​The Board of Directors of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy has begun the search for a new Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy. The new EIC will be selected in 2019 and shadow the current EIC for one year beginning in January 2020, assuming the role of EIC in January 2021.

Please review the Application Process and submit all required materials to info@neuropt.org by April 30, 2019.

JNPT is excited to publish a special supplemental issue with content from the inaugural International Conference on Vestibular Rehabilitation that was held in August of 2018. Sponsored by the Vestibular Special Interest Group of the Academy of Neurological Physical Therapy, the conference was a tremendous success, with over 500 attendees from 20 countries and 12 international speakers. Eight articles that highlight presentations from the conference are presented in the special supplement. Todd and colleagues discuss a novel method of vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain adaptation that incorporates the subject's "real-time" VOR gain as it is being driven to increase. Helminski provides two interesting cases of a positional vertigo variant affecting the posterior semicircular canal. Klatt and colleagues provide a theoretical framework and review that establishes a correlation between vestibular function and cognition. Eggers discusses how to examine and characterize the trajectory and other attributes of nystagmus in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis. Gold and Schubert discuss the pathophysiology of a peripheral vestibular skew deviation and offer examination techniques useful to differentiate it from mimics such as a fourth cranial nerve palsy. Whitney and Sparto provide an update on oculomotor abnormalities after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury. Jeong and Kim discuss the critical relationship between proper vitamin D metabolism and occurrence of positional vertigo. Kattah provides an update on clinical tests invaluable for distinguishing dangerous central from more benign peripheral causes of vestibular disorders.

Enjoy the supplemental issue!

Mediators and Moderators, Confounders and Covarites

If you want to have a good belly laugh, I recommend searching the web for "comical causation vs correlation relationships." Among the spurious correlations that I found funniest were "each day in the US, over 6000 people exposed to tap water will die," or "as sunscreen use increases, the number of shark attacks goes up," or "as the use of indoor air-conditioning has increased worldwide, global temperatures have risen." So, the old adage "relationships are tricky" applies to situations far beyond the interpersonal. And it's because relationships are so tricky that statistical tests never "prove" that a relationship exists; instead by rejecting the null hypothesis, statistics merely quantify the probability that no relationship exists.

Read the full editorial in this issue.

Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Editor-in-Chief

The April issue of JNPT is now available on our website. We have an exciting lineup of articles. Using a split-belt treadmill, Helm and colleagues examine the characteristics of task practice that limit or promote learning of locomotor patterns. Leech and Holleran provide a clinical point of view on this article as well. In a randomized controlled trial, Hubble and colleagues examine the effects of a 12-week trunk specific exercise program on balance in people with Parkinson Disease. Block and colleagues describe the ability of a tablet-based tool to measure static hand proprioception in people with stroke. Dannenbaum and colleagues determine the validity and responsiveness of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale. Lewek and Sykes examine how the minimal detectable change for gait speed varies based on an individual's baseline walking speed. In a case series, Kressler and Domingo compare exoskeletal versus overground walking on cardiometabolic function in people with incomplete spinal cord injury.

 JNPT would like to thank our great team of reviewers and editorial board members who are important to the success of our journal. Congratulations to the winner of the Golden Synapse award Dr. Dorian Rose and colleagues for their article "A Backward Walking Training Program to Improve Balance and Mobility in Acute Stroke: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial."  Also, congratulations to the other Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy Award winners that were presented at CSM.

Enjoy the issue!

George Fulk, PT, PhD

Digital Media Editor

JNPT invites original research articles on Neuroplasticity in Physical Therapy and Exercise. This special issue, scheduled for publication in January 2020, will recognize the important role of physical therapy and exercise to promote neuroplasticity, and seeks manuscripts that provide an understanding of the mechanisms that drive functional change.

Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the Special Issue Editor Anne Kloos (kloos.4@osu.edu), or Guest Editors Lara Boyd (lara.boyd@ubc.ca), and Joyce Gomes-Osman (j.gomes@miami.edu​) regarding their submission.​

Please see the Call for Manuscripts​ page for more information.

Call for Manuscripts​ | Submit a Manuscript

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