Psychophysiological body activation characteristics in daily routines

We present a novel approach to analyse and model psychophysiological body activation patterns that emerge from physical and mental activity during daily routines. We analyse our approach on a 62h dataset of daily routine recordings using acceleration and heart rate sensors. We present a descriptive analysis of psychophysiological activations during the routines using a novel visualisation technique. Our results show that daily routines exhibit different psychophysiological body activation characteristics. While physically-related routines are correlated with heart activity, mentally-related routines show activation patterns without physical activity. © 2009 IEEE

Emerging approaches

In recent years, the benefits of warm-up in sports performance have received a special interest. New methods have been included in warm-up procedure, but few are known about the effects on running performance and biomechanical responses. Thus, the purpose of the current thesis was to analyze the effect of recent trends of warm-up tasks on sprint performance. Specifically, to verify the effects of including ballistic exercises in warm-up procedures and to analyze the impact of changing biomechanical running patterns during warm-up, conducting a performance, biomechanical, physiological and psychophysiological evaluation of sprints. For this, the following steps were performed: (i) qualitative review on warm-up and performance, focusing on the emerging methods; (ii) to verify the acute effects of a warm-up including ballistic exercises inducing a post-activation potentiation, easy to apply on a real competition context, in repeated 100m running performance; (iii) to understand the acute physiological, psychophysiological and biomechanical responses of including ballistic exercises in repeated 30m running performance; (iv) to analyze the effect of manipulating running kinematics (stride length (SL) and stride frequency (SF)) during warm-up in repeated 30m running performance. The main conclusions of the study were: (i) considering the new trends that have emerged, it can be suggested positive effects on performance after short duration stretches followed by specific muscle activation exercises, and after dynamic stretching, both depending on the duration and intensity; short-duration maximal efforts and specific to the following activity, followed by few minutes of recovery, provide beneficial neuromuscular responses and improved performance in high-intensity and short-term efforts; passive heating during the transition phase between warm-up and main exercise lead to optimization of subsequent performance; (ii) there were benefitial effects of warm-up in 30m and 100m sprinting; (iii) the 100m race is equally optimized after warm-up with or without post-activation potentiation, but with different running kinematics (iv) the positive effects of warm-up on 30m running was caused by faster initial 15m and increased SL in the last 15m of the trial; v) no additional effects on 30m were found after including ballistic exercises during warm-up; (vi) a warm-up focusing in higher SL or higher SF did not result in different 30m sprint performances and running kinematics, despite different running strategies occurred (faster initial meters after warm-ups stimulating SF and faster final meters after warm-up stimulating SL); (vii) the results highlighted the individual response to each warm-up procedure. The main findings of this work emphasize the importance of the warm-up design for short running distances and the need of individualization for optimized performances. Further studies are needed to deeply understand their effects on performance.Nos últimos anos, os benefícios do aquecimento no desempenho desportivo receberam um interesse especial. Novos métodos foram incluídos no processo de aquecimento, mas pouco se conhece sobre os seus efeitos no desempenho de corrida e respostas biomecânicas. Assim, o objetivo a presente tese foi analisar o efeito das tendências recentes de tarefas de aquecimento no desempenho do sprint. Especificamente, verificar os efeitos da inclusão de exercícios balísticos nos procedimentos de aquecimento e analisar o impacto da mudança dos padrões biomecânicos de corrida durante o aquecimento, conduzindo a uma avaliação de performance, biomecânica, fisiológica e psicofisiológica dos sprints. Para isso, foram realizadas as seguintes etapas: (i) revisão qualitativa do aquecimento e desempenho, com foco nos métodos emergentes; (ii) verificar os efeitos agudos de um aquecimento, incluindo exercícios balísticos que induzem uma potenciação pós-ativação, fácil de aplicar em contexto real de competição, no desempenho de corrida repetida de 100m; (iii) compreender as respostas fisiológicas agudas, psicofisiológicas e biomecânicas com a inclusão de exercícios balísticos no desempenho de 30m de sprint repetido; (iv) analisar o efeito da manipulação da cinemática de corrida (comprimento da passada (CP) e frequência da passada (FP)) durante o aquecimento em performances de sprint repetido de 30m. As principais conclusões do estudo foram: (i) considerando as novas tendências que surgiram, pode-se sugerir efeitos positivos no desempenho após alongamentos curtos seguidos de exercícios específicos de ativação muscular, e após alongamento dinâmico, ambos dependendo da duração e intensidade; esforços máximos de curta duração e específicos para a atividade seguinte, seguidos por poucos minutos de recuperação, fornecem respostas neuromusculares benéficas e melhor desempenho em esforços de alta intensidade e de curto prazo; o aquecimento passivo durante a fase de transição entre o aquecimento e a tarefa principal leva à otimização do desempenho subsequente; (ii) houve efeitos benéficos do aquecimento no sprint de 30m e 100m; (iii) a corrida de 100m é igualmente otimizada após o aquecimento com ou sem potenciação pós-ativação, mas com cinemática de corrida diferente; (iv) os efeitos positivos do aquecimento nos 30m de corrida foram causados por 15m iniciais mais rápidos e maior CP nos últimos 15m de prova; (v) não foram encontrados efeitos adicionais nos 30m após a inclusão de exercícios balísiticos durante o aquecimento; (vi) um aquecimento focado em maior CP ou maior FP não resultou em diferenças no desempenho e cinemática nos 30m sprint, apesar de terem ocorrido diferentes estratégias de corrida (fase inicial mais rápida após aquecimento estilmulando FP e fase final mais rápida após aquecimento estimulando CP); (viii) os resultados destacaram a resposta individual a cada procedimento de aquecimento. As principais conclusões deste trabalho enfatizam a importância do desenho do aquecimento para distâncias curtas e a necessidade de individualização para desempenhos otimizados. Outros estudos são necessários para entender profundamente seus efeitos sobre o desempenho

Effect of Different Training Programs at Self-Selected Intensity on Body Composition, Perceptual Responses and Fitness Outcomes in Obese Women

International Journal of Exercise Science 15(4): 373-385, 2022. Obesity induces several disorders, such as android obesity, insulin resistance, and coronary/peripheral artery disease, and obese individuals commonly have low adherence to training programs. Exercise at self-selected intensity is a feasible strategy to avoid dropouts of training routines. We aimed to assess the effects of different training programs at self-selected intensity on body composition, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), feelings of pleasure and displeasure (FPD) and fitness outcomes (maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and maximum dynamic strength (1RM)) in obese women. Forty obese women (n = 40; Body Mass Index: 33.2 ± 1.1 kg.m-2) were randomly allocated to combined training (CT = 10), aerobic training (AT = 10), resistance training (RT = 10) and control group (CG = 10). The frequency that CT, AT and RT performed the training sessions was 3 times per week during 8 weeks. Body composition (DXA), VO2max and 1RM were assessed at baseline and after intervention. All participants were on a restricted dietary intake aiming to ingest 2.650 kcal per day. Post hoc comparisons revealed that CT promotes a larger decrease in body fat percentage (p = 0.001), body fat mass (p = 0.004) than other groups. CT and AT elicited higher V̇O2max increases (p = 0.014) than RT and CG, and 1RM values were higher in CT and RT (p = 0.001) than AT and CG at post-intervention. All training groups presented low RPE and high FPD over the training sessions, but only the CT was effective to reduce body fat percentage and body fat mass in obese women. In addition, CT was effective to increase simultaneously maximum oxygen uptake and maximum dynamic strength in obese women

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

The effect of warm-up on swimming performance: the impact of volume, intensity and post warm-up recovery in elite swimmers

Warming-up before training or competition has become one of the most interesting topics in sport sciences in the last years. The technical and scientific community has been aware of the key role of warm up in swimming performance and the deepening of the knowledge on this subject is presented as an asset to optimize training and competition performance. Thus, the purpose of this work was to analyze the effects of warm-up on 100 m freestyle swimming performance in high-level swimmers. In addition, we intended to verify the effects of different volumes, intensities and post warm-up recovery times, by measuring the performance, and the biomechanical, physiological and psychophysiological responses of the swimmers. For the accomplishment of these purposes the following sequence was used: (i) reviewing the available literature; (ii) comparing the warm-up and no warm-up condition on 100 m freestyle; (iii) assessing three different volumes of warm-up, with the same intensity, and their effects on 100 m freestyle; (iv) analyzing two different intensities (race-pace vs. aerobic stimulation) on the 100 m race; (v) comparing two different post warm-up periods on the 100 m freestyle. The main conclusions drawn were (i) there is a limited research on warm-up and its structure in swimming; (ii) the warm-up improved swimming performance on 100 m freestyle race; (iii) the volume of warm-up should be up to 1200 m, with the risk of impaired performances with longer warm-ups; (iv) the stimulation of aerobic metabolism during warm-up is a reliable alternative to traditional race-pace; (v) the positive effects of warm-up, as increased core temperature, oxygen uptake, and heart rate are reduced over time and warm-up should be performed close to the race; (vi) different biomechanical patterns were used in response to the different warm-ups and these protocols could be used according to race strategy. In addition, it can be stated that high-level swimmers presented an individual adaptation to each warm-up design. Our results give clear remarks about the effects of volume, intensity and recovery periods and main physiological and biomechanical changes. These findings can be used by coaches and researches as a source for development of individual approaches or/and for further investigations.O aquecimento antes do treino e da competição tem-se tornado um dos tópicos mais interessantes de investigação em Ciências do Desporto nos últimos anos. A comunidade técnica e científica está consciente do papel fundamental do aquecimento no rendimento em natação e o aprofundar do seu conhecimento é apresentado enquanto um trunfo para otimizar a performance de nado. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar os efeitos do aquecimento na prova de 100 m livres em nadadores de elevado nível. Pretendemos analisar os efeitos da utilização de diferentes volumes, intensidades e períodos de recuperação pós aquecimento, através da avaliação da performance e de variáveis biomecânicas, fisiológicas e psicofisiológicas. Para tal, foram adotados os seguintes passos: (i) revisão da literatura; (ii) comparação entre a realização ou não de aquecimento antes dos 100 m livres; (iii) avaliação de três diferentes volumes de aquecimento, com a mesma intensidade, e os seus efeitos nos 100 m livres; (iv) análise da influência de duas intensidades de aquecimento (ritmo de prova vs. estimulação aeróbia) nos 100 m livres; (v) comparação de dois diferentes intervalos de recuperação após o aquecimento. As principais conclusões que advêm do trabalho são as seguintes: (i) existe pouca literatura e conhecimento limitado acerca dos efeitos do aquecimento e da sua estrutura em natação; (ii) o aquecimento é benéfico para os 100 m livres; (iii) um volume de aquecimento até aos 1200 m parece ser o mais apropriado para a otimização dos 100 m livres, sendo que maiores volumes podem comprometer a performance; (iv) a estimulação aeróbia durante o aquecimento é uma alternativa viável ao ritmo de prova tradicional; (v) os efeitos positivos do aquecimento, como a temperatura, a frequência cardíaca e o consumo de oxigénio, diminuem ao longo do tempo e o aquecimento deve ser realizado o mais próximo possível da prova; (vi) existem diferentes respostas biomecânicas às diferences condições testadas, informação que poderá ser útil para preparar a estratégia de prova. É ainda de referir que os nadadores de elevado nível apresentam adaptações individuais em função de cada aquecimento. Os efeitos do volume, intensidade e intervalos entre o aquecimento e a prova, assim como as principais adaptações fisiológicas e biomecânicas, podem ser utilizados por treinadores e investigadores para desenvolvimento de abordagens individualizadas e investigações futuras

A theoretical basis for understanding and researching the relationship between music, stress, and biofeedback

Music’s ability to influence emotional states and physical arousal has become an increasingly popular area of study. The wealth of literature around music and stress suggests a significant amount of interest in leveraging music to manage stress. However, as attention increases, the robustness of research becomes an increasing concern. This study investigates the current literature and proposes recommendations for the future studying of the psychological and physiological impacts of music as it relates to stress reduction. Existing literature was reviewed with a focus on the operationalization of key concepts of music and stress. The analysis showed considerable discrepancies in research design, operationalization of music, operationalization of the psychological aspects of stress, and operationalization of the physiological aspects of stress. The findings of this study have implications for future research design. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)

Dor e estresse em crianças hospitalizadas na percepção das crianças e das mães

O objetivo deste estudo foi examinar associações entre a experiência de dor em crianças, tanto na autopercepção quanto na percepção das mães, e os indicadores de estresse de ambas. A amostra foi composta por 30 crianças de seis a 12 anos internadas e suas mães. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Escala de Faces-Revisada, Escala de Stress Infantil e Inventário de Sintomas de Stress para Adultos. Os dados foram submetidos à análise estatística descritiva e correlacional. Em relação à dor, quanto maior a intensidade de dor avaliada pela criança, maior o estresse e as reações fisiológicas e psicológicas das crianças. Quanto maior a dor relatada pela criança, maior era o julgamento da mãe sobre a dor na criança. Observou-se que 70% das mães apresentaram indicadores clínicos de estresse. O suporte psicológico durante a hospitalização das crianças deve considerar o manejo da dor e estresse das crianças, assim como o estresse materno.El estudio examinó las asociaciones entre la experiencia del dolor en los niños, considerando la auto-percepción y la percepción de las madres, y los indicadores de estrés en los niños y sus madres. La muestra abarcó a 30 niños hospitalizados de 6-12 años y sus madres. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: Escala de Caras Revisada, Escala de Estrés Infantil e Inventario de Síntomas de Estrés para Adultos. Para analizar los datos, fueron utilizados los análisis estadístico descriptivo y correlacional. Respecto al dolor, cuanto mayor es la intensidad del dolor evaluado por el niño, mayores son el estrés y las reacciones fisiológicas y psicológicas de los niños. Cuanto mayor es el dolor percibido por el niño, mayor es la percepción de la madre acerca del dolor en sus niños. El 70% de las madres muestran indicadores clínicos de estrés. El apoyo psicológico durante la hospitalización de los niños debe tratar del manoseo del dolor y el estrés experimentado por el niño, así como del estrés de las madres.The present study aimed to examine the associations between pain experiences in children with respect to self-perceptions and mother perceptions and stress indicators. The study sample included 30 hospitalized children of 6-12 years of age and the children’s mothers. The Faces Scale-Revised, Child Stress Scale, and Inventory of Stress Symptoms for Adults instruments were used. A data analysis is performed via descriptive statistics and correlation analyses. The results showed that higher pain intensities in children was associated with higher stress, psychological and psychophysiological reactions in children. Higher pain intensities in children also increase mothers’ perceptions of pain in children. Seventy percent of the mothers studied in the sample presented clinical indicators of stress. Psychological support during child hospitalization should address the management of pain and stress in children and stress in mothers

Exercise and Mood: Exploring the Role of Exercise in Regulating Stress Reactivity in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a recurrent and debilitating psychological disorder characterized by a chronic dysregulation of mood with fluctuations between extremely low (e.g., depression) and extremely elevated mood states (e.g., mania), and ranks as the 6th leading cause of disability in the world. Although research has consistently shown that exercise may have antidepressant and stress-attenuating benefits in other psychiatric illnesses (e.g., depression, anxiety), these benefits have not been directly investigated for BD. The current study represents the first known investigation to examine this relationship. Single-participant designs, with crossover and interaction treatment components (i.e., A/B/A/B/A, A/C/A/C/A, A/B/A/C/A, or A/C/A/B/A) were utilized to investigate the impact of participation in a prescribed regimen of exercise (EP) versus standard behavioral activation (SBA; i.e., non-exercise activity) has on stress perception and reactivity, and mood stability in a sample of individuals with BD. Individuals completed four total weeks of treatment, and psychophysiological measures of reactivity were recorded during a laboratory stress task (i.e., backward counting task) prior to and following each two-week intervention phase. No appreciable differences were found between levels of exercise participation between treatment groups. Interestingly, symptoms of depressed mood (BDI-II scores) decreased at similar rates following 4 weeks of treatment for all participants. BDI-II decreases were found to be most correlated with elective exercise participation, although this relationship was not significant. Regarding stress reactivity, elective participation in mild to moderate intensity exercise was found to reduce an individual’s perception of stress reactivity to an acute stressor, while participation in a prescribed program of exercise was more effective in reducing physiological response to the same task. Utilizing multiple forms of behavioral activation simultaneously was found to be most effective in decreasing perception of stress reactivity, and may also result in a positive change in the use of adaptive versus maladaptive coping strategies. Participation in a 4-week program of exercise appeared to provide the most benefit, consistent with exercise habituation theories. Overall, current findings provide preliminary support for the prophylactic benefits of including a prescribed and monitored program of exercise as an adjunct treatment for individuals with BD. Larger scale research is needed to more clearly determine the impact of exercise on stress reactivity and mood episode relapse in individuals with BD

The flexibly ordered brain

I investigate the human brain systems involved in the cognitive control of behaviour. Using novel cognitive paradigms and brain imaging, I identify brain systems that support the flexible structuring of behaviour. I then observe how these systems are implicated in patients with depression as they respond to psilocybin therapy. In the first of three experiments, I observe the changes in healthy adult brain activation that are associated with task-switching. This demonstrated that remapping rules introduces a switching-cost to response speed and activates the multiple-demand (MD) network. Critically, switching-costs and MD activation were greater when the rules being remapped were of an abstract and higher-order nature. Going deeper, in the second experiment, I investigate how healthy adult brains mitigate switching-costs by structuring behaviour into efficient routines. I observe that learning to optimise and structure behaviour covaries with changes in MD and default mode network (DMN) activation alongside increases in between-network connectivity. These concurrent behavioural and neural adaptations imply that cognitive demand is minimised when behavioural routines are structured. Indeed, these mechanisms are known to have broad roles in flexibly adapting behaviour and, subsequently, they have been implicated in disorders such as depression. Using these insights, in the third experiment, I examine the neural basis of the treatment response to psilocybin in patients with depression. In two clinical trials, I find that treatment response covaried with global increases in between-network connectivity. Converging functional cartography measures indicated that this global shift in network organisation related to increased dynamic flexibility and integration of the MD and DMN. Together, the findings in this thesis indicate that a ‘flexibly ordered brain’, the adaptive sequencing of neurocognitive states, is a necessary feature of well-being and for successfully navigating the demands of daily life.Open Acces