Purpose: The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene has been shown to be important for synaptic plasticity in animal models. Human research has suggested that BDNF genotype may influence stroke recovery. Some studies have suggested a genotype-specific motor-related brain activation in stroke recovery. However, recovery from aphasia in…

Angelman syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation in the maternal allele of the gene "Ube3a." The primary symptoms of Angelman syndrome are severe cognitive deficits, impaired motor functions, and speech disabilities. Analogous phenotypes have been detected in young adult "Ube3a" mice. Here, we…

Purpose: Motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have a devastating effect on speech muscle function that often results in severe communication deficits. Over the course of bulbar disease, tongue and jaw movements are modified, but their impact on speech is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the…

Purpose: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is characterized by poor coordination and clumsiness in children. Subjects often show unsteady gait, frequent tripping, and difficulty holding objects. Here we evaluated the implicit and explicit motor learning capabilities of children with DCD. Method: We assessed a total of 80 children…

Rhythmic abilities are impaired in developmental coordination disorder (DCD) but learning deficit of procedural skills implying temporal sequence is still unclear. Current contradictory results suggest that procedural learning deficits in DCD highly depend on learning conditions. The present study proposes to test the role of sensory modality of…

Aims: This study evaluated whether caregiver-provided learning opportunities moderated the effect of START-Play physical therapy intervention on the cognitive skills of young children with neuromotor delays, and whether START-Play impacted caregiver-provided learning opportunities over time. Methods: One hundred and twelve children with neuromotor…

Aims: Children with neuromotor delays are at risk for reaching and object exploration impairments, which may negatively affect their cognitive development and daily activity performance. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play) intervention on reaching-related exploratory behaviors in…

Background: The articulatory accuracy of patients with dysarthria is one of the most affected speech dimensions with a high impact on speech intelligibility. Behavioural treatments of articulation can either involve direct or indirect approaches. The latter have been thoroughly investigated and are generally appreciated for their almost immediate…

One of the overriding hopes of the Down syndrome (DS) research community is to arrive at a better understanding of how trisomy 21 affects brain development and function, and that doing so will improve quality of life and independence for people with DS. In searching for the underlying causes of intellectual disability in DS, researchers and…

Minor neurological dysfunction (MND) has been associated with learning, cognitive, and motor problems in preterm children. This study aims to study the prevalence of MND in preterm children without cerebral palsy in the preschool period and to investigate its association with school readiness. Forty-four children born at less than 37 weeks of…

Prior research suggests that autistic adults are at increased risk for developing the core motor components of Parkinson's disease (i.e. parkinsonism) although knowledge is limited to date. Therefore, we explore: (1) the prevalence of both continuous self-reported motor features typical of parkinsonism and the screen positivity rate for…

Purpose: The clinical diagnosis of motor speech disorders (MSDs) is mainly based on perceptual approaches. However, studies on perceptual classification of MSDs often indicate low classification accuracy. The aim of this study was to determine in a forced-choice dichotomous decision-making task (a) how accuracy of speech-language pathologists…

Background: Falls are a common safety incident in people with stroke. Studies report that between 14% and 65% of people with stroke fall at least once during their hospital admission. Risk factors for falls in people with stroke have been reported to include neglect, balance and dependence for activities of daily living. Communication disability…

This qualitative embedded single-case study sought to describe a dance intervention designed for people in stroke rehabilitation. Recommendations from rehabilitation therapists, and the researcher-dance educator's observations of the therapists' work and of patient participation during the intervention were captured and analyzed, from design to…

Aim: To describe the development of an intervention-specific fidelity measure and its utilization and to determine whether the newly developed Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) intervention was implemented as intended. Also, to quantify differences between START-Play and usual early intervention (uEI) services. Method: A fidelity…