Neurology and Neurobiology-Sci Forschen

Full Text

Editorial
Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) as a New Form of Manual Neuromodulation Technique

  J Lucas Koberda1*   Nelli Akhmatova2

1Tallahassee NeuroBalance Center, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
2Mechnikov Scientific Research Institute of Vaccine and Sera, RAMS, Moscow, Russia

*Corresponding author: J Lucas Koberda, CEO of Brain Enhancement Inc. and director of Tallahassee Neuro Balance Center, 4838 Kerry Forest Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32309, USA, Tel: 850-459-8263; E-mail: JLKoberda@yahoo.com

Neuromodulation is a broad term describing techniques that have the ability to directly affect the functional and developmental mechanisms of the brain or central nervous system. Some of these techniques use a transcranial mode including a self-regulation technique called neurofeedback and trans-cranial stimulation feature like trans-cranial magnetic or direct electric stimulation. One type of manual neuromodulation technique is the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) therapy that will be described in more details in an upcoming research paper. Briefly, MNRI was first developed by Dr. Svetlana Masgutova in 1989 in Russia and further in eastern Europe to treat individuals with certain types of sensorimotor or reflex development deficits, behavior disorders, disorders of speech or language development, and learning disabilities. It was introduced to the USA in 1996 and has since been adopted in many other countries. Clinical observations have shown that MNRI® facilitates the neurodevelopment in individuals having various neurological deficits and seems to enable them to reroute and improve their early movements, reflexes, coordination systems, and skills to optimize better functioning, development, and learning [1-4]. The MNRI® therapy program is based on the supposition that impaired reflex circuits can be reconstructed. This retraining of reflexes appears to result in the awakening of genetic sensorimotor memory in individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and other types of brain damage. This induces significant positive changes in physical strength, immune activity, and improvement in cognitive, emotional, social, and motor abilities [1,2,5].

MNRI® is based on exercises and techniques called “repatterning”, which means reeducation, recoding, rerouting the reflex nerve pathways specific for dynamic and postural reflex patterns (e.g., Babinski, Automatic Gait, Bauer Crawling, Hands Grasp, and others). The stimulation of those reflex pathways is aimed at strengthening and stabilizing trace genetic sensorymotor memories and the activation of innate defensive mechanisms of the body-brain’s ‘alarm’ system (HPA stress axis or ‘hypothalamus-> pituitary gland->adrenals’ cycle activation as described by H. Selye, 1974) [6] in times of stress or danger. MNRI exercises stimulate innate neuro-regulation mechanisms and resilience in the stress and immune systems [3,4,7]. Repatterning activates the extrapyramidal nerve system (peripheral nerves, spinal cord, brain stem, diencephalon) responsible for automatic mechanisms and processes, the extension of links between neurons, the growth of neural nets, myelination, and the creation of new nerve routing, as described by Sechenov (1863/1995), Cannon (1931), Roxo et al. (2011), and Anokhin (1973) [8-11]. MNRI has been shown to be an effective therapy in children with cerebral palsy where clinical findings and quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) maps improvement after this therapy was noted [2]. Also a significant improvement in brain stem transmission in the auditory pathway was observed by brain stem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) examinations as tested before and after MNRI therapy application [1].

Our prior paper showed that QEEG is a very useful tool in evaluation of patients and variety of neurological conditions [12].

In our upcoming study of 53 patients subjected to MNRI therapy, 42 (79%) were noted to have a marked improvement on QEEG maps when comparing before and after MNRI therapy. The main markers chosen for our study including absolute power, coherence and phase lag were found to be improved in majority of the patients. All patients subjected to MNRI therapy were observed to have a clinical improvement. Most of the patients involved in MNRI treatment also were noted to have an improvement on QEEG maps after therapy regardless of their clinical diagnosis. Most of the patients involved in this study were diagnosed with CP and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However other patients diagnosed with anoxic brain injury, stroke, and ADD/ADHD also showed clinical improvement after completion of intensive MNRI therapy.

Another form of manual neuromodulation therapy which was also found to be effective in clinical settings is an eye-movement training developed by Dr. Carrick [13]. His method demonstrated (in a multicenter randomized control study) clinical improvement of ischemic stroke patients after eye movement training. Thus, manual neuromodulation opens new conceptual paradigms for creating the neuro-facilitation techniques.

We hope that in the near future MNRI therapy and possibly other manual neuromodulation therapies will be considered as primary options for the treatment of CP, ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

 

References

  1. Pilecki W, Masgutova S, Kowalewska J, Masgutov D, Akhmatova N, et al. (2012) The impact of rehabilitation carried out using the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration method in children with cerebral palsy on the results of brain stem auditory potential examinations. Adv Clin Exp Med 21: 363-371. [Ref.]
  2. Pilecki W, Kipiński L, Szawrowicz-Pełka T, Kałka D, Masgutova S (2013) Spectral Brain Mapping in Children with Cerebral Palsy Treated by the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration Method. J Neurol Sci 333: e550. [Ref.]
  3. Akhmatova N, Masgutova S, Lebedinskaya O, Akhmatov E, Shubina I (2015) Immunological efficiency of MNRI program at treatment of respiratory diseases. Front. Immunol, Conference Abstract:IMMUNOCOLOMBIA2015 - 11th Congress of the Latin American Association of Immunology - 10. doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2015.05.00072. [Ref.]
  4. Akhmatova N, Masgutova S, Shubina I, Akhmatov E, Khomenkov V, et al. (2015) Immunological effects of Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration in children with recurrent obstructive bronchitis. Int J Neurorehabil, http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2376-0281.1000166. [Ref.]
  5. Masgutova S, Regner A (2009) Language development using sensorymotor integration approach. MISM, Wrocla, Poland.
  6. Selye H (1974) Stress without distress. Psychopathology of Human Adaptation: 137-146, J. B. Lippincott Co. Philadelphia, PA, USA. [Ref.]
  7. Akhmatova N, Masgutova S, Sorokina E, Akhmatov E, Lebedinskaya O (2015) Influence of neuro-sensory-motor reflex integration technique on immune response of patients with herpes-associated multiforme erythema. Front. Immunol, Conference Abstract: 11th Congress of the Latin American Association of Immunology - 10. doi: 10.3389/conf. fimmu.2015.05.00075. [Ref.]
  8. Sechenov IM (1863/1995) Physiology of behavior. Scientific Works Ed, Moscow, Russia.
  9. Cannon WB (1931) Again the James-Lange and the thalamic theories of emotion. Psychological Rev 38: 281-295. [Ref.]
  10. Roxo MR, Franceschini PR, Zubaran C, Kleber FD, Sander JW (2011) The Limbic System Conception and Its Historical Evolution. Scientific World Journal. 11: 2428–2441. [Ref.]
  11. Anokhin PK (1973) Biology and neurophysiology of the conditioned reflex and its role in adaptive behavior. International Series of Monographs in Cerebrovisceral and Behavioral Physiology and Conditioned Reflexes. USA [Ref.]
  12. Koberda JL, Moses A, Koberda P, Koberda L (2013) Clinical advantages of quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG)-electrical neuroimaging application in general neurology practice. Clin. EEG Neurosci 44: 273-285. [Ref.]
  13. Carrick FR, Oggero E, Pagnacco G, Wright CH, Machado C, et al. (2016) Eye-movement training results in changes in qEEG and NIH stroke scale in subjects suffering from acute middle cerebral artery ischemic stroke: A randomized control trial. Front Neurol 7:3. [Ref.]

Download Provisional PDF Here

 

Article Information

Article Type: Editorial

Citation: Koberda JL, Akhmatova N (2016) Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration (MNRI) as a New Form of Manual Neuromodulation Technique. J Neurol Neurobiol 2(5): doi http://dx.doi. org/10.16966/2379-7150.e110

Copyright: © 2016 Koberda JL, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication history: 

  • Received date: 18 Aug 2016

  • Accepted date: 05 Oct 2016

  • Published date: 10 Oct 2016
  •