Mental Movement Research Articles

Mental Model Updating and Eye Movement Metrics

Mental Model Updating and Eye Movement Metrics

Anti-NMDAR encephalitis with simultaneous hypertrophic pachymeningitis in a 68-year-old male: a rare case report

BackgroundAnti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is one of the most frequent types of autoimmune encephalitis. However, the instigating mechanisms are as yet not fully ascertained. Cardinal clinical manifestations of anti-NMDAR encephalitis include acute behavioural change, psychosis, and catatonia. As the level of diagnosis increases, encephalitis becomes more common, but there are never been published in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and simultaneous hypertrophic pachymeningitis.Case presentationA sixty-eight-year-old man who presented with mental, behavioral abnormalities, unstable walking, headaches, and erratic hand movements. The neuropsychiatric symptoms and cerebrospinal fluid examination was consistent with the diagnosis criteria of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a thickening of dura mater localized at the left tentorium cerebelli, left cerebral hemisphere, and cerebral falx; the thickening dura mater was characterized by an intense contrast enhancement after the administration of gadolinium. High doses of intravenous methylprednisolone were administrated during his hospitalization. After 5 days, the patient’s condition improved.ConclusionsWe herein describe a rare case of a 68-year-old man with anti-NMDAR encephalitis presenting with concomitant hypertrophic pachymeningitis. We systematically expounded anti-NMDAR encephalitis and hypertrophic pachymeningitis, and made bold conjectures on the etiology and pathogenesis of these two diseases, hoping to stimulate new ideas from clinicians and basic medical researchers.

A Silent Production, both of Text and Self: Conceptualizing the Psychic Work of Comics Reading

In this paper, we wonder how comics – through its play of absence and presence, and as unique multimodal merger of visual arts and literature – may allow readers to engage in a particular kind of psychic work, involving the influence of memory and unconscious life on reading experience. We thus discuss an explicitly psychoanalytic understanding of reading comics, paying particular attention to the mental movements of repression, projection, and reparation. Drawing on readers’ experiences with Lynda Barry’s The Freddie Stories, we also consider how the formal elements of comics reading might allow readers to work through the effects of potentially difficult personal histories.

Selective sensorimotor modulation operates during cognitive representation of movement

Before movement onset, during the reaction time, excitability of M1 is selectively modulated by somatosensory inputs, only in the movement-related muscle. If a similar mechanism operates before the onset of mental movements, then somatosensory afferent inputs are exploited during cognitive representation of movement. We assessed sensorimotor modulation through short latency afferent inhibition (SAI) paradigm before the onset of executed and imagined movements.Participants performed or imagined an abduction of index or little finger, in response to an acoustic signal. SAI was evaluated between a Warning and a Go signal and 100 ms after the Go signal, before the real or expected EMG activity. Results showed a reduction of SAI after the Go signal, in the movement-related muscle, during motor imagery as well as movement execution. There was a positive correlation between the individual degree of sensorimotor modulation during executed and mental movements and between the sensorimotor modulation during mental movements and motor imagery ability. Sensorimotor modulation operates during the cognitive representation of movement with selective disinhibition of the cortical representation of the muscle involved in the task. Sensorimotor modulation mechanisms prior to mental and executed movements likely share overlapping circuits.

Service user entrepreneurs and claims to authority – a case study in the mental health area

ABSTRACT Mental health service user movements have historically to a large extent employed collective forms of mobilisation, where people with service user experience have joined in formal organisations or informal groups. Currently, expressions of service user engagement are changing, and we can now observe the growth of more individualised expressions, often enacted online. This article introduces the concept ‘service user entrepreneur’ (SUE), that relates to this development. SUEs are individuals with service user experience who have made a career of their engagement in mental health issues. Based on their individual narratives of mental ill-health, SUEs often express themselves in participatory media, hold lectures and write books on the subject. The aim of this article is to examine how SUEs in their communication establish authority. Applying case study methodology, we follow four Swedish SUEs involved in mental health issues and analyse their communication primarily in digital arenas. Intimate personal narratives, mobilisation of collectives and institutional perspectives constitute authority sources for SUEs. Balancing individual and collective narratives as well as maintaining a desirable level of vulnerability is a continuous effort. How SUEs manage these issues is further discussed.

THE VISION OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL IN QUMRAN LITERATURE

The article deals with the adaptation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel in the literature of Qumran, namely, in two texts of a liturgical nature - “4QBerakhot” and “The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice”. Quotes and allusions to the book of Ezekiel are used in these works for mental prayer movement into the heavenly halls of God and their visualization. These works support the tradition of interpreting the vision of Ezekiel, which formed in the Old Testament apocryphal literature - the image from the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel develops through the continuation of the objectification of certain parts of the vision to worship them, or their subsequent animation as participants in the “The Angelic Liturgy”. The purpose of the study is to reveal the peculiarities of biblical exegesis during the Second Temple period by the example of interpreting the vision of the prophet Ezekiel. The subject of the research is Qumran literature.

Age and gender differences in motor imagery

BackgroundFew studies have explored the effects of ageing and gender in the dimensions of motor imagery (MI) such as vividness (vivid images and sensations of mental movements) and timing (the duration of an imagined movement). This study aims 1) to investigate the effect of age and gender effect in vividness and timing capabilities on MI, and 2) to examine the relationship between these two dimensions of MI. MethodsA population of 72 (47% of males) good imagers including 41 young subjects and 31 older subjects were assessed on MI vividness using the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ-2) and on MI timing using the performances of the real Timed Up and Go (rTUG) test and its imagined version (iTUG). The main outcome variables were the VMIQ-2 score and the delta-TUG, i.e. the difference between rTUG and iTUG. ResultsMental vividness was affected by ageing with a loss of visual dominance in favor of kinesthetic imagery in older subjects compared to younger ones; however, no difference between both groups was found in timing measured by delta-TUG. Vividness capabilities were similar between men and women, but women performed better in timing. VMIQ-2 scores were not associated with delta-TUG; only gender was significantly associated with delta-TUG. ConclusionsThis study revealed 1) an age-related transfer from a visual to a kinesthetic MI ability, but no impact on timing of MI; 2) a gender effect on timing with no impact on mental vividness; 3) no association between vividness and timing capabilities.

Life Style Management of Pediatric Obesity based on Traditional Persian Medicine: A Narrative Review

Obesity is a major risk factor for many diseases in children. Considering the widespread pandemic of pediatric obesity, developing more strategies for life style management of this disorder is essential. Therefore it was decided to conduct a more comprehensive study for prevention and treatment children obesity based on Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM). In this review we searched the most important TPM textbooks (such as Al-Havi, Al-qanun fit-tib, Kamel al Sanaeh), Classical Medicine (CM) text book (Krause's Food and the Nutrition Care Process), and scientific databases such as Data sources included (Medline, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar) the period from 2000 to 2017 in terms of obesity management. The keywords Saman Mofrat, Setteh-e-Zarurieah, lifestyle, pediatric, children and obesity have been used in this search. Based on TPM the six essential principles (Setteh-e-Zarurieah) must be observed in management of pediatric obesity that these essential factors are as follows: air, food and drink, sleep and wakefulness, evacuation and retention, body movement, mental movement and repose. Unhealthy lifestyle for example irregular sleep, constipation, overeating and wrong nutritional habits, insufficient physical activity, and emotional excitement, such as sadness and anxiety are plays an important role in obesity that confirmed by classical medicine. Moreover, TPM has a particular attention to the type of nutrients and their temperament and the children’s digestion ability. So, further clinical trials should be performed to confirm the long-term efficacy of healthy lifestyle in pediatric obesity management.

The effects of motor imagery training on performance and mental representation of 7- to 15-year-old gymnasts of different levels of expertise.

Imagery training with adult athletes is widely used to improve performance. One underlying mechanism is the optimization of mental movement representations. However, past research has focused mainly on adults and has left open for further research on whether imagery also improves mental representati

The role of line and color in realizing movement in the design of printed textile hangings

The movement represents the main factor in which man expresses himself either in the arts aspect or in other areas of life. In the artistic aspect, movement becomes the element that determines the launch of artistic work. The fun of art can only be achieved by an active movement emanating from the harmony of structural elements. The concept of movement differs from one art to another. In the arts of dance and acting, it involves objective movements (real) and has time limits, whereas other arts, which include static motionless positions, they include mental movements (virtual) existing in cognitive areas. Principles are the law that governs the relationships between elements that enable the artist to reach his goal and his desired objectives for the production of an integrated work of art. This is achieved through the interrelationships between the elements and the means of organization. Rhythm is an important organizational tool that is scattered vitality and artwork movement. Color and its various aesthetic and creative factors, which are achieved through its various degrees and values, the repetition of lines and shapes, and the changing of its directions, are all expressions that generate a sense of dynamic rhythm. Contrast and deceptive balance are an indispensable organizational means in the work of art, as contrast and contradiction are of the main sources to add the elements of movement and vitality to the work of art and the deceptive balance which is achieved through putting dissimilar elements in front of each other so that the elements are consistent, resulting in an internal movement in design. Based on the above we find that there is a relationship between the elements of design, especially font, color, movement, and means of regulation. The research problem is determined by how to produce printed textile hangings through a relationship between the elements of font, color and organizational means. The present research is based on the descriptive and analytical approach in describing and analyzing the deceptive movement and its relation to color and line in the printed textile hanging by producing six designs derived from the elements of marine organisms, in which cognitive movement is achieved by line and color merging manual printing and digital printing. Research objective: Demonstrate the positive interaction of line and color as key elements of the design that affect at each phase the achievement of movement, which designer constantly seeks. Results: 1 - The use of plastic possibilities of elements of color and line and interaction between them could be employed in creating the deceptive movement and visual illusion. 2 - There is a reciprocal relationship between line and color in varying degrees at times where the line is the basic element and at other times the color is the basis for the movement in the construction of the design of printed textile hanging. 3- The line as a plastic factor is of great importance in the design construction of the printed textile hanging and to show the deceptive movement. 4 - Despite the advantages of the use of digital printing, the merge between them and the use of manual printing resulted in the creation of new solutions and distinctive printed textiles adding aesthetic values ​​and more mobility to the product.

요가 수리야-나마스카라 수련형태에 따른 자율신경계 변화 비교

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of ashtanga surya-namaskar(ASN) emphasizing motion types on the autonomic nervous system during repeated execution of vini surya-namaskar(VSN) that emphasize mental movements. This study was conducted on 20 yoga instructors. Experiments were performed with all subjects repeatedly performing ASN and VSN at intervals of one week. Autonomic nervous system tests were performed before and after 12 consecutive runs of 12 ASN and VSN, respectively. Autonomic variables used heart rate variability. Heart rate variability variables were sandard deviation of the normal to normal interval(SDNN), the square root of the mean squared differences of successive NN intervals(RMSSD), very low frequency(VLF), low frequency(LF), high frequency(HF), ratio of LF per HF(LF/HF), and total power(TP). Statistical analysis was performed using repeated ANOVA, independent t-test, and dependent t-test. Statistical significant level was at .05. As a result, after 12 consecutive sessions, LF / HF increased ASN and decreased VSN, indicating that VSN is effective for parasympathetic activation.

Daily modulation of the speed–accuracy trade-off

Goal-oriented arm movements are characterized by a balance between speed and accuracy. The relation between speed and accuracy has been formalized by Fitts’ law and predicts a linear increase in movement duration with task constraints. Up to now this relation has been investigated on a short-time scale only, that is during a single experimental session, although chronobiological studies report that the motor system is shaped by circadian rhythms. Here, we examine whether the speed–accuracy trade-off could vary during the day. Healthy adults carried out arm-pointing movements as accurately and fast as possible toward targets of different sizes at various hours of the day, and variations in Fitts’ law parameters were scrutinized. To investigate whether the potential modulation of the speed–accuracy trade-off has peripheral and/or central origins, a motor imagery paradigm was used as well. Results indicated a daily (circadian-like) variation for the durations of both executed and mentally simulated movements, in strictly controlled accuracy conditions. While Fitts’ law was held for the whole sessions of the day, the slope of the relation between movement duration and task difficulty expressed a clear modulation, with the lowest values in the afternoon. This variation of the speed–accuracy trade-off in executed and mental movements suggests that, beyond execution parameters, motor planning mechanisms are modulated during the day. Daily update of forward models is discussed as a potential mechanism.

Static Dynamics of Islamic and modern architecture concepts and applications

Islamic civilization in the field of artistic and architectural formation is one of the most fascinating and fertile human civilizations, as it was distinguished by its multiple aspects and strength of personality, and the honesty of the artist and architect specializing in treating its various arts in the spirit of faith, honesty, seriousness and freedom from the self and from the formal aspects. Islamic architecture abounds with a set of lines for the architectural vocabulary that together formed a wonderful architectural language. The movement in design occurs either objectively in the visual field, or mentally in the process of perception, and obtaining movement in the design requires certain rules to do this, but if we do not set controls in the design We walk on it because we cannot build our judgments on something to develop and understand our design, and to control the forms of mental movement, we have to verify the dynamic values ​​of each component of the formation, where the movement results from the arrangement of the formative elements in the design in a sequence so that the movement is inspired, and in which the movement is simulatedDynamic but at lower rates. Therefore, the importance of studying the alphabet of traditional Islamic architectural plastic lines is clear and is a conscious study of the characteristics of each element in it, its analysis and the identification of beauty and its values ​​in formations.Compared to the modern thought of some designers with a different vision in modern designs, some architects and designers have produced buildings and facades that are dynamic, adapting the properties of the fine elements of line, surface, texture, mass and color. To obtain dynamism and excitement in composition, but it lacks value and content.It requires the designer who seeks a dynamic design with an interest in value and content at the same time to be familiar with the physical components that suggest the movement provided by these lines, which requires full awareness of those elements, which is covered in this research.

A Comparative Study on Cancer Prevention Principles Between Iranian Traditional Medicine and Classic Medicine.

Cancer is one of the three main causes of mortality in most human communities whose prevalence is being increased. A significant part of health budget in all countries has been allocated to treat the cancer, which is incurable in many cases. It has led the global health attitude to cancer prevention. Many cancer-related risk factors have been identified for which preventive recommendations have been offered by international organizations such as World Health Organization. Some of the most important of these risk factors are smoking and alcohol consumption, hypercaloric and low-fiber diet, obesity, inactivity, environmental and industrial pollution, some viral infections, and hereditary factors. Exact reviewing of Iranian-Islamic traditional medicine (IITM) resources determines that preventive rules, which named as six essential rules (Sitteh-e-Zarurieah) are abundantly found, including all identified cancer-related risk factors. These preventive rules are: Air (Hava), body movement and repose, sleep and wakefulness, food and drink, evacuation and retention, and mental movement and repose (A’raz-e-Nafsani). The associated risk factors in classic medicine are: Smoking and air pollution, sedentary life, sleep disturbance, improper nutrition and alcohol, chronic constipation, and psychoneurotic stresses. Moreover, these rules are comprehensive enough to include many of the other harmful health-related factors whose roles have been confirmed in the occurrence of different diseases, except cancer. Apparently, cancer prevention in Iran would be more successful if the sextet necessary rules of IITM are promoted among the populations and health policy makers.

Daily update of motor predictions by physical activity.

Motor prediction, i.e., the ability to predict the sensory consequences of motor commands, is critical for adapted motor behavior. Like speed or force, the accuracy of motor prediction varies in a 24-hour basis. Although the prevailing view is that basic biological markers regulate this circadian modulation, behavioral factors such as physical activity, itself modulated by the alternation of night and day, can also regulate motor prediction. Here, we propose that physical activity updates motor prediction on a daily basis. We tested our hypothesis by up- and down-regulating physical activity via arm-immobilization and high-intensity training, respectively. Motor prediction was assessed by measuring the timing differences between actual and mental arm movements. Results show that although mental movement time was modulated during the day when the arm was unconstrained, it remained constant when the arm was immobilized. Additionally, increase of physical activity, via release from immobilization or intense bout of training, significantly reduced mental movement time. Finally, mental and actual times were similar in the afternoon in the unconstrained condition, indicating that predicted and actual movements match after sufficient amount of physical activity. Our study supports the view that physical activity calibrates motor predictions on a daily basis.

Running the number line: Rapid shifts of attention in single-digit arithmetic

It has been recently proposed that adults might solve single-digit addition and subtraction problems by rapidly moving through an ordered representation of numbers. In the present study, we tested whether these movements manifest themselves by on-line shifts of attention during arithmetic problem-solving. In two experiments, adult participants were presented with single-digit addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. Operands and operator were presented sequentially on the screen. Although both the first operand and the operator were presented at the center of the screen, the second operand was presented either to the left or to the right side of space. We found that addition problems were solved faster when the second operand appeared to the right than to the left side (Experiments 1 & 2). In contrast, subtraction problems were solved faster when the second operand appeared to the left than to the right side (Experiment 1). No operation-dependent spatial bias was observed in the same time window when the second operand was zero (Experiment 1), and no bias was observed when the operation was a multiplication (Experiment 2). Therefore, our results demonstrate that solving single-digit addition and subtraction, but not multiplication, is associated with horizontal shifts of attention. Our findings support the idea that mental movements to the left or right of a sequential representation of numbers are elicited during single-digit arithmetic.

A Movement for Global Mental Health Equity, Parity, and AccessA Movement for Global Mental Health Equity, Parity, and Access

A Movement for Global Mental Health Equity, Parity, and AccessA Movement for Global Mental Health Equity, Parity, and Access

Laterality effects in motor learning by mental practice in right-handers

Converging evidences suggest that mental movement simulation and actual movement production share similar neurocognitive and learning processes. Although a large body of data is available in the literature regarding mental states involving the dominant arm, examinations for the nondominant arm are sparse. Does mental training, through motor-imagery practice, with the dominant arm or the nondominant arm is equally efficient for motor learning? In the current study, we investigated laterality effects in motor learning by motor-imagery practice. Four groups of right-hander adults mentally and physically performed as fast and accurately as possible (speed/accuracy trade-off paradigm) successive reaching movements with their dominant or nondominant arm (physical-training-dominant-arm, mental-training-dominant-arm, physical-training-nondominant-arm, and mental-training-nondominant-arm groups). Movement time was recorded and analyzed before, during, and after the training sessions. We found that physical and mental practice had a positive effect on the motor performance (i.e., decrease in movement time) of both arms through similar learning process (i.e., similar exponential learning curves). However, movement time reduction in the posttest session was significantly higher after physical practice than motor-imagery practice for both arms. More importantly, motor-imagery practice with the dominant arm resulted in larger and more robust improvements in movement speed compared to motor-imagery practice with the nondominant arm. No such improvements were observed in the control group. Our results suggest a superiority of the dominant arm in motor learning by mental practice. We discussed these findings from the perspective of the internal models theory.

21. Longitudinal fMRI assessment in chronic spinal cord injury treated by intrathecal baclofen – Pilot data

Introduction Spasticity is a frequent disabling sign of upper motor neuron lesion in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). In severe cases intrathecal baclofen (ITB) is recommended as a choice of effective treatment. Baclofen, being as a strong GABAB agonist, modulates cortical and spinal inhibitory circuits. The aim of this study was to assess longitudinal changes in brain activation after continuous ITB delivery during simple motor tasks performed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Material and Methods Two subjects (27 and 35 years-old males, 5.5 years after SCI) with chronic posttraumatic cervical spinal cord injury at C4–5 level underwent ITB pump implantation (Synchromed II, 20 ml, Medtronic). Spasticity was assessed by Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS, 0–4). Both subjects were studied by 1.5T fMRI with three tasks employed: (i) finger-tapping and mental movement simulating, (ii) finger taping and (iii) foot flexion. Tasks were performed before, 12 weeks and one year after ITB pump implantation. Analysis was processed in SPM8 using the FWE corrected threshold (p Results Both patients were classified as AIS-A and they presented no active movements of lower limbs. In both subjects, MAS score declined in the lower extremities from 4 to 1 before and after ITB implantation, respectively. Before-ITB pump implantation fMRI showed weak activations in all tasks. Post-ITB tasks extensively raised activation in the motor system network, namely the primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor area. In one year follow-up, the activation in foot-flexion mental tasks were detectable only in one of the subjects, with slightly increased volume. One of the most important factors, influencing all the results, is subject motion. Conclusions Continuous ITB administration relieving spasticity in SCI patients was associated with increased activation of sensorimotor cortex. ITB treatment may cause distant functional reorganization of sensorimotor network probably by increased GABAB-mediated inhibitory activity at cortical level. Supported by Research Projects PRVOUK P34, UNCE 204010/2012 and IGA NT12282.

Spatial biases during mental arithmetic: evidence from eye movements on a blank screen.

While the influence of spatial-numerical associations in number categorization tasks has been well established, their role in mental arithmetic is less clear. It has been hypothesized that mental addition leads to rightward and upward shifts of spatial attention (along the “mental number line”), whereas subtraction leads to leftward and downward shifts. We addressed this hypothesis by analyzing spontaneous eye movements during mental arithmetic. Participants solved verbally presented arithmetic problems (e.g., 2 + 7, 8–3) aloud while looking at a blank screen. We found that eye movements reflected spatial biases in the ongoing mental operation: Gaze position shifted more upward when participants solved addition compared to subtraction problems, and the horizontal gaze position was partly determined by the magnitude of the operands. Interestingly, the difference between addition and subtraction trials was driven by the operator (plus vs. minus) but was not influenced by the computational process. Thus, our results do not support the idea of a mental movement toward the solution during arithmetic but indicate a semantic association between operation and space.