Ten years of using the APACS test: a multistudy cross-diagnostic analysis of pragmatic profiles and their relationship with Theory of Mind.

Pragmatic impairments are largely documented, yet rarely considered in clinical practice, also owing to a poor characterization of pragmatic profiles across conditions, as well as some overlap with theory of mind (ToM) in the conceptualization of pragmatics. Here, we present the outcome of a 10-year programme that started with creating a novel test, the Assessment of Pragmatic Abilities and Cognitive Substrates (APACS)-which we evolved by its application alongside ToM assessment in seven clinical groups (i.e.

An Imitation-Based Treatment for Ataxic Dysarthria: A Retrospective Multiple Single-Case Study.

Ataxic dysarthria is a speech disorder characterized by the impaired coordination of movement due to cerebellar dysfunction. Despite its clinical relevance, few studies have explored its rehabilitation. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of IMITAF, an adaptive computer-based clinical treatment protocol originally developed to target aphasia with a novel population comprising individuals with ataxic dysarthria.

Susceptibility to multitasking in stroke is associated to multiple-demand system damage and leads to lateralized visuospatial deficits.

Cognitive impairment after stroke is heterogeneous: there is no strict correspondence between brain damage and magnitude of deficit or recovery. Protective factors such as cognitive or brain reserve have been invoked to explain the mismatch. Here, we consider the opposite point of view: the instances in which this protection is overturned.

How Lung Volume Recruitment Maneuvers Enhance Respiratory Function in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Quasi-Randomized Pilot Study.

: In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a decrease in muscle strength can lead to limitations in pulmonary functions, potentially causing respiratory complications. To address these challenges, the lung volume recruitment (LVR) maneuver has emerged as a potential intervention. This study sought to evaluate the impact of a four-week LVR protocol on respiratory function in secondary progressive MS patients.

White matter tract disconnection in Gerstmann's syndrome: Insights from a single case study.

It has been suggested that Gerstmann's syndrome is the result of subcortical disconnection rather than emerging from damage of a multifunctional brain region within the parietal lobe. However, patterns of white matter tract disconnection following parietal damage have been barely investigated. This single case study allows characterising Gerstmann's syndrome in terms of disconnected networks.

Prediction of rehabilitation induced motor recovery after stroke using a multi-dimensional and multi-modal approach.

Background: Stroke is a debilitating disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite the survival rate has significantly increased over the years, many stroke survivors are left with severe impairments impacting their quality of life. Rehabilitation programs have proved to be successful in improving the recovery process.

Validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale.

Objective: In the dysphagic patient, pharyngeal residues (PR) are associated with aspiration and poor quality of life. The assessment of PR using validated scales during flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is crucial for rehabilitation. This study aims to validate and test the reliability of the Italian version of the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (IT-YPRSRS).

Speech and Language Therapy for Acquired Central Dysgraphia in Neurological Patients: A Systematic Review to Describe and Identify Trainings for Clinical Practice.

Purpose: Acquired central dysgraphia is a heterogeneous neurological disorder that usually co-occurs with other language disorders. Written language training is relevant to improve everyday skills and as a compensatory strategy to support limited oral communication. A systematic evaluation of existing writing treatments is thus needed.

Mapping the psychoanalytic literature on bipolar disorder: a scoping review of journal articles.

Objective: To provide a review of journal articles discussing clinical cases or vignettes of psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic psychotherapy of patients affected by bipolar disorder.

Methods: A thorough search of journal articles was performed in five databases to identify studies published from 1990-2021.

Results: Twenty-four articles were included in this review, comprising a total of 29 case reports.

Biofeedback as an Adjunctive Treatment for Post-stroke Dysphagia: A Pilot-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background And Purpose: Post-stroke dysphagia affects almost half of the survivors and severely influences quality of life, thus becoming swallowing rehabilitation of paramount importance. However, there is little adequate evidence on which the best rehabilitative strategy can be. Surface electromyography (sEMG) allows for recording swallowing muscles' activity and provides real time visual feedback, as a biofeedback adjunctive technique to improve treatment outcome.

Sensorimotor, Attentional, and Neuroanatomical Predictors of Upper Limb Motor Deficits and Rehabilitation Outcome after Stroke.

The rehabilitation of motor deficits following stroke relies on both sensorimotor and cognitive abilities, thereby involving large-scale brain networks. However, few studies have investigated the integration between motor and cognitive domains, as well as its neuroanatomical basis. In this retrospective study, upper limb motor responsiveness to technology-based rehabilitation was examined in a sample of 29 stroke patients (18 with right and 11 with left brain damage).

Communicative and swallowing disorders in anoxic patients: A retrospective study on clinical outcomes and performance measures.

Background: Anoxic brain injury (ABI) is a neurological condition associated to a severe deterioration of brain functioning, whose symptomatology and clinical outcomes may be heterogeneous: cognitive deficits, language disorders like dysarthria and swallowing impairments. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information on the rehabilitation outcomes.

Objective: To confirm the occurrence of communication and swallowing deficits in 37 ABI patients and to examine whether intensive rehabilitation may contribute to any improvements and its relation to ABI severity and functional autonomy.

Recovery from tactile agnosia: a single case study.

In a patient suffering from tactile agnosia a comparison was made (using the ABABAB paradigm) between three blocks of neuropsychological rehabilitation sessions involving off-line anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (anodal-tDCS) and three blocks of rehabilitation sessions without tDCS. During the blocks with anodal-tDCS, the stimulation was administered in counterbalanced order to two sites: i) the perilesional parietal area (specific stimulation) and ii) an occipital area far from the lesion (nonspecific stimulation).Rehabilitation associated with anodal-tDCS (in particular in the perilesional areas) is more efficacious than without stimulation.

Modulation of somatoparaphrenia following left-hemisphere damage.

Somatoparaphrenic symptoms after left-hemisphere damage are rare. To verify the potential role of body-related sensory (proprioceptive, visual, and somatosensory) manipulation in patients experiencing sensations of hand disownership, the symptoms of a patient suffering from right-hand somatoparaphrenia were monitored and clinical and neuropsychological variables were controlled. Four types of manipulation were administered: changes in spatial position of the hand, multisensory stimulation, and self-observation using video or mirrors.

Modulating anosognosia for hemiplegia: The role of dangerous actions in emergent awareness.

Anosognosia for hemiplegia is a lack of awareness of motor deficits following a right hemisphere lesion. Residual forms of awareness co-occur with an explicit denial of hemiplegia. The term emergent awareness refers to a condition in which awareness of motor deficits is reported verbally during the actual performance of an action involving the affected body part.

The Representation of Objects in Apraxia: From Action Execution to Error Awareness.

Apraxia is a well-known syndrome characterized by the sufferer's inability to perform routine gestures. In an attempt to understand the syndrome better, various different theories have been developed and a number of classifications of different subtypes have been proposed. In this article review, we will address these theories with a specific focus on how the use of objects helps us to better understand upper limb apraxia.

Altered communicative decisions following ventromedial prefrontal lesions.

Damage to the human ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) leads to profound changes in everyday social interactions [1, 2]. Yet, in the lab, vmPFC patients show surprising proficiency in reasoning about other agents [3-8]. These conflicting observations suggest that what vmPFC patients lack in everyday social interactions might be the ability to guide their decisions with knowledge about a social partner [9-13], despite preserved access to that knowledge [2, 14].