Neural Mechanisms Underlying Action Observation in Adults With Down Syndrome

2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naznin Virji-Babul ◽  
Alexander Moiseev ◽  
Teresa Cheung ◽  
Daniel J. Weeks ◽  
Douglas Cheyne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Contralateral Side ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Cortical Responses ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Brain Imaging Study

Abstract Results of a magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain imaging study conducted to examine the cortical responses during action execution and action observation in 10 healthy adults and 8 age-matched adults with Down syndrome are reported. During execution, the motor responses were strongly lateralized on the ipsilateral rather than the contralateral side in the Down syndrome group. Observation of movement activated a network of cortical regions that was similar to the control group; however, there was no significant peak activity in the motor areas. In addition, the overall pattern of neural activation was more scattered and less organized in the Down syndrome group. These results further support the hypothesis of a dysfunction in the execution/observation matching system in adults with Down syndrome.

scholarly journals The Empowering Effect of Embodied Awareness Practice on Body Structural Map and Sensorimotor Activity: The Case of Feldenkrais Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1599
Author(s):  
Davide Crivelli ◽  
Massimilla Di Ruocco ◽  
Alessandra Balena ◽  
Michela Balconi
Keyword(s):  
Action Observation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Feldenkrais Method ◽  
Sensorimotor Network ◽  
The Core ◽  
Somatic Learning

While outcomes of embodied awareness practices in terms of improved posture and flexibility, movement efficiency, and well-being are often reported, systematic investigations of such training effects and of the actual nature, extent, and neurofunctional correlates of learning mechanisms thought to lie at the core of such practices are very limited. The present study focused on the Feldenkrais method (FM), one of the most established embodied awareness practices, and aimed at investigating the neurofunctional outcomes of the somatic learning process at the core of the method by testing the modulations induced by a standardized FM protocol on the complexity of practicers’ body structural map and on the activity of their sensorimotor network during different movement-related tasks (i.e., gestures observation, execution, and imagery). Twenty-five participants were randomly divided into an experimental group—which completed a 28-session FM protocol based on guided group practice—and a control group, and underwent pre-/post-training psychometric and electrophysiological assessment. Data analysis highlighted, at the end of the FM protocol, a significant increase of EEG markers of cortical activation (task-related mu desynchronization) in precentral regions during action observation and in central regions during action execution and imagery. Also, posterior regions of the sensorimotor network showed systematic activation during all the action-related tasks.

scholarly journals Observation of others’ actions during limb immobilization prevents the subsequent decay of motor performance

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (47) ◽  
pp. e2025979118
Author(s):  
Doriana De Marco ◽  
Emilia Scalona ◽  
Maria Chiara Bazzini ◽  
Arturo Nuara ◽  
Elisa Taglione ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Motor Impairment ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Reach To Grasp ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Limb Immobilization ◽  
Experimental Group

There is rich clinical evidence that observing normally executed actions promotes the recovery of the corresponding action execution in patients with motor deficits. In this study, we assessed the ability of action observation to prevent the decay of healthy individuals’ motor abilities following upper-limb immobilization. To this end, upper-limb kinematics was recorded in healthy participants while they performed three reach-to-grasp movements before immobilization and the same movements after 16 h of immobilization. The participants were subdivided into two groups; the experimental group observed, during the immobilization, the same reach-to-grasp movements they had performed before immobilization, whereas the control group observed natural scenarios. After bandage removal, motor impairment in performing reach-to-grasp movements was milder in the experimental group. These findings support the hypothesis that action observation, via the mirror mechanism, plays a protective role against the decline of motor performance induced by limb nonuse. From this perspective, action observation therapy is a promising tool for anticipating rehabilitation onset in clinical conditions involving limb nonuse, thus reducing the burden of further rehabilitation.

Eye-Movement Patterns of Readers With Down Syndrome During Sentence-Processing: An Exploratory Study

2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Frenck-Mestre ◽  
Nathalie Zardan ◽  
Annie Colas ◽  
Alain Ghio
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Simple Sentences

Abstract Eye movements were examined to determine how readers with Down syndrome process sentences online. Participants were 9 individuals with Down syndrome ranging in reading level from Grades 1 to 3 and a reading-level-matched control group. For syntactically simple sentences, the pattern of reading times was similar for the two groups, with longer reading times found at sentence end. This “wrap-up” effect was also found in the first reading of more complex sentences for the control group, whereas it only emerged later for the readers with Down syndrome. Our results provide evidence that eye movements can be used to investigate reading in individuals with Down syndrome and underline the need for future studies.

scholarly journals Striatal and Pallidal Activation during Reward Modulated Movement Using a Translational Paradigm

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Bischoff-Grethe ◽  
Richard B. Buxton ◽  
Martin P. Paulus ◽  
Adam S. Fleisher ◽  
Tony T. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Dorsal Striatum ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Internal Globus Pallidus ◽  
Target Capture

AbstractHuman neuroimaging studies of reward processing typically involve tasks that engage decision-making processes in the dorsal striatum or focus upon the ventral striatum’s response to feedback expectancy. These studies are often compared to the animal literature; however, some animal studies include both feedback and nonfeedback events that activate the dorsal striatum during feedback expectancy. Differences in task parameters, movement complexity, and motoric effort to attain rewards may partly explain ventral and dorsal striatal response differences across species. We, therefore, used a target capture task during functional neuroimaging that was inspired by a study of single cell modulation in the internal globus pallidus during reward-cued, rotational arm movements in nonhuman primates. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, participants used a fiberoptic joystick to make a rotational response to an instruction stimulus that indicated both a target location for a capture movement and whether or not the trial would end with feedback indicating either a small financial gain or a neutral outcome. Portions of the dorsal striatum and pallidum demonstrated greater neural activation to visual cues predicting potential gains relative to cues with no associated outcome. Furthermore, both striatal and pallidal regions displayed a greater response to financial gains relative to neutral outcomes. This reward-dependent modulation of dorsal striatal and pallidal activation in a target-capture task is consistent with findings from reward studies in animals, supporting the use of motorically complex tasks as translational paradigms to investigate the neural substrates of reward expectancy and outcome in humans. (JINS, 2015, 21, 399–411)

scholarly journals Computed tomography based measurements to evaluate lung density and lung growth after congenital diaphragmatic hernia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timm Stoll-Dannenhauer ◽  
Gregor Schwab ◽  
Katrin Zahn ◽  
Thomas Schaible ◽  
Lucas Wessel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia ◽  
Diaphragmatic Hernia ◽  
Contralateral Side ◽  
Chest Ct ◽  
Control Group ◽  
P Value ◽  
Lung Density ◽  
Ipsilateral Lung ◽  
Contralateral Lung ◽  
Pediatric Chest

AbstractEmphysema-like-change of lung is one aspect of lung morbidity in children after congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). This study aims to evaluate if the extent of reduced lung density can be quantified through pediatric chest CT examinations, if side differences are present and if emphysema-like tissue is more prominent after CDH than in controls. Thirty-seven chest CT scans of CDH patients (mean age 4.5 ± 4.0 years) were analyzed semi-automatically and compared to an age-matched control group. Emphysema-like-change was defined as areas of lung density lower than − 950 HU in percentage (low attenuating volume, LAV). A p-value lower than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Hypoattenuating lung tissue was more frequently present in the ipsilateral lung than the contralateral side (LAV 12.6% vs. 5.7%; p < 0.0001). While neither ipsilateral nor contralateral lung volume differed between CDH and control (p > 0.05), LAV in ipsilateral (p = 0.0002), but not in contralateral lung (p = 0.54), was higher in CDH than control. It is feasible to quantify emphysema-like-change in pediatric patients after CDH. In the ipsilateral lung, low-density areas are much more frequently present both in comparison to contralateral and to controls. Especially the ratio of LAV ipsilateral/contralateral seems promising as a quantitative parameter in the follow-up after CDH.

Prior action execution has no effect on corticospinal facilitation during action observation

2012 ◽  
Vol 231 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Loporto ◽  
Craig J. McAllister ◽  
Martin G. Edwards ◽  
David J. Wright ◽  
Paul S. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Action Observation ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Prior Action
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