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Abstract.Clinical studies have shown that functional motor recovery after stroke may be facilitated by mirror therapy (MT). However, its underlying mechanism is uncertain. In this study, we examined brain activation during unilateral hand movement in 5 right-handed healthy subjects (1 male and 4 females) with or without viewing a mirror reflection of the moving hand (MT). We measured the changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in the primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC) using near-infrared spectroscopy. We calculated the laterality index (LI) using the extent of activation in the right and left SMCs. The LIs (± standard error of mean) during right hand grasping without and with MT were 0.17 ± 0.11 (left SMC predominance) and -0.42 ± 0.24 (right SMC predominance), respectively (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in LIs during left hand grasping without and with MT (0.02 ± 0.05 and 0.08 ± 0.05, respectively). The findings suggest that MT is more effective when it is used for dominant right hand movement, and this phenomenon may be the related to the different manipulability between the dominant and non-dominant hands.

[Purpose] The objective of this study was to survey the citation trends of physical therapy research papers in Japan, and to clarify their influence on physical therapy research quantitatively and qualitatively. [Method] Using the references cited by authors of original papers published in two Japanese journals, Rigakuryohogaku and Rigakuryoho Kagaku, we performed an analysis based on items the numbers of cited papers as well as the citation frequency.[Results] For Japanese journals, there were many citations for the two physical therapy journals at the focus of our study. For English journals, there were many citations of journals concerned with rehabilitation and other specialist subjects. Furthermore, regarding the quality of the each cited journal, the quality of the two journals was high.[Conclusion] The large influence of these two journals on physical therapy research was clear from the high citation frequency of the two journals and their high quality as academic journals.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the status of use of assessment indices for stroke patients in academic papers. [Method] We performed a review of all articles, case studies, notes and case reports appearing in Rigakuryoho Kagaku and Rigaku Ryohogaku in the last 5 years, and compared the results with those of a survey by the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (JARM). [Results] Research with stroke patients as subjects formed 10% of the total, and in terms of assessment indices, the Brunnstrom stage was most frequently used, followed by indices related to Activities of Daily Living (ADL), i.e. the Functional Independence Measure and Barthel Index. In comparison with the results of the JARM survey, a difference was seen in the frequency of use of assessment indices not related to ADL. [Conclusion] We conducted a survey on the trends in use of assessment indices for stroke patients, and surveys for other diseases may be necessary. We suggest that it is desirable that such surveys are performed with the Japanese Physical Therapy Association and related societies as principals, and that they should take place regularly in the future.