Gesture profiles distinguish primary progressive aphasia variants: A preliminary study.

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by progressive language deficits. The main variants of PPA -semantic (svPPA), logopenic (lvPPA), and nonfluent (nfvPPA)- can be challenging to distinguish. Limb apraxia often co-occurs with PPA, but it is unclear whether PPA variants are associated with different gesture deficits.

Diagnostic Features of Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Survey Study of Estonian, Finnish, and Lithuanian Speech-Language Pathologists.

Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to investigate how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) from Estonia, Finland, and Lithuania rate the significance of different features for diagnosing childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) in their languages.

Method: An online survey was conducted among 197 Estonian, Finnish, and Lithuanian SLPs who have worked with children with CAS. The SLPs were asked to rate the significance of 63 features for CAS diagnosis in their respective language.

TMS assessment of corticospinal tract integrity after stroke: broadening the concept to inform neurorehabilitation prescription.

Upper limb actions require intersegmental coordination of the scapula, shoulders, elbows, forearms, wrists, and hand muscles. Stroke hemiparesis, presenting as an impairment of an intersegmentally coordinated voluntary movement, is associated with altered integrity of corticospinal tract (CST) transmission from the motor cortex (M1) to muscles. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by M1 transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of "at rest" muscles, or as a backup, during muscle contraction have been used to identify CST integrity and predict the outcome after hemiparesis, under the implicit assumption that MEPs present in only one or two muscles are manifest surrogates of CST integrity for other muscles of the upper limbs.

Different Sensory Information Is Used for State Estimation when Stationary or Moving.

The accurate estimation of limb state is necessary for movement planning and execution. While state estimation requires both feedforward and feedback information, we focus here on the latter. Prior literature has shown that integrating visual and proprioceptive feedback improves estimates of static limb position.

Effect of Fatigue on Word Production in Aphasia.

Speech production in aphasia is often described as "effortful", though the consequences of consistent, high degrees of cognitive effort have not been explored. Using recent work on mental effort as a theoretical framework, the present study examined how effort-related fatigue produces decrements in performance in picture naming among participants with post-stroke aphasia. We analyzed three data sets from prior studies where participants completed a large picture naming test.

The TBI Model Systems Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage Index (TBIMS-NSDI): Development and Comparison to Individual Socioeconomic Characteristics.

Objective: To create a census-based composite neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation index (NSDI) from geocoded residential addresses and to quantify how NSDI aligns with individual-level socioeconomic factors among people with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Community.

Participants: People enrolled in the TBI Model Systems National Database (TBIMS NDB).

Cognitive neuropsychological and neuroanatomic predictors of naturalistic action performance in left hemisphere stroke: a retrospective analysis.

Individuals who have experienced a left hemisphere cerebrovascular accident (LCVA) have been shown to make errors in naturalistic action tasks designed to assess the ability to perform everyday activities such as preparing a cup of coffee. Naturalistic action errors in this population are often attributed to limb apraxia, a common deficit in the representation and performance of object-related actions. However, naturalistic action impairments are also observed in right hemisphere stroke and traumatic brain injury, populations infrequently associated with apraxia, and errors across all these populations are influenced by overall severity.

Noninvasive cerebellar stimulation and behavioral interventions: A crucial synergy for post-stroke motor rehabilitation.

Background: Improvement of functional movements after supratentorial stroke occurs through spontaneous biological recovery and training-induced reorganization of remnant neural networks. The cerebellum, through its connectivity with the cortex, brainstem and spinal cord, is actively engaged in both recovery and reorganization processes within the cognitive and sensorimotor systems. Noninvasive cerebellar stimulation (NiCBS) offers a safe, clinically feasible and potentially effective way to modulate the excitability of spared neural networks and promote movement recovery after supratentorial stroke.

Predictors of Physical Activity One Year After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To identify predictors of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at 12-months post-moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Setting: Four inpatient rehabilitation centers.

Participants: Individuals enrolled in the TBI Model Systems with moderate to severe TBI, admitted to inpatient rehabilitation, and able to ambulate without physical assistance from another person.

Accelerated Aging after Traumatic Brain Injury: An ENIGMA Multi-Cohort Mega-Analysis.

Objective: The long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on brain structure remain uncertain. Given evidence that a single significant brain injury event increases the risk of dementia, brain-age estimation could provide a novel and efficient indexing of the long-term consequences of TBI. Brain-age procedures use predictive modeling to calculate brain-age scores for an individual using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.

Predictors of Multidimensional Profiles of Participation After Traumatic Brain Injury: A TBI Model Systems Study.

Objectives: To identify personal, clinical, and environmental factors associated with 4 previously identified distinct multidimensional participation profiles of individuals following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Setting: Community.

Participants: Participants ( n = 408) enrolled in the TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) Participation Module, all 1 year or more postinjury.

The Effect of Motor Imagery Practice on an Aiming Task with Attentional Focus Cues.

When one directs their attention to an intended effect (external focus of attention, EFOA), motor performance is generally better than when one directs their attention to their own body movements (internal focus of attention, IFOA). However, the effect of attentional focus is unclear when a skill is practiced through motor imagery (MI) in the absence of physical trials. Participants ( = 30,  = 22.