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Expert Rev Med Devices 2019 Jan 24:1-9. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

b Clinical Laboratory of Experimental Neurorehabilitation , Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS , Rome , Italy.

Introduction: In recent years, neurorehabilitation has moved from a 'bottom-up' to a 'top down' approach. This change has also involved the technological devices developed for motor and cognitive rehabilitation. It implies that during a task or during therapeutic exercises, new 'top-down' approaches are being used to stimulate the brain in a more direct way to elicit plasticity-mediated motor re-learning. Read More

Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2018 Nov 14. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, the Netherlands.

Objective: To investigate the immediate response to avatar-based biofeedback on 3 clinically important gait parameters: step length, knee extension, and ankle power in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Design: Repeated measures design.

Setting: Rehabilitation clinic. Read More

Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2019 Mar;44(1):51-59

Department of Cognitive Science & Artificial Intelligence, Tilburg University, Dante Building, Room D 330, Warandelaan 2, 5037 AB, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

The current study examined the effectiveness of respiratory biofeedback in lowering subjective and objective arousal after stress. Participants were presented with a meditation session in virtual reality while subjective and objective arousal were measured, the latter measured through ECG and EEG. Three conditions were used: (a) a respiratory biofeedback condition, in which visual feedback was paired to breathing; (b) a control feedback placebo condition, in which visual feedback was not paired to breathing; and (c) a control no-feedback condition, in which no visual feedback was used. Read More

Burns 2019 Feb 12;45(1):157-164. Epub 2018 Oct 12.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Hand burns cause functional impairment. Leap motion control (LMC), a kind of virtual reality games, employs a novel system that provides biofeedback and training of fine motor function and functional skills. In this study, we hypothesized that LMC would improve burned hand function. Read More

PLoS One 2018 29;13(8):e0203206. Epub 2018 Aug 29.

Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), Québec, QC, Canada.

Sensorimotor conflict induces both sensory and motor disturbances, but the specific factors playing a role in conflict-induced disturbances are still misunderstood. For example, we still do not know the role played by motor intention (vs. a purely visuo-proprioceptive conflict) or the influence of specific types of incongruent visual feedback. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018 08 15;8:CD012489. Epub 2018 Aug 15.

Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Level 12 Support Building, Auckland Hospital, Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand.

Background: Long-term physical conditions affect 10% to 12% of children and adolescents worldwide; these individuals are at greater risk of developing psychological problems, particularly anxiety and depression. Access to face-to-face treatment for such problems is often limited, and available interventions usually have not been tested with this population. As technology improves, e-health interventions (delivered via digital means, such as computers and smart phones and ranging from simple text-based programmes through to multimedia and interactive programmes, serious games, virtual reality and biofeedback programmes) offer a potential solution to address the psychological needs of this group of young people. Read More

Mil Med 2019 Jan;184(1-2):e124-e132

Office of the State Surgeon, Virginia Army National Guard, BLDG 1310, Ft. Pickett, Blackstone, VA.

Introduction: There is a long history of pre-deployment PTSD prevention efforts in the military and effective pre-deployment strategies to prevent post-deployment PTSD are still needed.

Materials And Methods: This randomized controlled trial included three arms: heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB), cognitive bias modification for interpretation (CBM-I), and control. The hypothesis was that pre-deployment resilience training would result in lower post-deployment PTSD symptoms compared with control. Read More

J Healthc Eng 2018 11;2018:7892020. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

School of Integrated Technology, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea.

Aging, injury, or ailments can contribute to impaired balance control and increase the risk of falling. Provision of light touch augments the sense of balance and can thus reduce the amount of body sway. In this study, a wearable reaction wheel-based system is used to deliver light touch-based balance biofeedback on the subject's back. Read More

Gait Posture 2018 05 28;62:342-348. Epub 2018 Mar 28.

Department of Kinesiology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.

Background: Virtual reality and augmented feedback have become more prevalent as training methods to improve balance. Few reports exist on the benefits of providing trunk motion visual feedback (VFB) during treadmill walking, and most of those reports only describe within session changes.

Research Question: To determine whether trunk motion VFB treadmill walking would improve over-ground balance for older adults with self-reported balance problems. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2018 1;9:51. Epub 2018 Mar 1.

Université Paris Sud - INSERM U1000, Addiction Research and Treatment Center, APHP, Paul Brousse Hospital, Villejuif, France.

Background: New technologies can profoundly change the way we understand psychiatric pathologies and addictive disorders. New concepts are emerging with the development of more accurate means of collecting live data, computerized questionnaires, and the use of passive data. , a paradigmatic example, refers to the use of computerized measurement tools to the characteristics of different psychiatric disorders. Read More

Dev Med Child Neurol 2018 09 7;60(9):866-883. Epub 2018 Mar 7.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of functional gait training on walking ability in children and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: The review was conducted using standardized methodology, searching four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science) for relevant literature published between January 1980 and January 2017. Included studies involved training with a focus on actively practising the task of walking as an intervention while reporting outcome measures relating to walking ability. Read More

Rehabil Nurs 2018 Mar/Apr;43(2):116-124

Division of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba, Orizaba, México.

Purpose: One of the most important aspects in neuromotor rehabilitation is the need of feedback for patients. The rehabilitation system's efficiency relies on the therapist's judgment; the therapist tells the patient whether he/she is performing the exercises correctly. This process may be quite subjective, because it depends on the therapist's personal opinion. Read More

World Neurosurg 2018 Mar 15;111:e98-e104. Epub 2017 Dec 15.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:

Objective: We sought to assess the validity of a virtual surgical training system on lumbar pedicle screw placement for residents.

Methods: Ten inexperienced residents were randomly assigned to the simulation training (ST) group (n = 5) and control group (n = 5). The ST group performed the lumbar pedicle screw placement on the virtual surgical training system, and the control group was given an introductory teaching session before the cadaver test. Read More

Hum Mov Sci 2017 Dec 31;56(Pt B):11-19. Epub 2017 Oct 31.

Roessingh Research and Development, Roessinghsbleekweg 33b, 7522 AH Enschede, The Netherlands; Department of Biomechanical Engineering, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands.

Visual cues can be used to train walking patterns. Here, we studied the performance and learning capacities of healthy subjects executing a high-precision visuomotor walking task, in an augmented reality training set-up. A beamer was used to project visual stepping targets on the walking surface of an instrumented treadmill. Read More

Eur J Pain 2018 03 30;22(3):527-537. Epub 2017 Oct 30.

Centre for Pain Research, School of Clinical and Applied Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, UK.

Background: Studies suggest that observing magnified and minified body parts using mirrors, lenses and virtual reality may affect pain perception. However, the direction of effect varies between studies. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of observing a normal-sized, magnified and minified reflection of a hand on perceptual embodiment and contact-heat stimuli. Read More

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2017 07;2017:4491-4494

The ability to successfully navigate obstacles in our environment requires integration of visual information about the environment with estimates of our body's state. Previous studies have used partial occlusion of the visual field to explore how information about the body and impending obstacles are integrated to mediate a successful clearance strategy. However, because these manipulations often remove information about both the body and obstacle, it remains to be seen how information about the lower extremities alone is utilized during obstacle crossing. Read More

Pain Med 2018 01;19(1):151-159

Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Objective: Virtual reality (VR) is an exciting new technology with almost endless possible uses in medicine. One area it has shown promise is pain management. This selective review focused on studies that gave evidence to the distraction or nondistraction mechanisms by which VR leads to the treatment of pain. Read More

Int J Psychophysiol 2017 12 26;122:1-5. Epub 2017 Jul 26.

Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Rev Colomb Psiquiatr 2017 Jul - Sep;46(3):178-186. Epub 2016 Sep 6.

Psiquiatra general y Fellow de psiquiatría de enlace, Departamento de psiquiatría y salud mental, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.

Introduction: The phantom limb pain has been described as a condition in which patients experience a feeling of itching, spasm or pain in a limb or body part that has been previously amputated. Such pain can be induced by a conflict between the representation of the visual and proprioceptive feedback of the previously healthy limb. The phantom limb pain occurs in at least 42 to 90% of amputees. Read More

Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2017 Aug 8;31(8):717-725. Epub 2017 Jul 8.

1 The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Patients who suffer from phantom limb pain can perceive tactile stimuli applied to the cheek on their affected side as if it were coming from their phantom limb, a phenomenon called "referred sensation."

Objectives: To investigate the analgesic effect produced by tactile feedback provided to the cheek during neurorehabilitation using visual feedback.

Methods: Nine participants with phantom upper limb pain performed virtual reality neurorehabilitation exercises in which they repeatedly touched a target object with a virtual representation of their affected limb. Read More

Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 2017 Sep;42(3):209-221

Providence VA Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Ave, Providence, RI, 02908, USA.

Interest in virtual reality (VR) as a clinical tool to augment posttraumatic stress (PTSD) treatment has grown substantially in recent years due to advances in VR technology. Moreover, its potential assisted use in the PTSD diagnostic process has been recognized. In this study we examined physiological responding, skin conductance, to a standardized presentation of non-personalized combat-related VR events (e. Read More

Comput Biol Med 2017 08 15;87:311-321. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

University School of Physical Education, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Department of Kinesiology, ul. I. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wroclaw, Poland.

One of the biggest problems of upper limb transplantation is lack of certainty as to whether a patient will be able to control voluntary movements of transplanted hands. Based on findings of the recent research on brain cortex plasticity, a premise can be drawn that mental training supported with visual and sensory feedback can cause structural and functional reorganization of the sensorimotor cortex, which leads to recovery of function associated with the control of movements performed by the upper limbs. In this study, authors - based on the above observations - propose the computer-aided training (CAT) system, which generating visual and sensory stimuli, should enhance the effectiveness of mental training applied to humans before upper limb transplantation. Read More

Cell 2017 Jun 9;169(7):1291-1302.e14. Epub 2017 Jun 9.

Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50/70, 4056 Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address:

The emergence of sensory-guided behavior depends on sensorimotor coupling during development. How sensorimotor experience shapes neural processing is unclear. Here, we show that the coupling between motor output and visual feedback is necessary for the functional development of visual processing in layer 2/3 (L2/3) of primary visual cortex (V1) of the mouse. Read More

Psychother Psychosom 2017 11;86(3):187-188. Epub 2017 May 11.

CNRS UMR 9193-PsyCHIC-SCALab & CHU Lille, Department of Psychiatry, University of Lille, Lille, France.

J Anxiety Disord 2017 Jun 14;49:12-20. Epub 2017 Mar 14.

CeNTrUM (Centre for New Treatments and Understanding in Mental Health), Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, 2nd Floor Zochonis Building, Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.

It is well established that uncontrollable adverse experiences lead to increased distress, but the role of client control during psychological interventions such as exposure is less clear. Earlier studies reported inconsistent findings, most likely owing to variations in the way client control was manipulated, degree of exposure, the outcome variables chosen and the follow-up periods used. Importantly, studies to date had suggested to participants that approaching their fears was beneficial thereby biasing their choices and these studies had not measured change beyond the laboratory. Read More

J Neural Eng 2017 06 29;14(3):036007. Epub 2017 Mar 29.

Institute of Neurorehabilitation Systems, Clinics for Trauma, Orthopedic and Plastic Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August University, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.

Objective: Providing sensory feedback to the user of the prosthesis is an important challenge. The common approach is to use tactile stimulation, which is easy to implement but requires training and has limited information bandwidth. In this study, we propose an alternative approach based on augmented reality. Read More

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2016 08;2016:5849-5852

Sensorimotor therapy gives optimal results when patients are cognitively engaged into highly repetitive tasks, a goal that most children find hard to pursue. This paper presents the key developments of our ongoing effort to design an interactive rehabilitation environment that motivates physically impaired children throughout their therapy. The continuous motivation is achieved by the system adapting fundamental therapeutic components to the performance of each child. Read More

IEEE Trans Haptics 2017 Jul-Sep;10(3):418-430. Epub 2017 Feb 22.

Virtual reality systems would benefit from a compelling force sensory substitute when workspace or stability limitations prevent the use of kinesthetic force feedback systems. We present a wearable fingertip haptic device with the ability to make and break contact in addition to rendering both shear and normal skin deformation to the fingerpad. A delta mechanism with novel bias spring and tether actuator relocation method enables the use of high-end motors and encoders, allowing precise device control: 10 Hz bandwidth and 0. Read More

NeuroRehabilitation 2017 ;40(2):175-185

The Sports·Movement Institute & Technology (S·MIT), Department of Physical Therapy, Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of Korea.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to compare therapeutic effects of an electromyography (EMG) biofeedback augmented by virtual reality (VR) and EMG biofeedback alone on the triceps and biceps (T:B) muscle activity imbalance and elbow joint movement coordination during a reaching motor taskOBJECTIVE: To compare therapeutic effects of an electromyography (EMG) biofeedback augmented by virtual reality (VR) and EMG biofeedback alone on the triceps and biceps muscle activity imbalance and elbow joint movement coordination during a reaching motor task in normal children and children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: 18 children with spastic CP (2 females; mean±standard deviation = 9.5 ± 1. Read More

Exp Brain Res 2017 04 10;235(4):1185-1193. Epub 2017 Feb 10.

Department of Biomechanics, Virtual Reality and Robotics Laboratories, Center for Research in Human Movement Variability, University of Nebraska at Omaha, BRB#210, Biomechanics Research Building, 6160, University Drive, Omaha, NE, 68182-0860, USA.

Sensory feedback below the sole of the foot using sub-threshold mechanical noise significantly reduced postural sway in patients with diabetes and stroke. However, the effects of tactile parameters on walking are still elusive. Specifically, the effects of such parameters on human gait variability need to be studied because of possible rehabilitation outcomes in terms of bringing improvement in temporal and spatial gait parameters. Read More

Neuroscience 2017 03 3;346:382-394. Epub 2017 Feb 3.

The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Kinesiology, United States; Penn State College of Medicine, Department of Neurology, United States. Electronic address:

Previous work (Brown et al., 2003a,b) has shown that limb position drifts when individuals make repetitive movements in the absence of visual feedback. The purpose of this study was to examine whether limb position drift might reflect a misalignment in visual and proprioceptive maps by examining the nature of information used to specify new movements from a drifted limb position. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2016 10;7:215. Epub 2017 Jan 10.

Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia.

Computer games are ubiquitous and can be utilized for serious purposes such as health and education. "Applied games" including serious games (in brief, computerized games for serious purposes) and gamification (gaming elements used outside of games) have the potential to increase the impact of mental health internet interventions three processes. First, by extending the reach of online programs to those who might not otherwise use them. Read More

Trials 2017 01 24;18(1):41. Epub 2017 Jan 24.

LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Gartenstrasse 29, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.

Background: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suffer from attention deficits, motor hyperactivity, and impulsive behaviour. These impairments are experienced at home, at school, and with friends. Functional imaging studies show that ADHD behaviour and impairments in executive functions (EFs) are mirrored by aberrant neurophysiological functioning. Read More

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2017 08 27;25(8):1180-1191. Epub 2016 Sep 27.

Individuals with autism are often characterized by impairments in communication, reciprocal social interaction and explicit expression of their affective states. In conventional techniques, a therapist adjusts the intervention paradigm by monitoring the affective state e.g. Read More

PLoS One 2017 5;12(1):e0168520. Epub 2017 Jan 5.

Sagol School of Neuroscience and School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Visual feedback in general, and from the body in particular, is known to influence the performance of motor skills in humans. However, it is unclear how the acquisition of motor skills depends on specific visual feedback parameters such as the size of performing effector. Here, 21 healthy subjects physically trained to perform sequences of finger movements with their right hand. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2017 21;13:46-54. Epub 2016 Nov 21.

Dept. of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., 301 RB, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Dept. of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, United States; Dept. of Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, United States.

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) is potentially a powerful tool to facilitate recovery of disordered movement and stimulate activation of under-active brain areas due to stroke. The neural mechanisms underlying MVF have therefore been a focus of recent inquiry. Although it is known that sensorimotor areas can be activated via mirror feedback, the network interactions driving this effect remain unknown. Read More

Gait Posture 2017 02 11;52:76-82. Epub 2016 Nov 11.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Real-time feedback may be useful for enhancing information gained from clinical gait analysis of children with cerebral palsy (CP). It may also be effective in functional gait training, however, it is not known if children with CP can adapt gait in response to real-time feedback of kinematic parameters. Sixteen children with cerebral palsy (age 6-16; GMFCS I-III), walking with a flexed-knee gait pattern, walked on an instrumented treadmill with virtual reality in three conditions: regular walking without feedback (NF), feedback on hip angle (FH) and feedback on knee angle (FK). Read More

Neuroimage 2017 02 12;146:81-89. Epub 2016 Nov 12.

Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

To accurately guide one's actions online, the brain predicts sensory action feedback ahead of time based on internal models, which can be updated by sensory prediction errors. The underlying operations can be experimentally investigated in sensorimotor adaptation tasks, in which moving under perturbed sensory action feedback requires internal model updates. Here we altered healthy participants' visual hand movement feedback in a virtual reality setup, while assessing brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Read More

Rehabil Nurs 2016 Oct 24. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

Division of Research and Postgraduate Studies, Instituto Tecnológico de Orizaba, Orizaba, México.

Purpose: One of the most important aspects in neuromotor rehabilitation is the need of feedback for patients. The rehabilitation system's efficiency relies on the therapist's judgment, who tells the patient whether he/she is performing the exercises correctly. This process may be quite subjective, because it depends on the therapist's personal opinion. Read More

Int Neurourol J 2016 Sep 23;20(3):172-181. Epub 2016 Sep 23.

Department of Computer Science, Gachon University, Seongnam, Korea.

Recent developments in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality have introduced a considerable number of new devices into the consumer market. This momentum is also affecting the medical and health care sector. Although many of the theoretical and practical foundations of virtual reality (VR) were already researched and experienced in the 1980s, the vastly improved features of displays, sensors, interactivity, and computing power currently available in devices offer a new field of applications to the medical sector and also to urology in particular. Read More

Aerosp Med Hum Perform 2016;87(10):882-889

University of Texas Medical Branch, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Galveston, TX, USA.

Introduction: Anxiety may present challenges for commercial spaceflight operations, as little is known regarding the psychological effects of spaceflight on laypersons. A recent investigation evaluated measures of anxiety during centrifuge-simulated suborbital commercial spaceflight, highlighting the potential for severe anxiousness to interrupt spaceflight operations.

Methods: To pave the way for future research, an extensive literature review identified existing knowledge that may contribute to formation of interventions for anxiety in commercial spaceflight. Read More

Pediatr Phys Ther 2016 ;28(4):460-8

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.

Purpose: To examine the effects of Sensorimotor Training to Affect Balance, Engagement, and Learning (STABEL), a virtual reality system to train sensory adaptation for balance control, for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

Methods: Twenty-three children with FASDs received STABEL training in a university laboratory, or home, or were controls. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2nd edition (MABC-2) and Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance-2 (P-CTSIB-2) were analyzed by group (lab, home, and control), session (pre-STABEL, 1 week post-STABEL, and 1 month post-STABEL), and group-by-session interaction. Read More

Crit Rev Biomed Eng 2016 ;44(1-2):1-32

Psychology Department, Northern Michigan University, 1401 Presque Isle Avenue, Marquette, MI, 49855.

Motor and sensory loss or dysfunction affects the quality of life for thousands of individuals daily. The upper limb, and especially the hand, are important for a person's ability to complete activities of daily living. Traditional therapy methods focus on motor recovery, but future methods should include sensory recovery and should promote the use of the affected limb(s) at home. Read More

PLoS One 2016 18;11(8):e0161156. Epub 2016 Aug 18.

Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.

The sense of agency describes the ability to experience oneself as the agent of one's own actions. Previous studies of the sense of agency manipulated the predicted sensory feedback related either to movement execution or to the movement's outcome, for example by delaying the movement of a virtual hand or the onset of a tone that resulted from a button press. Such temporal sensorimotor discrepancies reduce the sense of agency. Read More

Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016 10 12;69:252-9. Epub 2016 Aug 12.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, Große Hamburger Str. 5-11, 10115 Berlin, Germany.

Individuals with chronic pain often show a distorted body image. Various studies demonstrated that improvements in body image go along with symptom improvement in chronic pain. This renders distorted body images a promising target for feedback intervention programs. Read More

Sci Rep 2016 08 11;6:30383. Epub 2016 Aug 11.

Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Associação Alberto Santos Dumont para Apoio à Pesquisa (AASDAP), Sâo Paulo, Brazil.

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) provide a new assistive strategy aimed at restoring mobility in severely paralyzed patients. Yet, no study in animals or in human subjects has indicated that long-term BMI training could induce any type of clinical recovery. Eight chronic (3-13 years) spinal cord injury (SCI) paraplegics were subjected to long-term training (12 months) with a multi-stage BMI-based gait neurorehabilitation paradigm aimed at restoring locomotion. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2016 Dec 26;34:112-116. Epub 2016 Jul 26.

Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3 Silverstein Pavillion - Neurosurgery, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.

Simulated practice may improve resident performance in endoscopic endonasal surgery. Using the NeuroTouch haptic simulation platform, we evaluated resident performance and assessed the effect of simulation training on performance in the operating room. First- (N=3) and second- (N=3) year residents were assessed using six measures of proficiency. Read More

J Neuroeng Rehabil 2016 06 28;13(1):61. Epub 2016 Jun 28.

The Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, Eng. Bldg.2, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan, 113-8656.

Background: Previous studies have tried to relieve deafferentation pain (DP) by using virtual reality rehabilitation systems. However, the effectiveness of multimodal sensory feedback was not validated. The objective of this study is to relieve DP by neurorehabilitation using a virtual reality system with multimodal sensory feedback and to validate the efficacy of tactile feedback on immediate pain reduction. Read More

Eur J Dent Educ 2017 Nov 21;21(4):240-247. Epub 2016 Jun 21.

School of Dentistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.

Aim: To investigate the effect of qualitatively different types of pedagogical feedback (FB) on the training, transfer and retention of basic manual dexterity dental skills using a virtual reality (VR) haptic dental simulator.

Methods: Sixty-three participants (M = 22.7 years; SD = 3. Read More

Med Hist 2016 Jul;60(3):342-58

This article examines the material culture of neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's research into phantom limbs. In the 1990s Ramachandran used a 'mirror box' to 'resurrect' phantom limbs and thus to treat the pain that often accompanied them. Read More