Psychomotor

Researchers are investigating how balance and walking abilities relate to detailed movement measurements in people with Multiple Sclerosis MS. This observational study focuses on understanding the connection between clinical tests of function and objective biomechanical data. The goal is to identify which movement characteristics best reflect balance, gait, and physical performance challenges faced by individuals with MS. Participants will attend a single laboratory session where they undergo biomechanical analysis using the Vicon motion capture system. They will complete functional assessments of balance, gait, and physical performance, as well as questionnaires about fear of falling and fatigue. Spasticity in the lower limbs will also be assessed during this visit. During the session, participants will perform tests such as the mini-BESTest for balance, Functional Gait Assessment, Short Physical Performance Battery, and a 2-minute walk test. Questionnaires like the Fall Efficacy Scale and Fatigue Severity Scale will be completed. Researchers will analyze these collected data to explore how biomechanical and functional measures relate, aiming to improve assessment tools for MS rehabilitation.

Researchers are evaluating how supportive environments, policies, and practices in licensed childcare centers in British Columbia BC can increase physical activity and motor skills among children aged 2.5 to 6 years. The study builds on provincial Active Play Standards and the Appetite to Play program, aiming to assess the impact of an enhanced intervention called Appetite to Play that supports childcare providers in sustaining active play best practices. The Appetite to Play intervention includes advanced training for childcare managers and staff through workshops and e-learning modules focused on physical literacy, fundamental movement skills, and creating supportive environments for active play and healthy eating. Childcare centers participating in the study are randomized to either receive this intervention immediately or after a 3-month waitlist period, with the control group having access to standard Appetite to Play materials. Participants, including childcare managers, staff, and children, will be involved in baseline and follow-up assessments up to 6 months post-intervention. Researchers will measure changes in active play practices at childcare centers and childrens motor skill development, along with characteristics of childcare settings and providers. The study includes questionnaires, observations, and data collection at multiple time points to monitor adherence and outcomes throughout the trial.

This research aims to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of a combined formulation of xanomeline tartratetrospium chloride in an immediate release capsule KarXT and xanomeline enteric capsules KarX-EC for treating agitation in participants with Alzheimers Disease. The study focuses on individuals who have completed prior parent studies CN012-0023 or CN012-0024 and seeks to understand treatment effects over an extended period. Participants will receive specified doses of KarXT and KarX-EC on designated days as part of this single-group, non-randomized study. The treatment phase lasts up to approximately 30 weeks, during which the combined drugs are administered and monitored for safety and effectiveness related to agitation management in Alzheimers Disease. Throughout the study, participants will be monitored for treatment-emergent adverse events and other safety measures. Assessments include tracking adverse events, serious adverse events, changes in vital signs, laboratory evaluations, electrocardiograms, cognitive function tests like the Mini-mental State Examination and ADAS-Cog-13, as well as symptom severity scales. Caregiver involvement is required to provide support and facilitate study participation. The total study duration extends up to about 30 weeks with ongoing safety and efficacy evaluations.

This research aims to develop, implement, and evaluate an online training program designed to improve counseling skills related to physical activity and sedentary behavior among primary health care workers in Brazil. The study focuses on enhancing professional competencies to better support patients health through physical activity advice within primary health care settings. Health professionals working in selected municipalities will be invited to participate voluntarily. The intervention involves a self-directed, asynchronous online training program consisting of about 180 minutes of recorded video lessons and practical materials based on national and international guidelines. Participants have up to 30 days to enroll and an additional 30 days to complete the training. Those who enroll form the exposed group, while those who do not participate form a comparison group. Participants will be assessed on their counseling competencies and professional practices before the training, immediately afterward, and three months after completing the program. Data collection occurs across primary health care units in the selected municipalities, and the study monitors changes in counseling skills over time to evaluate the trainings effectiveness. Participation includes completing assessments and engaging with the online training materials within the specified timelines.

Researchers are evaluating whether brief sounds or tones played during a limited recovery sleep period after 40 hours of sleep deprivation can enhance the restorative effects of sleep and improve performance during the following awake period. This study involves healthy adults aged 18 to 39 and aims to understand how acoustic stimulation during slow-wave sleep affects alertness and cognitive functions. Participants will experience two nights of approximately four-hour recovery sleep after sleep deprivation. During these recovery sleeps, one group will receive acoustic stimulation via the Philips SmartSleep device during slow-wave sleep, while the other group will receive sham treatment without acoustic stimulation. The device is applied prior to bedtime on both recovery nights to deliver or withhold the acoustic signals. Throughout the study, participants performance and alertness will be assessed using various tests including the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, mathematical processing tests, mood scales, and sleepiness scales over several days. Sleep and wakefulness will also be monitored via polysomnographic recordings and actigraphy. The study includes safety monitoring and adherence checks, with total participation spanning multiple days to capture effects during and after sleep deprivation and recovery.

Researchers are evaluating treatments for acute agitation in psychiatric patients when de-escalation methods do not work. The study aims to find the best medication to reduce suffering and prevent harm or the use of restraints in emergency psychiatric settings. This research focuses on two less-studied drugs compared to the current standard care. The plan includes building a platform to test new treatments and improve care quality for agitated patients. The study tests three medication options sublingual dexmedetomidine, buccal midazolam, and oral lorazepam. Each drug may be given with a possible second dose two hours later. Participants are randomly assigned to one of these treatments without masking. The goal is to compare how well these drugs control agitation in hospital psychiatric settings. Participants will be monitored for agitation levels using the Excited Component of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale PEC at multiple times after dosing. Researchers will also track whether patients become calm or asleep, the use of physical or mechanical restraints, rescue medications, and patient satisfaction within 24 hours after treatment. The study runs until December 2027 and involves regular assessments during the inpatient stay to evaluate safety and treatment effects.

Researchers are studying how different levels of fatigue during power training affect strength, movement, and muscle function in healthy older adults aged 65 to 85 years. The study aims to understand the immediate and recovery effects of varying fatigue levels on muscle soreness, exercise effort, and physical performance to help design safer and more effective training programs for this age group. Participants will complete three supervised power-training sessions on a pneumatic leg press machine about one week apart. Each session involves 4 sets with different fatigue levels stopping when movement speed drops by 10% low fatigue, stopping at 30% speed loss moderate fatigue, or performing cluster sets with rest breaks to match the volume of the moderate fatigue session while maintaining low fatigue. Movement speed is continuously monitored during exercise. During the study, participants undergo strength and mobility tests before and after exercise, provide small blood samples to measure physiological responses, rate exercise effort, and report muscle soreness up to two days post-exercise. Researchers will measure outcomes like maximum voluntary contraction, torque development, muscle activity, muscle oxygenation, blood markers, functional performance tests, perceived exertion, and delayed muscle soreness over multiple timepoints. Participants are monitored for safety and recovery throughout the trial, which lasts about three weeks in total.

Researchers are evaluating how the combined use of transcranial direct current stimulation tDCS and action observation therapy AOT may help improve hand motor recovery in people who have had a stroke. This study focuses on understanding the brain mechanisms involved when these two therapies are used together, as both have shown promise separately for stroke rehabilitation. The trial is a randomised controlled study involving 60 participants with chronic stroke from Sabah, Malaysia. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups one group will receive active anodal tDCS with AOT, another will receive sham placebo tDCS with AOT, and the third will receive active tDCS alone. The treatment involves 10 sessions over two weeks in a clinic, where tDCS is applied for 20 minutes and AOT or control videos are watched for 30 minutes during each session. After the clinic phase, participants will continue home-based AOT or control video practice for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for eight weeks. During the 10-week study, participants will attend outpatient sessions monitored by a physiotherapist to ensure proper participation and will be assessed at baseline, after two weeks, and at the end of 10 weeks. Researchers will measure changes in brain motor pathways using motor evoked potentials MEPs and evaluate clinical hand function using standard tests. Participant activity levels will be tracked using a perceived exertion scale, and safety and compliance will be closely monitored throughout the study.

Researchers are evaluating the use of intranasal scopolamine gel DPI-386 to help reduce motion sickness and improve sensorimotor performance. This study involves both astronauts on space missions and ground-control participants exposed to motion such as centrifuge training, parabolic flights, and capsule recovery operations. The goal is to test the medications feasibility and effectiveness in real operational settings, with astronauts from missions like SpaceX Polaris Dawn, Axiom, and the International Space Station. Participants will self-administer a 0.4 mg dose of intranasal scopolamine gel during training and operational exposures to motion. They will learn to apply the medication in a 15-minute training session and complete debriefs about symptoms, side effects, and ease of use. Astronauts may take the drug before or after motion exposure to prevent or treat symptoms. Control participants may use other motion sickness medications such as promethazine or meclizine. Both groups will complete surveys before, during, and after exposure to capture symptom severity and medication effectiveness. Throughout the study, participants will complete questionnaires on motion sickness symptoms, side effects, and medication feasibility. Surveys will track symptoms daily during and after exposure, including nausea, vertigo, headache, and drowsiness. Researchers will measure motion sickness using the Pensacola Diagnostic Index nausea scale and assess symptom impact on functional tasks. The study includes a one-week monitoring period for outcome measures, with data collected on medication use and recovery recommendations.

Researchers are studying how new motor skills are learned from scratch by examining changes in the brains motor system excitability during motor learning sessions. This research focuses on understanding the brain plasticity mechanisms involved in learning new movements, particularly exploring increased corticospinal excitability and motor cortex reorganization. The study aims to measure these changes across three separate motor learning sessions spaced over time. Participants will engage in three de novo motor learning sessions on days 1, 2, and 9. During these sessions, they will perform specific motor tasks designed to evaluate learning progress and brain excitability changes. The study uses single-pulse and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation TMS to assess motor evoked potentials and intracortical inhibition and facilitation at various time points before and after each session. Throughout the study, participants will be assessed on motor evoked potential amplitude input-output curves and short-interval and long-interval intracortical inhibition as well as intracortical facilitation at baseline and immediately before and after each motor learning session. Motor learning performance will be measured using movement path length during a 3D finger-cursor task. The total involvement includes multiple assessments to track brain activity and motor skill acquisition over nine days.