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Review Treatment of limb apraxia: moving forward to improved action. 2008
Buxbaum LJ, Haaland KY, Hallett M, Wheaton L, Heilman KM, Rodriguez A, Gonzalez Rothi LJ. · Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19141, USA. · Am J Phys Med Rehabil. · Pubmed #18209511 No free full text.
Abstract: Limb apraxia is a common disorder of skilled, purposive movement that is frequently associated with stroke and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease. Despite evidence that several types of limb apraxia significantly impact functional abilities, surprisingly few studies have focused on development of treatment paradigms. Additionally, although the most disabling types of apraxia reflect damage to gesture and/or object memory systems, existing treatments have not fully taken advantage of principles of experience known to affect learning and neural plasticity. We review the current state of the art in the rehabilitation of limb apraxia, indicate possible points of contact with the learning literature, and generate suggestions for how translational principles might be applied to the development of future research on treatment of this disabling disorder.
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Article Naturalistic action impairments in dementia. 2002
Giovannetti T, Libon DJ, Buxbaum LJ, Schwartz MF. · Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19141, USA. · Neuropsychologia. · Pubmed #11931925 No free full text.
Abstract: Naturalistic actions are everyday tasks (e.g. cooking) that require one to use multiple objects and sequence steps to achieve a goal. Naturalistic action impairment has been attributed to executive dysfunction [Higher cortical functions in man. New York: Basic Books, 1966], semantic knowledge degradation [Brain 111 (1988) 1173], and, more recently, general limitations in cognitive resources [Neuropsychology 12 (1998) 13]. Action impairments were explored in 51 dementia participants with the short form of the multi-level action test (MLAT-S). A clinical neuropsychological test protocol was also administered. Regression analyses including measures of executive functioning, semantic knowledge, and global cognitive functioning showed that global cognitive functioning was the best predictor of MLAT-S errors. Furthermore, task demands significantly influenced the type and frequency of errors, and dementia participants showed a pattern of errors similar to that reported in other clinical populations [Cognitive Neuropsychology 15 (1998) 617; Neuropsychologia 37 (1999) 51; Neuropsychology 12 (1998) 13]. Taken together, the present findings are inconsistent with semantic and executive accounts, but support the limited-capacity resource theory of naturalistic action impairment.
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