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PubMedDate not supplied

[Functional asymmetry of the brain and effectiveness of sensorimotor function of oral cavity organs].

It has been established that in healthy persons functional brain asymmetry positively influences the effective performance of sensomotor function of oral cavity organs. Individual brain asymmetry is of considerable importance, the higher it is, the quicker the final results of sensomotor function are achieved. The character of brain asymmetry (right hand or left hand) does not practically influence the performance of sensomotor functions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Update on the status of rehabilitative countermeasures to ameliorate the effects of long-duration exposure to microgravity on vestibular and sensorimotor function.

This paper is an overview of current research on development of rehabilitative countermeasures to ameliorate the effects of long-term exposure to microgravity on sensorimotor function during space flight. After many years of work we do not yet have operational countermeasures, probably for several reasons: 1) changes in the use of vestibular input are manifested in many ways, 2) due to multiple mechanisms for funding research, investigators doing related research may not coordinate their work, and 3) relatively few scientists work on this problem. The number of investigators and physicians who routinely deal with the functional problems of astronauts and the limitations of working in the space environment is tiny; the number of investigators who are therapists, and who therefore have experience and expertise in developing rehabilitation programs, is miniscule. That's the bad news. The good news is that as a group, we are little but mighty. Therefore, the entire group of investigators can plan to take a more coordinated, collaborative approach than investigators in larger fields. Also, serendipitously, individual research groups have begun approaching different rehabilitative aspects of this problem. If we make a greater effort toward a coordinated, multidimensional approach, guided by rehabilitation concepts, we will be able to provide operational sensorimotor countermeasures when they are needed.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed2004

The role of oral sensorimotor function in masticatory ability.

In order to investigate the relationship between oral sensorimotor ability and masticatory function, an oral stereognosis ability (OSA) test, masticatory performance and efficiency was employed for 15 dentate subjects. Subjects were instructed to orally identify OSA test pieces blindly. The response score and sum of the duration time for identification were used for analysis as OSA score and OSA response time. Masticatory function was evaluated using a sieving method with 3 g of peanuts. Masticatory performance was calculated with the weight percentage of portions finer than 1700 microm by the total volume after 20 chewing strokes. Masticatory efficiency was calculated by the declination rate of median particle size which is defined by the Rosin-Rammler equation. To analyse the relationship between OSA variables and masticatory ability, the correlation coefficient was calculated. The results summarized as a significant correlation was found only between OSA score and masticatory efficiency. However, a significant correlation could not be found between other OAS variables and masticatory ability. It was revealed that positive correlation existed between oral stereognosis ability and masticatory ability. It was suggested that the role of oral sensorimotor function might affect the masticatory function.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Short-term fluctuations in elderly people's sensorimotor functioning predict text and spatial memory performance: The Macarthur Successful Aging Studies.

BACKGROUND: While age-related increases of between-person variability in a variety of cognitive measures are commonly reported in cross-sectional studies, the nature of short-term intraindividual fluctuation in elderly people's performance is relatively unexplored. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study is to examine short-term fluctuations in elderly people's sensorimotor functioning and their relations to individual differences in verbal and spatial memory. METHODS: Fluctuations in old adults' (mean = 75.71 years, SD = 6.93 years) sensorimotor performance were investigated by biweekly measurements spanning approximately 7 months. Sensorimotor performance was measured by three walking tasks, including the duration and the number of steps taken to walk a 360-degree circle and to walk 10 feet both at normal and fast pace. Performances of verbal and spatial memory were assessed by weekly measurements of digit memory span, memory for short text and spatial recognition. RESULTS: The magnitude of intraindividual fluctuation in most sensorimotor and memory tasks examined was at least half as great as the level of individual differences across persons. In addition, intraindividual fluctuation in sensorimotor performance is a relatively stable individual attribute, which correlates positively with age and negatively with the levels of sensorimotor, text and spatial memory performance. Although a substantial amount of individual differences in intraindividual fluctuation was shared with mean performance level, variance component and hierarchical regression analyses showed that intraindividual fluctuation in walking steps added significant independent contribution over and above that given by level of performance in predicting text and spatial memory. CONCLUSION: Taking these results together, we suggest that intraindividual fluctuations in elderly people's performance should not be ignored or simply treated as measurement error; rather, they are potentially important empirical variables for understanding sensory and cognitive aging and the nature of intraindividual response variations in general.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High doses of aspartame have no effects on sensorimotor function or learning and memory in rats.

Acute or repeated (14 days) intragastric administration of L-d-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester (aspartame) suspended in saline and Tween-80 in doses of up to 1,000 mg/kg had no significant effect in male Fischer-344 rats on routine measures of sensorimotor function, including spontaneous motor activity, acoustic startle reflex and prepulse inhibition. Other experiments found that aspartame (500 or 1,000 mg/kg) had no significant effect on acquisition of passive or active avoidance or a spatial, reference memory task in the Morris water maze. A series of separate studies found that aspartame had no effects in rats fasted 24 hours prior to testing, or if it was suspended in carboxymethylcellulose or administered by the intraperitoneal route. Under the conditions of these experiments, large doses of aspartame have no significant neurobiological effects in adult rats as measured by procedures known to be sensitive to the neurobiological effects of neurotoxicants, including convulsants, organochlorine insecticides and heavy metals.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

17beta-Estradiol treatment following permanent focal ischemia does not influence recovery of sensorimotor function.

The development of therapy to aid poststroke recovery is essential. The female hormone 17beta-estradiol has been shown to promote synaptogenesis; the purpose of this study was to attempt to harness these mechanisms to promote repair and recovery in the peri-infarct zone. Rats were ovariectomized, tested for sensorimotor function, and the middle cerebral artery permanently occluded (MCAO). Infarct volumes were calculated using MRI, and damage was equivalent in all animals prior to implantation of either 17beta-estradiol or placebo pellets. Animals were tested for functional recovery for 28 days and tissue processed for synaptic marker syntaxin immunohistochemistry. The stroke induced a significant behavioral deficit, which persisted out to 28 days, and was not significantly different between 17beta-estradiol and placebo treatment groups. There was no difference in syntaxin immunostaining between groups in either the peri-infarct cortex or in the dendritic CA1 reference region. In conclusion, 17beta-estradiol treatment, delivered poststroke, did not influence recovery of function or synaptogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The effects of epilepsy surgery on the sensorimotor function of children.

The motor and sensory functions of 50 children were investigated before and six months after epilepsy surgery; 34 infants were assessed 24 months after surgery. Postoperatively, 20 children were seizure-free and 22 had a significant reduction of seizures. Epilepsy surgery was found to be an effective mode of treatment for intractable seizures in childhood, even in multiply handicapped individuals. Motor and sensory functions did not deteriorate after surgery; in fact, significant improvements were found in more than half of the children, including those with multiple handicaps. Improvements were most obvious in the seizure-free group, but were also noted in those with reduced seizure frequency. The younger children benefited more from surgery as regards sensorimotor function than did older children and adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The angle velocity reproduction test (AVRT) as sensorimotor function of the glenohumeral complex.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to develop and evaluate the angle velocity reproduction test (AVRT) in the glenohumeral joint. METHODS: In 46 volunteers with healthy shoulders, a test was devised in order to record the angle velocity perception in the shoulder. One arm was moved passively by means of a Cybex 6000 unit. The subjects were asked to perform the same movement as precisely as possible with the contralateral arm without visual control. The movement was recorded with a contact-free motion analysis system with a digital infrared camera and evaluated by aid of a movement analysis program. Starting at -20 degrees, the movement was an anteversion (anterior flexion) of 110 degrees. The sector between 20 degrees and 90 degrees was analyzed in detail. Different parameters were documented which represented different aspects of the sensorimotor function. The predetermined angle velocity of the Cybex setting on the contralateral arm amounted to exactly 53 degrees /s. In order to observe validity and reliability, 10 additional measurements with visual control as well as 21 double measurements were performed. RESULTS: The comparison of the measurements with and without visual control yielded highly significantly better results for those courses with visual control with regard to all those parameters which represent the perception of velocity. The values which describe the evenness of the movements were weak and/or insignificant. CONCLUSION: The introduced AVRT appears suitable to test dynamic sensorimotor abilities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Changes in sensorimotor functions after spinal lesions evaluated in terms of long-latency reflexes.

Lesions of the central afferent and efferent pathways cause onset-delays of long-latency EMG responses from anterior tibial muscle after passive dorsiflection of the ankle joint in standing subjects. In 23 patients with spinal tumour or cervical stenosis and clinical signs of a medullary lesion, short-, medium- and long-latency EMG responses from distal leg muscles after ankle dorsiflection were recorded prior to and after surgical intervention. Fifteen of the patients were re-examined between 1 and 2 years after surgery. The results of the follow-up study support the hypothesis of a supraspinal pathway for long-latency EMG responses in distal leg muscles and show their significance as a quantitative measure of sensorimotor functions.

Electromyography↗
PubMed2003

Behavioral transitions modulate hippocampal electroencephalogram correlates of open field behavior in the rat: support for a sensorimotor function of hippocampal rhythmical synchronous activity.

A clear relationship exists between moment-to-moment behavioral elements and hippocampal rhythmical synchronous activity (RSA) (theta rhythm). However, behavioral elements are not isolated events but are part of behavioral sequences in a context of behavioral activity. By concurrently monitoring open field behavior and hippocampal EEG, EEG correlates of open field behavior in relation to preceding and following behavior were studied in Sprague Dawley rats to determine whether the behavioral context influences EEG correlates of behavior. Results show that preceding and subsequent behavioral patterns influenced the spectral power correlates of behavior. RSA power was increased when a "type 1 behavior" (voluntary movement) preceded the behavior compared with when a "type 2 behavior" (automatic movement, awake immobility) preceded it. The modulating effect of behavioral transitions was shown for several types of behaviors, and systematic modulation of hippocampal EEG correlates of behavior was demonstrated. The present report shows that the strong and systematic relationship between hippocampal RSA and behavior is modulated by the behavioral-sequential context. Thus, in addition to the well established relationship between RSA and motor activity, a second nonmotor process seems to contribute to hippocampal RSA. A likely candidate is a sensory process, which is in accordance with theories on the sensorimotor function of hippocampal RSA.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

(-)Alprenolol potentiates the disrupting effects of dizocilpine on sensorimotor function in the rat.

The beta-adrenoceptor antagonist as well as serotonin 5-HT1 receptor antagonist, (-)alprenolol, was found to potentiate the disrupting effect of the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, dizocilpine, on prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle response (ASR) in the rat. The facilitating effect of dizocilpine on ASR amplitude was also potentiated by (-)alprenolol. (-)Alprenolol by itself did not affect either of these measures. These effects did not seem to be related to the unselective beta-adrenoceptor antagonist property of (-)alprenolol, since combined pretreatment with the beta1- and beta2-adrenoceptor antagonists, metoprolol and ICI 118551, did not alter the effects of dizocilpine on startle behaviour. However, a serotonergic influence was suggested by the fact that a facilitating effect of dizocilpine on ASR amplitude was also obtained by pretreatment with the 5-HT precursor, L-5-HTP, in benserazide-pretreated rats. Furthermore, pretreatment with the 5-HT2 selective receptor antagonist, MDL 100907, significantly reduced the (-)alprenolol-induced potentiation of the effects of dizocilpine on startle behaviour, while the 5-HT3 selective receptor antagonist, ondansetron, failed to do that. Finally, the (-)alprenolol-induced potentiation of the effects of dizocilpine was significantly reduced by pretreatment with the atypical antipsychotic, clozapine, and by the potential antipsychotic and selective dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, raclopride. This study suggests that altered 5-HT activity may influence the effects of psychotomimetic drugs such as dizocilpine on sensorimotor function, and this observation may have implications for the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia in humans.

Alprenolol↗
PubMed1996

The relationship of postural sway to sensorimotor function, functional performance, and disability in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of postural sway to sensorimotor impairment, functional performance, and self-reported disability. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort. SETTING: Department of Veterans' Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS: One hundred community-dwelling elderly unable to climb stairs step over step. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postural sway (area of ellipse and path length, eyes open and closed), sensorimotor (strength, sensation, range of motion, central processing time), functional performance (functional reach, timed gait, mobility skills, endurance), and disability (MOS-SF36, Falls Efficacy Scale [FES]). RESULTS: Postural sway area measures correlated with sensorimotor measures: (1) During eyes-closed conditions, increased sway occurs in individuals with sensory deficits (p < .05); (2) Sway was positively correlated with tibialis anterior latency (p < .05); (3) Sway area measures increased with increased strength (p < .05). The sway/strength relationship may be explained by week subjects improving their stability by limiting rather than increasing sway. Sway was not significantly correlated with any measures of physical performance. Sway was correlated with some measures of disability: (1) Eyes-closed measures of postural sway were correlated with FES scores (p < .05); (2) Sway was not correlated with the MOS-36 physical functioning question. When controlling for functional measures, eyes-closed measures of sway significantly predicted FES scores (p < .03). CONCLUSIONS: Measures of postural sway are more likely capturing sensorimotor deficits rather than differentiating functional performance abilities, and the relationship between postural sway and self-reported disability is inconsistent.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Neurophysiological evaluation of sensorimotor functions of the leg: comparison of evoked cortical potentials following electrical and mechanical stimulation, long-latency muscle responses, and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Twenty-two patients with localized lesions of the central nervous system (unilateral cerebral ischaemia, cervical myelopathy, spinal tumour, familial spastic paraplegia) underwent neurophysiological evaluation of sensorimotor deficits of the leg. Functional methods using muscle stretch as stimulus, i.e. long-latency muscle responses and cortical potentials evoked by dorsiflection of the foot, were compared with transcranial magnetic stimulation and somatosensory evoked cortical potentials following electrical stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve. The functional neurophysiological methods yielded no diagnostic superiority with respect to the procedures using artificial (i.e. magnetic and electrical) stimulation. However, in most cases of missing compound motor action potentials following transcranial magnetic stimulation or missing electrically evoked cortical potentials, the long-latency muscle responses still allowed quantitative assessment of sensorimotor function.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of knee bracing on the sensorimotor function of subjects with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

The sensorimotor performance of the knee joint in 31 subjects who had undergone unilateral anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at least 5 months previously was tested under three bracing conditions, 1) the DonJoy Legend brace, 2) a mechanical placebo brace, and 3) no brace, in random order. The accuracy of the subjects' ability to reproduce specified knee joint angles was tested as well as the isokinetic performance of their knee muscles at 60 and 180 deg/sec. The results showed that subjects with the brace or placebo brace performed similarly in reproducing the knee joint positions, but both groups performed better than the subjects without a brace. Isokinetic tests revealed no difference among the three groups in extensor and flexor peak torque production at 60 deg/sec or total work done by the extensors and flexors at 60 and 180 deg/sec. These results suggest that knee bracing can improve the static proprioception of the knee joint, but not the muscle contractile function, in subjects with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction under isokinetic testing conditions. The finding of similar performances for joint angle reproduction in the brace and placebo brace groups suggests that the apparent improvement in proprioception with knee bracing was not due to the mechanical restraining action of the brace.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Association between sensorimotor function and functional and reactive balance control in the elderly.

OBJECTIVES: Postural disturbances can arise from performing functional tasks and from external perturbations. Identification of sensorimotor factors associated with both types of balance control in the elderly can help us to understand better the balance problems facing older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SUBJECTS: Healthy young, stable older, and functionally unstable older adults with 16 participants in each group. METHODS: Clinical vibration sense and muscle strength of the lower extremity, and functional balance (FB) tests were conducted. The timing and amplitude of the reactive postural muscle responses of the leg postural muscles, recorded from standing subjects following support surface backward translation, were also examined. RESULTS: Young and older subjects differed significantly in the amplitude of their postural muscle responses, while the two older groups differed significantly in muscle strength and FB. When age was controlled, the strength of the ankle dorsi- and plantar-flexors was the only significant predictor for FB. For reactive postural muscle responses, none of the sensorimotor factors was significant. CONCLUSION: Functional and reactive balance abilities differed in their associating factors. The difference in the patterns of association for functional and reactive balance implies the need for separate assessment for these two categories of balance control clinically.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Sensorimotor function and axonal integrity in adrenomyeloneuropathy.

BACKGROUND: Gait abnormalities and sensorimotor disturbances are principal defects in adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). However, to our knowledge, their association with overall impairment and neuroanatomical changes has not been defined. OBJECTIVES: To understand how sensorimotor impairments create mobility deficits and to analyze how these impairments are related to specific metrics of axonal integrity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study assessing impairments, including vibration sensation, strength, spasticity, and global measures of walking and balance. Fractional anisotropy was measured to evaluate the integrity of the corresponding brainstem tracts. PARTICIPANTS: Men with AMN and healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Individuals with sensory loss only showed minimal walking deficits. Concomitant strength and sensory loss resulted in slower walking, with abnormal knee control; increased spasticity led to an exaggerated trunk motion and a knee-flexed (crouched) posture. Hip strength was an independent predictor of walking velocity in subjects with AMN. Subjects with sensory loss only had greater sway amplitudes during standing balance testing, which did not worsen with additional impairments. There were significant associations among sway amplitude, great toe vibration sense, and dorsal column fractional anisotropy. Brainstem fractional anisotropy in AMN was significantly negatively correlated with impairment, indicating that overall tract integrity is associated with sensorimotor abnormalities in AMN. CONCLUSIONS: Impairment measures capture specific abnormalities in walking and balance that can be used to direct rehabilitation therapy in AMN. Tract-specific magnetic resonance imaging metrics, such as fractional anisotropy (used herein to evaluate structure-function relationships), significantly reflect disease severity in AMN.

Adrenoleukodystrophy↗
PubMed1995

Comparative assessment of sensorimotor function using functional magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological methods.

Accurate assessment of the location of the sensorimotor cortex is important in presurgical investigation of and planning for patients with lesions impinging on this region. In this review, the relationship between the assessment of sensorimotor cortex by invasive electrophysiological mapping and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is discussed. A number of areas are covered: (a) brief backgrounds of MRI and fMRI are provided, (b) existing fMRI literature of sensorimotor cortex activation is surveyed, (c) results of fMRI sensorimotor studies and intracranial somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) recordings and cortical stimulation in neurosurgical patients are compared, and (d) the locus of fMRI activation is discussed in the light of cortical generators of SEP components.

Brain Diseases↗