Effectiveness of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) on Balance and Functional Mobility in the Stroke Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is one of the most popular treatments for enhancing upper and lower extremity motor activities and participation in patients following a stroke. However, the effect of CIMT on balance is unclear and needs further clarification. The aim of this research was to estimate the effect of CIMT on balance and functional mobility in patients after stroke.

Cortical lateralization of cheirosensory processing in callosal dysgenesis.

The paradoxical absence of a split-brain syndrome in most cases of callosal dysgenesis has originated three main hypotheses, namely, (i) bilateral cortical representation of language, (ii) bilateral thalamocortical projections of somatosensory pathways conveyed by the spinothalamic-medial lemniscus system, and (iii) a variable combination of (i) and (ii). We used functional neuroimaging to investigate the cortical representation and lateralization of somatosensory information from the palm of each hand in six cases of callosal dysgenesis (hypothesis [ii]). Cortical regions of interest were contralateral and ipsilateral S1 (areas 3a and 3b, 1 and 2 in the central sulcus and postcentral gyrus) and S2 (parts of areas 40 and 43 in the parietal operculum).

Reference Values for Human Posture Measurements Based on Computerized Photogrammetry: A Systematic Review.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to review the literature to identify reference values for angles and distances of body segments related to upright posture in healthy adult women with the Postural Assessment Software (PAS/SAPO).

Methods: Electronic databases (BVS, PubMed, SciELO and Scopus) were assessed using the following descriptors: evaluation, posture, photogrammetry, physical therapy, postural alignment, postural assessment, and physiotherapy. Studies that performed postural evaluation in healthy adult women with PAS/SAPO and were published in English, Portuguese and Spanish, between the years 2005 and 2014 were included.

Motor imagery in blind subjects: the influence of the previous visual experience.

Mental simulation of movements has been widely used to infer about representational aspects of action. On a daily basis, motor planning and execution depends crucially both upon vision and kinesthesia. What if the former is lost? In this study we investigate the physiological changes induced during a mental simulation task in subjects with early and late onset blindness, analyzing simultaneously stabilometric (body sway), electromyographic (EMG, lateral gastrocnemius) and eletrocardiographic (ECG) signals.

[Mental stimulation strategy affects postural control].

Recent studies have proposed that the mental rotation of body parts can be accomplished by calling upon visual and somatomotor resources which, at a functional level, would correspond to different routes toward a single solution [1]. In this study, we investigated the effect of somato-motor and visual strategies upon the mental simulation of a task that involved postural adjustments. Subjects were asked to stand up on a vertical force platform and instructed either to 1) rest during 20 s (ST), 2) count mentally from 1 to 15 (CO), 3) imagine themselves executing a bilateral plantar flexion 15 times (IM), and 4) execute the same movement 15 times (EX).