Motor skill learning depends on protein synthesis in the dorsal striatum after training

Functional imaging studies in humans and electrophysiological data in animals suggest that corticostriatal circuits undergo plastic modifications during motor skill learning. In motor cortex and hippocampus circuit plasticity can be prevented by protein synthesis inhibition (PSI) which can interfere with certain forms learning. Here, the hypothesis was tested that inducing PSI in the dorsal striatum by bilateral intrastriatal injection of anisomycin (ANI) in rats interferes with learning a precision forelimb reaching task. Injecting ANI shortly after training on days 1 and 2 during 4days of daily practice (n=14) led to a significant impairment of motor skill learning as compared with vehicle-injected controls (n=15, P=0.033). ANI did not affect the animals' motivation as measured by intertrial latencies. Also, ANI did not affect reaching performance once learning was completed and performance reached a plateau. These findings demonstrate that PSI in the dorsal striatum after training impairs the acquisition of a novel motor skill. The results support the notion that plasticity in basal ganglia circuits, mediated by protein synthesis, contributes to motor skill learnin

Walking Outcome After Traumatic Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury: The Function of Which Myotomes Makes a Difference?

BACKGROUND: Accurate prediction of walking function after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is crucial for an appropriate tailoring and application of therapeutical interventions. Long-term outcome of ambulation is strongly related to residual muscle function acutely after injury and its recovery potential. The identification of the underlying determinants of ambulation, however, remains a challenging task in SCI, a neurological disorder presented with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and recovery trajectories. OBJECTIVES: Stratification of walking function and determination of its most relevant underlying muscle functions based on stratified homogeneous patient subgroups. METHODS: Data from individuals with paraplegic SCI were used to develop a prediction-based stratification model, applying unbiased recursive partitioning conditional inference tree (URP-CTREE). The primary outcome was the 6-minute walk test at 6 months after injury. Standardized neurological assessments ≤15 days after injury were chosen as predictors. Resulting subgroups were incorporated into a subsequent node-specific analysis to attribute the role of individual lower extremity myotomes for the prognosis of walking function. RESULTS: Using URP-CTREE, the study group of 361 SCI patients was divided into 8 homogeneous subgroups. The node specific analysis uncovered that proximal myotomes L2 and L3 were driving factors for the differentiation between walkers and non-walkers. Distal myotomes L4-S1 were revealed to be responsible for the prognostic distinction of indoor and outdoor walkers (with and without aids). CONCLUSION: Stratification of a heterogeneous population with paraplegic SCI into more homogeneous subgroups, combined with the identification of underlying muscle functions prospectively determining the walking outcome, enable potential benefit for application in clinical trials and practice

Design and Performance of a Silicon Tungsten Calorimeter Prototype Module and the Associated Readout

We describe the details of a silicon-tungsten prototype electromagnetic calorimeter module and associated readout electronics. Detector performance for this prototype has been measured in test beam experiments at the CERN PS and SPS accelerator facilities in 2015/16. The results are compared to those in Monte Carlo Geant4 simulations. This is the first real-world demonstration of the performance of a custom ASIC designed for fast, lower-power, high-granularity applications.Comment: 27 pages, 19 captioned figures, published versioi

Human Practice. Digital Ecologies. Our Future. : 14. Internationale Tagung Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2019) : Tagungsband

Erschienen bei: universi - Universitätsverlag Siegen. - ISBN: 978-3-96182-063-4Aus dem Inhalt: Track 1: Produktion & Cyber-Physische Systeme Requirements and a Meta Model for Exchanging Additive Manufacturing Capacities Service Systems, Smart Service Systems and Cyber- Physical Systems—What’s the difference? Towards a Unified Terminology Developing an Industrial IoT Platform – Trade-off between Horizontal and Vertical Approaches Machine Learning und Complex Event Processing: Effiziente Echtzeitauswertung am Beispiel Smart Factory Sensor retrofit for a coffee machine as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance use case Stakeholder-Analyse zum Einsatz IIoT-basierter Frischeinformationen in der Lebensmittelindustrie Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering - A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis Development of a matching platform for the requirement-oriented selection of cyber physical systems for SMEs Track 2: Logistic Analytics An Empirical Study of Customers’ Behavioral Intention to Use Ridepooling Services – An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model Modeling Delay Propagation and Transmission in Railway Networks What is the impact of company specific adjustments on the acceptance and diffusion of logistic standards? Robust Route Planning in Intermodal Urban Traffic Track 3: Unternehmensmodellierung & Informationssystemgestaltung (Enterprise Modelling & Information Systems Design) Work System Modeling Method with Different Levels of Specificity and Rigor for Different Stakeholder Purposes Resolving Inconsistencies in Declarative Process Models based on Culpability Measurement Strategic Analysis in the Realm of Enterprise Modeling – On the Example of Blockchain-Based Initiatives for the Electricity Sector Zwischenbetriebliche Integration in der Möbelbranche: Konfigurationen und Einflussfaktoren Novices’ Quality Perceptions and the Acceptance of Process Modeling Grammars Entwicklung einer Definition für Social Business Objects (SBO) zur Modellierung von Unternehmensinformationen Designing a Reference Model for Digital Product Configurators Terminology for Evolving Design Artifacts Business Role-Object Specification: A Language for Behavior-aware Structural Modeling of Business Objects Generating Smart Glasses-based Information Systems with BPMN4SGA: A BPMN Extension for Smart Glasses Applications Using Blockchain in Peer-to-Peer Carsharing to Build Trust in the Sharing Economy Testing in Big Data: An Architecture Pattern for a Development Environment for Innovative, Integrated and Robust Applications Track 4: Lern- und Wissensmanagement (e-Learning and Knowledge Management) eGovernment Competences revisited – A Literature Review on necessary Competences in a Digitalized Public Sector Say Hello to Your New Automated Tutor – A Structured Literature Review on Pedagogical Conversational Agents Teaching the Digital Transformation of Business Processes: Design of a Simulation Game for Information Systems Education Conceptualizing Immersion for Individual Learning in Virtual Reality Designing a Flipped Classroom Course – a Process Model The Influence of Risk-Taking on Knowledge Exchange and Combination Gamified Feedback durch Avatare im Mobile Learning Alexa, Can You Help Me Solve That Problem? - Understanding the Value of Smart Personal Assistants as Tutors for Complex Problem Tasks Track 5: Data Science & Business Analytics Matching with Bundle Preferences: Tradeoff between Fairness and Truthfulness Applied image recognition: guidelines for using deep learning models in practice Yield Prognosis for the Agrarian Management of Vineyards using Deep Learning for Object Counting Reading Between the Lines of Qualitative Data – How to Detect Hidden Structure Based on Codes Online Auctions with Dual-Threshold Algorithms: An Experimental Study and Practical Evaluation Design Features of Non-Financial Reward Programs for Online Reviews: Evaluation based on Google Maps Data Topic Embeddings – A New Approach to Classify Very Short Documents Based on Predefined Topics Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement Decision Support for Real Estate Investors: Improving Real Estate Valuation with 3D City Models and Points of Interest Knowledge Discovery from CVs: A Topic Modeling Procedure Online Product Descriptions – Boost for your Sales? Entscheidungsunterstützung durch historienbasierte Dienstreihenfolgeplanung mit Pattern A Semi-Automated Approach for Generating Online Review Templates Machine Learning goes Measure Management: Leveraging Anomaly Detection and Parts Search to Improve Product-Cost Optimization Bedeutung von Predictive Analytics für den theoretischen Erkenntnisgewinn in der IS-Forschung Track 6: Digitale Transformation und Dienstleistungen Heuristic Theorizing in Software Development: Deriving Design Principles for Smart Glasses-based Systems Mirroring E-service for Brick and Mortar Retail: An Assessment and Survey Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective Value of Star Players in the Digital Age Local Shopping Platforms – Harnessing Locational Advantages for the Digital Transformation of Local Retail Outlets: A Content Analysis A Socio-Technical Approach to Manage Analytics-as-a-Service – Results of an Action Design Research Project Characterizing Approaches to Digital Transformation: Development of a Taxonomy of Digital Units Expectations vs. Reality – Benefits of Smart Services in the Field of Tension between Industry and Science Innovation Networks and Digital Innovation: How Organizations Use Innovation Networks in a Digitized Environment Characterising Social Reading Platforms— A Taxonomy-Based Approach to Structure the Field Less Complex than Expected – What Really Drives IT Consulting Value Modularity Canvas – A Framework for Visualizing Potentials of Service Modularity Towards a Conceptualization of Capabilities for Innovating Business Models in the Industrial Internet of Things A Taxonomy of Barriers to Digital Transformation Ambidexterity in Service Innovation Research: A Systematic Literature Review Design and success factors of an online solution for cross-pillar pension information Track 7: IT-Management und -Strategie A Frugal Support Structure for New Software Implementations in SMEs How to Structure a Company-wide Adoption of Big Data Analytics The Changing Roles of Innovation Actors and Organizational Antecedents in the Digital Age Bewertung des Kundennutzens von Chatbots für den Einsatz im Servicedesk Understanding the Benefits of Agile Software Development in Regulated Environments Are Employees Following the Rules? On the Effectiveness of IT Consumerization Policies Agile and Attached: The Impact of Agile Practices on Agile Team Members’ Affective Organisational Commitment The Complexity Trap – Limits of IT Flexibility for Supporting Organizational Agility in Decentralized Organizations Platform Openness: A Systematic Literature Review and Avenues for Future Research Competence, Fashion and the Case of Blockchain The Digital Platform Otto.de: A Case Study of Growth, Complexity, and Generativity Track 8: eHealth & alternde Gesellschaft Security and Privacy of Personal Health Records in Cloud Computing Environments – An Experimental Exploration of the Impact of Storage Solutions and Data Breaches Patientenintegration durch Pfadsysteme Digitalisierung in der Stressprävention – eine qualitative Interviewstudie zu Nutzenpotenzialen User Dynamics in Mental Health Forums – A Sentiment Analysis Perspective Intent and the Use of Wearables in the Workplace – A Model Development Understanding Patient Pathways in the Context of Integrated Health Care Services - Implications from a Scoping Review Understanding the Habitual Use of Wearable Activity Trackers On the Fit in Fitness Apps: Studying the Interaction of Motivational Affordances and Users’ Goal Orientations in Affecting the Benefits Gained Gamification in Health Behavior Change Support Systems - A Synthesis of Unintended Side Effects Investigating the Influence of Information Incongruity on Trust-Relations within Trilateral Healthcare Settings Track 9: Krisen- und Kontinuitätsmanagement Potentiale von IKT beim Ausfall kritischer Infrastrukturen: Erwartungen, Informationsgewinnung und Mediennutzung der Zivilbevölkerung in Deutschland Fake News Perception in Germany: A Representative Study of People’s Attitudes and Approaches to Counteract Disinformation Analyzing the Potential of Graphical Building Information for Fire Emergency Responses: Findings from a Controlled Experiment Track 10: Human-Computer Interaction Towards a Taxonomy of Platforms for Conversational Agent Design Measuring Service Encounter Satisfaction with Customer Service Chatbots using Sentiment Analysis Self-Tracking and Gamification: Analyzing the Interplay of Motivations, Usage and Motivation Fulfillment Erfolgsfaktoren von Augmented-Reality-Applikationen: Analyse von Nutzerrezensionen mit dem Review-Mining-Verfahren Designing Dynamic Decision Support for Electronic Requirements Negotiations Who is Stressed by Using ICTs? A Qualitative Comparison Analysis with the Big Five Personality Traits to Understand Technostress Walking the Middle Path: How Medium Trade-Off Exposure Leads to Higher Consumer Satisfaction in Recommender Agents Theory-Based Affordances of Utilitarian, Hedonic and Dual-Purposed Technologies: A Literature Review Eliciting Customer Preferences for Shopping Companion Apps: A Service Quality Approach The Role of Early User Participation in Discovering Software – A Case Study from the Context of Smart Glasses The Fluidity of the Self-Concept as a Framework to Explain the Motivation to Play Video Games Heart over Heels? An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Emotions and Review Helpfulness for Experience and Credence Goods Track 11: Information Security and Information Privacy Unfolding Concerns about Augmented Reality Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis of User Perceptions To (Psychologically) Own Data is to Protect Data: How Psychological Ownership Determines Protective Behavior in a Work and Private Context Understanding Data Protection Regulations from a Data Management Perspective: A Capability-Based Approach to EU-GDPR On the Difficulties of Incentivizing Online Privacy through Transparency: A Qualitative Survey of the German Health Insurance Market What is Your Selfie Worth? A Field Study on Individuals’ Valuation of Personal Data Justification of Mass Surveillance: A Quantitative Study An Exploratory Study of Risk Perception for Data Disclosure to a Network of Firms Track 12: Umweltinformatik und nachhaltiges Wirtschaften Kommunikationsfäden im Nadelöhr – Fachliche Prozessmodellierung der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation am Kapitalmarkt Potentiale und Herausforderungen der Materialflusskostenrechnung Computing Incentives for User-Based Relocation in Carsharing Sustainability’s Coming Home: Preliminary Design Principles for the Sustainable Smart District Substitution of hazardous chemical substances using Deep Learning and t-SNE A Hierarchy of DSMLs in Support of Product Life-Cycle Assessment A Survey of Smart Energy Services for Private Households Door-to-Door Mobility Integrators as Keystone Organizations of Smart Ecosystems: Resources and Value Co-Creation – A Literature Review Ein Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem zur ökonomischen Bewertung von Mieterstrom auf Basis der Clusteranalyse Discovering Blockchain for Sustainable Product-Service Systems to enhance the Circular Economy Digitale Rückverfolgbarkeit von Lebensmitteln: Eine verbraucherinformatische Studie Umweltbewusstsein durch audiovisuelles Content Marketing? Eine experimentelle Untersuchung zur Konsumentenbewertung nachhaltiger Smartphones Towards Predictive Energy Management in Information Systems: A Research Proposal A Web Browser-Based Application for Processing and Analyzing Material Flow Models using the MFCA Methodology Track 13: Digital Work - Social, mobile, smart On Conversational Agents in Information Systems Research: Analyzing the Past to Guide Future Work The Potential of Augmented Reality for Improving Occupational First Aid Prevent a Vicious Circle! The Role of Organizational IT-Capability in Attracting IT-affine Applicants Good, Bad, or Both? Conceptualization and Measurement of Ambivalent User Attitudes Towards AI A Case Study on Cross-Hierarchical Communication in Digital Work Environments ‘Show Me Your People Skills’ - Employing CEO Branding for Corporate Reputation Management in Social Media A Multiorganisational Study of the Drivers and Barriers of Enterprise Collaboration Systems-Enabled Change The More the Merrier? The Effect of Size of Core Team Subgroups on Success of Open Source Projects The Impact of Anthropomorphic and Functional Chatbot Design Features in Enterprise Collaboration Systems on User Acceptance Digital Feedback for Digital Work? Affordances and Constraints of a Feedback App at InsurCorp The Effect of Marker-less Augmented Reality on Task and Learning Performance Antecedents for Cyberloafing – A Literature Review Internal Crowd Work as a Source of Empowerment - An Empirical Analysis of the Perception of Employees in a Crowdtesting Project Track 14: Geschäftsmodelle und digitales Unternehmertum Dividing the ICO Jungle: Extracting and Evaluating Design Archetypes Capturing Value from Data: Exploring Factors Influencing Revenue Model Design for Data-Driven Services Understanding the Role of Data for Innovating Business Models: A System Dynamics Perspective Business Model Innovation and Stakeholder: Exploring Mechanisms and Outcomes of Value Creation and Destruction Business Models for Internet of Things Platforms: Empirical Development of a Taxonomy and Archetypes Revitalizing established Industrial Companies: State of the Art and Success Principles of Digital Corporate Incubators When 1+1 is Greater than 2: Concurrence of Additional Digital and Established Business Models within Companies Special Track 1: Student Track Investigating Personalized Price Discrimination of Textile-, Electronics- and General Stores in German Online Retail From Facets to a Universal Definition – An Analysis of IoT Usage in Retail Is the Technostress Creators Inventory Still an Up-To-Date Measurement Instrument? Results of a Large-Scale Interview Study Application of Media Synchronicity Theory to Creative Tasks in Virtual Teams Using the Example of Design Thinking TrustyTweet: An Indicator-based Browser-Plugin to Assist Users in Dealing with Fake News on Twitter Application of Process Mining Techniques to Support Maintenance-Related Objectives How Voice Can Change Customer Satisfaction: A Comparative Analysis between E-Commerce and Voice Commerce Business Process Compliance and Blockchain: How Does the Ethereum Blockchain Address Challenges of Business Process Compliance? Improving Business Model Configuration through a Question-based Approach The Influence of Situational Factors and Gamification on Intrinsic Motivation and Learning Evaluation von ITSM-Tools für Integration und Management von Cloud-Diensten am Beispiel von ServiceNow How Software Promotes the Integration of Sustainability in Business Process Management Criteria Catalog for Industrial IoT Platforms from the Perspective of the Machine Tool Industry Special Track 3: Demos & Prototyping Privacy-friendly User Location Tracking with Smart Devices: The BeaT Prototype Application-oriented robotics in nursing homes Augmented Reality for Set-up Processe Mixed Reality for supporting Remote-Meetings Gamification zur Motivationssteigerung von Werkern bei der Betriebsdatenerfassung Automatically Extracting and Analyzing Customer Needs from Twitter: A “Needmining” Prototype GaNEsHA: Opportunities for Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities TUCANA: A platform for using local processing power of edge devices for building data-driven services Demonstrator zur Beschreibung und Visualisierung einer kritischen Infrastruktur Entwicklung einer alltagsnahen persuasiven App zur Bewegungsmotivation für ältere Nutzerinnen und Nutzer A browser-based modeling tool for studying the learning of conceptual modeling based on a multi-modal data collection approach Exergames & Dementia: An interactive System for People with Dementia and their Care-Network Workshops Workshop Ethics and Morality in Business Informatics (Workshop Ethik und Moral in der Wirtschaftsinformatik – EMoWI’19) Model-Based Compliance in Information Systems - Foundations, Case Description and Data Set of the MobIS-Challenge for Students and Doctoral Candidates Report of the Workshop on Concepts and Methods of Identifying Digital Potentials in Information Management Control of Systemic Risks in Global Networks - A Grand Challenge to Information Systems Research Die Mitarbeiter von morgen - Kompetenzen künftiger Mitarbeiter im Bereich Business Analytics Digitaler Konsum: Herausforderungen und Chancen der Verbraucherinformati

Changes in electrical perception threshold within the first 6 months after traumatic spinal cord injury : a multicenter responsiveness study

The objective was to assess the reliability of the electrical perception threshold (EPT) in healthy participants and its responsiveness in patients for 6 months after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). The methods were the reliability of EPT measures was assessed in 15 healthy volunteers (from C3 to S2). EPT measures were assessed in 37 patients at 1, 3, and 6 months after SCI. EPT was determined in dermatomes at, above, and below the neurological level of lesion. Reliability was quantified with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and responsiveness with the standardized response mean (SRM). Dermatomes were classified as having normal or pathological sensory perception, based on both light touch (LT) and EPT testing. The percentage of agreement between LT and EPT classifications was determined. The results showed the ICCs varied considerably between dermatomes (0.00 ≤ ICC ≤ 0.86). Overall, EPTs changed little within the first 6 months after SCI, resulting in small SRM values. Agreement between classifications according to EPT or LT testing varied from 30% to 100%. The least agreement was observed in the first segment below the lesion. The conclusion was that Future studies must note that the reliability of EPT differs between dermatomes in healthy participants. Furthermore, at and below the level of the lesion, spontaneous recovery of sensory perception is poor within the first 6 months after SCI. Based on subgroup analyses, if a translational trial aims to improve sensory perception around the level of the lesion, sensory-incomplete tetraplegic patients could be included. These patients show poor spontaneous recovery, and the EPT may detect subtle changes in perception

Nerve Transfer After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Who Has a "Time Sensitive" Injury Based on Electrodiagnostic Findings?

OBJECTIVE To use the ulnar compound muscle action potential (CMAP) to abductor digiti minimi (ADM) to identify the proportion of individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) who have lower motor neuron (LMN) abnormalities involving the C8-T1 spinal nerve roots, within 3-6 months, and thus may influence the response to nerve transfer surgery. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Data were analyzed from European Multicenter Study About SCI database. SETTING Multi-center, academic hospitals. PARTICIPANTS We included 79 subjects (age=41.4±17.7, range:16-75; 59 men; N=79), who were classified as cervical level injuries 2 weeks after injury and who had manual muscle strength examinations that would warrant consideration for nerve transfer (C5≥4, C8<3). INTERVENTIONS None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The ulnar nerve CMAP amplitude to ADM was used as a proxy measure for C8-T1 spinal segment health. CMAP amplitude was stratified into very abnormal (6.0 mV). Analysis took place at 3 (n=148 limbs) and 6 months (n=145 limbs). RESULTS At 3- and 6-month post-injury, 33.1% and 28.3% of limbs had very abnormal CMAP amplitudes, respectively, while in 54.1% and 51.7%, CMAPs were sub-normal. Median change in amplitude from 3 to 6 months was 0.0 mV for very abnormal and 1.0 mV for subnormal groups. A 3-month ulnar CMAP <1 mV had a positive predictive value of 0.73 (95% CI 0.69-0.76) and 0.78 (95% CI 0.75-0.80) for C8 and T1 muscle strength of 0 vs 1 or 2. CONCLUSION A high proportion of individuals have ulnar CMAPs below the lower limit of normal 3- and 6-month post cervical SCI and may also have intercurrent LMN injury. Failure to identify individuals with LMN denervation could result in a lost opportunity to improve hand function through timely nerve transfer surgeries

Effects of Pain and Pain Management on Motor Recovery of Spinal Cord-Injured Patients: A Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND Approximately 60% of patients suffering from acute spinal cord injury (SCI) develop pain within days to weeks after injury, which ultimately persists into chronic stages. To date, the consequences of pain after SCI have been largely examined in terms of interfering with quality of life. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the effects of pain and pain management on neurological recovery after SCI. METHODS We analyzed clinical data in a prospective multicenter observational cohort study in patients with SCI. Using mixed effects regression techniques, total motor and sensory scores were modelled at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postinjury. RESULTS A total of 225 individuals were included in the study (mean age: 45.8 ± 18 years, 80% male). At 1 month postinjury, 28% of individuals with SCI reported at- or below-level neuropathic pain. While pain classification showed no effect on neurological outcomes, individuals administered anticonvulsant medications at 1 month postinjury showed significant reductions in pain intensity (2 points over 1 year; P < .05) and greater recovery in total motor scores (7.3 points over 1 year; P < .05). This drug effect on motor recovery remained significant after adjustment for injury level and injury severity, pain classification, and pain intensity. CONCLUSION While initial pain classification and intensity did not reveal an effect on motor recovery following acute SCI, anticonvulsants conferred a significant beneficial effect on motor outcomes. Early intervention with anticonvulsants may have effects beyond pain management and warrant further studies to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness in human SCI

Early Administration of Gabapentinoids Improves Motor Recovery after Human Spinal Cord Injury

The anticonvulsant pregabalin promotes neural regeneration in a mouse model of spinal cord injury (SCI). We have also previously observed that anticonvulsants improve motor outcomes following human SCI. The present study examined the optimal timing and type of anticonvulsants administered in a large, prospective, multi-center, cohort study in acute SCI. Mixed-effects regression techniques were used to model total motor scores at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post injury. We found that early (not late) administration of anticonvulsants significantly improved motor recovery (6.25 points over 1 year). The beneficial effect of anticonvulsants remained significant after adjustment for differences in 1-month motor scores and injury characteristics. A review of a subset of patients revealed that gabapentinoids were the most frequently administrated anticonvulsant. Together with preclinical findings, intervention with anticonvulsants represents a potential pharmacological strategy to improve motor function after SCI

Motor skill learning depends on protein synthesis in the dorsal striatum after training

Functional imaging studies in humans and electrophysiological data in animals suggest that corticostriatal circuits undergo plastic modifications during motor skill learning. In motor cortex and hippocampus circuit plasticity can be prevented by protein synthesis inhibition (PSI) which can interfere with certain forms learning. Here, the hypothesis was tested that inducing PSI in the dorsal striatum by bilateral intrastriatal injection of anisomycin (ANI) in rats interferes with learning a precision forelimb reaching task. Injecting ANI shortly after training on days 1 and 2 during 4 days of daily practice (n = 14) led to a significant impairment of motor skill learning as compared with vehicle-injected controls (n = 15, P = 0.033). ANI did not affect the animals’ motivation as measured by intertrial latencies. Also, ANI did not affect reaching performance once learning was completed and performance reached a plateau. These findings demonstrate that PSI in the dorsal striatum after training impairs the acquisition of a novel motor skill. The results support the notion that plasticity in basal ganglia circuits, mediated by protein synthesis, contributes to motor skill learning

Walking Outcome After Traumatic Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury: The Function of Which Myotomes Makes a Difference?

Background. Accurate prediction of walking function after a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is crucial for an appropriate tailoring and application of therapeutical interventions. Long-term outcome of ambulation is strongly related to residual muscle function acutely after injury and its recovery potential. The identification of the underlying determinants of ambulation, however, remains a challenging task in SCI, a neurological disorder presented with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and recovery trajectories. Objectives. Stratification of walking function and determination of its most relevant underlying muscle functions based on stratified homogeneous patient subgroups. Methods. Data from individuals with paraplegic SCI were used to develop a prediction-based stratification model, applying unbiased recursive partitioning conditional inference tree (URP-CTREE). The primary outcome was the 6-minute walk test at 6 months after injury. Standardized neurological assessments <= 15 days after injury were chosen as predictors. Resulting subgroups were incorporated into a subsequent node-specific analysis to attribute the role of individual lower extremity myotomes for the prognosis of walking function. Results. Using URP-CTREE, the study group of 361 SCI patients was divided into 8 homogeneous subgroups. The node specific analysis uncovered that proximal myotomes L2 and L3 were driving factors for the differentiation between walkers and non-walkers. Distal myotomes L4-S1 were revealed to be responsible for the prognostic distinction of indoor and outdoor walkers (with and without aids). Conclusion. Stratification of a heterogeneous population with paraplegic SCI into more homogeneous subgroups, combined with the identification of underlying muscle functions prospectively determining the walking outcome, enable potential benefit for application in clinical trials and practice.ISSN:1545-9683ISSN:0888-4390ISSN:1552-684