Takayuki Kodama

By Takayuki Kodama and Hideki Nakano

Hitherto, physical therapy for rehabilitating patients with cerebral dysfunction has focused on acquiring and improving compensatory strategies by using the remaining functions; it has been presumed that once neural functions have been lost, they cannot be restored. However, neuroscience-based animal research and neuroimaging research since the 1980s have demonstrated that recovery arises from plastic changes in the central nervous system and reconstruction of neural networks; this research is ushering in a new age of neuroscience-based rehabilitation as a treatment for cerebral dysfunction (such as stroke). In this paper, in regard to mental practices using motor imagery and kinaesthetic illusion, we summarize basic discoveries and theories relating to motor function therapy based on neuroscientific theory; in particular, we outline a novel rehabilitation method using kinaesthetic illusion induced by vibrational stimulus, which the authors are currently attempting in stroke patients.

Part of the book: Neurological Physical Therapy

By Hideki Nakano and Takayuki Kodama

Motor imagery and action observation facilitate motor recovery of patients because both the motor imagery and the action observation share the activation of cortical neural networks implicated in movement execution. Specifically, imagery, observation, and execution activate the medial parietal area of the brain located between the parieto‐occipital sulcus and the posterior end of the cingulate sulcus. This chapter reviews the neural mechanisms and clinical studies of motor imagery and action observation and discusses the applications in physical therapy.

Part of the book: Neurological Physical Therapy

By Hideki Nakano and Takayuki Kodama

Action observation is a useful approach for improving human motor skill acquisition. This process involves the mirror neuron system that consists of the ventral premotor area, inferior parietal lobule, and superior temporal sulcus. The interaction between these areas produces the effect of action observation. This chapter presents neurophysiological and brain imaging studies of action observation, and their application to human motor learning. For action observation, the mirror system appears to map the intention in the ventral premotor area and the goal in the inferior parietal lobule. These features of action representation may be useful for refining conditions of practice, based on the mirror system, for acquiring new motor skills.

Part of the book: Electroencephalography

By Takayuki Kodama and Ken Kitai

The sensory dysfunction after the stroke also greatly affects motor function. In particular, it is known that the presence of sensory dysfunction in the fingers causes loss of somatosensory muscle reflex control and excessive muscle output when grasping objects. These are called sensorimotor dysfunction and have been shown to have a significant impact on prognosis. One element to improve this dysfunction is to reconstruct the “Sense of Agency (SOA) subject feeling” and it has become clear that SOA is enhanced by matching the collation information related to motor intention and sensory feedback in time. In order to reconstruct the SOA associated with the movement of the fingers of patients with sensorimotor dysfunction, it is important to match motor intentions while using visual information as compensation for tactile sensory information. Furthermore, considering the functional characteristics of the fingers, it is also important to adjust the fine muscle output from feedback information synchronously discriminating and recognizing somatosensory information generated by resistance, friction, etc., when an object is actively touched. This chapter outlines the importance of rehabilitation of sensory feedback for poststroke sensorimotor dysfunction and investigates the usefulness of intervention with a real-time sensory compensation feedback system that can input tactile sensory information via vibratory stimulation (deep sensation) to other body parts where sensory function is preserved.

Part of the book: Stroke

By Kouichi Nakamura and Takayuki Kodama

Boxing is the ultimate contact sport in which the objective is to knock down an opponent by striking the opponent in the head and abdomen with knuckle punches while wearing minimal protective gear. Sports trauma and injury surveys of professional and amateur boxers in Japan and overseas have reported athletes suffering not only from orthopaedic disorders, such as lacerations and fractures, but also from acute subdural haematomas after knockouts and even chronic traumatic encephalopathy after retiring from boxing. Efforts have been made to improve boxing safety by improving the protective equipment and revising competition rules. However, the nature of the sport has not allowed significant results to be achieved. The primary prevention of trauma and injury during boxing involves avoiding attacks by an opponent. This chapter focuses on the performance of boxing from a scientific perspective, mainly the improvement of defensive techniques, and examines the usefulness of quantitative motion analysis software developed specifically for boxing. The fusion of boxing and technology is a step towards the construction of a new support system for the primary prevention of sports injuries and its potential has been explored.

Part of the book: Technology in Sports [Working title]