Effect of an upright (vs. stooped) posture on interpretation bias, imagery, and emotions.

Background And Objectives: Adopting an upright (vs. stooped) posture has been related to positive effects on emotional and cognitive processes. However, there is no evidence concerning the effect of posture on two key processes associated with the maintenance of depression: interpretation bias and vividness of mental imagery.

Putting Oneself in the Body of Others: A Pilot Study on the Efficacy of an Embodied Virtual Reality System to Generate Self-Compassion.

Compassion-based interventions (CBIs) have been shown to be effective for increasing empathy and compassion, and reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. CBIs are based on constructive meditations where imagery abilities are essential. One of the major difficulties that participants report during the training is the difficulty related to imagery abilities.

Combined Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Virtual Reality-Based Paradigm for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Individuals with Restricted Movements. A Feasibility Study with a Chronic Stroke Survivor with Severe Hemiparesis.

Impairments of the upper limb function are a major cause of disability and rehabilitation. Most of the available therapeutic options are based on active exercises and on motor and attentional inclusion of the affected arm in task oriented movements. However, active movements may not be possible after severe impairment of the upper limbs.

Reliability and comparison of Kinect-based methods for estimating spatiotemporal gait parameters of healthy and post-stroke individuals.

Different studies have analyzed the potential of the off-the-shelf Microsoft Kinect, in its different versions, to estimate spatiotemporal gait parameters as a portable markerless low-cost alternative to laboratory grade systems. However, variability in populations, measures, and methodologies prevents accurate comparison of the results. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the reliability of the existing Kinect-based methods to estimate spatiotemporal gait parameters in healthy and post-stroke adults.

Comparison of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive: Feasibility for Virtual Reality-Based Exploration, Navigation, Exergaming, and Rehabilitation.

Introduction: The latest generation of head-mounted displays (HMDs) provides built-in head tracking, which enables estimating position in a room-size setting. This feature allows users to explore, navigate, and move within real-size virtual environments, such as kitchens, supermarket aisles, or streets. Previously, these actions were commonly facilitated by external peripherals and interaction metaphors.

Subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses to the rubber hand illusion do not vary with age in the adult phase.

The Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) is a perceptual illusion that enables integration of artificial limbs into the body representation through combined multisensory integration. Most previous studies investigating the RHI have involved young healthy adults within a very narrow age range (typically 20-30 years old). The purpose of this paper was to determine the influence of age on the RHI.

Body schema plasticity after stroke: Subjective and neurophysiological correlates of the rubber hand illusion.

Stroke can lead to motor impairments that can affect the body structure and restraint mobility. We hypothesize that brain lesions and their motor sequelae can distort the body schema, a sensorimotor map of body parts and elements in the peripersonal space through which human beings embody the reachable space and ready the body for forthcoming movements. Two main constructs have been identified in the embodiment mechanism: body-ownership, the sense that the body that one inhabits is his/her own, and agency, the sense that one can move and control his/her body.

Feasibility of a walking virtual reality system for rehabilitation: objective and subjective parameters.

Background: Even though virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used in rehabilitation, the implementation of walking navigation in VR still poses a technological challenge for current motion tracking systems. Different metaphors simulate locomotion without involving real gait kinematics, which can affect presence, orientation, spatial memory and cognition, and even performance. All these factors can dissuade their use in rehabilitation.

Effect of a mixed reality-based intervention on arm, hand, and finger function on chronic stroke.

Background: Virtual and mixed reality systems have been suggested to promote motor recovery after stroke. Basing on the existing evidence on motor learning, we have developed a portable and low-cost mixed reality tabletop system that transforms a conventional table in a virtual environment for upper limb rehabilitation. The system allows intensive and customized training of a wide range of arm, hand, and finger movements and enables interaction with tangible objects, while providing audiovisual feedback of the participants' performance in gamified tasks.

Mirror therapy in chronic stroke survivors with severely impaired upper limb function: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mirror therapy (MT) has been proposed to improve the motor function of chronic individuals with stroke with mild to moderate impairment. With regards to severe upper limb paresis, MT has shown to provide limited motor improvement in the acute or sub-acute phase. However, no previous research has described the effects of MT in chronic individuals with stroke with severely impaired upper limb function.

Posturography using the Wii Balance Board™: A feasibility study with healthy adults and adults post-stroke.

Background: Posturography systems that incorporate force platforms are considered to assess balance and postural control with greater sensitivity and objectivity than conventional clinical tests. The Wii Balance Board (WBB) system has been shown to have similar performance characteristics as other force platforms, but with lower cost and size.

Objectives: To determine the validity and reliability of a freely available WBB-based posturography system that combined the WBB with several traditional balance assessments, and to assess the performance of a cohort of stroke individuals with respect to healthy individuals.

Videogame-based group therapy to improve self-awareness and social skills after traumatic brain injury.

Background: This study determines the feasibility of different approaches to integrative videogame-based group therapy for improving self-awareness, social skills, and behaviors among traumatic brain injury (TBI) victims and retrieves participant feedback.

Methods: Forty-two adult TBI survivors were included in a longitudinal study with a pre- and post-assessments. The experimental intervention involved weekly one-hour sessions conducted over six months.

Tracking systems for virtual rehabilitation: objective performance vs. subjective experience. A practical scenario.

Motion tracking systems are commonly used in virtual reality-based interventions to detect movements in the real world and transfer them to the virtual environment. There are different tracking solutions based on different physical principles, which mainly define their performance parameters. However, special requirements have to be considered for rehabilitation purposes.

Effectiveness, usability, and cost-benefit of a virtual reality-based telerehabilitation program for balance recovery after stroke: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: First, to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR)-based telerehabilitation program in the balance recovery of individuals with hemiparesis after stroke in comparison with an in-clinic program; second, to compare the subjective experiences; and third, to contrast the costs of both programs.

Design: Single-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

Setting: Neurorehabilitation unit.

Improvement in balance using a virtual reality-based stepping exercise: a randomized controlled trial involving individuals with chronic stroke.

Objective: To study the clinical effectiveness and the usability of a virtual reality-based intervention compared with conventional physical therapy in the balance recovery of individuals with chronic stroke.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Outpatient neurorehabilitation unit.

Progression of posturographic findings after acquired brain injury.

Objective: To study the characteristics of balance performance in a sample of patients with increasing postural instability after acquired brain injury (ABI) and to establish the clinical utility of a new computerized posturographic system (NedSVE/IBV).

Methods: This study included 108 patients with ABI divided into five groups from minimal to severe postural impairment. All patients were assessed with the NedSVE/IBV system and with traditional balance measures.

Behavioral recovery in disorders of consciousness: a prospective study with the Spanish version of the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and short-term pattern of evolution of a sample of patients within 1 year after acquiring a brain injury that led to a vegetative state (VS) or a minimally conscious state (MCS).

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Inpatient brain injury rehabilitation program.