167 research outputs found
Editorial: How Do Motivational States Influence Motor Resonance?
Get PDFsponsorship: CU was supported by the Italian Ministry of University, Research and Education (PRIN 2017, no. 2017N7WCLP) and by the Italian Ministry of Health Bando Ricerca Finalizzata 2016, no. GR-2016-02363640). (Italian Ministry of University, Research and Education (PRIN 2017)|2017N7WCLP, Italian Ministry of Health Bando Ricerca Finalizzata 2016|GR-2016-02363640)status: Publishe
sj-docx-2-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 – Supplemental material for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-2-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke by Nele De Bruyn, Anna K. Bonkhoff, Leen Saenen, Liselot Thijs, Bea Essers, Kaat Alaerts, Prof and Geert Verheyden, Prof in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair</p
sj-tif-4-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 – Supplemental material for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke
No full textSupplemental material, sj-tif-4-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke by Nele De Bruyn, Anna K. Bonkhoff, Leen Saenen, Liselot Thijs, Bea Essers, Kaat Alaerts, Prof and Geert Verheyden, Prof in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair</p
sj-docx-1-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 – Supplemental material for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke by Nele De Bruyn, Anna K. Bonkhoff, Leen Saenen, Liselot Thijs, Bea Essers, Kaat Alaerts, Prof and Geert Verheyden, Prof in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair</p
sj-docx-3-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 – Supplemental material for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-3-nnr-10.1177_15459683231179172 for Altered Dynamic Resting State Functional Connectivity Associated With Somatosensory Impairments in the Upper Limb in the Early Sub-Acute Phase Post-Stroke by Nele De Bruyn, Anna K. Bonkhoff, Leen Saenen, Liselot Thijs, Bea Essers, Kaat Alaerts, Prof and Geert Verheyden, Prof in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair</p
Brain–Heart Interactions in Novice Meditation Practitioners During Breath Focus and an Arithmetic Task
No full text[Objectives] Self-regulation practices, such as meditation, have been shown to influence neural and cardiac activities, which are critical for managing stress and emotions. However, most research focuses on these physiological subsystems independently, overlooking their interactions. This study sought to address this gap by investigating the relationship between brain and heart dynamics during meditation and cognitive tasks in novice meditators, providing insights that could guide future interventions for emotion and stress regulation[Method] Using recordings of electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG), we assessed transient relationships between the alpha neural band and heart rate during an arithmetic task and a breath-focused meditation in a sample of 20 young participants (10 women, age range 20–29 years) with no prior experience in meditation practices[Results] In terms of the relationship between alpha frequency and heart rate, the arithmetic task exhibited cross-frequency ratios of smaller magnitude compared to the breath-focused meditation. Furthermore, during the arithmetic task, a higher incidence of the specific 8:1 cross-frequency relationship was evident, which is proposed to enable cross-frequency coupling among neural and cardiac rhythms during a state of heightened cognitive effort. Heart rate and alpha frequency were also significantly higher during the arithmetic task, compared to the breath-focused meditation condition. The changes in cross-frequency relationships were primarily driven by changes in heart rate between the two tasks, as indicated through surrogate data analyses.[Conclusions] Our results provide novel evidence that stress responses and physiological changes during meditation practices can be better characterized by integrating physiological markers and, more crucially, their interactions. Together, this physiologically integrative approach can aid in guiding interventions such as physiological modulation protocols (biofeedback and neurofeedback) for regulation of emotion and stress.[Preregistration] This study is not preregistered.This work was supported by grants from the Flanders Fund for Scientific Research (FWO projects G079017N and G046321N), an Interdisciplinary Network Project of the KU Leuven (IDN21022), and the Branco Weiss fellowship of the Society in Science–ETH Zurich granted to Kaat Alaerts.Peer reviewe
MEP data PhD project: interpersonal motor resonance during social gaze conditions
No full textThis dataset contains corticospinal excitability measures (MEPs, rMT, background EMG) investigated via single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of 166 anonymized adult participants (141 neurotypical, 25 with a clinical autism spectrum diagnosis) included in the PhD project of the dataset author. TMS-induced MEPs were collected during rest and during different action observation settings (see ReadMe files per cohort for experimental details and stimuli descriptions). The dataset is structured per experimental cohort (1 to 6) and composed of 1 CSV file per participant, reporting raw MEP waveform characteristics and background EMG-related parameters elicited under different experimental conditions.Participants' demographic characteristics, individual TMS-related parameters (rMT, hotspot coordinates) as well as self-reported raw questionnaire scores are reported in the tabular data overview. Questionnaires include the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and State Adult Attachment Scale (SAAM)
The Effects of Four Weeks of Intranasal Oxytocin on Social Responsiveness and Repetitive and Restricted Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textThe Effects of Four Weeks of Intranasal Oxytocin on Social Responsiveness and Repetitive and Restricted Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sylvie Bernaerts, Claudia Dillen, Jean Steyaert, and Kaat Alaerts
Background:
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by impairments in social interaction and repetitive and restricted behaviors (RRBs). To date, no pharmacological treatment exists targeting the core symptoms of ASD, yet the pharmacological use of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has gained interest from the research community to explore its potential for elevating social deficits in ASD.
Methods:
A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial with thirty-four young adult men with ASD (17 OT/17 Placebo) was conducted to assess behavioral effects of OT therapy (i) at baseline; (ii) after four weeks of therapy; and (iii) four weeks post-treatment (follow-up). Doses of 24 IU oxytocin (Syntocinon®, Sigma-tau) or placebo nasal spray were administered daily for four weeks. Primary outcome measures included the social responsiveness scale (SRS) and the repetitive behavior scale (RBS-R). Secondary outcome measures included questionnaires assessing attachment, mood state and quality of life.
Results:
After four weeks of OT administration, self-reports on RRBs showed tentative reductions in the OT group (F(1,31)=3.83, p=0.06) and this effect persisted until one month after treatment F(1,31)=4.02, p=0.05). No significant changes in social responsiveness were observed immediately after the four-week OT treatment, but interestingly, at the 1-month follow-up session, significant improvements were revealed for the informant-based SRS report, indicating clear improvements in reports of social motivation (F(1,22)=4.71, p=0.04) and social communication (F(1,22)=7.39, p=0.01). For the secondary outcome measures, only tentative effects were revealed.
Conclusions:
The observed improvements after the four-week OT treatment in social responsiveness and RRBs indicate that OT can induce long-term behavioral changes in individuals with ASD.sponsorship: Supported By: Flanders Fund for Scientific Research (FWO), Branco Weiss Fellowship of the Society in Science - ETH Zurich, Marguerite-Marie Delacroix foundation (Flanders Fund for Scientific Research (FWO), Branco Weiss Fellowship of the Society in Science - ETH Zurich, Marguerite-Marie Delacroix foundation)status: Publishe
Attachment styles have a modulatory impact on psychophysiological arousal evoked by reciprocated and unreciprocated gaze
No full textGaze processing plays an essential role during social interactions. Here, it was investigated whether variations in attachment style (secure, anxious and avoidant) were associated with differential expressions of sympathetic autonomic arousal upon live dyadic gaze interactions. To do so, 47 participants were presented with either reciprocated or unreciprocated eye gaze from a live model and skin conductance responses (SCRs) were collected. In line with previous observations, SCRs and subjective ratings of arousal were higher in response to reciprocated, compared to unreciprocated gaze. In terms of the modulation by attachment style, it was shown that participants with low attachment security and high attachment avoidance displayed overall higher sympathetic arousal upon the presentation of the live dyadic gaze cues, irrespective of whether the observed model showed reciprocal or unreciprocated gaze. Together, these observations indicate that attachment styles have a modulatory effect on individuals' psychophysiological responses to dyadic gaze interactions.sponsorship: This research was supported by grants from the Flanders Fund for Scientific Research [FWO projects KAN 1506716N, KAN 1521313N, G.0401.12 and G079017N] and the Branco Weiss fellowship of the Society in Science - ETH Zurich granted to K.A. J.P. is supported by an internal fund of the KU Leuven [STG/14/001] and a fund of the Marguerite-Marie Delacroix foundation. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Requests for reprints can be send to Kaat Alaerts ([email protected]). (Flanders Fund for Scientific Research [FWO]|KAN 1506716N, Flanders Fund for Scientific Research [FWO]|KAN 1521313N, Flanders Fund for Scientific Research [FWO]|G.0401.12, Flanders Fund for Scientific Research [FWO]|G079017N, Branco Weiss fellowship of the Society in Science - ETH Zurich, KU Leuven|STG/14/001, Marguerite-Marie Delacroix foundation)status: Publishe
Facilitation of motor imagery through movement-related cueing
Get PDFIn the past few years, the use of motor imagery as an adjunct to other forms of training has been studied extensively. However, very little attention has been paid to how imagery could be used to greatest effect. it is well known that the provision of external cues has a beneficial effect on motor skill acquisition and performance during physical practice. Since physical execution and mental imagery share several common mechanisms, we hypothesized that motor imagery might be affected by external cues in a similar way. To examine this, we compared the motor imagery performance of three groups of 15 healthy participants who either physically performed or imagined performing a goal-directed cyclical wrist movement in the presence or the absence of visual and/or auditory external cues. As outcome measures, the participants' imagery vividness scores and eye movements were measured during all conditions. We found that visual movement-related cues improved the spatial accuracy of the participants' eye movements during imagery, while auditory cues specifically enhanced their temporal accuracy. Furthermore, both types of cues significantly improved the participants' imagery vividness. These findings indicate that subjects may imagine a movement in a better way when provided with external movement-related stimuli, which may possibly be useful with regard to the efficiency of mental practice in (clinical) training protocols. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
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