ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH12
INTRODUCTION: According to Glazier’s model (2017), self-organization plays a key role in short trail running performance. As a consequence, understanding how trail runners’ particular possibilities for acting, feeling and thinking which are embedded in the race topography, environment and circumstances would be helpful to understand effort management and performance. A qualitative approach using the self-confrontation method would appear to be the most appropriate way to investigate the main effort management processes used by runners during a trail running. METHODS: Subjects participating in a short trail race (10 to 30km) were equipped with a GoPro and a Garmin watch in order to record their activity throw GPS data and video recording. In the 5 days following the race, each subject participated in a self-confrontation interview following a thematic analysis. They were asked to describe for each relevant event what they feel, think and the decisions they make according to race chronology. Via a triangulation of researchers, the interviews were transcribed and coded to immerse main management processes. RESULTS: The qualitative approach used in this study gave rise to a plurality of experiences and was successful to identify and characterize particular ways of acting in a running situation. Based on Glaziers model (2017), effort management and trail running performance depend on the task, the environment and the organism. We found that runners organize themselves according to the constraints that influence their perceptions, feelings, cognitive processing and decision-making which are particularly influenced by the chronology of the race. We identify strategies influencing the management of effort such as trail recognition, position on the start line, goal setting, management of vitality, nutrition and hydration, motivation and pleasure. CONCLUSION: The results of this qualitative research was successful to identify main effort management strategies during short trail running. The data from this study provide a better understanding of how runners coordinate their control throughout the race, especially in delicate moments, and could be used to optimize performance. References: Glazier, P. S. (2017). Towards a grand unified theory of sports performance. Human movement science, 56, 139-156.
Read CV Florence De CockECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH12
Introduction Interference processing is impaired in Parkinson’s disease (PD). As a traditional Chinese Qigong exercise, Baduanjin exercise could improve the performance in the Stroop test. Here we aimed to examine the neural correlates of this therapeutic effect of Baduanjin exercise in patients with early PD. Methods We combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with the counting Stroop task (Fig.1A). Participants had to report the number of words shown on the screen rather than the number spelt out by pressing 4-button box. The counting Stroop task used a event-related design and included 4 blocks with 120 incongruent trials (the number of words shown is inconsistent with the number spelt out) and 120 congruent trials. We recruited 18 patients with early PD (9 males, age 50-70 years, Hoehn and Yahr Stages 1 to 2). None of them was demented or depressed. They completed the counting Stroop task twice, once before exercise (pre-test) and once after 8-12 weeks of regular Baduanjin (post-test). The interference-related brain activities (incongruent versus congruent) in pre- and post-test in PD patients were examined using whole-brain methodology (p<0.05 corrected). Results The patients responded less accurately in the incongruent than congruent trials in tests and less accurately in the pre-test than post-test in conditions (Fig.1B). In the pre-test, the whole-brain analysis revealed greater activations for incongruent than congruent trials in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), caudate nucleus, thalamus, and cerebellum (Fig.2A). For the post-test versus pre-test, the whole-brain analysis revealed greater activations in the DLPFC and PPC (Fig.2B). Moreover, the interference difference between post- and pre-test in accuracy positively correlated with the corresponding DLPFC and caudate activity changes (Fig.2C). Conclusion Baduanjin exercise could increase dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal activations underlying Stroop interference in early PD.
Read CV Guanyu ZhangECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH12
Introduction The significance of the visual system and the specific acquisition of visual skills for enhancing athletic performance is paramount in elite sport (Erickson, 2020). Sports, such as gymnastics, football, and eSports, may necessitate equally unique visual abilities. As such, research has placed an increasing emphasis on better understanding the nuances of visual cognition in athletes across different sports. The purpose of this investigation was to examine and contrast the characteristics of the P300 evoked potential elicited by a visual oddball paradigm (visual P300 ERP) and visual working memory among elite athletes from three distinct sports. Methods A total of 42 athletes across three sports participated in the study. Of these, fourteen were gymnasts (age: 20±1 yrs, BMI: 22.0±1.5 kg/m2), fourteen were footballers (age: 21±1 yrs, BMI: 20.8±2.5 kg/m2), and fourteen were eSports athletes (age: 21±2 yrs, BMI: 21.5±3.3 kg/m2). Participants had normal or corrected-to-normal vision and right-hand dominance and undertook the visual P300 ERP using electroencephalography and used the Gorilla.sc experiment builder program to evaluate visual working memory (n1-back and n2-back). Data analysis among the three athlete groups was performed using a one-way ANOVA. The Bonferroni post hoc test was used for pairwise comparisons. Results Results revealed notable differences among the athlete types in visual P300 ERP. The eSports group demonstrated a significantly longer P300 latency than the gymnastic group (p=0.01) at the midline Frontopolar site of electrodes, but there were no differences in amplitude. In addition, both the eSports (p=0.03) and gymnastic (p=0.04) groups exhibited a superior percentage of correct responses in visual ERP compared to the football group. Regarding mean visual ERP reaction time, the eSports group exhibited significantly longer durations than both the soccer (p<0.01) and gymnastic (p<0.01) groups. Moreover, the mean reaction time of the soccer group was significantly longer than the gymnastic group (p<0.01). There were no differences among the groups for the visual working memory task. Discussion and Conclusion These findings demonstrate that the visual P300 ERP observations in athletes are different contingent on the type of sport. In doing so, it adds further credence to the notion of sport-specific characteristics in visual attention. Future research that takes into consideration how the specific training regimens and cognitive demands of different sports influence visual processing might yield further valuable insights that would add to the knowledge base. Acknowledgements This research is supported by the NRCT: NRCT5-RGJ63012-129 References 1) Erickson GB. Sports vision: vision care for the enhancement of sports performance. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2020 Nov 24.
Read CV Papatsorn RamyarangsiECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH12