Substance availability and use in ex-professional ice hockey enforcers.

Some ex-professional ice hockey enforcers (players whose primary role was fighting) have experienced negative health outcomes following their careers including substance use. Some have suggested that negative post-career outcomes following a career in contact sport relate specifically to neurotrauma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ex-professional ice hockey enforcers were negatively impacted by substance use during and/or following their careers.

Acute Effects of Exercise on Risk-Taking: Different Responses in Males and Females.

In recent years there has been great interest in the effects of exercise on cognition, but few have investigated whether physical activity influences risk-taking. : To investigate the effects of acute moderate to vigorous exercise on risky decision-making. : Healthy (free of psychological or neurological conditions), recreationally active males and females ( = 20, 50% females, mean age = 22.

Resting State Electroencephalography and Sports-Related Concussion: A Systematic Review.

Sports-related concussion is associated with a range of short-term functional deficits that are commonly thought to recover within a two-week post-injury period for most, but certainly not all, persons. Resting state electroencephalography (rs-EEG) may prove to be an affordable, accessible, and sensitive method of assessing severity of brain injury and rate of recovery after a concussion. This article presents a systematic review of rs-EEG in sports-related concussion.

Training for improved neuro-muscular control of balance in middle aged females.

This study examined improvements in static balance and muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity following a four week progressive training program in 16 middle aged females (mean age = 46.9 ± 8.7 yrs; height 161.

CPR skill retention of first aid attendants within the workplace.

Introduction: Immediate resuscitation is necessary in order to achieve conscious survival for persons who have lost airways or pulses. However, current literature suggests that even in medically-trained personnel, CPR skills are forgotten shortly after certification.

Hypothesis/problem: The purpose of this study was to determine the CPR skill and knowledge decay in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within the workplace.

Fluid balance of elite female basketball players before and during game play.

This study determined the fluid balance of elite female basketball players before and during competition. Before and during 2 international games, 17 national-level players (age 24.2 ± 3 yr, height 180.

Possible lingering effects of multiple past concussions.

Background. The literature on lingering or "cumulative" effects of multiple concussions is mixed. The purpose of this study was to examine whether athletes with a history of three or more concussions perform more poorly on neuropsychological testing or report more subjective symptoms during a baseline, preseason evaluation.

First aid skill retention of first responders within the workplace.

Background: Recent literature states that many necessary skills of CPR and first aid are forgotten shortly after certification. The purpose of this study was to determine the skill and knowledge decay in first aid in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within a workplace.

Methods: Using a choking victim scenario, the sequence and accuracy of events were observed and recorded in 257 participants paid to act as first responders in large industrial or service industry settings.

Electromyographic activity of the trunk stabilizers during stable and unstable bench press.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of instability training in the recruitment of core stabilizing muscles during dynamic multijoint movement. Surface electromyography (EMG) was measured from 6 muscles (latissimus dorsi, rectus abdominus, internal obliques, erector spinae, and soleus) while subjects performed a 9.1-kg bench press on stable and unstable surfaces.

A new potential marker for abnormal cardiac physiology in depression.

The purpose of the study was to determine if a nonlinear estimate of dimensional complexity, Pointwise correlation dimension (Pd2), could be used to identify abnormal cardiac physiology associated with depression in primary care outpatients. The subjects were 22 medical controls and 30 general medical outpatients with depression who wore a cardiac monitor for 24 h. There was a significant difference between depressed and control subjects for Pd2 based on the entire cardiac time-series, with depressed subjects exhibiting higher Pd2 values.

Relation between subjective fogginess and neuropsychological testing following concussion.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between the subjective report of feeling foggy at one-week post concussion and acute neuropsychological outcome. The outcome variables were derived from a computerized neuropsychological screening battery, Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). Participants were 110 high school students who sustained a sports-related concussion and were evaluated 5-10 days post injury (M = 6.

Cumulative effects of concussion in amateur athletes.

Primary Objective: To examine the possibility that athletes with multiple concussions show cumulative effects of injury.

Methods And Procedures: Amateur athletes with a history of three or more concussions were carefully matched (gender, age, education and sport) with athletes with no prior concussions. All completed a computerized neuropsychological test battery at preseason (ImPACT) and then within 5 days of sustaining a concussion (mean = 1.

Intraoperative electrode burns.

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of electrode burns that occur in the operating room (OR), to discuss their causes, warning signs, and methods that may reduce their occurrence. Two general sources of electrical burns are described: 1) Excessive radio-frequency current density usually originating from a monopolar electrosurgical unit (ESU) and 2) Direct current (DC) originating from a battery or equipment malfunction.

Methods: Case examples associated with intraoperative neuromonitoring are provided and discussed in the context of the relevant literature.

Self-organizing neural network analyses of cardiac data in depression.

Objective: To determine if an unsupervised self-organizing neural network could create a clinically meaningful distinction of 'depression' versus 'no depression' based on cardiac time-series data.

Design: A self-organizing map (SOM) was used to separate the time-series of 84 subjects into groups based on characteristics of the data alone.

Materials And Methods: Analyses included natural log transformations and two types of filtering to enhance characteristics of the data as well as classifications of unprocessed data.

The neurophysiology of brain injury.

Objective: This article reviews the mechanisms and pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Research on the pathophysiology of diffuse and focal TBI is reviewed with an emphasis on damage that occurs at the cellular level. The mechanisms of injury are discussed in detail including the factors and time course associated with mild to severe diffuse injury as well as the pathophysiology of focal injuries.

Reliability of circadian heart pattern analysis in psychiatry.

The assessment of circadian heart patterns represents a new methodology for documenting physiological dysregulation associated with psychiatric illness. Previous research has demonstrated abnormal heart rate patterns, especially during the bedtime interval, that are associated with depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and schizophrenia. These patterns are derived from heart rate data obtained while wearing an unobtrusive, two-lead heart rate monitor over a 24-hour period.