Dance movement therapy for obese women with emotional eating: A controlled pilot study

This study explored the effectiveness of dance movement therapy (DMT) in obese women with emotional eating who were trying to lose weight. 158 women were recruited from a commercial weight loss programme: 92 with BMI ≥ 28 were identified as emotional eaters and divided into: an exercise control (n = 32) and non-exercisers (n = 60). The non-exercises were partially randomised to non exercise control (n = 30) and treatment group (n = 30). Using a pre- and post-intervention design, 24 of the DMT treatment group, 28 of the exercise control and 27 of the non-exercise control completed all measures on a battery of tests for psychological distress, body image distress, self-esteem and emotional eating. Findings were analysed for statistical significance.     

Mechanomyographic activity in the human lateral pterygoid muscle during mandibular movement

The activity of the lateral pterygoid muscle has been regarded to be related to the pathological condition of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in the craniomandibular disorders. Because the lateral pterygoid muscle is a deep muscle, a needle electrode is necessary for EMG recordings. The purpose of this study was to establish a non-invasive method for the evaluation of muscle activity of the lateral pterygoid muscle using mechanomyogram (MMG). In three male subjects, surface electromyogram (EMG) in the left masseter muscle, left anterior and posterior belly of the temporal muscle, left anterior belly of the digastric muscle and needle EMG of the inferior head of the lateral pterygoid were recorded during mandibular movement tasks simultaneously with the MMG derived from a condenser microphone in the external ear canal. There were significant positive correlations between the needle EMG signal of the lateral pterygoid muscle and the MMG signal for the tasks of static jaw opened position of 30 mm of interincisal distance (p = 0.000, R² = 0.725), static jaw opened position of 40 mm of interincisal distance (p = 0.000, R² = 0.753), 5 mm protruded mandibular position (p = 0.000, R² = 0.653), the most protruded mandibular position (p = 0.000, R² = 0803). On the contrary, for the task of maximal clenching, there was no significant correlation between the EMG signal of the lateral pterygoid muscle and the MMG signal. These results suggest that the activity of the lateral pterygoid muscle could be evaluated by the MMG signals recorded in the external ear canal, unless jaw closing major muscles show active contraction.     

Therapeutic high-frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's disease produces global increases in cerebral blood flow

Chronic, high-frequency electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nuclei (STNs) has become an effective and widely used therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD), but the therapeutic mechanism is not understood. Stimulation of the STN is believed to reorganize neurophysiological activity patterns within the basal ganglia, whereas local field effects extending to tracts adjacent to the STN are viewed as sources of nontherapeutic side effects. This study is part of a larger project investigating the effects of STN stimulation on speech and regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in human subjects with PD. While generating measures of global CBF (gCBF) to normalize regional CBF values for a subsequent combined analysis of regional CBF and speech data, we observed a third effect of this therapy: a gCBF increase. This effect was present across three estimates of gCBF ranging from values based on the highest activity voxels to those based on all voxels. The magnitude of the gCBF increase was related to the subject's duration of PD. It is not clear whether this CBF effect has a therapeutic role, but the impact of deep brain stimulation on cerebrovascular control warrants study from neuroscience, pathophysiological, and therapeutic perspectives.     

Premotor and occipital theta asymmetries as discriminators of memory- and stimulus-guided tasks

The saccadic paradigm has been used to investigate specific cortical networks involving visuospatial attention. We examined whether asymmetry in theta and beta band differentiates the role of the hemispheres during the execution of two different prosacadic conditions: a fixed condition, where the stimulus was presented at the same location; and a random condition, where the stimulus was unpredictable. Twelve healthy volunteers (3 male; mean age: 26.25) performed the task while their brain activity pattern was recorded using quantitative electroencephalography. We did not find any significant difference for beta, slow- and fast-alpha frequencies for the pairs of electrodes analyzed. The results for theta band showed a superiority of the left hemisphere in the frontal region when responding to the random condition on the right, which is related to the planning and selection of responses, and also a greater activation of the right hemisphere during the random condition, in the occipital region, related to the identification and recognition of patterns. These results indicate that asymmetries in the premotor area and the occipital cortex differentiate memory- and stimulus-driven tasks.     

Influence of constraint‐induced movement therapy upon evoked potentials in rats with cerebral infarction

Constraint‐induced movement therapy (CIMT) is an effective treatment promoting motor recovery of upper extremity function in stroke patients. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of CIMT on the evoked potentials in rats with focal cerebral cortical ischemia induced by endothelin‐1 (ET‐1). Thirty rats were randomly assigned to the sham, infarct or CIMT groups. ET‐1 was injected stereotaxically into the forelimb area of the cerebral cortex in the dominant hemisphere. Custom‐made constraint jackets were applied to limit movement of the unaffected forelimb in the CIMT group. Motor and sensory function of the forelimb was evaluated by a pellet retrieval task and forearm asymmetry test. Electrophysiologic changes were evaluated by motor‐evoked potentials (MEPs) and somatosensory‐evoked potentials (SEPs). The location and extent of cerebral ischemia were confirmed and compared histologically. The CIMT group showed better recovery in the pellet retrieval task. Forelimb use was more symmetrical in the CIMT group. The waveform of the SEP was reversed and delayed in the infarct group, but it was preserved in the CIMT group with amplitude decrease only. The estimated volume of infarction was smaller in the CIMT group, although statistically not significant. The results demonstrate that CIMT can promote recovery of motor function in focal cerebral cortical infarcts, and that recovery may be related to reorganization of the cerebral neuronal network in the somatosensory pathway.     

Relationships between exploratory eye movement dysfunction and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia

Aim: Many psychophysiological tests have been widely researched in the search for a biological marker of schizophrenia. The exploratory eye movement (EEM) test involves the monitoring of eye movements while subjects freely view geometric figures. Suzuki et al. (2009) performed discriminant analysis between schizophrenia and non‐schizophrenia subjects using EEM test data; consequently, clinically diagnosed schizophrenia patients were identified as having schizophrenia with high probability (73.3%). The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of schizophrenia patients who were identified as having schizophrenia on EEM discriminant analysis (SPDSE) or schizophrenia patients who were identified as not having schizophrenia on EEM discriminant analysis (SPDNSE). Methods: The data for the 251 schizophrenia subjects used in the previous discriminant‐analytic study were analyzed, and the demographic or symptomatic characteristics of SPDSE and SPDNSE were investigated. As for the symptomatic features, a factor analysis of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) rating from the schizophrenia subjects was carried out. Results: Five factors were found for schizophrenia symptoms: excitement/hostility; negative symptoms; depression/anxiety; positive symptoms; and disorganization. SPDSE had significantly higher factor scores for excitement/hostility, negative symptoms and disorganization than SPDNSE. Furthermore, the BPRS total score for the SPDSE was significantly higher than that for the SPDNSE. Conclusion: SPDSE may be a disease subtype of schizophrenia with severe symptoms related to excitement/hostility, negative symptoms and disorganization, and EEM parameters may detect this subtype. Therefore, the EEM test may be one of the contributors to the simplification of the heterogeneity of schizophrenia.     

320层动态容积CT对正常人髌骨运动轨迹的初步研究

目的 探讨320层容积CT运动功能成像在正常人髌骨运动轨迹的应用价值.方法 回顾性分析30例应用320层容积CT运动功能成像检查的动态膝关节扫描数据.所有志愿者分别在屈膝0°～120°时行320层CT检测,测量不同屈曲角度时髌骨中点在三维坐标中的位置,分析不同角度时髌股关节排列关系.结果 随膝角的变化,在0°～90°时,髌骨迅速沿Y轴方向(即矢状面)向下移动约(53.87±0.45)mm,随后进入平台期,变化甚微.当屈膝至10°～30°时,髌骨沿X轴向内侧移动达最大程度,范围在(2.31±0.52)～(3.36±0.43)mm,而后向外侧运动,至120°时达到最大值,平均为(8.53±0.44)mm.在Z轴上,初时呈平台期,30°后呈快速下降趋势.在整个屈膝过程中,髌骨的滑行轨迹类似于开口向外的弧形.结论 320层容积CT运动功能成像可以快速、无痛对髌骨运动轨迹进行准确定位.

Abstract：

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of tracking movement of normal patellar using volume scan on sensation 320 CT. Method Data of dynamic scans of 30 knees was collected using the motor function of 320 CT and retrospectively analyzed. The data of movement of the patellorfemoral joint was obtained during flexion (from 0° to 120°) within 10-sec by 320 CT from all volunteers. The 3D coordinate of the center of patella was recorded to investigate the dispose relation of patellofemoral joint.Result With the knee angle changed from 0° to 90°, the patella moved rapidly along the Y-axis direction ( sagittal plane) down about (53.87 ± 0. 45 ) mm, and then entered the plateau phase with little change.When the knee flexion reached 10°-30° ,the patellar movement along the X-axis reached the largest range of (2. 31 ±0. 52)-(3.36 ± 0. 43 ) mm, and subsequently moved to the opposite lateral direction with the maximum about (8. 53 ± 0. 44 ) mm at 120°. In the Z axis, the track initially showed plateau, and then presented a rapidly downward trend after 30°. The patellar tracking is like an outward arc during the whole knee flexion. Conclusion The motor functional imaging of 320 CT can pinpoint the patelar tracking in a fast, painless way.