Theta oscillations in observers' temporal cortex index postural instability of point-light displays.

This study investigates whether postural equilibration follows the same principles of motor resonance as goal-oriented actions, namely, whether an individual activates the same neuronal substrates when experiencing postural perturbation as when observing another individual in this condition. To address this question, we examined electroencephalographic dynamics while subjects observed point-light displays featuring an unstable human display, a stable human display, and their respective scrambled counterparts lacking shape information and biological motion. We focused on theta band (4-7 Hz), which is a fundamental frequency for modulating brain activity during challenging balance tasks and reflects postural stability monitoring.

When the heart inhibits the brain: Cardiac phases modulate short-interval intracortical inhibition.

The phasic cardiovascular activity influences the central nervous system through the systolic baroreceptor inputs, inducing widespread inhibitory effects on behavior. Through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivered during resting-state over the left primary motor cortex and across the different cardiac phases, we measured corticospinal excitability (CSE) and distinct indices of intracortical motor inhibition: short (SICI) and long (LICI) interval, corresponding to GABA and GABA neurotransmission, respectively. We found a significant effect of the cardiac phase on short-intracortical inhibition, without any influence on LICI.

The role of dorsal premotor cortex in joint action inhibition.

Behavioral interpersonal coordination requires smooth negotiation of actions in time and space (joint action-JA). Inhibitory control may play a role in fine-tuning appropriate coordinative responses. To date, little research has been conducted on motor inhibition during JA and on the modulatory influence that premotor areas might exert on inhibitory control.

Variations in Health-Related Quality of Life After Stroke: Insights From a Clinical Trial on Arm Rehabilitation With a Long-Term Follow-Up.

Despite rehabilitation, stroke patients continue to have impaired function and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) even in a chronic stage. However, no clear information is available on long-term variations in HRQoL. In this study, we aimed to report the short- and long-term changes in HRQoL in a subacute stroke sample that was enrolled in a clinical trial on arm rehabilitation.

Cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation conditioning superficial ventral premotor cortex-primary motor cortex connectivity influences motor cortical activity during precision grip.

The ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) represent critical nodes of a parietofrontal network involved in grasping actions, such as power and precision grip. Here, we investigated how the functional PMv-M1 connectivity drives the dissociation between these two actions. We applied a PMv-M1 cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (cc-PAS) protocol, stimulating M1 in both postero-anterior (PA) and antero-posterior (AP) directions, in order to induce long-term changes in the activity of different neuronal populations within M1.

Frontotemporal Dementia, Where Do We Stand? A Narrative Review.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disease of growing interest, since it accounts for up to 10% of middle-age-onset dementias and entails a social, economic, and emotional burden for the patients and caregivers. It is characterised by a (at least initially) selective degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobe, generally leading to behavioural alterations, speech disorders, and psychiatric symptoms. Despite the recent advances, given its extreme heterogeneity, an overview that can bring together all the data currently available is still lacking.

The effect of the preferred hand on drawing movement.

The observation that different effectors can execute the same movement suggests functional equivalences driven by limb independent representation of action in the central nervous system. A common invariant motor behavior is the speed and curvature coupling (the 1/3 power law), a low dimensional (abstract) descriptor of movement which is resilient to different sensorimotor contexts. Our purpose is to verify the consistency of such motor equivalence during a drawing task, by testing the effect of manual dominance and movement speed on motor performance.

Action Observation Therapy for Arm Recovery after Stroke: A Preliminary Investigation on a Novel Protocol with EEG Monitoring.

This preliminary study introduces a novel action observation therapy (AOT) protocol associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring to be used in the future as a rehabilitation strategy for the upper limb in patients with subacute stroke. To provide initial evidence on the usefulness of this method, we compared the outcome of 11 patients who received daily AOT for three weeks with that of patients who undertook two other approaches recently investigated by our group, namely intensive conventional therapy (ICT), and robot-assisted therapy combined with functional electrical stimulation (RAT-FES). The three rehabilitative interventions showed similar arm motor recovery as indexed by Fugl-Meyer's assessment of the upper extremity (FMA_UE) and box and block test (BBT).

Placental DNA methylation profile as predicting marker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs normal brain development and socio-cognitive abilities. The pathogenesis of this condition points out the involvement of genetic and environmental factors during in-utero life. Placenta, as an interface tissue between mother and fetus, provides developing fetus requirements and exposes it to maternal environment as well.

The value of corticospinal excitability and intracortical inhibition in predicting motor skill improvement driven by action observation.

The observation of other's actions represents an essential element for the acquisition of motor skills. While action observation is known to induce changes in the excitability of the motor cortices, whether such modulations may explain the amount of motor improvement driven by action observation training (AOT) remains to be addressed. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we first assessed in 41 volunteers the effect of action observation on corticospinal excitability, intracortical inhibition, and transcallosal inhibition.

Mechanisms of Hebbian-like plasticity in the ventral premotor - primary motor network.

The functional connection between ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) is critical for the organization of goal-directed actions. Repeated activation of this connection by means of cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (cc-PAS), a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol, may induce Hebbian-like plasticity. However, the physiological modifications produced by Hebbian-like plasticity in the PMv-M1 network are poorly understood.

Stopping in (e)motion: Reactive action inhibition when facing valence-independent emotional stimuli.

Emotions are able to impact our ability to control our behaviors. However, it is not clear whether emotions play a detrimental or an advantageous effect on action control and whether the valence of the emotional stimuli differently affects such motor abilities. One way to measure reactive inhibitory control is the stop-signal task (SST), which estimates the ability to cancel outright a response to the presentation of a stop signal by means of the stop signal reaction times (SSRT).

Relation Between EEG Measures and Upper Limb Motor Recovery in Stroke Patients: A Scoping Review.

Current clinical practice does not leverage electroencephalography (EEG) measurements in stroke patients, despite its potential to contribute to post-stroke recovery predictions. We review the literature on the effectiveness of various quantitative and qualitative EEG-based measures after stroke as a tool to predict upper limb motor outcome, in relation to stroke timeframe and applied experimental tasks. Moreover, we aim to provide guidance on the use of EEG in the assessment of upper limb motor recovery after stroke, suggesting a high potential for some metrics in the appropriate context.

The Influence of Vicarious Fear-Learning in "Infecting" Reactive Action Inhibition.

Since the dawn of cognitive neuroscience, emotions have been recognized to impact on several executive processes, such as action inhibition. However, the complex interplay between emotional stimuli and action control is not yet fully understood. One way to measure inhibitory control is the stop-signal task (SST), which estimates the ability to cancel outright an action to the presentation of a stop signal by means of the stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs).

Developmental Coordination Disorder: State of the Art and Future Directions from a Neurophysiological Perspective.

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition characterized by disabling motor impairments being visible from the first years of life. Over recent decades, research in this field has gained important results, showing alterations in several processes involved in the regulation of motor behavior (e.g.

The role of dorsal premotor cortex in joint action stopping.

Human sensorimotor interaction requires mutual behavioral adaptation as well as shared cognitive task representations (Joint Action, JA). Yet, an under-investigated aspect of JA is the neurobehavioral mechanisms employed to stop actions if the context calls for it. Sparse evidence points to the possible contribution of the left dorsal premotor cortex (lPMd) in sculpting movements according to the socio-interactive context.

Weaker implicit interoception is associated with more negative body image: Evidence from gastric-alpha phase amplitude coupling and the heartbeat evoked potential.

Interoception refers to the processing of internal bodily stimuli, while body image refers to appearance-related perceptions, affect, and cognitions. Previous research has found that body image is associated with self-reported and behavioural indices of interoception. Here, we extended this research by examining associations between measures of positive (i.

Telerehabilitation in Italy During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study.

This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a telerehabilitation program during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of adult patients with physical disabilities. Of the twenty-three patients enrolled, 11 agreed to participate in a video-based telerehabilitation program. Barriers and facilitators to the adoption of telerehabilitation were identified and clinical, demographic, and psychological variables were analysed as predictors of success.

Actual and Imagined Movements Reveal a Dual Role of the Insular Cortex for Motor Control.

Movements rely on a mixture of feedforward and feedback mechanisms. With experience, the brain builds internal representations of actions in different contexts. Many factors are taken into account in this process among which is the immutable presence of gravity.

Parallel fast and slow motor inhibition processes in Joint Action coordination.

Motor inhibition is essential to adapt to an ever-changing environment and to noise in state prediction. As a consequence, inhibitory motor control must also play a key role during Joint Action (JA) tasks, where the motor system has to further integrate inferences about others' action. Yet, very little research has been carried out on the contribution of motor inhibition in JA tasks.

Influence of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Psychomotor Symptoms in Major Depression.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) might be a promising treatment strategy for depression. As disturbances in psychomotor activity are one of the key features of unipolar depression are, we aimed to evaluate the behavioral effects of ten tDCS sessions over a 5-day period on psychomotor retardation in depressed patients.

Methods: Twenty-three treatment-resistant depressed patients received either active or sham anodal tDCS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (2 mA, 10 sessions over 1 week).

Beta Rebound as an Index of Temporal Integration of Somatosensory and Motor Signals.

Modulation of cortical beta rhythm (15-30 Hz) is present during preparation for and execution of voluntary movements as well as during somatosensory stimulation. A rebound in beta synchronization is observed after the end of voluntary movements as well as after somatosensory stimulation and is believed to describe the return to baseline of sensorimotor networks. However, the contribution of efferent and afferent signals to the beta rebound remains poorly understood.