Music-supported training is more efficient than functional motor training for recovery of fine motor skills in stroke patients

MOTOR IMPAIRMENTS ARE COMMON AFTER STROKE but efficacious therapies for these dysfunctions are scarce. Extending an earlier study on the effects of music-supported training (MST), behavioral indices of motor function were obtained before and after a series of training sessions to assess whether this new treatment leads to improved motor functions. Furthermore, music-supported training was contrasted to functional motor training according to the principles of constraint-induced therapy (CIT). In addition to conventional physiotherapy, 32 stroke patients with moderately impaired motor function and no previous musical experience received 15 sessions of MST over a period of three weeks, using a manualized, step-bystep approach. A control group consisting of 15 patients received 15 sessions of CIT in addition to conventional physiotherapy. A third group of 30 patients received exclusively conventional physiotherapy and served as a control group for the other three groups. Fine as well as gross motor skills were trained by using either a MIDI-piano or electronic drum pads programmed to emit piano tones. Motor functions were assessed by an extensive test battery. MST yielded significant improvement in fine as well as gross motor skills with respect to speed, precision, and smoothness of movements. These improvements were greater than after CIT or conventional physiotherapy. In conclusion, with equal treatment intensity, MST leads to more pronounced improvements of motor functions after stroke than CIT.

Sexual dimorphism of sonic apparatus and extreme intersexual variation of sounds in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae): first evidence of a tight relationship between morphology and sound characteristics in Ophidiidae

Many Ophidiidae are active in dark environments and display complex sonic apparatus morphologies. However, sound recordings are scarce and little is known about acoustic communication in this family. This paper focuses on Ophidion rochei which is known to display an important sexual dimorphism in swimbladder and anterior skeleton. The aims of this study were to compare the sound producing morphology, and the resulting sounds in juveniles, females and males of O. rochei.Results: Males, females, and juveniles possessed different morphotypes. Females and juveniles contrasted with males because they possessed dramatic differences in morphology of their sonic muscles, swimbladder, supraoccipital crest, and first vertebrae and associated ribs. Further, they lacked the ‘rocker bone’ typically found in males. Sounds from each morphotype were highly divergent. Males generally produced non harmonic, multiple-pulsed sounds that lasted for several seconds (3.5 ± 1.3 s) with a pulse period of ca. 100 ms. Juvenile and female sounds were recorded for the first time in ophidiids. Female sounds were harmonic, had shorter pulse period (±3.7 ms), and never exceeded a few dozen milliseconds (18 ± 11 ms). Moreover, unlike male sounds, female sounds did not have alternating long and short pulse periods. Juvenile sounds were weaker but appear to be similar to female sounds.Conclusions: Although it is not possible to distinguish externally male from female in O. rochei, they show a sonic apparatus and sounds that are dramatically different. This difference is likely due to their nocturnal habits that may have favored the evolution of internal secondary sexual characters that help to distinguish males from females and that could facilitate mate choice by females. Moreover, the comparison of different morphotypes in this study shows that these morphological differences result from a peramorphosis that takes place during the development of the gonads

Impulsivitat i llàgrimes

D'adolescent tenia un amic amb inquietuds musicals que s'emocionava especialment amb la pel·lícula Somriures i llàgrimes (The Sound of Music, de Robert Wise), una amistat esquinçada per un rampell impulsiu causat per una acumulació de desavinences. Feia temps que no hi pensava, malgrat que mai l'he oblidat, però un parell de treballs recents me l'han fet recordar. Un refrany ens adverteix que cal pensar abans d'actuar. Si actuem impulsivament ens arrisquem a patir patacades imprevistes. Però també és cert que si triguem massa a actuar podem perdre oportunitats irrepetibles, o rebre altres patacades. Això implica que, pel que fa al cervell, sigui necessari un control molt fi de la impulsivitat [...].

Horizon

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.

Arc : for piano and orchestra

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.

Sonate 1947 für Flöte und Klavier

Soitinnus: Huilu, piano.

Perspektiven : Musik zu einem imaginären Ballett für zwei Klaviere

Digitoitu 25. 4. 2008.

Ritual

Digitoitu 4. 10. 2007.

2 duettoa : [Sound the trumpet]

Soitinnus : lauluäänet (2), piano.

Le son - calligraphie : [1 & 3].

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.

Sonate für Violine solo, op. 20

Soitinnus: Viulu.

Coral Island : for soprano and orchestra

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.

Integrale, op. 14a : für Saxophon und Klavier

Digitoitu 25. 4. 2008.

Requim for Strings

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.

Eclipse

Digitoitu 10. 6. 2008.