Search

Body re-sizing illusions can profoundly alter perception of our own body. We investigated whether creating the illusion of a muscled and fit-looking back (Strong) influenced perceived back size, body ownership, and attitudes towards self-capacity during a lifting task. Twenty-four healthy male volunteers performed a standardised lifting task while viewing real-time (delay

Body-specific mental rotation is thought to rely upon internal representations of motor actions. Handedness is a source of distinctly different motor experience that shapes the development of such internal representations. Yet, the influence of handedness upon hand mental rotation has never been systematically evaluated. Five databases were searched for studies evaluating hand left/right judgement tasks in adults. Two independent reviewers performed screening, data extraction, and critical appraisal. Eighty-seven datasets were included, with 72 datasets pooled; all had unclear/high risk of bias. Meta-analyses showed that right-handers were faster, but not more accurate, than left-handers at hand mental rotation. A unique effect of handedness was found on performance facilitation for images corresponding to the dominant hand. Meta-analyses showed that right-handers were quicker at identifying images of right hands than left hands—a dominance advantage not evident in left-handers. Differing hand representations (more lateralised hand dominance in right-handers) likely underpin these findings. Given potential differences between hand preference and motor performance, future research exploring their distinct contributions to mental rotation is warranted. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Left/right judgement (LRJ) tasks involve determining the laterality of presented hand or feet images. Allocentric images (third-person perspective; 3PP) take longer to identify than egocentric images (first-person perspective; 1PP), supporting that implicit motor imagery (IMI)—mentally manoeuvring one’s body to match the shown posture—is used. While numerous cognitive processes are involved during LRJs, it remains unclear whether features of the individual (e.g., visual exposure, experience, task-dependent use) influence the type of recognition strategy used during LRJs (IMI versus non-IMI). To investigate whether an individual’s routine visual exposure to hands/feet in 3PP disrupts the typical perspective–reaction time (RT) relationship in LRJs, hand therapists, podiatrists, and healthy controls completed online LRJ tasks of hand and feet images. A group-specific reduction in RT for only allocentric images would represent a switch to non-IMI strategies. The results show that routine visual exposure to feet in 3PP (podiatrists) results in quicker RTs only for allocentric images of feet, suggesting a switch from IMI to non-IMI (e.g., visual object-based recognition) strategies. In contrast, routine visual exposure to hands in 3PP (hand therapists) does not alter RT for allocentric images, suggesting maintenance of IMI. However, hand therapists have quicker RTs (vs other groups) for egocentric hand images, supporting enhanced sensorimotor processing for the hand, consistent with task-dependent use (precise hand use). Higher accuracy in health professionals (vs control) on both tasks supports enhanced body schema. Combined, this suggests that 3PP visual exposure to body parts and task-dependent use contribute to LRJ performance/recognition strategy Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Lack of standardization of terminology in low back pain (LBP) research has significantly impeded progress in this area. The diversity in existing definitions for a 'recurrence of an episode of LBP' and 'recurrent LBP' is an important example. The variety of definitions used by researchers working in this area has prevented comparison of results between trials and made meta-analyses of this data unfeasible. The aim of this study was to use a modified Delphi approach to gain consensus on definitions for a 'recurrence of an episode of LBP' (e.g. outcome event) and for 'recurrent LBP' (e.g. patient population). Existing definitions for both constructs were classified into the main features comprising the definition (e.g. 'duration of pain') and the items that defined each feature (e.g. 'pain lasting at least 24 h'). In each round, participants were asked to rate the importance of each feature to a definition of a 'recurrence of an episode of LBP', and a definition of 'recurrent LBP' and rank the items (defining each feature) in order of decreasing importance. Forty-six experts in LBP research, from nine different countries, participated in this study. Four rounds were completed with responses rates of 94, 91, 83, and 97% in rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Consensus definitions were reached in both areas with 95% of panel members supporting the definition of a 'recurrence of an episode of LBP' and 92% of panel members supporting the definition of 'recurrent LBP'. Future research is necessary to evaluate these definitions.