A contemporary view of motor development considers environmental influences as critical factors in optimal growth and behavior, with the home being the primary agent. The intent of this communication is to introduce the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development Self-Report (AHEMD-SR) to early childhood practitioners. The AHEMD-SR is a reliable and valid parental self-report asse...

The fidelity of excitation-contraction (EC) coupling in ventricular myocytes is remarkable, with each action potential evoking a [Ca²⁺](i) transient. The prevalent model is that the consistency in EC coupling in ventricular myocytes is due to the formation of fixed, tight junctions between the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and the sarcolemma where Ca²⁺ release is activated. Here, we tested the hy...

Problem statement: Environmental stimulation plays a critical role in optimal human development during the early stages of life and an optimal level (of development) occurs with strong contextual support. It is well accepted among develop mentalists that motor-perceptual-and cognitive development are fundamentally interrelated. This suggests that status of motor development is an important fact...

Modern attempts to improve human performance focus on stochastic resonance (SR). SR is a phenomenon in non-linear systems characterized by a response increase of the system induced by a particular level of input noise. Recently, we reported that an optimum level of 0-15 Hz Gaussian noise applied to the human index finger improved static isometric force compensation. A possible explanation was a...

Skeletal muscle contraction depends on the release of Ca(2+) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), but the dynamics of the SR free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](SR)), its modulation by physiological stimuli such as catecholamines, and the concomitant changes in cAMP handling have never been directly determined. We used two-photon microscopy imaging of GFP-based probes expressed in mouse skelet...

Analysis of the postural stability impairments in neurodegenerative diseases is a very demanding task. Age-related declines in posturographic indices are usually superimposed on effects associated with the pathology and its treatment. We present the results of a novel postural sway ratio (SR) analysis in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and age-matched healthy subjects. The sway ratios ha...