Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of A Powered Ankle Foot Orthosis On Walking In A Stroke Subject: A Case Study, Ali Pourghasem, Ismail Ebrahimi Takamjani, Mohammad Taghi Karimi, Mohammad Kamali, Mohammad Jannesari, Iman Salafian

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

[Purpose] Standing and walking are impaired in stroke patients. Therefore, assisted devices are required to restore their walking abilities. The ankle foot orthosis with an external powered source is a new type of orthosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a powered ankle foot orthosis compared with unpowered orthoses in a stroke patient.

[Subjects and Methods] A single stroke subject participated in this study. The subject was fitted with three types of ankle foot orthosis (powered, posterior leg spring, and carbon ankle foot orthoses). He was asked to walk with and without the three types …

Methylphenidate And Memory And Attention Adaptation Training For Persistent Cognitive Symptoms After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial, Brenna C. Mcdonald, Laura A. Flashman, David B. Arciniegas, Robert J. Ferguson, Li Xing, Jaroslaw Harezlak, Gwen C. Sprehn, Flora M. Hammond, Arthur C. Maerlender, Carrie L. Kruck, Karen L. Gillock, Kim Frey, Rachel N. Wall, Andrew J. Saykin, Thomas W. Mcallister

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

The purpose of this multicenter, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of two cognitive rehabilitation interventions (Memory and Attention Adaptation Training (MAAT) and Attention Builders Training (ABT)), with and without pharmacologic enhancement (i.e., with methylphenidate (MPH) or placebo), for treating persistent cognitive problems after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Adults with a history of TBI at least four months prior to study enrollment with either objective cognitive deficits or subjective cognitive complaints were randomized to receive MPH or placebo and MAAT or ABT, yielding four treatment combinations: MAAT/MPH (N=17), ABT/MPH (N=19), MAAT/placebo (N=17), and ABT/placebo (N=18). …

Neural Control Of Tongue Movements Across Effort Levels, Megan Rovang, Angela M. Dietsch

UCARE Research Products

Background

A hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a mismatch between the perceived effort and actual forces exerted during functional activities such as speech. Current evidence supports therapy to help reset this perception of effort, but the neurological underpinnings of such treatments are unclear. This study examined brain activity during tongue movements performed at varying levels of effort to determine (1) which brain areas are involved in each task, and (2) which areas, if any, scale in activation according to effort level. These results, considered with the neurological changes associated with PD, can be used to develop and refine treatment …

Encoding Of Saltatory Tactile Velocity In The Adult Orofacial Somatosensory System, Rebecca Custead

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Processing dynamic tactile inputs is a key function of somatosensory systems. Spatial velocity encoding mechanisms by the nervous system are important for skilled movement production and may play a role in recovery of motor function following neurological insult. Little is known about tactile velocity encoding in trigeminal networks associated with mechanosensory inputs to the face, or the consequences of movement.

High resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the neural substrates of velocity encoding in the human orofacial somatosensory system during unilateral saltatory pneumotactile inputs to perioral hairy skin in 20 healthy adults. A custom multichannel, scalable …

Developing A Data Repository Of Standard Concussion Assessment Clinical Data For Research Involving College Athletes, Arthur C. Maerlender, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Julie A. Honaker

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

In sports concussion research, obtaining quality data from a sufficient number of participants to reach statistical power has been a particular problem. In addition, the necessary requirements of accessibility, informed consent, and confidentiality must be met. There is need to develop more efficient and controlled methods for collecting data to answer research questions in this realm, but the ability to collect and store these data in an efficient manner at the local level is limited. By virtue of their training, neuropsychologists can play a key role in improving data collection quality. The purpose of this paper is to describe a …

Effect Of Breathing Apparatus On The Patterns Of Response For Physiological Variables During An Incremental Test To Exhaustion, Rachel Lechtenberger, Kristen C. Cochrane, Terry J. Housh

UCARE Research Products

During running exercise, trained runners will utilize both nasal and oral breathing mechanisms. However, during most clinical running tests, the breathing apparatus blocks the nasal pathway, therefore only allowing oral breathing. It has been suggested that a breathing apparatus that allows both nasal and oral breathing may provide an environment that is more similar to running outside of a lab setting. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of responses for physiological variables during an incremental treadmill running exercise test to exhaustion utilizing both a traditional mouth piece (MP) and breathing mask (MSK) apparatus. METHODS: …

Nebraska Sex Trafficking Survivors Speak – A Qualitative Research Study, Shireen S. Rajaram, Sriyani Tidball

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This exploratory, qualitative research study was conducted by researchers Dr. Shireen S. Rajaram in the College of Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Ms. Sriyani Tidball in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), and was funded by the Women’s Fund of Omaha. The purpose of this study was to document the perspectives of adult women survivors of sex trafficking about the “3Ps” paradigm: to identify strategies to prevent sex trafficking, provide protection and support for survivors and prosecution of the perpetrators to reduce the demand for sex …

Oxytocin Receptor (Oxtr) Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Indirectly Predict Prosocial Behavior Through Perspective Taking And Empathic Concern, Christa C. Christ, Gustavo Carlo, Scott F. Stoltenberg

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Engaging in prosocial behavior can provide positive outcomes for self and others. Prosocial tendencies contribute to the propensity to engage in prosocial behavior.The oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) has also been associated with prosocial tendencies and behaviors. There has been little research, however, investigating whether the relationship between OXTR and prosocial behaviors is mediated by prosocial tendencies.This relationship may also vary among different types of prosocial behavior. The current study examines the relationship between OXTR, gender, prosocial tendencies, and both altruistic and public prosocial behavior endorsement. Students at a midwestern university (N = 398; 89.2% Caucasian; M …

Effects Of Local Blood Flow On Muscle Stiffness, Megan E. White, Aaron J. Engel, Greg Bashford

UCARE Research Products

Muscle injuries, in the form of strains or even tears, affect millions of people each year through undue tension on muscles during everyday activities, work tasks, or physical activity including sports or working out. These injuries can take from a few weeks to even months to heal, with patients having to deal with inflammation, swelling, and pain throughout the healing process. Scar tissue also forms when the muscle is injured, which regenerates throughout the healing process, but never fully recovers to its state prior to injury. This scar tissue is thought to make the muscle more prone to subsequent injury, …

Perceived Threat Associated With Police Officers And Black Men Predicts Support For Policing Policy Reform, Allison L. Skinner, Ingrid J. Haas

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Racial disparities in policing and recent high-profile incidents resulting in the deaths of Black men have ignited a national debate on policing policies. Given evidence that both police officers and Black men may be associated with threat, we examined the impact of perceived threat on support for reformed policing policies. Across three studies we found correlational evidence that perceiving police officers as threatening predicts increased support for reformed policing practices (e.g., limiting the use of lethal force and matching police force demographics to those of the community). In contrast, perceiving Black men as threatening predicted reduced support for policing policy …

Rapid Cortisol And Testosterone Responses To Sex-Linked Stressors: Implications For The Tend-And-Befriend Hypothesis, Jennifer Byrd-Craven, Jessica L. Calvi, Shelia M. Kennison

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Current evolutionary theories regarding the nature of hormonal responses to a variety of salient social stimuli are incomplete in yielding evidentiary support for their assertions. This study offers more nuanced evidence for the Tend-and- Befriend model of sex differences in responses to social stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to a mortality salience prime or a control condition prior to viewing a video of an out-group threat or a video of infants crying. Cortisol and testosterone responses were assessed. The results showed that in mortality salience conditions, females showed significantly higher cortisol responses to infants crying compared to males. Further, in …

Neural Processing Of Emotional Musical And Nonmusical Stimuli In Depression, Rebecca J. Lepping, Ruth Ann Atchley, Evangelia Chrysikou, Laura E. Martin, Alicia A. Clair, Rick E. Ingram, W. Kyle Simmons, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Background Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum are part of the emotional neural circuitry implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Music is often used for emotion regulation, and pleasurable music listening activates the dopaminergic system in the brain, including the ACC. The present study uses functional MRI (fMRI) and an emotional nonmusical and musical stimuli paradigm to examine how neural processing of emotionally provocative auditory stimuli is altered within the ACC and striatum in depression.

Method Nineteen MDD and 20 never-depressed (ND) control participants listened to standardized positive and negative emotional musical and nonmusical stimuli during fMRI scanning and gave …

Voxel-Based Morphometry Reveals Brain Gray Matter Volume Changes In Successful Dieters, Robyn A. Honea, Amanda N. Szabo-Reed, Rebecca J. Lepping, Rodrigo Perea, Florence Breslin, Laura E. Martin, William M. Brooks, Joseph E. Donnelly, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Objective: To compare regional brain volume predictors of percent weight loss (WL) in dieters with obesity (DwO) and in the same participants categorized as “successful” (≥7% WL) or “unsuccessful” dieters (