Recent embodied approaches in cognitive sciences emphasize the constitutive roles of bodies and environment in driving cognitive processes. Cognition is thus seen as a distributed system based on the continuous interaction of bodies, brains, and environment. These categories, moreover, do not relate only causally, through a sequential input-output network of computations; rather, they are dynam...

Objectives: Premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are exposed to environmental risks that may cause developmental problems i. The present study aimed to investigate the predictive effect of individual and environmental factors on the motor performance of low birth weight preterm infants. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in the neonatal clinic of Shahid A...

Motor impairments are common after stroke, but efficacious therapies for these dysfunctions are scarce. By extending an earlier study on the effects of music-supported therapy, behavioral indices of motor function as well as electrophysiological measures were obtained before and after a series of therapy sessions to assess whether this new treatment leads to neural reorganization and motor reco...

Background: Spatial learning and navigation is a fundamental cognitive ability consisting of multiple cognitive components. Despite intensive efforts conducted with the assistance of virtual reality technology and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) modality, the music effect on this cognition and the involved neuronal mechanisms remain elusive. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the...

Pianists often report that pure listening to a well-trained piece of music can involuntarily trigger the respective finger movements. We designed a magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiment to compare the motor activation in pianists and nonpianists while listening to piano pieces. For pianists, we found a statistically significant increase of activity above the region of the contralateral motor ...