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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Jan 2024Several studies have reported the effect of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on functional ambulation in stroke patients, yet no systematic overview has yet been...
BACKGROUND
Several studies have reported the effect of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on functional ambulation in stroke patients, yet no systematic overview has yet been published. This study aims to synthesize the available evidence describing changes in stroke patients after RAS intervention for functional ambulation and the use of walking assistive devices, and to find out if the effect of RAS and music-based RAS differs depending on the lesioned area.
METHODS
The PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL electronic databases were searched for reports evaluating the effect of RAS on walking in stroke patients, applying the PICOS criteria for the inclusion of studies.
RESULTS
Twenty one articles were included (948 stroke survivors). Most studies were of good methodological quality according to the PEDro scale, but they had a high risk of bias. The most consistent finding was that RAS improves walking and balance parameters in stroke patients in all phases compared to baseline and versus control groups with conventional treatment. Functional ambulation and the use of walking assistive devices were inconsistently reported. Several studies also suggest that RAS may be as good as other complementary therapies (horse-riding and visual cueing).
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the beneficial effects of RAS, the question remains as to whether it is better than other complementary therapies. Given the heterogeneity of the interventions, the interventions in control groups, the varied durations, and the different outcome measures, we suggest that care should be taken in interpreting and generalizing findings.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION
CRD42021277940.
Topics: Humans; Acoustic Stimulation; Outcome Assessment, Health Care; Stroke; Stroke Rehabilitation; Walking
PubMed: 38245704
DOI: 10.1186/s12906-023-04310-3 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2019Low Intensity Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (TUS) is a new form of non-invasive brain modulation with promising data; however, systematic reviews on the brain...
Low Intensity Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation (TUS) is a new form of non-invasive brain modulation with promising data; however, systematic reviews on the brain modulatory effects of TUS on both animals and humans have not been well-conducted. We aimed to conduct a systematic review on the studies using the TUS to modulate the brain functions and associated behavioral changes in both animals and humans. A literature search for published studies in the past 10 years was conducted. Two authors independently reviewed the relevant articles. Data were extracted and qualitatively summarized. Quality of studies was assessed by the SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for preclinical studies or the PEDro scale for clinical studies. A total of 24 animal studies (506 animals) and 11 human studies (213 subjects) were included. Findings based on most animal studies demonstrated the excitatory or suppressive modulatory effects of ultrasonic stimulations on motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, thalamus, prefrontal cortex, auditory, and visual areas. Brain modulatory effects also were found among healthy human subjects in seven studies and two clinical studies suggested TUS may result in potential benefits on patients with disorder of consciousness or chronic pain. The safety concerns of TUS seem to be minor based on the human studies. TUS appears to be a viable technique in modulating the brain functions; however, research on TUS is still in its early stages, especially in human studies. Parameters need to be optimized before launching systematic investigations in humans.
PubMed: 31396029
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00696 -
The Journal of Pain 2020This systematic review analyzed available literature on functional brain alterations in low back pain (LBP) measured with electroencephalography (EEG), as until now...
This systematic review analyzed available literature on functional brain alterations in low back pain (LBP) measured with electroencephalography (EEG), as until now evidence thereof was unclear. Four electronic databases were systematically searched the 10th of March 2018, resulting in 12 included studies. Studies showed a risk of bias of 37.5 to 75% using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for case-control studies. Limited evidence reported higher amplitudes of balance-related potentials and early components of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) to noxious stimuli, and altered feedback-related negativity and P300 potentials during decision-making in chronic LBP (CLBP). These findings suggest postural strategies requiring a higher cortical attention-demand, increased sensory-discriminative processing of noxious input, and altered decision-making in CLBP. However, further research is warranted as these inferences were based on single studies. Moderate evidence for unaltered amplitude of late-phase SEPs to noxious stimuli and auditory evoked potentials in LBP implies that the affective-emotional processing of stimuli might be unaffected in LBP. Furthermore, moderate evidence indicated disturbed habituation of somatosensory stimuli in LBP. Most studies examined nonspecific or mixed CLBP populations, hence EEG-quantified brain activity in (sub)acute or recurrent LBP still needs to be explored. PERSPECTIVE: This review presents an overview of the current understanding of the functional LBP brain measured with EEG. The limited evidence in current research suggests altered cortical function regarding balance control, somatosensory processing, and decision making in LBP, and highlights opportunities for future EEG-research.
Topics: Cerebral Cortex; Chronic Pain; Decision Making; Electroencephalography; Evoked Potentials; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Humans; Low Back Pain; Postural Balance
PubMed: 31260806
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.06.010 -
Trends in Hearing 2021As musicians have been shown to have a range of superior auditory skills to non-musicians (e.g., pitch discrimination ability), it has been hypothesized by many...
As musicians have been shown to have a range of superior auditory skills to non-musicians (e.g., pitch discrimination ability), it has been hypothesized by many researchers that music training can have a beneficial effect on speech perception in populations with hearing impairment. This hypothesis relies on an assumption that the benefits seen in musicians are due to their training and not due to innate skills that may support successful musicianship. This systematic review examined the evidence from 13 longitudinal training studies that tested the hypothesis that music training has a causal effect on speech perception ability in hearing-impaired listeners. The papers were evaluated for quality of research design and appropriate analysis techniques. Only 4 of the 13 papers used a research design that allowed a causal relation between music training and outcome benefits to be validly tested, and none of those 4 papers with a better quality study design demonstrated a benefit of music training for speech perception. In spite of the lack of valid evidence in support of the hypothesis, 10 of the 13 papers made claims of benefits of music training, showing a propensity for confirmation bias in this area of research. It is recommended that future studies that aim to evaluate the association of speech perception ability and music training use a study design that differentiates the effects of training from those of innate perceptual and cognitive skills in the participants.
Topics: Hearing; Hearing Loss; Humans; Music; Pitch Discrimination; Speech Perception
PubMed: 33634750
DOI: 10.1177/2331216520985678 -
Folia Phoniatrica Et Logopaedica :... 2015To systematically review randomized controlled trials that evaluate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on rehabilitation aspects related...
Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Rehabilitation of Communication and Deglutition Disorders: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
OBJECTIVE
To systematically review randomized controlled trials that evaluate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on rehabilitation aspects related to communication and swallowing functions.
METHODS
A search was conducted on PubMed, Clinical Trials, Cochrane Library, and ASHA electronic databases. Studies were judged according to the eligibility criteria and analyzed by 2 independent and blinded researchers.
RESULTS
We analyzed 9 studies: 4 about aphasia, 3 about dysphagia, 1 about dysarthria in Parkinson's disease and 1 about linguistic deficits in Alzheimer's disease. All aphasia studies used low-frequency rTMS to stimulate Broca's homologous area. High-frequency rTMS was applied over the pharyngoesophageal cortex from the left and/or right hemisphere in the dysphagia studies and over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the Parkinson's and Alzheimer's studies. Two aphasia and all dysphagia studies showed a significant improvement of the disorder, compared to the sham group. The other 2 studies related to aphasia found a benefit restricted to subgroups with a severe case or injury on the anterior portion of the language cortical area, respectively, whereas the Alzheimer's study demonstrated positive effects specific to auditory comprehension. There were no changes for vocal function in the Parkinson's study.
CONCLUSION
The benefits of the technique and its applicability in neurogenic disorders related to communication and deglutition are still uncertain. Therefore, other randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify the optimal stimulation protocol for each disorder studied and its real effects.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Humans; Male; Communication Disorders; Deglutition Disorders; Reference Values; Sound Spectrography; Speech Acoustics; Statistics as Topic; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Voice Quality; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 26580744
DOI: 10.1159/000439128 -
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2020Theta burst stimulation is increasingly growing in popularity as a non-invasive method of moderating corticospinal networks. Theta burst stimulation uses gamma frequency...
Theta burst stimulation is increasingly growing in popularity as a non-invasive method of moderating corticospinal networks. Theta burst stimulation uses gamma frequency trains applied at the rhythm of theta, thus, mimicking theta-gamma coupling involved in cognitive processes. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has been found to play a crucial role in numerous cognitive processes. Here, we include 25 studies for review to determine the cognitive effects of continuous theta burst stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; 20 of these studies are healthy participant and five are patient (pharmacotherapy-resistant depression) studies. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the included studies, only a descriptive approach is used and meta-analytics ruled out. The cognitive effect is measured on various cognitive domains: attention, working memory, planning, language, decision making, executive function, and inhibitory and cognitive control. We conclude that continuous theta burst stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex mainly inhibits cognitive performance. However, in some instances, it can lead to improved performance by inhibiting the effect of distractors or other competing irrelevant cognitive processes. To be precise, continuous theta burst stimulation over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex impaired attention, inhibitory control, planning, and goal-directed behavior in decision making but also improved decision making by reducing impulsivity. Conversely, continuous theta burst stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex impaired executive function, working, auditory feedback regulation, and cognitive control but accelerated the planning, decision-making process. These findings constitute a useful contribution to the literature on the cognitive effects of continuous theta burst stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
PubMed: 32848648
DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2020.00035