Neuroscience
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Greater cortical activation and motor recovery following mirror therapy immediately after peripheral nerve repair of the forearm.
Cortical reorganization occurs immediately after peripheral nerve injury, and early sensorimotor training is suggested during nerve regeneration. The effect of mirror therapy and classical sensory relearning on cortical activation immediately after peripheral nerve repair of the forearm is unknown. Six participants were randomly assigned to the mirror-therapy group or the sensory-relearning group. ⋯ All participants showed improvement in the SWM, S-2PD tests, upper extremity function, and grip strength after the intervention at T1, except for the participant who injured both the median and ulnar nerves in the sensory-relearning group. In addition, the mirror-therapy group had better outcomes in finger dexterity and manual dexterity, and fMRIs showed greater activation in the multimodal association cortices and ipsilateral brain areas during motor tasks. This study provides evidence-based results confirming the benefits of early sensorimotor relearning for cortical activation in peripheral nerve injury of the forearm and different neuroplasticity patterns between mirror therapy and classical sensor relearning.
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Procrastination is generally recognized as a problematic behavior and the consequences of which spread to various aspects of an individual's life such as academic performance, social accomplishment, well-being, and health. Previous studies have indicated that neuroticism is positively correlated with procrastination; however, little is known about the neural substrates underlying the link between neuroticism and procrastination. To address this issue, we employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) methods to investigate the neural underpinning for their relationship in the present study (N = 153). ⋯ Moreover, results from RSFC analysis suggested that the functional connectivity between RMTG and the right superior frontal gyrus (RSFG) was positively associated with neuroticism. More importantly, a mediation analysis demonstrated that neuroticism played a full mediating role in the impact of RMTG-RSFG functional connectivity on procrastination. Overall, the present study offered new insights into the relation between neuroticism and procrastination from a neural basis perspective, which also suggested the importance of emotional regulation with regard to the link between such an association.
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We explored the phenomenon of unintentional force drifts in the absence of visual feedback. Based on the idea of direct force control with internal models and on the idea of indirect force control with referent coordinates to the involved muscle groups, contrasting predictions were drawn for changes in the drift magnitude when acting against external spring loads. Fifteen young subjects performed typical accurate force production tasks by pressing with the Index finger at 20% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in isometric conditions and while acting against one of the three external springs with different stiffness. ⋯ We view these observations as strong arguments in favor of the theory of control with spatial referent coordinates. In particular, force drifts were likely consequences of drifts of referent coordinates to both agonist and antagonist muscles. The lack of drift effects on both perception-to-report and perception-to-act fit the scheme of kinesthetic perception based on the interaction of efferent (referent coordinate) and afferent processes.