Language areas of the brain can be mapped in individual participants with functional MRI. We investigated the validity and reliability of four language mapping paradigms that may be appropriate for individuals with acquired aphasia: sentence completion, picture naming, naturalistic comprehension, and narrative comprehension. Five neurologically normal older adults were scanned on each of the four paradigms on four separate occasions. Validity was assessed in terms of whether activation patterns reflected the known typical organization of language regions, that is, lateralization to the left hemisphere, and involvement of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left middle and/or superior temporal gyri. Reliability (test-retest reproducibility) was quantified in terms of the Dice coefficient of similarity, which measures overlap of activations across time points. We explored the impact of different absolute and relative voxelwise thresholds, a range of cluster size cutoffs, and limitation of analyses to a priori potential language regions. We found that the narrative comprehension and sentence completion paradigms offered the best balance of validity and reliability. However, even with optimal combinations of analysis parameters, there were many scans on which known features of typical language organization were not demonstrated, and test-retest reproducibility was only moderate for realistic parameter choices. These limitations in terms of validity and reliability may constitute significant limitations for many clinical or research applications that depend on identifying language regions in individual participants. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

La Policía Nacional de Colombia en el desarrollo de programas educativos que emplean equipos caninos (Perro-Manejador), utiliza pruebas de selección, fundamentales para determinar cuáles animales son Aptos o No Aptos para iniciar el adiestramiento, continuarlo y finalizar su certificación. Por lo anterior lo que buscó esta investigación es que los instrumentos se validen para que sean confiables y predecir los perros que aprueban o desaprueban las evaluaciones comportamentales, aportando al desarrollo de los programas académicos. Para alcanzar el propósito del estudio, se efectúo un análisis univariado utilizando tablas de contingecia de 2 por 2, estimando la Sensibilidad y Especificidad de cada una de las pruebas realizadas en los caninos detectores de sustancias narcóticas y explosivas (n=549). Determinando los valores predictivos de los Test: Instrumento No 1 (Test-retest), Instrumento No 2 (Potenciación y Asociación) e Instrumento No 3 (certificación final). Estableciendo el nivel de acuerdo entre los evaluadores (Kappa de Cohen), correlacionando las 17 variables comportamentales individuales y agrupadas para predecir los caninos Aptos y No Aptos para el servicio policial. Dentro de los principales hallazgos se evidencia una sensibilidad y especificidad altas, con resultados estadísticamente significativos para la mayoría de las variables comportamentales analizadas individualmente (P

The functional neuroanatomy of language localization in dyslexia has primarily been studied in the context of reading. However, dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a “language-based learning disability,” yet the functional signature of the core language comprehension network in dyslexia is far less understood. This thesis presents a series of studies designed to compare the functionality of the brain regions supporting linguistic processing between typical and impaired readers in order to characterize the cortical language network in dyslexia. First, we investigate the extent to which the efficiency (or quality of data vs. amount of scan time) of a functional language localizer based on passive spoken language comprehension can be maximized in Chapter 2. By demarcating the language network based on smaller amounts of data and testing stability and reliability within this framework, we found that scan time can be substantially reduced without sacrificing functional specialization for language. In Chapter 3, we apply the spoken language localizer to determine differences in functional organization of language in dyslexia and provide evidence that the core spoken language comprehension network is not markedly different between typical readers and those with dyslexia. We compared the individual activations from whole-brain analysis and functional profiles in the canonical language-selective regions and found that the functional response of localized language regions in individuals with dyslexia was as selective as in typically reading adults. Chapter 4 follows up on the functional evidence reported in Chapter 3 to examine the structural connectivity within the same functional language network and additionally found essentially no differences between controls and dyslexia, further supporting the observations made in Chapter 3 that core linguistic processing is intact in dyslexia. All together, these findings converge on the suggestion that individuals with dyslexia do not rely on a separate cognitive architecture for language, potentially revealing important new insight into the dissociation of language specialization abilities and reading difficulty in dyslexia.

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Bakgrund: Nacksmärta är ett vanligt förekommande besvär och en av de främsta orsakerna till att söka vård hos fysioterapeut. Nackbesvär kan leda till förändringar i proprioception, både medveten och omedveten, vilket kan leda till en nedsatt balans. Undersökning av omedveten proprioception har gjorts genom att mäta posturalt svaj vid stimulering av muskelspolar via lokala muskelvibratorer i tidigare studier. Ingen studie har dock undersökt reliabiliteten vid stimulering av nack- och vadmuskler hos personer med respektive utan nacksmärta   Syfte: Studiens syfte var att utvärdera inter-day reliabilitet för posturalt svaj hos personer med eller utan nacksmärta genom att mäta CoP på WBB där deltagarna ges vibrationer på vader, nacke respektive underarmar.   Metod: 50 deltagare deltog i studien, 25 deltagare med nacksmärta och 25 friska kontroller. Deltagarnas CoP mättes på en WBB där deltagarnas förändring av CoP mättes innan, under och efter att vibrationer getts på vader, underarmar respektive nacken. Deltagarna testades vid två tillfällen med 7 dagars mellanrum. ICC2,1 användes för att beräknade relativ reliabilitet. Ett ICC-värde ≥ 0,75 bedöms som god reliabilitet. Absolut reliabilitet beräknades med SEM. Beroende t-test utfördes för att undersöka eventuell systematisk bias såsom adaptioner eller inlärningseffekter mellan testtillfälle 1och 2.   Resultat: Studiens resultat uppvisade en måttlig till utmärkt relativ reliabilitet (ICC = 0,69 - 0,89) för A/P amplituden för hela gruppen och SEM-värden var mellan 0,51 - 1,17 vilket utgör ca 20 - 30% av medelvärdet för de flesta svajvariablerna. En signifikant inlärningseffekt kunde ses för både A/P och M/L amplituden vid vibration av vadmuskulaturen (p = 0,015 - 0,017).   Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på en acceptabel reliabilitet och testmetoden kan användas i såväl forskning som klinisk användning vid undersökning av posturalt svaj med eller utan vibration. / Background: Neck pain is a common occurrence and one of the main reasons for seeking care at a physiotherapist. Neck disorders can lead to changes in proprioception, both conscious and unconscious, which can lead to a reduced balance. Investigation of unconscious proprioception has been done by measuring postural sway in the stimulation of muscle spindles via local muscle vibrators in previous studies. However, no study has investigated the reliability of stimulation of neck and calf muscles in people with or without neck pain   Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate inter-day reliability on postural sway in people with or without neck pain by measuring CoP on WBB where participants receive vibration on the calf, neck and forearms.   Method: 50 participants participated in the study, 25 participants with neck pain and 25 healthy controls. Participants change of CoP was measured before, during and after vibration was given to calf, forearm and neck. Participants were tested on two occasions at 7-day intervals. ICC2,1 was used to calculate relative reliability. An ICC value ≥ 0.75 is considered to be good reliability. Absolute reliability was calculated with SEM. Dependent t-test was performed to investigate any systematic bias such as adaptations or learning effects between test 1 and 2.   Results: The results of the study showed a moderate to excellent relative reliability (ICC = 0.69 - 0.89) for the A/P amplitude and SEM values ​​were between 0.51 - 1.17 which represents about 20-30% of the mean for most sway variables. A significant learning effect could be seen for both the A/P and M/L amplitude in vibration of the calf muscles (p = 0.015-0.017).   Conclusion: The results of the study demonstrate acceptable reliability and the test method can be used in research and clinical to investigate postural sway with or without vibration.

<p><strong>Syfte:</strong> Studiens syfte var att reliabilitetspröva stabiliteten för M-SES för patienter med långvarig smärta genom test-retest metoden. Syftet var även att undersöka samtidig validitet för M-SES, genom att utföra M-SES och SES mätt vid samma tillfälle.</p><p><strong>Metod:</strong> I studien undersöktes self-efficacy instrumentet M-SES på Uppsala Akademiska sjukhus, på avdelningarna för Smärtcentrum och Smärtrehabilitering. Frågeställningarna berörde vilken stabilitets reliabilitet mätt med test-retest som förelåg hos M-SES, samt vilken grad av samtidig validitet som förelåg för M-SES korrelerat med SES. Den slutliga undersökningsgruppen bestod i frågeställningen om stabilitets reliabilitet av 29 patienter (23 kvinnor, sex män), och i frågeställning om samtidig validitet av 22 patienter (17 kvinnor, fem män).</p><p><strong>Resultat: </strong>Vid prövning av stabilitets reliabilitet för M-SES visade resultatet en stark korrelation, med korrelationskoefficient 0,92 och p<0,05. Det förelåg även en god överrensstämmelse för test-retest undersökningen. Prövningen av samtidig validitet för M-SES visade en stark korrelation, med koefficienten 0,88 och p<0,05.</p><p><strong>Konklusion:</strong> Studiens resultat visade att det förelåg en stark stabilitets reliabilitet och samtidig validitet för M-SES för patienter med långvarig smärta. Då studien genomfördes med få deltagare bör resultatet tolkas med försiktighet.</p>

Syfte: Studiens syfte var att reliabilitetspröva stabiliteten för M-SES för patienter med långvarig smärta genom test-retest metoden. Syftet var även att undersöka samtidig validitet för M-SES, genom att utföra M-SES och SES mätt vid samma tillfälle. Metod: I studien undersöktes self-efficacy instrumentet M-SES på Uppsala Akademiska sjukhus, på avdelningarna för Smärtcentrum och Smärtrehabilitering. Frågeställningarna berörde vilken stabilitets reliabilitet mätt med test-retest som förelåg hos M-SES, samt vilken grad av samtidig validitet som förelåg för M-SES korrelerat med SES. Den slutliga undersökningsgruppen bestod i frågeställningen om stabilitets reliabilitet av 29 patienter (23 kvinnor, sex män), och i frågeställning om samtidig validitet av 22 patienter (17 kvinnor, fem män). Resultat: Vid prövning av stabilitets reliabilitet för M-SES visade resultatet en stark korrelation, med korrelationskoefficient 0,92 och p&lt;0,05. Det förelåg även en god överrensstämmelse för test-retest undersökningen. Prövningen av samtidig validitet för M-SES visade en stark korrelation, med koefficienten 0,88 och p&lt;0,05. Konklusion: Studiens resultat visade att det förelåg en stark stabilitets reliabilitet och samtidig validitet för M-SES för patienter med långvarig smärta. Då studien genomfördes med få deltagare bör resultatet tolkas med försiktighet.

Background: The maximum rate of oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) can be measured through numerous tests, either directly or indirectly, where direct methods are considered more accurate, whereas indirect methods are more of an estimation with various degrees of reliability. Cooper's Test is one example of an indirect method considered reliable in estimating V̇O2max, with reliability coefficients ranging between 0.897-0.960. Cooper's Test is thus a test that is often used when estimating V̇O2max. However, there is a lack of test-retest research done utilising Cooper's Test on a younger population, which is the reasoning behind this study focusing on adolescents. Aim: The aim of the study was to study the test-retest reliability of Cooper's Test, in adolescents aged 16-19 years. Methods: Twelve healthy adolescents, aged 16-19 years, attending a sports high school participated in a test-retest study (test 1 and test 2) of Cooper's Test. The tests were performed on the short sides of a synthetic grass field, with 66 metres between the two sides, were the participants were instructed to cover as much distance as possible, with high motivation and intensity, for the whole 12 minutes of the Cooper's Test. Each individual participant's data was measured, recorded and later analysed. The total distance covered was then translated into miles and compared to Cooper's original estimated maximal oxygen consumption table for an estimation of each participant's V̇O2max value in ml*kg-1*min-1 from test 1 and test 2. The data from the test-retest and its variance was then analysed by a two-way mixed model of intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with an absolute agreement type. Results: The analysed data from test 1 and test 2 of Cooper's Test showed the results of an ICC (95% CI) of 0.06 (-0.353 to 0.544), indicating a substantial error variance between the two separate Cooper's Tests. Conclusion: The data and analysis from this study implied that Cooper's Test was not reliable in the study population, consisting of adolescents. Possible factors influencing the result however were lack of participant motivation and the level of intensity variance during the test-retest of Cooper's Test. Further researchers and amateur and professional users should keep these factors in mind when utilising Cooper's Test to predict V̇O2max. More research is needed within this study's age population to draw any definite conclusions on the reliability of Cooper's test on adolescents.

Many performance-based assessment tools are available to measure upper extremity function. Most define hand function by the time taken to complete a task. A new computer game-based hand-arm function evaluation (GHA) tool has been developed to quantify fine and gross object manipulations skills. Objective of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability and convergent validity of the GHA assessment tool. Thirty stroke clients with the mean age of 68.41 years were recruited. Test-retest reliability was assessed by Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICCs) and t-test. Convergent validity between GHA and the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) was determined using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Most of the GHA outcome measures had moderate to high ICC (0.5-0.9). With scant exceptions, low correlations were observed between GHA measures and WMFT score. The ICC values reflected the complexity of the tasks, more complex task showed lower ICCs values. / October 2016