Purpose: To prospectively determine the sensitivity and specificity of functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for mapping language and motor functions in patients with a focal mass adjacent to eloquent cortex, by using intraoperative electrocortical mapping (ECM) as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: The ethics committee approved the study, and patients gave written informed consent. Thirty-four consecutive patients (16 women, 18 men; mean age, 43.2 years) were included who met the following three criteria: They had a focal mass in or adjacent to eloquent cortex of the language or motor system, they had the ability to perform the functional MR imaging task, and they had to undergo surgery with intraoperative ECM. Functional MR imaging with verb generation (n = 17) or finger tapping of the contralateral hand (n = 17) was performed at 1.5 T with a block design and an echo-planar gradient-echo T2*-weighted sequence. Cortex essential for language or hand motor functions was mapped with ECM. A ...

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) PET scans were used to study the physiological bases of lipreading, a natural skill of extracting language from mouth movements, which contributes to speech perception in everyday life. Viewing connected mouth movements that could not be lexically identified and that evoke perception of isolated speech sounds (nonlexical lipreading) was associated with bilateral activation of the auditory association cortex around Wernicke's area, of left dorsal premotor cortex, and left opercular-premotor division of the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area). The supplementary motor area was active as well. These areas have all been implicated in phonological processing, speech and mouth motor planning, and execution. In addition, nonlexical lipreading also differentially activated visual motion areas. Lexical access through lipreading was associated with a similar pattern of activation and with additional foci in ventral- and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bilaterally and in left inferior parietal cortex. Linear regression analysis of cerebral blood flow and proficiency for lexical lipreading further clarified the role of these areas in gaining access to language through lipreading. The results suggest cortical activation circuits for lipreading from action representations that may differentiate lexical access from nonlexical processes.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system and a major cause of disability in young adults. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development of innovative ways to deliver rehabilitation care outside of a hospital setting. The aim was to conduct a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the efficacy of an integrated telerehabilitation approach (ITA) on motor, cognitive and participation outcomes delivered to people with MS (pwMS). We systematically searched for original manuscripts regarding ITA in pwMS. Efficacy on motor, cognitive and participation outcomes was measured as the standardized mean difference (Hedges' g) of pre and post training. Nine studies encompassing 716 pwMS diagnosis were included. The overall effect of ITA was: large for motor outcomes (g = 1.05; p = 0.013); small for cognitive performance outcomes (g = 0.16; p = 0.237); and small for participation outcomes (g = 0.15; p = 0.259). Domain-specific results showed that the effect on motor disability was large (g = 1.18), while on gait and balance was medium (g = 0.32 and g = 0.48, respectively). Moreover, all effects on single cognitive domains were small. Finally, among the single participation outcomes considered (depression, fatigue, daily functioning, quality of life and self-efficacy) only depression showed a nearly medium effect (g = 0.30). PwMS can benefit from ITA in the treatment of motor symptoms according to the current model of continuity of care. However, the low efficacy of ITA on cognition and participation domains suggests the necessity to develop intervention models that include a broader spectrum of needs and objectives.