Action observation (AO) allows access to a network that processes visuomotor and sensorimotor inputs and is believed to be involved in observational learning of motor skills. We conducted three consecutive experiments to examine the boosting effect of AO on the motor outcome of the untrained hand by either mirror visual feedback (MVF), video therapy (VT), or a combination of both. In the first experiment, healthy participants trained either with MVF or without mirror feedback while in the second experiment, participants either trained with VT or observed animal videos. In the third experiment, participants first observed video clips that were followed by either training with MVF or training without mirror feedback. The outcomes for the untrained hand were quantified by scores from five motor tasks. The results demonstrated that MVF and VT significantly increase the motor performance of the untrained hand by the use of AO. We found that MVF was the most effective approach to increase the performance of the target effector. On the contrary, the combination of MVF and VT turns out to be less effective looking from clinical perspective. The gathered results suggest that action-related motor competence with the untrained hand is acquired by both mirror-based and video-based AO.
Background In spring of 2020, the Sars-CoV-2 incidence rate increased rapidly in Germany and around the world. Throughout the next 2 years, schools were temporarily closed and social distancing measures were put in place to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Did these social restrictions and temporary school lockdowns affect children’s physical fitness? The EMOTIKON project annually tests the physical fitness of all third-graders in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany. The tests assess cardiorespiratory endurance (6-min-run test), coordination (star-run test), speed (20-m sprint test), lower (powerLOW, standing long jump test), and upper (powerUP, ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and static balance (one-legged stance test with eyes closed). A total of 125,893 children were tested in the falls from 2016 to 2022. Primary analyses focused on 98,510 keyage third-graders (i.e., school enrollment according to the legal key date, aged 8 to 9 years) from 515 schools. Secondary analyses included 27,383 older-than-keyage third-graders (i.e., OTK, delayed school enrollment or repetition of a grade, aged 9 to 10 years), who have been shown to exhibit lower physical fitness than expected for their age. Linear mixed models fitted pre-pandemic quadratic secular trends, and took into account differences between children and schools. Results Third-graders exhibited lower cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed and powerUP in the Covid pandemic cohorts (2020–2022) compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts (2016–2019). Children’s powerLOW and static balance were higher in the pandemic cohorts compared to the pre-pandemic cohorts. From 2020 to 2021, coordination, powerLOW and powerUP further declined. Evidence for some post-pandemic physical fitness catch-up was restricted to powerUP. Cohen’s |ds| for comparisons of the pandemic cohorts 2020–2022 with pre-pandemic cohorts 2016–2019 ranged from 0.02 for powerLOW to 0.15 for coordination. Within the pandemic cohorts, keyage children exhibited developmental losses ranging from approximately 1 month for speed to 5 months for cardiorespiratory endurance. For powerLOW and static balance, the positive pandemic effects translate to developmental gains of 1 and 7 months, respectively. Pre-pandemic secular trends may account for some of the observed differences between pandemic and pre-pandemic cohorts, especially in powerLOW, powerUP and static balance. The pandemic further increased developmental delays of OTK children in cardiorespiratory endurance, powerUP and balance. Conclusions The Covid-19 pandemic was associated with declines in several physical fitness components in German third-graders. Pandemic effects are still visible in 2022. Health-related interventions should specifically target those physical fitness components that were negatively affected by the pandemic (cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed).
Background: In spring 2020, the Sars-CoV-2 incidence rate increased rapidly in Germany and around the world. Throughout the next two years, schools were temporarily closed and social distancing measures were put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. Did these restrictions affect children’s physical fitness? The EMOTIKON project annually tests the physical fitness of all third-graders in the Federal State of Brandenburg, Germany. The tests assess cardiorespiratory endurance (6-minute-run test), coordination (star-run test), speed (20-m sprint test), lower (powerLOW; standing long jump test) and upper (powerUP; ball-push test) limbs muscle power, and static balance (one-legged stance test with eyes closed). Children were tested in the falls from 2016 to 2021. Primary analyses included 83,476 keyage third-graders (i.e., school enrollment according to the legal key date, aged between eight and nine years) from 512 schools. Secondary analyses focused on two other groups of children, namely 22,761 older-than-keyage third-graders (i.e., OTK, delayed school enrollment or repetition of a grade, aged between nine and ten years), and 1,321 younger-than-keyage third-graders (i.e., YTK, early school enrollment or skipping of a grade, aged between seven and eight years). Linear mixed models took into account cubic secular trends, and differences between children and schools. Results: In keyage children, the Covid pandemic negatively affected a composite fitness score as well as cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, and speed. We found a positive pandemic effect on powerLOW, but no evidence for pandemic effects on powerUP and balance. Cohen’s |ds| for the effects of each pandemic year ranged from 0.05 for cardiorespiratory endurance and powerLOW to 0.15 for coordination. In each pandemic year, keyage children exhibited developmental delays of 3.5 months for cardiorespiratory endurance and coordination, 2.1 months for speed, and a developmental gain of 1.6 months for powerLOW. The pandemic further increased developmental delays of OTK children, who already exhibited physical fitness impairments prior to the pandemic, in cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, powerUP and balance. We found no evidence for differential pandemic effects for YTK children. Conclusions: The Covid pandemic negatively affected several physical fitness components in primary school children. Health-related interventions should prioritize the negatively affected physical fitness components.
In our recent cross-sectional investigation, we found in sepsis survivors with persistent cognitive impairment a high number of patients who still suffer from Fatigue. This fi nding is of importance because Fatigue is highlighted as an associated long-term sequela after sepsis and therefore these patients require an appropriate rehabilitation therapy.The aim of this study was to verify whether sepsis survivors with both cognitive impairment and Fatigue show any alteration in brain structure.19 survivors of severe sepsis (longer than 2 years post sepsis) with persistent cognitive defi cits ascertained with a battery of neuropsychological tests with cognitive and motor Fatigue symptoms (according to two German Fatigue scales) were investigated with a high-resolution. T1 weighted image of the brain at a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. The Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed using VBM8 toolbox. 19 age-and sex-matched healthy control subjects were also scanned with MRI.VBM analysis revealed signifi cant gray matter volume reduction in sepsis survivors particularly in the lateral frontal operculum and anterior cingulate cortex. These regions are part of the cingulo-opercular network which maintains alertness. Gray matter volume loss of the orbitofrontal cortex is functionally associated with Fatigue.These fi ndings emphasize that networks of structural brain organization can be altered with corresponding clinical symptoms and neuropsychological defi cits after sepsis.
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