The minho word pool: norms for imageability, concreteness, and subjective frequency for 3,800 portuguese words

Words are widely used as stimuli in cognitive research. Because of their complexity, using words requires a strict control of their objective (lexical and sublexical) and subjective properties. In this work we present the Minho Word Pool (MWP), a dataset that provides normative values of imageability, concreteness and subjective frequency for 3,800 (European) Portuguese words, three subjective measures, which in spite of being extensively used in research, were still scarce for Portuguese. Data were collected with 2,357 college students who were native speakers of European Portuguese. Participants rated 100 words drawn randomly from the full set in each of the three subjective indices using a web survey procedure (via a URL link). Analyses comparing the MWP ratings with those obtained for the same words from other national and international databases showed that the MWP norms are reliable and valid, thus providing researchers with a useful tool to support research in all neuroscientific areas using verbal stimuli. The MWP norms can be downloaded at http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental or at http://p-pal.di.uminho.pt/about/databases.This work is part of the research project BProcura Palavras (P-Pal): A software program for deriving objective and subjective psycholinguistic indices for European Portuguese words^ (PTDC/PSI-PCO/104679/2008),funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia(FCT), and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), through the European programs Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN) and Programa Operacional Factores deCompetitividade (COMPETE).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Virtual reality for sensorimotor rehabilitation post stroke: design principles and evidence

n the recent years, the use of virtual reality (VR) to enhance motor skills of persons with activity and participation restriction due to disease or injury has been become an important area of research. In this chapter, we describe the design of such VR systems and their underlying principles, such as experience-dependent neuroplasticity and motor learning. Further, psychological constructs related to motivation including salience, goal setting, and rewards are commonly utilized in VR to optimize motivation during rehabilitation activities. Hence, virtually simulated activities are considered to be ideal for (1) the delivery of specifi c feedback, (2) the a bility to perform large volumes of training, and (3) the presentation of precisely calibrated diffi culty levels, which maintain a high level of challenge throughout long training sessions. These underlying principles are contrasted with a growing body of research comparing the effi cacy of VR with traditionally presented rehabilitation activities in persons with stroke that demonstrate comparable or better outcomes for VR. In addition, a small body of literature has utilized direct assays of neuroplasticity to evaluate the effects of virtual rehabilitation interventions in persons with stroke. Promising developments and fi ndings also arise from the use of off-the-s helf video game systems for virtual rehabilitation purposes and the integration of VR with robots and brain-computer interfaces. Several challenges limiting the translation of virtual rehabilitation into routine rehabilitation practice need to be addressed but the fi eld continues to hold promise to answer key issues faced by modern healthcare.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio