Finger Muscles Research Articles

Complete Improvement of Severe Forearm Complex Regional Pain Syndrome with Six High-Dose Incobotulinumtoxin A Injections: Clinical Implications with Respect to the Literature

There is some evidence that injections of botulinum neurotoxin effectively reduce pain in complex regional pain syndromes (CRPSs). But no or little experience appears to exist for the application of incobotulinum neurotoxin type A (incoBoNT/A) in complex pain disorders. Here, a case of CRPS type I, characterized by severe symptoms in the left forearm is presented, showed significant continuous improvement following a series of six repetitive (painful) injections into the finger, hand, and forearm muscles of incoBoNT/A every 3 months, administered at declining doses varying between 500 and 100 U. Remarkably, this treatment regimen led to the complete resolution of pain, vaso- and sudomotor symptoms, and hand dystonia. This highlights the possible efficacy of incoBoNT/A in the treatment of CRPS and encourages the further exploration of incoBoNT/A’s role in the successful management of complex pain disorders.

Clinical Cues for the Early Diagnosis of Transthyretin-Related Polyneuropathy.

The estimated prevalence of hereditary transthyretin-related familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP) and the small number of known patients in Germany indicate that many patients with TTR-FAP remain undiagnosed, and may instead be classified as "idiopathic." The aim of this study was to identify biomarkers for detecting TTR-FAP among a cohort of patients with idiopathic polyneuropathy (PNP). Clinical evaluations (including the Neuropathy Impairment Score and Neuropathy Disability Score), nerve conduction studies (NCSs), quantitative sensory testing, and autonomic function tests were performed on 23 patients with TTR-FAP and 89 with idiopathic PNP. Discriminant analysis was then performed to identify variables useful for predicting TTR-FAP. Patients with TTR-FAP had paresis of the finger and thumb muscles, and reduced vibration perception and increased pressure pain in the upper and lower extremities. The NCSs showed that action potentials were smaller in the median, ulnar (both motor and sensory), and sural nerves in TTR-FAP. The sensory nerve conduction velocity was also reduced in the ulnar nerve. Autonomic neuropathy was confirmed by reduced sympathetic skin responses in the hands and feet in TTR-FAP. Multivariate discriminant analysis revealed that finger abduction strength, sensory ulnar nerve action potential amplitude, and vibration detection and pressure pain thresholds in the upper extremities were sufficient to correctly identify TTR-FAP in 81.3% of cases. Detailed clinical and neurophysiological investigations of standard parameters in the upper limb may help to identify the otherwise-rare TTR-FAP.

Optimized Kalman filtering in dynamical environments for thumb robot motion estimation

<span>Stroke, a prevalent nerve disorder in Indonesia, necessitates post-stroke rehabilitation like physical and occupational therapy. Hand and finger muscle training, crucial for restoring movement, often involves innovative solutions like finger prosthetic robotics arms. In particular, the advancement in thumb robotics emphasizes the estimation of thumb motion, where the ensemble Kalman filter square root (EnKF-SR) and H-infinity methods are deemed dependable for both linear and nonlinear models. Simulation results, using 400 ensembles, demonstrated nearly identical accuracy between the methods, exceeding 99%, with a 6-7% increase in accuracy compared to 200 ensembles. These advancements offer promising prospects for effective post-stroke rehabilitation and improved thumb movement restoration.</span>

Is Dorso-Volar Kinesiotape Added to the Home Exercise Program Effective in the Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Randomized Controlled Electrodiagnostic Study

Abstract Objective We aimed to compare the short- and medium-term efficacy of dorso-volar kinesiotape (KT) added to home exercises (HE) with sham-KT and HE alone in the treatment of mild or moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in terms of pain, symptom severity, function, gripping strength, and electrophysiological parameters. Materials and Methods A total of 120 patients (99 females, 21 males) were divided into three groups dorso-volar KT and HE (n=40), sham-KT and HE (n=40), and HE (n=40). Pain (The visual analog scale [VAS]), symptom severity (Boston symptom severity scale [SSS]), functional status (Boston functional status scale [FSS]), nerve conduction study (NCS), hand, finger muscle strength were evaluated pretreatment, at the end of treatment (4th week), and in the third month posttreatment. Results There were statistically significant improvements in VAS (p<0.001), Boston SSS (except HE group) (p<0.001), and Boston FSS (p<0.001) in all groups posttreatment compared to pretreatment, and more in the dorso-volar KT group than pretreatment and the posivite improvement continued at a decreasing rate in the third month posttreatment. At the end of treatment the dorso-volar KT group showed statistically significant improvement in Boston SSS (p<0.001, p<0.001) and Boston FSS (p<0.001, p<0.001) compared to the sham-KT and HE groups. Conclusions The combination of dorso-volar KT and HE program makes a more effective and durable contribution to the improvement of CTS symptom severity, pain and functional status, as well as handgrip strength and NCS parameters compared with sham-KT and HE program.

Enhancing cell phone security through finger vein biometric authentication systems

The growing demand for secure mobile devices has led to the widespread adoption of biometric technologies. While personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords, gridlock patterns to safeguard phones and facial recognition have become common, they have certain limitations in terms of security and user convenience. These conventional security measures are riddled with susceptibilities, such as password pilferage, memory lapses in authentication details, and user mistakes in grid pattern creation. Due to the rising occurrence of cell phone incursions and theft, there is an urgent requirement for a strong security system that not only defends data but also shields the device itself. This paper proposes a resilient finger vein biometric security system as a more effective substitute for knowledge-based and password-based authentication techniques. The implementation of finger vein biometrics as a novel approach to enhancing cell phone security. The method employs infrared (IR) light transmission to capture the vein patterns and shadows resulting from the different thicknesses of finger muscles, bones, and tissues. The unique vascular patterns in fingers are difficult to forge, offering a higher level of security compared to other biometric systems. The simulations we conducted indicate an identification accuracy rate of 93.82%, indicating that this technique provides a substantial enhancement in preventing unauthorized access and theft of cell phones. This study examines the technology behind finger vein biometrics, its integration into mobile devices, and the security advantages it offers.

Corticospinal excitability during motor preparation of upper extremity reaches reflects flexor muscle synergies: A novel principal component-based motor evoked potential analyses.

Previous research has shown that noninvasive brain stimulation can be used to study how the central nervous system (CNS) prepares the execution of a motor task. However, these previous studies have been limited to a single muscle or single degree of freedom movements (e.g., wrist flexion). It is currently unclear if the findings of these studies generalize to multi-joint movements involving multiple muscles, which may be influenced by kinematic redundancy and muscle synergies. The objective of this study was to characterize corticospinal excitability during motor preparation in the cortex prior to functional upper extremity reaches. 20 participants without neurological impairments volunteered for this study. During the experiment, the participants reached for a cup in response to a visual "Go Cue". Prior to movement onset, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to stimulate the motor cortex and measured the changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in several upper extremity muscles. We varied each participant's initial arm posture and used a novel synergy-based MEP analysis to examine the effect of muscle coordination on MEPs. Additionally, we varied the timing of the stimulation between the Go Cue and movement onset to examine the time course of motor preparation. We found that synergies with strong proximal muscle (shoulder and elbow) components emerged as the stimulation was delivered closer to movement onset, regardless of arm posture, but MEPs in the distal (wrist and finger) muscles were not facilitated. We also found that synergies varied with arm posture in a manner that reflected the muscle coordination of the reach. We believe that these findings provide useful insight into the way the CNS plans motor skills.

Use of computational modeling to examine fingertip force production in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy

Most children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP), one of the most prevalent subtypes of cerebral palsy, struggle with grasping and manipulating objects. This impairment may arise from a diminished capacity to properly direct forces created with the finger pad due to aberrant force application. Children with HCP were asked to create maximal force with the index finger pad in the palmar (normal) direction with both the paretic and non-paretic hands. The resulting forces and finger postures were then applied to a computational musculoskeletal model of the hand to estimate the corresponding muscle activation patterns. Subjects tended to create greater shear force relative to normal force with the paretic hand (p < 0.05). The resultant force was directed 33.6°±10.8° away from the instructed palmar direction in the paretic hand, but only 8.0°±7.3° in the non-paretic hand. Additionally, participants created greater palmar force with the non-paretic hand than with the paretic hand (p < 0.05). These differences in force production are likely due to differences in muscle activation pattern, as our computational models showed differences in which muscles are active and their relative activations when recreating the measured force vectors for the two hands (p < 0.01). The models predicted reduced activation in the extrinsic and greater reductions in activation in the intrinsic finger muscles, potentially due to reduced voluntary activation or muscle atrophy. As the large shear forces could lead to objects slipping from grasp, muscle activation patterns may provide an important target for therapeutic treatment in children with HCP.

Mechanical Interaction Between the Tendons of the Extrinsic Finger Flexors

ABSTRACTHumans possess an incredible capacity for dexterity, but independent finger control is limited. One factor constraining finger independence is the connections between the tendons of the extrinsic finger muscles. The aim of this study was to assess to what extent the linkages between the distal tendons of flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) and those of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) constrain finger independence. Experiments on human fresh frozen cadaveric upper extremities (n = 6) were performed. First, one finger (target) was flexed whereas the other (nontarget) fingers were held in a nearly extended position. The change (Δ) in total flexion angle (∑Θ; i.e., the sum of angles of the different finger joints) of the target finger from the ∑Θ corresponding to the extended position at the start of the movement until the ∑Θ corresponding to the onset of force exertion at the nontarget fingers was assessed. Second, the distribution of force across the four fingers upon loading the tendon of the target finger was assessed for two finger positions (extended, 90° flexion of metacarpal phalangeal joint). For both muscles and for all fingers, the range of independent movement was small (&lt;7°). Δ∑Θ at force onset was lowest for fingers immediately adjacent to the target finger and highest for more distant fingers. For both muscles and for all fingers, some of the target finger force (&lt;14% for FDP, &lt;2% for FDS) was distributed to the nontarget fingers, which increased (up to 58%) only for FDP in response to target finger flexion. We conclude that mechanical connections between the FDP and FDS tendons constrain finger independence. Such constraints become apparent when moving one finger relative to the other fingers.

Unsupervised neural decoding for concurrent and continuous multi-finger force prediction

Reliable prediction of multi-finger forces is crucial for neural-machine interfaces. Various neural decoding methods have progressed substantially for accurate motor output predictions. However, most neural decoding methods are performed in a supervised manner, i.e., the finger forces are needed for model training, which may not be suitable in certain contexts, especially in scenarios involving individuals with an arm amputation. To address this issue, we developed an unsupervised neural decoding approach to predict multi-finger forces using spinal motoneuron firing information. We acquired high-density surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals of the finger extensor muscle when subjects performed single-finger and multi-finger tasks of isometric extensions. We first extracted motor units (MUs) from sEMG signals of the single-finger tasks. Because of inevitable finger muscle co-activation, MUs controlling the non-targeted fingers can also be recruited. To ensure an accurate finger force prediction, these MUs need to be teased out. To this end, we clustered the decomposed MUs based on inter-MU distances measured by the dynamic time warping technique, and we then labeled the MUs using the mean firing rate or the firing rate phase amplitude. We merged the clustered MUs related to the same target finger and assigned weights based on the consistency of the MUs being retained. As a result, compared with the supervised neural decoding approach and the conventional sEMG amplitude approach, our new approach can achieve a higher R2 (0.77 ± 0.036 vs. 0.71 ± 0.11 vs. 0.61 ± 0.09) and a lower root mean square error (5.16 ± 0.58 %MVC vs. 5.88 ± 1.34 %MVC vs. 7.56 ± 1.60 %MVC). Our findings can pave the way for the development of accurate and robust neural-machine interfaces, which can significantly enhance the experience during human-robotic hand interactions in diverse contexts.

Bilateral intracortical inhibition during unilateral motor preparation and sequence learning

Motor sequence learning gradually quickens reaction time, suggesting that sequence learning alters motor preparation processes. Interestingly, evidence has shown that preparing sequence movements decreases short intracortical inhibition (SICI) in the contralateral motor cortex (M1), but also that sequence learning alters motor preparation processes in both the contralateral and ipsilateral M1s. Therefore, one possibility is that sequence learning alters the SICI decreases occurring during motor preparation in bilateral M1s. To examine this, two novel hypotheses were tested: unilateral sequence preparation would decrease SICI in bilateral M1s, and sequence learning would alter such bilateral SICI responses. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered over the contralateral and ipsilateral M1s to assess SICI in an index finger muscle during the preparation of sequences initiated by either the right index or little finger. In the absence of sequence learning, SICI decreased in both the contralateral and ipsilateral M1s during the preparation of sequences initiated by the right index finger, suggesting that SICI decreases in bilateral M1s during unilateral motor preparation. As sequence learning progressed, SICI decreased in the contralateral M1 whilst it increased in the ipsilateral M1. Moreover, these bilateral SICI responses were observed at the onset of motor preparation, suggesting that sequence learning altered baseline SICI levels rather than the SICI decreases occurring during motor preparation per se. Altogether, these results suggest that SICI responses in bilateral M1s reflect two motor processes: an acute decrease of inhibition during motor preparation, and a cooperative but bidirectional shift of baseline inhibition levels as sequence learning progresses.

Peripheral nerve blocks of wrist and finger flexors can increase hand opening in chronic hemiparetic stroke.

Hand opening is reduced by abnormal wrist and finger flexor activity in many individuals with stroke. This flexor activity also limits hand opening produced by functional electrical stimulation (FES) of finger and wrist extensor muscles. Recent advances in electrical nerve block technologies have the potential to mitigate this abnormal flexor behavior, but the actual impact of nerve block on hand opening in stroke has not yet been investigated. In this study, we applied the local anesthetic ropivacaine to the median and ulnar nerve to induce a complete motor block in 9 individuals with stroke and observed the impact of this block on hand opening as measured by hand pentagonal area. Volitional hand opening and FES-driven hand opening were measured, both while the arm was fully supported on a haptic table (Unloaded) and while lifting against gravity (Loaded). Linear mixed effect regression (LMER) modeling was used to determine the effect of Block. The ropivacaine block allowed increased hand opening, both volitional and FES-driven, and for both unloaded and loaded conditions. Notably, only the FES-driven and Loaded condition's improvement in hand opening with the block was statistically significant. Hand opening in the FES and Loaded condition improved following nerve block by nearly 20%. Our results suggest that many individuals with stroke would see improved hand-opening with wrist and finger flexor activity curtailed by nerve block, especially when FES is used to drive the typically paretic finger and wrist extensor muscles. Such a nerve block (potentially produced by aforementioned emerging electrical nerve block technologies) could thus significantly address prior observed shortcomings of FES interventions for individuals with stroke.

Direct Repair of Ruptured Nerve Stump to Middle Trunk for Restoration of Extrinsic Finger Extension in Total Brachial Plexus Injuries.

Attempts to restore independent hand function in total brachial plexus injuries (TBPIs) have often failed due to inconsistent results of finger extension reconstruction. An innovative technique is described to achieve this effect by direct neurorrhaphy of residual (ruptured) roots with the middle trunk. Direct coaptation of the ruptured roots to the middle trunk and, simultaneously, transferring the anterior division of the middle trunk to the posterior division of the lower trunk was performed in 64 patients with TBPI. The return of extension of the elbow, wrist, and fingers was monitored. Excellent and good muscle strength of finger extension were noted in 45.3% of cases. The patients were divided into group A (>32 years) and group B (≤32 years) according to receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The difference of excellent and good rates of finger and wrist extension muscle strengths between the 2 groups was statistically significant (χ 2 = 4.635, P = 0.031; χ 2 = 6.615, P = 0.010). Direct neurorrhaphy of ruptured nerve root stumps with the middle trunk could achieve satisfactory results for finger extension in TBPI for patients ≤32 years old. Long nerve defects (4 to 6.5 cm) could be overcome by freeing the nerve and adducting the arm against the trunk. Risk, III.

Nusinersen induces detectable changes in compound motor action potential response in spinal muscular atrophy type 1 patients with severe impairment of motor function

BackgroundMost long-term affected spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 patients have severe impairment of motor function and are dependent on mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy. The efficacy and safety of nusinersen in these patients have not been established. MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated the efficacy of intrathecal nusinersen treatment in patients with SMA type 1 who continued treatment for at least 12 months. There were three patients enrolled in our study (3, 4 and 16 years of age) who had severe impairment of gross motor function without head control or the ability to roll over. All three needed mechanical ventilation with tracheostomy and tube feeding. Motor function was assessed using the Children s Hospital of Philadelphia infant test of neuromuscular disorders (CHOP-INTEND) and the caregivers’ evaluations. Concurrently, we examined nerve conduction longitudinally and compared compound motor action potential (CMAP) amplitudes. ResultsAll patients continued nusinersen administration without significant adverse events for more than three years. While CHOP-INTEND scores did not remarkably increase, according to the caregivers, all three patients had improved finger or facial muscle movements that enabled them to make their intentions understood. Some CMAPs before treatment were not identified but became traces after nusinersen administration. ConclusionsThe improvement in motor function that leads to smoother communication could be a basis for continuing nusinersen treatment. Currently available motor function scorings are not efficient for assessing therapeutic interventions in SMA patients with medical care complexity. Longitudinal nerve conduction studies could be an objective indicator.

How Do People with Limited Movement Personalize Upper-Body Gestures? Considerations for the Design of Personalized and Accessible Gesture Interfaces.

Always-on, upper-body input from sensors like accelerometers, infrared cameras, and electromyography hold promise to enable accessible gesture input for people with upper-body motor impairments. When these sensors are distributed across the person's body, they can enable the use of varied body parts and gestures for device interaction. Personalized upper-body gestures that enable input from diverse body parts including the head, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and fingers and match the abilities of each user, could be useful for ensuring that gesture systems are accessible. In this work, we characterize the personalized gesture sets designed by 25 participants with upper-body motor impairments and develop design recommendations for upper-body personalized gesture interfaces. We found that the personalized gesture sets that participants designed were highly ability-specific. Even within a specific type of disability, there were significant differences in what muscles participants used to perform upper-body gestures, with some pre-dominantly using shoulder and upper-arm muscles, and others solely using their finger muscles. Eight percent of gestures that participants designed were with their head, neck, and shoulders, rather than their hands and fingers, demonstrating the importance of tracking the whole upper-body. To combat fatigue, participants performed 51% of gestures with their hands resting on or barely coming off of their armrest, highlighting the importance of using sensing mechanisms that are agnostic to the location and orientation of the body. Lastly, participants activated their muscles but did not visibly move during 10% of the gestures, demonstrating the need for using sensors that can sense muscle activations without movement. Both inertial measurement unit (IMU) and electromyography (EMG) wearable sensors proved to be promising sensors to differentiate between personalized gestures. Personalized upper-body gesture interfaces that take advantage of each person's abilities are critical for enabling accessible upper-body gestures for people with upper-body motor impairments.

Forearm muscles activity of harp players

The practice of a musical instrument requires fine dexterity, repetitive, fast, and precise movements, as well as important efforts to set the instrument into vibration, while adopting postures often unnatural for the human body. As a result, musicians are often subject to pain and musculoskeletal disorders. In the case of plucked string instruments and especially the concert harp, the plucking force is directly related to the strings’ tension. Consequently, the choice of the strings has to be made based on both, the musician feel while playing, and the musculoskeletal consequences. This paper investigates how the string properties and the playing dynamics affect the finger and wrist muscle activity during harp playing. This study first emphasized the noteworthy recruitment of the flexor and extensor muscles (42% and 29% of MVC, respectively). Findings outlined further that the fingering choice, the adopted playing dynamics and the string’s material govern the muscular activity level and the playing control. Such results are a first step to better understand how the harp ergonomics may affect the player’s integrity and help them decide the most suitable stringing for their practice.

Force loss and distribution of load in the hands of patients with cubital tunnel syndrome.

Manugraphy with three different cylinder sizes was used to quantify the contribution of fingers, thumb and palm to grip force in patients with unilateral cubital tunnel syndrome. Forces in the affected and contralateral hands differed by up to 29%. Although grip force is usually maximal when gripping small handles, ulnar nerve palsy resulted in similar absolute grip forces using the 100-mm and 200-mm cylinders. The contact area between the affected hand and the cylinders was reduced by 5%-9%. We noted a high correlation between the contact area and grip force, visible atrophy and permanently impaired sensibility. The load distribution differed significantly between both hands for all cylinder sizes. When gripping large objects, the main functional impairment in cubital tunnel syndrome is weakness in positioning and stabilizing the thumb. Weak intrinsic finger muscles are responsible for loss of force when gripping small objects. Level of evidence: III.

Aloe Inspired Special Structure Hydrogel Pressure Sensor for Real‐Time Human‐Computer Interaction and Muscle Rehabilitation System

AbstractIn recent years, significant progress has been made in the research and development of conventional hydrogel sensors. However, the development of hydrogels with special structures, achieved through specific designs or fabrication strategies, remains relatively scarce. Inspired by aloe, a specially structured hydrogel (named Skin‐Polyvinyl alcohol‐Polyaniline‐AgNWs, S‐PPA) is successfully prepared with skin. Innovatively utilizing the hydrogen bonding interaction between ions and water molecules, the surface of the hydrogel is treated to create a protective skin. The S‐PPA hydrogel with a protective skin demonstrates strong resistance to damage (with a tensile strength of 5 MPa, &gt;11 times higher compared to hydrogel without skin) and exhibits dual conductivity (0.8 S m−1 for the inner skin and 0.33 S m−1 for the outer skin). In addition, the S‐PPA hydrogel also possesses water retention capabilities, antibacterial properties (89.4% inhibition rate against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)), and minimal corrosion to metal electrodes. Based on the S‐PPA hydrogel and combined with wireless Bluetooth technology and Python programming, intelligent applications are developed such as multi‐gradient intelligent control and finger muscle condition evaluation, achieving real‐time human‐ computer interaction (HCI). The intelligent pressure‐sensitive hydrogel proposed by this study shows great potential in the fields of medical rehabilitation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

The intracortical excitability changes underlying the enhancing effects of rewards and punishments on motor performance

Monetary rewards and punishments enhance motor performance and are associated with corticospinal excitability (CSE) increases within the motor cortex (M1) during movement preparation. However, such CSE changes have unclear origins. Based on converging evidence, one possibility is that they stem from increased glutamatergic (GLUTergic) facilitation and/or decreased type A gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAA)-mediated inhibition within M1. To investigate this, paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was used over the left M1 to evaluate intracortical facilitation (ICF) and short intracortical inhibition (SICI), indirect assays of GLUTergic activity and GABAA-mediated inhibition, in an index finger muscle during the preparation of sequences initiated by either the right index or little finger. Behaviourally, rewards and punishments enhanced both reaction and movement time. During movement preparation, regardless of rewards or punishments, ICF increased when the index finger initiated sequences, whereas SICI decreased when both the index and little fingers initiated sequences. This finding suggests that GLUTergic activity increases in a finger-specific manner whilst GABAA-mediated inhibition decreases in a finger-unspecific manner during preparation. In parallel, both rewards and punishments non-specifically increased ICF, but only rewards non-specifically decreased SICI as compared to neutral. This suggests that to enhance performance rewards both increase GLUTergic activity and decrease GABAA-mediated inhibition, whereas punishments selectively increase GLUTergic activity. A control experiment revealed that such changes were not observed post-movement as participants processed reward and punishment feedback, indicating they were selective to movement preparation. Collectively, these results map the intracortical excitability changes in M1 by which incentives enhance motor performance.

Inter-task transfer of force gains is facilitated by motor imagery.

There is compelling evidence that motor imagery (MI) contributes to improve muscle strength. While strong effects have been observed for finger muscles, only few experiments with moderate benefits were conducted within applied settings targeting large upper or lower limb muscles. The aim of the present study was therefore to extend the investigation of embedded MI practice designed to improve maximal voluntary strength on a multi-joint dynamic exercise involving the lower limbs. Additionally, we tested whether targeting the content of MI on another movement than that physically performed and involving the same body parts might promote inter-task transfer of strength gains. A total of 75 participants were randomly assigned into three groups who underwent a physical training on back squat. During inter-trial recovery periods, a first MI group (n = 25) mentally rehearsed the back squat, while a second MI group (n = 25) performed MI of a different movement involving the lower limbs (deadlift). Participants from the control group (n = 25) completed a neutral cognitive task during equivalent time. Strength and power gains were assessed ecologically using a velocity transducer device at 4 different time periods. Data first revealed that participants who engaged in MI of the back squat improved their back squat performance (p < 0.03 and p < 0.01, respectively), more than the control group (p < 0.05), hence supporting the positive effects of MI on strength. Data further supported the inter-task transfer of strength gains when MI targeted a movement that was not physically trained (p = 0.05). These findings provide experimental support for the use of MI during physical training sessions to improve and transfer force development.

The Creativity Development of Finger Painting to Stimulate Cognitive, Affective, and Motoric of Early Childhood

The purpose of this study is to investigate children's cognitive, affective, and motor development through creativity of finger painting art. The stimulation of these three aspects of Bloom's taxonomy teaches children to recognize colors and to apply cognitively, teaches children to practice patience affectively, and teaches children to use their fingertips to stimulate their motor development through finger muscles. This study used a qualitative method with a case study design to 25 early childhood students aged 5-7 years old at TK Pertiwi Bacin Kudus. Data collection techniques used observation, interviews, and documentation. According to Permendikbud about National Standards for Early Childhood Education, the assessment criteria used are underdeveloped (UD), beginning to develop (BD), very well developed (VD), and develop as expected (DE). The data observed indicates BD before students got finger painting activities. The results of the study obtained 3 aspects based on Bloom’s taxonomy. From those aspects of development, the highest percentage of cognitive aspect was 72% in BD. The result illustrated that 18 children began to mention colors. The highest aspect of affective was 64% in BD. It indicates that 16 children ask for help to the process and technique of finger paintings. They ran to go through the process and steps to DE. The highest aspect of psychomotor was 60%. It describes that 15 children began to develop when they smeared colors unclearly bright to form object.