TY  - JOUR
A1  - Farinelli, Veronica
A1  - Palmisano, Chiara
A1  - Marchese, Silvia Maria
A1  - Strano, Camilla Mirella Maria
A1  - D’Arrigo, Stefano
A1  - Pantaleoni, Chiara
A1  - Ardissone, Anna
A1  - Nardocci, Nardo
A1  - Esposti, Roberto
A1  - Cavallari, Paolo
T1  - Postural control in children with cerebellar ataxia
JF  - Applied Sciences
N2  - Controlling posture, i.e., governing the ensemble of involuntary muscular activities that manage body equilibrium, represents a demanding function in which the cerebellum plays a key role. Postural activities are particularly important during gait initiation when passing from quiet standing to locomotion. Indeed, several studies used such motor task for evaluating pathological conditions, including cerebellar disorders. The linkage between cerebellum maturation and the development of postural control has received less attention. Therefore, we evaluated postural control during quiet standing and gait initiation in children affected by a slow progressive generalized cerebellar atrophy (SlowP) or non-progressive vermian hypoplasia (Joubert syndrome, NonP), compared to that of healthy children (H). Despite the similar clinical evaluation of motor impairments in NonP and SlowP, only SlowP showed a less stable quiet standing and a shorter and slower first step than H. Moreover, a descriptive analysis of lower limb and back muscle activities suggested a more severe timing disruption in SlowP. Such differences might stem from the extent of cerebellar damage. However, literature reports that during childhood, neural plasticity of intact brain areas could compensate for cerebellar agenesis. We thus proposed that the difference might stem from disease progression, which contrasts the consolidation of compensatory strategies.
KW  - children
KW  - gait initiation
KW  - postural control
KW  - generalized cerebellar atrophy
KW  - cerebellar vermis hypoplasia
KW  - progressive ataxia
KW  - compensatory strategies
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200692
SN  - 2076-3417
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bolzoni, Francesco
A1  - Esposti, Roberto
A1  - Marchese, Silvia M.
A1  - Pozzi, Nicoló G.
A1  - Ramirez-Pasos, Uri E.
A1  - Isaias, Ioannis U.
A1  - Cavallari, Paolo
T1  - Disrupt of intra-limb APA pattern in parkinsonian patients performing index-finger flexion
JF  - Frontiers in Physiology
N2  - Voluntary movements induce postural perturbations which are counteracted by anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs). These actions are known to build up long fixation chains toward available support points (inter-limb APAs), so as to grant whole body equilibrium. Moreover, recent studies highlighted that APAs also build-up short fixation chains, within the same limb where a distal segment is moved (intra-limb APAs), aimed at stabilizing the proximal segments. The neural structures generating intra-limb APAs still need investigations; the present study aims to compare focal movement kinematics and intra-limb APA latencies and pattern between healthy subjects and parkinsonian patients, assuming the latter as a model of basal ganglia dysfunction. Intra-limb APAs that stabilize the arm when the index-finger is briskly flexed were recorded in 13 parkinsonian patients and in 10 age-matched healthy subjects. Index-finger movement was smaller in parkinsonian patients vs. healthy subjects (p = 0.01) and more delayed with respect to the onset of the prime mover flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS, p < 0.0001). In agreement with the literature, in all healthy subjects the FDS activation was preceded by an inhibitory intra-limb APA in biceps brachii (BB) and anterior deltoid (AD), and almost simultaneous to an excitatory intra-limb APA in triceps brachii (TB). In parkinsonian patients, no significant differences were found for TB and AD intra-limb APA timings, however only four patients showed an inhibitory intra-limb APA in BB, while other four did not show any BB intra-limb APAs and five actually developed a BB excitation. The frequency of occurrence of normal sign, lacking, and inverted BB APAs was different in healthy vs. parkinsonian participants (p = 0.0016). The observed alterations in index-finger kinematics and intra-limb APA pattern in parkinsonian patients suggest that basal ganglia, in addition to shaping the focal movement, may also contribute to intra-limb APA control.
KW  - intra-limb anticipatory postural adjustments
KW  - Parkinson disease
KW  - basal ganglia
KW  - motor control
KW  - human
Y1  - 2018
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-369245
SN  - 1664-042X
VL  - 9
ER  -