Walkermarks0450

This paper will identify and discuss the questions that still need to be answered in order to consider this approach i.e., can this population access motor imagery, can motor imagery alter the attentional strategy employed when moving through doorways, what is the best motor imagery approach for people with Parkinson's Disease and freezing of gait, and what dosage is most effective, while briefly outlining future research considerations.Prolonged trunk flexion is known to affect passive and active stabilization of the trunk. Previous studies have evaluated changes in spinal range of motion, muscle activity and reflex behavior induced by prolonged trunk flexion, whereas the effect on sitting postural control is vastly underexplored. In this study, we compared the effects of supported and unsupported intermittent trunk flexion on center of pressure (CoP) motion during sitting on an unstable seat. Participants (n = 21; 11 males, 23.2 ± 2.0 years; 10 females, age 24.3 ± 4.0) were exposed to 1-h intermittent (60-s sets with 30 s of rest) trunk flexion (80% of the maximal range of motion) and CoP root mean square distance, velocity and frequency before and after the exposure were assessed. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no main effects of exposure (pre. vs. post flexion protocol; p = 0.128-0.709), no main effects of condition (supported vs. unsupported; p = 0.134-0.931), and no interaction between exposure and condition (p = 0.163-0.912). Our results indicate that prolonged intermittent flexion does not induce any changes in CoP motion during a seated balance task, regardless of the presence of a trunk support during prolonged intermittent flexion. This suggests a successful compensation of decreased passive stiffness by increased reflex activity.

Absolute angle represents the inclination of a body segment relative to a fixed reference in space. This work compares the absolute and relative angles for exploring biomechanical gait constraints.

Gait patterns of different neuromotor conditions were analyzed using 3D gait analysis normal gait (healthy, H), Cerebral Palsy (CP), Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), representing central and peripheral nervous system and muscular disorders, respectively. Forty-two children underwent gait analysis 10 children affected by CP, 10 children by CMT, 10 children by DMD and 12 healthy children. The kinematic and kinetic parameters were collected to describe the biomechanical pattern of participants' lower limbs. The absolute angles of thigh, leg and foot were calculated using the trigonometric relationship of the tangent. For each absolute series, the mean, range, maximum, minimum and initial contact were calculated. Kinematic and kinetic gait data were studied, and the results were compared with the literature.

Statistical analysis of the absolute angles showed how, at the local level, the single segments (thigh, leg and foot) behave differently depending on the pathology. However, if the lower limb is studied globally (sum of the kinematics of the three segments thigh, leg and foot), a biomechanical constraint emerges.

Each segment compensates separately for the disease deficit so as to maintain a global biomechanical invariance. Using a model of inter-joint co-variation could improve the interpretation of the clinical gait pattern.

Each segment compensates separately for the disease deficit so as to maintain a global biomechanical invariance. Using a model of inter-joint co-variation could improve the interpretation of the clinical gait pattern.Overweight and obesity are now considered a worldwide pandemic and a growing public health problem with severe economic and social consequences. Adipose tissue is an organ with neuroimmune-endocrine functions, which participates in homeostasis. So, adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia induce a state of chronic inflammation that causes changes in the brain and induce neuroinflammation. Studies with obese animal models and obese patients have shown a relationship between diet and cognitive decline, especially working memory and learning deficiencies. Here we analyze how obesity-related peripheral inflammation can affect central nervous system physiology, generating neuroinflammation. Given that the blood-brain barrier is an interface between the periphery and the central nervous system, its altered physiology in obesity may mediate the consequences on various cognitive processes. Finally, several interventions, and the use of natural compounds and exercise to prevent the adverse effects of obesity in the brain are also discussed.Depression is a common psychiatric disorder and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Although treatments are available, only about 60% of treated patients experience a significant improvement in disease symptoms. Cathepsin G Inhibitor I Numerous clinical and rodent studies have identified the purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) as one of the genetic factors potentially contributing to the disease risk. In this respect, genetically engineered mouse models targeting the P2X7R have become increasingly important in studying designated immunological features and subtypes of depression in vivo. This review provides an overview of the P2X7R -related mouse lines currently available for translational psychiatric research and discusses their strengths, weaknesses, and potentials.Methamphetamine (METH) addiction and its induced mental disorders have become a severe worldwide problem. A candidate Chinese herbal medicine (CCHM) in our lab had therapeutic effects on METH-induced locomotor sensitization, however, its chemical and pharmacological profiles remain to be elucidated. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of CCHM on conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by METH and screen the main active ingredients and key targets by using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, Gene ontology (GO) analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were performed to discover the potential mechanisms. Results showed that CCHM could significantly inhibit METH-induced CPP behaviors in mice. A total of 123 components and 43 targets were screened. According to the network pharmacology analysis, ten hub targets including D(2) dopamine receptor (DRD2) and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 3A (HTR3A) were screened. GO analysis and KEGG enrichment indicated that mechanisms of CCHM treatment of METH addiction were related to multiple pathways such as dopaminergic synapse and serotoninergic synapse. Western blot results showed that the protein expressions of DRD2 in nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex were significantly decreased in METH group, while the protein expressions of HTR3A were significantly increased. These changes caused by METH could be prevented by CCHM pretreatment. The results of molecular docking displayed that the five active ingredients such as (S)-Scoulerine, Hyndarin, and Beta-Sitosterol had good affinities with DRD2 and HTR3A. In conclusion, this study constructed the CCHM's pharmacologic network for treating METH addiction based on the method of network analysis and experimental verification, and analyzed its major active ingredients and potential targets, indicating a new direction for further revealing its mechanisms of effect on METH addiction.Increasing evidence indicates that gut microbiota can influence cognition via the gut-brain axis, and brain networks play a critical role during the process. However, little is known about how brain network topology and structural-functional connectivity (SC-FC) coupling contribute to gut microbiota-related cognition. Fecal samples were collected from 157 healthy young adults, and 16S amplicon sequencing was used to assess gut diversity and enterotypes. Topological properties of brain structural and functional networks were acquired by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI data), and SC-FC coupling was further calculated. 3-Back, digit span, and Go/No-Go tasks were employed to assess cognition. Then, we tested for potential associations between gut microbiota, complex brain networks, and cognition. The results showed that gut microbiota could affect the global and regional topological properties of structural networks as well as node properties of functional networks. It is worthy of note that causal mediation analysis further validated that gut microbial diversity and enterotypes indirectly influence cognitive performance by mediating the small-worldness (Gamma and Sigma) of structural networks and some nodal metrics of functional networks (mainly distributed in the cingulate gyri and temporal lobe). Moreover, gut microbes could affect the degree of SC-FC coupling in the inferior occipital gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and medial superior frontal gyrus, which in turn influence cognition. Our findings revealed novel insights, which are essential to provide the foundation for previously unexplored network mechanisms in understanding cognitive impairment, particularly with respect to how brain connectivity participates in the complex crosstalk between gut microbiota and cognition.Expansion of the neocortex is thought to pave the way toward acquisition of higher cognitive functions in mammals. The highly conserved Notch signaling pathway plays a crucial role in this process by regulating the size of the cortical progenitor pool, in part by controlling the balance between self-renewal and differentiation. In this review, we introduce the components of Notch signaling pathway as well as the different mode of molecular mechanisms, including trans- and cis-regulatory processes. We focused on the recent findings with regard to the expression pattern and levels in regulating neocortical formation in mammals and its interactions with other known signaling pathways, including Slit-Robo signaling and Shh signaling. Finally, we review the functions of Notch signaling pathway in different species as well as other developmental process, mainly somitogenesis, to discuss how modifications to the Notch signaling pathway can drive the evolution of the neocortex.Patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) complain of epigastric symptoms with no identifiable cause. Increased intestinal permeability has been described in these patients, especially in the proximal small bowel or duodenum, and was associated with mucosal immune activation and symptoms. In this review, we discuss duodenal barrier function, including techniques currently applied in FD research. We summarize the available data on duodenal permeability in FD and factors associated to increased permeability, including mucosal eosinophils, mast cells, luminal and systemic factors. While the increased influx of antigens into the duodenal mucosa could result in local immune activation, clinical evidence for a causal role of permeability is lacking in the absence of specific barrier-protective treatments. As both existing and novel treatments, including proton pump inhibitors (PPI) and pre- or probiotics may impact duodenal barrier function, it is important to recognize and study these alterations to improve the knowledge and management of FD.