Artikelen + lecture week 5

Question 1

Why does exercise has positive effects on quality of life of elderly and subjects with neurodegenerative disorders?

Answer 1

Exercise may increase synaptic strength and potential functional circuitry

Question 2

What are some non-conventional strategies that have shown improvement in gait measures in PD patients

Answer 2

Music and dance therapy, martial arts

Question 3

What are motor imagery and action observation therapy and why are they promising approaches?

Answer 3

Motor imagery (MI) is mentally representing actions and action observation therapy (AOT) is the activation of mirror neuron system when observing and matching actions. They might be promising approaches because they activate the mirror neuron system.

Question 4

Why is the cognitive status of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients a major determinant of rehabilitation outcome?

Answer 4

Because cognitive engagement should be favored or achieved through feedback (verbal or proprioceptive), attentional demand (cueing or dual tasking), and motivation (reward).

Question 5

What is motor sequence learning?

Answer 5

Motor sequence learning is the process in which a predetermined ordered list of motor actions is performed with increasing spatial and temporal accuracy

Question 6

What are the two components of motor sequence learning?

Answer 6

The two components of motor sequence learning are: the spatial-sequential order of a movement and the motor control components (the sensorimotor integration of movements).

Question 7

What is the serial reaction time task (SRRT)?

Answer 7

The serial reaction time task (SRRT) is a task where participants see visual cues on a screen and have to press the correct button as fast as possible, with a decrease in reaction time considered as learning.

Question 8

What are the essential brain parts in motor sequence learning?

Answer 8

The essential brain parts in motor sequence learning are: primary motor cortex (M1), premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), basal ganglia (BG), prefrontal cortex (PFC), posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the cerebellum.

Question 9

What are the different temporal stages of motor sequence learning according to the temporal stage model?

Answer 9

The early phase (acquisition), the consolidation phase, and the slow learning/retention phase.

Question 10

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in motor sequence learning?

Answer 10

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are mainly involved in explicit learning processes that are attentionally demanding and require working memory.

Question 11

Is motor sequence learning preserved after stroke?

Answer 11

There may be a correlation between stroke severity and the degree of motor sequence learning impairment

Question 12

Where is the consolidation stage characterized by, what happened to the learning speed and what brain parts are involved?

Answer 12

This stage is characterized by stabilization of the learned sequence.
The learning speed slows down in this stage. This stage strongly depends on the ability of chunking into subsequences (by the BG) and is based mainly on the corticostriatal loop circuit (BG and SMA)

Question 13

Which structures are particularly important in the retention / automatization stage?

Answer 13

The motor cortex (primary motor area M1, PreMotorCortex & Posterior Parietal Cortex)

Question 14

The ….. is mainly activated in early stages of learning. Early learning is ‘….’: the sequence is learned mainly
independently of the body part that executes it.

Answer 14

Cerebellum

‘effector unspecific’

Question 15

How does therapy make use of neuronal plasticity in individuals with ABI?

Answer 15

Therapy tries to make use of neuronal plasticity by promoting the regeneration or reorganization of neuronal structures in response to injury or practice

Question 16

What are the principles of motor control and motor learning used in VR technology?

Answer 16

Movement planning, kinematic redundancy, and learning experience-dependent and related to feedback delivery.

Question 17

How does VR technology make use of multilevel sensory interaction to shape movement and improve motor learning?

Answer 17

By allowing manipulation of multiple types of feedback (auditory, visual) in simulated training environments. For instance, VR technology can provide users with more accurate feedback on their movements, helping them identify and correct errors more quickly.

Question 18

What is neuroplasticity and how can it help in rehabilitation?

Answer 18

Neuroplasticity is the regeneration or reorganization of neuronal structures in response to injury or practice and can help maximize recovery through rehabilitation.

Question 19

What is a benefit of using VR in rehabilitation?

Answer 19

It supports high-intensity, repetitive training that is often found to be motivating, engaging, and enjoyable, and allows behavior to be measured during challenging but safe and ecologically valid tasks.

Question 20

What is meant by ‘bad plasticity’ in rehabilitation for individuals with ABI?

Answer 20

If the brain is not sufficiently challenged (the affected part) or stimulated, it can lead to maladaptive changes, such as decreased brain activity, loss of connections between neurons, and impaired cognitive and motor functions.

So, “bad plasticity” means that the brain is not adapting well after the injury, and “learned nonuse” means that the person has stopped using the affected limb/ brian region, even if they could still use it with some effort or training. This can lead to further deterioration of the limb and make it even more difficult to use in the future.

Question 21

What is the primary focus of rehabilitation for individuals with loss of upper limb movement due to ABI?

Answer 21

The relearning of specific motor skills and daily tasks.

Question 22

What is kinematic redundancy?

Answer 22

To achieve the same movement, other/additional joints can be used (motor compensations).

Question 23

Where does perception consists of?

Answer 23

Standard senses, proprioception (close eyes and touch nose, information on where our body is in space), vestibular system (balance, make yourself dizzy by spinning and then trying to run/walk and then being unstable)

Question 24

What is motor learning and how is it acquired?

Answer 24

Motor learning is the process through which an individual acquires a relatively permanent change in their capability for skilled motor performance, which can be either implicit or explicit. It is acquired through practice and/or experience.

Question 25

What are the two acquisition phenomena in motor skill acquisition?

Answer 25

The two acquisition phenomena are sequence learning and sensorimotor adaptation.

Question 26

Describe the three stages of motor learning as described by Fitts (1964).

Answer 26

The three stages of motor learning are early/cognitive stage, associative stage, and autonomous stage.

The early/cognitive stage involves declarative learning, where the individual uses self-talk to remind themselves of how to perform the skill.

The associative stage involves actively detecting and eliminating errors, linking individual components of the movement, and making the movement more ‘smooth.’

The autonomous stage involves the performance becoming automatic, allowing the individual to use their conscious working memory for other tasks.

Question 27

What are sequence learning and sensorimotor adaptation?

Answer 27

Sequence learning is the acquisition of new motor patterns through long-term practice over the course of days, weeks, or years.

Sensorimotor adaptation is the ability to adjust movements to changing internal or environmental demands. It involves making rapid adjustments in response to changes in the environment or in the body.

Question 28

How can the split-belt treadmill be used in rehabilitation for stroke survivors?

Answer 28

To help clinicians determine if the patient’s nervous system is capable of a more normal pattern of walking. Stroke survivors can learn to walk more “symmetrical” by using the split-belt treadmill, which can treat gate impairments.

Question 29

What is neuroplasticity and how is it related to motor adaptation?

Answer 29

Neuroplasticity is the neural functional and structural changes in response to experience and environmental stimulation. Motor adaptation relies heavily on neuroplasticity, as the brain is capable of forming new neural connections and strengthening or weakening existing neural connections in response to experience.

Question 30

What are some individual differences that can predict adaptability performance and motor memory?

Answer 30

• Subjects that are less reliant on visual perceptual information are faster at learning locomotor adaptation.
• Better visuospatial working memory is linked to faster manual motor adaptation learning.
• Structural brain changes in primary motor areas are related to manual adaptability.
• Brain recruitment (can predict how much people will learn and how much they remember of the adaptation) is linked to adaptation and memory.

Question 31

What is the Archimedes spiral drawing task used for in assessing motor issues, and how is a digital version of the task beneficial?

Answer 31

Is often used to assess tremors, and the digital version of the task can provide a richer dataset and a more sensitive assessment of the patient’s problems.

Question 32

What is the key press task used for in assessing motor issues, and what are its limitations?

Answer 32

Is often used to assess reaction time and sequential motor skills, but it only provides information about the end result of the task and not about the dynamics making up the actions needed to complete the sequence.

Question 33

What is freezing of gait (FOG)

Answer 33

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a condition where a person with Parkinson’s disease has difficulty in initiating or continuing movements.

Question 34

What is the Liftware spoon and how does it assist PD patients?

Answer 34

The Liftware spoon is an assistive technology designed to help PD patients with hand tremors.

Question 35

What is the ARC pen and how does it assist PD patients with maintaining their handwriting?

Answer 35

The ARC pen is an assistive technology designed to help PD patients maintain their handwriting. The vibrations in the pen stimulate muscle movement in the hand, reducing the effect of the patient’s tremor and promoting writing bigger