  13. Rhythmic auditory cueing to improve walking in patients with neurological conditions other than Parkinson's disease--what is the evidence?

    PubMed

    Wittwer, Joanne E; Webster, Kate E; Hill, Keith

    2013-01-01

    To investigate whether synchronising over-ground walking to rhythmic auditory cues improves temporal and spatial gait measures in adults with neurological clinical conditions other than Parkinson's disease. A search was performed in June 2011 using the computerised databases AGELINE, AMED, AMI, CINAHL, Current Contents, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and PUBMED, and extended using hand-searching of relevant journals and article reference lists. Methodological quality was independently assessed by two reviewers. A best evidence synthesis was applied to rate levels of evidence. Fourteen studies, four of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), met the inclusion criteria. Patient groups included those with stroke (six studies); Huntington's disease and spinal cord injury (two studies each); traumatic brain injury, dementia, multiple sclerosis and normal pressure hydrocephalus (one study each). The best evidence synthesis found moderate evidence of improved velocity and stride length of people with stroke following gait training with rhythmic music. Insufficient evidence was found for other included neurological disorders due to low study numbers and poor methodological quality of some studies. Synchronising walking to rhythmic auditory cues can result in short-term improvement in gait measures of people with stroke. Further high quality studies are needed before recommendations for clinical practice can be made.

  14. Rhythm as an affordance for the entrainment of movement.

    PubMed

    Cummins, Fred

    2009-01-01

    A general account of rhythm in human behaviour is provided, according to which rhythm inheres in the affordance that a signal provides for the entrainment of movement on the part of a perceiver. This generic account is supported by an explication of the central concepts of affordance and entrainment. When viewed in this light, rhythm appears as the correct explanandum to account for coordinated behaviour in a wide variety of situations, including such core senses as dance and the production of music. Speech may appear to be only marginally rhythmical under such an account, but several experimental studies reveal that speech, too, has the potential to entrain movement. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. Rhythmic ganglion cell activity in bleached and blind adult mouse retinas.

    PubMed

    Menzler, Jacob; Channappa, Lakshmi; Zeck, Guenther

    2014-01-01

    In retinitis pigmentosa--a degenerative disease which often leads to incurable blindness--the loss of photoreceptors deprives the retina from a continuous excitatory input, the so-called dark current. In rodent models of this disease this deprivation leads to oscillatory electrical activity in the remaining circuitry, which is reflected in the rhythmic spiking of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). It remained unclear, however, if the rhythmic RGC activity is attributed to circuit alterations occurring during photoreceptor degeneration or if rhythmic activity is an intrinsic property of healthy retinal circuitry which is masked by the photoreceptor's dark current. Here we tested these hypotheses by inducing and analysing oscillatory activity in adult healthy (C57/Bl6) and blind mouse retinas (rd10 and rd1). Rhythmic RGC activity in healthy retinas was detected upon partial photoreceptor bleaching using an extracellular high-density multi-transistor-array. The mean fundamental spiking frequency in bleached retinas was 4.3 Hz; close to the RGC rhythm detected in blind rd10 mouse retinas (6.5 Hz). Crosscorrelation analysis of neighbouring wild-type and rd10 RGCs (separation distance <200 µm) reveals synchrony among homologous RGC types and a constant phase shift (∼70 msec) among heterologous cell types (ON versus OFF). The rhythmic RGC spiking in these retinas is driven by a network of presynaptic neurons. The inhibition of glutamatergic ganglion cell input or the inhibition of gap junctional coupling abolished the rhythmic pattern. In rd10 and rd1 retinas the presynaptic network leads to local field potentials, whereas in bleached retinas additional pharmacological disinhibition is required to achieve detectable field potentials. Our results demonstrate that photoreceptor bleaching unmasks oscillatory activity in healthy retinas which shares many features with the functional phenotype detected in rd10 retinas. The quantitative physiological differences advance the

  16. Effect of rhythmic photostimulation on monkeys with hyperkinesis of post-encephalitic genesis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Danilov, I. V.; Kudrayatseva, N. N.

    1979-01-01

    In hyperkinetic monkeys a response opposite to that of healthy monkeys was observed during rhythmic photostimulation (frequency 3, 9, 18, 20, and 25/sec), i.e., the hyperkinesis disappeared. The significance of rhythmic excitatory cycles for interconnections between different brain structures is discussed.

  17. Voluntary or involuntary? A neurophysiologic approach to functional movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Stenner, M-P; Haggard, P

    2016-01-01

    Patients with functional movement disorders (FMD) experience movements as involuntary that share fundamental characteristics with voluntary actions. This apparent paradox raises questions regarding the possible sources of a subjective experience of action. In addition, it poses a yet unresolved diagnostic challenge, namely how to describe or even quantify this experience in a scientifically and clinically useful way. Here, we describe recent experimental approaches that have shed light on the phenomenology of action in FMD. We first outline the sources and content of a subjective experience of action in healthy humans and discuss how this experience may be created in the brain. Turning to FMD, we describe implicit, behavioral measures that have revealed specific abnormalities in the awareness of action in FMD. Based on these abnormalities, we propose a potential, new solution to the paradox of volition in FMD. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Musical training modulates the early but not the late stage of rhythmic syntactic processing.

    PubMed

    Sun, Lijun; Liu, Fang; Zhou, Linshu; Jiang, Cunmei

    2018-02-01

    Syntactic processing is essential for musical understanding. Although the processing of harmonic syntax has been well studied, very little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying rhythmic syntactic processing. The present study investigated the neural processing of rhythmic syntax and whether and to what extent long-term musical training impacts such processing. Fourteen musicians and 14 nonmusicians listened to syntactic-regular or syntactic-irregular rhythmic sequences and judged the completeness of these sequences. Nonmusicians, as well as musicians, showed a P600 effect to syntactic-irregular endings, indicating that musical exposure and perceptual learning of music are sufficient to enable nonmusicians to process rhythmic syntax at the late stage. However, musicians, but not nonmusicians, also exhibited an early right anterior negativity (ERAN) response to syntactic-irregular endings, which suggests that musical training only modulates the early but not the late stage of rhythmic syntactic processing. These findings revealed for the first time the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of rhythmic syntax in music, which has important implications for theories of hierarchically organized music cognition and comparative studies of syntactic processing in music and language. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  19. An Eye-Movement Study of Relational Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ring, Melanie; Bowler, Dermot M.; Gaigg, Sebastian B.

    2017-01-01

    Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate good memory for single items but difficulties remembering contextual information related to these items. Recently, we found compromised explicit but intact implicit retrieval of object-location information in ASD (Ring et al. "Autism Res" 8(5):609-619, 2015). Eye-movement data…

  20. Neuropeptide secreted from a pacemaker activates neurons to control a rhythmic behavior.

    PubMed

    Wang, Han; Girskis, Kelly; Janssen, Tom; Chan, Jason P; Dasgupta, Krishnakali; Knowles, James A; Schoofs, Liliane; Sieburth, Derek

    2013-05-06

    Rhythmic behaviors are driven by endogenous biological clocks in pacemakers, which must reliably transmit timing information to target tissues that execute rhythmic outputs. During the defecation motor program in C. elegans, calcium oscillations in the pacemaker (intestine), which occur about every 50 s, trigger rhythmic enteric muscle contractions through downstream GABAergic neurons that innervate enteric muscles. However, the identity of the timing signal released by the pacemaker and the mechanism underlying the delivery of timing information to the GABAergic neurons are unknown. Here, we show that a neuropeptide-like protein (NLP-40) released by the pacemaker triggers a single rapid calcium transient in the GABAergic neurons during each defecation cycle. We find that mutants lacking nlp-40 have normal pacemaker function, but lack enteric muscle contractions. NLP-40 undergoes calcium-dependent release that is mediated by the calcium sensor, SNT-2/synaptotagmin. We identify AEX-2, the G-protein-coupled receptor on the GABAergic neurons, as the receptor for NLP-40. Functional calcium imaging reveals that NLP-40 and AEX-2/GPCR are both necessary for rhythmic activation of these neurons. Furthermore, acute application of synthetic NLP-40-derived peptide depolarizes the GABAergic neurons in vivo. Our results show that NLP-40 carries the timing information from the pacemaker via calcium-dependent release and delivers it to the GABAergic neurons by instructing their activation. Thus, we propose that rhythmic release of neuropeptides can deliver temporal information from pacemakers to downstream neurons to execute rhythmic behaviors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Neuropeptide Secreted from a Pacemaker Activates Neurons to Control a Rhythmic Behavior

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Han; Girskis, Kelly; Janssen, Tom; Chan, Jason P.; Dasgupta, Krishnakali; Knowles, James A.; Schoofs, Liliane; Sieburth, Derek

    2013-01-01

    Summary Background Rhythmic behaviors are driven by endogenous biological clocks in pacemakers, which must reliably transmit timing information to target tissues that execute rhythmic outputs. During the defecation motor program in C. elegans, calcium oscillations in the pacemaker (intestine), which occur about every 50 seconds, trigger rhythmic enteric muscle contractions through downstream GABAergic neurons that innervate enteric muscles. However, the identity of the timing signal released by the pacemaker and the mechanism underlying the delivery of timing information to the GABAergic neurons are unknown. Results Here we show that a neuropeptide-like protein (NLP-40) released by the pacemaker triggers a single rapid calcium transient in the GABAergic neurons during each defecation cycle. We find that mutants lacking nlp-40 have normal pacemaker function, but lack enteric muscle contractions. NLP-40 undergoes calcium-dependent release that is mediated by the calcium sensor, SNT-2/synaptotagmin. We identify AEX-2, the G protein-coupled receptor on the GABAergic neurons, as the receptor of NLP-40. Functional calcium imaging reveals that NLP-40 and AEX-2/GPCR are both necessary for rhythmic activation of these neurons. Furthermore, acute application of synthetic NLP-40-derived peptide depolarizes the GABAergic neurons in vivo. Conclusions Our results show that NLP-40 carries the timing information from the pacemaker via calcium-dependent release and delivers it to the GABAergic neurons by instructing their activation. Thus, we propose that rhythmic release of neuropeptides can deliver temporal information from pacemakers to downstream neurons to execute rhythmic behaviors. PMID:23583549

  2. [Primary versus secondary stereotypic movements].

    PubMed

    Fernandez Alvarez, E

    2004-02-01

    Stereotypic movements are repetitive patterns of movements whose physiopathology and relations to other neurobehavioural disorders are still only poorly understood. In this paper our aim is to distinguish between primary stereotypic movements, which are the sole manifestation of an anomaly, while the complementary examinations, except for those involving molecular genetics, are normal; associated stereotypic movements, when they meet primary disorder criteria but there are other coexisting independent neurological signs, that is to say, they are neither the cause nor the consequence of the movement disorder; and secondary stereotypic movements, when they are the consequence of a lesion or acquired neurological dysfunction. Examples of primary stereotypic movements include episodes of parasomnia, such as head rocking, in subjects who are otherwise normal, and stereotypic movements due to emotional disorders, severe environmental deprivation or in institutionalised infants. Examples of associated stereotypic movements are those observed in Rett syndrome, in subjects with sensory defects or with mental retardation due to a variety of causes. And as instances of secondary stereotypic movements we have those that can be seen in infinite like syndrome caused by congenital cerebellar lesions. The purpose of the classification is to lay the foundations for the identification of new syndromes, which would without a doubt facilitate research into their physiopathology, their aetiology and the possible therapeutic attitude to be adopted.

  3. Stereotypic movement disorder after acquired brain injury.

    PubMed

    McGrath, Cynthia M; Kennedy, Richard E; Hoye, Wayne; Yablon, Stuart A

    2002-05-01

    Stereotypic movement disorder (SMD) consists of repetitive, non-functional motor behaviour that interferes with daily living or causes injury to the person. It is most often described in patients with mental retardation. However, recent evidence indicates that this condition is common among otherwise normal individuals. This case study describes a patient with new-onset SMD occurring after subdural haematoma and brain injury. SMD has rarely been reported after acquired brain injury, and none have documented successful treatment. The current psychiatric literature regarding neurochemistry, neuroanatomy, and treatment of SMD are reviewed with particular application to one patient. Treatment options include serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, opioid antagonists and dopamine antagonists. SMD has been under-appreciated in intellectually normal individuals, and may also be unrecognized after brain injury. Further investigation is needed in this area, which may benefit other individuals with SMD as well.

  4. Are non-human primates capable of rhythmic entrainment? Evidence for the gradual audiomotor evolution hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Merchant, Hugo; Honing, Henkjan

    2013-01-01

    We propose a decomposition of the neurocognitive mechanisms that might underlie interval-based timing and rhythmic entrainment. Next to reviewing the concepts central to the definition of rhythmic entrainment, we discuss recent studies that suggest rhythmic entrainment to be specific to humans and a selected group of bird species, but, surprisingly, is not obvious in non-human primates. On the basis of these studies we propose the gradual audiomotor evolution hypothesis that suggests that humans fully share interval-based timing with other primates, but only partially share the ability of rhythmic entrainment (or beat-based timing). This hypothesis accommodates the fact that non-human primates (i.e., macaques) performance is comparable to humans in single interval tasks (such as interval reproduction, categorization, and interception), but show differences in multiple interval tasks (such as rhythmic entrainment, synchronization, and continuation). Furthermore, it is in line with the observation that macaques can, apparently, synchronize in the visual domain, but show less sensitivity in the auditory domain. And finally, while macaques are sensitive to interval-based timing and rhythmic grouping, the absence of a strong coupling between the auditory and motor system of non-human primates might be the reason why macaques cannot rhythmically entrain in the way humans do.

  5. Somatotype of Top-Level Serbian Rhythmic Gymnasts

    PubMed Central

    Purenović-Ivanović, Tijana; Popović, Ružena

    2014-01-01

    Body size and build influence performance in many sports, especially in those belonging to the group of female aesthetic sports (rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, and figure skating). These sports pose high specific demands upon the functional, energy, motor and psychological capacities of athletes, but also upon the size, body build and composition of the performers, particularly of the top-level female athletes. The study of the top athletes (rhythmic gymnasts, in this case) may provide valuable information on the morphological requirements for achieving success in this sport. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to analyze the somatotype of 40 Serbian top-level rhythmic gymnasts, aged 13.04±2.79, and to form the five age group categories. The anthropometric variables included body height, body mass, the selected diameters, girths and skinfolds, and the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype. All of the anthropometric data were collected according to International Biological Programme, and then processed in the Somatotype 1.2. The applied analysis of variance indicated an increase in endomorphic component with age. The obtained results show that the balanced ectomorph is a dominant somatotype, being similar for all of the athletes that took part in the research (3.54-3.24-4.5). These results are in line with the ones obtained in previous studies. PMID:25031686

  6. Somatotype of top-level serbian rhythmic gymnasts.

    PubMed

    Purenović-Ivanović, Tijana; Popović, Ružena

    2014-03-27

    Body size and build influence performance in many sports, especially in those belonging to the group of female aesthetic sports (rhythmic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, and figure skating). These sports pose high specific demands upon the functional, energy, motor and psychological capacities of athletes, but also upon the size, body build and composition of the performers, particularly of the top-level female athletes. The study of the top athletes (rhythmic gymnasts, in this case) may provide valuable information on the morphological requirements for achieving success in this sport. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to analyze the somatotype of 40 Serbian top-level rhythmic gymnasts, aged 13.04±2.79, and to form the five age group categories. The anthropometric variables included body height, body mass, the selected diameters, girths and skinfolds, and the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype. All of the anthropometric data were collected according to International Biological Programme, and then processed in the Somatotype 1.2. The applied analysis of variance indicated an increase in endomorphic component with age. The obtained results show that the balanced ectomorph is a dominant somatotype, being similar for all of the athletes that took part in the research (3.54-3.24-4.5). These results are in line with the ones obtained in previous studies.

  7. RHYTHMICITY IN THE PROTOPLASMIC STREAMING OF A SLIME MOLD, PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM

    PubMed Central

    Kishimoto, Uichiro

    1958-01-01

    The electric potential difference (1 to 15 mv.) between two loci of the slime mold connected with a strand of protoplasm changes rhythmically with the same period (60 to 180 seconds) as that of back and forth protoplasmic streaming along the strand. When atmospheric pressure at a part of the plasmodium is increased (about 10 cm. H2O), the electric potential at this part becomes positive (0 to 20 mv.) to another part with a time constant of 2 to 15 minutes. If the atmospheric pressure at a part of the plasmodium is changed (about 10 cm. H2O) periodically, the electric potential rhythm also changes with the same period as that of the applied pressure change, and the amplitude of the former grows to a new level (i.e., forced oscillation). The electric potential rhythm, in this case, is generally delayed about 90° in phase angle from the external pressure change. The period of the electric potential rhythm which coincided with that of the pressure change is maintained for a while after stopping the application of the pressure change, if the period is not much different from the native flow rhythm. Such a pressure effect is brought about by the forced transport of protoplasm and is reversible as a rule. In the statistical analysis made by Kishimoto (1958) and in the rheological treatment made in the report, the rhythmic deformation of the contractile protein networks is supposed to be the cause of the protoplasmic flow along the strand and of the electric potential rhythm. The role of such submicroscopic networks in the protoplasm in various kinds of protoplasmic movement is emphasized. PMID:13563809

  8. From movement to pain: a tribute to professor James P. Lund.

    PubMed

    Westberg, Karl-Gunnar; McFarland, David; Kolta, Arlette; Stohler, Christian; Feine, Jocelyne; Woda, Alain

    2008-01-01

    This tribute article to Professor James P. Lund stems from 6 of the presentations delivered at the July 1, 2008, symposium that honored 3 "giants" in orofacial neuroscience: B. J. Sessle, A. G. Hannam, and J. P. Lund. It was noted that soon after his training as a dentist in Australia, Jim Lund became interested in research. At the time he decided to do a PhD, there was a lot of discussion about how rhythmic movements were programmed. The early belief, based on Sherrington's studies of motor systems, was that these movements were simply an alternating series of reflexes. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some still shared this belief, whereas others favored Graham Brown's hypothesis that repetitive movements were centrally programmed and did not depend on reflexes triggered by sensory inputs. There was no strong evidence then for either scenario except for the rhythmic movements of respiration. Lund's pioneering work during his PhD proved the existence of a central pattern generator (CPG) for mastication in the brainstem. Since then he has been interested in understanding how CPGs function and how sensory feedback works to adjust the motor patterns that they produce. Sections in this tribute article to Lund are written by some of his close collaborators and reflect the evolution of his work throughout the years. The first 4 presentations in this article (by K.-G. Westberg, D. McFarland, A. Kolta, and C. Stohler) highlight various aspects of these interests, and the final 2 presentations (by J. Feine and A. Woda) focus especially on clinical aspects of Lund's interests. The last section of this article is a final commentary from Professor Lund.

  9. Characteristics of stereotypic movement disorder and self-injurious behavior assessed with the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped (DASH-II).

    PubMed

    Matson, J L; Hamilton, M; Duncan, D; Bamburg, J; Smiroldo, B; Anderson, S; Baglio, C

    1997-01-01

    The first experiment involved 143 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation. Individuals with Stereotypic Movement Disorder, Self-Injurious Behavior (SIB), and Stereotypic movement disorder with self-injurious behavior as assessed by the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II DASH-II were validated against Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria. In a second study DASH-II scores for 1480 individuals with severe and profound mental retardation were compared on demographic variables, core and associated features of each disorder. Characteristics of persons in each group were reviewed. Persons with profound mental retardation were more likely to evince stereotypies or self-injury compared to their severely impaired counterparts. Also, those with stereotypies were more likely to present with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)/autism, organicity, and eating disorders, while persons with SIB were more likely to evince sleep, sexual, and eating disorders.

  10. Movement disorders in a twins pair: a casual expression or genetic determination?

    PubMed

    Gennaro, Leonarda; Russo, Luigi; Losito, Luciana; Zaccaria, Alessia; De Rinaldis, Marta; Trabacca, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    A twin study is an excellent means of assessing the contribution of heritability to motor behaviour. We present a movement video-analysis of a monozygotic twins pair with a motor repertoire which is almost totally constituted by persistent and subcontinuous motor stereotypies. The specific aim of this study is to verify the heritable quantum of motor behaviour and to determine which among the motor patterns we analysed are more likely to be conditioned by inheritance. Stereotyped movements were videotaped in two standardized sessions: at rest and in relation to preordained sensory stimulations. We estimated the concordance index (CI) between the observers to evaluate the reliability of the observations. The validity was accepted as being CI>0.80. The results showed a very high concordance rate (>90%) for all the stereotypies analysed. An almost superimposable trend of the stereotyped movements was found both at rest and in relation to the sensory stimulations. Such strong data suggest that genetic factors have a primary influence on all the movement disorders analysed. This study contributes to a better understanding of the complex relationships between genes and functions. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Use of video observation and motor imagery on jumping performance in national rhythmic gymnastics athletes.

    PubMed

    Battaglia, Claudia; D'Artibale, Emanuele; Fiorilli, Giovanni; Piazza, Marina; Tsopani, Despina; Giombini, Arrigo; Calcagno, Giuseppe; di Cagno, Alessandra

    2014-12-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a mental training protocol could improve gymnastic jumping performance. Seventy-two rhythmic gymnasts were randomly divided into an experimental and control group. At baseline, experimental group completed the Movement Imagery Questionnaire Revised (MIQ-R) to assess the gymnast ability to generate movement imagery. A repeated measures design was used to compare two different types of training aimed at improving jumping performance: (a) video observation and PETTLEP mental training associated with physical practice, for the experimental group, and (b) physical practice alone for the control group. Before and after six weeks of training, their jumping performance was measured using the Hopping Test (HT), Drop Jump (DJ), and Counter Movement Jump (CMJ). Results revealed differences between jumping parameters F(1,71)=11.957; p<.01, and between groups F(1,71)=10.620; p<.01. In the experimental group there were significant correlations between imagery ability and the post-training Flight Time of the HT, r(34)=-.295, p<.05 and the DJ, r(34)=-.297, p<.05. The application of the protocol described herein was shown to improve jumping performance, thereby preserving the elite athlete's energy for other tasks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Rhythmic Layering in Danielson Crater on Mars

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-11-21

    Rhythmic patterns of sedimentary layering in Danielson Crater on Mars result from periodic changes in climate related to changes in tilt of the planet in this image was taken by NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

  13. Observing position and movements in hydrotherapy: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Stark, Mary Ann; Rudell, Barb; Haus, George

    2008-01-01

    To observe and describe the positions and movements women choose while immersed in water during the first stage of labor. Descriptive, observational pilot study. A rural community hospital that provided hydrotherapy in labor. Women (N = 7) who intended to use hydrotherapy in labor were recruited prenatally from a midwife-managed practice. For 15 minutes of each hour during the first stage of labor, position and movements of the participants were observed and recorded on a laptop computer. The observational tool was developed for this study from a review of the literature and interviews with nursing experts; 435 observations were recorded. Women were free to choose when and how long to use hydrotherapy and had no restriction on their positions and movements. Only 3 of the 7 participants labored in the tub. Women demonstrated a greater range of positions and movements in the tub than in bed, both throughout labor and during late first-stage labor (7-10 cm of dilatation). Women had more contractions and made more rhythmic movements while in the tub than in bed. Hydrotherapy may encourage upright positions and movements that facilitate labor progress and coping, helping women avoid unnecessary interventions.

  14. New evidence of a rhythmic priming effect that enhances grammaticality judgments in children.

    PubMed

    Chern, Alexander; Tillmann, Barbara; Vaughan, Chloe; Gordon, Reyna L

    2018-09-01

    Musical rhythm and the grammatical structure of language share a surprising number of characteristics that may be intrinsically related in child development. The current study aimed to understand the potential influence of musical rhythmic priming on subsequent spoken grammar task performance in children with typical development who were native speakers of English. Participants (ages 5-8 years) listened to rhythmically regular and irregular musical sequences (within-participants design) followed by blocks of grammatically correct and incorrect sentences upon which they were asked to perform a grammaticality judgment task. Rhythmically regular musical sequences improved performance in grammaticality judgment compared with rhythmically irregular musical sequences. No such effect of rhythmic priming was found in two nonlinguistic control tasks, suggesting a neural overlap between rhythm processing and mechanisms recruited during grammar processing. These findings build on previous research investigating the effect of rhythmic priming by extending the paradigm to a different language, testing a younger population, and employing nonlanguage control tasks. These findings of an immediate influence of rhythm on grammar states (temporarily augmented grammaticality judgment performance) also converge with previous findings of associations between rhythm and grammar traits (stable generalized grammar abilities) in children. Taken together, the results of this study provide additional evidence for shared neural processing for language and music and warrant future investigations of potentially beneficial effects of innovative musical material on language processing. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Sensorimotor integration: basic concepts, abnormalities related to movement disorders and sensorimotor training-induced cortical reorganization.

    PubMed

    Machado, Sergio; Cunha, Marlo; Velasques, Bruna; Minc, Daniel; Teixeira, Silmar; Domingues, Clayton A; Silva, Julio G; Bastos, Victor H; Budde, Henning; Cagy, Mauricio; Basile, Luis; Piedade, Roberto; Ribeiro, Pedro

    2010-10-01

    Sensorimotor integration is defined as the capability of the central nervous system to integrate different sources of stimuli, and parallelly, to transform such inputs in motor actions. To review the basic principles of sensorimotor integration, such as, its neural bases and its elementary mechanisms involved in specific goal-directed tasks performed by healthy subjects, and the abnormalities reported in the most common movement disorders, such as, Parkinson' disease, dystonia and stroke, like the cortical reorganization-related mechanisms. Whether these disorders are associated with an abnormal peripheral sensory input or defective central processing is still unclear, but most of the data support a central mechanism. We found that the sensorimotor integration process plays a potential role in elementary mechanisms involved in specific goal-directed tasks performed by healthy subjects and in occurrence of abnormalities in most common movement disorders and, moreover, play a potential role on the acquisition of abilities that have as critical factor the coupling of different sensory data which will constitute the basis of elaboration of motor outputs consciously goal-directed.

  16. Understanding Epileptiform After-Discharges as Rhythmic Oscillatory Transients.

    PubMed

    Baier, Gerold; Taylor, Peter N; Wang, Yujiang

    2017-01-01

    Electro-cortical activity in patients with epilepsy may show abnormal rhythmic transients in response to stimulation. Even when using the same stimulation parameters in the same patient, wide variability in the duration of transient response has been reported. These transients have long been considered important for the mapping of the excitability levels in the epileptic brain but their dynamic mechanism is still not well understood. To investigate the occurrence of abnormal transients dynamically, we use a thalamo-cortical neural population model of epileptic spike-wave activity and study the interaction between slow and fast subsystems. In a reduced version of the thalamo-cortical model, slow wave oscillations arise from a fold of cycles (FoC) bifurcation. This marks the onset of a region of bistability between a high amplitude oscillatory rhythm and the background state. In vicinity of the bistability in parameter space, the model has excitable dynamics, showing prolonged rhythmic transients in response to suprathreshold pulse stimulation. We analyse the state space geometry of the bistable and excitable states, and find that the rhythmic transient arises when the impending FoC bifurcation deforms the state space and creates an area of locally reduced attraction to the fixed point. This area essentially allows trajectories to dwell there before escaping to the stable steady state, thus creating rhythmic transients. In the full thalamo-cortical model, we find a similar FoC bifurcation structure. Based on the analysis, we propose an explanation of why stimulation induced epileptiform activity may vary between trials, and predict how the variability could be related to ongoing oscillatory background activity. We compare our dynamic mechanism with other mechanisms (such as a slow parameter change) to generate excitable transients, and we discuss the proposed excitability mechanism in the context of stimulation responses in the epileptic cortex.

  17. Daily Rhythmic Behaviors and Thermoregulatory Patterns Are Disrupted in Adult Female MeCP2-Deficient Mice

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Chiping; Bardakjian, Berj L.; Zhang, Liang; Eubanks, James H.

    2012-01-01

    Mutations in the X-linked gene encoding Methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) have been associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders including Rett Syndrome, X-linked mental retardation syndrome, severe neonatal encephalopathy, and Angelman syndrome. Although alterations in the performance of MeCP2-deficient mice in specific behavioral tasks have been documented, it remains unclear whether or not MeCP2 dysfunction affects patterns of periodic behavioral and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. The aim of the current study was therefore to determine whether a deficiency in MeCP2 is sufficient to alter the normal daily rhythmic patterns of core body temperature, gross motor activity and cortical delta power. To address this, we monitored individual wild-type and MeCP2-deficient mice in their home cage environment via telemetric recording over 24 hour cycles. Our results show that the normal daily rhythmic behavioral patterning of cortical delta wave activity, core body temperature and mobility are disrupted in one-year old female MeCP2-deficient mice. Moreover, female MeCP2-deficient mice display diminished overall motor activity, lower average core body temperature, and significantly greater body temperature fluctuation than wild-type mice in their home-cage environment. Finally, we show that the epileptiform discharge activity in female MeCP2-deficient mice is more predominant during times of behavioral activity compared to inactivity. Collectively, these results indicate that MeCP2 deficiency is sufficient to disrupt the normal patterning of daily biological rhythmic activities. PMID:22523589

  18. Clinical assessment of adventitious movements.

    PubMed

    Brasić, J R; Barnett, J Y; Sheitman, B B; Lafargue, R T; Ahn, S C

    1998-12-01

    Many procedures with variable validity and reliability have been developed in research settings to evaluate adventitious movements and related phenomena in specific populations, e.g., people with schizophrenia treated with dopamine antagonists, but these only provide global assessments or rate specific movements. A battery for rating individuals with possible movements disorders in a comprehensive way in clinical settings is needed so a protocol to assess briefly and thoroughly potential movement disorders was videotaped for five prepubertal boys with autistic disorder and severe mental retardation in a clinical trial. Utilizing a Movement Assessment Battery, four raters independently scored videotapes of 10-16 movements assessments of each of the five subjects. Experienced raters attained agreement of 59% to 100% on ratings of tardive dyskinesia and 48% to 100% on tics. Hindrances to reliability included poor quality of some tapes, high activity of subjects, and fatigue of raters.

  19. Stimulus-Induced Rhythmic, Periodic, or Ictal Discharges (SIRPIDs).

    PubMed

    Johnson, Emily L; Kaplan, Peter W; Ritzl, Eva K

    2018-05-01

    Stimulus-induced rhythmic, periodic, or ictal discharges (SIRPIDs) are a relatively common phenomenon found on prolonged electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring that captures state changes and stimulation of critically ill patients. Common causes include hypoxic injury, traumatic brain injury, and hemorrhage, as well as toxic-metabolic disturbances. Some studies have shown an association between SIRPIDs and the presence of spontaneous electrographic seizures. Although the degree to which SIRPIDs should be treated with antiepileptic medications is unknown, the rare cases of functional imaging obtained in patients with SIRPIDs have not shown an increase in cerebral blood flow to suggest an active ictal process. Stimulus-induced rhythmic, periodic, or ictal discharges may reflect dysregulation of thalamo-cortical projections into abnormal or hyperexcitable cortex.

  20. Strength Recovery Following Rhythmic or Sustained Exercise as a Function of Time.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kearney, Jay T.

    The relative rates of strength recovery subsequent to bouts of rhythmic or sustained isometric exercise were investigated. The 72 undergraduates who served as subjects were tested seven times within the framework of a repeated measures design. Each testing session involved two bouts of either rhythmic or sustained isometric exercise separated by a…

  1. Rhythmic Ganglion Cell Activity in Bleached and Blind Adult Mouse Retinas

    PubMed Central

    Menzler, Jacob; Channappa, Lakshmi; Zeck, Guenther

    2014-01-01

    In retinitis pigmentosa – a degenerative disease which often leads to incurable blindness- the loss of photoreceptors deprives the retina from a continuous excitatory input, the so-called dark current. In rodent models of this disease this deprivation leads to oscillatory electrical activity in the remaining circuitry, which is reflected in the rhythmic spiking of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). It remained unclear, however, if the rhythmic RGC activity is attributed to circuit alterations occurring during photoreceptor degeneration or if rhythmic activity is an intrinsic property of healthy retinal circuitry which is masked by the photoreceptor’s dark current. Here we tested these hypotheses by inducing and analysing oscillatory activity in adult healthy (C57/Bl6) and blind mouse retinas (rd10 and rd1). Rhythmic RGC activity in healthy retinas was detected upon partial photoreceptor bleaching using an extracellular high-density multi-transistor-array. The mean fundamental spiking frequency in bleached retinas was 4.3 Hz; close to the RGC rhythm detected in blind rd10 mouse retinas (6.5 Hz). Crosscorrelation analysis of neighbouring wild-type and rd10 RGCs (separation distance <200 µm) reveals synchrony among homologous RGC types and a constant phase shift (∼70 msec) among heterologous cell types (ON versus OFF). The rhythmic RGC spiking in these retinas is driven by a network of presynaptic neurons. The inhibition of glutamatergic ganglion cell input or the inhibition of gap junctional coupling abolished the rhythmic pattern. In rd10 and rd1 retinas the presynaptic network leads to local field potentials, whereas in bleached retinas additional pharmacological disinhibition is required to achieve detectable field potentials. Our results demonstrate that photoreceptor bleaching unmasks oscillatory activity in healthy retinas which shares many features with the functional phenotype detected in rd10 retinas. The quantitative physiological differences advance the

  2. Genetics of Movement Disorders and the Practicing Clinician; Who and What to Test for?

    PubMed

    Di Fonzo, Alessio; Monfrini, Edoardo; Erro, Roberto

    2018-05-23

    This review aims to provide the basic knowledge on the genetics of hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movement disorders to guide clinicians in the decision of "who and what to test for?" In recent years, the identification of various genetic causes of hypokinetic and hyperkinetic movement disorders has had a great impact on a better definition of different clinical syndromes. Indeed, the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques has provided an impressive step forward in the easy identification of genetic forms. However, this increased availability of genetic testing has challenges, including the ethical issue of genetic testing in unaffected family members, "commercially" available home testing kits and the increasing number and relevance of "variants of unknown significance." The emergent role of genetic factors has important implications on clinical practice and counseling. As a consequence, it is fundamental that practicing neurologists have a proper knowledge of the genetic background of the diseases and perform an accurate selection of who has to be tested and for which gene mutations.

  3. Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome: phenotypic comparisons with other movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Robertson, Erin E; Hall, Deborah A; McAsey, Andrew R; O'Keefe, Joan A

    2016-08-01

    The purpose of this paper is to review the typical cognitive and motor impairments seen in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), essential tremor (ET), Parkinson disease (PD), spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in order to enhance diagnosis of FXTAS patients. We compared the cognitive and motor phenotypes of FXTAS with each of these other movement disorders. Relevant neuropathological and neuroimaging findings are also reviewed. Finally, we describe the differences in age of onset, disease severity, progression rates, and average lifespan in FXTAS compared to ET, PD, SCAs, MSA, and PSP. We conclude with a flow chart algorithm to guide the clinician in the differential diagnosis of FXTAS. By comparing the cognitive and motor phenotypes of FXTAS with the phenotypes of ET, PD, SCAs, MSA, and PSP we have clarified potential symptom overlap while elucidating factors that make these disorders unique from one another. In summary, the clinician should consider a FXTAS diagnosis and testing for the Fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene premutation if a patient over the age of 50 (1) presents with cerebellar ataxia and/or intention tremor with mild parkinsonism, (2) has the middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) sign, global cerebellar and cerebral atrophy, and/or subcortical white matter lesions on MRI, or (3) has a family history of fragile X related disorders, intellectual disability, autism, premature ovarian failure and has neurological signs consistent with FXTAS. Peripheral neuropathy, executive function deficits, anxiety, or depression are supportive of the diagnosis. Distinct profiles in the cognitive and motor domains between these movement disorders may guide practitioners in the differential diagnosis process and ultimately lead to better medical management of FXTAS patients.

  4. Rhythmic Auditory Cueing in Motor Rehabilitation for Stroke Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    PubMed

    Yoo, Ga Eul; Kim, Soo Ji

    2016-01-01

    Given the increasing evidence demonstrating the effects of rhythmic auditory cueing for motor rehabilitation of stroke patients, this synthesized analysis is needed in order to improve rehabilitative practice and maximize clinical effectiveness. This study aimed to systematically analyze the literature on rhythmic auditory cueing for motor rehabilitation of stroke patients by highlighting the outcome variables, type of cueing, and stage of stroke. A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled or clinically controlled trials was conducted. Electronic databases and music therapy journals were searched for studies including stroke, the use of rhythmic auditory cueing, and motor outcomes, such as gait and upper-extremity function. A total of 10 studies (RCT or CCT) with 356 individuals were included for meta-analysis. There were large effect sizes (Hedges's g = 0.984 for walking velocity; Hedges's g = 0.840 for cadence; Hedges's g = 0.760 for stride length; and Hedges's g = 0.456 for Fugl-Meyer test scores) in the use of rhythmic auditory cueing. Additional subgroup analysis demonstrated that although the type of rhythmic cueing and stage of stroke did not lead to statistically substantial group differences, the effect sizes and heterogeneity values in each subgroup implied possible differences in treatment effect. This study corroborates the beneficial effects of rhythmic auditory cueing, supporting its expanded application to broadened areas of rehabilitation for stroke patients. Also, it suggests the future investigation of the differential outcomes depending on how rhythmic auditory cueing is provided in terms of type and intensity implemented. © the American Music Therapy Association 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Independent Causal Contributions of Alpha- and Beta-Band Oscillations during Movement Selection.

    PubMed

    Brinkman, Loek; Stolk, Arjen; Marshall, Tom R; Esterer, Sophie; Sharp, Poppy; Dijkerman, H Chris; de Lange, Floris P; Toni, Ivan

    2016-08-17

    To select a movement, specific neuronal populations controlling particular features of that movement need to be activated, whereas other populations are downregulated. The selective (dis)inhibition of cortical sensorimotor populations is governed by rhythmic neural activity in the alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (15-25 Hz) frequency range. However, it is unclear whether and how these rhythms contribute independently to motor behavior. Building on a recent dissociation of the sensorimotor alpha- and beta-band rhythms, we test the hypothesis that the beta-band rhythm governs the disinhibition of task-relevant neuronal populations, whereas the alpha-band rhythm suppresses neurons that may interfere with task performance. Cortical alpha- and beta-band rhythms were manipulated with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) while human participants selected how to grasp an object. Stimulation was applied at either 10 or 20 Hz and was imposed on the sensorimotor cortex contralaterally or ipsilaterally to the grasping hand. In line with task-induced changes in endogenous spectral power, the effect of the tACS intervention depended on the frequency and site of stimulation. Whereas tACS stimulation generally increased movement selection times, 10 Hz stimulation led to relatively faster selection times when applied to the hemisphere ipsilateral to the grasping hand, compared with other stimulation conditions. These effects occurred selectively when multiple movements were considered. These observations functionally differentiate the causal contribution of alpha- and beta-band oscillations to movement selection. The findings suggest that sensorimotor beta-band rhythms disinhibit task-relevant populations, whereas alpha-band rhythms inhibit neuronal populations that could interfere with movement selection. This study shows dissociable effects of 10 Hz and 20 Hz tACS on the duration of movement selection. These observations have two elements of general relevance. First, the

  6. Using Constraints to Design Developmentally Appropriate Movement Activities for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pope, Michelle; Breslin, Casey M.; Getchell, Nancy; Liu, Ting

    2012-01-01

    Some of the characteristics and behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as difficulty with social interactions and sensory integration, make physical education instruction difficult. Children with ASD also encounter movement difficulties, such as motor-planning and anticipatory deficits. One way to enhance the ability of…

  7. Origins of Balance Disorders during a Daily Living Movement in Obese: Can Biomechanical Factors Explain Everything?

    PubMed Central

    Mignardot, Jean-Baptiste; Olivier, Isabelle; Promayon, Emmanuel; Nougier, Vincent

    2013-01-01

    Obese people suffer from postural deficits and are more subject to falls than their lean counterpart. To improve prevention and post-fall rehabilitation programs, it seems important to better understand the posturo-kinetic disorders in daily life situations by determining the contribution of some key factors, mainly morphological characteristics and physical activity level, in the apparition of these disorders. Twelve severe android obese and eight healthy non obese adults performed a reaching task mobilizing the whole body. To further determine the origin of the postural and motor behavior differences, non obese individuals also performed an experimental session with additional constraints which simulated some of the obese morphological characteristics. Impact of the sedentary lifestyle was also studied by dissociation of the obese in two subgroups: physically « active » and physically « inactive ». Movement kinetics and kinematics were characterized with an optoelectronic system synchronized to a force platform. The mechanical equilibrium pattern was evaluated through the displacements of the Centre of Mass (CoM) and the centre of foot pressure within the Base of Support (BoS). Results showed that obesity decreased movement speed (≈−23%, p<0.01), strongly increased CoM displacement (≈+30%, p<0.05) and induced an important spatio-temporal desynchronization (≈+40%, p<0.05) of the focal and postural components of the movement during the transition between the descending and ascending movements. The role of some morphological characteristics and of physical activity on obese patients' postural control disorder is discussed and set back in the more general context of overall factors contributing to postural deficits with obesity. PMID:23560097

  8. Origins of balance disorders during a daily living movement in obese: can biomechanical factors explain everything?

    PubMed

    Mignardot, Jean-Baptiste; Olivier, Isabelle; Promayon, Emmanuel; Nougier, Vincent

    2013-01-01

    Obese people suffer from postural deficits and are more subject to falls than their lean counterpart. To improve prevention and post-fall rehabilitation programs, it seems important to better understand the posturo-kinetic disorders in daily life situations by determining the contribution of some key factors, mainly morphological characteristics and physical activity level, in the apparition of these disorders. Twelve severe android obese and eight healthy non obese adults performed a reaching task mobilizing the whole body. To further determine the origin of the postural and motor behavior differences, non obese individuals also performed an experimental session with additional constraints which simulated some of the obese morphological characteristics. Impact of the sedentary lifestyle was also studied by dissociation of the obese in two subgroups: physically « active » and physically « inactive ». Movement kinetics and kinematics were characterized with an optoelectronic system synchronized to a force platform. The mechanical equilibrium pattern was evaluated through the displacements of the Centre of Mass (CoM) and the centre of foot pressure within the Base of Support (BoS). Results showed that obesity decreased movement speed (≈-23%, p<0.01), strongly increased CoM displacement (≈+30%, p<0.05) and induced an important spatio-temporal desynchronization (≈+40%, p<0.05) of the focal and postural components of the movement during the transition between the descending and ascending movements. The role of some morphological characteristics and of physical activity on obese patients' postural control disorder is discussed and set back in the more general context of overall factors contributing to postural deficits with obesity.

  9. Motor Retraining (MoRe) for Functional Movement Disorders: Outcomes From a 1-Week Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Program.

    PubMed

    Jacob, Alexandra; Kaelin, Darryl; Roach, Abbey; Ziegler, Craig; LaFaver, Kathrin

    2018-05-18

    Functional movement disorders (FMDs) are conditions of abnormal motor control thought to be caused by psychological factors. These disorders are commonly seen in neurologic practice, and prognosis is often poor. No consensus treatment guidelines have been established; however, the role of physical therapy in addition to psychotherapy has increasingly been recognized. This study reports patient outcomes from a multidisciplinary FMD treatment program using motor retraining (MoRe) strategies. To assess outcomes of FMD patients undergoing a multidisciplinary treatment program and determine factors predictive of treatment success. Retrospective chart review. University-affiliated rehabilitation institute. Thirty-two consecutive FMD patients admitted to the MoRe program from July 2014-July 2016. Patients participated in a 1-week, multidisciplinary inpatient treatment program with daily physical, occupational, speech therapy, and psychotherapy interventions. Primary outcome measures were changes in the patient-rated Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) and the physician-rated Psychogenic Movement Disorder Rating Scale (PMDRS) based on review of standardized patient videos. Measurements were taken as part of the clinical evaluation of the program. Twenty-four of the 32 patients were female with a mean age of 49.1 (±14.2) years and mean symptom duration of 7.4 (±10.8) years. Most common movement phenomenologies were abnormal gait (31.2%), hyperkinetic movements (31.2%), and dystonia (31.2%). At discharge, 86.7% of patients reported symptom improvement on the CGI, and self-reported improvement was maintained in 69.2% at the 6-month follow-up. PMDRS scores improved by 59.1% from baseline to discharge. Longer duration of symptoms, history of abuse, and comorbid psychiatric disorders were not significant predictors of treatment outcomes. The majority of FMD patients experienced improvement from a 1-week multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation program. Treatment outcomes

  10. Insights into Chronic Functional Movement Disorders: The Value of Qualitative Psychiatric Interviews.

    PubMed

    Epstein, Steven A; Maurer, Carine W; LaFaver, Kathrin; Ameli, Rezvan; Sinclair, Stephen; Hallett, Mark

    Patients with functional movement disorders (FMDs) are commonly seen by neurologists and psychosomatic medicine psychiatrists. Research literature provides scant information about the subjective experiences of individuals with this often chronic problem. To enhance our understanding of psychologic aspects of FMDs by conducting qualitative interviews of research subjects. In total, 36 patients with FMDs were recruited from the Human Motor Control clinic at the National Institutes of Health. Each subject participated in a qualitative psychiatric interview and a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview. Of our 36 subjects, 28 had current or lifetime psychiatric disorders in addition to conversion disorder and 22 had current disorders. Qualitative interviews provided rich information on patients' understanding of their illnesses and impaired cognitive processing of emotions. Our study supports the addition of open-ended qualitative interviews to delineate emotional dynamics and conceptual frameworks among such patients. Exploratory interviews generate enhanced understanding of such complex patients, above and beyond that gained by assessing DSM diagnostic comorbidities. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. All rights reserved.

  11. Altered Intermittent Rhythmic Delta and Theta Activity in the Electroencephalographies of High Functioning Adult Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Endres, Dominique; Maier, Simon; Feige, Bernd; Posielski, Nicole A.; Nickel, Kathrin; Ebert, Dieter; Riedel, Andreas; Philipsen, Alexandra; Perlov, Evgeniy; Tebartz van Elst, Ludger

    2017-01-01

    Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with epilepsy. Previous studies have also shown increased rates of electroencephalographic (EEG) alteration in ASD patients without epilepsy. The aim of this study was to compare the rate of intermittent rhythmic delta and theta activity (IRDA/IRTA) events between high-functioning adult patients with ASD and matched healthy controls. Materials and Methods: Routine EEG records of 19 ASD patients and 19 matched controls were screened for IRDA/IRTA using a fully data driven analysis with fixed thresholds. IRDA/IRTA rates before and after hyperventilation (HV) as well as the HV-induced difference in IRDA/IRTA rates (HV difference) were analyzed. For inter-group measures, we used the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: Significantly increased HV difference was detected in the ASD group (p = 0.0497). However, the groups showed no difference in IRDA/IRTA rates before HV (p = 0.564) and after HV (p = 0.163). Conclusions: The lack of any group differences regarding IRDA/IRTA before HV might be related to the fact that we only studied non-secondary high-functioning autism in a small sample of epilepsy-free adult patients. A significantly increased HV difference might be regarded as a marker of subtle neuronal network instability possibly causing short-term disturbances via local area network inhibition and long-term effects via epileptic encephalopathy. PMID:28265243

  12. Neural entrainment to rhythmic speech in children with developmental dyslexia

    PubMed Central

    Power, Alan J.; Mead, Natasha; Barnes, Lisa; Goswami, Usha

    2013-01-01

    A rhythmic paradigm based on repetition of the syllable “ba” was used to study auditory, visual, and audio-visual oscillatory entrainment to speech in children with and without dyslexia using EEG. Children pressed a button whenever they identified a delay in the isochronous stimulus delivery (500 ms; 2 Hz delta band rate). Response power, strength of entrainment and preferred phase of entrainment in the delta and theta frequency bands were compared between groups. The quality of stimulus representation was also measured using cross-correlation of the stimulus envelope with the neural response. The data showed a significant group difference in the preferred phase of entrainment in the delta band in response to the auditory and audio-visual stimulus streams. A different preferred phase has significant implications for the quality of speech information that is encoded neurally, as it implies enhanced neuronal processing (phase alignment) at less informative temporal points in the incoming signal. Consistent with this possibility, the cross-correlogram analysis revealed superior stimulus representation by the control children, who showed a trend for larger peak r-values and significantly later lags in peak r-values compared to participants with dyslexia. Significant relationships between both peak r-values and peak lags were found with behavioral measures of reading. The data indicate that the auditory temporal reference frame for speech processing is atypical in developmental dyslexia, with low frequency (delta) oscillations entraining to a different phase of the rhythmic syllabic input. This would affect the quality of encoding of speech, and could underlie the cognitive impairments in phonological representation that are the behavioral hallmark of this developmental disorder across languages. PMID:24376407

  13. Molecular Imaging and Precision Medicine in Dementia and Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    Mallik, Atul K; Drzezga, Alexander; Minoshima, Satoshi

    2017-01-01

    Precision medicine (PM) has been defined as "prevention and treatment strategies that take individual variability into account." Molecular imaging (MI) is an ideally suited tool for PM approaches to neurodegenerative dementia and movement disorders (MD). Here we review PM approaches and discuss how they may be applied to other associated neurodegenerative dementia and MD. With ongoing major therapeutic research initiatives that include the use of molecular imaging, we look forward to established interventions targeted to specific molecular pathophysiology and expect the potential benefit of MI PM approaches in neurodegenerative dementia and MD will only increase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Relationships between early literacy and nonlinguistic rhythmic processes in kindergarteners.

    PubMed

    Ozernov-Palchik, Ola; Wolf, Maryanne; Patel, Aniruddh D

    2018-03-01

    A growing number of studies report links between nonlinguistic rhythmic abilities and certain linguistic abilities, particularly phonological skills. The current study investigated the relationship between nonlinguistic rhythmic processing, phonological abilities, and early literacy abilities in kindergarteners. A distinctive aspect of the current work was the exploration of whether processing of different types of rhythmic patterns is differentially related to kindergarteners' phonological and reading-related abilities. Specifically, we examined the processing of metrical versus nonmetrical rhythmic patterns, that is, patterns capable of being subdivided into equal temporal intervals or not (Povel & Essens, 1985). This is an important comparison because most music involves metrical sequences, in which rhythm often has an underlying temporal grid of isochronous units. In contrast, nonmetrical sequences are arguably more typical to speech rhythm, which is temporally structured but does not involve an underlying grid of equal temporal units. A rhythm discrimination app with metrical and nonmetrical patterns was administered to 74 kindergarteners in conjunction with cognitive and preliteracy measures. Findings support a relationship among rhythm perception, phonological awareness, and letter-sound knowledge (an essential precursor of reading). A mediation analysis revealed that the association between rhythm perception and letter-sound knowledge is mediated through phonological awareness. Furthermore, metrical perception accounted for unique variance in letter-sound knowledge above all other language and cognitive measures. These results point to a unique role for temporal regularity processing in the association between musical rhythm and literacy in young children. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. A review on eye movement studies in childhood and adolescent psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Rommelse, Nanda N J; Van der Stigchel, Stefan; Sergeant, Joseph A

    2008-12-01

    The neural substrates of eye movement measures are largely known. Therefore, measurement of eye movements in psychiatric disorders may provide insight into the underlying neuropathology of these disorders. Visually guided saccades, antisaccades, memory guided saccades, and smooth pursuit eye movements will be reviewed in various childhood psychiatric disorders. The four aims of this review are (1) to give a thorough overview of eye movement studies in a wide array of psychiatric disorders occurring during childhood and adolescence (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional deviant disorder and conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorders, reading disorder, childhood-onset schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety and depression), (2) to discuss the specificity and overlap of eye movement findings across disorders and paradigms, (3) to discuss the developmental aspects of eye movement abnormalities in childhood and adolescence psychiatric disorders, and (4) to present suggestions for future research. In order to make this review of interest to a broad audience, attention will be given to the clinical manifestation of the disorders and the theoretical background of the eye movement paradigms.

  16. Robotics and neuroscience: a rhythmic interaction.

    PubMed

    Ronsse, Renaud; Lefèvre, Philippe; Sepulchre, Rodolphe

    2008-05-01

    At the crossing between motor control neuroscience and robotics system theory, the paper presents a rhythmic experiment that is amenable both to handy laboratory implementation and simple mathematical modeling. The experiment is based on an impact juggling task, requiring the coordination of two upper-limb effectors and some phase-locking with the trajectories of one or several juggled objects. We describe the experiment, its implementation and the mathematical model used for the analysis. Our underlying research focuses on the role of sensory feedback in rhythmic tasks. In a robotic implementation of our experiment, we study the minimum feedback that is required to achieve robust control. A limited source of feedback, measuring only the impact times, is shown to give promising results. A second field of investigation concerns the human behavior in the same impact juggling task. We study how a variation of the tempo induces a transition between two distinct control strategies with different sensory feedback requirements. Analogies and differences between the robotic and human behaviors are obviously of high relevance in such a flexible setup.

  17. Introduction to the Special Issue on Clinical Neuropsychology of Movement Disorders.

    PubMed

    Tröster, Alexander I

    2017-11-01

    The special issue on the clinical neuropsychology of movement disorders provides an overview for the non-subspecialist clinical neuropsychologist and other clinical neuroscientists of the neuropsychological features, assessment and treatment of Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias, atypical parkinsonian disorders (corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, and multiple system atrophy), Huntington's disease, dystonia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Additionally, articles provide overviews of neuropsychological and ethical issues related to deep brain stimulation and a discussion of non-pharamcologic and non-invasive treatment of cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. A search of PubMed using neuropsycholog* and parkinson* as search terms indicates that the number of articles dealing with neuropsychology of parkinsonian disorders has more than doubled in each of the past three decades (1990-99:269 entries, 2000-09:575 entries, 2010-17:967 entries). This rapid growth of research makes a special issue on the topic very timely. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Endogenous rhythmic growth in oak trees is regulated by internal clocks rather than resource availability

    PubMed Central

    Herrmann, S.; Recht, S.; Boenn, M.; Feldhahn, L.; Angay, O.; Fleischmann, F.; Tarkka, M T.; Grams, T.E.E.; Buscot, F.

    2015-01-01

    Common oak trees display endogenous rhythmic growth with alternating shoot and root flushes. To explore the mechanisms involved, microcuttings of the Quercus robur L. clone DF159 were used for 13C/15N labelling in combination with RNA sequencing (RNASeq) transcript profiling of shoots and roots. The effect of plant internal resource availability on the rhythmic growth of the cuttings was tested through inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Piloderma croceum. Shoot and root flushes were related to parallel shifts in above- and below-ground C and, to a lesser extent, N allocation. Increased plant internal resource availability by P. croceum inoculation with enhanced plant growth affected neither the rhythmic growth nor the associated resource allocation patterns. Two shifts in transcript abundance were identified during root and shoot growth cessation, and most concerned genes were down-regulated. Inoculation with P. croceum suppressed these transcript shifts in roots, but not in shoots. To identify core processes governing the rhythmic growth, functions [Gene Ontology (GO) terms] of the genes differentially expressed during the growth cessation in both leaves and roots of non-inoculated plants and leaves of P. croceum-inoculated plants were examined. Besides genes related to resource acquisition and cell development, which might reflect rather than trigger rhythmic growth, genes involved in signalling and/or regulated by the circadian clock were identified. The results indicate that rhythmic growth involves dramatic oscillations in plant metabolism and gene regulation between below- and above-ground parts. Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis may play a previously unsuspected role in smoothing these oscillations without modifying the rhythmic growth pattern. PMID:26320242

  19. Targeting bed nucleus of the stria terminalis for severe obsessive-compulsive disorder: more unexpected lead placement in obsessive-compulsive disorder than in surgery for movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Nuttin, Bart; Gielen, Frans; van Kuyck, Kris; Wu, Hemmings; Luyten, Laura; Welkenhuysen, Marleen; Brionne, Thomas C; Gabriëls, Loes

    2013-01-01

    In preparation for a multicenter study, a protocol was written on how to perform surgical targeting of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, based on the lead implantation experience in patients with treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at the Universitaire Ziekenhuizen Leuven (UZ Leuven). When analyzing the postoperative images, we were struck by the fact that the difference between the postoperative position of the leads and the planned position seemed larger than expected. The precision of targeting in four patients with severe OCD who received bilateral model 3391 leads (Medtronic) was compared with the precision of targeting in the last seven patients who underwent surgery at UZ Leuven for movement disorders (four with Parkinson disease and three with essential tremor; all received bilateral leads). Because the leads implanted in six of the seven patients with movement disorders were model 3387 leads (Medtronic), targeting precision was also analyzed in four patients with OCD in whom model 3387 leads were implanted in the same target as the other patients with OCD. In the patients with OCD, every implanted lead deviated at least 1.3 mm from its intended position in at least one of three directions (lateral, anteroposterior, and depth), whereas in the patients with movement disorders, the maximal deviation of any of all implanted leads was 1.3 mm. The deviations in lead placement were comparable in patients with OCD who received a model 3387 implant and patients who received a model 3391 implant. In the patients with OCD, all leads were implanted more posteriorly than planned. The cause of the posterior deviation could not be determined with certainty. The most likely cause was an increased mechanical resistance of the brain tissue along the trajectory when following the targeting protocol compared with the trajectories classically used for subthalamic nucleus or ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus stimulation. Copyright © 2013

  20. Impairment in emotion perception from body movements in individuals with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder is associated with functional capacity.

    PubMed

    Vaskinn, Anja; Lagerberg, Trine Vik; Bjella, Thomas D; Simonsen, Carmen; Andreassen, Ole A; Ueland, Torill; Sundet, Kjetil

    2017-12-01

    Individuals with bipolar disorder present with moderate impairments in social cognition during the euthymic state. The impairment extends to theory of mind and to the perception of emotion in faces and voices, but it is unclear if emotion perception from body movements is affected. The main aim of this study was to examine if participants with bipolar disorder perform worse than healthy control participants on a task using point-light displays of human full figures moving in a manner indicative of a basic emotion (angry, happy, sad, fearful, neutral/no emotion). A secondary research question was whether diagnostic subtypes (bipolar I, bipolar II) and history of psychosis impacted on this type of emotion perception. Finally, symptomatic, neurocognitive, and functional correlates of emotion perception from body movements were investigated. Fifty-three individuals with bipolar I (n = 29) or bipolar II (n = 24) disorder, and 84 healthy control participants were assessed for emotion perception from body movements. The bipolar group also underwent clinical, cognitive, and functional assessment. Research questions were analyzed using analyses of variance and bivariate correlations. The bipolar disorder group differed significantly from healthy control participants for emotion perception from body movements (Cohen's d = 0.40). Analyses of variance yielded no effects of sex, diagnostic subtype (bipolar I, bipolar II), or history of psychosis. There was an effect of emotion, indicating that some emotions are easier to recognize. The lack of a significant group × emotion interaction effect points, however, to this being so regardless of the presence of bipolar disorder. Performance was unrelated to manic and depressive symptom load but showed significant associations with neurocognition and functional capacity. Individuals with bipolar disorder had a small but significant impairment in the ability to perceive emotions from body movement. The impairment was global, i

  1. Regulation of the Rhythmic Emission of Plant Volatiles by the Circadian Clock.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Lanting; Wang, Xiaoqin; Kang, Ming; Dong, Fang; Yang, Ziyin

    2017-11-13

    Like other organisms, plants have endogenous biological clocks that enable them to organize their metabolic, physiological, and developmental processes. The representative biological clock is the circadian system that regulates daily (24-h) rhythms. Circadian-regulated changes in growth have been observed in numerous plants. Evidence from many recent studies indicates that the circadian clock regulates a multitude of factors that affect plant metabolites, especially emitted volatiles that have important ecological functions. Here, we review recent progress in research on plant volatiles showing rhythmic emission under the regulation of the circadian clock, and on how the circadian clock controls the rhythmic emission of plant volatiles. We also discuss the potential impact of other factors on the circadian rhythmic emission of plant volatiles.

  2. State of the Art for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy in Movement Disorders: A Clinical and Technological Perspective.

    PubMed

    Wagle Shukla, Aparna; Okun, Michael S

    2016-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy is a widely used brain surgery that can be applied for many neurological and psychiatric disorders. DBS is American Food and Drug Administration approved for medication refractory Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. Although DBS has shown consistent success in many clinical trials, the therapy has limitations and there are well-recognized complications. Thus, only carefully selected patients are ideal candidates for this surgery. Over the last two decades, there have been significant advances in clinical knowledge on DBS. In addition, the surgical techniques and technology related to DBS has been rapidly evolving. The goal of this review is to describe the current status of DBS in the context of movement disorders, outline the mechanisms of action for DBS in brief, discuss the standard surgical and imaging techniques, discuss the patient selection and clinical outcomes in each of the movement disorders, and finally, introduce the recent advancements from a clinical and technological perspective.

  3. Motor Stereotypies in Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldman, Sylvie; Wang, Cuiling; Salgado, Miran W.; Greene, Paul E.; Kim, Mimi; Rapin, Isabelle

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to count and characterize the range of stereotypies--repetitive rhythmical, apparently purposeless movements--in developmentally impaired children with and without autism, and to determine whether some types are more prevalent and diagnostically useful in children with autism. We described each motor stereotypy…

  4. Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder in Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration: Improvement with Immunotherapy.

    PubMed

    Vale, Thiago Cardoso; Fernandes do Prado, Lucila Bizari; do Prado, Gilmar Fernandes; Povoas Barsottini, Orlando Graziani; Pedroso, José Luiz

    2016-01-01

    To report two female patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD) related to breast cancer that presented with rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and improved sleep symptoms with immunotherapy. The two patients were evaluated through clinical scale and polysomnography before and after therapy with intravenous immunoglobulin. RBD was successfully treated with immunotherapy in both patients. Score on the RBD screening questionnaire dropped from 10 to 1 or 0, allied with the normalization of polysomnographic findings. A marked improvement in RBD after immunotherapy in PCD raises the hypothesis that secondary RBD may be an immune-mediated sleep disorder. © 2016 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

  5. Music and Motion: The Rhythmic Language of Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrews, Palmyra

    1976-01-01

    Gives examples of how music can be incorporated into activities throughout the school day, showing how musical and rhythmic expression enables children to grow in their capacity to experience, respond, and relate. (MS)

  6. Use of cortical stimulation in neuropathic pain, tinnitus, depression, and movement disorders.

    PubMed

    Panov, Fedor; Kopell, Brian Harris

    2014-07-01

    Medical treatment must strike a balance between benefit and risk. As the field of neuromodulation develops, decreased invasiveness, in combination with maintenance of efficacy, has become a goal. We provide a review of the history of cortical stimulation from its origins to the current state. The first part discusses neuropathic pain and the nonpharmacological treatment options used. The second part covers transitions to tinnitus, believed by many to be another deafferentation disorder, its classification, and treatment. The third part focuses on major depression. The fourth section concludes with the discussion of the use of cortical stimulation in movement disorders. Each part discusses the development of the field, describes the current care protocols, and suggests future avenues for research needed to advance neuromodulation.

  7. Effect of Divided Attention on Children's Rhythmic Response

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Jerry R.; Stratton, Richard K.

    1977-01-01

    Audio and visual interference did not significantly impair rhythmic response levels of second- and fourth-grade boys as measured by space error scores, though audio input resulted in significantly less consistent temporal performance. (MB)

  8. Autism as a developmental disorder in intentional movement and affective engagement

    PubMed Central

    Trevarthen, Colwyn; Delafield-Butt, Jonathan T.

    2013-01-01

    We review evidence that autistic spectrum disorders have their origin in early prenatal failure of development in systems that program timing, serial coordination and prospective control of movements, and that regulate affective evaluations of experiences. There are effects in early infancy, before medical diagnosis, especially in motor sequencing, selective or exploratory attention, affective expression and intersubjective engagement with parents. These are followed by retardation of cognitive development and language learning in the second or third year, which lead to a diagnosis of ASD. The early signs relate to abnormalities that have been found in brain stem systems and cerebellum in the embryo or early fetal stage, before the cerebral neocortex is functional, and they have clear consequences in infancy when neocortical systems are intensively elaborated. We propose, with evidence of the disturbances of posture, locomotion and prospective motor control in children with autism, as well as of their facial expression of interest and affect, and attention to other persons' expressions, that examination of the psychobiology of motor affective disorders, rather than later developing cognitive or linguistic ones, may facilitate early diagnosis. Research in this area may also explain how intense interaction, imitation or “expressive art” therapies, which respond intimately with motor activities, are effective at later stages. Exceptional talents of some autistic people may be acquired compensations for basic problems with expectant self-regulations of movement, attention and emotion. PMID:23882192

  9. Objective measurement of head movement differences in children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

    PubMed

    Martin, Katherine B; Hammal, Zakia; Ren, Gang; Cohn, Jeffrey F; Cassell, Justine; Ogihara, Mitsunori; Britton, Jennifer C; Gutierrez, Anibal; Messinger, Daniel S

    2018-01-01

    Deficits in motor movement in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have typically been characterized qualitatively by human observers. Although clinicians have noted the importance of atypical head positioning (e.g. social peering and repetitive head banging) when diagnosing children with ASD, a quantitative understanding of head movement in ASD is lacking. Here, we conduct a quantitative comparison of head movement dynamics in children with and without ASD using automated, person-independent computer-vision based head tracking (Zface). Because children with ASD often exhibit preferential attention to nonsocial versus social stimuli, we investigated whether children with and without ASD differed in their head movement dynamics depending on stimulus sociality. The current study examined differences in head movement dynamics in children with ( n  = 21) and without ASD ( n  = 21). Children were video-recorded while watching a 16-min video of social and nonsocial stimuli. Three dimensions of rigid head movement-pitch (head nods), yaw (head turns), and roll (lateral head inclinations)-were tracked using Zface. The root mean square of pitch, yaw, and roll was calculated to index the magnitude of head angular displacement (quantity of head movement) and angular velocity (speed). Compared with children without ASD, children with ASD exhibited greater yaw displacement, indicating greater head turning, and greater velocity of yaw and roll, indicating faster head turning and inclination. Follow-up analyses indicated that differences in head movement dynamics were specific to the social rather than the nonsocial stimulus condition. Head movement dynamics (displacement and velocity) were greater in children with ASD than in children without ASD, providing a quantitative foundation for previous clinical reports. Head movement differences were evident in lateral (yaw and roll) but not vertical (pitch) movement and were specific to a social rather than nonsocial

  10. [Stereotypic movements].

    PubMed

    Fernández-Alvarez, E

    2003-02-01

    Stereotypic movements are repetitive patterns of movement with certain peculiar features that make them especially interesting. Their physiopathology and their relationship with the neurobehavioural disorders they are frequently associated with are unknown. In this paper our aim is to offer a simple analysis of their dominant characteristics, their differentiation from other processes and a hypothesis of the properties of stereotypic movements, which could all set the foundations for research work into their physiopathology.

  11. Endogenous rhythmic growth in oak trees is regulated by internal clocks rather than resource availability.

    PubMed

    Herrmann, S; Recht, S; Boenn, M; Feldhahn, L; Angay, O; Fleischmann, F; Tarkka, M T; Grams, T E E; Buscot, F

    2015-12-01

    Common oak trees display endogenous rhythmic growth with alternating shoot and root flushes. To explore the mechanisms involved, microcuttings of the Quercus robur L. clone DF159 were used for (13)C/(15)N labelling in combination with RNA sequencing (RNASeq) transcript profiling of shoots and roots. The effect of plant internal resource availability on the rhythmic growth of the cuttings was tested through inoculation with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Piloderma croceum. Shoot and root flushes were related to parallel shifts in above- and below-ground C and, to a lesser extent, N allocation. Increased plant internal resource availability by P. croceum inoculation with enhanced plant growth affected neither the rhythmic growth nor the associated resource allocation patterns. Two shifts in transcript abundance were identified during root and shoot growth cessation, and most concerned genes were down-regulated. Inoculation with P. croceum suppressed these transcript shifts in roots, but not in shoots. To identify core processes governing the rhythmic growth, functions [Gene Ontology (GO) terms] of the genes differentially expressed during the growth cessation in both leaves and roots of non-inoculated plants and leaves of P. croceum-inoculated plants were examined. Besides genes related to resource acquisition and cell development, which might reflect rather than trigger rhythmic growth, genes involved in signalling and/or regulated by the circadian clock were identified. The results indicate that rhythmic growth involves dramatic oscillations in plant metabolism and gene regulation between below- and above-ground parts. Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis may play a previously unsuspected role in smoothing these oscillations without modifying the rhythmic growth pattern. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  12. Body composition and cardiac dimensions in elite rhythmic gymnasts.

    PubMed

    Galetta, F; Franzoni, F; D'alessandro, C; Piazza, M; Tocchini, L; Fallahi, P; Antonelli, A; Cupisti, F; Santoro, G

    2015-09-01

    Rhythmic gymnasts are often believed to be a population at risk of malnutrition because of their tendency to keep a low weight and a lean appearance for better athletic performance, and because they start intensive training at a very young age. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in adolescent elite gymnasts the effects of physical activity on body composition and cardiac morphology and function. Sixteen national level rhythmic gymnasts and 16 control adolescent female underwent anthropometric measurements, bioelectric impedance and echocardiography to assess body composition and cardiac morphology and function. As compared to controls, gymnasts had lower body mass index (16.9±1.1 vs. 18.7±1.0, P<0.001), fatty mass (14.2±4.5 vs. 15.8±2.9 %, P<0.05) and greater fat-free mass (84.0±4.7 vs. 80.5±5.0 %, P<0.05), left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (4.7±0.4 vs. 4.4±0.3 cm) and left ventricular mass, as absolute (132.8±21.2 vs. 112.5±22.8 g, P<0.01) and indexed (44.5±9.3 vs. 36.1±8.2 g/m2.7, P<0.01). Left ventricular mass was directly related to fat-free mass as absolute (r=0.37, P<0.05) and indexed (r=0.43, P<0.02). Body composition analysis showed a lower percentage of body fat in the gymnasts, together with a higher percentage of fat-free mass. Echocardiographic findings indicate that elite rhythmic gymnastics present left ventricular remodeling as training-induced cardiac adaptation. Intensive training, dietary attitude and evident leanness of rhythmic gymnasts are not associated with cardiac abnormalities, as it is the case of pathological leanness.

  13. Influence of stimulant medication and response speed on lateralization of movement-related potentials in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

    PubMed

    Bender, Stephan; Resch, Franz; Klein, Christoph; Renner, Tobias; Fallgatter, Andreas J; Weisbrod, Matthias; Romanos, Marcel

    2012-01-01

    Hyperactivity is one of the core symptoms in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it remains unclear in which way the motor system itself and its development are affected by the disorder. Movement-related potentials (MRP) can separate different stages of movement execution, from the programming of a movement to motor post-processing and memory traces. Pre-movement MRP are absent or positive during early childhood and display a developmental increase of negativity. We examined the influences of response-speed, an indicator of the level of attention, and stimulant medication on lateralized MRP in 16 children with combined type ADHD compared to 20 matched healthy controls. We detected a significantly diminished lateralisation of MRP over the pre-motor and primary motor cortex during movement execution (initial motor potential peak, iMP) in patients with ADHD. Fast reactions (indicating increased visuo-motor attention) led to increased lateralized negativity during movement execution only in healthy controls, while in children with ADHD faster reaction times were associated with more positive amplitudes. Even though stimulant medication had some effect on attenuating group differences in lateralized MRP, this effect was insufficient to normalize lateralized iMP amplitudes. A reduced focal (lateralized) motor cortex activation during the command to muscle contraction points towards an immature motor system and a maturation delay of the (pre-) motor cortex in children with ADHD. A delayed maturation of the neuronal circuitry, which involves primary motor cortex, may contribute to ADHD pathophysiology.

  14. Basal ganglia, movement disorders and deep brain stimulation: advances made through non-human primate research.

    PubMed

    Wichmann, Thomas; Bergman, Hagai; DeLong, Mahlon R

    2018-03-01

    Studies in non-human primates (NHPs) have led to major advances in our understanding of the function of the basal ganglia and of the pathophysiologic mechanisms of hypokinetic movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and hyperkinetic disorders such as chorea and dystonia. Since the brains of NHPs are anatomically very close to those of humans, disease states and the effects of medical and surgical approaches, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), can be more faithfully modeled in NHPs than in other species. According to the current model of the basal ganglia circuitry, which was strongly influenced by studies in NHPs, the basal ganglia are viewed as components of segregated networks that emanate from specific cortical areas, traverse the basal ganglia, and ventral thalamus, and return to the frontal cortex. Based on the presumed functional domains of the different cortical areas involved, these networks are designated as 'motor', 'oculomotor', 'associative' and 'limbic' circuits. The functions of these networks are strongly modulated by the release of dopamine in the striatum. Striatal dopamine release alters the activity of striatal projection neurons which, in turn, influences the (inhibitory) basal ganglia output. In parkinsonism, the loss of striatal dopamine results in the emergence of oscillatory burst patterns of firing of basal ganglia output neurons, increased synchrony of the discharge of neighboring basal ganglia neurons, and an overall increase in basal ganglia output. The relevance of these findings is supported by the demonstration, in NHP models of parkinsonism, of the antiparkinsonian effects of inactivation of the motor circuit at the level of the subthalamic nucleus, one of the major components of the basal ganglia. This finding also contributed strongly to the revival of the use of surgical interventions to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. While ablative procedures were first used for this purpose, they have now been largely

  15. Auditory reafferences: the influence of real-time feedback on movement control.

    PubMed

    Kennel, Christian; Streese, Lukas; Pizzera, Alexandra; Justen, Christoph; Hohmann, Tanja; Raab, Markus

    2015-01-01

    Auditory reafferences are real-time auditory products created by a person's own movements. Whereas the interdependency of action and perception is generally well studied, the auditory feedback channel and the influence of perceptual processes during movement execution remain largely unconsidered. We argue that movements have a rhythmic character that is closely connected to sound, making it possible to manipulate auditory reafferences online to understand their role in motor control. We examined if step sounds, occurring as a by-product of running, have an influence on the performance of a complex movement task. Twenty participants completed a hurdling task in three auditory feedback conditions: a control condition with normal auditory feedback, a white noise condition in which sound was masked, and a delayed auditory feedback condition. Overall time and kinematic data were collected. Results show that delayed auditory feedback led to a significantly slower overall time and changed kinematic parameters. Our findings complement previous investigations in a natural movement situation with non-artificial auditory cues. Our results support the existing theoretical understanding of action-perception coupling and hold potential for applied work, where naturally occurring movement sounds can be implemented in the motor learning processes.

  16. Autonomous Rhythmic Drug Delivery Systems Based on Chemical and Biochemomechanical Oscillators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Siegel, Ronald A.

    While many drug delivery systems target constant, or zero-order drug release, certain drugs and hormones must be delivered in rhythmic pulses in order to achieve their optimal effect. Here we describe studies with two model autonomous rhythmic delivery systems. The first system is driven by a pH oscillator that modulates the ionization state of a model drug, benzoic acid, which can permeate through a lipophilic membrane when the drug is uncharged. The second system is based on a nonlinear negative feedback instability that arises from coupling of swelling of a hydrogel membrane to an enzymatic reaction, with the hydrogel controlling access of substrate to the enzyme, and the enzyme's product controlling the hydrogel's swelling state. The latter system, whose autonomous oscillations are driven by glucose at constant external activity, is shown to deliver gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) in rhythmic pulses, with periodicity of the same order as observed in sexually mature adult humans. Relevant experimental results and some mathematical models are reviewed.

  17. Shared rhythmic subcortical GABAergic input to the entorhinal cortex and presubiculum

    PubMed Central

    Salib, Minas; Joshi, Abhilasha; Unal, Gunes; Berry, Naomi

    2018-01-01

    Rhythmic theta frequency (~5–12 Hz) oscillations coordinate neuronal synchrony and higher frequency oscillations across the cortex. Spatial navigation and context-dependent episodic memories are represented in several interconnected regions including the hippocampal and entorhinal cortices, but the cellular mechanisms for their dynamic coupling remain to be defined. Using monosynaptically-restricted retrograde viral tracing in mice, we identified a subcortical GABAergic input from the medial septum that terminated in the entorhinal cortex, with collaterals innervating the dorsal presubiculum. Extracellularly recording and labeling GABAergic entorhinal-projecting neurons in awake behaving mice show that these subcortical neurons, named orchid cells, fire in long rhythmic bursts during immobility and locomotion. Orchid cells discharge near the peak of hippocampal and entorhinal theta oscillations, couple to entorhinal gamma oscillations, and target subpopulations of extra-hippocampal GABAergic interneurons. Thus, orchid cells are a specialized source of rhythmic subcortical GABAergic modulation of ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ cortico-cortical circuits involved in mnemonic functions. PMID:29620525

  18. Shared rhythmic subcortical GABAergic input to the entorhinal cortex and presubiculum.

    PubMed

    Viney, Tim James; Salib, Minas; Joshi, Abhilasha; Unal, Gunes; Berry, Naomi; Somogyi, Peter

    2018-04-05

    Rhythmic theta frequency (~5-12 Hz) oscillations coordinate neuronal synchrony and higher frequency oscillations across the cortex. Spatial navigation and context-dependent episodic memories are represented in several interconnected regions including the hippocampal and entorhinal cortices, but the cellular mechanisms for their dynamic coupling remain to be defined. Using monosynaptically-restricted retrograde viral tracing in mice, we identified a subcortical GABAergic input from the medial septum that terminated in the entorhinal cortex, with collaterals innervating the dorsal presubiculum. Extracellularly recording and labeling GABAergic entorhinal-projecting neurons in awake behaving mice show that these subcortical neurons, named orchid cells, fire in long rhythmic bursts during immobility and locomotion. Orchid cells discharge near the peak of hippocampal and entorhinal theta oscillations, couple to entorhinal gamma oscillations, and target subpopulations of extra-hippocampal GABAergic interneurons. Thus, orchid cells are a specialized source of rhythmic subcortical GABAergic modulation of 'upstream' and 'downstream' cortico-cortical circuits involved in mnemonic functions. © 2018, Viney et al.

  19. Sympathetic network drive during water deprivation does not increase respiratory or cardiac rhythmic sympathetic nerve activity.

    PubMed

    Holbein, Walter W; Toney, Glenn M

    2013-06-15

    Effects of water deprivation on rhythmic bursting of sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) were investigated in anesthetized, bilaterally vagotomized, euhydrated (control) and 48-h water-deprived (WD) rats (n = 8/group). Control and WD rats had similar baseline values of mean arterial pressure, heart rate, end-tidal CO2, and central respiratory drive. Although integrated splanchnic SNA (sSNA) was greater in WD rats than controls (P < 0.01), analysis of respiratory rhythmic bursting of sSNA revealed that inspiratory rhythmic burst amplitude was actually smaller (P < 0.005) in WD rats (+68 ± 6%) than controls (+208 ± 20%), and amplitudes of the early expiratory (postinspiratory) trough and late expiratory burst of sSNA were not different between groups. Further analysis revealed that water deprivation had no effect on either the amplitude or periodicity of the cardiac rhythmic oscillation of sSNA. Collectively, these data indicate that the increase of sSNA produced by water deprivation is not attributable to either increased respiratory or cardiac rhythmic burst discharge. Thus the sympathetic network response to acute water deprivation appears to differ from that of chronic sympathoexcitation in neurogenic forms of arterial hypertension, where increased respiratory rhythmic bursting of SNA and baroreflex adaptations have been reported.

  20. An Evaluation of Educational Neurological Eye Movement Disorder Videos Posted on Internet Video Sharing Sites.

    PubMed

    Hickman, Simon J

    2016-03-01

    Internet video sharing sites allow the free dissemination of educational material. This study investigated the quality and educational content of videos of eye movement disorders posted on such sites. Educational neurological eye movement videos were identified by entering the titles of the eye movement abnormality into the search boxes of the video sharing sites. Also, suggested links were followed from each video. The number of views, likes, and dislikes for each video were recorded. The videos were then rated for their picture and sound quality. Their educational value was assessed according to whether the video included a description of the eye movement abnormality, the anatomical location of the lesion (if appropriate), and the underlying diagnosis. Three hundred fifty-four of these videos were found on YouTube and Vimeo. There was a mean of 6,443 views per video (range, 1-195,957). One hundred nineteen (33.6%) had no form of commentary about the eye movement disorder shown apart from the title. Forty-seven (13.3%) contained errors in the title or in the text. Eighty (22.6%) had excellent educational value by describing the eye movement abnormality, the anatomical location of the lesion, and the underlying diagnosis. Of these, 30 also had good picture and sound quality. The videos with excellent educational value had a mean of 9.84 "likes" per video compared with 2.37 for those videos without a commentary (P < 0.001). The videos that combined excellent educational value with good picture and sound quality had a mean of 10.23 "likes" per video (P = 0.004 vs videos with no commentary). There was no significant difference in the mean number of "dislikes" between those videos that had no commentary or which contained errors and those with excellent educational value. There are a large number of eye movement videos freely available on these sites; however, due to the lack of peer review, a significant number have poor educational value due to having no commentary

  1. Artistic versus rhythmic gymnastics: effects on bone and muscle mass in young girls.

    PubMed

    Vicente-Rodriguez, G; Dorado, C; Ara, I; Perez-Gomez, J; Olmedillas, H; Delgado-Guerra, S; Calbet, J A L

    2007-05-01

    We compared 35 prepubertal girls, 9 artistic gymnasts and 13 rhythmic gymnasts with 13 nonphysically active controls to study the effect of gymnastics on bone and muscle mass. Lean mass, bone mineral content and areal density were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and physical fitness was also assessed. The artistic gymnasts showed a delay in pubertal development compared to the other groups (p<0.05). The artistic gymnasts had a 16 and 17 % higher aerobic power and anaerobic capacity, while the rhythmic group had a 14 % higher anaerobic capacity than the controls, respectively (all p<0.05). The artistic gymnasts had higher lean mass (p<0.05) in the whole body and the extremities than both the rhythmic gymnasts and the controls. Body fat mass was 87.5 and 61.5 % higher in the controls than in the artistic and the rhythmic gymnasts (p<0.05). The upper extremity BMD was higher (p<0.05) in the artistic group compared to the other groups. Lean mass strongly correlated with bone mineral content (r=0.84, p<0.001), and multiple regression analysis showed that total lean mass explained 64 % of the variability in whole body bone mineral content, but only 20 % in whole body bone mineral density. Therefore, recreational artistic gymnastic participation is associated with delayed pubertal development, enhanced physical fitness, muscle mass, and bone density in prepubertal girls, eliciting a higher osteogenic stimulus than rhythmic gymnastic.

  2. Adverse events associated with deep brain stimulation for movement disorders: analysis of 510 consecutive cases.

    PubMed

    Patel, Daxa M; Walker, Harrison C; Brooks, Rebekah; Omar, Nidal; Ditty, Benjamin; Guthrie, Barton L

    2015-03-01

    Although numerous studies have focused on the efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders, less is known about surgical adverse events, especially over longer time intervals. Here, we analyze adverse events in 510 consecutive cases from a tertiary movement disorders center at up to 10 years postoperatively. We conducted a retrospective review of adverse events from craniotomies between January 2003 and March 2013. The adverse events were categorized into 2 broad categories--immediate perioperative and time-dependent postoperative events. Across all targets, perioperative mental status change occurred in 18 (3.5%) cases, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 4 (0.78%) cases. The most common hardware-related event was skin erosion in 13 (2.5%) cases. The most frequent stimulation-related event was speech disturbance in 16 (3.1%) cases. There were no significant differences among surgical targets with respect to the incidence of these events. Time-dependent postoperative events leading to the revision of a given DBS electrode for any reason occurred in 4.7% ± 1.0%, 9.3% ± 1.4%, and 12.4% ± 1.5% of electrodes at 1, 4, and 7 years postoperatively, respectively. Staged bilateral DBS was associated with approximately twice the risk of repeat surgery for electrode replacement vs unilateral surgery (P = .020). These data provide low incidences for adverse events in a large series of DBS surgeries for movement disorders at up to 10 years follow-up. Accurate estimates of adverse events will better inform patients and caregivers about the potential risks and benefits of surgery and provide normative data for process improvement.

  3. Optimal Tempo for Groove: Its Relation to Directions of Body Movement and Japanese nori

    PubMed Central

    Etani, Takahide; Marui, Atsushi; Kawase, Satoshi; Keller, Peter E.

    2018-01-01

    The tendency for groove-based music to induce body movements has been linked to multiple acoustical factors. However, it is unclear how or whether tempo affects groove, although tempo significantly affects other aspects of music perception. To address this issue, the present study investigated effects of tempo, specific rhythmic organizations of patterns, and syncopation on groove and the induction of the sensation of wanting to move. We focused on the directions of body movement in particular by taking into account nori, which is an indigenous Japanese musical term used not only synonymously with groove, but also as a spatial metaphor indicating vertical or horizontal movement directions. Thus, the present study explored how groove was felt and defined, as well as how musical factors induced the sensation of wanting to move in cross-cultural context. A listening experiment was conducted using drum breaks as stimuli. Stimuli consisted of various rhythm patterns at six tempi from 60 to 200 BPM. The main findings are that: (1) an optimal tempo for groove existed for drum breaks at around 100–120 BPM, (2) an optimal tempo existed for the sensation of wanting to move the body in specific directions (i.e., back-and-forth and side-to-side), (3) groove and nori shared a similar concept of wanting to move but differed on several points (i.e., association with sense of pulse and fast tempo). Overall, the present study suggests that there is an optimal tempo for body movement related to groove. This finding has implications for the use of music or rhythmic stimuli to induce smooth motion in rehabilitation, therapy, or dance. PMID:29692747

  4. Circadian and feeding rhythms differentially affect rhythmic mRNA transcription and translation in mouse liver

    PubMed Central

    Atger, Florian; Gobet, Cédric; Marquis, Julien; Martin, Eva; Wang, Jingkui; Weger, Benjamin; Lefebvre, Grégory; Descombes, Patrick; Naef, Felix; Gachon, Frédéric

    2015-01-01

    Diurnal oscillations of gene expression are a hallmark of rhythmic physiology across most living organisms. Such oscillations are controlled by the interplay between the circadian clock and feeding rhythms. Although rhythmic mRNA accumulation has been extensively studied, comparatively less is known about their transcription and translation. Here, we quantified simultaneously temporal transcription, accumulation, and translation of mouse liver mRNAs under physiological light–dark conditions and ad libitum or night-restricted feeding in WT and brain and muscle Arnt-like 1 (Bmal1)-deficient animals. We found that rhythmic transcription predominantly drives rhythmic mRNA accumulation and translation for a majority of genes. Comparison of wild-type and Bmal1 KO mice shows that circadian clock and feeding rhythms have broad impact on rhythmic gene expression, Bmal1 deletion affecting surprisingly both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Translation efficiency is differentially regulated during the diurnal cycle for genes with 5′-Terminal Oligo Pyrimidine tract (5′-TOP) sequences and for genes involved in mitochondrial activity, many harboring a Translation Initiator of Short 5′-UTR (TISU) motif. The increased translation efficiency of 5′-TOP and TISU genes is mainly driven by feeding rhythms but Bmal1 deletion also affects amplitude and phase of translation, including TISU genes. Together this study emphasizes the complex interconnections between circadian and feeding rhythms at several steps ultimately determining rhythmic gene expression and translation. PMID:26554015

  5. Rhythmic Characteristics of Colloquial and Formal Tamil

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keane, Elinor

    2006-01-01

    Application of recently developed rhythmic measures to passages of read speech in colloquial and formal Tamil revealed some significant differences between the two varieties, which are in diglossic distribution. Both were also distinguished from a set of control data from British English speakers reading an equivalent passage. The findings have…

  6. Young children with autism spectrum disorder use predictive eye movements in action observation.

    PubMed

    Falck-Ytter, Terje

    2010-06-23

    Does a dysfunction in the mirror neuron system (MNS) underlie the social symptoms defining autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Research suggests that the MNS matches observed actions to motor plans for similar actions, and that these motor plans include directions for predictive eye movements when observing goal-directed actions. Thus, one important question is whether children with ASD use predictive eye movements in action observation. Young children with ASD as well as typically developing children and adults were shown videos in which an actor performed object-directed actions (human agent condition). Children with ASD were also shown control videos showing objects moving by themselves (self-propelled condition). Gaze was measured using a corneal reflection technique. Children with ASD and typically developing individuals used strikingly similar goal-directed eye movements when observing others' actions in the human agent condition. Gaze was reactive in the self-propelled condition, suggesting that prediction is linked to seeing a hand-object interaction. This study does not support the view that ASD is characterized by a global dysfunction in the MNS.

  7. Classification of neck movement patterns related to whiplash-associated disorders using neural networks.

    PubMed

    Grip, Helena; Ohberg, Fredrik; Wiklund, Urban; Sterner, Ylva; Karlsson, J Stefan; Gerdle, Björn

    2003-12-01

    This paper presents a new method for classification of neck movement patterns related to Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) using a resilient backpropagation neural network (BPNN). WAD are a common diagnosis after neck trauma, typically caused by rear-end car accidents. Since physical injuries seldom are found with present imaging techniques, the diagnosis can be difficult to make. The active range of the neck is often visually inspected in patients with neck pain, but this is a subjective measure, and a more objective decision support system, that gives a reliable and more detailed analysis of neck movement pattern, is needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive ability of a BPNN, using neck movement variables as input. Three-dimensional (3-D) neck movement data from 59 subjects with WAD and 56 control subjects were collected with a ProReflex system. Rotation angle and angle velocity were calculated using the instantaneous helical axis method and motion variables were extracted. A principal component analysis was performed in order to reduce data and improve the BPNN performance. BPNNs with six hidden nodes had a predictivity of 0.89, a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.88, which are very promising results. This shows that neck movement analysis combined with a neural network could build the basis of a decision support system for classifying suspected WAD, even though further evaluation of the method is needed.

  8. Proprioceptive Rehabilitation of Upper Limb Dysfunction in Movement Disorders: A Clinical Perspective

    PubMed Central

    Abbruzzese, Giovanni; Trompetto, Carlo; Mori, Laura; Pelosin, Elisa

    2014-01-01

    Movement disorders (MDs) are frequently associated with sensory abnormalities. In particular, proprioceptive deficits have been largely documented in both hypokinetic (Parkinson’s disease) and hyperkinetic conditions (dystonia), suggesting a possible role in their pathophysiology. Proprioceptive feedback is a fundamental component of sensorimotor integration allowing effective planning and execution of voluntary movements. Rehabilitation has become an essential element in the management of patients with MDs, and there is a strong rationale to include proprioceptive training in rehabilitation protocols focused on mobility problems of the upper limbs. Proprioceptive training is aimed at improving the integration of proprioceptive signals using “task-intrinsic” or “augmented feedback.” This perspective article reviews the available evidence on the effects of proprioceptive stimulation in improving upper limb mobility in patients with MDs and highlights the emerging innovative approaches targeted to maximizing the benefits of exercise by means of enhanced proprioception. PMID:25505402

  9. No Cases of PANDAS on Follow-Up of Patients Referred to a Pediatric Movement Disorders Clinic.

    PubMed

    Kilbertus, Sarah; Brannan, Renee; Sell, Erick; Doja, Asif

    2014-01-01

    Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS) remains a controversial diagnosis and it is unclear how frequently it is encountered in clinical practice. Our study aimed to determine how many children with acute-onset tics and/or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) met criteria for PANDAS. A retrospective review was performed on 39 children who presented to a movement disorders clinic with acute-onset tics or OCD from 2005 to 2012. Out of 284 patients seen over the course of 7 years, only 39 had acute-onset tics and/or OCD symptoms. None of the 39 children who presented to us acutely met full criteria for PANDAS. Thirty-eight percent had no association between their symptoms and group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection, while 54% had prior inconclusive laboratory testing done and no exacerbations during the course of the study. Only 8% of patients had an acute exacerbation after their initial visit; however, testing for GAHBS in these patients was negative Discussion: Our results support the notion that PANDAS, if it exists, is an exceedingly rare diagnosis encountered in a pediatric movement disorder clinic. While none of our patients met criteria for PANDAS, two with acute-onset OCD would have met criteria for pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) indicating that PANS may be a more appropriate diagnosis.

  10. Low amplitude rhythmic contraction frequency in human detrusor strips correlates with phasic intravesical pressure waves.

    PubMed

    Colhoun, Andrew F; Speich, John E; Cooley, Lauren F; Bell, Eugene D; Barbee, R Wayne; Guruli, Georgi; Ratz, Paul H; Klausner, Adam P

    2017-08-01

    Low amplitude rhythmic contractions (LARC) occur in detrusor smooth muscle and may play a role in storage disorders such as overactive bladder and detrusor overactivity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether LARC frequencies identified in vitro from strips of human urinary bladder tissue correlate with in vivo LARC frequencies, visualized as phasic intravesical pressure (p ves ) waves during urodynamics (UD). After IRB approval, fresh strips of human urinary bladder were obtained from patients. LARC was recorded with tissue strips at low tension (<2 g) and analyzed by fast Fourier transform (FFT) to identify LARC signal frequencies. Blinded UD tracings were retrospectively reviewed for signs of LARC on the p ves tracing during filling and were analyzed via FFT. Distinct LARC frequencies were identified in 100% of tissue strips (n = 9) obtained with a mean frequency of 1.97 ± 0.47 cycles/min (33 ± 8 mHz). Out of 100 consecutive UD studies reviewed, 35 visually displayed phasic p ves waves. In 12/35 (34%), real p ves signals were present that were independent of abdominal activity. Average UD LARC frequency was 2.34 ± 0.36 cycles/min (39 ± 6 mHz) which was similar to tissue LARC frequencies (p = 0.50). A majority (83%) of the UD cohort with LARC signals also demonstrated detrusor overactivity. During UD, a subset of patients displayed phasic p ves waves with a distinct rhythmic frequency similar to the in vitro LARC frequency quantified in human urinary bladder tissue strips. Further refinements of this technique may help identify subsets of individuals with LARC-mediated storage disorders.

  11. Clomipramine ameliorates adventitious movements and compulsions in prepubertal boys with autistic disorder and severe mental retardation.

    PubMed

    Brasic, J R; Barnett, J Y; Kaplan, D; Sheitman, B B; Aisemberg, P; Lafargue, R T; Kowalik, S; Clark, A; Tsaltas, M O; Young, J G

    1994-07-01

    In an open, nonblind clinical trial, clomipramine reduced adventitious movements and compulsions in five previously medicated prepubertal boys with autistic disorder and severe mental retardation. Poorly adapted rating scales, interrater variability, subject heterogeneity, different treatment histories, and environmental stresses confounded the assessment of treatment effects.

  12. Aggression Regulation in Day Treatment of Eating Disorders: Two-Centre RCT of a Brief Body and Movement-Oriented Intervention.

    PubMed

    Boerhout, Cees; Swart, Marte; Voskamp, Marjon; Troquete, Nadine A C; van Busschbach, Jooske T; Hoek, Hans W

    2017-01-01

    The objective is to evaluate a body and movement-oriented intervention on aggression regulation, specifically aimed towards reducing anger internalization in patients with an eating disorder. Patients were randomized to treatment-as-usual (TAU) plus the intervention (n = 38) or to TAU only (n = 32). The intervention was delivered by a psychomotor therapist. TAU consisted of multidisciplinary day treatment (3-5 days per week during 3-9 months). Anger coping (Self-Expression and Control Scale) and eating pathology (Eating Disorder Examination-Self-report Questionnaire) were measured at baseline and follow-up. Differences between pre-intervention and post-intervention scores were tested by using repeated measures ANOVA. The intervention group showed a significantly larger decrease of anger internalization than the control group (η 2  = 0.16, p = 0.001). Both groups showed a significant reduction in eating pathology, but differences between groups were not significant. A body and movement-oriented therapy seems a viable add-on for treating anger internalization in patients with an eating disorder. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

  13. Investigation of the Association Between Motor Stereotypy Behavior With Fundamental Movement Skills, Adaptive Functioning, and Autistic Spectrum Disorder Symptomology in Children With Intellectual Disabilities.

    PubMed

    Powell, Joanne L; Pringle, Lydia; Greig, Matt

    2017-02-01

    Motor stereotypy behaviors are patterned, coordinated, repetitive behaviors that are particularly evident in those with an autistic spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities. The extent to which motor stereotypy behavior severity is associated with motor skills and maladaptive behavior, measures of adaptive functioning, along with fundamental movement skills and degree of autistic spectrum disorder symptomology is assessed in this preliminary report. Twelve participants, aged 7 to 16 years, with a reported motor stereotypy behavior and either mild or severe intellectual disability comprising developmental or global delay took part in the study. Spearman rho correlational analysis showed that severity of motor stereotypy behavior was significantly positively correlated with autistic spectrum disorder symptomology ( P = .008) and maladaptive behavior ( P = .008) but not fundamental movement skills ( P > .05). An increase in fundamental movement skills score was associated with a decrease in autistic spectrum disorder symptomology ( P = .01) and an increase in motor skills ( P = .002). This study provides evidence showing a significant relationship between motor stereotypy behavior severity with degree of autistic spectrum disorder symptomology and maladaptive behavior.

  14. Losing dexterity: patterns of impaired coordination of finger movements in musician’s dystonia

    PubMed Central

    Furuya, Shinichi; Tominaga, Kenta; Miyazaki, Fumio; Altenmüller, Eckart

    2015-01-01

    Extensive training can bring about highly-skilled action, but may also impair motor dexterity by producing involuntary movements and muscular cramping, as seen in focal dystonia (FD) and tremor. To elucidate the underlying neuroplastic mechanisms of FD, the present study addressed the organization of finger movements during piano performance in pianists suffering from the condition. Principal component (PC) analysis identified three patterns of fundamental joint coordination constituting finger movements in both patients and controls. The first two coordination patterns described less individuated movements between the “dystonic” finger and key-striking fingers for patients compared to controls. The third coordination pattern, representing the individuation of movements between the middle and ring fingers, was evident during a sequence of strikes with these fingers in controls, which was absent in the patients. Consequently, rhythmic variability of keystrokes was more pronounced during this sequence of strikes for the patients. A stepwise multiple-regression analysis further identified greater variability of keystrokes for individuals displaying less individuated movements between the affected and striking fingers. The findings suggest that FD alters dexterous joint coordination so as to lower independent control of finger movements, and thereby degrades fine motor control. PMID:26289433

  15. Treatment of a Patient with Borderline Personality Disorder Based on Phase-Oriented Model of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A Case Report.

    PubMed

    Momeni Safarabad, Nahid; Asgharnejad Farid, Ali-Asghar; Gharraee, Banafsheh; Habibi, Mojtaba

    2018-01-01

    Objective: This study aimed at reporting the effect of the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of a patient with borderline personality disorder. Method : A 33-year-old female, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for borderline personality disorder, received a 20-session therapy based on the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPD-Checklist), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), Beck Depression Inventory-II-second edition (BDI-II), and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were filled out by the patient at all treatment phases and at the 3- month follow- up. Results: According to the obtained results, the patient's pretest scores in all research tools were 161, 44, 37, and 38 for BPD-Checklist, DES-II, BDI-II, and BAI, respectively. After treatment, these scores decreased significantly (69, 14, 6 and 10 respectively). So, the patient exhibited improvement in borderline personality disorder, dissociative, depression and anxiety symptoms, which were maintained after the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results supported the positive effect of phasic model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing on borderline personality disorder.

  16. Treatment of a Patient with Borderline Personality Disorder Based on Phase-Oriented Model of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A Case Report

    PubMed Central

    Momeni Safarabad, Nahid; Asgharnejad Farid, Ali-Asghar; Gharraee, Banafsheh; Habibi, Mojtaba

    2018-01-01

    Objective: This study aimed at reporting the effect of the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of a patient with borderline personality disorder. Method : A 33-year-old female, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for borderline personality disorder, received a 20-session therapy based on the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPD-Checklist), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), Beck Depression Inventory-II-second edition (BDI-II), and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were filled out by the patient at all treatment phases and at the 3- month follow- up. Results: According to the obtained results, the patient’s pretest scores in all research tools were 161, 44, 37, and 38 for BPD-Checklist, DES-II, BDI-II, and BAI, respectively. After treatment, these scores decreased significantly (69, 14, 6 and 10 respectively). So, the patient exhibited improvement in borderline personality disorder, dissociative, depression and anxiety symptoms, which were maintained after the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results supported the positive effect of phasic model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing on borderline personality disorder. PMID:29892320

  17. Anatomical Pathways Involved in Generating and Sensing Rhythmic Whisker Movements

    PubMed Central

    Bosman, Laurens W. J.; Houweling, Arthur R.; Owens, Cullen B.; Tanke, Nouk; Shevchouk, Olesya T.; Rahmati, Negah; Teunissen, Wouter H. T.; Ju, Chiheng; Gong, Wei; Koekkoek, Sebastiaan K. E.; De Zeeuw, Chris I.

    2011-01-01

    The rodent whisker system is widely used as a model system for investigating sensorimotor integration, neural mechanisms of complex cognitive tasks, neural development, and robotics. The whisker pathways to the barrel cortex have received considerable attention. However, many subcortical structures are paramount to the whisker system. They contribute to important processes, like filtering out salient features, integration with other senses, and adaptation of the whisker system to the general behavioral state of the animal. We present here an overview of the brain regions and their connections involved in the whisker system. We do not only describe the anatomy and functional roles of the cerebral cortex, but also those of subcortical structures like the striatum, superior colliculus, cerebellum, pontomedullary reticular formation, zona incerta, and anterior pretectal nucleus as well as those of level setting systems like the cholinergic, histaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic pathways. We conclude by discussing how these brain regions may affect each other and how they together may control the precise timing of whisker movements and coordinate whisker perception. PMID:22065951

  18. Different types of theta rhythmicity are induced by social and fearful stimuli in a network associated with social memory.

    PubMed

    Tendler, Alex; Wagner, Shlomo

    2015-02-16

    Rhythmic activity in the theta range is thought to promote neuronal communication between brain regions. In this study, we performed chronic telemetric recordings in socially behaving rats to monitor electrophysiological activity in limbic brain regions linked to social behavior. Social encounters were associated with increased rhythmicity in the high theta range (7-10 Hz) that was proportional to the stimulus degree of novelty. This modulation of theta rhythmicity, which was specific for social stimuli, appeared to reflect a brain-state of social arousal. In contrast, the same network responded to a fearful stimulus by enhancement of rhythmicity in the low theta range (3-7 Hz). Moreover, theta rhythmicity showed different pattern of coherence between the distinct brain regions in response to social and fearful stimuli. We suggest that the two types of stimuli induce distinct arousal states that elicit different patterns of theta rhythmicity, which cause the same brain areas to communicate in different modes.

  19. The quality of fetal arm movements as indicators of fetal stress.

    PubMed

    Reissland, Nadja; Francis, Brian

    2010-12-01

    Although a number of studies have found that maternal stress affects the fetus, it is unclear whether jerky fetal movements observed on ultrasound scans are indicative of fetal stress, or whether they are part of normal development. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between jerky fetal arm movements in relation to fetal age and stress. Video recordings were made of routine ultrasound scans of 57 fetuses (age range 8 to 33 weeks) classified into three age groups: 1st trimester (8-12 weeks, N=9), 2nd trimester (13-24 weeks, N=38), and 3rd trimester (26-33 weeks, N=10). Following previous research on stress behaviour in neonates, a fetal index of stress was derived from frequency of hiccup, back arch and rhythmical mouthing. Results indicated that while stress level was unrelated to fetal age, jerkiness of arm movements was significantly associated with the fetal stress index but not age. Our findings suggest that jerky arm movements in fetuses are suggestive of fetal stress. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. An Update on the Rhythmic Arts Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tuduri, Eddie

    2008-01-01

    The Rhythmic Arts Project (TRAP) is touching the lives of typical children and adults with various disabilities all over the world and now has programs in two Bulgarian orphanages, day programs in Australia, and, most recently, in the general hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. TRAP is also currently approaching facilities in more than 20…

  1. Encoding and Retrieval During Bimanual Rhythmic Coordination

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shockley, Kevin; Turvey, Michael T.

    2005-01-01

    In 2 experiments, bimanual 1:1 rhythmic coordination was performed concurrently with encoding or retrieval of word lists. Effects of divided attention (DA) on coordination were indexed by changes in mean relative phase and recurrence measures of shared activity between the 2 limbs. Effects of DA on memory were indexed by deficits in recall…

  2. An Exploration of Rhythmic Grouping of Speech Sequences by French- and German-Learning Infants

    PubMed Central

    Abboub, Nawal; Boll-Avetisyan, Natalie; Bhatara, Anjali; Höhle, Barbara; Nazzi, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    Rhythm in music and speech can be characterized by a constellation of several acoustic cues. Individually, these cues have different effects on rhythmic perception: sequences of sounds alternating in duration are perceived as short-long pairs (weak-strong/iambic pattern), whereas sequences of sounds alternating in intensity or pitch are perceived as loud-soft, or high-low pairs (strong-weak/trochaic pattern). This perceptual bias—called the Iambic-Trochaic Law (ITL)–has been claimed to be an universal property of the auditory system applying in both the music and the language domains. Recent studies have shown that language experience can modulate the effects of the ITL on rhythmic perception of both speech and non-speech sequences in adults, and of non-speech sequences in 7.5-month-old infants. The goal of the present study was to explore whether language experience also modulates infants’ grouping of speech. To do so, we presented sequences of syllables to monolingual French- and German-learning 7.5-month-olds. Using the Headturn Preference Procedure (HPP), we examined whether they were able to perceive a rhythmic structure in sequences of syllables that alternated in duration, pitch, or intensity. Our findings show that both French- and German-learning infants perceived a rhythmic structure when it was cued by duration or pitch but not intensity. Our findings also show differences in how these infants use duration and pitch cues to group syllable sequences, suggesting that pitch cues were the easier ones to use. Moreover, performance did not differ across languages, failing to reveal early language effects on rhythmic perception. These results contribute to our understanding of the origin of rhythmic perception and perceptual mechanisms shared across music and speech, which may bootstrap language acquisition. PMID:27378887

  3. Association of Periodic and Rhythmic Electroencephalographic Patterns With Seizures in Critically Ill Patients.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez Ruiz, Andres; Vlachy, Jan; Lee, Jong Woo; Gilmore, Emily J; Ayer, Turgay; Haider, Hiba Arif; Gaspard, Nicolas; Ehrenberg, J Andrew; Tolchin, Benjamin; Fantaneanu, Tadeu A; Fernandez, Andres; Hirsch, Lawrence J; LaRoche, Suzette

    2017-02-01

    Periodic and rhythmic electroencephalographic patterns have been associated with risk of seizures in critically ill patients. However, specific features that confer higher seizure risk remain unclear. To analyze the association of distinct characteristics of periodic and rhythmic patterns with seizures. We reviewed electroencephalographic recordings from 4772 critically ill adults in 3 academic medical centers from February 2013 to September 2015 and performed a multivariate analysis to determine features associated with seizures. Continuous electroencephalography. Association of periodic and rhythmic patterns and specific characteristics, such as pattern frequency (hertz), Plus modifier, prevalence, and stimulation-induced patterns, and the risk for seizures. Of the 4772 patients included in our study, 2868 were men and 1904 were women. Lateralized periodic discharges (LPDs) had the highest association with seizures regardless of frequency and the association was greater when the Plus modifier was present (58%; odds ratio [OR], 2.00, P < .001). Generalized periodic discharges (GPDs) and lateralized rhythmic delta activity (LRDA) were associated with seizures in a frequency-dependent manner (1.5-2 Hz: GPDs, 24%,OR, 2.31, P = .02; LRDA, 24%, OR, 1.79, P = .05; ≥ 2 Hz: GPDs, 32%, OR, 3.30, P < .001; LRDA, 40%, OR, 3.98, P < .001) as was the association with Plus (GPDs, 28%, OR, 3.57, P < .001; LRDA, 40%, P < .001). There was no difference in seizure incidence in patients with generalized rhythmic delta activity compared with no periodic or rhythmic pattern (13%, OR, 1.18, P = .26). Higher prevalence of LPDs and GPDs also conferred increased seizure risk (37% frequent vs 45% abundant/continuous, OR, 1.64, P = .03 for difference; 8% rare/occasional vs 15% frequent, OR, 2.71, P = .03, vs 23% abundant/continuous, OR, 1.95, P = .04). Patterns associated with stimulation did not show an additional risk for seizures from the underlying pattern risk (P > .10). In this

  4. Electroencephalographic findings related with mild cognitive impairment in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

    PubMed

    Sasai, Taeko; Matsuura, Masato; Inoue, Yuichi

    2013-12-01

    Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and electroencephalographic (EEG) slowing have been reported as common findings of idiopathic rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) and α-synucleinopathies. The objective of this study is to clarify the relation between MCI and physiological markers in iRBD. Cross-sectional study. Yoyogi Sleep Disorder Center. Thirty-one patients with iRBD including 17 younger patients with iRBD (younger than 70 y) and 17 control patients for the younger patients with iRBD. N/A. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and n-polysomnogram (PSG) were conducted of all participants. In patients with iRBD, the factors associated with MCI were explored among parameters of REM sleep without atonia (RWA), score of Sniffin' Sticks Test (threshold-discrimination-identification [TDI] score), RBD morbidity, and RBD severity evaluated with the Japanese version of the RBD questionnaire (RBDQ-JP). The younger iRBD group showed significantly lower alpha power during wake and lower MoCA score than the age-matched control group. MCI was detected in 13 of 17 patients (76.5%) on MoCA in this group. Among patients wtih iRBD, the MoCA score negatively correlated with age, proportion of slow wave sleep, TDI score, and EEG spectral power. Multiple regression analysis provided the following equation: MoCA score = 50.871-0.116*age -5.307*log (δ power during REM sleep) + 0.086*TDI score (R² = 0.598, P < 0.01). The standardized partial regression coefficients were -0.558 for age, -0.491 for log (δ power during REM sleep), and 0.357 for TDI score (F = 9.900, P < 0.001). Electroencephalographic slowing, especially during rapid eye movement sleep and olfactory dysfunction, was revealed to be associated with cognitive decline in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

  5. Rhythmic Haptic Stimuli Improve Short-Term Attention.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shusheng; Wang, Dangxiao; Afzal, Naqash; Zhang, Yuru; Wu, Ruilin

    2016-01-01

    Brainwave entrainment using rhythmic visual and/or auditory stimulation has shown its efficacy in modulating neural activities and cognitive ability. In the presented study, we aim to investigate whether rhythmic haptic stimulation could enhance short-term attention. An experiment with sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) increasing protocol was performed in which participants were presented sinusoidal vibrotactile stimulus of 15 Hz on their palm. Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) was performed before and after the stimulating session. Electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded across the stimulating session and the two attention test sessions. SMR band power manifested a significant increase after stimulation. Results of T.O.V.A. tests indicated an improvement in the attention of participants who had received the stimulation compared to the control group who had not received the stimulation. The D prime score of T.O.V.A. reveals that participants performed better in perceptual sensitivity and sustaining attention level compared to their baseline performance before the stimulating session. These findings highlight the potential value of using haptics-based brainwave entrainment for cognitive training.

  6. Stability and Composition of Functional Synergies for Speech Movements in Children with Developmental Speech Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terband, H.; Maassen, B.; van Lieshout, P.; Nijland, L.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the consistency and composition of functional synergies for speech movements in children with developmental speech disorders. Kinematic data were collected on the reiterated productions of syllables spa(/spa[image omitted]/) and paas(/pa[image omitted]s/) by 10 6- to 9-year-olds with developmental speech…

  7. Bridging music and speech rhythm: rhythmic priming and audio-motor training affect speech perception.

    PubMed

    Cason, Nia; Astésano, Corine; Schön, Daniele

    2015-02-01

    Following findings that musical rhythmic priming enhances subsequent speech perception, we investigated whether rhythmic priming for spoken sentences can enhance phonological processing - the building blocks of speech - and whether audio-motor training enhances this effect. Participants heard a metrical prime followed by a sentence (with a matching/mismatching prosodic structure), for which they performed a phoneme detection task. Behavioural (RT) data was collected from two groups: one who received audio-motor training, and one who did not. We hypothesised that 1) phonological processing would be enhanced in matching conditions, and 2) audio-motor training with the musical rhythms would enhance this effect. Indeed, providing a matching rhythmic prime context resulted in faster phoneme detection, thus revealing a cross-domain effect of musical rhythm on phonological processing. In addition, our results indicate that rhythmic audio-motor training enhances this priming effect. These results have important implications for rhythm-based speech therapies, and suggest that metrical rhythm in music and speech may rely on shared temporal processing brain resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Genital Autocleaning in the Male Cricket Gryllus bimaculatus (2): Rhythmic Movements of the Genitalia and Their Motor Control.

    PubMed

    Kumashiro, Mikihiko; Sakai, Masaki

    2016-12-01

    Three types of genital movement, their neural controls, and functional roles were investigated to gain a better understanding of the mechanism underlying autocleaning in the male cricket. The membrane complex consisting of the median pouch and genital chamber floor shows peculiar undulation that is composed of two types of movements: a right-left large shift and small crease-like movements. The large shift was caused by contraction of a pair of muscles (MPA) located anterior to the median pouch, while the crease-like movements were caused by numerous muscle fibers extending over the membrane complex. The MPA and muscle fibers were each innervated by efferent neurons in the terminal abdominal ganglion. Experiments with artificial dirt mimicking a foreign object revealed that the crease-like movements were responsible for dirt transport, while the large shift participated in sweeping the dirt into the lateral pouch as a trash container. On the other hand, the dorsal pouch serving as a template for the spermatophore showed a jerky bending movement. Simultaneous monitoring of the membrane complex and dorsal pouch activities suggested that their movements cooperate to enable the efficient evacuation of waste in the dorsal pouch. Based on the results, we conclude that genital autocleaning supports the production of the spermatophore.

  9. Changes in bone density and bone markers in rhythmic gymnasts and ballet dancers: implications for puberty and leptin levels.

    PubMed

    Muñoz, María Teresa; de la Piedra, Concepción; Barrios, Vicente; Garrido, Guadalupe; Argente, Jesús

    2004-10-01

    Our aim was to compare physical activity and biochemical markers with bone mineral acquisition in rhythmic gymnasts and ballet dancers. Weight, height, body mass index, nutritional intake, bone age and menstrual histories were analyzed in nine rhythmic gymnasts, twelve ballet dancers and fourteen controls. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by X-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine, hip and radius. Bone alkaline phosphatase (bAP) and amino-terminal propeptide of procollagen I (PNIP) in serum and urinary alpha-isomer of the carboxy-terminal telopeptide of collagen I (alpha-CTX) were measured. Bone age was delayed 2 years and mean age at menarche was 15+/-0.9 years in rhythmic gymnasts and 13.7+/-1 years in ballet dancers, compared with 12.5+/-1 years in controls. Trocanteric and femoral neck BMD was significantly higher in rhythmic gymnasts compared with ballet dancers and controls. Right forearm (non-loaded zone) BMD was significantly decreased in rhythmic gymnasts and ballet dancers compared with controls. All subjects had normal bAP and PNIP levels, but the alpha-CTX/creatinine (Cr) ratio was increased in rhythmic gymnasts (P<0.001) with an inverse correlation between right forearm BMD and the alpha-CTX/Cr ratio (r=-0.74, P<0.001). Serum leptin levels were decreased in rhythmic gymnasts and ballet dancers. Rhythmic gymnasts had a positive correlation between right forearm BMD and leptin levels (r=0.85, P<0.001). Decreased bone mass in rhythmic gymnasts could be partially explained by an increase in bone resorption. Serum leptin levels could be implicated in the pubertal delay and be a good marker of bone mass in these subjects.

  10. Forearm training attenuates sympathetic responses to prolonged rhythmic forearm exercise

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sinoway, L.; Shenberger, J.; Leaman, G.; Zelis, R.; Gray, K.; Baily, R.; Leuenberger, U.

    1996-01-01

    We previously demonstrated that nonfatiguing rhythmic forearm exercise at 25% maximal voluntary contraction (12 2-s contractions/min) evokes sympathoexcitation without significant engagement of metabolite-sensitive muscle afferents (B.A. Batman, J.C. Hardy, U.A. Leuenberger, M.B. Smith, Q.X. Yang and L.I. Sinoway. J. Appl. Physiol. 76: 1077-1081, 1994). This is in contrast to the sympathetic nervous system responses observed during fatiguing static forearm exercise where metabolite-sensitive afferents are the key determinants of sympathetic activation. In this report we examined whether forearm exercise training would attenuate sympathetic nervous system responses to rhythmic forearm exercise. We measured heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), muscle sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography), plasma norepinephrine (NE), and NE spillover and clearance (tritiated NE kinetics) during nonfatiguing rhythmic forearm exercise before and after a 4-wk unilateral forearm training paradigm. Training had no effect on forearm mass, maximal voluntary contraction, or heart rate but did attenuate the increase in MAP (increase in MAP: from 15.2 +/- 1.8 before training to 11.4 +/- 1.4 mmHg after training; P < 0.017), muscle sympathetic nerve activity (increase in bursts: from 10.8 +/- 1.4 before training to 6.2 +/- 1.1 bursts/min after training; P < 0.030), and the NE spillover (increases in arterial spillover: from 1.3 +/- 0.2 before training to 0.6 +/- 0.2 nmol.min-1.m-2 after training, P < 0.014; increase in venous spillover: from 2.0 +/- 0.6 before training to 1.0 +/- 0.5 nmol.min-1.m-2 after training, P < 0.037) seen in response to exercise performed by the trained forearm. Thus forearm training reduces sympathetic responses during a nonfatiguing rhythmic handgrip paradigm that does not engage muscle metaboreceptors. We speculate that this effect is due to a conditioning-induced reduction in mechanically sensitive muscle afferent discharge.

  11. Cognitive effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation in Parkinson's disease: A P300 study.

    PubMed

    Lei, Juan; Conradi, Nadine; Abel, Cornelius; Frisch, Stefan; Brodski-Guerniero, Alla; Hildner, Marcel; Kell, Christian A; Kaiser, Jochen; Schmidt-Kassow, Maren

    2018-05-16

    Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) may compensate dysfunctions of the basal ganglia (BG), involved with intrinsic evaluation of temporal intervals and action initiation or continuation. In the cognitive domain, RAS containing periodically presented tones facilitates young healthy participants' attention allocation to anticipated time points, indicated by better performance and larger P300 amplitudes to periodic compared to random stimuli. Additionally, active auditory-motor synchronization (AMS) leads to a more precise temporal encoding of stimuli via embodied timing encoding than stimulus presentation adapted to the participants' actual movements. Here we investigated the effect of RAS and AMS in Parkinson's disease (PD). 23 PD patients and 23 healthy age-matched controls underwent an auditory oddball task. We manipulated the timing (periodic/random/adaptive) and setting (pedaling/sitting still) of stimulation. While patients elicited a general timing effect, i.e., larger P300 amplitudes for periodic versus random tones for both, sitting and pedaling conditions, controls showed a timing effect only for the sitting but not for the pedaling condition. However, a correlation between P300 amplitudes and motor variability in the periodic pedaling condition was obtained in control participants only. We conclude that RAS facilitates attentional processing of temporally predictable external events in PD patients as well as healthy controls, but embodied timing encoding via body movement does not affect stimulus processing due to BG impairment in patients. Moreover, even with intact embodied timing encoding, such as healthy elderly, the effect of AMS depends on the degree of movement synchronization performance, which is very low in the current study. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Ribosome profiling reveals the rhythmic liver translatome and circadian clock regulation by upstream open reading frames

    PubMed Central

    Janich, Peggy; Arpat, Alaaddin Bulak; Castelo-Szekely, Violeta; Lopes, Maykel; Gatfield, David

    2015-01-01

    Mammalian gene expression displays widespread circadian oscillations. Rhythmic transcription underlies the core clock mechanism, but it cannot explain numerous observations made at the level of protein rhythmicity. We have used ribosome profiling in mouse liver to measure the translation of mRNAs into protein around the clock and at high temporal and nucleotide resolution. We discovered, transcriptome-wide, extensive rhythms in ribosome occupancy and identified a core set of approximately 150 mRNAs subject to particularly robust daily changes in translation efficiency. Cycling proteins produced from nonoscillating transcripts revealed thus-far-unknown rhythmic regulation associated with specific pathways (notably in iron metabolism, through the rhythmic translation of transcripts containing iron responsive elements), and indicated feedback to the rhythmic transcriptome through novel rhythmic transcription factors. Moreover, estimates of relative levels of core clock protein biosynthesis that we deduced from the data explained known features of the circadian clock better than did mRNA expression alone. Finally, we identified uORF translation as a novel regulatory mechanism within the clock circuitry. Consistent with the occurrence of translated uORFs in several core clock transcripts, loss-of-function of Denr, a known regulator of reinitiation after uORF usage and of ribosome recycling, led to circadian period shortening in cells. In summary, our data offer a framework for understanding the dynamics of translational regulation, circadian gene expression, and metabolic control in a solid mammalian organ. PMID:26486724

  13. Physical Activity into Socialization: A Movement-Based Social Skills Program for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Jihyun; Vargo, Kristina K.

    2017-01-01

    Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit deficits in social-communicative behaviors. Given the increased prevalence of children with ASD, programs designed to teach social-communicative behaviors are necessary. This article introduces a movement-based program that embeds social-skill components to improve the motor skills and…

  14. Parallel pathways from motor and somatosensory cortex for controlling whisker movements in mice

    PubMed Central

    Sreenivasan, Varun; Karmakar, Kajari; Rijli, Filippo M; Petersen, Carl C H

    2015-01-01

    Mice can gather tactile sensory information by actively moving their whiskers to palpate objects in their immediate surroundings. Whisker sensory perception therefore requires integration of sensory and motor information, which occurs prominently in the neocortex. The signalling pathways from the neocortex for controlling whisker movements are currently poorly understood in mice. Here, we delineate two pathways, one originating from primary whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1) and the other from whisker motor cortex (wM1), that control qualitatively distinct movements of contralateral whiskers. Optogenetic stimulation of wS1 drove retraction of contralateral whiskers while stimulation of wM1 drove rhythmic whisker protraction. To map brainstem pathways connecting these cortical areas to whisker motor neurons, we used a combination of anterograde tracing using adenoassociated virus injected into neocortex and retrograde tracing using monosynaptic rabies virus injected into whisker muscles. Our data are consistent with wS1 driving whisker retraction by exciting glutamatergic premotor neurons in the rostral spinal trigeminal interpolaris nucleus, which in turn activate the motor neurons innervating the extrinsic retractor muscle nasolabialis. The rhythmic whisker protraction evoked by wM1 stimulation might be driven by excitation of excitatory and inhibitory premotor neurons in the brainstem reticular formation innervating both intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. Our data therefore begin to unravel the neuronal circuits linking the neocortex to whisker motor neurons. PMID:25476605

  15. How vision and movement combine in the hippocampal place code.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guifen; King, John A; Burgess, Neil; O'Keefe, John

    2013-01-02

    How do external environmental and internal movement-related information combine to tell us where we are? We examined the neural representation of environmental location provided by hippocampal place cells while mice navigated a virtual reality environment in which both types of information could be manipulated. Extracellular recordings were made from region CA1 of head-fixed mice navigating a virtual linear track and running in a similar real environment. Despite the absence of vestibular motion signals, normal place cell firing and theta rhythmicity were found. Visual information alone was sufficient for localized firing in 25% of place cells and to maintain a local field potential theta rhythm (but with significantly reduced power). Additional movement-related information was required for normally localized firing by the remaining 75% of place cells. Trials in which movement and visual information were put into conflict showed that they combined nonlinearly to control firing location, and that the relative influence of movement versus visual information varied widely across place cells. However, within this heterogeneity, the behavior of fully half of the place cells conformed to a model of path integration in which the presence of visual cues at the start of each run together with subsequent movement-related updating of position was sufficient to maintain normal fields.

  16. MEG time-frequency analyses for pre- and post-surgical evaluation of patients with epileptic rhythmic fast activity.

    PubMed

    Sueda, Keitaro; Takeuchi, Fumiya; Shiraishi, Hideaki; Nakane, Shingo; Asahina, Naoko; Kohsaka, Shinobu; Nakama, Hideyuki; Otsuki, Taisuke; Sawamura, Yutaka; Saitoh, Shinji

    2010-02-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of surgery for epilepsy, we analyzed rhythmic fast activity by magnetoencephalography (MEG) before and after surgery using time-frequency analysis. To assess reliability, the results obtained by pre-surgical MEG and intraoperative electrocorticography were compared. Four children with symptomatic localization-related epilepsy caused by circumscribed cortical lesion were examined in the present study using 204-channel helmet-shaped MEG with a sampling rate of 600Hz. One patient had dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT) and three patients had focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Aberrant areas were superimposed, to reconstruct 3D MRI images, and illustrated as moving images. In three patients, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) analyses of MEG showed rhythmic activities just above the lesion with FCD and in the vicinity of DNT. In one patient with FCD in the medial temporal lobe, rhythmic activity appeared in the ipsilateral frontal lobe and temporal lateral aspect. These findings correlate well with the results obtained by intraoperative electrocorticography. After the surgery, three patients were relieved of their seizures, and the area of rhythmic MEG activity disappeared or become smaller. One patient had residual rhythmic MEG activity, and she suffered from seizure relapse. Time-frequency analyses using STFT successfully depicted MEG rhythmic fast activity, and would provide valuable information for pre- and post-surgical evaluations to define surgical strategies for patients with epilepsy.

  17. Making Music Mine: The Development of Rhythmic Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burton, Suzanne L.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, I explored children's development of rhythmic music literacy using a language acquisition paradigm. An emergent, constructivist curriculum was implemented over one academic year with 39 children, 5-8 years old. Children were involved in audiation-based active listening, singing, moving, chanting, and playing instruments and engaged…

  18. ACE and AGTR1 polymorphisms in elite rhythmic gymnastics.

    PubMed

    Di Cagno, Alessandra; Sapere, Nadia; Piazza, Marina; Aquino, Giovanna; Iuliano, Enzo; Intrieri, Mariano; Calcagno, Giuseppe

    2013-02-01

    In the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene, Alu deletion, in intron 16, is associated with higher concentrations of ACE serum activity and this may be associated with elite sprint and power performance. The Alu insertion is associated with lower ACE levels and this could lead to endurance performance. Moreover, recent studies have identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism of the angiotensin type 1 receptor gene AGTR1, which seems to be related to ACE activity. The aim of this study was to examine the involvement of the ACE and the AGTR1 gene polymorphisms in 28 Italian elite rhythmic gymnasts (age range 21 ± 7.6 years), and compare them to 23 middle level rhythmic gymnasts (age range 17 ± 10.9 years). The ACE D allele was significantly more frequent in elite athletes than in the control population (χ(2)=4.07, p=0.04). Comparisons between the middle level and elite athletes revealed significant differences (p<0.0001) for the ACE DD genotype (OR=6.48, 95% confidence interval=1.48-28.34), which was more frequent in elite athletes. There were no significant differences in the AGTR1 A/C genotype or allele distributions between the middle level and elite athletes. In conclusion, the ACE D allele genotype could be a contributing factor to high-performance rhythmic gymnastics that should be considered in athlete development and could help to identify which skills should be trained for talent promotion.

  19. An fMRI study comparing rhythmic finger tapping in children and adults

    PubMed Central

    De Guio, François; Jacobson, Sandra W.; Molteno, Christopher D.; Jacobson, Joseph L.; Meintjes, Ernesta M.

    2011-01-01

    This study compared brain activations during unpaced rhythmic finger tapping in 12-year old children with those of adults. The subject pressed a button at a pace initially indicated by a metronome (12 consecutive tones) and then continued for 16 seconds of unpaced tapping to provide an assessment of his/her ability to maintain a steady rhythm. In particular, the analyses focused on the superior vermis of the cerebellum, which is known to play a key role in timing. 12 adults and 12 children performed this rhythmic finger tapping task in a 3T scanner. Whole-brain analyses were performed in Brain Voyager with a random effects analysis of variance using the general linear model. A dedicated cerebellar atlas was used to localise cerebellar activations. As in adults, unpaced rhythmic finger tapping in children showed activations in the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, and cerebellum. However, overall activation was different in that adults showed much more deactivation in response to the task, particularly in the occipital and frontal cortex. The other main differences were additional recruitment of motor and premotor areas in children compared to adults along with increased activity in the vermal region of the cerebellum. These findings suggest that the timing component of the unpaced rhythmic finger tapping task is less efficient and automatic in children, who needed to recruit the superior vermis more intensively to maintain the rhythm, even though they performed somewhat more poorly than the adults. PMID:22264703

  20. Circadian clock-dependent and -independent rhythmic proteomes implement distinct diurnal functions in mouse liver.

    PubMed

    Mauvoisin, Daniel; Wang, Jingkui; Jouffe, Céline; Martin, Eva; Atger, Florian; Waridel, Patrice; Quadroni, Manfredo; Gachon, Frédéric; Naef, Felix

    2014-01-07

    Diurnal oscillations of gene expression controlled by the circadian clock underlie rhythmic physiology across most living organisms. Although such rhythms have been extensively studied at the level of transcription and mRNA accumulation, little is known about the accumulation patterns of proteins. Here, we quantified temporal profiles in the murine hepatic proteome under physiological light-dark conditions using stable isotope labeling by amino acids quantitative MS. Our analysis identified over 5,000 proteins, of which several hundred showed robust diurnal oscillations with peak phases enriched in the morning and during the night and related to core hepatic physiological functions. Combined mathematical modeling of temporal protein and mRNA profiles indicated that proteins accumulate with reduced amplitudes and significant delays, consistent with protein half-life data. Moreover, a group comprising about one-half of the rhythmic proteins showed no corresponding rhythmic mRNAs, indicating significant translational or posttranslational diurnal control. Such rhythms were highly enriched in secreted proteins accumulating tightly during the night. Also, these rhythms persisted in clock-deficient animals subjected to rhythmic feeding, suggesting that food-related entrainment signals influence rhythms in circulating plasma factors.

  1. Circadian clock-dependent and -independent rhythmic proteomes implement distinct diurnal functions in mouse liver

    PubMed Central

    Mauvoisin, Daniel; Wang, Jingkui; Jouffe, Céline; Martin, Eva; Atger, Florian; Waridel, Patrice; Quadroni, Manfredo; Gachon, Frédéric; Naef, Felix

    2014-01-01

    Diurnal oscillations of gene expression controlled by the circadian clock underlie rhythmic physiology across most living organisms. Although such rhythms have been extensively studied at the level of transcription and mRNA accumulation, little is known about the accumulation patterns of proteins. Here, we quantified temporal profiles in the murine hepatic proteome under physiological light–dark conditions using stable isotope labeling by amino acids quantitative MS. Our analysis identified over 5,000 proteins, of which several hundred showed robust diurnal oscillations with peak phases enriched in the morning and during the night and related to core hepatic physiological functions. Combined mathematical modeling of temporal protein and mRNA profiles indicated that proteins accumulate with reduced amplitudes and significant delays, consistent with protein half-life data. Moreover, a group comprising about one-half of the rhythmic proteins showed no corresponding rhythmic mRNAs, indicating significant translational or posttranslational diurnal control. Such rhythms were highly enriched in secreted proteins accumulating tightly during the night. Also, these rhythms persisted in clock-deficient animals subjected to rhythmic feeding, suggesting that food-related entrainment signals influence rhythms in circulating plasma factors. PMID:24344304

  2. Speak on time! Effects of a musical rhythmic training on children with hearing loss.

    PubMed

    Hidalgo, Céline; Falk, Simone; Schön, Daniele

    2017-08-01

    This study investigates temporal adaptation in speech interaction in children with normal hearing and in children with cochlear implants (CIs) and/or hearing aids (HAs). We also address the question of whether musical rhythmic training can improve these skills in children with hearing loss (HL). Children named pictures presented on the screen in alternation with a virtual partner. Alternation rate (fast or slow) and the temporal predictability (match vs mismatch of stress occurrences) were manipulated. One group of children with normal hearing (NH) and one with HL were tested. The latter group was tested twice: once after 30 min of speech therapy and once after 30 min of musical rhythmic training. Both groups of children (NH and with HL) can adjust their speech production to the rate of alternation of the virtual partner. Moreover, while children with normal hearing benefit from the temporal regularity of stress occurrences, children with HL become sensitive to this manipulation only after rhythmic training. Rhythmic training may help children with HL to structure the temporal flow of their verbal interactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Quantitative assessment of motor speech abnormalities in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder.

    PubMed

    Rusz, Jan; Hlavnička, Jan; Tykalová, Tereza; Bušková, Jitka; Ulmanová, Olga; Růžička, Evžen; Šonka, Karel

    2016-03-01

    Patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) are at substantial risk for developing Parkinson's disease (PD) or related neurodegenerative disorders. Speech is an important indicator of motor function and movement coordination, and therefore may be an extremely sensitive early marker of changes due to prodromal neurodegeneration. Speech data were acquired from 16 RBD subjects and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Objective acoustic assessment of 15 speech dimensions representing various phonatory, articulatory, and prosodic deviations was performed. Statistical models were applied to characterise speech disorders in RBD and to estimate sensitivity and specificity in differentiating between RBD and control subjects. Some form of speech impairment was revealed in 88% of RBD subjects. Articulatory deficits were the most prominent findings in RBD. In comparison to controls, the RBD group showed significant alterations in irregular alternating motion rates (p = 0.009) and articulatory decay (p = 0.01). The combination of four distinctive speech dimensions, including aperiodicity, irregular alternating motion rates, articulatory decay, and dysfluency, led to 96% sensitivity and 79% specificity in discriminating between RBD and control subjects. Speech impairment was significantly more pronounced in RBD subjects with the motor score of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale greater than 4 points when compared to other RBD individuals. Simple quantitative speech motor measures may be suitable for the reliable detection of prodromal neurodegeneration in subjects with RBD, and therefore may provide important outcomes for future therapy trials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Rhythmic motor activity and interlimb co-ordination in the developing pouch young of a wallaby (Macropus eugenii).

    PubMed Central

    Ho, S M

    1997-01-01

    1. The forelimb motor behaviour of developing wallaby was studied. A clock-like alternating movement was reactivated whenever the animal was removed from the pouch. 2. Forelimb stepping frequency increased during the first 3 weeks of development, while the phase relationship remained constant. Forelimb activity could be affected by altering the afferent feedback from the contralateral limb, or an increase in ambient temperature. 3. In vitro experiments were performed using an isolated brainstem-spinal cord preparation from animals up to 6 weeks postnatal. Fictive locomotor activity could be evoked by electrical stimulation or bath-applied NMDA (< 10 microM). 4. Bath-applied strychnine (10-25 microM) and bicuculline (10-50 microM) disrupted the phase relationship between motor pools, while rhythmic motor discharge remained in the absence of these inhibitory pathways. 5. The present findings indicate that the pattern generator that underlies the robust forelimb movement during the first journey to the pouch is retained for different motor functions during in-pouch development. The neural network that underlies such behaviour can be divided into two major components, a rhythm generator within each hemicord, and a pattern co-ordinating pathway which involve both glycinergic and GABAergic interneurones. PMID:9218221

  5. What Do Repetitive and Stereotyped Movements Mean for Infant Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Damiano, Cara R.; Nahmias, Allison; Hogan-Brown, Abigail L.; Stone, Wendy L.

    2013-01-01

    Repetitive and stereotyped movements (RSMs) in infancy are associated with later diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet this relationship has not been fully explored in high-risk populations. The current study investigated how RSMs involving object and body use are related to diagnostic outcomes in infant siblings of children with ASD…

  6. Masturbation in infancy and early childhood presenting as a movement disorder: 12 cases and a review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Yang, Michele L; Fullwood, Erika; Goldstein, Joshua; Mink, Jonathan W

    2005-12-01

    Infantile masturbation (gratification behavior) is not commonly identified as a cause of recurrent paroxysmal movements. Extensive and fruitless investigations may be pursued before establishing this diagnosis. Sparse literature is available regarding masturbatory behavior as a whole, but literature available as case reports describes common features. The purpose of this case series is to describe consistent features in young children with posturing accompanying masturbation. Twelve patients presenting to a pediatric movement disorders clinic with a suspected movement disorder were determined to have postures and movements associated with masturbation. We reviewed the clinical history, examination, and home videotapes of these patients. Our patients had several features in common: (1) onset after the age of 3 months and before 3 years; (2) stereotyped episodes of variable duration; (3) vocalizations with quiet grunting; (4) facial flushing with diaphoresis; (5) pressure on the perineum with characteristic posturing of the lower extremities; (6) no alteration of consciousness; (7) cessation with distraction; (8) normal examination; and (9) normal laboratory studies. The identification of these common features by primary care providers should assist in making this diagnosis and eliminate the need for extensive, unnecessary testing. Direct observation of the events is crucial, and the video camera is a useful tool that may help in the identification of masturbatory behavior.

  7. Early development of circadian rhythmicity in the suprachiamatic nuclei and pineal gland of teleost, flounder (Paralichthys olivaeus), embryos.

    PubMed

    Mogi, Makoto; Uji, Susumu; Yokoi, Hayato; Suzuki, Tohru

    2015-08-01

    Circadian rhythms enable organisms to coordinate multiple physiological processes and behaviors with the earth's rotation. In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the sole master circadian pacemaker, has entrainment mechanisms that set the circadian rhythm to a 24-h cycle with photic signals from retina. In contrast, the zebrafish SCN is not a circadian pacemaker, instead the pineal gland (PG) houses the major circadian oscillator. The SCN of flounder larvae, unlike that of zebrafish, however, expresses per2 with a rhythmicity of daytime/ON and nighttime/OFF. Here, we examined whether the rhythm of per2 expression in the flounder SCN represents the molecular clock. We also examined early development of the circadian rhythmicity in the SCN and PG. Our three major findings were as follows. First, rhythmic per2 expression in the SCN was maintained under 24 h dark (DD) conditions, indicating that a molecular clock exists in the flounder SCN. Second, onset of circadian rhythmicity in the SCN preceded that in the PG. Third, both 24 h light (LL) and DD conditions deeply affected the development of circadian rhythmicity in the SCN and PG. This is the first report dealing with the early development of circadian rhythmicity in the SCN in fish. © 2015 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.

  8. Relationship between masticatory performance using a gummy jelly and masticatory movement.

    PubMed

    Uesugi, Hanako; Shiga, Hiroshi

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between masticatory performance using a gummy jelly and masticatory movement. Thirty healthy males were asked to chew a gummy jelly on their habitual chewing side for 20s, and the parameters of masticatory performance and masticatory movement were calculated as follows. For evaluating the masticatory performance, the amount of glucose extraction during chewing of a gummy jelly was measured. For evaluating the masticatory movement, the movement of the mandibular incisal point was recorded using the MKG K6-I, and ten parameters of the movement path (opening distance and masticatory width), movement rhythm (opening time, closing time, occluding time, and cycle time), stability of movement (stability of path and stability of rhythm), and movement velocity (opening maximum velocity and closing maximum velocity) were calculated from 10 cycles of chewing beginning with the fifth cycle. The relationship between the amount of glucose extraction and parameters representing masticatory movement was investigated and then stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed. The amount of glucose extraction was associated with 7 parameters representing the masticatory movement. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that the opening distance, closing time, stability of rhythm, and closing maximum velocity were the most important factors affecting the glucose extraction. From these results it was suggested that there was a close relation between masticatory performance and masticatory movement, and that the masticatory performance could be increased by rhythmic, rapid and stable mastication with a large opening distance. Copyright © 2017 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Judging the judges' performance in rhythmic gymnastics.

    PubMed

    Flessas, Konstantinos; Mylonas, Dimitris; Panagiotaropoulou, Georgia; Tsopani, Despina; Korda, Alexandrea; Siettos, Constantinos; Di Cagno, Alessandra; Evdokimidis, Ioannis; Smyrnis, Nikolaos

    2015-03-01

    Rhythmic gymnastics (RG) is an aesthetic event balancing between art and sport that also has a performance rating system (Code of Points) given by the International Gymnastics Federation. It is one of the sports in which competition results greatly depend on the judges' evaluation. In the current study, we explored the judges' performance in a five-gymnast ensemble routine. An expert-novice paradigm (10 international-level, 10 national-level, and 10 novice-level judges) was implemented under a fully simulated procedure of judgment in a five-gymnast ensemble routine of RG using two videos of routines performed by the Greek national team of RG. Simultaneous recordings of two-dimensional eye movements were taken during the judgment procedure to assess the percentage of time spent by each judge viewing the videos and fixation performance of each judge when an error in gymnast performance had occurred. All judge level groups had very modest performance of error recognition on gymnasts' routines, and the best international judges reported approximately 40% of true errors. Novice judges spent significantly more time viewing the videos compared with national and international judges and spent significantly more time fixating detected errors than the other two groups. National judges were the only group that made efficient use of fixation to detect errors. The fact that international-level judges outperformed both other groups, while not relying on visual fixation to detect errors, suggests that these experienced judges probably make use of other cognitive strategies, increasing their overall error detection efficiency, which was, however, still far below optimum.

  10. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) detect rhythmic groups in music, but not the beat.

    PubMed

    Honing, Henkjan; Merchant, Hugo; Háden, Gábor P; Prado, Luis; Bartolo, Ramón

    2012-01-01

    It was recently shown that rhythmic entrainment, long considered a human-specific mechanism, can be demonstrated in a selected group of bird species, and, somewhat surprisingly, not in more closely related species such as nonhuman primates. This observation supports the vocal learning hypothesis that suggests rhythmic entrainment to be a by-product of the vocal learning mechanisms that are shared by several bird and mammal species, including humans, but that are only weakly developed, or missing entirely, in nonhuman primates. To test this hypothesis we measured auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in two rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), probing a well-documented component in humans, the mismatch negativity (MMN) to study rhythmic expectation. We demonstrate for the first time in rhesus monkeys that, in response to infrequent deviants in pitch that were presented in a continuous sound stream using an oddball paradigm, a comparable ERP component can be detected with negative deflections in early latencies (Experiment 1). Subsequently we tested whether rhesus monkeys can detect gaps (omissions at random positions in the sound stream; Experiment 2) and, using more complex stimuli, also the beat (omissions at the first position of a musical unit, i.e. the 'downbeat'; Experiment 3). In contrast to what has been shown in human adults and newborns (using identical stimuli and experimental paradigm), the results suggest that rhesus monkeys are not able to detect the beat in music. These findings are in support of the hypothesis that beat induction (the cognitive mechanism that supports the perception of a regular pulse from a varying rhythm) is species-specific and absent in nonhuman primates. In addition, the findings support the auditory timing dissociation hypothesis, with rhesus monkeys being sensitive to rhythmic grouping (detecting the start of a rhythmic group), but not to the induced beat (detecting a regularity from a varying rhythm).

  11. Antisocial violent offenders with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder demonstrate akathisia-like hyperactivity in three-channel actometry.

    PubMed

    Tuisku, Katinka; Virkkunen, Matti; Holi, Matti; Lauerma, Hannu; Naukkarinen, Hannu; Rimon, Ranan; Wahlbeck, Kristian

    2003-01-01

    Actometry enables quantitative and qualitative analysis of various hyperactivity disorders. Antisocial violent offenders have demonstrated diurnal increases in motor activity that may be related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that often precedes antisocial development. Motor restlessness in ADHD has common features with neuroleptic-induced akathisia. In this study, three-channel actometry was used to compare 15 antisocial violent offenders who had a history of ADHD with 15 healthy control subjects and 10 akathisia patients. The Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) was used for clinical evaluation of akathisia symptoms. Ankle movement indices and the ankle-waist ratio differentiated the antisocial patients from the healthy controls significantly, with no overlap, and the same parameters expectedly differentiated the akathisia patients from the healthy controls. The repetitive, rhythmic pattern of akathisia was found in 13 of the 15 antisocial patients. Nine of the antisocial patients scored 2 or 3 (mild to moderate akathisia) on the BARS. Thus, the motor hyperactivity of antisocial ADHD patients has common features with mild akathisia. This may be due to a common hypodopaminergic etiology of ADHD and akathisia.

  12. Circadian rhythmicity as a predictor of weight-loss effectiveness

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Some of the major challenges associated with successful dietary weight management include the identification of individuals not responsive to specific interventions. The aim was to investigate the potential relationship between weight loss and circadian rhythmicity, using wrist temperature and actim...

  13. GLUT1 deficiency syndrome as a cause of encephalopathy that includes cognitive disability, treatment-resistant infantile epilepsy and a complex movement disorder.

    PubMed

    Graham, John M

    2012-05-01

    Glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) deficiency syndrome is caused by heterozygous mutations in the SLC2A1 gene, resulting in impaired glucose transport into the brain. It is characterized by a low glucose concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (hypoglycorrhachia) in the absence of hypoglycemia, in combination with low to normal lactate in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It often results in treatment-resistant infantile epilepsy with progressive developmental disabilities and a complex movement disorder. Recognizing GLUT1 deficiency syndrome is important, since initiation of a ketogenic diet can reduce the frequency of seizures and the severity of the movement disorder. There can be a considerable delay in diagnosing GLUT1 deficiency syndrome, and this point is illustrated by the natural history of this disorder in a 21-year-old woman with severe, progressive neurological disabilities. Her encephalopathy consisted of treatment-resistant seizures, a complex movement disorder, progressive intellectual disability, and deceleration of her head growth after late infancy. Focused evaluation at age 21 revealed GLUT1 deficiency caused by a novel heterozygous missence mutation in exon 7 (c.938C > A; p.Ser313Try) in SLC2A1 as the cause for her disabilities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. Speed invariance of independent control of finger movements in pianists

    PubMed Central

    Soechting, John F.

    2012-01-01

    Independent control of finger movements characterizes skilled motor behaviors such as tool use and musical performance. The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of movement frequency (tempo) on individuated finger movements in piano playing. Joint motion at the digits was recorded while 5 expert pianists were playing 30 excerpts from musical pieces with different fingering and key locations either at a predetermined normal tempo or as fast as possible. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis using an expectation-maximization algorithm determined three distinct patterns of finger movement coordination for a keypress with each of the index, middle, ring, and little fingers at each of the two tempi. The finger kinematics of each coordination pattern was overall similar across the tempi. Tone sequences assigned into each cluster were also similar for both tempi. A linear regression analysis determined no apparent difference in the amount of movement covariation between the striking and nonstriking fingers at both metacarpo-phalangeal and proximal-interphalangeal joints across the two tempi, which indicated no effect of tempo on independent finger movements in piano playing. In addition, the standard deviation of interkeystroke interval across strokes did not differ between the two tempi, indicating maintenance of rhythmic accuracy of keystrokes. Strong temporal constraints on finger movements during piano playing may underlie the maintained independent control of fingers over a wider range of tempi, a feature being likely to be specific to skilled pianists. PMID:22815403

  15. A Rhythmic Musical Intervention for Poor Readers: A Comparison of Efficacy with a Letter-Based Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhide, Adeetee; Power, Alan; Goswami, Usha

    2013-01-01

    There is growing evidence that children with reading difficulties show impaired auditory rhythm perception and impairments in musical beat perception tasks. Rhythmic musical interventions with poorer readers may thus improve rhythmic entrainment and consequently improve reading and phonological skills. Here we compare the effects of a musical…

  16. Perspectives on the rapid eye movement sleep switch in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

    PubMed

    Ramaligam, Vetrivelan; Chen, Michael C; Saper, Clifford B; Lu, Jun

    2013-08-01

    Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in mammals is associated with wakelike cortical and hippocampal activation and concurrent postural muscle atonia. Research during the past 5 decades has revealed the details of the neural circuitry regulating REM sleep and muscle atonia during this state. REM-active glutamatergic neurons in the sublaterodorsal nucleus (SLD) of the dorsal pons are critical for generation for REM sleep atonia. Descending projections from SLD glutamatergic neurons activate inhibitory premotor neurons in the ventromedial medulla (VMM) and in the spinal cord to antagonize the glutamatergic supraspinal inputs on the motor neurons during REM sleep. REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) consists of simple behaviors (i.e., twitching, jerking) and complex behaviors (i.e., defensive behavior, talking). Animal research has lead to the hypothesis that complex behaviors in RBD are due to SLD pathology, while simple behaviors of RBD may be due to less severe SLD pathology or dysfunction of the VMM, ventral pons, or spinal cord. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Oral and Hand Movement Speeds are Associated with Expressive Language Ability in Children with Speech Sound Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Peter, Beate

    2013-01-01

    This study tested the hypothesis that children with speech sound disorder have generalized slowed motor speeds. It evaluated associations among oral and hand motor speeds and measures of speech (articulation and phonology) and language (receptive vocabulary, sentence comprehension, sentence imitation), in 11 children with moderate to severe SSD and 11 controls. Syllable durations from a syllable repetition task served as an estimate of maximal oral movement speed. In two imitation tasks, nonwords and clapped rhythms, unstressed vowel durations and quarter-note clap intervals served as estimates of oral and hand movement speed, respectively. Syllable durations were significantly correlated with vowel durations and hand clap intervals. Sentence imitation was correlated with all three timed movement measures. Clustering on syllable repetition durations produced three clusters that also differed in sentence imitation scores. Results are consistent with limited movement speeds across motor systems and SSD subtypes defined by motor speeds as a corollary of expressive language abilities. PMID:22411590

  18. Oral and hand movement speeds are associated with expressive language ability in children with speech sound disorder.

    PubMed

    Peter, Beate

    2012-12-01

    This study tested the hypothesis that children with speech sound disorder have generalized slowed motor speeds. It evaluated associations among oral and hand motor speeds and measures of speech (articulation and phonology) and language (receptive vocabulary, sentence comprehension, sentence imitation), in 11 children with moderate to severe SSD and 11 controls. Syllable durations from a syllable repetition task served as an estimate of maximal oral movement speed. In two imitation tasks, nonwords and clapped rhythms, unstressed vowel durations and quarter-note clap intervals served as estimates of oral and hand movement speed, respectively. Syllable durations were significantly correlated with vowel durations and hand clap intervals. Sentence imitation was correlated with all three timed movement measures. Clustering on syllable repetition durations produced three clusters that also differed in sentence imitation scores. Results are consistent with limited movement speeds across motor systems and SSD subtypes defined by motor speeds as a corollary of expressive language abilities.

  19. Rhythmic Priming Enhances the Phonological Processing of Speech

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cason, Nia; Schon, Daniele

    2012-01-01

    While natural speech does not possess the same degree of temporal regularity found in music, there is recent evidence to suggest that temporal regularity enhances speech processing. The aim of this experiment was to examine whether speech processing would be enhanced by the prior presentation of a rhythmical prime. We recorded electrophysiological…

  20. Monkey primary somatosensory cortical activity during the early reaction time period differs with cues that guide movements.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yu; Denton, John M; Nelson, Randall J

    2008-05-01

    Vibration-related neurons in monkey primary somatosensory cortex (SI) discharge rhythmically when vibratory stimuli are presented. It remains unclear how functional information carried by vibratory inputs is coded in rhythmic neuronal activity. In the present study, we compared neuronal activity during wrist movements in response to two sets of cues. In the first, movements were guided by vibratory cue only (VIB trials). In the second, movements were guided by simultaneous presentation of both vibratory and visual cues (COM trials). SI neurons were recorded extracellularly during both wrist extensions and flexions. Neuronal activity during the instructed delay period (IDP) and the early reaction time period (RTP) were analyzed. A total of 96 cases from 48 neurons (each neuron contributed two cases, one each for extension and flexion) showed significant vibration entrainment during the early RTPs, as determined by circular statistics (Rayleigh test). Of these, 50 cases had cutaneous (CUTA) and 46 had deep (DEEP) receptive fields. The CUTA neurons showed lower firing rates during the IDPs and greater firing rate changes during the early RTPs when compared with the DEEP neurons. The CUTA neurons also demonstrated decreases in activity entrainment during VIB trials when compared with COM trials. For the DEEP neurons, the difference of entrainment between VIB and COM trials was not statistically significant. The results suggest that somatic vibratory input is coded by both the firing rate and the activity entrainment of the CUTA neurons in SI. The results also suggest that when vibratory inputs are required for successful task completion, the activity of the CUTA neurons increases but the entrainment degrades. The DEEP neurons may be tuned before movement initiation for processing information encoded by proprioceptive afferents.