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Sleep Advances : a Journal of the Sleep... 2024We previously reported that during a 45-day simulated space mission, a dynamic lighting schedule (DLS) improved circadian phase alignment and performance assessed once...
STUDY OBJECTIVES
We previously reported that during a 45-day simulated space mission, a dynamic lighting schedule (DLS) improved circadian phase alignment and performance assessed once on selected days. This study aimed to evaluate how DLS affected performance on a 5-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) administered multiple times per day on selected days.
METHODS
Sixteen crewmembers (37.4 ± 6.7 years; 5F) underwent six cycles of 2 × 8-hour/night followed by 5 × 5-hour/night sleep opportunities. During the DLS ( = 8), daytime white light exposure was blue-enriched (~6000 K; Level 1: 1079, Level 2: 76 melanopic equivalent daytime illuminance (melEDI) lux) and blue-depleted (~3000-4000 K; L1: 21, L2: 2 melEDI lux) 3 hours before bed. In the standard lighting schedule (SLS; = 8), lighting remained constant (~4500K; L1: 284, L2 62 melEDI lux). Effects of lighting condition (DLS/SLS), sleep condition (5/8 hours), time into mission, and their interactions, and time awake on PVT performance were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models.
RESULTS
The DLS was associated with fewer attentional lapses (reaction time [RT] > 500 milliseconds) compared to SLS. Lapses, mean RT, and 10% fastest/slowest RTs were worse following 5 compared to 8 hours of sleep but not between lighting conditions. There was an effect of time into mission on RTs, likely due to sleep loss. Overall performance differed by time of day, with longer RTs at the beginning and end of the day. There were more lapses and slower RTs in the afternoon in the SLS compared to the DLS condition.
CONCLUSIONS
Future missions should incorporate DLS to enhance circadian alignment and performance. This paper is part of the Collection.
PubMed: 38903700
DOI: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae032 -
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 2024Intermittent fasting (IF) represents a dietary intervention similar to caloric restriction, characterized by the strategic limitation of food consumption. Among the...
INTRODUCTION
Intermittent fasting (IF) represents a dietary intervention similar to caloric restriction, characterized by the strategic limitation of food consumption. Among the diverse array of practices for IF, Ramadan IF (RIF), a religious observance in Islam, mandates that healthy adult Muslims abstain from both food and drinks during daylight hours. In sports, researchers have extensively studied IF effects on health, including sleep and physical performance, but its impact on cognitive functions during RIF remains understudied. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the influence of RIF on psychomotor and cognitive performance among young female athletes.
METHODS
To achieve this purpose, a cohort of 23 female handball players, aged 17.2 ± 0.5 years, participated in a series of six testing sessions: one conducted prior to Ramadan (R0), and others during the first (R1), second (R2), third (R3), and fourth (R4) weeks of Ramadan, followed by a session in the week after Ramadan (R5). Each session involved assessments using a Simple Reaction Time Test (SRT), Choice Reaction Time Test (CRT), Vigilance Test (VT), and Mental Rotation Test (MRT). Additionally, dietary intake, body composition, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores were evaluated during these periods.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The obtained data illustrated that there was a decrease in SRT, CRT, VT, and MRT performances during R1 in comparison to R0 (all < .001). This reduction was also observed in R2, R3, R4, and R5. Notably, during the fourth week of Ramadan (R4), these cognitive and psychomotor parameters were significantly lower than during the earlier weeks (R1, R2, R3; all < .001). Furthermore, a gradual decrease in total PSQI scores, sleep quality, and sleep duration was observed throughout the Ramadan period, reaching the lowest levels during R4. These findings illustrate that RIF has a significantly detrimental impact on neuromuscular and cognitive abilities as well as sleep quality in young female athletes. The study also highlights a fluctuating pattern in cognitive function across the four weeks of Ramadan, with the most pronounced decline observed during the final week of fasting illustrating the importance of conducting similar studies on normal individuals from both genders with larger sample size.
PubMed: 38903387
DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1362066 -
BioMed Research International 2024MP and BC of 295 children (161 girls) with a mean age of 8.42 ± 0.36 years were measured annually with the German Motor Test 6-18. Based on self-reports, children were...
METHODS
MP and BC of 295 children (161 girls) with a mean age of 8.42 ± 0.36 years were measured annually with the German Motor Test 6-18. Based on self-reports, children were divided into three groups according to consistent (CON), partial (PAR), and nonparticipation (NO) in SC. NO and PAR were then combined into NO-PAR. The stability of MP and BC was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient (). Associations of SC participation, MP, and BC were examined using robust mixed-model ANOVA (mmANOVA) additionally with first grade as covariate (ANCOVA).
RESULTS
More girls (39%) than boys (25%) were classified in PAR. The stability of MP ( = .755) and BMI ( = .889) was moderately high. Children in CON ( = .847) showed lower stability in BMI than NO-PAR ( = .923). mmANOVA revealed better overall MP for both sexes in CON except for balance and BMI. Boys in CON showed better performance in flexibility, endurance, and speed than NO-PAR. ANCOVA confirmed unadjusted results for boys.
CONCLUSION
Lower stability of BMI due to CON indicates a greater variance in ranking and thus the chance to adjust weight management in childhood. Girls' MP benefited less from SC participation, which may be due to their more frequent rates in PAR. Therefore, interventions to increase engagement in SC should focus on a stepwise approach from none to partial and finally to long-term participation.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Child; Longitudinal Studies; Body Composition; Body Mass Index; Sports; Schools; Motor Skills
PubMed: 38899041
DOI: 10.1155/2024/2952520 -
Human Brain Mapping Jun 2024Free water fraction (FWF) represents the amount of water per unit volume of brain parenchyma, which is not bound to macromolecules. Its excess in multiple sclerosis (MS)...
Free water fraction (FWF) represents the amount of water per unit volume of brain parenchyma, which is not bound to macromolecules. Its excess in multiple sclerosis (MS) is related to increased tissue loss. The use of mcDESPOT (multicomponent driven single pulse observation of T1 and T2), a 3D imaging method which exploits both the T1 and T2 contrasts, allows FWF to be derived in clinically feasible times. However, this method has not been used to quantify changes of FWF and their potential clinical impact in MS. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in FWF in MS patients and their relationship with tissue damage and cognition, under the hypothesis that FWF is a proxy of clinically meaningful tissue loss. To this aim, we tested the relationship between FWF, MS lesion burden and information processing speed, evaluated via the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). In addition to standard sequences, used for T1- and T2-weighted lesion delineation, the mcDESPOT sequence with 1.7 mm isotropic resolution and a diffusion weighted imaging protocol (b = 0, 1200 s/mm, 40 diffusion directions) were employed at 3 T. The fractional anisotropy map derived from diffusion data was used to define a subject-specific white matter (WM) atlas. Brain parenchyma segmentation returned masks of gray matter (GM) and WM, and normal-appearing WM (NAWM), in addition to the T1 and T2 lesion masks (T1L and T2L, respectively). Ninety-nine relapsing-remitting MS patients (age = 43.3 ± 9.9 years, disease duration 12.3 ± 7.7 years) were studied, together with twenty-five healthy controls (HC, age = 38.8 ± 11.0 years). FWF was higher in GM and NAWM of MS patients, compared to GM and WM of HC (both p < .001). In MS patients, FWF was the highest in the T1L and GM, followed by T2L and NAWM, respectively. FWF increased significantly with T1L and T2L volume (ρ ranging from 0.40 to 0.58, p < .001). FWF in T2L was strongly related to both T1L volume and the volume ratio T1L/T2L (ρ = 0.73, p < .001). MS patients performed worse than HC in the processing speed test (mean ± SD: 54.1 ± 10.3 for MS, 63.8 ± 10.8 for HC). FWF in GM, T2L, perilesional tissue and NAWM increased with SDMT score reduction (ρ = -0.30, -0.29, -0.33 respectively and r = -.30 for T2L, all with p < .005). A regional analysis, conducted to determine which NAWM regions were of particular importance to explain the relationship between FWF and cognitive impairment, revealed that FWF spatial variance was negatively related to SDMT score in the corpus callosum and the superior longitudinal fasciculus, WM structures known to be associated with cognitive impairment, in addition to the left corticospinal tract, the sagittal stratum, the right anterior limb of internal capsule. In conclusion, we found excess free water in brain parenchyma of MS patients, an alteration that involved not only MS lesions, but also the GM and NAWM, impinging on brain function and negatively associated with cognitive processing speed. We suggest that the FWF metric, derived from noninvasive, rapid MRI acquisitions and bearing good biological interpretability, may prove valuable as an MRI biomarker of tissue damage and associated cognitive impairment in MS.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Adult; Middle Aged; Brain; Multiple Sclerosis; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Water; Cognitive Dysfunction; Parenchymal Tissue; White Matter; Gray Matter; Processing Speed
PubMed: 38895882
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26761 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024In the field of armored vehicles, up to 70% of accidents are associated with low levels of situational awareness among the occupants, highlighting the importance of...
In the field of armored vehicles, up to 70% of accidents are associated with low levels of situational awareness among the occupants, highlighting the importance of situational awareness in improving task performance. In this study, we explored the mechanisms influencing situational awareness by simulating an armored vehicle driving platform with 14 levels of experimentation in terms of five factors: experience, expectations, attention, the cueing channel, and automation. The experimental data included SART and SAGAT questionnaire scores, eye movement indicators, and electrocardiographic and electrodermal signals. Data processing and analysis revealed the following conclusions: (1) Experienced operators have higher levels of situational awareness. (2) Operators with certain expectations have lower levels of situational awareness. (3) Situational awareness levels are negatively correlated with information importance affiliations and the frequency of anomalous information in non-primary tasks. (4) Dual-channel cues lead to higher levels of situational awareness than single-channel cues. (5) Operators' situational awareness is lower at high automation levels.
Topics: Humans; Awareness; Automobile Driving; Adult; Male; Female; Attention; Eye Movements; Electrocardiography; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Accidents, Traffic; Cues; Automation; Task Performance and Analysis; Automobiles
PubMed: 38894477
DOI: 10.3390/s24113688 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024People with Parkinson's disease often show deficits in dexterity, which, in turn, can lead to limitations in performing activities of daily life. Previous studies have...
People with Parkinson's disease often show deficits in dexterity, which, in turn, can lead to limitations in performing activities of daily life. Previous studies have suggested that training in playing the piano may improve or prevent a decline in dexterity in this population. In this pilot study, we tested three participants on a six-week, custom, piano-based training protocol, and quantified dexterity before and after the intervention using a sensor-enabled version of the nine-hole peg test, the box and block test, a test of finger synergies using unidimensional force sensors, and the Quantitative Digitography test using a digital piano, as well as selected relevant items from the motor parts of the MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) quality of life questionnaire. The participants showed improved dexterity following the training program in several of the measures used. This pilot study proposes measures that can track changes in dexterity as a result of practice in people with Parkinson's disease and describes a potential protocol that needs to be tested in a larger cohort.
Topics: Humans; Parkinson Disease; Pilot Projects; Male; Aged; Female; Quality of Life; Middle Aged; Motor Skills; Music; Surveys and Questionnaires; Activities of Daily Living; Fingers
PubMed: 38894110
DOI: 10.3390/s24113318 -
Journal of Neuroengineering and... Jun 2024Humans use their arms in complex ways that often demand two-handed coordination. Neurological conditions limit this impressive feature of the human motor system....
Humans use their arms in complex ways that often demand two-handed coordination. Neurological conditions limit this impressive feature of the human motor system. Understanding how neuromodulatory techniques may alter neural mechanisms of bimanual coordination is a vital step towards designing efficient rehabilitation interventions. By non-invasively activating the spinal cord, transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) promotes recovery of motor function after spinal cord injury. A multitude of research studies have attempted to capture the underlying neural mechanisms of these effects using a variety of electrophysiological tools, but the influence of tSCS on cortical rhythms recorded via electroencephalography remains poorly understood, especially during bimanual actions. We recruited 12 neurologically intact participants to investigate the effect of cervical tSCS on sensorimotor cortical oscillations. We examined changes in the movement kinematics during the application of tSCS as well as the cortical activation level and interhemispheric connectivity during the execution of unimanual and bimanual arm reaching movements that represent activities of daily life. Behavioral assessment of the movements showed improvement of movement time and error during a bimanual common-goal movement when tSCS was delivered, but no difference was found in the performance of unimanual and bimanual dual-goal movements with the application of tSCS. In the alpha band, spectral power was modulated with tSCS in the direction of synchronization in the primary motor cortex during unimanual and bimanual dual-goal movements and in the somatosensory cortex during unimanual movements. In the beta band, tSCS significantly increased spectral power in the primary motor and somatosensory cortices during the performance of bimanual common-goal and unimanual movements. A significant increase in interhemispheric connectivity in the primary motor cortex in the alpha band was only observed during unimanual tasks in the presence of tSCS. Our observations provide, for the first time, information regarding the supra-spinal effects of tSCS as a neuromodulatory technique applied to the spinal cord during the execution of bi- and unimanual arm movements. They also corroborate the suppressive effect of tSCS at the cortical level reported in previous studies. These findings may guide the design of improved rehabilitation interventions using tSCS for the recovery of upper-limb function in the future.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Adult; Spinal Cord Stimulation; Psychomotor Performance; Electroencephalography; Movement; Young Adult; Biomechanical Phenomena; Spinal Cord Injuries; Arm; Sensorimotor Cortex; Spinal Cord; Functional Laterality
PubMed: 38890742
DOI: 10.1186/s12984-024-01395-w -
Nature Communications Jun 2024Motor learning relies on experience-dependent plasticity in relevant neural circuits. In four experiments, we provide initial evidence and a double-blinded,...
Motor learning relies on experience-dependent plasticity in relevant neural circuits. In four experiments, we provide initial evidence and a double-blinded, sham-controlled replication (Experiment I-II) demonstrating that motor learning involving ballistic index finger movements is improved by preceding paired corticospinal-motoneuronal stimulation (PCMS), a human model for exogenous induction of spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Behavioral effects of PCMS targeting corticomotoneuronal (CM) synapses are order- and timing-specific and partially bidirectional (Experiment III). PCMS with a 2 ms inter-arrival interval at CM-synapses enhances learning and increases corticospinal excitability compared to control protocols. Unpaired stimulations did not increase corticospinal excitability (Experiment IV). Our findings demonstrate that non-invasively induced plasticity interacts positively with experience-dependent plasticity to promote motor learning. The effects of PCMS on motor learning approximate Hebbian learning rules, while the effects on corticospinal excitability demonstrate timing-specificity but not bidirectionality. These findings offer a mechanistic rationale to enhance motor practice effects by priming sensorimotor training with individualized PCMS.
Topics: Humans; Male; Learning; Female; Adult; Neuronal Plasticity; Young Adult; Motor Neurons; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Pyramidal Tracts; Evoked Potentials, Motor; Double-Blind Method; Motor Cortex; Fingers; Motor Skills; Synapses
PubMed: 38879614
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49478-5 -
Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Jun 2024Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with severe global developmental delay. However, the ages at which different developmental skills are...
BACKGROUND
Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with severe global developmental delay. However, the ages at which different developmental skills are achieved in these individuals remain unclear. We seek to determine the probability and the age of acquisition of specific developmental milestones and daily living skills in individuals with AS across the different molecular subtypes, viz. class I deletion, class II deletion, uniparental disomy, imprinting defect, and UBE3A variants.
METHODS
Caregivers participating in a longitudinal multicenter Angelman Syndrome Natural History Study completed a questionnaire regarding the age at which their children achieved specific developmental milestones and daily living skills. The Cox Proportional Hazard model was applied to analyze differences in the probability of achievement of skills at various ages among five molecular subtypes of AS.
RESULTS
Almost all individuals, regardless of molecular subtype, were able to walk with support by five years of age. By age 15, those with a deletion had at least a 50% probability of acquiring 17 out of 30 skills compared to 25 out of 30 skills among those without a deletion. Overall, fine and gross motor skills such as holding and reaching for small objects, sitting, and walking with support were achieved within a fairly narrow range of ages, while toileting, feeding, and hygiene skills tend to have greater variability in the ages at which these skills were achieved. Those without a deletion had a higher probability (25-92%) of achieving daily living skills such as independently toileting and dressing compared to those with a deletion (0-13%). Across all molecular subtypes, there was a low probability of achieving independence in bathing and brushing teeth.
CONCLUSION
Individuals with AS without a deletion are more likely to achieve developmental milestones and daily living skills at an earlier age than those with a deletion. Many individuals with AS are unable to achieve daily living skills necessary for independent self-care.
Topics: Humans; Angelman Syndrome; Activities of Daily Living; Female; Child, Preschool; Male; Child; Adolescent; Infant; Child Development; Longitudinal Studies; Motor Skills; Developmental Disabilities; Adult; Young Adult
PubMed: 38879552
DOI: 10.1186/s11689-024-09548-7 -
Trends in Neuroscience and Education Jun 2024This study examined the effects of (1) combined early numeracy and fundamental motor skills (MovEN), (2) early numeracy, and (3) fundamental motor skills intervention...
BACKGROUND
This study examined the effects of (1) combined early numeracy and fundamental motor skills (MovEN), (2) early numeracy, and (3) fundamental motor skills intervention programs on children's early mathematical and fundamental motor skills, and how individual background variables affect the effectiveness of these interventions.
PROCEDURE
Together 50 preschoolers participated in the interventions (16 × 45 min sessions). Children's early numeracy, mathematical problem-solving, and fundamental motor skills were measured once before and twice after the interventions.
MAIN FINDINGS
The results showed that the MovEN and early numeracy -interventions were effective in improving children's early numeracy, and mathematical problem-solving. Whereas the MovEN and fundamental motor skills interventions improved children's fundamental motor skills. From individual factors, only updating ability predicted the intervention's effectiveness over and above prior performance.
CONCLUSION
The results suggest that children's early mathematical and fundamental motor skills can be supported effectively at the same time with the MovEN -intervention.
Topics: Humans; Motor Skills; Child, Preschool; Male; Female; Problem Solving; Mathematics; Child Development
PubMed: 38879201
DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2024.100227