Poor upper limb performance despite the absence of notable upper limb motor impairment in adults with acute stroke - the influence of cognitive deficits.

Introduction: To assess the impact of cognitive impairment, upper limb apraxia, and spatial neglect on upper limb performance in adults with stroke.

Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study evaluated upper limb performance dependency in adults with acute/early subacute stroke. The Upper Limb (UL)-LIMOS assessed upper limb performance; while upper limb motor impairment was evaluated with the Fugl Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremity (FMA-UE), general cognitive function with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, spatial neglect with the Catherine Bergego Scale, and upper limb apraxia with the Apraxia Screen of TULIA.

A Usability Pilot Study of a Sensor-Guided Interactive System for Dexterity Training in Parkinson's Disease.

This pilot study aimed to evaluate the usability of a new, feedback-based dexterity training system in people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) and healthy adults. Seven PwPD and seven healthy adults participated in the study. The System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire Version 3 (PSSUQ) were used to assess usability.

Exploring imitation of within hand prehensile object manipulation using fMRI and graph theory analysis.

This study aims to establish an imitation task of multi-finger haptics in the context of regular grasping and regrasping processes during activities of daily living. A video guided the 26 healthy, right-handed volunteers through the three phases of the task: (1) fixation of a hand holding a cuboid, (2) observation of the sensori-motor manipulation, (3) imitation of that motor action. fMRI recorded the task; graph analysis of the acquisitions revealed the associated functional cerebral connectivity patterns.

Severity-Dependent Interhemispheric White Matter Connectivity Predicts Poststroke Neglect Recovery.

Left-sided spatial neglect is a very common and challenging issue after right-hemispheric stroke, which strongly and negatively affects daily living behavior and recovery of stroke survivors. The mechanisms underlying recovery of spatial neglect remain controversial, particularly regarding the involvement of the intact, contralesional hemisphere, with potential contributions ranging from maladaptive to compensatory. In the present prospective, observational study, we assessed neglect severity in 54 right-hemispheric stroke patients (32 male; 22 female) at admission to and discharge from inpatient neurorehabilitation.

Association of Acute Infarct Topography With Development of Cerebral Palsy and Neurologic Impairment in Neonates With Stroke.

Background And Objectives: Research investigating neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS) outcomes have shown that combined cortical and basal ganglia infarction or involvement of the corticospinal tract predict cerebral palsy (CP). The research question was whether voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) on acute MRI can identify brain regions associated with CP and neurodevelopmental impairments in NAIS.

Methods: Newborns were recruited from prospective Australian and Swiss pediatric stroke registries.

An Overview of Wearable Haptic Technologies and Their Performance in Virtual Object Exploration.

We often interact with our environment through manual handling of objects and exploration of their properties. Object properties (OP), such as texture, stiffness, size, shape, temperature, weight, and orientation provide necessary information to successfully perform interactions. The human haptic perception system plays a key role in this.

Feasibility of a combined intermittent theta-burst stimulation and video game-based dexterity training in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) often exhibit difficulties with dexterity during the performance of activities of daily living (ADL), inter alia due to dysfunctional supplementary motor area (SMA). Combined intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) over the SMA followed by video game-based training (VBT) may therefore improve dexterity related ADL. The VBT may induce high flow levels related to high performance during the training.

Improved gesturing in left-hemispheric stroke by right inferior parietal theta burst stimulation.

Objectives: Apraxia is a common syndrome of left hemispheric stroke. A parieto-premotor-prefrontal network has been associated with apraxia, in which the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL-L) plays a major role. We hypothesized that transcranial continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL-R) improves gesturing by reducing its inhibition on the contralateral IPL in left hemispheric stroke patients.

Tablet app-based dexterity training in multiple sclerosis (TAD-MS): a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) may lead to health benefits. In recent years, the use of apps in multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased. Apps to train and improve dexterity in MS are scarce.

Joint impact on attention, alertness and inhibition of lesions at a frontal white matter crossroad.

In everyday life, information from different cognitive domains-such as visuospatial attention, alertness and inhibition-needs to be integrated between different brain regions. Early models suggested that completely segregated brain networks control these three cognitive domains. However, more recent accounts, mainly based on neuroimaging data in healthy participants, indicate that different tasks lead to specific patterns of activation within the same, higher-order and 'multiple-demand' network.

Combining Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Video Game-Based Training to Improve Dexterity in Parkinson's Disease: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often exhibit difficulties with dexterity during the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) due to dysfunctional supplementary motor area (SMA). The aim of this clinical trial protocol work is to describe how the effectiveness of a combined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over SMA and video-game-based skill training (VBT) in PD will be evaluated. The short and long-term benefits are assessed.

Distinguishing transient from persistent tactile agnosia after partial anterior circulation infarcts - Behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for white matter disconnection.

From a cohort of 36 patients presenting apperceptive tactile agnosia after first cortical ischemic stroke, 14 showed temporary impairment at admission. A previous multi-voxel analysis of the cortical lesions, using as explanatory variable the course of tactile object recognition performance over the recovery period of 9 months, partitioned the cohort into three subgroups. Of the 14 patients constituting two of the subgroups, 7 recovered from their impairment whereas 7 did not.

Signal Alteration of the Inner Ear on High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Constructive Interference in Steady State Sequence in Patients with Ménière's Disease and Labyrinthitis.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate signal alteration in the inner ear using three-dimensional (3D)-constructive interference in steady state (CISS) sequence in patients with Ménière's disease and labyrinthitis and its correlation with clinical and audiological parameters.

Methods: The medical records of the department of otorhinolaryngology were searched for patients with Ménière's disease or labyrinthitis who underwent MRI with 3D-CISS sequence. Blinded analysis of these patients and of MRI from control subjects without middle or inner ear symptoms was performed to detect any signal asymmetry of the inner ear structures.

Usability of Two New Interactive Game Sensor-Based Hand Training Devices in Parkinson's Disease.

This pilot cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the usability of two new interactive game sensor-based hand devices (GripAble and Smart Sensor Egg) in both healthy adults as well as in persons with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Eight healthy adults and eight persons with PD participated in this study. Besides a standardised usability measure, the state of flow after one training session and the effect of cognitive abilities on flow were evaluated.

Distended Seminal Vesicles Are Involved in Specific Cerebral Sexual Arousal: A Pilot Study Using Functional Brain Imaging in Young Healthy Men.

Background: Whether seminal vesicles play a role in sexual activity in men is unknown. No study so far has compared the neural processing of visual sexual stimuli in men depending on the filling state of the seminal vesicles.

Objective: To evaluate potential specific cortical activation by visual sexual stimuli with distended and empty seminal vesicles.

Graded peak cycle ergometer test for cognitively impaired patients with Parkinson's disease: a pilot study.

Background: Cognitive decline affects up to 50% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in the course of the disease and may be amenable to exercise interventions. To accurately set adequate training intensities, standardized exercise testing is required but such testing takes considerable time and effort. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of a graded peak cycle ergometer exercise test in cognitively impaired patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD), and to define whether age-predicted maximal heart rate (HRmax) matched measured HRmax.

Influence of head orientation and implantation site of a novel transcutaneous bone conduction implant on MRI metal artifact reduction sequence.

Purpose: The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is often limited in patients with auditory implants because of the presence of metallic components and magnets. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of a customized MRI sequence for metal artifact suppression in patients with BONEBRIDGETM BCI 602 implants (MED-EL, Innsbruck, Austria), the successor of the BCI 601 model.

Methods: Using our in-house developed and customized metal artifact reduction sequence (SEMAC-VAT WARP), MRI artifacts were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively.

The Working Memory Network and Its Association with Working Memory Performance in Survivors of non-CNS Childhood Cancer.

Childhood cancer and its treatment puts survivors at risk of low working memory capacity. Working memory represents a core cognitive function, which is crucial in daily life and academic tasks. The aim of this functional MRI (fMRI) study was to examine the working memory network of survivors of childhood cancer without central nervous system (CNS) involvement and its relation to cognitive performance.

Cortical Morphometry and Its Relationship with Cognitive Functions in Children after non-CNS Cancer.

: Childhood cancer survivors (Ccs) are at risk for cognitive late-effects, which might result from cortical alterations, even if cancer does not affect the brain. The study aimed to examine gray and white matter volume and its relationship to cognition. : Forty-three Ccs of non-central nervous system cancers and 43 healthy controls, aged 7-16 years, were examined.

Non-invasive brain stimulation in limb praxis and apraxia: A scoping review in healthy subjects and patients with stroke.

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques are widely used in research settings to investigate brain mechanisms and increasingly being used for treatment purposes. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and review the current literature on NIBS studies of limb praxis and apraxia in healthy subjects and stroke patients with a scoping review using PRISMA-ScR guidelines. MEDLINE-PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched.

Impact of non-CNS childhood cancer on resting-state connectivity and its association with cognition.

Introduction: Non-central nervous system cancer in childhood (non-CNS CC) and its treatments pose a major threat to brain development, with implications for functional networks. Structural and functional alterations might underlie the cognitive late-effects identified in survivors of non-CNS CC. The present study evaluated resting-state functional networks and their associations with cognition in a mixed sample of non-CNS CC survivors (i.

Imaging Neurovascular Uncoupling in Acute Migraine with Aura with Susceptibility Weighted Imaging.

Purpose: Migraine with aura (MwA) in the emergency setting is common and sometimes difficult to distinguish from mimicking conditions. Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), a magnet resonance (MR) technique is sensitive to deoxygenated hemoglobin in cerebral veins and depicts these according to their level of oxygenation. Our study aimed at evaluating the frequency of regions of prominent focal veins (PFV) on SWI in the acute phase.

Findings in susceptibility weighted imaging in pediatric patients with migraine with aura.

Background: Migraine with aura (MwA) in pediatric patients is clinically frequent. Clinically complex symptoms need to be differentiated to exclude mimicking conditions.

Purpose: We hypothesize that MwA in children induces abnormalities readily visible in perfusion time to peak (TTP) maps as well as non-enhanced susceptibility weighted magnetic resonance imaging (SWI).

Outcome prediction with resting-state functional connectivity after cardiac arrest.

Predicting outcome in comatose patients after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation is challenging. Our primary aim was to assess the potential contribution of resting-state-functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) in predicting neurological outcome. RS-fMRI was used to evaluate functional and effective connectivity within the default mode network in a cohort of 90 comatose patients and their impact on functional neurological outcome after 3 months.