Technical note: MR-compatible pedal ergometer with electromechanical pedal resistance and exercise triggering enhanced by visual feedback via video display.

Background: During and after exercise, dynamic P MR parameters are typically measured using an MR-compatible ergometer. Self-built equipment for local condition can be constructed where possible.

Purpose: To develop a pedal resistance ergometer with rocker arm based on a system that combines electric weight displacement, visual self-monitoring, and exercise triggering.

The intra-session reliability of functional connectivity during naturalistic viewing conditions.

Functional connectivity analysis is a common approach to the characterization of brain function. While studies of functional connectivity have predominantly focused on resting-state fMRI, naturalistic paradigms, such as movie watching, are increasingly being used. This ecologically valid, yet relatively unconstrained acquisition state has been shown to improve subject compliance and, potentially, enhance individual differences.

Brain activity changes following neuroproprioceptive "facilitation, inhibition" physiotherapy in multiple sclerosis: a parallel group randomized comparison of two approaches.

Background: Imaging methods bring new possibilities for describing the brain plasticity processes that underly the improvement of clinical function after physiotherapy in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Although these processes have been described mainly in connection with task-oriented physiotherapy and aerobic training, they have not been properly verified in neuroproprioceptive "facilitation, inhibition" (facilitation) approaches.

Aim: The study determined whether facilitation physiotherapy could enhance brain plasticity, compared two facilitation methods and looked for any relation to clinical improvement in pwMS.

Personality reflection in the brain's intrinsic functional architecture remains elusive.

In the last years, there has been a considerable increase of research into the neuroimaging correlates of inter-individual temperament and character variability-an endeavour for which the term 'personality neuroscience' was coined. Among other neuroimaging modalities and approaches, substantial work focuses on functional connectivity in resting state (rs-FC) functional magnetic resonance imaging data. In the current paper, we set out to independently query the questions asked in a highly cited study that reported a range of functional connectivity correlates of personality dimensions assessed by the widely used 'Big Five' Personality Inventory.

MR compatible ergometers for dynamic P MRS.

Magnetic Resonance (MR) compatible ergometers are specialized ergometers used inside the MR scanners for the characterization of tissue metabolism changes during physical stress. They are most commonly used for dynamic phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS), but can also be used for lactate production measurements, perfusion studies using arterial spin labelling or muscle oxygenation measurements by blood oxygen dependent contrast sequences. We will primarily discuss the importance of ergometers in the context of dynamic 31P MRS.

Altered Neural Correlate of the Self-Agency Experience in First-Episode Schizophrenia-Spectrum Patients: An fMRI Study.

Background: The phenomenology of the clinical symptoms indicates that disturbance of the sense of self be a core marker of schizophrenia.

Aims: To compare neural activity related to the self/other-agency judgment in patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (FES, n = 35) and healthy controls (HC, n = 35).

Method: A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using motor task with temporal distortion of the visual feedback was employed.

In search of neural mechanisms of mirror neuron dysfunction in schizophrenia: resting state functional connectivity approach.

It has been repeatedly shown that schizophrenia patients have immense alterations in goal-directed behaviour, social cognition, and social interactions, cognitive abilities that are presumably driven by the mirror neurons system (MNS). However, the neural bases of these deficits still remain unclear. Along with the task-related fMRI and EEG research tapping into the mirror neuron system, the characteristics of the resting state activity in the particular areas that encompass mirror neurons might be of interest as they obviously determine the baseline of the neuronal activity.

Dynamic 31P MR spectroscopy of plantar flexion: influence of ergometer design, magnetic field strength (3 and 7 T), and RF-coil design.

Purpose: Dynamic phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P MRS) during and after acute exercise enables the noninvasive in vivo determination of the mitochondrial capacity of skeletal muscle. Nevertheless, the lack of standardization in experimental setups leads to significant variations in published values of maximal aerobic capacity, even in the population of healthy volunteers. Thus, in this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the ergometer type (pneumatic and mechanical resistance construction), radiofrequency (RF)-coil diameter, and different magnetic field strengths (3 and 7 T) on the metabolic parameters measured by dynamic (31)P MRS during a plantar flexion isotonic exercise protocol within the same group of healthy volunteers.