Evolution of Severe Closed Head Injury: Assessing Ventricular Volume and Behavioral Measures at 30 and 90 Days Post-Injury.

Assessing functional outcomes in Severe Closed Head Injury (SCHI) is complex due to brain parenchymal changes. This study examines the Ventricles to Intracranial Volume Ratio (VBR) as a metric for these changes and its correlation with behavioral scales. Thirty-one SCHI patients were included.

Pointing in cervical dystonia patients.

Introduction: The normal hemispheric balance can be altered by the asymmetric sensorimotor signal elicited by Cervical Dystonia (CD), leading to motor and cognitive deficits.

Methods: Directional errors, peak velocities, movement and reaction times of pointing towards out-of-reach targets in the horizontal plane were analysed in 18 CD patients and in 11 aged-matched healthy controls.

Results: CD patients displayed a larger scatter of individual trials around the average pointing direction (variable error) than normal subjects, whatever the arm used, and the target pointed.

Hypnotizability-Related Effects of Pain Expectation on the Later Modulation of Cortical Connectivity.

This study examined hypnotizability-related modulation of the cortical network following expected and nonexpected nociceptive stimulation. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 9 high () and 8 low () hypnotizable participants receiving nociceptive stimulation with (W1) and without (noW) a visual warning preceding the stimulation by 1 second. W1 and noW were compared to baseline conditions to assess the presence of any later effect and between each other to assess the effects of expectation.

Exercise training in ad libitum and food-restricted old rats: effects on metabolic and physiological parameters.

Aging is accompanied by a decline in the healthy function of multiple organs, leading to increased incidence and mortality from diseases such as cancer and inflammatory, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Dietary restriction is the most effective experimental intervention known to consistently slow the aging process and with positive effects on health span in different organisms, from invertebrates to mammals. Age is also associated with progressive decline in physical activity levels in a wide range of animal species: therefore, regular physical exercise could represent a safe intervention to antagonize aging.

Percutaneous Venous Angioplasty in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency: A Randomized Wait List Control Study.

Background: Venous percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (vPTA) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) have shown contradictory results. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of the procedure in a randomized wait list control study.

Methods: 66 adults with neurologist-confirmed diagnosis of MS and sonographic diagnosis of CCSVI were allocated into vPTA-yes group (n = 31) or vPTA-not group (n = 35, control group).

A Case of Carbon Monoxide-Induced Delayed Neurological Sequelae Successfully Treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, N-Acetylcysteine, and Glucocorticoids: Clinical and Neuroimaging Follow-Up.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of intentional and unintentional poisoning worldwide, associated with mortality and severe morbidity. Some survivors of CO poisoning develop, after a lucid interval, a potentially permanent encephalopathy in the form of cognitive impairment and movement disorders, such as Parkinsonism. One of the most frequent neuroimaging findings is a cerebral white matter damage, but so far its precise cause and specific therapy are still debated.

A New Standardization of the Bells Test: An Italian Multi-Center Normative Study.

The Bells Test is a cancelation task that is widely used for the diagnosis of unilateral spatial neglect (USN). With the aim of fostering more reliable use of this instrument, we set out to develop new norms adjusted for the possible influence of age, gender and education. We worked on the original version of the test.

Role of Acupuncture in the Management of Severe Acquired Brain Injuries (sABIs).

Acupuncture therapy has been used to treat several disorders in Asian countries and its use is increasing in Western countries as well. Current literature assessed the safety and efficacy of acupuncture in the acute management and rehabilitation of patients with neurologic disorders. In this paper, the role of acupuncture in the treatment of acute severe acquired brain injuries is described, acting on neuroinflammation, intracranial oedema, oxidative stress, and neuronal regeneration.

Whole body vibration and treadmill training in Parkinson's disease rehabilitation: effects on energy cost and recovery phases.

Background: Although physical treatment is recognized as being beneficial for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), there is scant literature on the type of rehabilitation program most useful for patients with PD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two different training protocols (aerobic treadmill training, AER and whole body vibration training, WBVT) on energy cost and adaptations after exercise and recovery phases, by means of the oxygen consumption measurement and the assay of metabolic biochemical substrates.

Methods: Twenty male patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease, aged 51-66 years, were enrolled.

Caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological diseases.

Aim of this study is to examine caregiver burden and family functioning in different neurological conditions. Forty-two primary caregivers of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's Disease and other dementia (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) were administered scales for the evaluation of caregiver burden (CBI) and family functioning (FACES IV). Caregiver burden was overall high, with caregivers of patients with ALS and ABI having exceeded the CBI cut-off score for possible burn-out.

Effects of a Home-Based Family-Centred Early Habilitation Program on Neurobehavioural Outcomes of Very Preterm Born Infants: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Preterm children have an increased risk of neurodevelopmental impairments which include psychomotor and language retardation. The objectives of the present retrospective cohort study were to examine the effects of an individually adapted, home-based, and family-centred early developmental habilitation program on neurodevelopmental and behavioural outcomes of very preterm children compared with a standard follow-up at 2 years' corrected age. Enrolled infants were retrospectively assigned to the intervention group (61 subjects) or to the control group (62 subjects) depending on whether they had or had not carried out a home-based family-centred early developmental habilitation program focused on environmental enrichment, parent-guided environmental interaction, and infant development.

Blink reflex in subjects with different hypnotizability: New findings for an old debate.

Hypnotizability is associated with attentional characteristics whose neurophysiological bases are still under debate. Aim of the study was the assessment of possible hypnotizability-related differences in blink reflex (BR) which has a nociceptive component, is sensitive to attentional-emotional traits and states and is modulated by the brain dopamine content. In 10 high (highs) and 10 low hypnotizable participants (lows) BR was induced by electrical nociceptive stimulation of the right supraorbital nerve in the absence (noW) and in the presence of a visual cue preceding the electrical stimulation by 0.

EEG Theta Dynamics within Frontal and Parietal Cortices for Error Processing during Reaching Movements in a Prism Adaptation Study Altering Visuo-Motor Predictive Planning.

Modulation of frontal midline theta (fmθ) is observed during error commission, but little is known about the role of theta oscillations in correcting motor behaviours. We investigate EEG activity of healthy partipants executing a reaching task under variable degrees of prism-induced visuo-motor distortion and visual occlusion of the initial arm trajectory. This task introduces directional errors of different magnitudes.

N400-like responses to three-chord harmonic sequences with unexpected out of key endings: scalp topography, cortical sources, and perspectives for a clinical use.

A series of ERP components, each provided with both a precise timing with respect to stimulation and a specific cortical localization, reflects the temporal succession of processing stages of music information. This makes the musical stimulus potentially usable to probe residual brain functions in non-communicating patients with disorders of consciousness. In an attempt to find a simple stimulation protocol that was suitable for use in a clinical setting, the purpose of this study was to verify whether a minimum-length musical stimulus, provided with a definite music-syntactic connotation, was still able to elicit musical ERPs in a group of eight healthy subjects.

Family functioning in severe brain injuries: correlations with caregivers' burden, perceived social support and quality of life.

Severe brain injuries have long-term consequences on functional status and psychosocial functioning. Family life can be greatly influenced as well, and features of high caregiver burden can emerge. Although the data on caregivers' distress are constantly increasing, less information is available about the role of family functioning.

A case of post-traumatic minimally conscious state reversed by midazolam: Clinical aspects and neurophysiological correlates.

Purpose: We describe the case of a subject in a post-traumatic Minimally Conscious State (MCS) who retrieved full interaction with the environment after midazolam infusion. We studied EEG correlates of the "awakening reaction" in the different domains of frequency, time and cortical topography, along with the intrinsic connectivity within both the task-positive and the linguistic network.

Methods: EEG recorded before and after midazolam administration has been submitted to spectral power analysis, sLORETA analysis and intrinsic connectivity analysis within both functional networks.

Revisiting the association between hypnotisability and blink rate.

Blink rate (BR), which is considered an index of the dopaminergic tone, has been studied in 41 subjects with high (highs), medium (mediums) and low (lows) hypnotisability scores in resting conditions. It has been found higher in highs; relaxation (indicated by skin conductance), anxiety and the proneness to absorption in tasks (assessed by questionnaires) were not responsible for the observed difference. In contrast, the BR difference did not survive controlling for mind wandering (MW questionnaire) whose variability could account for contrasting earlier reports, although no significant hypnotisability-related difference has been observed in MW scores.

Spectral parameters modulation and source localization of blink-related alpha and low-beta oscillations differentiate minimally conscious state from vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome.

Recently, the cortical source of blink-related delta oscillations (delta BROs) in resting healthy subjects has been localized in the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus (PCC/PCu), one of the main core-hubs of the default-mode network. This has been interpreted as the electrophysiological signature of the automatic monitoring of the surrounding environment while subjects are immersed in self-reflecting mental activities. Although delta BROs were directly correlated to the degree of consciousness impairment in patients with disorders of consciousness, they failed to differentiate vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) from minimally conscious state (MCS).

Object use affects motor planning in infant prehension.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors underlying the ability to plan object-oriented grasping movements in the first two years of life. In particular, we were interested in evaluating the relationship between manual motor planning, object use and infant-parent interaction. In order to achieve this aim, grasping behaviors of nineteen healthy infants, aged nine to 25 months, were examined during naturalistic play sessions with a standard set of toys.

Positive effects of robotic exoskeleton training of upper limb reaching movements after stroke.

This study, conducted in a group of nine chronic patients with right-side hemiparesis after stroke, investigated the effects of a robotic-assisted rehabilitation training with an upper limb robotic exoskeleton for the restoration of motor function in spatial reaching movements. The robotic assisted rehabilitation training was administered for a period of 6 weeks including reaching and spatial antigravity movements. To assess the carry-over of the observed improvements in movement during training into improved function, a kinesiologic assessment of the effects of the training was performed by means of motion and dynamic electromyographic analysis of reaching movements performed before and after training.

Cortical source of blink-related delta oscillations and their correlation with levels of consciousness.

Recently, blink-related delta oscillations (delta BROs) have been observed in healthy subjects during spontaneous blinking at rest. Delta BROs have been linked with continuous gathering of information from the surrounding environment, which is classically attributed to the precuneus. Furthermore, fMRI studies have shown that precuneal activity is reduced or missing when consciousness is low or absent.

Reciprocal dynamics of EEG alpha and delta oscillations during spontaneous blinking at rest: a survey on a default mode-based visuo-spatial awareness.

By means of a narrowband wavelet analysis (0.5-6Hz), EEG delta event-related oscillations (EROs), both time- and phase-locked to spontaneous blinking (delta blink-related oscillations or delta BROs), have recently been demonstrated. On the basis of their spatiotemporal characteristics, delta BROs have been proposed as being involved in an automatic mechanism of maintaining awareness in a visuo-spatial context.

Robotic assisted rehabilitation in Virtual Reality with the L-EXOS.

This study presents the evaluation results of a clinical trial of robotic-assisted rehabilitation in Virtual Reality performed with the PERCRO L-Exos (Light-Exoskeleton) system, which is a 5-DoF force-feedback exoskeleton for the right arm. The device has demonstrated itself suitable for robotic arm rehabilitation therapy when integrated with a Virtual Reality (VR) system. Three different schemes of therapy in VR were tested in the clinical evaluation trial, which was conducted on a group of nine chronic stroke patients at the Santa Chiara Hospital in Pisa-Italy.