1,720,968 research outputs found
Virtual reality in neurorehabilitation: a review of its effects on multiple cognitive domains
No full textVirtual reality for the assessment and rehabilitation of neglect: where are we now? A 6-year review update
No full textUnilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a frequent repercussion of a cerebrovascular accident, typically a stroke. USN patients fail to orient their attention to the contralesional side to detect auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli, as well as to collect and purposely use this information. Traditional methods for USN assessment and rehabilitation include paper-and-pencil procedures, which address cognitive functions as isolated from other aspects of patients’ functioning within a real-life context. This might compromise the ecological validity of these procedures and limit their generalizability; moreover, USN evaluation and treatment currently lacks a gold standard. The field of technology has provided several promising tools that have been integrated within the clinical practice; over the years, a “first wave” has promoted computerized methods, which cannot provide an ecological and realistic environment and tasks. Thus, a “second wave” has fostered the implementation of virtual reality (VR) devices that, with different degrees of immersiveness, induce a sense of presence and allow patients to actively interact within the life-like setting. The present paper provides an updated, comprehensive picture of VR devices in the assessment and rehabilitation of USN, building on the review of Pedroli et al. (2015). The present paper analyzes the methodological and technological aspects of the studies selected, considering the issue of usability and ecological validity of virtual environments and tasks. Despite the technological advancement, the studies in this field lack methodological rigor as well as a proper evaluation of VR usability and should improve the ecological validity of VR-based assessment and rehabilitation of USN
Valutazione delle interazioni precoci madre depressa-bambino: Scala di Bur e Scala di Guaraldi
No full textDUAL-Rehab: Dual-task meets 360° Technology in an Innovative Instrument
No full textThe global population is aging, leading to an increase in cognitive problems such as Alzheimer's Disease. To address this issue, innovative interventions are required that target the preclinical stages of pathologies, such as Mild Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Memory Complaints. One promising non-pharmacological intervention, in neurological patients, is dual-task training, which involves performing two exercises concurrently (i.e., physical and cognitive activity). However, most of this training has been carried out in sterile laboratories, limiting the transfer of the ability to real life. To address this, innovative technology such as 360° videos is being utilized to create lifelike experiences that offer promising outcomes. The current study aims to present a prototype of a novel and ecological dual-task training program using 360° technology to enhance the cognitive functioning of individuals with a preclinical stage of dementia. The 360° dual-task training will consist of different exercises taking place in daily environments, such as houses, hospitals, offices, etc., and each exercise will reproduce different ordinary activities, requiring participants to perform motor tasks while interacting with the environment. The program will cover 10 bi-weekly sessions and will be available in two different modalities: immersive and non-immersive. The immersive modality requires the use of a head-mounted display, to train cognitive functions and a cycle ergometer for motor activity. The non-immersive one consists of the use of a table and a portable cycle ergometer. This technology-based intervention will provide older individuals with an innovative and personalized instrument to improve their quality of life by being cognitively engaged
Digital Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment: Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Reality
Full text linkElderly people affected by Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) usually report a perceived decline in cognitive functions that deeply impacts their quality of life. This subtle waning, although it cannot be diagnosable as dementia, is noted by caregivers on the basis of their relative’s behaviors. Crucially, if this condition is also not detected in time by clinicians, it can easily turn into dementia. Thus, early detection of MCI is strongly needed. Classical neuropsychological measures – underlying a categorical model of diagnosis - could be integrated with a dimensional assessment approach involving Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). VR can be used to create highly ecologically controlled simulations resembling the daily life contexts in which patients’ daily instrumental activities (IADL) usually take place. Clinicians can record patients’ kinematics, particularly gait, while performing IADL (Digital Biomarkers). Then, Artificial Intelligence employs Machine Learning (ML) to analyze them in combination with clinical and neuropsychological data. This integrated computational approach would enable the creation of a predictive model to identify specific patterns of cognitive and motor impairment in MCI. Therefore, this new dimensional cognitive-behavioral assessment would reveal elderly people’s neural alterations and impaired cognitive functions, typical of MCI and dementia, even in early stages for more time-sensitive interventions
Biosensors and Biofeedback in Clinical Psychology
No full textThe present chapter describes the main features of biosensors and biofeedback, with particular attention to their definitions, main properties, classifications and a general overview of their implementation within several contexts. Subsequently, their application within the field of clinical psychology will be critically discussed, in light of recent research evidence. This examination will follow a developmental rationale, beginning with conditions affecting early ages and adolescence, proceeding to adulthood and senescence. Recommendations for future researches will be pointed out, tracing the path for the next steps for the advancement in clinical applications of biofeedback and biosensors
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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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