Table tennis: Boosting brain health and potential benefits for Parkinson’s disease
Speaker: Dr. Uroš Marušič (Science and Research Centre Koper and Alma Mater Europaea University)
Time and location: Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, 17:30, Blue Hall
In this lecture I will present the benefits of table tennis, focusing in particular on studies that have measured brain activity during the game. Table tennis, a fast-paced and responsive sport, stimulates key areas of the brain involved in motor control, visual anticipation and decision making. Research has shown that playing table tennis promotes sensorimotor integration, improves visuomotor coordination and activates brain regions such as the parieto-occipital cortex, which is responsible for movement planning and spatial awareness.
Because of these cognitive and physical benefits, table tennis is particularly important for people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Table tennis has been shown to improve reaction time, mental acuity and attention – all of which are important factors in managing Parkinson’s symptoms. Table tennis is a promising approach to slowing cognitive decline and improving motor function in Parkinson’s patients because it engages the brain and body in a dynamic, full-body activity.
RecoveriX: A novelbrain – computer interface system for neurorehabilation, theory and application
Speaker: prof. Andraž Stožer, Md, Phd
Time and location: Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, 18:30, Modra dvorana
If stroke, multiple sclerosis or traumatic brain injury affect the ability to move, it isn’t necessarily lost! For that reason, g.tec medical engineering developed recoveriX Neurotechnology, a unique rehabilitative approach based on brain-computer interface technology that helps the brain rewire itself.
While giving the task to imagine a hand or foot movement, recoveriX provides feedback in real-time through muscle stimulation and visual simulation. This process induces neuroplasticity within the brain to relearn hand, arm and foot movements.
recoveriX helps to decrease pain, spasticity and tremor which leads to further improvements of gross and fine motor skills, concentration, passive joint movements, sensitivity, bladder control, sexual function, balance, gait and numbness of the face, body or extremities. It’s particularly striking that clients feel less fatigue and experience a decrease of foot freezing or foot drop.
recoveriX supplements physical and occupational training and can be used in the acute, sub-acute, or chronic states – even 10, 20 or 30 years after the MS diagnosis or the stroke!