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This study investigated whether time-estimation task exposure influences the severity of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as theta band activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.Twenty-two patients with ADHD participated in a crossover experiment with a visual time-estimation task under control conditions (without exposure to time estimation tasks) and experimental (thirty days exposure to time-estimation tasks) in association with electroencephalographic analysis of theta band.ADHD patients with thirty days of time-estimation task exposure presented a worse performance of the time-estimation task, as revealed by the measurements of the absolute error and relative error (We propose that the decrease in EEG theta power may indicate an efficient accumulation of temporal pulses, which could be responsible for the improvement in the patient cognitive aspects as demonstrated by the current study. Time-estimation task improves ADHD cognitive symptoms, with a substantial increase in cortical areas activity related to attention and memory, suggesting its use as a tool for cognitive timing function management and non-invasive therapeutic aid in ADHD.

No âmbito da fisioterapia, movimentos realizados em diagonal por meio de padrões específicos visam a recuperação funcional dos pacientes. Esses exercícios terapêuticos são utilizados com o intuito de evitar lesões, sendo benéficos nos programas que promovam alongamento e fortalecimento. No entanto, embora movimentos em diagonal sejam bastante utilizados na prática clínica, as repercussões corticais provocadas por esse tipo de movimento ainda são desconhecidas. Objetivo. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar quais as repercussões eletrofisiológicas dos movimentos em diagonal por meio da análise da potência absoluta na banda gama no córtex pré-frontal. Método. A amostra foi composta por 20 voluntárias, com idade entre 18 a 28 anos, destras, não praticantes de atividade física e com Índice de Massa Corpórea (IMC) entre 18,50 a 24,99. Foram utilizadas ANOVA mista de um, dois e três fatores seguido do teste de post hoc. Resultados. Observamos interação entre os fatores grupos, áreas corticais e momentos. Conclusão. Concluímos que o treinamento em diagonal promove alterações na atividade cortical uma vez que um aumento da potência absoluta na banda gama no córtex pré-frontal, à medida que o sujeito realizava a tarefa, foi observado.

Several studies have demonstrated that stroke subjects present impairment of functions related to decision-making and timing, involving the information processing in the neural circuits of the cerebellum in association with the prefrontal cortex. This review is aimed to identify the gaps, and demonstrate a better understanding of decision-making and timing functions in the patients with stroke. Electronic literature database was searched and the findings of relevant studies were used to explore the mechanisms of decision-making and timing in patients with stroke, as well as the circuit connections in timing mediated by prefrontal cortex and cerebellum. A literature review was conducted with 65 studies that synthesized findings on decision-making and time perception in individuals with stroke. Types of neurobiological modalities in this study included: Relationships among decision-making, time perception, related cognitive aspects (such as discrimination tasks, verbal estimation, bisection tasks, time production and motor reproduction), and motor control. We demonstrate that the timing processes are important for the performance in cognitive tasks and that the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex are involved in decision-making and time perception. In the context, the decision-making is impaired in stroke patients has a great impact on executive functions, and this seems to be important in determining neurobiological aspects relevant to the time interval interpretation.

Introdução: O equilí­brio corporal pode ser afetado por déficits visuais, proprioceptivos e/ou vestibulares centrais ou periféricas. Dentre as afecções vestibulares periféricos, a Vertigem Postural Paroxí­stica Benigna apresenta grande interesse em pesquisas que buscam responder suas apresentações clí­nicas em adultos e sua associação com a integralidade dos demais sistemas corporais. Objetivo: Analisar as respostas de adultos jovens assintomáticos submetidos í semiologia do sistema vestibular. Metodologia: Estudo quantitativo, transversal analí­tico e descritivo, onde foram utilizados os testes de equilí­brio estático, dinâmico e a manobra de Dix-Hallpike, com amostra de 30 voluntários assintomáticos recrutados em uma instituição de ensino superior do municí­pio de Parnaí­ba/PI. Resultados: O teste de apoio unipodal (1,87 ± 0,346) foi negativo (p < 0,001) e no teste de Fukuda (1,20 ± 0,407) grande parte tiveram resultados positivos (p < 0,001). Os testes de Romberg (2,00 ± 0,000), Romberg-Barré (1,50 ± 0,509) e Babinski-Weil (1,37 ± 0,490) não foram significantes (p = 0,001). Para a Manobra de Dix-Hallpike observamos que os movimentos de sedestação para decúbito dorsal esquerdo e de decúbito dorsal para sedestação direito e esquerdo foram significativos (p < 0,001). Conclusão: Os adultos jovens assintomáticos podem apresentar resultados positivos em teste de equilí­brio e sintomas na manobra de Dix-Hallpike, confirmando a Vertigem Postural Paroxí­stica Benigna.Palavras-chave: doenças vestibulares, equilí­brio postural, testes de função vestibular.

Cortical changes resulting from physical activity and differences in the estimation of the time of practitioners and non-practitioners of physical activity have already been documented. However, there aren't studies that compare the cortical responses of the time estimate between these groups. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of the level of physical activity in time estimation and beta band activity in frontal regions, specifically in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, and parietal cortex during the task of estimating time in practitioners and non-practitioners of physical activity. After characterizing the sample, the signal was captured using an electroencephalogram during a task to estimate the time of four intervals of supraseconds. The results indicated that the practitioners of physical activity had lower errors in the evaluation of time for the intervals of 1 s, 7 s, and 9 s. The beta band showed less activity among practitioners of physical activity. The correlation between task performance and the absolute power of the beta band proved to be positive in the task of estimating time in the 7 s, and 9 s intervals. It was concluded that participants involved in the regular practice of physical activity showed underestimation in the temporal judgment and lower absolute power of the beta band during the time estimate.

Introdução: O tempo de reação é uma medida que indica o tempo que uma pessoa leva para iniciar um movimento. Há situações em que o tempo de reação encontra-se alterado, comprometendo o processamento da informação, com diminuição na detecção, transmissão e processamento dos estí­mulos. Objetivo: Investigar o tempo de reação visual em acadêmicos antes e após atividades avaliativas, nas diversas disciplinas. Metodologia: 50 acadêmicos foram analisados antes e após atividades avaliativas por meio do tempo de reação simples e paradigma oddball. Resultados: Com relação ao tempo de reação simples, o tempo de reação visual antes das atividades avaliativas foi menor que após, em contradição com o paradigma oddball. Verificou-se que a média geral do tempo de reação simples para prova prática foi maior comparado às demais, já no paradigma oddball verificou-se que a média geral para apresentação de seminário foi maior, comparado às demais. Conclusão: Diferenças significativas no tempo de reação simples e tempo de reação segundo paradigma oddball foram encontrados entre acadêmicos antes e após atividades avaliativas. Porém no tempo de reação simples foram encontrados valores menores antes das atividades, quando comparados com após, e o contrário foi encontrado no paradigma oddball.Palavras-chave: tempo de reação, atividades avaliativas, paradigma oddball.

Methylphenidate produces its effects via actions on cortical areas involved with attention and working memory, which have a direct role in time estimation judgment tasks. In particular, the prefrontal and parietal cortex has been the target of several studies to understand the effect of methylphenidate on executive functions and time interval perception. However, it has not yet been studied whether acute administration of methylphenidate influences performance in time estimation task and the changes in alpha band absolute power in the prefrontal and parietal cortex. The current study investigates the influence of the acute use of methylphenidate in both performance and judgment in the time estimation interpretation through the alpha band absolute power activity in the prefrontal and parietal cortex. This is a double-blind, crossover study with a sample of 32 subjects under control (placebo) and experimental (methylphenidate) conditions with absolute alpha band power analysis during a time estimation task. We observed that methylphenidate does not influence task performance (p > 0.05), but it increases the time interval underestimation by over 7 s (p

AIM OF THE STUDY Previous studies have shown that several cortical regions are involved in temporal tasks in multiple timescales. However, the hemispheric predominance of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during time reproduction after repetitive low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is relatively unexplored. Here, we study the effects of 1 Hz rTMS and sham stimulation applied medially over the superior parietal cortex (SPC) on the DLPFC alpha and beta band asymmetry and on time reproduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS For this purpose, we have combined rTMS with electroencephalography in 20 healthy subjects who performed the time reproduction task in two conditions (sham and 1 Hz). RESULTS The worst performance was observed in sham and 1Hz conditions for longer time intervals (p

Objectives The objective of this study was to present a broad view of how genetic polymorphisms in genes that control the rhythmicity and function of circadian rhythm may influence the etiology, pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar disorder (BD). Methods A bibliographic search was performed to identify and select papers reporting studies on variations in circadian genes and BD. A search of Medline, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science was carried out to review the literature. Results Several studies provide evidence of contributions of variations in circadian genes to disease etiology, pathophysiological variations and lithium drug response. Dysfunction of the sleep-wake cycle, an important brain function regulator, is indicated as the primary means by which circadian gene variations act in mood disorders. Conclusions Investigations of the effects of circadian genes have suggested that the chronotype offers hope for guiding and improving management of patients with BD. However, BD is a disease of a complex nature and presents multiple endophenotypes determined by different associations between genetics and the environment. Thus, new genomic studies to delimit variations that may help improve the clinical condition of these patients are extremely important.

Bromazepam emulates the inhibitory effect of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and can lead to impaired visuomotor performance. However, few studies have evaluated its effects on cortical coupling in target shooting activities. The present study aimed to analyze the acute effects of bromazepam administration in a target shooting task and the EEG theta rhythm coherence between frontal, temporal, and motor cortical areas in four shooting preparation periods. Thus, a double blind, crossover study was conducted with 30 subjects under two conditions: bromazepam (6mg) and placebo, with electroencephalographic analysis to simultaneously study the theta rhythm coherence in frontal, temporal, and motor cortex in a target shooting task; and the possible interferences of bromazepam administration. Subjects in the bromazepam group showed lower performance on the task compared to placebo (p=0.001). In addition, our analysis showed decreased coherence between regions in the same hemisphere, increased theta rhythm coherence in interhemispheric regions in frontal, temporal and motor cortex at different intervals in the preparation preceding the shooting (p=0.001). The use of bromazepam may influence task execution, possibly due to neurochemical modulation, during decision making, developing shooting preparation strategies, as well as interfering with the flow of information at the level of attention during task execution. El bromazepam imita el efecto inhibidor del neurotransmisor ácido gamma-aminobutírico (GABA) y puede provocar un deterioro del rendimiento visuomotor. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han evaluado sus efectos sobre el acoplamiento cortical en las actividades de tiro al blanco. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar los efectos agudos de la administración de bromazepam en una tarea de tiro al blanco y la coherencia del ritmo theta del EEG entre las áreas corticales frontales, temporales y motoras en cuatro períodos de preparación de tiro. Así, se realizó un estudio cruzado y a doble ciego con 30 sujetos en dos condiciones: bromazepam (6 mg) y placebo, con análisis electroencefalográfico para estudiar simultáneamente la coherencia del ritmo theta en la corteza frontal, temporal y motora en una tarea de tiro al blanco; y las posibles interferencias de la administración de bromazepam. Los sujetos del grupo de bromazepam mostraron un menor rendimiento en la tarea en comparación con el placebo (p=0,001). Además, nuestro análisis mostró una disminución de la coherencia entre regiones del mismo hemisferio y un aumento de la coherencia del ritmo theta en regiones interhemisféricas de la corteza frontal, temporal y motora a diferentes intervalos en la preparación que precede al disparo (p=0,001). El uso de bromazepam puede influir en la ejecución de la tarea, posiblemente debido a la modulación neuroquímica, durante la toma de decisiones, el desarrollo de estrategias para preparar el tiro, así como la interferencia en el flujo de información a nivel de la atención durante la ejecución de la tarea. O bromazepam imita o efeito inibidor do neurotransmissor ácido gama-aminobutírico (GABA) e podem levar ao prejuízo do desempenho visuomotor. No entanto, poucos estudos avaliaram seus efeitos no acoplamento cortical em atividades de tiro ao alvo. O presente estudo objetivou analisar os efeitos agudo da administração de bromazepam numa tarefa de tiro ao alvo e a coerência do ritmo teta do EEG entre as áreas da cortical frontal, temporal, e motora em quatro períodos preparatórios de tiro. Desse modo, foi realizado um estudo crossover e duplo cego, com 30 sujeitos sob duas condições: bromazepam (6mg) e placebo, com análise eletroencefalográfica para estudar simultaneamente a coerência do ritmo teta no córtex frontal, temporal e motor, numa tarefa de tiro ao alvo; e as possíveis interferências da administração do bromazepam. Os sujeitos do grupo bromazepam apresentaram um desempenho inferior na tarefa em comparação com o placebo (p=0,001). Além disso, a nossa análise mostrou uma diminuição da coerência entre regiões no mesmo hemisfério, um aumento da coerência do ritmo teta nas regiões interhemisféricas no córtex frontal, temporal e motor em diferentes intervalos na preparação que antecedeu o tiroteio (p=0,001). O uso de bromazepam pode influenciar a execução da tarefa, possivelmente devido à modulação neuroquímica, durante a tomada de decisões, desenvolvendo estratégias de preparação do tiro, além de interferir com o fluxo de informação ao nível da atenção durante a execução da tarefa.

A percepção do tempo é subjetiva e relativa, além de modulada por aspectos neurofuncionais como a emoção, memória e atenção, e está alterada em algumas patologias neuropsiquiátricas. Entretanto, ainda existe muita discussão sobre quais modelos de percepção do tempo são mais aceitáveis e como estão envolvidos nas doenças neurológicas. Desse modo, o conhecimento do fisioterapeuta sobre a percepção do tempo e seus modelos é um fator que pode direcionar ao tratamento do paciente, pois há uma ativação de áreas corticais na percepção do tempo que também são envolvidas na motricidade. Um modelo geral de processamento de informação temporal deve comportar um oscilador, acumulador e comparador dos dados obtidos com a memória. No entanto, as bases neurofisiológicas dos mecanismos de percepção do tempo ainda não são totalmente determinadas, existindo modelos que apontam a existência de um mecanismo neural único ou a de vários dispositivos especializados em diferentes escalas. Embora as mudanças na percepção do tempo não caracterizem uma doença, diversos comprometimentos neurológicos podem acometer a percepção temporal. Apesar dos esforços não se pode concluir sobre quais áreas desempenham a função temporizadora, apenas inferir por meio de experimentos realizados em animais e humanos.Palavras-chave: percepção do tempo, doença de Parkinson, neuroanatomia, neurofisiologia.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been used as a non-invasive method for enhanced motor and cognitive abilities. However, no previous study has investigated if the tDCS application in unskilled shooters on cortical sites, selected based on the cortical activity of skilled shooters, improves the accuracy and shot grouping. Sixty participants were selected, which included 10 skilled shooters and 50 unskilled shooters. After we identified the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as the area with the highest activity in skilled shooters, we applied anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC in the unskilled shooters under two conditions: sham-tDCS (placebo) and real-tDCS (anodal tDCS). We also analyzed electroencephalography. Our results indicated that anodal tDCS application enhanced the shot accuracy (p = 0.001). Furthermore, the beta power in the EEG recording was higher in the left DLPFC, left and right parietal cortex (p = 0,001) after applying anodal tDCS, while the low-gamma power was higher in the right DLPFC in sham-tDCS (p = 0.001) and right parietal cortex after anodal-tDCS (p = 0.001). Our findings indicate that anodal tDCS can improve accuracy and shot grouping when applied over the unskilled shooters' right DLPFC. Furthermore, beta and low-gamma bands are influenced by anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC, which may be predictive of skill improvement.

Background and objectives Several studies indicate that subjects with Parkinson’s disease present motor impaired, timing and many interventions used to improve their motor behavior, but so far no training protocols that use time-estimation tasks. In this preliminary study, we aimed to report the effects of the time-estimation task training on motor behaviour and the electroencephalographic activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and motor cortex. Methods We analysed motor-exploration behaviour in 5 Parkinson’s patients using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale, in addition to the alpha band absolute power activity of the electroencephalogram. Results Our results show the motor-exploration behaviour improvement in Parkinson patients after the training (p

The low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) application has been associated with changes in cognitive processes embedded during time perception tasks. Although several studies have investigated the influence of neuromodulation on time perception, the effect of the 1-Hz rTMS application on the superior parietal cortex is not clearly understood. This study analyzes the effect of the low-frequency rTMS on time estimation when applied in the parietal medial longitudinal fissure. For the proposed study, 20 subjects were randomly selected for a crossover study with two conditions (sham and 1 Hz). Our findings reveal that participant underestimate 1-s time interval and overestimate 4-s and 9-s time intervals after 1-Hz rTMS (p ≤ 0.05). We conclude that the 1-Hz rTMS in the parietal medial longitudinal fissure delays short interval and speed up long time intervals. This could be due to the effect of parietal inhibition on the attentional level and working memory functions during time estimation.

The present study investigated the association of 3′-UTR VNTR and intron 8 VNTR polymorphisms with a time estimation task performance. One hundred and eight men in a Brazilian Northeast population (18–32 years old) participated in the experiment. The 3′-UTR VNTR and intron 8 VNTR polymorphisms were associated alone and combined to absolute error (AE) and relative error (RE) in a time estimation task (target duration: 1 s, 4 s, 7 s and 9 s). We found an association of the behavioral variable with intron 8 VNTR for the time intervals of 1 s and 9 s (p

Dopaminergic system plays a key role in perception, which is an important executive function of the brain. Modulation in dopaminergic system forms an important biochemical underpinning of neural mechanisms of time perception in a very wide range, from milliseconds to seconds to longer daily rhythms. Distinct types of temporal experience are poorly understood, and the relationship between processing of different intervals by the brain has received little attention. A comprehensive understanding of interval timing functions should be sought within a wider context of temporal processing, involving genetic aspects, pharmacological models, cognitive aspects, motor control and the neurological diseases with impaired dopaminergic system. Particularly, an unexplored question is whether the role of dopamine in interval timing can be integrated with the role of dopamine in non-interval timing temporal components. In this review, we explore a wider perspective of dopaminergic system, involving genetic polymorphisms, pharmacological models, executive functions and neurological diseases on the time perception. We conclude that the dopaminergic system has great participation in impact on time perception and neurobiological basis of the executive functions and neurological diseases.

Spatial working memory has been extensively investigated with different tasks, treatments, and analysis tools. Several studies suggest that low frequency of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the parietal cortex may influence spatial working memory (SWM). However, it is not yet known if after low-frequency rTMS applied to the superior parietal cortex, according to Pz electroencephalography (EEG) electrode, would change the orientation interpretation about the vertical and horizontal axes coordinates in an SWM task. The current study aims at filling this gap and obtains a better understanding of the low-frequency rTMS effect in SWM. In this crossover study, we select 20 healthy subjects in two conditions (control and 1-Hz rTMS). The subjects performed an SWM task with two random coordinates. Our results presented that low-frequency rTMS applied over the superior parietal cortex may influence the SWM to lead to a larger distance of axes interception point (p

Introduction: Headache is listed as one of the most prevalent pain conditions, with significant socioeconomic impact that affects the quality of life. Among these, we highlight the tension-type headache (TTH) and migraine. Treatment ranges from pharmacotherapy to physical therapy, emphasizing manual therapy. Objective: to highlight key findings and results of manual therapy techniques in the treatment of primary headaches. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted through research and original studies published in journals indexed in electronic databases PLoS, MEDLINE via PubMed, PEDro, Lilacs and SciELO, which contained analyzes related to the purpose of the study in question. To evaluate the methodological quality and statistical description, as well as the risk of bias of the selected physical therapy studies, the PEDro scale as well as the PRISMA checklist. Results: 1,205 articles were found, of which nine were selected. These, despite the variety of techniques and duration of the intervention, indicated a decrease in the frequency, intensity and use of analgesic medication, and elevation in pain threshold, endurance of flexor muscles active cervical. A methodological analysis of trials was available for 55,5% of those and with scores ≥5 (PEDro scale). Conclusions: Manual therapy is show as an effective alternative in the treatment of primary headache.

A deficiency in processing, retaining and consolidating information in the short and long term memory is observed in schizophrenics. Dopaminergic levels and synchronism of neural inputs in coding of events interpreted by the central nervous system appear to be related to this deficiency. However, there is limited understanding on the specific memory functions through a specialized network and focused on areas of the brain. Therefore, we conducted a literature search in the databases PubMed, Scielo, Lilacs and Bireme to demonstrate the disintegration in the processing of information attributed to failures in connectivity between hippocampal neural circuits with the various encephalic areas in schizophrenic patients. The literature reports that schizophrenics, among other causes, have deficiencies in cortico-hippocampal connections that participating in separation of time pattern, processing and consolidation of memory.

The circadian rhythm and the serotonergic system have anatomical connections and convergent functional association influencing the functioning of the central nervous system. Serotonin is present in several areas of the brain that regulate the circadian rhythm and deregulations in the levels of dopamine have been associated with neurological disorders such as autism, depression, and anxiety. New discoveries have been made about the association of serotonin and circadian rhythm. Thus, the objective of the study was to address the clinical advances on the interaction of these two systems. For this, a bibliographic review in databases Scielo, PubMed, Lilacs and Cochrane was carried out, in which 40 full articles were used. Through genetic, physiological and clinical evidence, the 5-HT and circadian systems of the brain are connected to each other and converge to regulate affective behaviors and pathologies. Rates ever-increasing related to use of selective inhibitors of serotonin reuptake and other drug classes of serotonergic influences are observed, as well as an increasing prevalence of circadian disorders, especially linked to sleep problems.

The concept of Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation is widely used in the treatment of disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Among the basic principles, Motor Irradiation (MI) allows to activate weak muscles, by activating strong muscles. Despite being widely used, the neurophysiological basis that justify the Motor Irradiation and its measurement forms are not yet well understood, which motivated us to conduct a review of the databases of PubMed, Lilacs and Scielo, looking for articles that clarify the subject. The literature emphasizes three possible theories to justify MI, two neural and one biomechanical. There are several ways used to measure the MI, and the Electromyography, Functional magnetic resonance imaging and Load cell are the most cited in studies. Future studies could use the electroencephalography to measure the electrophysiological effects caused by strength irradiation in the Neuromuscular Facilitation Proprioceptive protocols.