Motor learning, retention and transfer after virtual-reality-based training in Parkinson's disease - effect of motor and cognitive demands of games: a longitudinal, controlled clinical study

Objectives To evaluate the learning, retention and transfer of performance improvements after Nintendo Wii Fit (TM) training in patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy elderly people. Design Longitudinal, controlled clinical study. Participants Sixteen patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease and 11 healthy elderly people. Interventions Warm-up exercises and Wii Fit training that involved training motor (shifts centre of gravity and step alternation) and cognitive skills. A follow-up evaluative Wii Fit session was held 60 days after the end of training. Participants performed a functional reach test before and after training as a measure of learning transfer. Main outcome measures Learning and retention were determined based on the scores of 10 Wii Fit games over eight sessions. Transfer of learning was assessed after training using the functional reach test. Results Patients with Parkinson's disease showed no deficit in learning or retention on seven of the 10 games, despite showing poorer performance on five games compared with the healthy elderly group. Patients with Parkinson's disease showed marked learning deficits on three other games, independent of poorer initial performance. This deficit appears to be associated with cognitive demands of the games which require decision-making, response inhibition, divided attention and working memory. Finally, patients with Parkinson's disease were able to transfer motor ability trained on the games to a similar untrained task. Conclusions The ability of patients with Parkinson's disease to learn, retain and transfer performance improvements after training on the Nintendo Wii Fit depends largely on the demands, particularly cognitive demands, of the games involved, reiterating the importance of game selection for rehabilitation purposes. (C) 2012 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study and characterization of starches isolated from unconventional tuber sources

Some properties of canna (Canna indica L.) and bore (Alocasia macrorrhiza) starches were evaluated and compared using cassava starch (Manihot esculenta Crantz) as a reference. Proximate analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and viscosity measurements were performed. Canna and bore starches showed a similar degree of purity as that of the cassava starch. Canna starch exhibited higher thermal stability and viscosity of solution values than those of bore and cassava starches. XRD spectra showed that canna starch crystallizes as a B-type structure; however, bore and cassava starches crystallize as an A-type structure. Results proved that canna and bore starches are promising bio(materials), obtained from unconventional sources, to be used for industrial applications, as their physicochemical properties are similar to those of cassava starch, which it is known has potential applications in this area.