Effects of kinesiology taping on swallowing functions in newborns with swallowing difficulties: a randomized controlled pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the efficacy of kinesiology taping application in premature infants with dysphagia. METHODS: A total of 60 premature newborns (born ≤37weeks' gestational age who reached the age ≥34 weeks of postmenstrual age) with sucking and swallowing problems were randomly assigned to the kinesiology taping group [n=31; 18 males, 13 females; mean postmenstrual age 35.4 weeks (SD 0.9 weeks, range 34-38 weeks)] or control group without kinesiology taping application [n=29; 16 males, 13 females; mean postmenstrual age age 35.6 weeks (SD 1.4 weeks, range 34-40 weeks)]. RESULTS: Kinesiology taping group yielded significant improvement in the oral reflexes (p<0.001) and in the sucking functions including tongue movement, sucking power, number of sucks and sucking pause, maintenance of alertness, jaw movement, tongue cupping, and maintenance of rhythm (p<0.001, p=0.011, p=0.002, and p=0.001, respectively). There was a significant difference in favor of the taping group with respect to the number of neonates whose feeding improved (26 (84%) vs. 7 (24%), p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that kinesiology taping can be applied as a safe and effective method to improve feeding functions in premature infants with sucking and swallowing difficulties.

Effects of kinesiology taping on swallowing functions in newborns with swallowing difficulties: a randomized controlled pilot study

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the efficacy of kinesiology taping application in premature infants with dysphagia. METHODS: A total of 60 premature newborns (born ≤37weeks' gestational age who reached the age ≥34 weeks of postmenstrual age) with sucking and swallowing problems were randomly assigned to the kinesiology taping group [n=31; 18 males, 13 females; mean postmenstrual age 35.4 weeks (SD 0.9 weeks, range 34-38 weeks)] or control group without kinesiology taping application [n=29; 16 males, 13 females; mean postmenstrual age age 35.6 weeks (SD 1.4 weeks, range 34-40 weeks)]. RESULTS: Kinesiology taping group yielded significant improvement in the oral reflexes (p<0.001) and in the sucking functions including tongue movement, sucking power, number of sucks and sucking pause, maintenance of alertness, jaw movement, tongue cupping, and maintenance of rhythm (p<0.001, p=0.011, p=0.002, and p=0.001, respectively). There was a significant difference in favor of the taping group with respect to the number of neonates whose feeding improved (26 (84%) vs. 7 (24%), p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that kinesiology taping can be applied as a safe and effective method to improve feeding functions in premature infants with sucking and swallowing difficulties.

The inter-rater reliability of the Turkish version of Aphasia Rapid Test for stroke.

BACKGROUND: The Aphasia Rapid Test (ART) is a short bedside aphasia screening test developed originally in French for use with post-stroke patients in the acute phase of recovery. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the inter-rater reliability of the Turkish version of the ART in stroke patients (ICTRP ID: NCT04386837). METHODS: The French ART was translated into Turkish. Inter-rater reliability was assessed in 30 post-stroke patients with aphasia by two independent speech-language pathologists blind to each other's ratings. RESULTS: 30 patients (18 men, 12 women; mean age 64.43 ± 16.60 years) were included within 10 days of stroke onset, as assessed by clinical examination and confirmed by CT and/or MRI. The mean (± SD) ART value was 16.26 (± 8.05) for rater 1 and 16.43 (±8.14) for rater 2. The inter-rater concordance coefficient was 0.997 (95% CI 0.994-0.999; p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the Turkish version of the original ART was successfully administered in Turkish-speaking patients.

A Survey of Attitudes, Anxiety Status, and Protective Behaviors of the University Students During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Turkey.

A new coronavirus disease began on 31 December 2019 in Wuhan/China and has caused a global outbreak in only a few months resulting in millions being infected. In conjunction with its' physical side effects, this outbreak also has a tremendous impact on psychology health. This study aims to assess the spread and frequency of protective behaviors, emotional and anxiety status among the Turkish population using a rapid survey during the COVID-19 outbreak. An online questionnaire was administered to 3,040 respondents between the ages of 18-30. This cross-sectional study was conducted from Apr 2 to Apr 8, 2020. While questions related to the outbreak were created by members of our neuroscience department, the Turkish version of the Abbreviated Beck Anxiety Inventory was included in our survey to measure anxiety status. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. We found that 90% of respondents report washing hands more frequently since the outbreak while %50 wear protective gloves. Respondents were more fearful of their relatives catching the coronavirus disease than they were of themselves catching it. In response to the question, "What are your emotions about the coronavirus?", 38% responded with "worried". There was a significant correlation between anxiety status and consumption information from the media about COVID-19. Individual early protection behaviors might slow transmission of the outbreak. Our results showed that the behavior of the participants has changed in predictable ways during the COVID-19 outbreak. Understanding how emotional responses such as fear and anxiety status vary and the specific factors that mediate it may help with the design of outbreak control strategies.

A New Method for Studying Statistical Learning in Young Children.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new oculomotor serial reaction time (RT) task revealed statistical sequence learning in young children. Method We used eye tracking to measure typically developing children's oculomotor RTs in response to cartoon-like creatures that appeared successively in quadrants of a monitor during 200 trials: an initial patterned phase (120 trials) in which the creature's location reflected 15 repetitions of an 8-element sequence, a pseudorandom phase (40 trials) in which the location was not predictable, and a final patterned phase (40 trials). In an auditory-visual version of the task, spoken nonwords linked to quadrants preceded the creature's appearance. In Study 1, we administered either the visual or the auditory-visual version to 5- and 6-year-old children; in Study 2, we examined the performance of 4-year-olds on the auditory-visual version. Results In both studies, group mean RT z scores were significantly shorter ( p < .05) during patterned than pseudorandom phases, with large effect sizes (Cohen's dz values = 1.17-1.79). Conclusion The new oculomotor serial RT task detected statistical sequence learning in typically developing children.