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Sports (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2024Since verbal memory and visual processing transpire within analogous cerebral regions, this study assessed (i) if a visual function can predict verbal memory...
INTRODUCTION
Since verbal memory and visual processing transpire within analogous cerebral regions, this study assessed (i) if a visual function can predict verbal memory performance. It also hypothesized whether neurocognitive (e.g., ImPACT) tests focusing on the Visual Memory and Cognitive Efficacy Index will predict Verbal Memory scores and (ii) if vision metrics and age can identify individuals with a history of concussion. Finally, it also hypothesized that King-Devick and near point of convergence scores alongside age considerations will identify candidates with a prior reported history of concussion.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This observational cohort assessed 25 collegiate ice hockey players prior to the competitive season considering age (19.76 ± 1.42 years) and BMI (25.9 ± 3.0 kg/cm). Hypothesis 1 was assessed using a hierarchical (sequential) multiple regression analysis, assessing the predictive capacity of Visual Memory and Cognitive Efficacy Index scores in relation to Verbal Memory scores. Hypothesis 2 utilized a binomial logistic regression to determine if King-Devick and near point of convergence scores predict those with a prior history of concussion.
RESULTS
Hypothesis 1 developed two models, where Model 1 included Visual Memory as the predictor, while Model 2 added the Cognitive Efficacy Index as a predictor for verbal memory scores. Model 1 significantly explained 41% of the variance. Results from Model 2 suggest that the Cognitive Efficacy Index explained an additional 24.4%. Thus, Model 2 was interpreted where only the Cognitive Efficacy Index was a significant predictor ( = 0.001). For every 1 unit increase in the Cognitive Efficacy Index, Verbal Memory increased by 41.16. Hypothesis 2's model was significant, accounting for 37.9% of the variance in those with a history of concussion. However, there were no significant unique predictors within the model as age (Wald = 1.26, = 0.261), King-Devick (Wald = 2.31, = 0.128), and near point of convergence (Wald = 2.43, = 0.119) were not significant predictors individually.
CONCLUSIONS
The conflicting findings of this study indicate that baseline data for those with a history of concussion greater than one year may not be comparable to the same metrics during acute concussion episodes. Young athletes who sustain a concussion may be able to overcompensate via the visual system. Future prospective studies with larger sample sizes are required using the proposed model's objective metrics.
PubMed: 38786994
DOI: 10.3390/sports12050125 -
Scientific Reports May 2024We assessed lifespan development of multitasking in a sample of 187 individuals aged 8-82 years. Participants performed a visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) task...
We assessed lifespan development of multitasking in a sample of 187 individuals aged 8-82 years. Participants performed a visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) task together with either postural control or reaction time (RT) tasks. Using criterion-referenced testing we individually adjusted difficulty levels for the VSWM task to control for single-task differences. Age-differences in single-task performances followed U-shaped patterns with young adults outperforming children and older adults. Multitasking manipulations yielded robust performance decrements in VSWM, postural control and RT tasks. Presumably due to our adjustment of VSWM challenges, costs in this task were small and similar across age groups suggesting that age-differential costs found in earlier studies largely reflected differences already present during single-task performance. Age-differences in multitasking costs for concurrent tasks depended on specific combinations. For VSWM and RT task combinations increases in RT were the smallest for children but pronounced in adults highlighting the role of cognitive control processes. Stabilogram diffusion analysis of postural control demonstrated that long-term control mechanisms were affected by concurrent VSWM demands. This interference was pronounced in older adults supporting concepts of compensation or increased cognitive involvement in sensorimotor processes at older age. Our study demonstrates how a lifespan approach can delineate the explanatory scope of models of human multitasking.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Adult; Adolescent; Child; Female; Male; Aged, 80 and over; Reaction Time; Middle Aged; Young Adult; Memory, Short-Term; Postural Balance; Psychomotor Performance; Multitasking Behavior; Task Performance and Analysis; Aging; Longevity; Cognition
PubMed: 38783047
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61859-w -
Cirugia Y Cirujanos 2024The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three training methodologies on the acquisition of psychomotor skills for laparoendoscopic single-site surgery... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of three training methodologies on the acquisition of psychomotor skills for laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS), using straight and articulating instruments.
METHODS
A prospective study was conducted with subjects randomly divided into three groups, who performed a specific training for 12 days using three laparoscopic tasks in a laparoscopic simulator. Group-A trained in conventional laparoscopy setting using straight instruments and in LESS setting using both straight and articulating instruments. Group-B trained in LESS setting using straight and articulating instruments, whereas Group-C trained in LESS setting using articulating instruments. Participants' performance was recorded with a video-tracking system and evaluated with 12 motion analysis parameters (MAPs).
RESULTS
All groups obtained significant differences in their performance in most of the MAPs. Group-C showed an improvement in nine MAPs, with a high level of technical competence. Group-A presented a marked improvement in bimanual dexterity skills.
CONCLUSIONS
Training in LESS surgery using articulating laparoscopic instruments improves the quality of skills and allows smoother learning curves.
Topics: Laparoscopy; Humans; Prospective Studies; Clinical Competence; Male; Female; Psychomotor Performance; Adult; Simulation Training; Young Adult; Learning Curve
PubMed: 38782379
DOI: 10.24875/CIRU.22000536 -
Trials May 2024Acquired brain injury (ABI) often leads to persisting somatic, cognitive, and social impairments. Cognitive impairments of processing speed, sustained attention, and...
Virtual reality as a method of cognitive training of processing speed, working memory, and sustained attention in persons with acquired brain injury: a protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Acquired brain injury (ABI) often leads to persisting somatic, cognitive, and social impairments. Cognitive impairments of processing speed, sustained attention, and working memory are frequently reported and may negatively affect activities of daily living and quality of life. Rehabilitation efforts aiming to retrain these cognitive functions have often consisted of computerized training programs. However, few studies have demonstrated effects that transfer beyond the trained tasks. There is a growing optimism regarding the potential usefulness of virtual reality (VR) in cognitive rehabilitation. The research literature is sparse, and existing studies are characterized by considerable methodological weaknesses. There is also a lack of knowledge about the acceptance and tolerability of VR as an intervention method for people with ABI. The present study aims to investigate whether playing a commercially available VR game is effective in training cognitive functions after ABI and to explore if the possible effects transfer into everyday functioning.
METHODS
One hundred participants (18-65 years), with a verified ABI, impairments of processing speed/attention, and/or working memory, and a minimum of 12 months post injury will be recruited. Participants with severe aphasia, apraxia, visual neglect, epilepsy, and severe mental illness will be excluded. Participants will be randomized into two parallel groups: (1) an intervention group playing a commercial VR game taxing processing speed, working memory, and sustained attention; (2) an active control group receiving psychoeducation regarding compensatory strategies, and general cognitive training tasks such as crossword puzzles or sudoku. The intervention period is 5 weeks. The VR group will be asked to train at home for 30 min 5 days per week. Each participant will be assessed at baseline with neuropsychological tests and questionnaires, after the end of the intervention (5 weeks), and 16 weeks after baseline. After the end of the intervention period, focus group interviews will be conducted with 10 of the participants in the intervention group, in order to investigate acceptance and tolerability of VR as a training method.
DISCUSSION
This study will contribute to improve understanding of how VR is tolerated and experienced by the ABI population. If proven effective, the study can contribute to new rehabilitation methods that persons with ABI can utilize in a home setting, after the post-acute rehabilitation has ended.
Topics: Humans; Attention; Memory, Short-Term; Brain Injuries; Cognition; Middle Aged; Adult; Adolescent; Young Adult; Time Factors; Male; Aged; Female; Treatment Outcome; Video Games; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Activities of Daily Living; Virtual Reality; Neuropsychological Tests; Cognitive Remediation; Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy; Recovery of Function; Transfer, Psychology; Cognitive Training; Processing Speed
PubMed: 38778411
DOI: 10.1186/s13063-024-08178-7 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jul 2024Goal-directed acting requires the integration of sensory information but can also be performed without direct sensory input. Examples of this can be found in sports and...
Goal-directed acting requires the integration of sensory information but can also be performed without direct sensory input. Examples of this can be found in sports and can be conceptualized by feedforward processes. There is, however, still a lack of understanding of the temporal neural dynamics and neuroanatomical structures involved in such processes. In the current study, we used EEG beamforming methods and examined 37 healthy participants in two well-controlled experiments varying the necessity of anticipatory processes during goal-directed action. We found that alpha and beta activity in the medial and posterior cingulate cortex enabled feedforward predictions about the position of an object based on the latest sensorimotor state. On this basis, theta band activity seems more related to sensorimotor representations, while beta band activity would be more involved in setting up the structure of the neural representations themselves. Alpha band activity in sensory cortices reflects an intensified gating of the anticipated perceptual consequences of the to-be-executed action. Together, the findings indicate that goal-directed acting through the anticipation of the predicted state of an effector is based on accompanying processes in multiple frequency bands in midcingulate and sensory brain regions.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Adult; Young Adult; Imagination; Electroencephalography; Goals; Brain; Alpha Rhythm; Gyrus Cinguli; Anticipation, Psychological; Beta Rhythm; Psychomotor Performance; Brain Waves
PubMed: 38777262
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115063 -
Applied Ergonomics Sep 2024Dynamic sitting may mitigate low back pain during prolonged seated work. The current study compared pelvis and lumbar spine kinematics, pain, and work productivity, in... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Dynamic sitting may mitigate low back pain during prolonged seated work. The current study compared pelvis and lumbar spine kinematics, pain, and work productivity, in traditional and dynamic sitting. Sixteen participants completed three 20-min blocks of computer work and activity guided tasks in a traditional office chair or backless and multiaxial rotating seat pan while kinematics were measured from accelerometers on the low back. Pain ratings were recorded on a visual analogue scale every 10 min. Similar pelvis and lumbar kinematics emerged when performing computer work in traditional and dynamic sitting. Pelvis and lumbar sagittal and frontal plane shifts and fidgets were largest for dynamic sitting in the activity guided tasks. Buttocks pain was higher in dynamic sitting, but low back pain and work productivity were unaffected. Dynamic sitting increased spine movement during activity guided tasks, without negatively impacting lumbar kinematics, low back pain, or productivity during seated computer work.
Topics: Humans; Sitting Position; Biomechanical Phenomena; Male; Lumbar Vertebrae; Female; Low Back Pain; Adult; Young Adult; Movement; Computers; Pelvis; Accelerometry; Pain Measurement; Task Performance and Analysis; Ergonomics; Efficiency; Posture; Buttocks; Occupational Diseases; Work
PubMed: 38776566
DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2024.104310 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Jul 2024Selective attention is a cognitive function that helps filter out unwanted information. Theories such as the biased competition model (Desimone & Duncan, 1995) explain...
Selective attention is a cognitive function that helps filter out unwanted information. Theories such as the biased competition model (Desimone & Duncan, 1995) explain how attentional templates bias processing towards targets in contexts where multiple stimuli compete for resources. However, it is unclear how the anticipation of different levels of competition influences the nature of attentional templates, in a proactive fashion. In this study, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate how the anticipated demands of attentional selection (either high or low stimuli competition contexts) modulate target-specific preparatory brain activity and its relationship with task performance. To do so, participants performed a sex/gender judgment task in a cue-target paradigm where, depending on the block, target and distractor stimuli appeared simultaneously (high competition) or sequentially (low competition). Multivariate Pattern Analysis (MVPA) showed that, in both competition contexts, there was a preactivation of the target category to select, with a ramping-up profile at the end of the preparatory interval. However, cross-classification showed no generalization across competition conditions, suggesting different preparatory formats. Notably, time-frequency analyses showed differences between anticipated competition demands, with higher theta band power for high than low competition, which mediated the impact of subsequent stimuli competition on behavioral performance. Overall, our results show that, whereas preactivation of the internal templates associated with the category to select are engaged in advance in high and low competition contexts, their underlying neural patterns differ. In addition, these codes could not be associated with theta power, suggesting that they reflect different preparatory processes. The implications of these findings are crucial to increase our understanding of the nature of top-down processes across different contexts.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Attention; Electroencephalography; Young Adult; Adult; Reaction Time; Brain; Cues; Psychomotor Performance; Judgment
PubMed: 38772050
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.04.009 -
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) May 2024Variability in brain structure is associated with the capacity for behavioral change. However, a causal link between specific brain areas and behavioral change (such as...
Variability in brain structure is associated with the capacity for behavioral change. However, a causal link between specific brain areas and behavioral change (such as motor learning) has not been demonstrated. We hypothesized that greater gray matter volume of a primary motor cortex (M1) area active during a hand motor learning task is positively correlated with subsequent learning of the task, and that the disruption of this area blocks learning of the task. Healthy participants underwent structural MRI before learning a skilled hand motor task. Next, participants performed this learning task during fMRI to determine M1 areas functionally active during this task. This functional ROI was anatomically constrained with M1 boundaries to create a group-level "Active-M1" ROI used to measure gray matter volume in each participant. Greater gray matter volume in the left hemisphere Active-M1 ROI was related to greater motor learning in the corresponding right hand. When M1 hand area was disrupted with repetitive transcranial stimulation (rTMS), learning of the motor task was blocked, confirming its causal link to motor learning. Our combined imaging and rTMS approach revealed greater cortical volume in a task-relevant M1 area is causally related to learning of a hand motor task in healthy humans.
Topics: Humans; Motor Cortex; Male; Female; Hand; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; Adult; Young Adult; Gray Matter; Motor Skills; Brain Mapping; Functional Laterality
PubMed: 38771243
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae210 -
Communications Biology May 2024Dairy fat has a unique lipid profile; it is rich in short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids that induce ketone production and has a balanced ω6/ω3 ratio that...
Dairy fat has a unique lipid profile; it is rich in short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids that induce ketone production and has a balanced ω6/ω3 ratio that promotes cognitive development in early life. Moreover, the high consumption of vegetable oils in pregnant and lactating women raises concerns regarding the quality of lipids provided to offspring. Here, we investigate maternal dairy fat intake during gestation and lactation in a highly valuable primate model for infant nutritional studies, the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus). Two experimental diets are provided to gestant mouse lemurs: a dairy fat-based (DF) or vegetable fat-based diet (VF). The psychomotor performance of neonates is tested during their first 30 days. Across all tasks, we observe more successful neonates born to mothers fed a DF diet. A greater rate of falls is observed in 8-day-old VF neonates, which is associated with delayed psychomotor development. Our findings suggest the potential benefits of lipids originating from a lactovegetarian diet compared with those originating from a vegan diet for the psychomotor development of neonates.
Topics: Animals; Female; Cheirogaleidae; Cognition; Pregnancy; Dietary Fats; Animals, Newborn; Psychomotor Performance; Dairy Products; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Lactation; Male; Plant Oils
PubMed: 38769408
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06255-w -
PloS One 2024Whereas motor skills of the untrained upper limb (UL) can improve following practice with the other UL, it has yet to be determined if an UL motor skill can improve... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Whereas motor skills of the untrained upper limb (UL) can improve following practice with the other UL, it has yet to be determined if an UL motor skill can improve following practice of that skill with the lower limb (LL).
METHODS
Forty-five healthy subjects randomly participated in a 10-minute single-session intervention of (1) practicing 50 reaching movement (RM) sequences with the non-dominant left LL toward light switches (LL group); or (2) observing the identical 50 light switches sequences (Switches Observation (SO) group); or (3) observing nature films (Nature Observation (NO) group). RM sequence performance with the left UL toward the light switches was tested before and immediately after the intervention and retested after 24 h.
RESULTS
Reaching response time improved in the LL group more than in the SO and NO groups in the posttest (pBonferroni = 0.038 and pBonferroni < 0.001, respectively), and improved in the LL group more than in the NO group in the retest (pBonferroni = 0.004). Percentage of fails did not differ between groups across the timepoints.
CONCLUSIONS
It appears that the actual practice of the RM sequence skill with the UL together with the cognitive element embedded in the observation of the RM sequences contributes to ipsilateral transfer from LL to UL.
Topics: Humans; Motor Skills; Male; Female; Adult; Upper Extremity; Lower Extremity; Young Adult; Movement; Healthy Volunteers
PubMed: 38768164
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303459