Using a Dance Mat to Assess Inhibitory Control of Foot in Young Children.

The development of motor response inhibition is critical during preschool years and has been associated with an improvement in gross motor coordination in this population. However, the assessment of inhibitory abilities in young children is challenging in terms of task selection and subject engagement, especially when investigating foot responses. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe a child-friendly Go/No-go paradigm to assess inhibitory control of foot based on a dance mat protocol. In this method, Go and No-go stimuli are modeled in the context of a fishing game, and behavioral responses are assessed by recording the latency to touch the mat and the accuracy of the touches. In this protocol article, we (1) describe the stages of the experimental set-up, (2) provide an illustrative data collection example in a sample of children aged 3-4 years, and (3) describe how to process the data generated. The utilization of the dance mat provides a feasible tool for researchers interested in studying the development of motor inhibitory control of foot in preschoolers. Potential applications of this protocol may include studies on developmental differences between hand and foot specialization, sports-related performance and neuroimaging.

The late effect of Kinesio Taping® on handgrip strength.

Kinesio Taping® elastic tape is increasingly used in physiotherapy treatment. However, there is a lack of scientific research regarding the late effects of its use. This study quantified the late effects of applying the Kinesio Taping® elastic tape by measuring changes in handgrip muscle strength after 24, 48 and 72 h of application. The Kinesio Taping® elastic tape was applied on the dominant and non-dominant limbs of 36 volunteers randomly assigned to three groups: muscle facilitation, muscle inhibition and control group. The statistical test showed there was a statistically significant difference among all groups of dominant limb and non-dominant limb. However, the analysis on intragroup relationship to periods of application (Initial, 24, 48 and 72 h) and the interaction among repeated measures showed there was no statistically significant difference. This result may contribute to the investigation of the late effects of the Kinesio Taping® elastic tape on the physical rehabilitation.

Peripheral device to quantify grip and pinch capacity of children

Abstract Introduction Grip and pinch movements are important to perform daily activities and to manipulate objects. In this paper we describe the development and evaluation of a peripheral device to quantify cylindrical grip, pulp-to-pulp pinch, pulp-to-side pinch strength and range of motion of children. Methods Three objects were selected: a door handle, a switch, and a key, which were instrumented with force sensing resistors to analyse the strength. Potentiometers were used to verify the range of motion and micro switches to assure the correct position of the fingers during the movement execution. Thirty volunteers (8.77 ± 1.28), both male and female, were selected to test the peripheral device functionality. Results The results determined the minimum necessary strength values for the object activation and maximum displacement, in which the values are 2.5N, 40°; 2.7N, 55°; and 2.8N, 100%, for door handle object, key object, and switch object, respectively. In the functionally tests, volunteers have shown a superior strength for activating each object and 73.33% of them have completed the range movement in the key object, 86.67% in the switch object, and 93.33% in the door handle object. Conclusion The developed peripheral device enabled the measurement of range and static and dynamic strength of grip and pinch movements of children.

Computer tool to evaluate the cue reactivity of chemically dependent individuals.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Anxiety is one of the major influences on the dropout of relapse and treatment of substance abuse treatment. Chemically dependent individuals need (CDI) to be aware of their emotional state in situations of risk during their treatment. Many patients do not agree with the diagnosis of the therapist when considering them vulnerable to environmental stimuli related to drugs. This research presents a cue reactivity detection tool based on a device acquiring physiological signals connected to personal computer. Depending on the variations of the emotional state of the drug addict, alteration of the physiological signals will be detected by the computer tool (CT) which will modify the displayed virtual sets without intervention of the therapist. METHODS: Developed in 3ds Max® software, the CT is composed of scenarios and objects that are in the habit of marijuana and cocaine dependent individual's daily life. The interaction with the environment is accomplished using a Human-Computer Interface (HCI) that converts incoming physiological signals indicating anxiety state into commands that change the scenes. Anxiety was characterized by the average variability from cardiac and respiratory rate of 30 volunteers submitted stress environment situations. To evaluate the effectiveness of cue reactivity a total of 50 volunteers who were marijuana, cocaine or both dependent were accompanied. RESULTS: Prior to CT, the results demonstrated a poor correlation between the therapists' predictions and those of the chemically dependent individuals. After exposure to the CT, there was a significant increase of 73% in awareness of the risks of relapse. CONCLUSION: We confirmed the hypothesis that the CT, controlled only by physiological signals, increases the perception of vulnerability to risk situations of individuals with dependence on marijuana, cocaine or both.

The design and evaluation of a peripheral device for use with a computer game intended for children with motor disabilities.

Many children with motor impairments cannot participate in games and jokes that contribute to their formation. Currently, commercial computer games there are few options of software and sufficiently flexible access devices to meet the needs of this group of children. In this study, a peripheral access device and a 3D computerized game that do not require the actions of dragging, clicking, or activating various keys at the same time were developed. The peripheral access device consists of a webcam and a supervisory system that processes the images. This method provides a field of action that can be adjusted to various types of motor impairments. To analyze the sensitivity of the commands, a virtual course was developed using the scenario of a path of straight lines and curves. A volunteer with good ability in virtual games performed a short training with the virtual course and, after 15min of training, obtained similar results with a standard keyboard and the adapted peripheral device. A 3D game in the Amazon forest was developed using the Blender 3D tool. This free software was used to model the characters and scenarios. To evaluate the usability of the 3D game, the game was tested by 20 volunteers without motor impairments (group A) and 13 volunteers with severe motor limitations of the upper limbs (group B). All the volunteers (group A and B) could easily execute all the actions of the game using the adapted peripheral device. The majority positively evaluated the questions of usability and expressed their satisfaction. The computerized game coupled to the adapted device will offer the option of leisure and learning to people with severe motor impairments who previously lacked this possibility. It also provided equality in this activity to all the users.