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Hemispheric contribution to categorical and coordinate representational processes: a study on brain damaged patients
No full textAccording to Kosslyn, two types of spatial relations can be used to arrange parts in mental imagery, i.e., categorical spatial relations and coordinate spatial relations, which are processed respectively by the left and right hemispheres. To investigate this possible hemispheric specialization in the imagery domain, we tested 34 left or right brain-damaged patients using both a categorical and a coordinate mental imagery task. The results show that left brain-damaged patients were selectively impaired on processing categorical representations, while right brain-damaged patients were more impaired on the processing the coordinate ones, regardless of the presence of visuo-spatial neglect. The present study partly support Kosslyn's theory and, despite data reported in previous studies of brain-damaged patients, it also supports the hypothesis of a possible bilateral neural representation of mental imagery, with the two hemispheres taking part in this process in different ways.According to Kosslyn, two types of spatial relations can be used to arrange parts in mental imagery, i.e., categorical spatial relations and coordinate spatial relations, which are processed respectively by the left and right hemispheres. To investigate this possible hemispheric specialization in the imagery domain, we tested 34 left or right brain-damaged patients using both a categorical and a coordinate mental imagery task. The results show that left brain-damaged patients were selectively impaired on processing categorical representations, while right brain-damaged patients were more impaired on the processing the coordinate ones, regardless of the presence of visuo-spatial neglect. The present study partly support Kosslyn's theory and, despite data reported in previous studies of brain-damaged patients, it also supports the hypothesis of a possible bilateral neural representation of mental imagery, with the two hemispheres taking part in this process in different ways
Phonological simplifications, apraxia of speech and the interaction between phonological and phonetic processing
Get PDFResearch on aphasia has struggled to identify apraxia of speech (AoS) as an independent deficit affecting a processing level separate from phonological assembly and motor implementation. This is because AoS is characterized by both phonological and phonetic errors and, therefore, can be interpreted as a combination of deficits at the phonological and the motoric level rather than as an independent impairment. We apply novel psycholinguistic analyses to the perceptually phonological errors made by 24 Italian aphasic patients. We show that only patients with relative high rate (>10%) of phonetic errors make sound errors which simplify the phonology of the target. Moreover, simplifications are strongly associated with other variables indicative of articulatory difficulties - such as a predominance of errors on consonants rather than vowels -but not with other measures - such as rate of words reproduced correctly or rates of lexical errors. These results indicate that sound errors cannot arise at a single phonological level because they are different in different patients. Instead, different patterns: (1) provide evidence for separate impairments and the existence of a level of articulatory planning/programming intermediate between phonological selection and motor implementation; (2) validate AoS as an independent impairment at this level, characterized by phonetic errors and phonological simplifications; (3) support the claim that linguistic principles of complexity have an articulatory basis since they only apply in patients with associated articulatory difficulties
Quality of life improved by multidisciplinary back school program in patıents with chronic non-specific low back pain: a single blind randomized controlled trial
No full textAn open-label pilot study of the use of rivastigmine to promote functional recovery in patients with unilateral spatial neglect due to first ischemic stroke
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rivastigmine as add-on treatment to specific cognitive rehabilitation for unilateral spatial neglect (USN).
Twenty patients were randomly assigned either to rehabilitation treatment only (No-RIV) or to rivastigmine (3 mg twice a day, for 8 weeks) add-on treatment (RIV+,). USN and functional status were evaluated by means of specific and validated instruments at baseline, at discharge and at one-month follow up.
Compared with the untreated patients, the RIV+ subjects, at discharge, recorded significantly better discharge scores and higher effectiveness on two of the scales. However, subsequent further improvement of the No-RIV patients meant that at follow up there was no significant difference between the two groups. No other statistically significant difference was found.
Rivastigmine as add-on treatment to specific cognitive training for USN may improve and accelerate recovery on some specific impairment tests as compared with cognitive training alon
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Psychological features and outcomes of the Back School treatment in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. A randomized controlled study.
No full textAbstract
BACKGROUND:
Low back pain is a worldwide health problem, affecting up to 80% of adult population. Psychological factors are involved in its development and maintenance. Many clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of different interventions for chronic non-specific low back pain. In this field, Back School program has been demonstrated effective for people with chronic non-specific low back.
AIM:
To evaluate the relationship between the effects of the Back School treatment and psychological features measured by MMPI-II of patients with chronic non-specific low back pain.
DESIGN:
A randomised controlled trial with three and six-month follow-up.
SETTING:
Ambulatory rehabilitative university centre.
POPULATION:
Fifty patients with chronic non-specific low back pain out of 77 screened patients.
METHODS:
Patients were randomly placed in a 3:2 form and were allocated into two groups (Treatment versus Control). The Treatment Group participated to an intensive multidisciplinary Back School program (BSG, N.=29), while the Control Group received medical assistance (CG, N.=21). Medication was the same in both groups. Then, patients were subgrouped in those with at least an elevation in one scale of MMPI-II, and those without it. The Short Form 36 Health Status Survey for the assessment of quality of life (primary outcome measure), pain Visual Analogue Scale, Waddel Index and Oswestry Disability Index were collected at baseline, at the end of treatment, and at the three and six-month follow-up.
RESULTS:
Only the two treated subgroups showed a significant improvements in terms of quality of life, disability and pain. Among treated subjects, only those with at least one scale elevation in MMPI-II showed also a significant improvement in terms of Short Form 36 mental composite score and relevant subscores.
CONCLUSION:
These results suggest that Back School program has positive effects, even in terms of mental components of quality of life in patients with scale elevations of MMPI-II. Probably these findings are due to its educational and cognitive-behavioural characteristics.
CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT:
Because of its educational purposes, the Back School treatment can have positive effects also on the mental status of patients with low back pain when it affects their psychological feature
Quality of life improved by multidisciplinary back school program in patıents wıth chronıc non-specıfıc low back paın: a sıngle blınd randomızed controlled trıal.
No full textSTUDY DESIGN:
A three and six months follow-up in a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND:
Back School has become a widespread exercise program for low back pain (LBP), since its introduction in 1969. Back School could improve quality of life (QoL), but there are controversial data regarding its effectiveness.
AIM:
To evaluate the effects of the Back School program on quality of life (primary outcome), disability and pain perceptions (secondary outcomes) in patients with chronic and non-specific low back pain.
SETTING:
Rehabilitative specialized centre.
POPULATION:
Seventy four patients with chronic non-specific LBP.
METHODS:
Patients were randomly placed in a 3:2 form and were allocated into 2 groups (treated-control). Treatment group participated in a intensive multidisciplinary Back School program including brief education and active back exercises (BSG, N.=41), while the control group received medical assistance (CG, N.=29). Medication was the same in both groups. The Short Form 36 Health Status Survey, Waddel Index, Oswestry Disability Index and Visual Analogue Scale were collected at baseline, at the end of treatment, and at the three and six month follow-up.
RESULTS:
Quality of life significantly improved along time more in BSG, both in Physical and Mental Composite Score (repeated measure Anova: interaction time per group: P<0.001 and P=0.002, respectively). We also observed a significant improvement in disability scores along time (P<0.001) in BSG with significant differences between groups at three and at six months for Waddell Index (P=0.006 and P=0.009 respectively) and for Oswestry Disability Index (P=0.018 and 0.011 respectively). Moreover, pain perception score VAS showed a reduction in both groups, but it was significantly lower in BSG at end of treatment and both follow-ups (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION:
Our Back School program can be considered an effective treatment in people with chronıc non-specıfıc LBP
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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