Castel Goffredo

Researchers are investigating the impact of different types of pain and autonomic symptoms in patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The study focuses on evaluating how prevalent pain and autonomic symptoms are in these conditions, and how they affect patients' quality of life. It also aims to assess the effect of rehabilitation on these symptoms by comparing patients with PD and MSA. This observational study is conducted at the Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri Centers and includes both inpatients and outpatients. All participants will receive a neurological examination and undergo a personalized rehabilitation program designed to improve strength, coordination, balance, endurance, and daily living activities. Alongside rehabilitation, clinical scales will be used to assess disease stage, severity, motor and non-motor symptoms, cognitive function, depression, quality of life, autonomic dysfunction, and pain. The rehabilitation program allows evaluation over time to observe any significant changes in clinical parameters. Participants will be closely monitored before and after the rehabilitation program, with outcome measures including the prevalence and characterization of pain at recruitment and after about 30 days of rehabilitation. Researchers will collect data through clinical scales and neurological examinations to understand the impact of pain and autonomic symptoms on disability and quality of life. This comprehensive evaluation aims to guide clinicians in managing patient disability and refining rehabilitation strategies to improve patient outcomes.

Mental time travel (MTT) is the ability to mentally project oneself to past or future events. This research explores how self-processing influences MTT, focusing on the roles of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the right lateral parietal cortex in patients with focal brain injuries. The study aims to understand whether self-related information changes how people mentally travel through time and if these processes interact in the brain. Participants will complete behavioral tasks that involve projecting themselves or others into past or future scenarios using face images and life events. The Mental Time Travel task asks participants to judge the likelihood that a person shown in a face image experienced or will experience certain events ten years ago or in the future. Additional tasks include estimating the age of faces and associating life events with typical ages of occurrence. During the study, researchers will assess participants through these tasks to measure their ability to mentally travel in time and process self-related information. The primary outcome is the percentage of likely responses to events at baseline. Participants with focal brain injuries will be tested, and their cognitive function will be evaluated to exclude general cognitive impairment. The study involves detailed neuropsychological testing and observation of task performance.