Functional motor phenotypes: to lump or to split?

Introduction: Functional motor disorders (FMDs) are usually categorized according to the predominant phenomenology; however, it is unclear whether this phenotypic classification mirrors the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Objective: To compare the characteristics of patients with different FMDs phenotypes and without co-morbid neurological disorders, aiming to answer the question of whether they represent different expressions of the same disorder or reflect distinct entities.

Methods: Consecutive outpatients with a clinically definite diagnosis of FMDs were included in the Italian registry of functional motor disorders (IRFMD), a multicenter data collection platform gathering several clinical and demographic variables.

Nusinersen Modulates Proteomics Profiles of Cerebrospinal Fluid in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1 Patients.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 is a severe infantile autosomal-recessive neuromuscular disorder caused by a survival motor neuron 1 gene () mutation and characterized by progressive muscle weakness. Without supportive care, SMA type 1 is rapidly fatal. The antisense oligonucleotide nusinersen has recently improved the natural course of this disease.

Measures of resting state EEG rhythms for clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease: Recommendations of an expert panel.

The Electrophysiology Professional Interest Area (EPIA) and Global Brain Consortium endorsed recommendations on candidate electroencephalography (EEG) measures for Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials. The Panel reviewed the field literature. As most consistent findings, AD patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia showed abnormalities in peak frequency, power, and "interrelatedness" at posterior alpha (8-12 Hz) and widespread delta (< 4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) rhythms in relation to disease progression and interventions.

EEG measures for clinical research in major vascular cognitive impairment: recommendations by an expert panel.

Vascular contribution to cognitive impairment (VCI) and dementia is related to etiologies that may affect the neurophysiological mechanisms regulating brain arousal and generating electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. A multidisciplinary expert panel reviewed the clinical literature and reached consensus about the EEG measures consistently found as abnormal in VCI patients with dementia. As compared to cognitively unimpaired individuals, those VCI patients showed (1) smaller amplitude of resting state alpha (8-12 Hz) rhythms dominant in posterior regions; (2) widespread increases in amplitude of delta (< 4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) rhythms; and (3) delayed N200/P300 peak latencies in averaged event-related potentials, especially during the detection of auditory rare target stimuli requiring participants' responses in "oddball" paradigms.

Human Lateralization, Maternal Effects and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

In humans, behavioral laterality and hemispheric asymmetries are part of a complex biobehavioral system in which genetic factors have been repeatedly proposed as developmental determinants of both phenomena. However, no model solely based on genetic factors has proven conclusive, pushing towards the inclusion of environmental and epigenetic factors into the system. Moreover, it should be pointed out that epigenetic modulation might also account for why certain genes are expressed differently in parents and offspring.

Temporal modes of hub synchronization at rest.

The brain is a dynamic system that generates a broad repertoire of perceptual, motor, and cognitive states by the integration and segregation of different functional domains represented in large-scale brain networks. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying brain network integration remain elusive. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, we found that in the resting state the brain visits few synchronization modes defined as clusters of temporally aligned functional hubs.

Cognitive dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: can we predict it?

Background And Aim: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the degeneration of both upper and lower motoneurons in the brain and spinal cord leading to motor and extra-motor symptoms. Although traditionally considered a pure motor disease, recent evidences suggest that ALS is a multisystem disorder. Neuropsychological alterations, in fact, are observed in more than 50% of patients: while executive dysfunctions have been firstly identified, alterations in verbal fluency, behavior, and pragmatic and social cognition have also been described.

Electrophysiological features of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Objective: To assess whether patients with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) associated with SARS-CoV-2 show characteristic electrophysiological features.

Methods: Clinical and electrophysiological findings of 24 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and AIDP (S-AIDP) and of 48 control AIDP (C-AIDP) without SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared.

Results: S-AIDP patients more frequently developed respiratory failure (83.

Effects on Motor Control of Personalized Neuromodulation Against Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue.

Fatigue is a hidden symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease that nevertheless impacts severely on patients' everyday life. Evidence indicates the involvement of the sensorimotor network and its inter-nodes communication at the basis of this symptom. Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showed that the personalized neuromodulation called Fatigue Relief in Multiple Sclerosis (FaReMuS) efficaciously fights multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue.

Clinical presentation of strokes confined to the insula: a systematic review of literature.

Background And Purpose: The insular cortex serves a wide variety of functions in humans, ranging from sensory and affective processing to high-level cognition. Hence, insular dysfunction may result in several different presentations. Ischemic strokes limited to the insular territory are rare and deserve a better characterization, to be quickly recognized and to receive the appropriate treatment (e.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Job Activity, Dietary Behaviours and Physical Activity Habits of University Population of Naples, Federico II-Italy.

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a large family of respiratory viruses that can cause mild to moderate illness. The new variant COVID-19 has started to spread rapidly since December 2019, posing a new threat to global health. To counter the spread of the virus, the Italian government forced the population to close all activities starting from 9 March 2020 to 4 May 2020.

Monitoring motor traits of young athletes in Tuscany: a perspective from the first phase of the project "I ragazzi della Toscana 30 anni dopo".

Background: The current study represents the preliminary report of an Italian regional project aimed to monitor the status of young athletes in modern times and linking it to the monitoring started in the nineties.

Methods: After the preparatory stage, data were analyzed and discussed with coaches and researchers. Next, for the main stage, the coaches performed the tests and the supervisors reported them in a database.

Spatial Abilities at High Altitude: Exploring the Role of Cultural Strategies and Hypoxia.

Bondi, Danilo, Vittore Verratti, Raffaella Nori, Laura Piccardi, Giulia Prete, Tiziana Pietrangelo, and Luca Tommasi. Spatial abilities at high altitude: Exploring the role of cultural strategies and hypoxia. .

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out.

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach.

Functional motor disorders associated with other neurological diseases: Beyond the boundaries of "organic" neurology.

Background And Purpose: The aims of this study were to describe the clinical manifestations of functional motor disorders (FMDs) coexisting with other neurological diseases ("comorbid FMDs"), and to compare comorbid FMDs with FMDs not overlapping with other neurological diseases ("pure FMDs").

Methods: For this multicenter observational study, we enrolled outpatients with a definite FMD diagnosis attending 25 tertiary movement disorder centers in Italy. Each patient with FMDs underwent a detailed clinical assessment including screening for other associated neurological conditions.

Automatic coding of environmental distance for walking-related locomotion in the foot-related sensory-motor system: A TMS study on macro-affordances.

We have recently described a facilitation effect for the execution of a walking-related action in response to distant objects/locations in the extrapersonal space. Based on the parallelism with the well-known effect of "micro-affordance", observed during the execution of functionally appropriate hand-related actions towards manipulable objects, we have referred to this effect in terms of "macro-affordance". Here we used transcranical magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate whether a foot-related region located in the human dorsal precuneate cortex plays a causal role in the generation and maintenance of such behavioral effect.

Clinical Correlates of Functional Motor Disorders: An Italian Multicenter Study.

Background: Functional motor disorders (FMDs) are abnormal movements that are significantly altered by distractive maneuvers and are incongruent with movement disorders seen in typical neurological diseases.

Objective: The objectives of this article are to (1) describe the clinical manifestations of FMDs, including nonmotor symptoms and occurrence of other functional neurological disorders (FND); and (2) to report the frequency of isolated and combined FMDs and their relationship with demographic and clinical variables.

Methods: For this multicenter, observational study, we enrolled consecutive outpatients with a definite diagnosis of FMDs attending 25 tertiary movement disorders centers in Italy.

Visual similarity and psychological closeness are neurally dissociable in the brain response to vicarious pain.

Personal and vicarious experience of pain activate partially overlapping brain networks. This brain activity is further modulated by low- and high-order factors, e.g.

Correlates of Silence: Enhanced Microstructural Changes in the Uncinate Fasciculus.

Silence is an important aspect of various meditation practices, but little work has focused specifically on the underlying neurophysiology of silence-related meditative practice, and on how it relates to the self-reported experiences of practitioners. To expand current knowledge regarding the neurophenomenology of silence in meditation, we directly investigated first-person reports of silence-related experiences during the practice of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT) and their association with changes in fractional anisotropy (FA). Participants recorded their cognitive, emotional, and physical experiences upon beginning QMT and again after 6 weeks of QMT practice.