Transcranial direct current stimulation in neglect rehabilitation after stroke: a systematic review.

Hemispatial neglect is one of the most frequent attention disorders after stroke. The presence of neglect is associated with longer hospital stays, extended rehabilitation periods, and poorer functional recovery. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a new technique with promising results in neglect rehabilitation; therefore, the objective of this systematic review, performed following the PRISMA guidelines, is to evaluate the effectiveness of tDCS on neglect recovery after stroke. The search was done in MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and BioMed Central databases. A total of 311 articles were found; only 11 met the inclusion criteria, including 152 post-stroke patients in total. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed for all the studies, and methodological characteristics of the studies, sample sizes, methods, main results, and other relevant data were extracted. tDCS intervention ranged from one to twenty sessions distributed in 1 day to 4 weeks, with intensity ranged from 1 to 2 mA. We found moderate evidence for the efficacy of tDCS in the rehabilitation of hemispatial neglect after a stroke, being more effective in combination with other interventions. Nonetheless, the limited number of studies and some studies' design characteristics makes it risky to draw categorical conclusions. Since scientific evidence is still scarce, further research is needed to determine the advantage of this treatment in acute, sub-acute and chronic stroke patients. Future studies should include larger samples, longer follow-ups, and broader neurophysiological assessments, with the final aim of establishing the appropriate use of tDCS as an adjuvant intervention in neurorehabilitation settings.pre-print964 K

Prefronto-cerebellar neuromodulation affects appetite in obesity

Human neuroimaging studies have consistently reported changes in cerebellar function and integrity in association with obesity. To date, however, the nature of this link has not been studied directly. Emerging evidence suggests a role for the cerebellum in higher cognitive functions through reciprocal connections with the prefrontal cortex. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine appetite changes associated with noninvasive prefronto-cerebellar neuromodulation in obesity. 12 subjects with class I obesity (mean BMI 32.9 kg/m2) underwent a randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled, crossover study, during which they received transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS; active/sham) aimed at simultaneously enhancing the activity of the prefrontal cortex and decreasing the activity of the cerebellum. Changes in appetite (state and food-cue-triggered) and performance in a food-modified working memory task were evaluated. We found that active tDCS caused an increase in hunger and desire to eat following food-cue exposure. In line with these data, subjects also tended to make more errors during the working memory task. No changes in basic motor performance occurred. This study represents the first demonstration that prefronto-cerebellar neuromodulation can influence appetite in individuals with obesity. While preliminary, our findings support a potential role for prefronto-cerebellar pathways in the behavioral manifestations of obesity

Effects of Task Difficulty on Centre of Pressure Excursion and Its Inter-Trial Variability in Acrobatic Gymnastics Pyramid Performance

Despite the importance of balance in Acrobatic Gymnastic Pyramid performance, there is limited biomechanical analysis of balance during this activity. The aims of this study were to analyse the effect of pyramid difficulty on the centre of pressure (COP) excursion and its inter-trial variability, and determine which parameters had strongest relationship with performance. Forty-seven acrobatic gymnasts performed five trials of back and front pyramids and a third more difficult, handstand pyramid on a force platform. Pyramids were held for 7 seconds and surface area, range, mediolateral amplitude and anteroposterior amplitude of the CoP were examined to analyse balance. The pyramid scores were obtained from qualified judges to assess the performance. Results showed higher CoP excursions and inter-trial variability during the execution of the high difficulty pyramid. Higher judges' scores were associated with lower CoP excursions in all the pyramids regardless of the difficulty. Similarly, correlation between inter-trial variability and pyramid performance was observed, although these coefficients were lower than those reported for the relationship between CoP excursion and performance. These results suggested that CoP monitoring could help coaches and gymnasts to assess the pyramid instability more accurately.Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla. Departamento de Deporte e Informátic

Symmetry of lower limb loading in healthy adults during normal and abnormal stance

Purpose: The purpose of the research was twofold: (1) to describe the normal asymmetry in lower limb loading during a normal stance and during a stance with visual and vestibular disturbance relating to the lower limb dominance, (2) to assess relations of loading of both lower limbs with body weight and height (BMI) and leg functional dominance. Methods: The subjects of this study were 95 students. Settings of the two Kistler platforms were used to register the time series of the vertical component of the ground reaction force while the subject was standing (45 seconds) in a normal position and next with eyes covered with a band and head tilted back position with one leg placed on one platform and the other on the second platform. The symmetry index (SI) was used to describe the asymmetry of the left or right loading. Results: The greater loading of the left or right leg during standing was independent of the functional leg dominance. The distribution of left and right lower limb loading in both trials may suggest that a low asymmetry, less than 5%, is represented by about 30% of subjects in general. No significant correlation was found between the SI and BMI of subjects who had a normal body weight, but in the group of overweight subjects the correlation was very high (r = 0.9). Conclusion: The results show that in describing norms of asymmetry in posture control in healthy humans it is very important to compare the results to posture asymmetry in various injuries or diseases. The most important result is that the higher asymmetry of lower limb loading is associated with overweight, which implies greater risk to health of those people

The changes of the ecosystem service structures in post–mining areas. The case of Kazimierz open pit in the Konin Lignite Basin

Artykuł przedstawia koncepcję świadczeń ekosystemów jako propozycję rozwiązania metodycznego zastosowanego w ocenie wpływu górnictwa węgla brunatnego na środowisko przyrodnicze i społeczno-kulturowe. Analiza zmian świadczeń ekosystemów w obszarach górniczych pozwala uzyskać syntetyczną informację o utraconych w wyniku działalności górniczej korzyściach, czerpanych z ekosystemów oraz możliwościach kreowania w procesie rekultywacji nowych geosystemów pogórniczych, o zróżnicowanym potencjale, zależnym od wizji rozwoju obszaru pogórniczego i dostosowanym do potrzeb lokalnej społeczności. Artykuł podkreśla znaczenie rekultywacji terenów pogórniczych w kształtowaniu poziomu i struktury świadczeń ekosystemów, zgodnie z priorytetami określonymi w planowaniu przestrzennym. Badaniami objęto obszar odkrywki Kazimierz zlokalizowanej w Konińskim Zagłębiu Węgla Brunatnego.This paper presents the concept of ecosystem services as a proposal of a methodical solution used in the assessment of the impact of lignite mining on natural and socio-cultural environment. Analysis of changes in ecosystem services in mining areas provides synthetic information on the benefits lost as a result of mining activities, the benefits derived from the ecosystems as well as the possibilities of creating new post-mining geosystems during the process of reclamation, with varying potentials, depending on the vision for the development of the post-mining area and adapted to the needs of the local community. The paper emphasizes the importance of the reclamation of post-mining areas in shaping the level and structure of ecosystem services in accordance with the priorities defined in the spatial planning. The research covered the open-pit area of Kazimierz, located in the Konin Lignite Basin

Neural basis of video gaming: A systematic review

Background: Video gaming is an increasingly popular activity in contemporary society, especially among young people, and video games are increasing in popularity not only as a research tool but also as a field of study. Many studies have focused on the neural and behavioral effects of video games, providing a great deal of video game derived brain correlates in recent decades. There is a great amount of information, obtained through a myriad of methods, providing neural correlates of video games. Objectives: We aim to understand the relationship between the use of video games and their neural correlates, taking into account the whole variety of cognitive factors that they encompass. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of video games and neuro-imaging techniques or references to structural or functional brain changes. Separate categories were made for studies featuring Internet Gaming Disorder and studies focused on the violent content of video games. Results: A total of 116 articles were considered for the final selection. One hundred provided functional data and 22 measured structural brain changes. One-third of the studies covered video game addiction, and 14%focused on video game related violence. Conclusions: Despite the innate heterogeneity of the field of study, it has been possible to establish a series of links between the neural and cognitive aspects, particularly regarding attention, cognitive control, visuospatial skills, cognitive workload, and reward processing. However, many aspects could be improved. The lack of standardization in the different aspects of video game related research, such as the participants¿ characteristics, the features of each video game genre and the diverse study goals could contribute to discrepancies in many related studies. ©2017 Palaus, Marron, Viejo-Sobera and Redolar-Ripoll