Mindfulness meditation and bimanual coordination control: study of acute effects and the mediating role of cognition.

Introduction: Mindfulness meditation (MM) involves and benefits cognitive functioning, especially attention and inhibition processes, which are also implicated in the control of complex motor skills, such as bimanual coordination. Thus, MM practice could potentially enhance bimanual coordination control through its cognitive benefits. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the acute effects of a brief MM session on bimanual coordination dynamics, attention, and inhibition abilities, as well as the mediation link between MM's cognitive and motor improvements.

Intentional maintenance of antiphase bimanual pattern at transition frequency: Is it associated with inhibition processes?

This study aimed at demonstrating the intentional modulation of bimanual coordination dynamics at transition frequency and determining whether it is associated with perceptual and/or motor inhibition capacities. Healthy adults (N = 29) performed in a random order: i) bimanual anti-phase (AP) movements at the maximal individual transition frequency, with the instruction to either let go, or intentionally maintain the initial movement pattern and oppose to the spontaneous transition to in-phase (IP) movements, and ii) The Motor and Perceptual Inhibition Test, giving separate scores for perceptual and motor inhibition. Results showed that in the intentional condition participants were able to delay (more movement cycles before the transition) and suppress (more trials without transition) the spontaneous transition from AP to IP.

A single session of mindfulness meditation may acutely enhance cognitive performance regardless of meditation experience.

The present study investigated acute cognitive effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) compared to an active control intervention in meditators (n = 22) and novices (n = 20) using a within-subject design. We analyzed reaction times in a digitized Stroop task at baseline, after a 10-minute MM session with a fundamental breathing exercise, and after a 10-minute attentive listening intervention. Interventions order was randomized and a 10 min delay was respected before testing.

Online Mindfulness Intervention, Mental Health and Attentional Abilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial in University Students During COVID-19 Lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to worldwide restrictive measures, raising concerns about mental health in young adults who were not particularly vulnerable to the virus itself. This study investigated the impact of these restrictions on mental and cognitive health of university students, and tested the efficacy of a brief online mindfulness meditation intervention in countering psychological distress and improving attentional abilities. Ninety-six university students forced into remote learning due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and with no experience in meditation were randomly assigned to either a passive control group ( = 48) or to an experimental group ( = 48) following daily, for 17 days, an online mindfulness intervention (10-20 min per day).

How Age, Cognitive Function and Gender Affect Bimanual Force Control.

Coordinated bimanual control depends on information processing in different intra- and interhemispheric networks that differ with respect to task symmetry and laterality of execution. Aging and age-related cognitive impairments, but also sex can have detrimental effects on connectivity of these networks. We therefore expected effects of age, cognitive function and sex on bimanual force coordination.

Intentional Switching Between Bimanual Coordination Patterns in Older Adults: Is It Mediated by Inhibition Processes?

The study investigated the consequences of age-related decline in inhibition processes on intentional switching between bimanual coordination patterns. Fifteen young (24±2.8 years) and 20 older adults (69±5.

Cognitive functioning enhancement in older adults: is there an advantage of multicomponent training over Nordic walking?

Introduction: We compared Nordic walking training (NW) to a multicomponent training (MCT) program of an equivalent intensity, in older adults. Our main hypothesis was that MCT would result in larger effects on cognitive processes than NW.

Methods: Thirty-nine healthy older adults, divided into two groups (NW and MCT), took part in the study (17 males, 22 females, mean age =70.

Lifespan Changes in Network Structure and Network Topology Dynamics During Rest and Auditory Oddball Performance.

Behavioral and physiological evidence suggests that developmental changes lead to enhanced cortical differentiation and integration through maturation and learning, and that senescent changes during aging result in dedifferentiation and reduced cortical specialization of neural cell assemblies. We used electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings to evaluate network structure and network topology dynamics during rest with eyes closed and open, and during auditory oddball task across the lifespan. For this evaluation, we constructed a hyper-frequency network (HFN) based on within- and cross-frequency coupling (WFC and CFC, respectively) at 10 oscillation frequencies ranging between 2 and 20 Hz.

Dynamical signatures of isometric force control as a function of age, expertise, and task constraints.

From the conceptual and methodological framework of the dynamical systems approach, force control results from complex interactions of various subsystems yielding observable behavioral fluctuations, which comprise both deterministic (predictable) and stochastic (noise-like) dynamical components. Here, we investigated these components contributing to the observed variability in force control in groups of participants differing in age and expertise level. To this aim, young (18-25 yr) as well as late middle-aged (55-65 yr) novices and experts (precision mechanics) performed a force maintenance and a force modulation task.

Strategic Variations in Fitts' Task: Comparison of Healthy Older Adults and Cognitively Impaired Patients.

The present study aimed at investigating how healthy older adults (HOA) and cognitively impaired patients (CIP) differ in a discrete Fitts' aiming task. Four levels of task difficulty were used, resulting from the simultaneous manipulation of the size of the target and its distance from home position. We found that movement times (MTs) followed Fitts' law in both HOA and CIP, with the latter being significantly slower and more affected by increased task difficulty.

Structure and Topology Dynamics of Hyper-Frequency Networks during Rest and Auditory Oddball Performance.

Resting-state and task-related recordings are characterized by oscillatory brain activity and widely distributed networks of synchronized oscillatory circuits. Electroencephalographic recordings (EEG) were used to assess network structure and network dynamics during resting state with eyes open and closed, and auditory oddball performance through phase synchronization between EEG channels. For this assessment, we constructed a hyper-frequency network (HFN) based on within- and cross-frequency coupling (WFC and CFC, respectively) at 10 oscillation frequencies ranging between 2 and 20 Hz.

The multiscale entropy: Guidelines for use and interpretation in brain signal analysis.

Background: Multiscale entropy (MSE) estimates the predictability of a signal over multiple temporal scales. It has been recently applied to study brain signal variability, notably during aging. The grounds of its application and interpretation remain unclear and subject to debate.

Age-related changes in force control under different task contexts.

We investigated age-related differences in motor behavior under different task contexts of isometric force control. The tasks involved rapid force production and force maintenance, either separately or in combination. For the combined context, we used Fitts-like tasks, in which we scaled either the force level (D manipulation, i.

Sensori-motor strategic variations and sequential effects in young and older adults performing a Fitts' task.

The present study aimed at investigating age-related changes in strategic variations and sequential effects in discrete Fitts' aiming task. Three sequential effects were investigated, namely trial sequential difficulty effects (TSDE), strategy sequential difficulty effects (SSDE), and strategy repetition effects (SRE). After generalizing previously observed aging effects on strategic variations, our results showed that movement times were longer when performed after harder ID level than when following easier ID level (TSDE).

Performing Isometric Force Control in Combination with a Cognitive Task: A Multidimensional Assessment.

Introduction: We used a multidimensional approach to study isometric force control in single and dual-task conditions.

Methods: Multiple measures of performance, efficiency, variability, and structural interference were calculated at low and higher force levels under single (force maintenance) and dual-task (force maintenance and reaction time) conditions.

Results: Reaction time and signal-to-noise ratio were larger in the dual-task conditions.

Brain Dynamics of Aging: Multiscale Variability of EEG Signals at Rest and during an Auditory Oddball Task.

The present work focused on the study of fluctuations of cortical activity across time scales in young and older healthy adults. The main objective was to offer a comprehensive characterization of the changes of brain (cortical) signal variability during aging, and to make the link with known underlying structural, neurophysiological, and functional modifications, as well as aging theories. We analyzed electroencephalogram (EEG) data of young and elderly adults, which were collected at resting state and during an auditory oddball task.

Effects of task and age on the magnitude and structure of force fluctuations: insights into underlying neuro-behavioral processes.

Background: The present study aimed at characterizing the effects of increasing (relative) force level and aging on isometric force control. To achieve this objective and to infer changes in the underlying control mechanisms, measures of information transmission, as well as magnitude and time-frequency structure of behavioral variability were applied to force-time-series.

Results: Older adults were found to be weaker, more variable, and less efficient than young participants.

Older and younger adults' strategies in sensorimotor tasks: insights from Fitts' pointing task.

We investigated how young and older adults differ in sensorimotor tasks. Two groups of participants (young and older adults) performed discrete Fitts' tasks in which 4 levels of difficulty (ID) were used, resulting from either the manipulation of the size of the target (ID(W)) or of the distance between home and target positions (ID(D)). Kinematic analysis allowed distinguishing 4 different types of strategies used to reach the target, on the basis of the existence and the nature of submovements.

Aging induced loss of complexity and dedifferentiation: consequences for coordination dynamics within and between brain, muscular and behavioral levels.

Growing evidence demonstrates that aging not only leads to structural and functional alterations of individual components of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system (NMSS) but also results in a systemic re-organization of interactions within and between the different levels and functional domains. Understanding the principles that drive the dynamics of these re-organizations is an important challenge for aging research. The present Hypothesis and Theory paper is a contribution in this direction.

Age-related changes of movement patterns in discrete Fitts' task.

Background: Inspired by the framework of dynamical system theory, we aimed at exploring how the behavioural repertoire of the sensorimotor system can be reshaped with aging. Our reasoning was founded on the assumption that, with age, some of the existing patterns can be destabilized or even lost. In the present paper, this issue was investigated through the study of age-related changes in the movement patterns that are used to perform a discrete Fitts' task.

Age-related dedifferentiation of cognitive and motor slowing: insight from the comparison of Hick-Hyman and Fitts' laws.

The present study aimed to determine whether the general slowing hypothesis (GSH) could be extended to the motor domain by comparing cognitive and motor age-related slowing. To achieve this objective, we compared the slopes of Hick-Hyman's law and Fitts' law, in young and older adults. The general hypothesis was that, due to the dedifferentiation of cognitive and motor neural resources during aging, the slopes of Hick-Hyman's law and Fitts' law should become closer, if not similar, in older adults.

Patterns of horse-rider coordination during endurance race: a dynamical system approach.

In riding, most biomechanical studies have focused on the description of the horse locomotion in unridden condition. In this study, we draw the prospect of how the basic principles established in inter-personal coordination by the theory of Coordination Dynamics may provide a conceptual and methodological framework for understanding the horse-rider coupling. The recent development of mobile technologies allows combined horse and rider recordings during long lasting natural events such as endurance races.

Aging of sensorimotor processes: a systematic study in Fitts' task.

Though age-related decrease in information-processing capacities is hypothesized to be a prominent cause of behavioral slowing, it has been scarcely systematically studied in goal-directed motor tasks. The present study investigated how the decrease in information processing affects the sensorimotor processes underlying the control of a discrete Fitts' task. The index of difficulty (ID) of the task was manipulated using changes in either target distance (D) or target width (W).

Is Fitts' law continuous in discrete aiming?

The lawful continuous linear relation between movement time and task difficulty (i.e., index of difficulty; ID) in a goal-directed rapid aiming task (Fitts' law) has been recently challenged in reciprocal performance.