Maria Vânia Nunes

Learning orthography in adulthood: A magnetoencephalographic study

Previous work demonstrated that there were differences between literate and comparable illiterate adult subjects. These differences were found in the performance on several tests and on patterns of activation on PET and fMRI. In the present study subjects that learned to read and to write in adulthood (being previously completely illiterate) were compared to controls, that is subjects that learned at school at the proper age. Magnetoencephalography was done while subjects were reading words. Results showed that, although the reading performance was the same in both groups while performing the task, the pattern of source distribution was different between groups. There were more late sources in right temporo-parietal areas of late literates compared to controls and more late sources in left inferior frontal cortex in control subjects. It is concluded that learning to read in adulthood is a process supported by different brain structures from the ones used when learning occurs at the proper age. This may suggest that the same task can be similarly performed by relying on diverse functional brain anatomic networks.

Hand tactile discrimination, social touch and frailty criteria in elderly people: A cross sectional observational study.

Frailty is a common syndrome among elderly and sensory decline may exacerbate functional decline. The hand function, the manual dexterity, the performance of the daily living skills and the social interactions are determined, in a large degree, by sensory integrity. However, hand tactile sensory deterioration has been little explored in frailty. We performed a cross sectional observational study with 181 of institutionalized elders. From the initial sample we selected 50 subjects (68-99 years) who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Our goals were (1) to analyse the relationship between tactile discrimination (TD) of the hand, avoidance behaviours and attitudes towards social touch (BATST) and phenotype frailty criteria (unintentional weight loss, self-perception of exhaustion, decrease grip strength - GS, slow walking speed, low level of physical activity), (2) to explore whether other variables can contribute to explain the differences between pre-frail and frail elders. The results showed that increasing age is related to decline of TD of the hand (p=0.021) and to decrease in GS (p=0.025); women have significantly lower level of GS (p=0.001); TD decrease is correlated with higher avoidance BATST (p=0.000) and with lower GS (p=0.000); Lower GS corresponds to more avoidance BATST (p=0.003). Hand TD also can differentiate frail and pre-frail elderly subjects in this sample (p=0.037). Decreased TD of the hand may have implications on the functionality and on interpersonal relationships. TD of the hand also explains frailty levels in this sample. Hand TD should be used in assessment and intervention protocols in pre-frail and frail elders.

Disentangling Linguistic Modality Effects in Semantic Processing.

Sensory systems are essential for perceiving and conceptualizing our semantic knowledge about the world and the way we interact with it. Despite studies reporting neural changes to compensate for the absence of a given sensory modality, studies focusing on the assessment of semantic processing reveal poor performances by deaf individuals when compared with hearing individuals. However, the majority of those studies were not performed in the linguistic modality considered the most adequate to their sensory capabilities (i.e., sign language). Therefore, this exploratory study was developed focusing on linguistic modality effects during semantic retrieval in deaf individuals in comparison with their hearing peers through a category fluency task. Results show a difference in performance between the two linguistic modalities by deaf individuals as well as in the type of linguistic clusters most chosen by participants, suggesting a complex clustering tendency by deaf individuals.

Unisensory and multisensory Self-referential stimulation of the lower limb: An exploratory fMRI study on healthy subjects

ABSTRACT Background: The holistic view of the person is the essence of the physiotherapy. Knowledge of approaches that develop the whole person promotes better patient outcomes. Multisensory Self-referential stimulation, more than a unisensory one, seems to produce a holistic experience of the Self (“Core-Self”). Objectives: (1) To analyze the somatotopic brain activation during unisensory and multisensorial Self-referential stimulus; and (2) to understand if the areas activated by multisensorial Self-referential stimulation are the ones responsible for the “Core-Self.” Methods: An exploratory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was performed with 10 healthy subjects, under the stimulation of the lower limbs with three Self-referential stimuli: unisensory auditory-verbal, unisensory tactile-manual, and multisensory, applying the unisensory stimuli simultaneously. Results: Unisensory stimulation elicits bilateral activations of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), of the primary motor cortex (BA4), of the premotor cortex (BA6) and of BA44; multisensory stimulation also elicits activity in TPJ, BA4, and BA6, and when compared with unisensory stimuli, activations were found in: (1) Cortical and subcortical midline structures—BA7 (precuneus), BA9 (medial prefrontal cortex), BA30 (posterior cingulated), superior colliculum and posterior cerebellum; and (2) Posterior lateral cortex—TPJ, posterior BA13 (insula), BA19, and BA37. Bilateral TPJ is the one that showed the biggest activation volume. Conclusion: This specific multisensory stimulation produces a brain activation map in regions that are responsible for multisensory Self-processing and may represent the Core-Self. We recommend the use of this specific multisensory stimulation as a physiotherapy intervention strategy that might promote the Self-reorganization.

Cognitive output of a neuropsychological stimulation program in an elderly day care center with low educated participants: an observational study

Objective In the present paper we present an observational study of the implementation of a Neuropsychological Stimulation Program at an Elderly Day Care Center in low-educated participants with very similar backgrounds concerning social economic status. Methods The implemented program tackled several dimensions, including daily orientation sessions, cognitive stimulation sessions twice a week, followed by movement sessions, and structured sessions conducted every two weeks. Cognitive Evaluation was performed before and after implementation of the program. Results Results are discussed taking into consideration cognitive outputs as well as non-cognitive outputs and the specificities of community-based intervention. Conclusion It was concluded that community-based intervention is set to become vital in promoting dementia prevention.

Instrumento de Avaliação da Qualidade de Vida (IAQdV) – Estudo de Validação para a População Idosa Portuguesa

The construct of Quality of Life assumed increased relevance with the awareness that “to cure” an illness is not the only result of health interventions. It becomes important to possess an instrument for the assessment of Quality of life, appropriate, at a psychometrical level, to evaluate the impact of programs of intervention in the area of health. The validation for the Portuguese aged population of an Australian assessment of quality of life Instrument (AQol) was carried through. The characteristics of the Australian version had been respected (factors and number of items). The variance explained by the different factors presents differences relatively to the original version, signalling the following order of factors for the Portuguese aged population: Independent Life > psychological well being > physical Senses > Illness > social relationships. We finally present the variables that might interfere with perceived quality of life within this group of older people.