Sensorimotor Problems Research Articles

Relationship between sensory processing skills and motor skills in 12-month-old infants.

Identifying sensory processing problems of 12-month-old preterm and term children and defining their relationship with motor skills are essential for appropriate interventions and optimal sensory-motor development. This study aimed to determine sensory processing difficulties in 12-month-old babies and examine their relationship with motor skills. This cross-sectional study included 61 infants (28 preterm and 33 full-term, ages 12 months). The infants' sensory processing skills were evaluated using the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI), and their gross and fine motor skills were assessed with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2 (PDMS-2). Sensory processing difficulties were more common in preterm babies. Multiple linear regression models indicated a significant positive association between PDMS-2 gross/fine motor scores and TFSI total scores, reactivity to tactile deep pressure, and ocular-motor control in the total sample. Furthermore, there was a relationship between gross motor and adaptive motor function, and fine motor scores were found to be associated with visual-tactile integration sensory scores. Preterm babies are more likely than their full-term peers to have sensory processing problems around the age of one, which can affect their motor skills. The results support the relationship between children's sensory and motor processing skills. Practitioners such as occupational and physical therapists should be alert to this relationship in infants with sensory processing and motor problems. Taking this relationship into consideration when planning intervention programs can be a guide for an effective intervention.

The effect of eight weeks of central stability exercises on sensory-motor development of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Introduction: Sensory-motor problems are among the outstanding characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Aim: The present research was conducted aiming to assess the effectiveness of eight weeks of central stability exercises on the sensory-motor development of children with high-functioning ASD. Method: The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population consisted of all 6-10-year-old children with ASD referring to autism rehabilitation centers in Tehran in 2023. Twenty-four high-functioning ASD children were selected by the convenience sampling method and evaluated by the Sensory Profile-2 tests and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency after eight sessions of central stability exercises. The results were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and SPSS version 22. Results: The results of univariate ANCOVA indicated that eight weeks of central stability exercises culminated in promoting sensory development in children with high-functioning ASD (P<0.01). The results of multivariate ANCOVA indicated that the F value obtained for all three dimensions of motor development, including gross motor skill, fine motor skill, and upper limb coordination, was significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that central stability exercises are among the efficient methods for the development of sensory-motor skills in children with high-functioning ASD, which can be used in special education and rehabilitation centers for these children.

Investigating Diabetic Foot Pathophysiology and Amputation Prevention Strategies through Behavioral Modification

Diabetic foot complications stem from intricate interactions between macrovascular and microvascular changes, neuropathy, inflammation, immune responses, hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and infection susceptibility. Macrovascular factors like atherosclerosis lead to tissue ischemia, while microvascular dysfunction worsens perfusion deficits. Neuropathy contributes significantly to such complications, causing sensory loss, motor problems, and autonomic dysfunction. This results in unnoticed injuries, muscle atrophy, deformities, and dry skin, elevating the risk of non-healing wounds and infections. Inflammation and immune responses amplify tissue damage and hinder healing. Chronic hyperglycemia generates advanced glycation end products, stiffening tissues, while oxidative stress exacerbates damage. Mitochondrial dysfunction further compromises cellular energy production, worsening tissue repair challenges. These multifaceted factors collectively contribute to diabetic foot complications. The impact of modifiable behavior factors such as smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and exercise on the risk of lower extremity amputation (LEA) in diabetic patients is also not to be ignored. Substantial data had identified increased LEA risk from smoking and heavy alcohol intake and reduced risk from regular exercise. The cumulative impact of these behaviors underscores the significance of behavior modification in preventing LEA and enhancing the well-being of diabetic patients. Understanding these mechanisms is vital for developing effective preventive strategies, diagnostics, and treatments, addressing the impact of diabetic foot complications on individuals and healthcare systems.

The effectiveness of moderate intensity continuous exercises and nano-curcumin supplementation on sensory-motor disorders in Rats with brain tumors

Background and Objectives:Any abnormal growth of cells in the brain in an uncontrolled manner leads to the formation of tumor cell masses and disruption of the normal functional functions of the brain, including sensory-motor problems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the The effectiveness of moderate-intensity continuous exercise and nanocurcumin supplementation on sensorimotor disorders in mice with brain tumors. Subjects and Methods: 35 healthy male Wistar rats randomly divided into 7 groups of 5, basal control (BC), 4-week control (4wC), basal cancer control(BT), 4-week cancer control(4wT), cancer-training (TE), cancer - Nanocurcumin (TN), Cancer-Exercise-Nanocurcumin (TEN) were divided. One week after the injection of cancer cells in the frontal cortex, the animals entered the main exercise program on the tape by performing the 6-parameter behavioral test (18 points) of Garcia and gavage of nano curcumin supplement at the rate of 80 mg/kg (28 days, 5 days a week). (4 weeks, at a speed of 18 meters per minute, 25-40 minutes and 3 days a week). At the end, rats were victim and data were collected and analyzed. Result: Continuous exercises with moderate intensity Simultaneously with nano-curcumin supplementation significantly reduced tumor volume in the TEN group (p≤0.05). It also led to a significant increase in behavioral testing in the study groups compared to the 4 wT group. Conclusion: It seems that the combination of continuous exercises with nano curcumin can be used as a therapeutic supplement along with other methods to reduce brain tumor size and improve sensory-motor functions.

Functional connectivity of cortical-cerebellar networks in relation to sensorimotor behavior and clinical features in autism spectrum disorder.

Sensorimotor issues are present in the majority of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are associated with core symptoms. The neural systems associated with these impairments remain unclear. Using a visually guided precision gripping task during functional magnetic resonance imaging, we characterized task-based connectivity and activation of cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar visuomotor networks. Participants with ASD (n = 19; ages 10-33) and age- and sex-matched neurotypical controls (n = 18) completed a visuomotor task at low and high force levels. Relative to controls, individuals with ASD showed reduced functional connectivity of right primary motor-anterior cingulate cortex and left anterior intraparietal lobule (aIPL)-right Crus I at high force only. At low force, increased caudate, and cerebellar activation each were associated with sensorimotor behavior in controls, but not in ASD. Reduced left aIPL-right Crus I connectivity was associated with more severe clinically rated ASD symptoms. These findings suggest that sensorimotor problems in ASD, particularly at high force levels, involve deficits in the integration of multimodal sensory feedback and reduced reliance on error-monitoring processes. Adding to literature positing that cerebellar dysfunction contributes to multiple developmental issues in ASD, our data implicate parietal-cerebellar connectivity as a key neural marker underlying both core and comorbid features of ASD.

Reduction in Behavior Problems with Increase in Communication Skills Through Augmentative and Alternative Communication among Special Needs Children

Cerebral Palsy is one of the most prevalent physical handicaps in children. Sensory-motor problems such as communication and cognitive impairment are major symptoms of cerebral palsy. In Pakistan, lack of interventions for cerebral palsy children exists due to low health budget. Consequently, CP children are facing difficulty in having the treatment. The present study aims to implement an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) approach among nonverbal children with cerebral palsy living in Pakistan. Past research evidence has revealed the co-morbidity of communication problems with behavioral issues among cerebral palsy children. Keeping in view, the present study also aims to examine the behavioral issues of nonverbal children with cerebral palsy. For the said purpose, a pilot study employed the interventional research design (pre and post assessment) which was conducted in Pakistan. 10 nonverbal cerebral palsy children were selected from three different special needs centers by using non-probability sampling technique. Repeated measures, pre and post assessment t-test analysis was conducted to assess the impact of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention on the communication skills and behavioral problems of the participants. The results showed that AAC intervention has significantly improved the communication skills (t = -11.09, P < .001) and reduced the behavioral problems (t = 2.55, P <.005) of the participants which were nonverbal children with cerebral palsy. Thematic analysis on the open-ended questions from Pragmatic profile reported that participants have started to enjoy indoor and outdoor activities. After the intervention, significant improvement in communication has been observed in participants when they present needs/desire. Thus, this study recommends that implementation of AAC on cerebral palsy population would be effective in improving communication skills and reducing their behavioral problems.

Seven Domains of Persisting Problems after Hospital-treated Covid-19 Indicate a Need For a Multiprofessional Rehabilitation Approach.

ObjectivesTo identify domains of persisting problems at 4 months after discharge in patients previously hospitalized due to COVID-19, with a focus on a subgroup of patients reporting symptoms to an extent indicative of rehabilitation needs.DesignAmbidirectional observational cohort study.PatientsAll patients with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis admitted to hospital in a Swedish healthcare region during the period 1 March to 31 May 2020. After exclusion, 94% of all survivors (n = 433) participated in the study. Forty-three percent (n = 185) of these reported persisting problems indicating rehabilitation needs and formed a subgroup.MethodsExplorative factor analysis based on results from comprehensive telephone interviews covering persisting symptoms, including assessment of impact on daily life.ResultsSeven domains were identified, comprising problems related to vision, cognition, mental fatigue, swallowing, voice, sensorimotor dysfunction, and feeling anxious/depressed. The patients in the subgroup reported a median of 8 symptoms/limitations affecting everyday life, and two-thirds reported symptoms/limitations in 3 or more domains.ConclusionSeven problem domains corresponding to specific modalities of rehabilitative interventions were identified. A majority of patients reported problems from several domains, indicating the need for multiprofessional teams in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Screening of patients previously hospitalized due to COVID-19 should cover all 7 domains of persisting problems.LAY ABSTRACTMore than 70% of patients with COVID-19 have previously been shown to experience 1 or several of a multitude of persisting problems several months after infection. This study aimed to identify areas of persisting problems among a broad spectrum of self-reported problems. Survivors of COVID-19 who had been discharged from hospital 4 months previously participated in a telephone interview covering persisting problems, including assessment of impact on daily life. The persisting problems clustered into 7 functional areas. Mental fatigue, cognitive- and sensorimotor problems were reported most frequently. A potential rehabilitation need was seen in more than 40% of patients interviewed. These patients reported approximately 8 different problems affecting their everyday life, and a majority of these patients reported problems from 3 or more areas. These findings highlight the need for multiprofessional teams in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Screening of patients previously hospitalized due to COVID-19 should cover all 7 areas of persisting problems.

Action-based embodied design for mathematics learning: A decade of variations on a theme

Embodied cognition theory emphasizes that bodily interaction with the environment is important for all forms of learning, including mathematics. This theoretical trend coincides well with developments in motion responsive technology, and has resulted in numerous embodied technologies for mathematics learning. This review aims to contribute to clarifying theoretically and empirically grounded design principles of action-based embodied designs for mathematics learning. We analyzed 79 publications between 2010 and 2019, containing 15 studies assessing 15 sensorimotor problems for five mathematical domains (proportion, angle, area, parabola, and sine function), and explicated the characteristics of the technologies, their learning sequences and elicited learning processes, and the influence of within-topic ask variations on students’ learning. We found that action-based designs pose motor control problems using continuous motion feedback to facilitate learners to discover and practice a challenging new ways of moving their hand(s) in which to ground mathematical cognition. The state of discovery of the sensorimotor solution is important, and passive and readymade designs are cautioned. The learning sequence in which these technologies are embedded, elicit mathematical knowing through necessary and sequential phases in which personal idiosyncratic experiences increasingly converge into a culturally shared mathematical discourse. In the qualitative stage, an acting step elicits students to actively establish new motor coordination-patterns through the emergence of new perceptual structures known as attentional anchors. In the subsequent reflecting step, students’ personal sensorimotor experiences and attentional anchors become the ground for referencing in (a shared) mathematical discourse through multimodal (words, gestures) collaboration with a tutor. In the quantitative stage, measuring artifacts (grids, protractors, numbers, variables) are included in students’ field of promoted action, which discretize and formalize students’ actions and subsequent reflections into culturally recognizable quantitative forms. Critically, task factors such as the type of objects students manipulate (cursors icons, bars, rectangle), and the direction these objects are moved (parallel, orthogonal), affect students’ attentional anchors and subsequent reflections in the qualitative stage, but converge to similar mathematical insights in the quantitative stage. These insights help to better use (new) motion responsive technology in eliciting child–computer interaction that can lead to mathematical cognition and beyond.

SENSORY EFFECTS OF OCCUPATİONAL THERAPY İN CHİLDREN WİTH SCREEN EXPOSURE

As technology has improved, mobile device use has increased in younger age groups and the time of screen exposure has increased. Screen exposure has many negative effects on children's development. Being in front of the screen for a long time causes attention deficit, speech problems, sensory-motor problems, behavioral and emotional problems in children. Many factors can be effective in increasing screen exposure. Family comes first among these factors. Situations such as family members' occupations, income status, and the number of members in the family affect mobile device use, while mobile device use affects screen exposure time. One of the important effects of screen exposure is the lack of stimulus or negative stimulus. Exposure of children to negative stimuli, especially between the ages of 0-6, when neuroplasticity is the fastest, causes developmental delays. Lack of stimulus prevents children's senses from working in a systematic way. Senses that begin to develop in the womb are negatively affected by screen exposure and sensory integration problems are seen in children. Occupational therapists aim to adapt children with sensory integration problems to daily life with meaningful and purposeful activities, and accordingly, they evaluate the child individually and create and implement an individual therapy program.

Characteristics and Prevalence of Gravitational Insecurity in Children with Sensory Processing Dysfunction

BackgroundChildren with sensory processing challenges often demonstrate a specific vestibular dysfunction characterized by an irrational fear of movement experiences referred to as gravitational insecurity. Procedures/OutcomesThis descriptive, exploratory study of existing de-identified data examined characteristics and prevalence of symptoms indicative of gravitational insecurity and the relationship among gravitational insecurity, gender, age, and other types of sensory-motor problems in 689 children, aged 4–12 years, with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and related parent-reported co-morbid diagnoses of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Learning Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Gravitational insecurity was identified by the sum of eight items on a parent-report clinical questionnaire of sensory processing and motor skills in children. Results/ConclusionsThe number and patterns of gravitational insecurity symptoms were not significantly different across age, gender or comorbid diagnoses. Prevalence of symptoms of gravitational insecurity in a clinical population of children with SPD was 15 – 21%. Cluster analysis found two groups with and without gravitational insecurity. In the gravitational insecurity group all eight items examined occurred “sometimes/often” and four or more symptoms were reported by individuals in this group. ImplicationsGravitational insecurity is an important vestibular-based dysfunction to identify and treat in children with SPD. Future studies should examine the relationship between these symptoms and objective measures of gravitational insecurity.

Assessing Sensorimotor Problems Via Bayesian Theory and Hidden Markov Models

AbstractThis work introduces a novel framework that combines Bayesian Statistics for motor control with a probabilistic graphical model to estimate sensorimotor problems. This problem is relevant because as we age, our motor skills tend to decay. A person with this type of problems finds difficult to perform even simple tasks such as walking, cooking, and driving. They become challenging activities due to the alterations to the motor control, which might lead to accidents or injuries. Therefore, the continuous assessment of the sensorimotor functions of a person could help in identifying potential problems at an early stage. This framework aims to provide a substantial estimation of the presence, or absence, of a sensorimotor problem over time. Our strategy is based on the integration of three main components, i.e., data collection during the execution of basic activities via mixed reality, estimation of coordination under uncertainty via Bayesian statistics, and the probability estimation of a sensorimotor problem at different instances of time via hidden Markov model (HMM).

Effects of Sensorimotor Problems on the Performance of Activities of Daily Living in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sensory-motor problems are the main clinical features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Due to sensory-motor problem, individual with autism spectrum disorder face difficulties in performing their daily living skills. The objective of this study was to determine how sensory-motor problems affect the performance of activities of daily living in children of autism spectrum disorder. The study conducted in Rehab care school for special children and Hamza Montessori School for special children. Data was collected by using purposing non-random sampling technique in the duration of 4 months. Cross sectional study design was used. 60 patients from both genders were included. Sample selection criteria included the children with autism spectrum disorder with age range of 4-15 years. Sensory profile questionnaire based on Ayers sensory integration theory and Standardized Barthel index scale were used to determine the impact of sensory-motor problems on the performance of activities of daily living The results showed that visual processing disorders were highly affecting the performance of activities of daily living. It was concluded that most of the children with autism spectrum disorder have sensory-motor problems. The performance in activities of daily living is affected by sensory-motor problems especially the visual processing problems. Visual processing shows that children have difficulty in performing activities like dressing, eating and toileting. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Activities of daily living, Sensory-motor problems DOI : 10.7176/JHMN/70-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Towards predicting sensorimotor disorders in older adults via Bayesian probabilistic theory and mixed reality

In this work, we present the Overwatch-M platform, a novel approach that combines Bayesian theory with mixed reality (MR) to assess the user’s sensorimotor control. This platform is composed of a set of simple MR tests, which are short, and guides the user through a series of activities while monitoring the user’s interaction. The main advantage of this strategy relays on its ability to combine prior and observed user’s interaction to determine the impact on the user’s functional performance. This approach aims to detect changes in the user’s functional performance that could lead to sensorimotor problems in older adults at an early stage. For validation, a Bayesian model is implemented into the system to collect and analyze datasets and to provide a quantitative estimation of functional performance by providing a probabilistic conditioning assessment of their test-interaction over time. The strategy has been implemented to test the sensorimotor function, eye-hand coordination.

Effects of a task-based biofeedback training program on improving sensorimotor function in neuropathic hands in diabetic patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Symptoms of diabetic hands have been gradually elucidated, however the interventions for these hand problems are typically underemphasized. Few studies have discussed intervention effects on sensorimotor problems in hands, which prevent diabetic patients from executing their daily routines and lower their quality of life (QoL). This study has investigated the effects of task-based biofeedback training compared with home-based programs on sensorimotor function and QoL in diabetic patients with neuropathic hands. A single blind randomized controlled trial. Outpatient clinic at a university hospital. Thirty-eight patients with diabetic hand neuropathy whose sensorimotor functions were impaired based on screening with a pinch-holding-up activity (PHUA) test. Participants were randomly assigned to either a computerized evaluation and re-education biofeedback (CERB) (N.=20) or a home-based (tendon gliding exercise in conjunction with resistive exercise) (N.=18) group. The primary outcome was sensorimotor control of a hand using the PHUA test. Secondary outcomes included changes in Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, two-point discrimination, the Purdue Pegboard test and a self-reported QoL questionnaire. The measurements were conducted before and after a 6-week treatment program. The CERB group significantly improved efficiency in pinch force output during the PHUA test by reducing the percentage of maximum pinch strength (change from 34.5±11.66 to 30.7±10.16%, P=0.001), and there was a statistically significant between-group difference (P=0.00, 95% CI: -12.59 to -3.34, F=9.42). The CERB group showed superior treatment effects as compared to the control group on the two-point discrimination results (P=0.01) as well as the pin insertion subtests in the Purdue pegboard test (P=0.01). The QoL results also revealed significant between-group differences in several items of the Diabetes-39 (P<0.05). This study showed that a task-based biofeedback training program provides superior benefits for restoration of hand sensorimotor functioning in diabetic patients as compared to a home-based program combining tendon gliding exercise and resistive exercise. Using task-based biofeedback training as one of the rehabilitation strategies may be an effective approach for restoration of sensory function, precision pinch performance, hand dexterity, and QoL for patients with diabetes-related neuropathy.

Patterns of Survivorship Care and Patient-Reported Outcomes after Treatment for Extremity Sarcoma

Patients treated for extremity sarcoma face long-term treatment-related morbidities and therefore require specialized follow-up survivorship care. We sought to assess patient-reported outcomes and experiences with survivorship care in survivors of extremity sarcoma. Seventy-eight survivors of extremity sarcoma who utilized an Internet-based customized Survivorship Care Plan tool between 2008 and 2017 were included in the analysis. Patient reported toxicity and survivorship care were extracted from patient survey responses. The median age of diagnosis was 36 years, 58% were female and 82% were White. The majority of patients (88%) received multimodal treatment -- 97% underwent surgery, 53% received radiotherapy, and 65% chemotherapy (most common drugs ifosfamide and doxorubicin). The most common patient-reported toxicities were fatigue (53%), loss of limb flexibility (50%), sensori-motor problems (44%), cognitive changes (42%), peripheral neuropathy (32%), sexual changes (31%), and chronic swelling (21%). A minority of patients reported receiving a survivorship care plan (9%) or treatment summary (14%) by their oncologist. Patients treated at university centers were more likely to have been offered survivorship care plans (17% vs 0%, p=0.02). Patients were less likely to receive specialized follow-up care from an oncologist over time from active treatment, with 92% seeing their oncologist at 2 years, 75% from 2-5 years, and 55% at >5 years from treatment (p=0.009). Survivors treated at university centers were more likely to receive follow-up care from an oncologist over time. In this cohort of survivors of extremity sarcoma, many experienced long-term treatment-related morbidities; however, only a minority received a survivorship care plan, and nearly half did not receive follow-up care from an oncologist after 5 years, despite the risk of treatment-related morbidity and cancer recurrence. Survivors treated at a university center were more likely to receive survivorship care plans and specialized follow-up care, suggesting a need for greater education regarding survivorship after sarcoma in the community setting.

Symbol Discrimination Speed in Children With Visual Impairments.

We measured visual acuity and visual discrimination speed simultaneously in children with visual impairments to determine whether they are slower than children with normal vision. Five- to twelve-year-old children with visual impairments due to ocular dysfunction (VIo; n = 30) or cerebral visual impairment (CVI; n = 17) performed a speed-acuity test in which they indicated the orientation of Landolt-C symbols as quickly and accurately as possible. The reaction times for symbols ranging between -0.3 and 1.2 logMAR relative to acuity threshold were compared with normative data. To test whether children were already slow in merely detecting symbols, we also compared their reaction times on a simple visual detection task (VDT) to normative data. An auditory detection task (ADT) was used to probe for other, more general deficits. Of the children with visual impairments, 88% had abnormally long reaction times in the speed-acuity test. This deficit was partly explained by their reduced acuity, but 40% still needed more time to discriminate acuity-matched optotypes. Children responded late in the VDT too, especially those with CVI, but this impairment could not fully account for their slow symbol discrimination. In children with CVI, reaction times in the ADT were affected as much as those in the VDT, suggesting more general sensorimotor problems in CVI. The speed-acuity test offers additional insight in visual impairment. Children with VIo and CVI are abnormally slow in discerning foveal details. Magnification of materials is often insufficient to compensate for this deficit, partly because stimulus detection is already hampered.

Effect of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) in Improving Sensorimotor Function in Patients with Diabetic Neuropathy Affecting Lower Limbs

Background: Diabetic Mellitus is a group of metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycaemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Distal Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy is the most common complication of diabetes which mainly affects the lower limbs. Most of the studies aimed at individually increasing muscle strength or sensation but not on overall performance enhancements of the diabetic lower limbs. The evidence supporting the effectiveness of PNF in diabetic neuropathic patients is scarce.Methods: 30 patients, with age between 50 to 70 years, diagnosed with Diabetic Sensorimotor Polyneuropathy (DSP) were selected from the department of Medicine and department of Neurosurgery Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital. Patients were evaluated at the beginning and at the end of the intervention using Diabetic Neuropathy Examination scores. Patients received 3 sets of exercises one hour/day with 3 days/week for 3 months. Each set of exercises consists of 5 repetitions of PNF patterns (alternate day) and techniques.Results: D1 & D2 patterns of PNF are effective in improving both motor and sensory functions of diabetic patients with neuropathic symptoms. Improvement in muscle strength, reflex and sensations occurred to a greater extent after the treatment of three months in these subjects. This study shows that PNF patterns were effective at enhancing sensorimotor problems of lower limbs.Conclusion: This study concluded that PNF is found to be effective in improving sensorimotor functions of diabetic neuropathic patients affecting lower limbs.

Music therapy on interactive surfaces to improve sensorimotor problems of children with autism

Children with autism have sensorimotor problems. Music therapy combining music and rhythm is increasingly used to support individuals with autism to improve sensorimotor synchronization with promising clinical results. Interactive surfaces (IS) are appropriate to assist different kinds of therapy for children with autism. However, little has been said about if IS can augment music therapy sessions and improve the sensorimotor synchronization of children with autism, in particular when they try to keep the beat of music with movements. In this dissertation, I propose to design and develop an IS empowered with multi-touch capabilities and gestural interactions to augment music therapy instruction, and evaluate its impact in improving the ability of children with autism to keep the beat. To date, I am working in a qualitative study to uncover the design implications that an IS should incorporate, and I am developing a bendable surface prototype that enables children with autism improvise rhythmical music in an open-ended manner following the improvisation phase of a music therapy session.

Heterogeneity of trans-callosal structural connectivity and effects on resting state subnetwork integrity may underlie both wanted and unwanted effects of therapeutic corpus callostomy.

BackgroundThe corpus callosum (CC) is the primary structure supporting interhemispheric connectivity in the brain. Partial or complete surgical callosotomy may be performed for the palliation of intractable epilepsy. A variety of disconnection syndromes are recognised after injury to or division of the CC however their mechanisms are poorly understood and their occurrence difficult to predict. We use novel high resolution structural connectivity analyses to demonstrate reasons for this poor predictability.MethodsDiffusion weighted MRI data from five healthy adult controls was subjected to novel high-resolution structural connectivity analysis. We simulated the effects of CC lesions of varying extents on the integrity of resting state subnetworks (RSNs).ResultsThere is substantial between-individual variation in patterns of CC connectivity. However in all individuals termination points of callosal connections mostly involve medial and superior sensory-motor areas. Superior temporal and lateral sensory-motor areas were not involved. Resting state networks showed selective vulnerability to simulated callosotomy of progressively greater anterior to posterior extent. The default mode network was most vulnerable followed by, in decreasing order: frontoparietal, limbic, somatomotor, ventral attention, dorsal attention and visual subnetworks.ConclusionConsideration of the selective vulnerability of resting state sub-networks, and of between-individual variability in connectivity patterns, sheds new light on the occurrence of both wanted and unwanted effects of callosotomy. We propose that beneficial effects (seizure reduction) relate to disruption of the default mode network, with unwanted “disconnection syndrome” effects due to disruption particularly of the somatomotor and frontoparietal RSNs. Our results may also explain why disconnection syndromes primary reflect lateralised sensory-motor problems (e.g. of limb movement) rather than midline function (e.g. tongue movement). Marked between-subject variation in callosal connectivity may underlie the poor predictability of effects of callosotomy. High resolution structural connectivity studies of this nature may be useful in pre-surgical planning of therapeutic callosotomy for intractable epilepsy.

Hebbian Network of Self-Organizing Receptive Field Neurons as Associative Incremental Learner

Associative learning plays a major role in the formation of the internal dynamic engine of an adaptive system or a cognitive robot. Interaction with the environment can provide a sparse and discrete set of sample correlations of input–output incidences. These incidences of associative data points can provide useful hints for capturing underlying mechanisms that govern the system’s behavioral dynamics. In many approaches to solving this problem, of learning system’s input–output relation, a set of previously prepared data points need to be presented to the learning mechanism, as a training data, before a useful estimations can be obtained. Besides data-coding is usually based on symbolic or nonimplicit representation schemes. In this paper, we propose an incremental learning mechanism that can bootstrap from a state of complete ignorance of any representative sample associations. Besides, the proposed system provides a novel mechanism for data representation in nonlinear manner through the fusion of self-organizing maps and Gaussian receptive fields. Our architecture is based solely on cortically-inspired techniques of coding and learning as: Hebbian plasticity and adaptive populations of neural circuitry for stimuli representation. We define a neural network that captures the problem’s data space components using emergent arrangement of receptive field neurons that self-organize incrementally in response to sparse experiences of system–environment interactions. These learned components are correlated using a process of Hebbian plasticity that relates major components of input space to those of the output space. The viability of the proposed mechanism is demonstrated through multiple experimental setups from real-world regression and robotic arm sensory-motor learning problems.