Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-174).

Thesis (M.S. Ed.)--State University of New York College at Brockport, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-64).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-192).

Thesis (M.S.)--Western Washington University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-69).

Thesis (M.Phil.) - University of Queensland, 2007. / Includes bibliography.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Physiotherapy, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 454-459)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-05T18:30:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-09-23. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2016-02-05T18:34:07Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000857440.pdf: 1028319 bytes, checksum: 760bd0962a0ca7b0c802ef48731ee062 (MD5) / Crianças com Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Coordenação (TDC) apresentam dificuldades para executar tarefas cotidianas. Tarefas bimanuais, como amarrar os sapatos e usar talheres, por exemplo, requerem o envolvimento diferenciado das mãos e, portanto, tornam-se mais desafiadoras para essas crianças. A atenção possui um papel fundamental na função executiva e regulação de processos cognitivos relacionados ao planejamento e execução de tarefas motoras. No entanto, existem poucos estudos que investigaram se a manipulação do foco de atenção, durante a execução de tarefas bimanuais finas, pode ser utilizada como estratégia de intervenção motora com a criança com TDC. Este estudo investigou o efeito do direcionamento do foco de atenção na execução de tarefas bimanuais em crianças com e sem TDC. Vinte e oito crianças com 9-10 anos de idade pareadas em idade e sexo, foram avaliadas e divididas em dois grupos: TDC [n=14] e desenvolvimento típico (DT) [n=14], conforme os resultados obtidos no Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2). As crianças participaram de dois experimentos. No experimento 1, o acoplamento de trajetórias horizontais das duas mãos no padrão em-fase foi testado em condições em que o foco de atenção das crianças foi dirigido, ora para a mão dominante, ora para a mão não dominante e na condição autodirigida (livre). No experimento 2, as crianças receberam dicas de atenção verbal para manter o padrão fora-de-fase em função do aumento da frequência de oscilação das mãos. Em geral, os resultados mostraram que as crianças com TDC apresentaram acoplamento menos estável e um controle deficitário nos padrões de coordenação em-fase quando o foco de atenção foi dirigido para a mão dominante. Além disso, apesar das crianças do grupo com TDC apresentarem maior variabilidade na execução da tarefa bimanual fora-de-fase, observou-se que a dica de atenção verbal adicional... / Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) have difficulties performing everyday activities. Bimanual tasks such as tying shoes and using cutlery, for example, require a different engagement of their hands and, thus, are more challenging for these children. Attention has an important role in the executive function and regulation of cognitive processes related to planning and execution of motor tasks. However, few studies have investigated whether or not the manipulation of focus of attention, during the execution of fine bimanual tasks, can be used as motor intervention strategy with children with DCD. This study investigated the effect of directing the attentional focus during execution of bimanual tasks in children with and without DCD. Twenty-eight 9-10 years old children were evaluated and composed two groups matched by age and gender based on the results of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC- 2): TDC [n=14] and typically developing (TD) [n=14]. Children participated in two experiments. In the experiment 1, the coupling of horizontal trajectories of both hands in the in-phase pattern was obtained in conditions where the focus of attention was directed, alternatively to the dominant, non-dominant hand, and self-directed condition (free). In the experiment 2, the children received an additional verbal attention cue to maintain the anti-phase pattern, as the frequency of oscillation of their hands increased. Overall, the results showed that children with DCD presented a less stable ability to couple their hands, and deficits controlling in-phase bimanual coordination patterns when the focus of attention was directed to the dominant hand. Furthermore, although the group of children with DCD displayed higher variability during the execution of the antiphase bimanual pattern, the additional cue help them to stabilize the anti-phase bimanual coordination pattern. Altogether, these findings confirm that the ...

Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-20T17:09:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2015-02-23. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2015-08-20T17:26:29Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000842319.pdf: 194290 bytes, checksum: 0108c001486439e5bfc786fe6009e3d8 (MD5) / Os pacientes com doença de Parkinson (DP) apresentam graus variados de fraqueza muscular, déficit de mobilidade, instabilidade postural e outras alterações motoras. Recentemente o treinamento com vibração tem sido usada em pacientes com DP com resultados promissores, porém ainda não conclusivos. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar o efeito de um protocolo utilizando a vibração do corpo todo (VCT) na força muscular e na mobilidade funcional de indivíduos com DP (n=10). Antes do início do protocolo de treinamento os indivíduos realizaram uma avaliação inicial que consistiu de: avaliação da força muscular isométrica dos flexores e extensores do joelho e da mobilidade funcional (Short Physical Performance Battery-SPPB). Os mesmos procedimentos da avaliação inicial foram realizados ao final do treinamento. Os voluntários realizaram cinco semanas de treinamento na plataforma vibratória: o treinamento foi realizado com os sujeitos em pé, em duas posições: a) pés separados em uma posição estável e confortável com joelhos em extensão; b) pés separados e joelhos semiflexionados. Em cada uma das posições a vibração foi realizada em cinco séries de 1 minuto de duração, com intervalo de 1 minuto entre cada série, e de 5 minutos entre a primeira e a segunda posição. Foram realizadas duas sessões semanais com duração de 30 minutos cada. Após as cinco semanas os voluntários foram reavaliados. Os dados pré e pósintervenção foram comparados por meio do Teste ANOVA para medidas repetidas e post-hoc de Bonferroni (p<0,05). O presente estudo demonstrou que cinco semanas de terapia com VCT, 2 sesssões/semana, resultaram na melhora significativa da força muscular isométrica de flexores e extensores de joelho (F=11,558 e p=0,009) e da mobilidade funcional de (F=11,558 e p=0,009) indivíduos com DP / Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have varying degrees of muscle weakness, mobility impairment, postural instability and other motor abnormalities. Recently training with vibration has been used in PD patients with promising results, but not yet conclusive. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a protocol using the vibration of the whole body (VCT) in muscle strength and functional mobility in individuals with PD (n = 10). Before the training protocol subjects performed an initial evaluation consisting of: evaluation of isometric muscle strength of the flexor and extensor of the knee and functional mobility (Short Physical Performance Battery-SPPB). The same procedures as the initial assessment were performed at the end of training. The volunteers performed five weeks of training on the vibration platform: training was conducted with the subjects standing in two positions: a) feet apart in a stable and comfortable position with knees extended; b) feet apart and knees bended. In each position the vibration was performed in five series of 1 minute long, with 1 minute interval between each set, and 5 minutes between the first and second positions. There were two weekly sessions lasting 30 minutes each. After the five weeks the volunteers were reassessed. The pre and post-intervention data were compared using the ANOVA test for repeated measures and post hoc Bonferroni (p <0.05). This study showed that five weeks of therapy with VCT, 2 sessions per week resulted in significant improvement in isometric muscle strength of knee flexors and extensors (F = 11.558, p = 0.009) and functional mobility (F = 11.558, p = 0.009) in individuals with PD

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterised by a range of behaviours that include excessive motor activity and distractibility. Motor coordination problem is often a feature. It is therefore likely that motor control mechanisms are implicated in ADHD and then executive function associated with it. After a literature review on the correlation between cognition and movement (chapter 1), the novel VSWM (chapter 2) and sequential learning (chapter 3) tasks are introduced. Based on the typical Corsi tapping task, participants were instructed to either move their hand to the stimulus presented on the computer screen or tap the keyboard when they saw it, while trying to remember the location and order of the stimuli. The results suggest that movements deteriorate VSWM in both ADHD and control groups (chapter 2) while they had a tendency to improve learning performance in healthy but not ADHD participants (chapter 3). It was posited that the results from both tasks could have been influenced by differences in the ability to concentrate on the task and difficulty in controlling movements. Two other experiments were used to test this assumption and eliminate any confounds from the memory and learning tasks. The results from chapter 4, which looks at divided attention, indicate a significantly higher response rate in the ADHD compared to the healthy participants, while showing no significant deficit in fine motor but rather on the attentional control (chapter 5) in ADHD participants. These findings are summarised in chapter 6 and discussed in terms of 1) the relationship between movement and cognitive function, 2) the causation of the VSWM deficit in ADHD, and 3) the potential use these tasks may have in a clinical setting as an assessment tool or cognitive training program for people with ADHD.