Study Design: This was a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Background: Fall and postural instability are common undesirable consequences of the elderly. Although the benefits of exercise for fall prevention have been demonstrated, the majority of the elderly are physically inactive due to several physical and mental limitations they may face. Another alternative treatment such as neurofeedback with providing additional sensory information may enhance movement performance and so decrease the risk of fall. Objectives: To compare the effects of physical activity and neurofeedback training on postural stability and risk of fall in elderly women. Methods: Forty-five physically independent women who were older than 65 years old, living in the Fereshtegan Elderly Care Center in Shiraz, were recruited and randomly divided into three groups including control, physical activity, and neurofeedback training (15 people in each group). Participants in experimental groups trained for 12 weeks (3 days per week/30 minutes per session). Fall risk and postural stability of participants in all three groups were evaluated before and after intervention using the Biodex Balance System. Results: A mixed model design ANOVA comparing neurofeedback training and physical activity exhibited a significantly greater improvement in both risk of fall and postural stability compared to control (P < .05). Results of post-hoc analysis further indicated that neurofeedback training compared to physical activity can be superior beneficial in reducing risk of fall (P = .005) and improving postural stability (P = .005). There were also significant interactions between group and time of fall risk (P = .0005, ηp² = 0.97) and postural stability (P = .001, ηp² = 0.79). Conclusion: Both neurofeedback and physical activity could be considered as useful alternative for postural stability and balance improvement in elderly women; however, neurofeedback training was more effective than physical activity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of core stabilization training on balance and reaction time in children with developmental coordination disorder. This was a semi-experimental study. Twenty children recognized for DCD, age range 6 to 12 years old were recruited form DCD children rehabilitation center in Tehran and ...

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that appears in the early years of childhood. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impact of sensory-motor trainings on the executive functions and social interactions of children with high-functioning autism. Methods: The current research was of semi-experimental type and pre-test-posttest research design with control and experimental groups. The sample consisted of N = 50 boys aged 7 to 12 years with high-functioning autism in Shiraz. A selective sampling approach was used to randomly allocate 50 high-functioning autistic students into experimental and control groups. Initially, a pretest was administered using the Coolidge Personality and Neuropsychological Inventory for Children and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale. Subsequently, the experimental group engaged in 24 sessions of sensory-motor integration trainings three times a week over 8 weeks, while the control group continued with their regular daily activities. Data analysis was performed using covariance analysis. Results: The findings indicated that therapeutic intervention through sensory-motor integration trainings led to significant enhancements in the executive functions and social interactions of children in the experimental group (P ≤ 0.05). Conversely, no improvements were observed in the control group. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that sensory-motor trainings programs can effectively enhance the executive functions and social interactions of children with high-functioning autism.