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Frontiers in Public Health 2022Nap deprivation is regarded as a sleep loss for habitual nappers. The beneficial effects of napping and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on the reduction in planning...
Nap deprivation is regarded as a sleep loss for habitual nappers. The beneficial effects of napping and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on the reduction in planning ability following nighttime sleep deprivation have been proven. However, it is still unknown whether it can improve the performance decline caused by daytime nap deprivation in habitual nappers. Seventy-four healthy adults who had a long-term habit of taking naps were assigned to three interventions after receiving nap deprivation: (1) Control group (no intervention); (2) Nap group (15-min sitting naps); (3) Exercise group (15-min aerobic exercise), in which subjective alertness, mood, fatigue, and task performance in objective alertness (Psychomotor Vigilance Task, PVT) and planning ability (the Tower of London Task) were measured. Results showed that nap deprivation negatively influenced some performance on the psychomotor vigilance (i.e., response times and 10% slowest response time) and planning ability (i.e., planning time). And acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise improved psychomotor alertness (i.e., response times) and planning ability (i.e., execution accuracy, execution time), a 15-min sitting naps only alleviated subjective fatigue, whereas some performance (i.e., response times) deteriorated when no intervention was used. These findings suggested that acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise has a better restorative effect on the reduced planning ability and objective alertness due to nap deprivation compared to sitting naps.
Topics: Adult; Exercise; Fatigue; Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Sitting Position; Sleep
PubMed: 35400075
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.861923 -
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior Nov 2011Carisoprodol is a centrally acting drug used to relieve skeletal muscle spasms and associated pain in acute musculoskeletal conditions. There is evidence from different... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Randomized Controlled Trial
Carisoprodol is a centrally acting drug used to relieve skeletal muscle spasms and associated pain in acute musculoskeletal conditions. There is evidence from different sources that this oral muscle relaxant is abused and that it is associated with impairment leading to arrests for "driving under the influence" as well as increased risk of automobile accidents. Its subjective and psychomotor effects in healthy volunteers at therapeutic and supratherapeutic doses have not been well-characterized, and form the basis of this report. Fifteen healthy volunteers (8 males, 7 females) were administered 0, 350, and 700 mg of carisoprodol in separate sessions and for 6h afterwards they completed a battery of tests at fixed time intervals so as to assess the subjective and psychomotor effects of the drug. The supratherapeutic dose, 700 mg, increased visual analog scale ratings of terms that were more reflective of sedation (e.g., "sleepy," "heavy, sluggish feeling") than those of abuse liability, and produced impaired performance on several psychomotor tests. The therapeutic dose, 350 mg, while producing few and mild subjective effects, still produced psychomotor impairment. The fact that the therapeutic dose of carisoprodol produced minimal subjective effects while adversely affecting performance is of concern in that patients prescribed this drug may feel relatively normal and engage in tasks (driving) that could put themselves and others at risk.
Topics: Adult; Carisoprodol; Cognition; Double-Blind Method; Emotions; Female; Humans; Male; Muscle Relaxants, Central; Psychomotor Performance; Young Adult
PubMed: 21884720
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.08.011 -
Frontiers in Neural Circuits 2018
Review
Topics: Cerebral Cortex; Computer Simulation; Humans; Nerve Net; Neurons; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 30524250
DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00104 -
European Journal of Physical and... Jun 2009Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive disorder mainly affecting the motor system. PD is only partially controlled by symptomatic dopaminergic treatment.... (Review)
Review
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive disorder mainly affecting the motor system. PD is only partially controlled by symptomatic dopaminergic treatment. Therefore, motor rehabilitation can be used in PD to reduce complications and to train patients in the use of compensatory movement strategies. Rehabilitative practice is largely dependent on the efficiency of motor learning, i.e. the acquisition of new abilities or the adaptation of pre-existing ones. Although patients with PD are able to improve their motor performance through practice, the amount and persistence of clinical benefit are uncertain. Both ''implicit'' (procedural) and ''explicit'' (declarative) features of motor learning have been extensively investigated in patients with PD using neuropsychological testing, serial reaction time paradigms, and analysis of reaching movements. Evidence from these studies suggests an early impairment of ''explicit'' learning in PD, while ''implicit'' learning is relatively preserved. The consolidation of learned motor tasks is defective in PD and the mechanisms of motor learning seem to be independent from dopamine-replacement therapy. The knowledge of motor learning in PD is critical in designing more effective rehabilitative protocols.
Topics: Exercise Therapy; Humans; Mental Recall; Parkinson Disease; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 19377414
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental... Sep 2018Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that the neuropeptide oxytocin may be of value in treating alcohol use disorder, by either reducing the rewarding effects of...
BACKGROUND
Preclinical and clinical evidence suggest that the neuropeptide oxytocin may be of value in treating alcohol use disorder, by either reducing the rewarding effects of alcohol or reducing negative affect induced by alcohol withdrawal. However, the effect of a single dose of oxytocin on subjective and psychomotor responses to alcohol in social drinkers is not known.
METHODS
This study examined the effect of intranasal oxytocin on subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses to a moderate dose of alcohol (0.8 g/kg) in young adult social drinkers. Participants (N = 35) completed 2 study sessions at which they consumed beverages containing alcohol (ALC; N = 20) or placebo (NoALC; N = 15) in combination with intranasal oxytocin (40 IU with a 20 IU booster) or placebo. They received oxytocin at one session and placebo at the other session (order counterbalanced) 20 minutes before consuming beverages. Subjective mood and drug effects ratings, heart rate and blood pressure, and 4 behavioral tasks (flanker task, digit span, go/no-go, and pursuit rotor) were the primary outcome measures.
RESULTS
ALC produced its expected subjective and behavioral effects; including feeling intoxicated and impaired performance on the digit span and go/no-go tasks. Oxytocin alone had no significant subjective or physiological effects, and it did not affect responses to alcohol on any measure.
CONCLUSIONS
We can conclude that, under these conditions, a single dose of intranasal oxytocin does not alter the effects of acute alcohol in healthy young adult social drinkers. Further research is needed to determine whether oxytocin alters responses to alcohol under different conditions, and to determine its potential as an aid in treatment for substance use disorders.
Topics: Administration, Intranasal; Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Female; Heart Rate; Humans; Male; Oxytocics; Oxytocin; Psychomotor Performance; Self Report; Social Behavior; Young Adult
PubMed: 29917245
DOI: 10.1111/acer.13814 -
Scientific Reports Jan 2021It well-known that mental training improves skill performance. Here, we evaluated skill acquisition and consolidation after physical or motor imagery practice, by means...
It well-known that mental training improves skill performance. Here, we evaluated skill acquisition and consolidation after physical or motor imagery practice, by means of an arm pointing task requiring speed-accuracy trade-off. In the main experiment, we showed a significant enhancement of skill after both practices (72 training trials), with a better acquisition after physical practice. Interestingly, we found a positive impact of the passage of time (+ 6 h post training) on skill consolidation for the motor imagery training only, without any effect of sleep (+ 24 h post training) for none of the interventions. In a control experiment, we matched the gain in skill learning after physical training (new group) with that obtained after motor imagery training (main experiment) to evaluate skill consolidation after the same amount of learning. Skill performance in this control group deteriorated with the passage of time and sleep. In another control experiment, we increased the number of imagined trials (n = 100, new group) to compare the acquisition and consolidation processes of this group with that observed in the motor imagery group of the main experiment. We did not find significant differences between the two groups. These findings suggest that physical and motor imagery practice drive skill learning through different acquisition and consolidation processes.
Topics: Adult; Biomechanical Phenomena; Electromyography; Female; Humans; Male; Motor Skills; Neurosciences; Psychomotor Performance; Young Adult
PubMed: 33504870
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81994-y -
Croatian Medical Journal Dec 2006To assess if there is deterioration in mental and psychomotor performance during 24-hour voluntary fluid intake deprivation.
AIM
To assess if there is deterioration in mental and psychomotor performance during 24-hour voluntary fluid intake deprivation.
METHODS
A battery of computer generated psychological tests (Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac-series) was applied to 10 subjects to test light signal position discrimination, short-term memory, simple visual orientation, simple arithmetics, and complex motor coordination. We measured total test solving time, minimum (best) single task solving time, total ballast time, and total number of errors. Mood self-estimate scales of depression, working energy, anxiety, and self-confidence were used to determine the emotional status of subjects. During the first day of the experiment, subjects had free access to drinks. After a 48-hour interval, subjects voluntarily abstained from fluid intake for 24 hours. During that period, the testing was performed 7 times a day, at 3-hour intervals, except during the night. Z-transformation of the results enabled the comparison of 50 dependent measurements on the same subjects.
RESULTS
During dehydration, there was significant deterioration in total test solving time, minimum single task solving time, and total ballast time. No significant deterioration was found by mood self-estimate scales, except on the scale of energy at 23:00 hours.
CONCLUSION
Voluntary 24-hour fluid intake deprivation led to deterioration in objective parameters of psychological processing, but not in subjective parameters. The results suggest that the duration of fluid intake deprivation can be a useful indicator of mental and psychomotor deterioration level but not of mood self-estimates.
Topics: Adult; Cognition; Dehydration; Humans; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychomotor Performance; Water Deprivation
PubMed: 17167858
DOI: No ID Found -
Behavior Research Methods Feb 2022Post-error slowing is one of the most widely employed measures to study cognitive and behavioral consequences of error commission. Several methods have been proposed to...
Post-error slowing is one of the most widely employed measures to study cognitive and behavioral consequences of error commission. Several methods have been proposed to quantify the post-error slowing effect, and we discuss two main methods: The traditional method of comparing response times in correct post-error trials to response times of correct trials that follow another correct trial, and a more recent proposal of comparing response times in correct post-error trials to the corresponding correct pre-error trials. Based on thorough re-analyses of two datasets, we argue that the latter method provides an inflated estimate by also capturing the (partially) independent effect of pre-error speeding. We propose two solutions for improving the assessment of human error processing, both of which highlight the importance of distinguishing between initial pre-error speeding and later post-error slowing.
Topics: Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Reaction Time
PubMed: 34240334
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01631-4 -
Behavioural Brain Research Mar 2012Psychomotor retardation is a prominent clinical feature of major depression. While several studies investigated these deficits, differences between internally and...
BACKGROUND
Psychomotor retardation is a prominent clinical feature of major depression. While several studies investigated these deficits, differences between internally and externally triggered response selection and initiation are less well understood. In the current study, we delineate internally vs. externally driven response selection and initiation in depression and their relation to basic psychomotor functioning.
METHODS
20 inpatients diagnosed with a (unipolar) major depression and 20 closely matched healthy controls performed a computerized motor paradigm assessing differences between internally and externally cued movements. Psychomotor performance and basic memory functions were assessed using a neuropsychological test-battery. To examine within group homogeneity a multivariate clustering approach was applied.
RESULTS
Patients featured a global slowing of internally and externally cued response selection compared to controls, as well as impairments in basic psychomotor functioning. Yet, basic motor speed was preserved. Furthermore, patients were more severely impaired when movements involved internal response selection. The data-driven clustering revealed two patient subgroups, which both showed psychomotor disturbances, while only one featured slowing of response selection.
INTERPRETATION
The results suggest a differential rather than a global psychomotor slowing in major depression with specific impairments of visuospatial and attentional processing as cognitive aspects of psychomotor functioning. As found for depression, in Parkinson's disease internally cued movements are more severely affected than externally cued reactions. Both may therefore be caused by dopaminergic deregulation due to frontostriatal deficits. Finally, multivariate clustering of behavioral data may be a promising future approach to identify subtypes of psychomotor or cognitive disturbances in different patient populations.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antidepressive Agents; Aptitude Tests; Case-Control Studies; Cues; Depressive Disorder, Major; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Movement; Neuropsychological Tests; Psychomotor Performance; Severity of Illness Index
PubMed: 22142951
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.11.024 -
Scientific Reports May 2023The observation that different effectors can execute the same movement suggests functional equivalences driven by limb independent representation of action in the...
The observation that different effectors can execute the same movement suggests functional equivalences driven by limb independent representation of action in the central nervous system. A common invariant motor behavior is the speed and curvature coupling (the 1/3 power law), a low dimensional (abstract) descriptor of movement which is resilient to different sensorimotor contexts. Our purpose is to verify the consistency of such motor equivalence during a drawing task, by testing the effect of manual dominance and movement speed on motor performance. We hypothesize that abstract kinematic variables are not the most resistant to speed or limb effector changes. The results show specific effects of speed and hand side on the drawing task. Movement duration, speed-curvature covariation, and maximum velocity were not significantly affected by hand side, while geometrical features were strongly speed and limb dependent. However, intra-trial analysis performed over the successive drawing movements reveals a significant hand side effect on the variability of movement vigor and velocity-curvature relationship (the 1/3 PL). The identified effects of speed and hand dominance on the kinematic parameters suggest different neural strategies, in a pattern that does not go from the most abstract to the least abstract component, as proposed by the traditional hierarchical organization of the motor plan.
Topics: Movement; Psychomotor Performance; Hand; Central Nervous System; Biomechanical Phenomena
PubMed: 37217537
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34861-x