Search results for " Motor"

Brain representation of action observation in human infants.

2015

Imitative learning has long been established as extremely important for early development. However, neural mechanisms involved in early imitative behaviours are still areas of active research. Neurophysiological and brain-imaging studies have been recently performed that provide initial evidence of brain activation associated with action observation in the first months of life. In this review we examine all studies exploring the effects of action observation on brain function assessed by means of non-invasive brain-mapping techniques. Seventeen papers were selected as a result of our literature search. The strongest evidence for a neural signature of action observation comes from studies ex…

Who can best report on children's motor competence: Parents, teachers, or the children themselves?

2018

Abstract Objective A positive perception of motor competence (MC) is important for children's health trajectory. It is purported that young children's perception is not well aligned with their actual ability. Alternative sources of perceptions are postulated from children's social context such as their parents or teachers. This study aims to analyse the associations among children's, parents' and Physical Education (PE) teachers' perception of children's MC and the children's actual MC, and whether these sources of information can report on children's actual MC. Design and method A convenience sample of 139 typically developed children (48.2% girls) from six schools participated in this cro…

Happiness in Physical Activity: A Longitudinal Examination of Children Motivation and Negative Affect in Physical Activity

2020

Physical activity has beneficial effects on health and is extremely recommended for children's well-being. Understanding risk factors that could cause negative affect in children practicing physical activity is hugely relevant, and there is a growing consensus that autonomous and controlled motivation in the self-determination theory (SDT) framework could offer a broader perspective. Consequently, this study aims to examine the longitudinal relations between autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and negative affect in physical activity, using a sample of children that regularly participate in physical activity. One hundred forty children in the range age between 7 and 11 (M = 8.45, …

The effects of rapid weight loss on skeletal muscle in judo athletes

2020

Abstract Objective To observe the effect of rapid weight loss (RWL) methods over 3 days on muscle damage in judokas. Methods Eighteen judokas participated in this crossover study, meaning that judo athletes were subjected to exercise-only phase (4 days) and RWL phase (3 days). Subjects were tested for myoglobin, creatine kinase, aldolase, hemoglobin, and hematocrit values on seven consecutive days. These biomarkers served as indicators of acute muscle damage. Results During the exercise-only phase, no significant changes were observed. Myoglobin (Mb) (p < 0.001), creatine kinase (CK) (p < 0.001) and aldolase (ALD) (p < 0.001) significantly increased only during the RWL phase, as we…

Feasibility of the Allergy Questionnaire for Athletes (AQUA © ) in pediatric age

2018

A burden of respiratory and allergic symptoms up to almost 60% has been observed in young and adult athletes, influencing physical performances1 . The Allergy Questionnaire for Athletes (AQUA©) is a validated screening tool for the prediction of the atopic status in adult athletes2 ; it was recently tested in Belgian young elite athletes (12-14 years old)3 , but its actual feasibility and suitability for children and adolescent was not evaluated. Indeed, there is evidence that children are prone to employ "satisficing" response strategies, answering every question positively/negatively, or simply not answering4 . Therefore, the present cross-sectional survey was carried out to assess feasib…

Anthropometric and physical characteristics allow differentiation of young female volleyball players according to playing position and level of exper…

2017

The aim of our study was to determine the differences in some anthropometric and physical performance variables of young Croatian female volleyball players (aged 13 to 15) in relation to playing position (i.e., independent variable) and performance level within each position (i.e., independent variable). Players were categorized according to playing position (i.e., role) as middle blockers (n=28), opposite hitters (n=41), passer-hitters (n=54), setters (n=30), and liberos (n=28). Within each position, players were divided into a more successful group and a less successful group according to team ranking in the latest regional championship and player quality within the team. Height and body …

Biochemical adaptations in middle-distance runners: an assessment of blood and anthropometric parameters

2014

In order to understand the mechanism underlying the physiological adaptation of purely aerobic workout, we investigated the effect of 2 months of training on nine males (17-22 year-old) middle distance running agonistic athletes. Blood sample was collected in the morning to analyze: hematological parameters, lipid profile, liver function enzymes [glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT)] and skeletal and myocardial markers of muscle damage [creatin kinase (CK) and creatin kinase MB (CK-MB)]. Endurance training, as it implies high oxygen consumption, should increase reactive oxygen species, but it has been shown that exercise lea…

Soccer players have a better standing balance in nondominant one-legged stance

2010

Rosario Barone1, Filippo Macaluso2, Marcello Traina3,4, Vincenza Leonardi4,5, Felicia Farina1, Valentina Di Felice11Human Anatomy Section 'E. Luna', BioNeC, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; 2Department of Physiological Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; 3Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases, 4Methods and Didactics of Motory Activities, DISMOT, 5Department of General Surgery, Emergency and Organ Transplants (GENURTO), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy  Rosario Barone and Filippo Macaluso contributed equally to the workAbstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences in standing balan…

2019

Current research demonstrates beneficial effects of physical activity on brain functions and cognitive performance. To date, less is known on the effects of gross motor movements that do not fall into the category of sports-related aerobic or anaerobic exercise. In previous studies, we found beneficial effects of dynamic working environments, i.e., environments that encourage movements during cognitive task performance, on cognitive performance and corresponding brain activity. Aim of the present study was to examine the effects of working in a dynamic and a static office environment on attentional and vigilance performance, and on the corresponding electroencephalographic (EEG) brain oscil…

Motor and Cognitive Performance in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis with Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy

2020

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is associated with mild cognitive impairment and frailty. This study aims to identify cognitive and motor differences in cirrhotic patients with and without MHE, and the correlations between motor signs and cognitive performance. Gait, balance, hand strength and motor speed performance were evaluated in 66 cirrhotic patients (38 without and 28 with MHE, according to the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES). Cognitive performance was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Verbal Fluency Test, Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense Test (TAVEC), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III, Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Rating Scale and Fun…