Motor Disorders

Injuries affecting the central nervous system may disrupt the cortical pathways to muscles causing loss of motor control. Nevertheless, the brain still exhibits sensorimotor rhythms (SMRs) during movement intents or motor imagery (MI), which is the mental rehearsal of the kinesthetics of a movement without actually performing it. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can decode SMRs to control assistive devices and promote functional recovery. Despite rapid advancements in non-invasive BCI systems based on EEG, two persistent challenges remain: First, the instability of SMR patterns due to the non-stationarity of neural signals, which may significantly degrade BCI performance over days and hamper the effectiveness of BCI-based rehabilitation. Second, differentiating MI patterns corresponding to fine hand movements of the same limb is still difficult due to the low spatial resolution of EEG. To address the first challenge, subjects usually learn to elicit reliable SMR and improve BCI control through longitudinal training, so a fundamental question is how to accelerate subject training building upon the SMR neurophysiology. In this study, the investigators hypothesize that conditioning the brain with transcutaneous electrical spinal stimulation, which reportedly induces cortical inhibition, would constrain the neural dynamics and promote focal and strong SMR modulations in subsequent MI-based BCI training sessions - leading to accelerated BCI training. To address the second challenge, the investigators hypothesize that neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied contingent to the voluntary activation of the primary motor cortex through MI can help differentiate patterns of activity associated with different hand movements of the same limb by consistently recruiting the separate neural pathways associated with each of the movements within a closed-loop BCI setup. The investigators study the neuroplastic changes associated with training with the two stimulation modalities.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often causes persistent motor and cognitive deficits in children resulting in functional limitations. We are testing a brain stimulation method along with evaluating objective tools to help record and restore communication among affected brain areas, which will facilitate recovery in youth after mTBI.

This study aims to compare the improvement effects of the rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation) combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy group with the rTMS combined with scalp acupuncture and conventional rehabilitation therapy group. Through statistical analysis of the results obtained from functional near-infrared spectroscopy technology during task states, the investigators elucidate the neuroregulatory mechanism of scalp acupuncture combined with rTMS in improving upper limb motor function in stroke patients under MEP localization, and provide evidence for a more optimal rehabilitation program for post-stroke upper limb motor dysfunction.

The study aims to improve the quality of prosthetic intervention and verify the adequacy of assistive devices, and measurement outcomes. Fifty patients in need of prosthetic interventions for Augmentative Alternative Communication, computer accessibility, and environmental control will be recruited within the DAT Unit of the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi "IRCCS S.Maria Nascente" in Milan. At baseline (T0) a physician and a psychologist will perform a clinical evaluation and the AT outcome assessment. The participants will be contacted for the follow-up phase (T1) 3 to 6 months after having received the assistive solution. At T1 clinicians will readminister the AT outcome assessment. In order to make the assessment accessible to all participants, these tests and questionnaires will be administered on Windows PCs, using Grid3 software, or on a specifically created accessible web page.

Prospective, exploratory, multicenter pilot study investigating the structural and functional connectome in patients with Friedreich's Ataxia (FRDA) using high-density electroencephalogram (HD-EEG). The aim is to identify neurophysiological biomarkers and analyze the relationship between cortical connectivity, cognitive functioning, and clinical severity, particularly in response to rehabilitation treatment.

The study objective is to improve accuracy in the early detection of neurodevelopmental impairment, especially CP, by evaluating the timepoint (in weeks post term age) that the Prechtl GMA is most useful for prediction of neurodevelopmental impairment at two years of age in children with and without medical complexity. The study team plans to recruit 100 healthy, term-born infants and 250 infants at risk of developing CP for a total of 350 enrolled infants.

Limited psychological support for parents of children with special needs in Hong Kong can profoundly impact the child rehabilitation process and the well-being of parent-child dyads. Leveraging previous evidence from our team's research, we have developed Pai.ACT, the first deep learning-based mental health advisory system for parents. Pai.ACT incorporates the counselling logic of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) through natural language processing, enabling parents to engage in human-like voice-to-text conversations and receive assessments and stepped-care mental health interventions, including guided self-help materials and real-time, individual-based counselling based on ACT. Following the research and development phases, we aim to kick off the utilisation of Pai.ACT by (1) pilot-testing its feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy in improving mental health outcomes for parents of children with special needs and (2) researching to determine the most optimal service model for parents by exploring their perceptions through focus group interviews. Pai.ACT offers accessible and comprehensive mental health services to all Chinese-speaking parents, addressing their psychological burden in caring for children with special needs. Pai.ACT could bring substantial and enduring societal benefits to Chinese-speaking families by integrating mental health support services for family caregivers with current child rehabilitation services and non-governmental organisations. Furthermore, this could contribute to reducing the public stigma attached to special needs children while increasing mental health awareness.

The aim of our study is to evaluate motor skills balance, dual task and social adaptation skills in individuals with autism. Our study will be conducted in Bartın Lider Special Education and Rehabilitation Center after ethics committee approval. The sample number determined by power analysis will be included in the study. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, height, body weight, body mass index, education level, exercise and smoking habits, etc.) of the individuals who voluntarily participated in the study will be obtained. The individuals participating in the study will be divided into two groups as individuals with normal motor development and individuals with autism spectrum disorder and the same assessment scales will be used. These assessment scales are TUG, 10 meter walking test, Vineland Adaptive Adaptation Scale, Bruininks-Oseretsky Motor Competence Test. According to the evaluation results, motor skills, functional balance, dual task and social adaptation skills of individuals with autism will be compared with individuals with normal motor development.

The purpose of this study is therefore five-fold: (1) designation of an APP "Baby Go" version 3.0 to include the assessment, follow-up, and education functions for parental use at home, (2) development and validation of the AI algorithm for infant motor assessment based on home videos obtained from term and preterm infants, (3) comparison of parental perception and report with AI-driven assessment results, (4) examination of the predictive validity of the AI algorithm for infant motor assessment on subsequent outcome, and (5) investigation of the usability of the APP "Baby Go" version 3.0 in parents and clinicians.

Ankle sprains have always been considered as isolated injury entities, in which the passive ankle stabilisation system suffered an elongation due to trauma. Today, this concept of an isolated injury has evolved into a more holistic concept, interrelated with various components from different sources.

The overall aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of motor- and neurological disorders (cerebral pares and other less severe motor disorders) in Swedish infants with a high-risk neonatal period and to elucidate whether these children receive motor related health care (MRHC) at 2 and or 5,5 years of age.

The study aims to examine the effectiveness of a psychotherapy approach called Facilitator-guided Acceptance and Commitment Bibliotherapy (FAB) in improving the psychological health of parents of young children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and reducing the emotional and behavioral symptoms of NDD children. The study will involve 154 Cantonese-speaking parents of children aged 2-6 years diagnosed with NDD in Hong Kong. The study hopes to find that FAB can improve parent-child dyads' health outcomes by enhancing psychological flexibility, parental psychological health, and mindful parenting skills.

In 2019, approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide required rehabilitation for various health pathologies, a 63% increase since 1990. It has been suggested that current rehabilitation frameworks (inpatient, outpatient, and community-based) are insufficient to meet local population needs due to issues like long waiting times, lack of facilities, prioritization, funding, and accessibility.Patients with lower limb weaknesses, resulting from various conditions (for example stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and others) require long-term management and motivation for engagement, which are crucial for functional outcomes. This highlights the need for sustainable gait and balance rehabilitation. New technologies like exoskeletons have shown promising results in short-term inpatient programs, improving gait, balance, and quality of life, however, long-term follow-up data are still needed. The present clinical investigation is a national, prospective, open-label interventional trial, proposing a 12-month outpatient rehabilitation program with the Atalante X exoskeleton to treat lower limb weakness and/or impairments in 100 participants. The rehabilitation program consists of at least one exoskeleton rehabilitation session per week. At the end of the first-year experimental phase, participants can continue for an additional year in the voluntary phase. The program aims to explore the potential long-term effects of supervised robotic rehabilitation on motor, cognitive, bowel, bladder functions, quality of life, and well-being. Assessments are conducted at baseline, after 4 and 12 months of exoskeleton rehabilitation, and at 16 and 24 months for participants in the voluntary phase.

The aim of this study is to develop a French translation and adaptation of the original English version of the AHEMD-SR.