Bilateral motor tasks involve more brain regions and higher neural activation than unilateral tasks: an fMRI study.

Movements that involve simultaneous coordination of muscles of the right and left lower limbs form a large part of our daily activities (e.g., standing, rising from a chair).

5 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the ipsilesional sensory cortex enhances motor learning after stroke.

Sensory feedback is critical for motor learning, and thus to neurorehabilitation after stroke. Whether enhancing sensory feedback by applying excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the ipsilesional primary sensory cortex (IL-S1) might enhance motor learning in chronic stroke has yet to be investigated. The present study investigated the effects of 5 Hz rTMS over IL-S1 paired with skilled motor practice on motor learning, hemiparetic cutaneous somatosensation, and motor function.

Vitamin D, folate, and potential early lifecycle environmental origin of significant adult phenotypes.

Background And Objectives: Vitamin D and folate are highly UV sensitive, and critical for maintaining health throughout the lifecycle. This study examines whether solar irradiance during the first trimester of pregnancy influences vitamin D receptor (VDR) and nuclear folate gene variant occurrence, and whether affected genes influence late-life biochemical/clinical phenotypes.

Methodology: 228 subjects were examined for periconceptional exposure to solar irradiance, variation in vitamin D/folate genes (polymerase chain reaction (PCR)), dietary intake (food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)) and important adult biochemical/clinical phenotypes.

Oral cancer awareness among community-dwelling senior citizens in Illinois.

The study assessed participant awareness of oral cancer (OC), risk factors, signs and symptoms, and history of an OC screening exam and whether a relationship exists between these factors and the participant's age, level of education, socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and gender. It was a descriptive survey research with a non-randomized sample. Participants were a convenience sample of seniors participating in a congregate dining program of the DuPage County Senior Citizens Council.

Dual roles for ubiquitination in the processing of sperm organelles after fertilization.

Background: The process of fertilization involves a cell fusion event between the sperm and oocyte. Although sperm contain mitochondria when they fuse with the oocyte, paternal mitochondrial genomes do not persist in offspring and, thus, mitochondrial inheritance is maternal in most animals. Recent evidence suggests that paternal mitochondria may be eliminated via autophagy after fertilization.

A change in temperature modulates defence to yellow (stripe) rust in wheat line UC1041 independently of resistance gene Yr36.

Background: Rust diseases are of major importance in wheat production worldwide. With the constant evolution of new rust strains and their adaptation to higher temperatures, consistent and durable disease resistance is a key challenge. Environmental conditions affect resistance gene performance, but the basis for this is poorly understood.

Overall reductions in functional brain activation are associated with falls in older adults: an fMRI study.

Falls are a common geriatric condition, and while impaired cognitive function has been identified as a key risk factor, the neural correlates that contribute to reduced executive functioning and falls currently remain unknown. In this study, community-dwelling adults aged 65-75 years were divided into two groups based on their recent history of falls (fallers versus non-fallers). All participants completed the Flanker task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Use of the challenge point framework to guide motor learning of stepping reactions for improved balance control in people with stroke: a case series.

Background And Purpose: Stepping reactions are important for walking balance and community-level mobility. Stepping reactions of people with stroke are characterized by slow reaction times, poor coordination of motor responses, and low amplitude of movements, which may contribute to their decreased ability to recover their balance when challenged. An important aspect of rehabilitation of mobility after stroke is optimizing the motor learning associated with retraining effective stepping reactions.

Evaluation of white matter myelin water fraction in chronic stroke.

Multi-component T2 relaxation imaging (MCRI) provides specific in vivo measurement of myelin water content and tissue water environments through myelin water fraction (MWF), intra/extra-cellular water fraction (I/EWF) and intra/extracellular and global geometric mean T2 (GMT2) times. Quantitative MCRI assessment of tissue water environments has provided new insights into the progression and underlying white matter pathology in neural disorders such as multiple sclerosis. It has not previously been applied to investigate changes in white matter in the stroke-affected brain.

Social-emotional delays at 2 years in extremely low gestational age survivors: correlates of impaired orientation/engagement and emotional regulation.

Background: Premature infants are less socially and emotionally competent at school age than infants born at term.

Aims: To evaluate the correlates of social and emotional delays at 2 years of age among prematurely born children.

Study Design: This is a prospective cohort study.

Changes in thresholds for intracortical excitability in chronic stroke: more than just altered intracortical inhibition.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to assess changes in thresholds for the onset of short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) in individuals with chronic stroke compared to age-matched healthy adults and evaluate the relationship between these thresholds and motor function in the chronic stroke group.

Methods: Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to derive thresholds for the onset of SICI and ICF in 12 neurologically healthy and 12 individuals with chronic stroke. Motor evoked potentials were elicited by a test stimulus of fixed intensity preceded by a conditioning stimulus ranging from 0%-125% of active motor threshold to generate recruitment curves.

Motor skill learning is associated with diffusion characteristics of white matter in individuals with chronic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Imaging advances allow investigation of white matter after stroke; a growing body of literature has shown links between diffusion-based measures of white matter microstructure and motor function. However, the relationship between these measures and motor skill learning has not been considered in individuals with stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between posttraining white matter microstructural status, as indexed by diffusion tensor imaging within the ipsilesional posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC), and learning of a novel motor task in individuals with chronic stroke.

Promoting neuroplasticity for motor rehabilitation after stroke: considering the effects of aerobic exercise and genetic variation on brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

Recovery of motor function after stroke involves relearning motor skills and is mediated by neuroplasticity. Recent research has focused on developing rehabilitation strategies that facilitate such neuroplasticity to maximize functional outcome poststroke. Although many molecular signaling pathways are involved, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has emerged as a key facilitator of neuroplasticity involved in motor learning and rehabilitation after stroke.

Concussion: current concepts in diagnosis and management.

Current understanding of the term "concussion" is fraught with misconceptions regarding the extent and nature of brain injury. Despite increasing attention in popular media and within the context of sports, considerable gaps exist in our knowledge of the diagnosis, underlying brain pathology, recovery of function, and optimal interventions for concussion. In this special interest article, we discuss the definition and risk factors associated with concussion, summarize and highlight some of the most widely used assessment tools, and critique the evidence for current principles of concussion management.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improves handwriting in Parkinson's disease.

Background. Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by hypometric movements resulting from loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. PD leads to decreased activation of the supplementary motor area (SMA); the net result of these changes is a poverty of movement.

One hertz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over dorsal premotor cortex enhances offline motor memory consolidation for sequence-specific implicit learning.

Consolidation of motor memories associated with skilled practice can occur both online, concurrent with practice, and offline, after practice has ended. The current study investigated the role of dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in early offline motor memory consolidation of implicit sequence-specific learning. Thirty-three participants were assigned to one of three groups of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left PMd (5 Hz, 1 Hz or control) immediately following practice of a novel continuous tracking task.

Effect of meditation on endothelial function in Black Americans with metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial.

Objectives: Psychological stress may play a role in metabolic syndrome. A consequence of metabolic syndrome is endothelial dysfunction, which is also influenced by psychological stress. We sought to compare the effect of consciously resting meditation (CRM), a sound based meditation, with a control intervention of health education (HE) on endothelial function in the setting of metabolic syndrome.

Effect of visual feedback on brain activation during motor tasks: an FMRI study.

This study examined the effect of visual feedback and force level on the neural mechanisms responsible for the performance of a motor task. We used a voxel-wise fMRI approach to determine the effect of visual feedback (with and without) during a grip force task at 35% and 70% of maximum voluntary contraction. Two areas (contralateral rostral premotor cortex and putamen) displayed an interaction between force and feedback conditions.

Nurse practitioner roles in Australian healthcare settings.

There is evidence of support for nurse practitioner (NP) roles in national and international literature. However, despite this, and numerous Australian government feasibility and evaluation studies, barriers to implementing NP roles in mainstream health care and developing them to their full potential remain. A study was undertaken to explore nurse practitioners', managers' and nurse policymakers' perceptions of the roles in general, and this article reports on the findings from the initial survey phase.

Correlations between brain activity and components of motor learning in middle-aged adults: an fMRI study.

Implicit learning may be shown by improvements in motor performance, which occur unconsciously with practice and are typically restricted to the task that was practiced. The purpose of this study was to examine behaviorally relevant brain activation associated with change in motor behavior during sequence-specific motor learning of a perceptuomotor continuous tracking (CT) task in middle-aged adults. To gain further insight into the neural structures associated with change in motor behavior, overall improvement in tracking (root mean square error; RMSE) was decomposed into two components-temporal precision and spatial accuracy.

Stripe rust resistance genes in the UK winter wheat cultivar Claire.

Stripe rust resistance in the winter wheat cultivar Claire had remained effective in the UK and Europe since its release in 1999 and consequently has been used extensively in wheat breeding programs. However, in 2012, reports indicated that this valuable resistance may now have been compromised. To characterise stripe rust resistance in Claire and determine which genes may still confer effective resistance a cross was made between Claire and the stripe rust susceptible cultivar Lemhi.

Changes in corticospinal excitability following adaptive modification to human walking.

Locomotor adaptations to a novel environment can be measured through changes in muscle activity patterns and lower limb kinematics. The location and mechanisms underlying these adaptive changes are unknown. The purposes of the current study were (1) to determine whether corticospinal tract (CST) excitability is altered by resisted walking and (2) to ascertain whether changes in cortical excitability are muscle specific.

Combining whole-brain voxel-wise analysis with in vivo tractography of diffusion behavior after sports-related concussion in adolescents: a preliminary report.

We have previously shown that sports-related concussion in adolescents is associated with changes in whole-brain properties of white-matter pathways. Here, we assess local changes within these pathways. Twelve adolescents with a clinical diagnosis of subacute concussion and 10 healthy adolescents matched for age, gender, and physical activity completed magnetic resonance imaging scanning.

Diffusion tensor imaging of sports-related concussion in adolescents.

Concussion is among the least understood neurologic injuries. The impact of concussion on the adolescent brain remains largely unknown. This study sought to establish short-term changes in white-matter integrity after sports-related concussion in adolescents, and examine the association between changes in white-matter integrity and a clinical measure of concussion.

ART in South Africa: The price to pay.

In developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection -together with limited resources adds to the hindrances in becoming a parent. Although the South African's Bill of Rights proclaim that South Africans can "make decisions concerning reproduction"; access to and the use of Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) are viewed in general as excessively expensive, accessible only to the privileged few. A dissection of cost-drivers within an ART laboratory, such as procedures; sperm preparations; laboratory supplies including embryo culture media and cryopreservation are discussed in the current overview.