Search results for "performance"
showing 10 items of 4457 documents
The effect of different starting procedures on sprinters' reaction time.
2012
We examined the effect of different false start rules and starters' holding time on athletics sprinters' reaction times. Reaction times from 210 female (25.2 ± 3.8 years) and 361 male (24.8 ± 3.8 years) 100 m sprinters, participating in international championships for seniors from 1997 to 2011, were analysed. Holding time calculations were based on television recordings from the analysed heats (n = 267). Mean reaction times have increased by 20% (0.03 s, P0.001) during a 15 year period due to stricter false start rules. Starters' holding times were between 1.3 and 2.2 s for the analysed competitions. There was a small but significant relationship between reaction time and starters' holding …
Analgesics use in competitive triathletes: its relationship to doping and on predicting its usage
2016
The two major objectives of this study were (i) to assess variables that predict the use of analgesics in competitive athletes and (ii) to test whether the use of analgesics is associated with the use of doping. A questionnaire primarily addressing the use of analgesics and doping was distributed among 2,997 triathletes. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the use of analgesics. Moreover, the randomised response technique (RRT) was used to estimate the prevalence of doping in order to assess whether users of analgesics have a higher potential risk for doping than non-users. Statistical power analyses were performed to determine sample size. The bootstrap method was …
Myopia and Cognitive Performance: Results From the Gutenberg Health Study.
2016
Purpose To analyze the association between myopia and cognitive performance. Methods A cohort of the population-based Gutenberg Health Study included 3819 eligible enrollees between 40 and 79 years. We used the Tower of London (TOL) test to assess cognitive performance. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ -0.5 diopters (D) via noncycloplegic autorefractometry. We conducted linear mixed models with the SE as the dependent variable and the age, sex, duration of education, and TOL score as covariates. Results Complete data were available for 3452 participants (90.4%). The mean TOL score was 14.0 ± 3.9 in the myopes versus 12.9 ± 4.0 in the nonmyopes (P < 0.001). The mean TOL sc…
Comparison of service tactic formation on players’ movements and point outcome between national and beginner level padel
2021
The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of service tactic formation on players’ movements and point outcome at two different performance levels. The sample contained 2,148 points corresponding to 18 matches from two male padel indoor tournaments. Players were classified according to their game level: high-level (N = 36; age = 33.3 ± 6.9 years) and beginner (N = 36; age = 35.4 ± 6.8 years). Variables pertaining to service tactic formation (conventional or Australian), point outcome and movement patterns were analysed from the matches through systematic observation. The results showed how high-level players used a significantly higher percentage of the Australian formation than beg…
Exploring the switching of the focus of attention within working memory: A combined event-related potential and behavioral study.
2018
Abstract Working memory enables humans to maintain selected information for cognitive processes and ensures instant access to the memorized contents. Theories suggest that switching the focus of attention between items within working memory realizes the access. This is reflected in object-switching costs in response times when the item for the task processing is to be changed. Another correlate of attentional allocation in working memory is the P3a-component of the human event-related potential. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that switching of attention within working memory is a separable processing step. Participants completed a cued memory-updating task in which they were instr…
Path Following in Non-Visual Conditions.
2018
Path-following tasks have been investigated mostly under visual conditions, that is when subjects are able to see both the path and the tool, or limb, used for navigation. Moreover, only basic path shapes are usually adopted. In the present experiment, participants must rely exclusively on continuous, non-speech, and ecological auditory and vibrotactile cues to follow a path on a flat surface. Two different, asymmetric path shapes were tested. Participants navigated by moving their index finger over a surface sensing position and force. Results show that the different non-visual feedback modes did not affect the task's accuracy, yet they affected its speed, with vibrotactile feedback causin…
Pointing to a target from an upright position in human: tuning of postural responses when there is target uncertainty
2000
International audience; Human subjects performed, from a standing position, rapid hand pointings to visual targets located within or beyond the prehension space. To examine the interaction between posture and the goal-directed movement we introduced a visual double-step perturbation requiring a reprogramming of the hand movement. Trials directed towards the same spatial goal but differentiated only by the likeliness of a visual double-step were compared. The hand kinematics was not affected by the uncertainty of the visual perturbation; an increased trunk bending, however, was observed. This suggests that uncertainty constraints are integrated in a predictive manner for the optimal coordina…
Inter-joint coordination of posture on a seesaw device
2016
Even though specific adjustments of the multi-joint control of posture have been observed when posture is challenged, multi-joint coordination on a seesaw device has never been accurately assessed. The current study was conducted in order to investigate the multi-joint coordination when subjects were standing on either a seesaw device or on a stable surface, with the eyes open or closed. Eighteen healthy active subjects were recruited. A principal component analysis and a Self-Organizing Maps analysis were performed on the joint angles in order to detect and characterize dominant coordination patterns. Intermuscular EMG coherence was analysed in order to assess the neurophysiological mechan…
Role of sensorimotor areas in early detection of motor errors: An EEG and TMS study
2019
Abstract Action execution is prone to errors and, while engaged in interaction, our brain is tuned to detect deviations from what one expects from other’s action. Prior research has shown that Event-Related-Potentials (ERPs) are specifically modulated by the observation of action mistakes interfering with goal achievement. However, in complex and modular actions, embedded motor errors do not necessarily produce an immediate effect on the global goal. Here we dissociate embedded motor goals from global action goals by asking subjects to observe familiar but untrained knotting actions. During knotting an embedded motor error (i.e. the rope is inserted top-down instead of bottom-up during the …
Questionning and reading goals: information seeking questions asked on scientific texts read under different task conditions
2013
Background: A number of studies report that few questions are asked in classrooms and that many of them are shallow questions. Aims: This study investigates the way in which reading goals determine questioning on scientific texts. Reading goals were manipulated through two different tasks: reading for understanding versus reading to solve a problem. Sample: A total of 183 university students. Methods: In the first and third questioning experiments the participants read two short texts. Students in one condition were instructed to understand the texts, while in the alternative condition they had to read texts to solve a problem. Students were instructed to write down any questions they might…