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Behavioural Brain Research Feb 2022Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms may modulate neurotransmitter efficiency, thereby influencing motor performance and motor learning. However,... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene polymorphisms may modulate neurotransmitter efficiency, thereby influencing motor performance and motor learning. However, studies to date have provided no consensus regarding the genetic influence of BDNF genotypes (i.e., Val/Val, Val/Met, or Met/Met type). This study aimed to investigate the effect of BDNF genotype on motor performance and motor learning in healthy human adults via a systematic review and meta-analysis. A total of 19 relevant studies were identified using PubMed and Web of Science search for articles published between 2000 and 2021 with motor performance or motor learning as the primary outcome measures. The results of our systematic review suggest that the BDNF genotype is unlikely to contribute to motor performance and motor learning abilities because only 2/32 datasets (6.3%) from 16 studies on motor performance and 3/19 datasets (17.6%) from 13 studies on motor learning indicated a significant genetic effect. Moreover, a meta-analysis of motor learning publications involving 17 datasets from 11 studies revealed that there was no significant difference in the learning score normalized using baseline data between Val/Val and Met carriers (Val/Met + Met/Met or Val/Met; standardized mean differences = 0.08, P = 0.37) with zero heterogeneity (I = 0) and a relatively low risk of publication bias. Taken together, the BDNF genotype may have only a minor impact on individual motor performance and motor learning abilities.
Topics: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Genotype; Heterozygote; Humans; Learning; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 34915075
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113712 -
International Journal of Environmental... Oct 2021Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (cerebellar tDCS) is a promising therapy for cerebellar ataxias and has attracted increasing attention from... (Review)
Review
Cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (cerebellar tDCS) is a promising therapy for cerebellar ataxias and has attracted increasing attention from researchers and clinicians. A timely systematic review focusing on randomized sham-controlled trials and repeated measures studies is warranted. This study was to systematically review existing evidence regarding effects of anodal cerebellar tDCS on movements in patients with cerebellar ataxias. The searched databases included Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and EBSCOhost. Methodological quality of the selected studies was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Five studies with 86 patients were identified. Among these, four studies showed positive effects of anodal cerebellar tDCS. Specifically, anodal cerebellar tDCS decreased disease severity and improved finger dexterity and quality of life in patients, but showed incongruent effects on gait control and balance, which may be due to heterogeneity of research participants and choices of measures. The protocols of anodal cerebellar tDCS that improved movements in patients commonly placed the anode over the whole cerebellum and provided ten 2-mA 20-min stimulation sessions. The results may show preliminary evidence that anodal cerebellar tDCS is beneficial to reducing disease severity and improving finger dexterity and quality of life in patients, which lays the groundwork for future studies further examining responses in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway. An increase in sample size, the use of homogeneous patient groups, exploration of the optimal stimulation protocol, and investigation of detailed neural mechanisms are clearly needed in future studies.
Topics: Cerebellar Ataxia; Cerebellum; Electrodes; Fingers; Humans; Motor Skills; Quality of Life; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
PubMed: 34682435
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182010690 -
Toxicology Nov 2021Phthalates are chemicals widely used in packaging and consumer products, which have been shown to interfere with normal hormonal function and development in some human...
UNLABELLED
Phthalates are chemicals widely used in packaging and consumer products, which have been shown to interfere with normal hormonal function and development in some human and animal studies. In recent decades, pregnant women's exposure to phthalates has been shown to alter the cognitive outcomes of their babies, and some studies have found delays in motor development.
METHODS
electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus were searched from their inception to March 2021, using the keywords "phthalate", "cognitive" and "motor".
RESULTS
most studies find statistically significant inverse relationships between maternal urinary phthalate concentration during pregnancy and subsequent outcomes in children's cognitive and motor scales, especially in boys rather than girls. However, many associations are not significant, and there were even positive associations, especially in the third trimester.
CONCLUSION
the relationship between exposure to phthalates during pregnancy and low results on neurocognitive scales is sufficiently clear to adopt policies to reduce exposure. Further studies are needed to analyze sex differences, coordination and motor scales, and phthalate levels during breastfeeding.
Topics: Animals; Cognition; Female; Humans; Male; Maternal Exposure; Motor Skills; Phthalic Acids; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Sex Factors
PubMed: 34624397
DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2021.152980 -
The American Journal of Clinical... Nov 2021Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers.
BACKGROUND
Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development.
OBJECTIVES
We aimed to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNSs on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects.
METHODS
We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention against control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNSs provided to children age 6-24 mo (total n = 30,024).
RESULTS
In 11-13 intervention against control group comparisons (n = 23,588-24,561), SQ-LNSs increased mean language (mean difference: 0.07 SD; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.10 SD), social-emotional (0.08; 0.05, 0.11 SD), and motor scores (0.08; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.11 SD) and reduced the prevalence of children in the lowest decile of these scores by 16% (prevalence ratio: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), 19% (0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), and 16% (0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), respectively. SQ-LNSs also increased the prevalence of children walking without support at 12 mo by 9% (1.09; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14). Effects of SQ-LNSs on language, social-emotional, and motor outcomes were larger among study populations with a higher stunting burden (≥35%) (mean difference: 0.11-0.13 SD; 8-9 comparisons). At the individual level, greater effects of SQ-LNSs were found on language among children who were acutely malnourished (mean difference: 0.31) at baseline; on language (0.12), motor (0.11), and executive function (0.06) among children in households with lower socioeconomic status; and on motor development among later-born children (0.11), children of older mothers (0.10), and children of mothers with lower education (0.11).
CONCLUSIONS
Child SQ-LNSs can be expected to result in modest developmental gains, which would be analogous to 1-1.5 IQ points on an IQ test, particularly in populations with a high child stunting burden. Certain groups of children who experience higher-risk environments have greater potential to benefit from SQ-LNSs in developmental outcomes.This trial was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO as CRD42020159971.
Topics: Africa South of the Sahara; Bangladesh; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Dietary Supplements; Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic; Female; Haiti; Humans; Infant; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Language Development; Lipids; Male; Motor Skills; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Socioeconomic Factors
PubMed: 34590116
DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab277 -
Updates in Surgery Dec 2021Surgery is known to be a craft profession requiring individuals with specific innate aptitude for manipulative skills, and visuospatial and psychomotor abilities. The... (Review)
Review
Surgery is known to be a craft profession requiring individuals with specific innate aptitude for manipulative skills, and visuospatial and psychomotor abilities. The present-day selection process of surgical trainees does not include aptitude testing for the psychomotor and manual manipulative skills of candidates for required abilities. We aimed to scrutinize the significance of innate aptitudes in surgical practice and impact of training on skills by systematically reviewing their significance on the surgical task performance. A systematic review was performed in compliance with PRISMA guidelines. An initial search was carried out on PubMed/Medline for English language articles published over 20 years from January 2001 to January 2021. Search strategy and terms to be used included 'aptitude for surgery', 'innate aptitude and surgical skills, 'manipulative abilities and surgery', and 'psychomotor skills and surgery'. MERSQI score was applied to assess the quality of quantitatively researched citations. The results of the present searches provided a total of 1142 studies. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria out of which six citations reached high quality and rejected our three null hypothesis. Consequently, the result specified that all medical students cannot reach proficiency in skills necessary for pursuing a career in surgery; moreover, playing video games and/or musical instruments does not promote skills for surgery, and finally, there may be a valid test with predictive value for novices aspiring for a surgical career. MERSQI mean score was 11.07 (SD = 0.98; range 9.25-12.75). The significant findings indicated that medical students with low innate aptitude cannot reach skills necessary for a competent career in surgery. Training does not compensate for pictorial-skill deficiency, and a skill is needed in laparoscopy. Video-gaming and musical instrument playing did not significantly promote aptitude for microsurgery. The space-relation test has predictive value for a good laparoscopic surgical virtual-reality performance. The selection process for candidates suitable for a career in surgery requests performance in a simulated surgical environment.
Topics: Aptitude; Clinical Competence; Humans; Laparoscopy; Psychomotor Performance; Students, Medical; Video Games
PubMed: 34564821
DOI: 10.1007/s13304-021-01173-6 -
Occupational Therapy International 2021Original research articles regarding visual motor integration skills in children with developmental disabilities and the impact of occupational therapy were identified,... (Review)
Review
Original research articles regarding visual motor integration skills in children with developmental disabilities and the impact of occupational therapy were identified, appraised, and synthesized. Twenty-four articles were chosen for this review. Themes were noted during the critique of articles. Three themes emerged: "age," "gender," and "diagnosis." Regarding the impact on visual motor integration, there was strong evidence for age, moderate evidence for gender, and strong evidence for diagnosis. Future research investigating visual motor integration in children should control for age and diagnosis.
Topics: Child; Developmental Disabilities; Humans; Motor Skills; Motor Skills Disorders; Occupational Therapy; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 34381323
DOI: 10.1155/2021/1801196 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jul 2021Motor performance during childhood is important for prosperity in life, and the social environment may contain potentially important and modifiable factors associated...
Motor performance during childhood is important for prosperity in life, and the social environment may contain potentially important and modifiable factors associated with motor performance. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to identify social environmental factors associated with motor performance in 3- to 12-year-old typically developing children. Four electronic databases were searched, which resulted in 31 included studies. The methodological quality was determined using the Quality of Prognosis Studies in Systematic Reviews tool. Most studies were conducted in 3-6-year-old children. In the home environment, parental beliefs in the importance of physical activity and parental behaviors matching these beliefs were related to better motor performance of children, although these relationships were often sex-dependent. The school and sports environments were investigated much less, but some preliminary evidence was found that being better liked by peers, attending a classroom with a smaller age range, having more interaction with the teacher and classmates, and having a higher educated teacher was related to better motor performance. Further research is required to further unravel the relationship between the social environment and motor skills, with a specific focus on 6-12-year-old children and environments outside of the home environment.
Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Humans; Exercise; Motor Skills; Social Environment; Sports
PubMed: 34299967
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18147516 -
JAMA Psychiatry Oct 2021The parasite Toxoplasma gondii has been associated with behavioral alterations and psychiatric disorders. Studies investigating neurocognition in people with T gondii... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
IMPORTANCE
The parasite Toxoplasma gondii has been associated with behavioral alterations and psychiatric disorders. Studies investigating neurocognition in people with T gondii infection have reported varying results. To systematically analyze these findings, a meta-analysis evaluating cognitive function in healthy people with and without T gondii seropositivity is needed.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether and to what extent T gondii seropositivity is associated with cognitive function in otherwise healthy people.
DATA SOURCES
A systematic search was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline. A systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycInfo, and Embase was performed to identify studies from database inception to June 7, 2019, that analyzed cognitive function among healthy participants with available data on T gondii seropositivity. Search terms included toxoplasmosis, neurotoxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, cognition disorder, neuropsychological, and psychomotor performance.
STUDY SELECTION
Studies that performed cognitive assessment and analyzed T gondii seroprevalence among otherwise healthy participants were included.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS
Two researchers independently extracted data from published articles; if needed, authors were contacted to provide additional data. Quantitative syntheses were performed in predefined cognitive domains when 4 independent data sets per domain were available. Study quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias were assessed.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Performance on neuropsychological tests measuring cognitive function.
RESULTS
The systematic search yielded 1954 records. After removal of 533 duplicates, an additional 1363 records were excluded based on a review of titles and abstracts. A total of 58 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility (including reference list screening); 45 articles were excluded because they lacked important data or did not meet study inclusion or reference list criteria. The remaining 13 studies comprising 13 289 healthy participants (mean [SD] age, 46.7 [16.0] years; 6586 men [49.6%]) with and without T gondii seropositivity were included in the meta-analysis. Participants without T gondii seropositivity had favorable functioning in 4 cognitive domains: processing speed (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.12; 95% CI, 0.05-0.19; P = .001), working memory (SMD, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.06-0.26; P = .002), short-term verbal memory (SMD, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.09-0.27; P < .001), and executive functioning (SMD, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.01-0.28; P = .03). A meta-regression analysis found a significant association between older age and executive functioning (Q = 6.17; P = .01). Little suggestion of publication bias was detected.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The study's findings suggested that T gondii seropositivity was associated with mild cognitive impairment in several cognitive domains. Although effect sizes were small, given the ubiquitous prevalence of this infection globally, the association with cognitive impairment could imply a considerable adverse effect at the population level. Further research is warranted to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this association.
Topics: Cognitive Dysfunction; Humans; Toxoplasmosis
PubMed: 34259822
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1590 -
Journal of Surgical Oncology Aug 2021Over the past 30 years, there have been numerous, noteworthy successes in the development, validation, and implementation of clinical skills assessments. Despite this...
Over the past 30 years, there have been numerous, noteworthy successes in the development, validation, and implementation of clinical skills assessments. Despite this progress, the medical profession has barely scratched the surface towards developing assessments that capture the true complexity of hands-on skills in procedural medicine. This paper highlights the development implementation and new discoveries in performance metrics when using sensor technology to assess cognitive and technical aspects of hands-on skills.
Topics: Clinical Competence; General Surgery; Herniorrhaphy; Humans; Laparoscopy; Physical Examination; Simulation Training; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Task Performance and Analysis; United States; Video Recording; Wearable Electronic Devices
PubMed: 34245582
DOI: 10.1002/jso.26519 -
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2021Regular physical exercise plays an integral part in the psychomotor and psychosocial development of children and adolescents, with complex motor and cognitive processes... (Review)
Review
Regular physical exercise plays an integral part in the psychomotor and psychosocial development of children and adolescents, with complex motor and cognitive processes closely linked. Spatial abilities, one aspect of cognitive functioning start to evolve from earliest childhood and reach adult-like levels by early adolescence. As they have been associated with good spatial orientation, wayfinding, map-reading skills, problem solving or analyzing spatial information, these skills facilitate independence and autonomy while growing up. Despite promising results, only few studies investigate this relation between physical exercise and spatial abilities. To use this benefit and develop purposive physical exercise interventions, it is essential to summarize the current evidence. This literature review aims to systematically summarize findings regarding the impact of physical exercise interventions on spatial abilities in healthy children and adolescents and identify knowledge gaps. A systematic search of the literature according to the PRISMA guidelines was conducted on the databases Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SportDiscus, and PsycInfo from their inception date till March 2021. Additionally, Google Scholar and refence lists of relevant publications were searched. A descriptive analysis of results was conducted. The literature search identified a total of = 1,215 records, 11 of which met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in this review. A total of 621 participants aged 4 to 15 years participated in the studies. Exercise interventions included sport-specific activities, motor-coordinative exercises, high-intensity functional training or spatial orientation/navigation training. Five studies evaluated training effects on mental rotation performance (i.e., Mental Rotation Test), four studies investigated visuo-spatial working memory function/spatial memory (i.e., Corsi Block Test, Virtual Reality Morris Water Maze) and two studies tested spatial orientation capacity (i.e., Orientation-Running Test). Overall, results show a potential for improvement of spatial abilities through physical exercise interventions. However, keeping the diversity of study designs, populations and outcomes in mind, findings need to be interpreted with care. Despite growing interest on the effects of physical exercise interventions on spatial abilities and promising findings of available studies, evidence to date remains limited. Future research is needed to establish how spatial ability development of healthy children and adolescents can be positively supported.
PubMed: 34222859
DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2021.664640