Neurorehabilitation is based on the assumption that motor learning contributes to motor recovery after injury. However, little is known about how learning itself is affected by brain injury, how learning mechanisms interact with spontaneous biological recovery, and how best to incorporate learning principles into rehabilitation training protocols. Here we distinguish between two types of motor learning, adaptation and skill acquisition, and discuss how they relate to neurorehabilitation. Functional recovery can occur through resolution of impairment (reacquisition of premorbid movement patterns) and through compensation (use of alternative movements or effectors to accomplish the same goal); both these forms of recovery respond to training protocols. The emphasis in current neurorehabilitation practice is on the rapid establishment of independence in activities of daily living through compensatory strategies, rather than on the reduction of impairment. Animal models, however, show that after focal ischemic damage there is a brief, approximately 3–4-week, window of heightened plasticity, which in combination with training protocols leads to large gains in motor function. Analogously, almost all recovery from impairment in humans occurs in the first 3 months after stroke, which suggests that targeting impairment in this time-window with intense motor learning protocols could lead to gains in function that are comparable in terms of effect size to those seen in animal models.
Geishas and samurai, manga and animé come to mind when Japan enters the conversation. While these traditional and modern images about the island nation have been widely disseminated in North America, most of us cannot imagine what everyday life is like in Japan. Tomoko Mitani's work addresses this gap with honest responses to the male-dominated society of Japan in a down-to-earth style that looks inward, with stories that are at once intriguing and amusing. Translator Yukari F. Meldrum finds the fine balance in translation between domestication and foreignization, letting a new vantage point emerge. This collection of short stories and a novella will interest scholars and students of Translation Studies, Japanese Studies, and Women's Studies, as well all of those who are interested in this genre.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.