The Impact of Multisensory Stimulation of Biological Organs in Dysarthria Patients as Articulation Skills Rehabilitation

Every human being tries to communicate what he wants to say to whatever or whomever he wants. Dysarthria is a condition in which the muscles in humans that are active when speaking become weak or difficult to control. Problems or speech disorders experienced by a child with dysarthria are obstacles to children's social and personal adjustment. Schoolchildren who mispronounce the words will feel ashamed and alien from others. This problem motivates the presence of Multisensory Stimulation therapy to help improve and even restore speech problems or disorders experienced by children with dysarthria. This study tries to explain the impact of Multisensory Stimulation therapy and then evaluates the results of the application of Multisensory Stimulation therapy to children with dysarthria. The study that took five sufferers as the object of this study used a hybrid approach that mutually used a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The type of research used is classroom action research. This study concluded that the participants' enthusiasm greatly influenced the process and outcome of therapy.

Auditory Information Accelerates the Visuomotor Reaction Speed of Elite Badminton Players in Multisensory Environments

Although vision is the dominating sensory system in sports, many situations require multisensory integration. Faster processing of auditory information in the brain may facilitate time-critical abilities such as reaction speed however previous research was limited by generic auditory and visual stimuli that did not consider audio-visual characteristics in ecologically valid environments. This study investigated the reaction speed in response to sport-specific monosensory (visual and auditory) and multisensory (audio-visual) stimulation. Neurophysiological analyses identified the neural processes contributing to differences in reaction speed. Nineteen elite badminton players participated in this study. In a first recording phase, the sound profile and shuttle speed of smash and drop strokes were identified on a badminton court using high-speed video cameras and binaural recordings. The speed and sound characteristics were transferred into auditory and visual stimuli and presented in a lab-based experiment, where participants reacted in response to sport-specific monosensory or multisensory stimulation. Auditory signal presentation was delayed by 26 ms to account for realistic audio-visual signal interaction on the court. N1 and N2 event-related potentials as indicators of auditory and visual information perception/processing, respectively were identified using a 64-channel EEG. Despite the 26 ms delay, auditory reactions were significantly faster than visual reactions (236.6 ms vs. 287.7 ms, p < 0.001) but still slower when compared to multisensory stimulation (224.4 ms, p = 0.002). Across conditions response times to smashes were faster when compared to drops (233.2 ms, 265.9 ms, p < 0.001). Faster reactions were paralleled by a lower latency and higher amplitude of the auditory N1 and visual N2 potentials. The results emphasize the potential of auditory information to accelerate the reaction time in sport-specific multisensory situations. This highlights auditory processes as a promising target for training interventions in racquet sports.

Benefits in Alzheimer’s Disease of Sensory and Multisensory Stimulation

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a serious neurodegenerative disease, which seriously affects behavior, cognition, and memory of patients. Studies have shown that sensory stimulation can effectively improve the cognition and memory of AD patients, and its role in brain plasticity and neural regulation is initially revealed. This paper aims to review the effect of various sensory stimulation and multisensory stimulation for AD, and to explain the possible mechanism, so as to provide some new ideas for further research in this field. We searched the Web of Science and PubMed databases (from 2000 to October 27, 2020) for literature on the treatment of AD with sensory stimulation, including music therapy, aromatherapy, rhythmic (e.g., visual or acoustic) stimulation, light therapy, multisensory stimulation, and virtual reality assisted therapy, then conducted a systematic analysis. Results show these sensory stimulations can effectively ameliorate the pathology of AD, arouse memory, and improve cognition and behaviors. Also, it can cause brain nerve oscillation, enhance brain plasticity, and regulate regional cerebral blood flow. Sensory stimulation is a very promising technology, and it plays an important role in the improvement and treatment of AD, but its potential mechanism and stimulation parameters need to be explored and improved.

The effect of multisensory stimulation on weight gain in premature infants admitted to the intensive care unit: A clinical trial study

Introduction. Premature infants undergo a lot of stressful procedures during care and treatment procedure, which may lead to weight changes. Multisensory stimulation is a broad classification of interventions designed to improve the developmental and physiological outcomes of preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of multisensory stimuli on weight gain in preterm infants admitted to the NICU. Materials and methods. This study was a two-group randomized controlled trial (multisensory stimulation and control group). Forty preterm infants admitted to the NICU who met the inclusion criteria were selected. The intervention method was a multisensory stimulation program including auditory stimulation, tactile stimulation, visual stimulation and vestibular stimulation, which were performed by the researcher for 12 min (each stimulation lasting for 3 min). The infant nutrition was monitored and recorded during the intervention and the infant’s weight was measured after changing diapers every morning for a 7 days. It was conducted in the two groups using a calibrated scale of confirmed validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software, paired t-test and independent t-test. Results. Based on the findings of the present study, an upturn was observed in weight gain of preterm infants as a result of multisensory intervention. This indicates that the intervention improves weight gain in premature infants. Conclusions. Since premature infants are usually hospitalized in the NICU for a long time due to their low weight and poor physical condition, they are mostly cared by nurses. Hence, considering its positive outcomes, besides specialized care, this effective and very low cost method could be used by nurses to promote weight gain and early discharge of preterm infants.

Multisensory balance training for unsteady elderly people: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: Posture control involves complex reactions of dynamic and static movements, and various sensory inputs. There is evidence that exercise using multisensory stimulation is moderately effective in improving the balance of the elderly. OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this paper was to examine the existing literature to validate the effectiveness and applicability of multisensory stimulation training. METHODS: All relevant literature published as of June 1, 2020 in four prominent databases was searched (Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of science) using the five-stage review framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. RESULTS: Multisensory stimulation training was more effective when vestibular and somatosensory were combined with visual stimuli, and differences in effectiveness compared to the effectiveness of existing treatments were confirmed. However, most of the reviewed papers are compared to simple strength training, and studies that compare the effects of multisensory stimulation training by setting a control group are still lacking. CONCLUSION: Further research is required to further elucidate the training conditions and treatment environment for multisensory training for the elderly at risk of falls and to provide strategies to improve treatment methods. In addition, a study that can evaluate user satisfaction in a way that best shows the treatment effect using qualitative research methods will be needed.

Multisensory Stimulation in Dementia

Background & Objectives: Dementia is a prevalent disorder around the world. However, its chronic and progressive nature mostly affects physical and psychosocial characteristics and public healthcare. Recently, multisensory interventions have been used in people with dementia as one of the nonpharmacological treatment methods. This narrative review intends to explain multisensory stimulation programs or Snoezelen for those affected with dementia. Methods: Keywords such as “sensory-based intervention”, “sensory stimulation”, “sensory processing”, “Snoezelen”, “sensory modulation”, and “dementia” were used in Scopus and PubMed databases with a sensitive search strategy in the articles published between 2000 and 2020. Results: The initial search retrieved 255 articles. After reviewing and rejecting some duplicates, 65 studies remained in the field of multisensory interventions in dementia. However, only 8 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Conclusion: Multisensory stimulations in dementia can be used as an adjunctive strategy alongside other therapies. Sensory diets can be applied in common home environments. For this purpose, it is better to use Dunn’s sensory processing model. So, along with individual components, context and occupations are also considered.