Cognitive Impairment Is Reflected by an Increased Difference between Real and Imagined Timed Up and Go Test Performance.

Background: Recent research suggests using an imaginary version of the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) for a first assessment of cognitive impairment. By using the time difference between a real (TUGr) and an imagined (TUGi) TUG task, the objective of this study was to examine the effect of cognitive impairment on motor imagery ability.

Methods: Fifty-two participants (mean age 69.

Effect of acute ambient temperature exposure on cardio-pulmonary and respiratory kinetics in men.

Aim: The goal of the study was to compare the kinetic responses of heart rate (HR) and pulmonary (V̇Opulm) and muscular (V̇Omusc) oxygen uptake during dynamic leg exercise across different acute ambient temperature conditions in a climatic chamber.

Methods: Thirteen physically healthy, active, male volunteers demonstrated pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) work rate (WR) changes between 30 and 80 W at 15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C, respectively. HR was measured beat-to-beat using an echocardiogram and V̇Opulm by breath-by-breath gas exchange; V̇Omusc estimations were assessed by applying a circulatory model and cross-correlation functions.

Sociocultural Influence on Obesity and Lifestyle in Children: A Study of Daily Activities, Leisure Time Behavior, Motor Skills, and Weight Status.

Background: Juvenile overweight is increasing, and effective preventive measures are needed. After years of arbitrarily assigning these measures disregarding socioeconomic and/or cultural differences, it has become necessary to tailor interventions more specific to these target groups. Providing data for such an intervention is the objective of this study.

Cortical Correlates of Human Balance Control.

Balance control is a fundamental component of human every day motor activities such as standing or walking, and its impairment is associated with an increased risk of falling. However, in humans the exact neurobiological mechanisms underlying balance control are still unclear. Specifically, although previous studies have identified a number of cortical regions that become significantly activated during real or imagined balancing, the interactions within and between the relevant cortical regions remain to be investigated.

Creatine supplementation reduces sleep need and homeostatic sleep pressure in rats.

Sleep has been postulated to promote brain energy restoration. It is as yet unknown if increasing the energy availability within the brain reduces sleep need. The guanidine amino acid creatine (Cr) is a well-known energy booster in cellular energy homeostasis.

The effects of an extensive exercise programme on the progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Exercise interventions to prevent dementia and delay cognitive decline have gained considerable attention in recent years. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that regular physical activity targets brain function by increasing cognitive reserve. There is also evidence of structural changes caused by exercise in preventing or delaying the genesis of neurodegeneration.

The Achilles tendon is mechanosensitive in older adults: adaptations following 14 weeks versus 1.5 years of cyclic strain exercise.

The aging musculoskeletal system experiences a general decline in structure and function, characterized by a reduced adaptability to environmental stress. We investigated whether the older human Achilles tendon (AT) demonstrates mechanosensitivity (via biomechanical and morphological adaptations) in response to long-term mechanical loading. Thirty-four female adults (60-75 years) were allocated to either a medium-term (14 weeks; =21) high AT strain cyclic loading exercise intervention or a control group (=13), with 12 participants continuing with the intervention for 1.

Analysis of heart rate and oxygen uptake kinetics studied by two different pseudo-random binary sequence work rate amplitudes.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the kinetics responses of heart rate (HR), pulmonary (V˙Opulm) and predicted muscular (V˙Omusc) oxygen uptake between two different pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) work rate (WR) amplitudes both below anaerobic threshold.

Methods: Eight healthy individuals performed two PRBS WR protocols implying changes between 30W and 80W and between 30W and 110W. HR and V˙Opulm were measured beat-to-beat and breath-by-breath, respectively.

Central neuronal motor behaviour in skilled and less skilled novices - Approaching sports-specific movement techniques.

Research on motor behavioural processes preceding voluntary movements often refers to analysing the readiness potential (RP). For this, decades of studies used laboratory setups with controlled sports-related actions. Further, recent applied approaches focus on athlete-non-athlete comparisons, omitting possible effects of training history on RP.

Neural Correlates of Expert Visuomotor Performance in Badminton Players.

Introduction: Elite/skilled athletes participating in sports that require the initiation of targeted movements in response to visual cues under critical time pressure typically outperform nonathletes in a visuomotor reaction task. However, the exact physiological mechanisms of this advantage remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the neurophysiological processes contributing to superior visuomotor performance in athletes using visual evoked potential (VEP).

Dynamic Control of Synchronous Activity in Networks of Spiking Neurons.

Oscillatory brain activity is believed to play a central role in neural coding. Accumulating evidence shows that features of these oscillations are highly dynamic: power, frequency and phase fluctuate alongside changes in behavior and task demands. The role and mechanism supporting this variability is however poorly understood.

Unlocking the Potential of Purinergic Signaling in Transplantation.

Purinergic signaling has been recognized as playing an important role in inflammation, angiogenesis, malignancy, diabetes and neural transmission. Activation of signaling pathways downstream from purinergic receptors may also be implicated in transplantation and related vascular injury. Following transplantation, the proinflammatory "danger signal" adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is released from damaged cells and promotes proliferation and activation of a variety of immune cells.

Effects of Cycling Versus Running Training on Sprint and Endurance Capacity in Inline Speed Skating.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of running versus cycling training on sprint and endurance capacity in inline speed skating. Sixteen elite athletes (8 male, 8 female, 24 ± 8 yrs) were randomly assigned into 2 training groups performing either 2 session per week of treadmill running or ergometer cycling in addition to 3 skating specific sessions (technique, plyometrics, parkour) for 8 weeks. Training intensity was determined within non-specific (cycling or running) and effects on specific endurance capacity within a specific incremental exercise test.

The effect of 6 h of running on brain activity, mood, and cognitive performance.

Long-duration exercise has been linked with the psychological model of flow. It is expected that the flow experience is characterized by specific changes in cortical activity, especially a transient hypofrontality, which has recently been connected with an increase in cognitive performance post-exercise. Nevertheless, data on neuro-affective and neuro-cognitive effects during prolonged exercise are rare.

Effects of Wearing Compression Stockings on the Physical Performance of T2DM Men with MetS.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are associated with macro- and microcirculatory complications that reduce physical performance. Wearing compression garments to potentially optimize hemodynamics has been discussed. This study investigates the effects of wearing compression stockings on physical performance-related variables in type 2 diabetic men with metabolic syndrome (n=9, 57±12 years, BMI: 36±4 kg/m(2)).

Reductions in circulating endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol levels in healthy human subjects exposed to chronic stressors.

Increasing evidence indicates that chronic stress, such as social isolation, plays an important role in the development of a variety of psychiatric and somatic disorders. Meanwhile, chronic stress imposed by prolonged isolation and confinement in the spacecraft is also one of the major concerns for the health of future interplanetary space travelers. Preclinical studies suggest that the peripheral endocannabinoid (eCB) system is involved in the regulation of the stress response and eCB signaling is implicated in the pathogenesis of stress-related diseases.

Higher Balance Task Demands are Associated with an Increase in Individual Alpha Peak Frequency.

Balance control is fundamental for most daily motor activities, and its impairment is associated with an increased risk of falling. Growing evidence suggests the human cortex is essentially contributing to the control of standing balance. However, the exact mechanisms remain unclear and need further investigation.

Cardiorespiratory demands during an inline speed skating marathon race: a case report.

This study was designed to investigate the intensity profile during an inline speed skating marathon road race. A highly-trained male athlete (20 y, 73.4 kg, 178 cm, V̇O2 peak: 60.

Running Exercise in Obese Pregnancies Prevents IL-6 Trans-signaling in Male Offspring.

Purpose: Maternal obesity is known to predispose the offspring to impaired glucose metabolism and obesity associated with low-grade inflammation and hypothalamic dysfunction. Because preventive approaches in this context are missing to date, we aimed to identify molecular mechanisms in the offspring that are affected by maternal exercise during pregnancy.

Methods: Diet-induced obese mouse dams were divided into a sedentary obese (high-fat diet [HFD]) group and an obese intervention (HFD-running intervention [RUN]) group, which performed voluntary wheel running throughout gestation.

Neuro-cognitive performance is enhanced during short periods of microgravity.

There is increasing interest in the effects of microgravity on cognitive processing, particularly as it relates to the potential for human space travel. While findings to date are quite inconsistent, studies reporting a decrement in cognitive performance have generally not been able to distinguish between the direct influence of microgravity, and any associated influence of stress. Furthermore, the currently available findings are primarily based on behavioral observations, and there is a need to better understand the underlying neurophysiological responses.

Effect of Three Different Grip Angles on Physiological Parameters During Laboratory Handcycling Test in Able-Bodied Participants.

Introduction: Handcycling is a relatively new wheelchair sport that has gained increased popularity for people with lower limb disabilities. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of three different grip positions on physical parameters during handcycling in a laboratory setting.

Methods: Twenty one able-bodied participants performed three maximum incremental handcycling tests until exhaustion, each with a different grip angle.

Changes in cortical activity associated with adaptive behavior during repeated balance perturbation of unpredictable timing.

The compensation for a sudden balance perturbation, unpracticed and unpredictable in timing and magnitude is accompanied by pronounced postural instability that is suggested to be causal to falls. However, subsequent presentations of an identical perturbation are characterized by a marked decrease of the amplitude of postural reactions; a phenomenon called adaptation or habituation. This study aimed to identify cortical characteristics associated with adaptive behavior during repetitive balance perturbations based on single-trial analyses of the P1 and N1 perturbation-evoked potentials.