Neural Correlates of Impaired Grasp Function in Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy.

Unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) is caused by damage to the developing brain and affects motor function, mainly lateralized to one side of the body. Children with USCP have difficulties grasping objects, which can affect their ability to perform daily activities. Although cerebral palsy is typically classified according to motor function, sensory abnormalities are often present as well and may contribute to motor impairments, including grasping.

Action observation facilitates anticipatory control of grasp for object mass but not weight distribution.

Action observation has been shown to facilitate the performance of the observer and is being increasingly used as a rehabilitation tool following neurological damage. During object manipulation, visual observation of performance is suggested to enable the updating of the sensorimotor representations of object properties. Here, through 3 experiments, we examine the effect of action observation of a novel object on the updating of object mass and weight distribution for bimanual manipulation.

Anticipatory Motor Planning and Control of Grasp in Children with Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy.

Children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) have impairments in motor planning, impacting their ability to grasp objects. We examined the planning of digit position and force and the flexibility of the motor system in covarying these during object manipulation. Eleven children with a left hemisphere lesion (LHL), nine children with a right hemisphere lesion (RHL) and nine typically developing children (controls) participated in the study.

Corpus Callosum Integrity Relates to Improvement of Upper-Extremity Function Following Intensive Rehabilitation in Children With Unilateral Spastic Cerebral Palsy.

Background: The corpus callosum (CC) plays an important role in upper extremity (UE) function. The impact on UE function in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP) and improvements following intensive interventions remain unknown.

Objectives: To examine the (1) relationship between UE function and CC integrity and (2) relationship between CC integrity and changes in UE function following intensive interventions.

Can natural selection and druggable targets synergize? Of nutrient scarcity, cancer, and the evolution of cooperation.

Since the dawn of molecular biology, cancer therapy has focused on druggable targets. Despite some remarkable successes, cell-level evolution remains a potent antagonist to this approach. We suggest that a deeper understanding of the breakdown of cooperation can synergize the evolutionary and druggable-targets approaches.