Action Observation Treatment in a tele-rehabilitation setting: a pilot study in children with cerebral palsy.

OBJECTIVE: Action Observation Treatment is a novel rehabilitation approach exploiting a neurophysiological mechanism that allows one to recruit the neural structures sub-serving action execution during the mere observation of those same actions. Action Observation Treatment is effective in the rehabilitation of several neurological diseases. In this pilot study, we used Action Observation Treatment in a telerehabilitation setting in children with Cerebral Palsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten children with Cerebral Palsy, aged 5-12 years, entered the study. They followed the Action Observation Treatment rehabilitation program at home with remote supervision by a child neurologist located at the hospital. Outcome measures were the scores at the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function Scale and the Assisting Hand Assessment. RESULTS: Scores obtained after treatment and at a two months' follow-up significantly differed from baseline and overlapped those obtained in randomized controlled studies carried out in a conventional setting. CONCLUSIONS: Action Observation Treatment is therefore a promising approach that can be used on a large scale in a telerehabilitation setting.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONTele-rehabilitation has the potential to enhance early intervention service provision for children with Cerebral Palsy.Action Observation Treatment has the potential to become a routine approach in a telerehabilitation setting.

Social cognition in individuals born preterm.

Faces hold a substantial value for effective social interactions and sharing. Covering faces with masks, due to COVID-19 regulations, may lead to difficulties in using social signals, in particular, in individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Daily-life social participation of individuals who were born preterm is of immense importance for their quality of life. Here we examined face tuning in individuals (aged 12.79 ± 1.89 years) who were born preterm and exhibited signs of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a dominant form of brain injury in preterm birth survivors. For assessing the face sensitivity in this population, we implemented a recently developed experimental tool, a set of Face-n-Food images bordering on the style of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Although a coarse face schema is thought to be hardwired in the brain, former preterms exhibit substantial shortages in the face tuning not only compared with typically developing controls but also with individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. The lack of correlations between the face sensitivity and other cognitive abilities indicates that these deficits are domain-specific. This underscores impact of preterm birth sequelae for social functioning at large. Comparison of the findings with data in individuals with other neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions provides novel insights into the origins of deficient face processing.

Social Cognition in Down Syndrome: Face Tuning in Face-Like Non-Face Images.

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are widely believed to possess considerable socialization strengths. However, the findings on social cognition capabilities are controversial. In the present study, we investigated whether individuals with DS exhibit shortage in face tuning, one of the indispensable components of social cognition. For this purpose, we implemented a recently developed Face-n-Food paradigm with food-plate images composed of food ingredients such as fruits and vegetables. The key benefit of such face-like non-face images is that single elements do not facilitate face processing. In a spontaneous recognition task, 25 children with DS aged 9 to 18 years were presented with a set of Face-n-Food images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style. The set of images was administered in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. In DS individuals, thresholds for recognition of the Face-n-Food images as a face were drastically higher as compared not only with typically developing controls, but also with individuals with autistic spectrum disorders and Williams-Beuren syndrome. This outcome represents a significant step toward better conceptualization of the visual social world in DS and neurodevelopmental disorders in general.

Comparison of the Surgical Pleth Index with autonomic nervous system modulation on cardiac activity during general anaesthesia: A randomised cross-over study.

BACKGROUND: Surgical plethysmographic index (SPI) has been proposed as a tool to measure the nociception/antinociception balance during general anaesthesia. Untreated nociception may increase sympathetic tone, but the relationship between SPI and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesised that two different levels of SPI might be associated with differences in ANS modulation, measured by the frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). DESIGN: A randomised, cross-over group study, conducted between February and November 2009. SETTING: University tertiary referral hospital in Milan, Italy. PATIENTS: Forty-two adult patients undergoing scheduled laparoscopic abdominal surgery. INTERVENTIONS: ECG, noninvasive arterial blood pressure and SPI were recorded during balanced general anaesthesia with inhaled sevoflurane and intravenous remifentanil. After pneumoperitoneum induction, the remifentanil infusion rate was set to obtain two different levels of SPI (>50, HI-SPI, and <50, LO-SPI) for each patient. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Arterial pressure, heart rate (HR), low-frequency and high-frequency spectral components, the low frequency/high frequency ratio (measure of sympathovagal balance) and whole power spectrum density of HRV were measured at the two different levels of SPI. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were included in the final analysis. During LO-SPI, HR and systolic and mean blood pressures were significantly lower than HI-SPI. The median low frequency/high frequency ratio was reduced during LO-SPI [1.29 interquartile range (IQR) 0.66 to 2.05) vs. 2.36 (1.30 to 3.62), P = 0.008]. The sensitivity analysis revealed a significant correlation between SPI changes and changes of all ANS indices, arterial pressure and HR, with a slightly better correlation for low frequency/high frequency (Spearman ρ = 0.70, IQR 0.484 to 0.834, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the context of a balanced general anaesthesia in healthy patients undergoing laparoscopic abdominal surgery, ANS modulation seems to correlate with changes in SPI. Further studies are warranted to assess whether this may reflect a change in nociception/antinociception balance or a pharmacodynamic effect of remifentanil.