Search results for " performance."
showing 10 items of 2429 documents
Effect of Prolonged Military Field Training on Neuromuscular and Hormonal Responses and Shooting Performance in Warfighters
2018
Introduction: Previous studies have shown that military field training (MFT) has effects on warfighters’ hormonal responses, neuromuscular performance, and shooting accuracy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes in body composition, upper and lower body strength, serum hormone concentrations of testosterone (TES) and cortisol (COR), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and shooting accuracy during prolonged MFT. Methods: Serum hormone concentrations, isometric strength of the upper and lower extremities, and shooting performance were measured four times during the study: before MFT (PRE), after 12 d (MID), at the end of MFT (PO…
Cortisol Awakening Response and Walking Speed in Older People.
2015
In older people, less diurnal variability in cortisol levels has been consistently related to worse physical performance, especially to slower walking speed (WS). The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is a discrete component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that has been related to several health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and/or worse performance on executive function and memory. The relationship between the CAR and physical performance in older people is poorly understood. In this study, in 86 older people (mean age = 64.42, SD = 3.93), we investigated the relationship between the CAR and WS, a commonly used measure of physical performance in the older population t…
The relationship between loneliness and cognition in healthy older men and women: The role of cortisol
2018
Abstract Loneliness has been associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older people, as well as a dysregulation of Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. In addition, it has been suggested that women are more vulnerable to the negative effects of loneliness on health. Our aim was to analyze the effect of HPA-axis functioning as a mediator in the relationship between loneliness and cognitive function, and interactions depending on sex, in healthy older people. To do so, 86 healthy older people (52.3% female) from 60 to 80 years old (M = 67.44, SD = 4.37) completed the revised UCLA loneliness scale. A neuropsychological battery was administered to …
Hair cortisol and cognitive performance in healthy older people
2013
Summary Worse cognitive performance in older people has been associated with hypothalamic—pituitary—adrenal axis dysregulation (in particular, higher cortisol levels). Analysis of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) is a novel method to measure long-term cortisol exposure, and its relationship with cognition in healthy older people has not yet been studied. We investigated whether HCC (measured in hair scalp) and diurnal salivary cortisol levels (awakening, 30 min after awakening, and evening, across two days) were related to cognitive performance (assessed with the Trail-making Test A and B, Digit Span Forward and Backward, word list-RAVLT and Stories subtest of the Rivermead) in 57 healthy…
The Relation between Geometry and Time in Mental Actions
2012
Mental imagery is a cognitive tool that helps humans take decisions by simulating past and future events. The hypothesis has been advanced that there is a functional equivalence between actual and mental movements. Yet, we do not know whether there are any limitations to its validity even in terms of some fundamental features of actual movements, such as the relationship between space and time. Although it is impossible to directly measure the spatiotemporal features of mental actions, an indirect investigation can be conducted by taking advantage of the constraints existing in planar drawing movements and described by the two-thirds power law (2/3PL). This kinematic law describes one of th…
Validity and reliability of an inertial sensor device for specific running patterns in soccer
2021
Electronic performance tracking devices are largely employed in team sports to monitor performance and improve training. To date, global positioning system (GPS) based devices are those mainly used in soccer training. The aim of this study was to analyse the validity and reliability of the inertial sensor device (ISD) in monitoring distance and speed in a soccer-specific circuit and how their performance compare to a GPS system. 44 young male soccer players (age: 14.9 ± 1.1, range 9–16, years, height: 1.65 ± 0.10 m, body mass: 56.3 ± 8.9 kg) playing in a non-professional soccer team in Italy, participated in the study. We assessed the players trough a soccer running sport-specific circuit. …
Differences in gender and performance in off-road triathlon.
2010
The aims of this study were: (1) to examine performance trends and compare elite male and female athletes at the off-road triathlon (1.5-km swim, 30-km mountain biking, and 11-km trail running) world championships since its inception in 1996, and (2) to compare gender-related differences between off-road triathlon and conventional road-based triathlon. Linear regression analyses and ANOVA were used to examine performance trends and differences between the sexes. Elite male performance times stabilized over the 2005-2009 period, whereas elite female performance times continued to improve, especially for the run leg. Differences in performance times between the sexes were less marked in swimm…
Pharmacodynamic effects of aripiprazole and ziprasidone with respect to p-glycoprotein substrate properties.
2013
Introduction Aripiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic drug with mixed antagonism and agonism on dopamine D2 and serotonin receptors, is a substrate of the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Here we tested the pharmacodynamic consequences of these properties in a P-gp deficient mouse model by studying the effects of aripiprazole and of ziprasidone on motor coordination. Methods The motor behaviour of wild-type (WT) and P-gp deficient [abcb1ab(-/-)] mice was investigated on a RotaRod. Mice received acute injections of either aripirazole or ziprasidone. For comparison, the dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol and serotonin receptor ligands buspirone and ketanserin were also applied. …
Fluency and rule breaking behaviour in the frontal cortex
2020
Design (DF) and phonemic fluency tests (FAS; D-KEFS, 2001) are commonly used to investigate voluntary generation. Despite this, several important issues remain poorly investigated. In a sizeable sample of patients with focal left or right frontal lesion we established that voluntary generation performance cannot be accounted for by fluid intelligence. For DF we found patients performed significantly worse than healthy controls (HC) only on the switch condition. However, no significant difference between left and right frontal patients was found. In contrast, left frontal patients were significantly impaired when compared with HC and right frontal patients on FAS. These lateralization findin…
Power of lower extremities is most important determinant of agility among physically inactive or active adult people
2018
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the relationships between agility, running speed, jumping height and length, body mass index, self-report pain in back and in lower extremities, personal factors as self-report health and fitness, and leisure time physical activity in physically inactive or active adult people. METHODS Altogether, 233 healthy subjects, 149 women (43.0 ± 7.3 years) and 84 men (44.0 ± 7.7 years), participated into study. Outcome measures were described in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health domains. RESULTS Multiple regression analysis showed that jumping length explained 24.6% and 15.3% of the variance ass…