Search results for "PERFORMANCE"
showing 10 items of 4457 documents
Modulation of [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) kinetics in the brain of healthy volunteers after acute haloperidol challenge.
2006
In animal studies, acute antipsychotic treatment was shown to enhance striatal DOPA-decarboxylase (DDC) activity. However, this phenomenon has not been demonstrated in humans by positron emission tomography (PET). Therefore, we investigated acute haloperidol effects on DDC activity in humans using [18F]fluorodopa (FDOPA) PET. Nine healthy volunteers were scanned with FDOPA in drug-free baseline conditions and after 3 days of haloperidol treatment (5 mg/day). A continuous performance test (CPT) was administered in both conditions. The net blood-brain clearance of FDOPA (K(in)app) in striatum, mesencephalon, and medial prefrontal cortex was calculated by volume-of-interest analysis. The macro…
Are postural responses to backward and forward perturbations processed by different neural circuits?
2013
Item does not contain fulltext Startle pathways may contribute to rapid accomplishment of postural stability. Here we investigate the possible influence of a startling auditory stimulus (SAS) on postural responses. We formulated four specific questions: (1) can a concurrent SAS shorten the onset of automatic postural responses?; and if so (2) is this effect different for forward versus backward perturbations?; (3) does this effect depend on prior knowledge of the perturbation direction?; and (4) is this effect different for low- and high-magnitude perturbations? Balance was perturbed in 11 healthy participants by a movable platform that suddenly translated forward or backward. Each particip…
Improvement and generalization of arm motor performance through motor imagery practice
2005
This study compares the improvement and generalization of arm motor performance after physical or mental training in a motor task requiring a speed-accuracy tradeoff. During the pre- and post-training sessions, 40 subjects pointed with their right arm as accurately and as fast as possible toward targets placed in the frontal plane. Arm movements were performed in two different workspaces called right and left paths. During the training sessions, which included only the right path, subjects were divided into four training groups (n = 10): (i) the physical group, subjects overtly performed the task; (ii) the mental group, subjects imagined themselves performing the task; (iii) the active cont…
Effects of in-play cooling during simulated tennis match play in the heat on performance, physiological and perceptual measures
2021
BACKGROUND: The aim of this crossover study was to investigate whether a cooling intervention during simulated tennis match play in the heat could affect players' performance, physiology, perception of effort, and well-being. METHODS: Eight competitive male tennis players performed two testing sessions of 45-minute simulated tennis match play on a hard court at 31.8±2.1°Cand 48.5±9.6% relative humidity. During change-of-end breaks, the cooling interventions (COL) consisted of cold-water ingestion (ad libitum) and an electric fan facing the players at a distance of 1 m combined with an ice-filled damp towel around the neck and on the thighs or no cooling (CON) were applied. Measures of perfo…
Strength training in endurance runners.
2010
This study examined effects of periodized maximal versus explosive strength training and reduced strength training, combined with endurance training, on neuromuscular and endurance performance in recreational endurance runners. Subjects first completed 6 weeks of preparatory strength training. Then, groups of maximal strength (MAX, n=11), explosive strength (EXP, n=10) and circuit training (C, n=7) completed an 8-week strength training intervention, followed by 14 weeks of reduced strength training. Maximal strength (1RM) and muscle activation (EMG) of leg extensors, countermovement jump (CMJ), maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2MAX)), velocity at VO(2MAX) (vVO(2MAX)) running economy (RE) and basal…
Effects of HRV-Guided vs. Predetermined Block Training on Performance, HRV and Serum Hormones
2017
AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare heart rate variability -guided (HRVG) and predetermined (PD) block periodization of high intensity aerobic training (HIT). Endurance performance, neuromuscular performance, heart rate variability (HRV) and serum hormone concentrations were measured before, in the middle and after the 8-week training period in 24 endurance trained males. Both groups improved significantly maximal treadmill velocity (Vmax) (p<0.001) and 3000 m running performance (HRVG; p<0.001 and PD; p=0.001). The relative changes in Vmax and countermovement jump were significantly greater in HRVG (p<0.05). Nocturnal heart rate decreased in both groups (p<0.01), but H…
Inertial properties of the arm are accurately predicted during motor imagery
2004
Abstract In the present study, using the mental chronometry paradigm, we examined the hypothesis that during motor imagery the brain uses a forward internal model of arm inertial properties to predict the motion of the arm in different dynamic states. Seven subjects performed overt and covert arm movements with one (motion around the shoulder joint) and two (motion around both the shoulder and elbow joints) degrees of freedom in the horizontal plane. Arm movements were executed under two loading conditions: without and with an added mass (4 kg) attached to the subject’s right wrist. Additionally, movements were performed in two different directions, condition which implies changes in the ar…
Brain Slow Potentials Reflecting Successful Shooting Performance
1995
Preparatory brain activity from frontal, centro-lateral, and occipital areas were recorded from top-level rifle shooters during shooting performance. The aim of the study was to examine the relation of brain slow potentials to qualitative (rifle holding) and quantitative (hit) aspects of superior shooting performance. For this purpose, a typology of slow potentials (SPs) was developed. The resulting SP types were used for unraveling the associations between the electrocortical activity and behavioral output. The main finding was that frontal positivity was associated with successful performance, but only if the central-right SP was more negative than the central-left one. This finding was e…
The effects of a roundtrip trans-American jet travel on physiological stress, neuromuscular performance, and recovery.
2016
The purpose was to examine the effects of a round trip trans-American jet travel on performance, hormonal alterations, and recovery. Ten matched pairs of recreationally trained men were randomized to either a compression group (COMP) ( n = 10; age: 23.1 ± 2.4 yr; height: 174.8 ± 5.3 cm; body mass: 84.9 ± 10.16 kg; body fat: 15.3 ± 6.0%) or control group (CONT) ( n = 9; age: 23.2 ± 2.3 yr; height: 177.5 ± 6.3 cm; weight: 84.3 ± 8.99 kg; body fat: 15.1 ± 6.4%). Subjects flew directly from Hartford, CT to Los Angeles, CA 1 day before a simulated sport competition (SSC) designed to create muscle damage and returned the next morning on an overnight flight back home. Both groups demonstrated jet…
Manual motor speed dysfunction as a neurocognitive endophenotype in euthymic bipolar disorder patients and their healthy relatives. Evidence from a 5…
2017
Background: Few studies have examined Manual Motor Speed (MMS) in bipolar disorder (BD). The aim of this longitudinal, family study was to explore whether dysfunctional MMS represents a neurocognitive endophenotype of BD. Methods: A sample of 291 subjects, including 131 BD patients, 77 healthy first-degree relatives (BD-Rel), and 83 genetically-unrelated healthy controls (HC), was assessed with the Finger-Tapping Test (En) on three occasions over a 5-year period. Dependence of FTT on participants' age was removed by means of a lineal model of HC samples, while correcting simultaneously the time and learning effect. Differences between groups were evaluated with an ANOVA test. Results: The p…