Perceptual and Motor Skills最新文献

Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback (HRVBF) is a non-invasive intervention that enhances vagal tone and autonomic regulation. While its benefits for stress reduction are well established, the acute effects of a single short-term HRVBF session on psychophysiological and cognitive functions prior to performance remain insufficiently investigated. This randomized controlled pilot study examined the effects of a 10-minute HRVBF session on autonomic markers, anxiety, and problem-solving accuracy during a time-pressured chess task. Twenty chess players (10 females, 10 males; mean age = 17.55) were randomly allocated to either a biofeedback (BFB) group or a passive control group (n = 10 per group). The BFB group completed a single HRVBF session guided by 0.1 Hz paced breathing, while the control group engaged in seated spontaneous breathing. Anxiety levels were measured using the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI). Participants completed a 5-minute chess problem-solving task before and after the intervention. Physiological signals were continuously recorded using photoplethysmography (PPG) and respiratory sensors, from which standard HRV indices including physiological stress index (SI) were derived. Results indicated that a single short HRVBF session was accompanied by within-group reductions in heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RSP), along with a transient increase in LF/HF ratio, and modest improvements in cognitive accuracy. Although tendencies toward changes in NN50, and LF power were observed, these did not reach post-hoc significance. Moreover, no significant changes were found in RMSSD or high-frequency (HF) power. Overall, these findings provide preliminary evidence that short HRVBF sessions may acutely influence selected autonomic markers and potentially support cognitive performance under time pressure. However, their effects on vagal tone and subjective anxiety appear limited, underscoring the need for cautious interpretation and further investigation.

Aim: This study aimed to compare bilateral upper extremity proprioception and functional skills in adolescents with hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy (CP) and typically developing peers, and to examine their associations with activity and participation within the ICF framework. Methods: Thirty-eight participants were included (19 adolescents with hemiplegic CP and 19 typically developing peers). Proprioception (kinesthesia and joint position error) was assessed for both upper extremities, and functional performance was evaluated using the Gross Motor Function Measure-66, Jebson Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHFT), ABILHAND-Kids, and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Group differences were analyzed using ANCOVA with age as a covariate. Results: Adolescents with hemiplegic CP demonstrated significantly lower gross motor function, kinesthesia, affected-side joint position accuracy, upper extremity dexterity, activity, and participation levels compared with their peers (p < .01). Moderate positive correlations were found between PEDI domains, JTHFT, and ABILHAND-Kids (p < .05), as well as between kinesthesia and JTHFT (p < .01). Discussion: The findings suggest that adolescents with hemiplegic CP may have lower levels of proprioception on both sides, gross motor function, and activity and participation compared to their typically developing peers. This study is considered to provide a comparative evaluation of bilateral proprioception in adolescents with hemiplegic CP and to highlight its associations with functional performance, activity, and participation.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the presence and the magnitude of the relative age effect in Chinese youth basketball leagues. This study covered all athletes participating in the 2024 Chinese youth basketball league, including 64 male teams with 706 athletes and 48 female teams with 550 athletes. The chi-square test was used to determine the distribution of players' birth dates. Relative age team achievement (RATA) was utilized to quantify the team's overall birth date distribution. Competition statistics based on both per-game and per-minute indicators, together with player efficiency rating (PER) and win percentage, were employed to assess player and team performance. Spearman's correlation coefficient was utilized to calculate the relationship between birth date, age, and competition performance at both individual and team levels. The disparity in the distribution of athletes' birth dates was observed exclusively in the male cohort, whereas the disparity in the playing position was evident in both the male and female cohorts. Among men and women, the date of birth was associated with a total of 3 statistics of player performance. However, age has a positive effect on the 10 competition statistics for men and 7 competition statistics for women. The date of birth was not found to be statistically significant in relation to the performance of the team, whereas age demonstrated a positive correlation with the team's overall efficiency and win percentage. The findings demonstrated that the specific dimensions and magnitudes of the RAE in Chinese youth basketball leagues exhibited gender-specific variations. The prevalence of the RAE necessitates consideration by the Chinese Basketball Association, which should implement appropriate measures to mitigate potential inequities in youth sports.

Unilateral balance training has been suggested to promote a cross-education effect, which consists of skills transfer from the trained to untrained leg thanks to spinal and supraspinal adaptations. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of unilateral balance training on balance abilities of the untrained leg in healthy people and patients with motor impairments. A systematic search was carried out on MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL and PEDro databases. Randomized controlled trials investigating unilateral balance training effects on static, reactive and proactive balance of the untrained leg in healthy adults or patients with musculoskeletal or neurological conditions were included. Methodological quality was assessed using RoB-2 tool and pooled or un-pooled results were reported as standardized mean difference with 95% confidence interval. Evidence certainty was rated using the GRADE approach. Ten studies were included. Unilateral balance training improved proactive balance of the untrained leg in healthy people (moderate evidence). Unilateral balance training of the unaffected leg enhanced static and proactive balance of the affected leg in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (low evidence) and reactive balance of the affected leg in patients with chronic ankle instability (very low evidence). These findings supported the occurrence of a cross-education effect in healthy people and patients with musculoskeletal conditions of the lower limb. Evidence certainty is limited and further studies are needed.

Background: Hand-preference has implications for understanding brain organisation. Research has examined neurological and psychological conditions by hand-preference, but the association between hand-preference and eating disorders (ED) has only been explored in small adult samples. Purpose: This study (n = 10,950) explored the association between writing-hand preference and ED symptoms in adolescence, using a nationally representative cohort of children born in the UK in 2000-2002. Methods: At age 14 years, the cohort children self-reported hand-preference for writing and ED symptoms (exercise and dieting behaviours and weight dissatisfaction). Results: There was a small association between left-hand preference for writing and weight dissatisfaction after adjustment for confounders including sex, body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic and pubertal status, and ethnicity. There was no other difference in ED symptoms by writing-hand preference. Conclusions: The finding suggesting that left-handed adolescents may be more likely to report dissatisfaction with their weight after adjustment for BMI warrants further investigation.

Background: Perception of force involves integrating sensory and motor signals to form an accurate percept. Since individual finger pressing inadvertently causes neighboring fingers to exert force involuntarily, intriguing is its contribution to proprioception considering the increased force feedback during the task. For instance, pressing with the middle finger often generates substantial involuntary force in the adjacent ring finger. Although prior studies have examined perception of finger forces during contralateral force-matching tasks, the influence of interdependent forces on force perception remains unknown.Purpose: This study examined the perception of unintentional interdependent forces in relation to voluntary efforts. Research Design: Experimental, within a subject study. Study Sample: Twelve right-handed participants without neurological and orthopedic impairments. Data Collection and/or Analysis: All participants performed bilateral finger-pressing tasks, producing a target force with their middle finger (reference hand) while generating an interdependent force with their ring finger. Subsequently, they matched this involuntary ring-finger force using their contralateral hand. We hypothesized that perception of interdependent forces would be less accurate than voluntary forces due to weaker coupling between motor commands and sensory feedback (efferent copy). Additionally, we expected that matching responses would reflect a bias toward the sum of instructed and interdependent forces rather than the interdependent force alone, and that variability would be greater in the absence of visual feedback.Results: Perception of interdependent forces was significantly less accurate, and matching accuracy improved when participants matched the summed force. Variability was notably higher without visual feedback, while visual cues reduced variability in the reference hand. Conclusions: These findings clarify how unintentional forces influence perception in tasks that involve multiple interdependent fingers. Unintentinal interdependent forces impair perceptual accuracy compared to voluntary forces, likely due to weaker coupling between motor commands and sensory feedback. Perceptual judgements appear biased toward the total generated force rather than isolated independent components.

Reinvestment Theory proposes that excessive conscious control over movement execution or decision making can disrupt automaticity and contribute to performance breakdown under pressure. Despite its clinical relevance in sport psychology, culturally validated measures of reinvestment remain limited. This study examined the psychometric properties of adapted versions of the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale (DSRS) and Movement-Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS) in a sample of athletes and physically active individuals. Participants were 259 undergraduate sport science students (M_age = 20.34 years). Data were analyzed using item discrimination indices, confirmatory factor analyses, convergent validity tests, and internal consistency estimates. Item-level analyses supported the removal of one item from each scale. The resulting DSRS comprised 12 items across two factors (decision reinvestment and decision rumination), and the MSRS comprised nine items across two factors (conscious motor processing and movement self-consciousness). Both scales demonstrated acceptable to good reliability and evidence of factorial and convergent validity. These findings support the use of the adapted DSRS and MSRS as clinically informative tools for assessing vulnerability to performance disruptions under pressure in sport and performance settings.

This study analyzed the impact of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) on gaze behavior in professional female basketball players during free-throw shooting preparation. Gaze fixation duration was identified using a mobile eye tracker from free throws shooting preparation (n = 2,233). Multi-channel HD-tDCS (cathodic and sham) was applied for 20 minutes before shooting preparation. The shots were classified as code 1 (successful without hitting the rim or backboard), code 2 (the ball hit the rim before going in), and code 3 (missed shots). There were significant differences between sham and cathodic conditions in percentage changes (pre-to post-intervention) of gaze fixation duration for all three codes (p < 0.001), with increases for sham and decreases for cathodic. Interaction effects (condition × time × shooting code) were observed (p < 0.001). The present findings suggest that HD-tDCS can decrease gaze fixation duration towards a functional inward-out role related to improving neural efficiency.

Background: A balanced integration score (BIS) has been suggested as a more efficient combination of speed and accuracy compared with other measures of the speed - accuracy trade-off (SAT). Purpose: Nonetheless, little is known about the BIS when associated with age and skill, two central factors involved in the SAT. This study evaluated the BIS in a chess memory task (n = 229), because chess is an intellectually taxing domain where SAT is quite likely to occur and age and skill are important determinants of performance. Methods: A chess paradigm considering the combination of size (small and large) and type of chess positions (random, typical, and infrequent) was used to evaluate the BIS associated with age and skill. Results: As expected, age and skill related with the BIS in large infrequent chess positions compared with other size × type combinations. Conclusion: The BIS is useful to evaluate the combination of speed and accuracy as it relates in the expected directions with age and skill.

Athletes have better dynamic visual acuity (DVA) while seated compared to the general population. However, it is unclear whether athletes maintain superior DVA during standing and walking.PurposeTo examine DVA performance while standing and walking relative to seated for athletes compared to students from the general population.MethodsInteruniversity athletes (Athlete = 16; age = 20.7 ± 1.4) and recreationally-active students (Student = 17; age = 21.3 ± 1.4) performed a custom DVA task. A Tumbling 'E' was presented in four possible orientations moving in random (R) or horizontal (H) motion at 30°/s. DVA was performed during four conditions: seated, standing, low-intensity and moderate-intensity treadmill walking. Change in DVA from seated was calculated as the difference in log of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) from each condition and response time (RT, ms) was recorded using a keypad. Repeated measures mixed ANOVAs were conducted to compare DVA change scores and RT between groups for each condition.ResultsDuring R-motion, the Athlete group improved DVA change scores from seated to all conditions, whereas the Student group had worse DVA change scores (p = 0.015, f = 0.51). Both groups responded significantly faster for R-motion during moderate-intensity walking (p = 0.001). For H-motion, no differences were observed in DVA change score or RT.ConclusionAthletes improved performance on an random and unpredictable DVA task from seated to standing and walking compared to recreationally-active students who exhibited worse changes in DVA accuracy despite faster responses. Spatiotemporal properties of the DVA task appeared to modulate performance based on level of complexity.