Supplementary Motor Area and Superior Parietal Lobule Restore Sensory Facilitation Prior to Stepping When a Decrease of Afferent Inputs Occurs.

The weighting of the sensory inputs is not uniform during movement preparation and execution. For instance, a transient increase in the transmission to the cortical level of cutaneous input ~700 ms was observed before participants initiated a step forward. The sensory facilitation occurred at a time when feet cutaneous information is critical for setting the forces to be exerted onto the ground to shift the center of mass toward the supporting side prior to foot-off.

Independent Early and Late Sensory Processes for Proprioceptive Integration When Planning a Step.

Somatosensory inputs to the cortex undergo an early and a later stage of processing which are characterized by an early and a late somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP). The early response is highly representative of the stimulus characteristics whereas the late response reflects a more integrative, task specific, stage of sensory processing. We hypothesized that the later processing stage is independent of the early processing stage.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of remotely delivered interventions using self-monitoring or tailored feedback to change dietary behavior.

Background: Self-monitoring (SM) of diet and tailored feedback (TF) have been suggested as tools for changing dietary behavior. New technologies allow users to monitor behavior remotely, potentially improving reach, adherence, and outcomes.

Objective: We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to address the following question: are remotely delivered standalone (i.

Erratum to: Reduced Plantar Sole Sensitivity Facilitates Early Adaptation to a Visual Rotation Pointing Task when Standing Upright.

[This corrects the article on p. 65 in vol. 52, PMID: 28149394.

Training driving ability in a traumatic brain-injured individual using a driving simulator: a case report.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes functional deficits that may significantly interfere with numerous activities of daily living such as driving. We report the case of a 20-year-old woman having lost her driver's license after sustaining a moderate TBI.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an in-simulator training program with automated feedback on driving performance in a TBI individual.

Sensory Integration during Vibration of Postural Muscle Tendons When Pointing to a Memorized Target.

Vibrating ankle muscles in freely standing persons elicits a spatially oriented postural response. For instance, vibrating the Achilles tendons induces a backward displacement of the body while vibrating the tibialis anterior muscle tendons induces a forward displacement. These displacements have been called vibration induced falling (VIF) responses and they presumably are automatic.

Change in the natural head-neck orientation momentarily altered sensorimotor control during sensory transition.

Achilles tendon vibration generates proprioceptive information that is incongruent with the actual body position; it alters the perception of body orientation leading to a vibration-induced postural response. When a person is standing freely, vibration of the Achilles tendon shifts the internal representation of the verticality backward thus the vibration-induced postural response realigned the whole body orientation with the shifted subjective vertical. Because utricular otoliths information participates in the creation of the internal representation of the verticality, changing the natural orientation of the head-neck system during Achilles tendon vibration could alter the internal representation of the earth vertical to a greater extent.

Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairments Show Less Driving Errors after a Multiple Sessions Simulator Training Program but Do Not Exhibit Long Term Retention.

The driving performance of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is suboptimal when compared to healthy older adults. It is expected that the driving will worsen with the progression of the cognitive decline and thus, whether or not these individuals should continue to drive is a matter of debate. The aim of the study was to provide support to the claim that individuals with MCI can benefit from a training program and improve their overall driving performance in a driving simulator.

Sex-specific association between obesity and self-reported falls and injuries among community-dwelling Canadians aged 65 years and older.

Unlabelled: This study investigated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and falls among community-dwelling elderly. Results indicate that obesity is associated with increased falls and there appears to be a sex-specific difference with obese men at higher risk of falling. Obesity is identified as a risk factor for falls in men.

Neural Consequences of Increasing Body Weight: Evidence from Somatosensory Evoked Potentials and the Frequency-Specificity of Brain Oscillations.

Previous studies on the control of human balance suggested that increased pressure under the feet, leading to reduced plantar sole mechanoreceptors sensitivity, increases body sway. Although this suggestion is attracting, it is unclear whether increased plantar sole pressure simply reduces the transmission of plantar sole afferent to the cortex or also alters the sensorimotor integrative mechanisms. Here we used electrical stimulation applied under the sole of the foot to probe the sensorimotor mechanisms processing foot mechanoreceptors.

Driving assessment and rehabilitation using a driving simulator in individuals with traumatic brain injury: A scoping review.

Background: Due to the heterogeneity of the lesion following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the complexity of the driving task, driving assessment and rehabilitation in TBI individuals is challenging. Conventional driving assessment (on-road and in-clinic evaluations) has failed demonstrating effectiveness to assess fitness to drive in TBI individuals.

Objective: We aimed to determine if driving simulators represent an interesting opportunity in assessing and rehabilitating driving skills in TBI individuals.

Balance control impairment in obese individuals is caused by larger balance motor commands variability.

It is acknowledged that various factors impaired balance control. Among them, heavy body weight is associated with poor balance control because the location of the center of mass is further away from the ankle joint. Thus, a larger active ankle torque is required to counter the greater gravitational torque.

Quantifying forearm and wrist joint power during unconstrained movements in healthy individuals.

Background: Wrist movement-related injuries account for a large number of repetitive motion injuries. Remarkably little, if any, empirical data exist to quantify the impact of neuromuscular disorders affecting the wrist or to validate the effectiveness of rehabilitation training programs on wrist functions. The aim of this project was to develop a biomechanical model for quantifying wrist and forearm kinetics during unconstrained movements, to assess its reliability and to determine its sensitivity.

Reduced plantar sole sensitivity induces balance control modifications to compensate ankle tendon vibration and vision deprivation.

The aim of this study was to investigate if sensory reweighting occurred to control balance when the sensitivity of the plantar sole is reduced using cooling. To address this question, visual information was manipulated and/or ankle proprioception was altered by Achilles tendon vibration. It was expected that Achilles tendon vibration and vision deprivation would induce greater center of pressure (CoP) excursions and/or increase of electromyographic (EMG) activity of the ankle muscles (triceps surea and tibialis anterior) with than without cooling of the plantar sole.

Ankle muscular proprioceptive signals' relevance for balance control on various support surfaces: an exploratory study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the effect of various unstable support surfaces on the relevance of muscular proprioceptive signals originating from the ankle joint.

Design: Ten healthy subjects were instructed to stand as still as possible on a force plate during 40 secs on three different surfaces: (1) stable, (2) unstable-unspecific (foam), and (3) unstable-specific (inspired from rearfoot anatomy). Muscular vibration was applied on the paraspinals and fibularis muscles.

Balance control interferes with the tracing performance of a pattern with mirror-reversed vision in older persons.

When tracing a template with mirror-reversed vision (or distorted vision), the sensory information arising from the movement does not match the expected sensory consequences. In such situations, participants have to learn a new visuomotor mapping in order to trace the template with an accuracy and speed approaching that observed when tracing with direct vision. There are several suggestions that such visuomotor learning requires lowering the gain of the proprioceptive inputs.

Lower-Limb Power cannot be Estimated Accurately from Vertical Jump Tests.

The countermovement jump test is often adopted to monitor lower-limb power of an individual. Despite several studies on the validity of this test, there is still a need to determine the minimal difference needed to be confident that a difference in power between two individuals is present or that a true change in the performance of an individual has occurred. In this study, power was measured from ground reaction forces and compared to that obtained from predictive equations for two groups of subjects (67 trained and 20 highly trained individuals).

Impact of age and cognitive demand on lane choice and changing under actual highway conditions.

Previous research suggests that drivers change lanes less frequently during periods of heightened cognitive load. However, lane changing behavior of different age groups under varying levels of cognitive demand is not well understood. The majority of studies which have evaluated lane changing behavior under cognitive workload have been conducted in driving simulators.

Short term alteration of balance control after a reduction of plantar mechanoreceptor sensation through cooling.

Proprioceptive inputs from the plantar sole contribute to balance control during normal quiet standing. This study investigated the cooling of plantar sole mechanoreceptors through ice immersion and its effects on balance control and lower leg muscle activity. Ten healthy males participated in this study.

Sex differences in the effects of mental work and moderate-intensity physical activity on energy intake in young adults.

The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of mental work and moderate-intensity physical activity on various components of energy balance in young and healthy adults. With the use of a randomized crossover design, 35 participants aged 24 ± 3 years completed three 45-min conditions, namely, (i) resting in a sitting position (control), (ii) reading and writing (mental work (MW)), and (iii) exercising on a treadmill at 40% of peak oxygen uptake (exercise), followed by an ad libitum lunch. The endpoints were spontaneous energy intake (EI), energy expenditure (EE), appetite sensations, and EI for the remainder of the day.