Halo Sport ergonomic effects on older adults\u27 cognitive, balance, and motor performance

Purpose: To determine if acute application of transcranial direct current simulation (tDCS), administered via the Halo Sport device, influences performance during cognitive, balance, and a motor task in healthy older adults. In addition, the purpose was to determine if tDCS altered PFC activation during any of the three task domains. Methods: Twelve healthy older adults (50.4 ± 5.1 years old) volunteered to participate in two separate trials of cognitive, balance, and a motor task following 20 minutes of tDCS via the Halo Sport or a Sham condition. Results: There was a significant increase in performance of the non-dominant motor task when individuals received stimulation via the Halo Sport in comparison to the Sham condition. There were no significant differences in performance of the cognitive, balance, or dominant motor task following Halo Sport. There were also no changes in measurements in brain activation during any of the cognitive, balance, or motor tasks. Conclusion: These results indicate that the application of acute tDCS via Halo Sport does not induce changes in PFC activation or cognitive and balance performance but may improve performance of non-dominant hand motor tasks in healthy older adults. Future research could utilize the Halo Sport in rehabilitation scenarios to determine its impact on cross limb transfer

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Motor Cortex on Cycling Time Trial Performance and Prefrontal Cortex-A

Purpose: To investigate if tDCS, administered via Halo Sport, influences time trial performance in recreationally trained cyclists, and if changes in exercise performance are associated with prefrontal cortex activation and muscle oxygenation. Methods: Twelve recreationally trained males cyclists volunteered to participate in two 10-kilometer time trials following 20 minutes of tDCS or a sham condition. Results: There were no significant differences in exercise performance (time to complete, watts) or physiological measures (BLa-, HR, Muscle O2, PFC Oxygenation) between the Halo and Sham conditions. Discussion: These results indicate that the application of acute tDCS via Halo Sport does not induce changes in exercise performance or related physiological parameters in recreationally trained cyclists

Halo Sport Ergonomic Effects on Older Individuals\u27 Cognitive, Balance and Motor Performance

Purpose: To determine if the acute application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), administered via the Halo Sport device, influences prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation or performance parameters during cognitive, balance, and a motor task. Methods: Twelve healthy older adults (50.4 ± 5.1 years old) volunteered to participate in two separate trials of cognitive, balance, and a motor task following 20 minutes of tDCS or a sham condition. Results: There were no significant differences in measures of brain activation during any of the cognitive or balance tasks, but Halo Sport produced higher brain activation and better performance of a non-dominant hand motor task. Discussion: These results indicate that the application of acute tDCS via Halo Sport does not induce changes in PFC activation or cognitive and balance performance but may improve performance of hand motor tasks in healthy older adults

Self-paced High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is Less Physiologically Demanding Than Traditional HIIT

Purpose: investigate the central, peripheral, and subjective responses to an acute self- paced (SP) and traditional (TRAD) high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocol. Methods: Sixteen recreationally trained individuals volunteered to participate in two HIIT and one maximal cycle ergometer exercise tests. Physiological responses were assessed during each condition. Results: Peak and average oxygen consumption, peak heart rate, average work intensity and post-exercise blood lactate were all significantly higher in the TRAD HIIT trial. Discussion: TRAD HIIT protocols appear to provoke a greater physiological and metabolic demand in recreational exercisers. Future research should investigate the chronic effect of SP and TRAD HIIT programs

Acute Aerobic Exercise-Induced Motor Priming Improves Piano Performance and Alters Motor Cortex Activation

Acute aerobic exercise has been shown to improve fine motor skills and alter activation of the motor cortex (M1). The intensity of exercise may influence M1 activation, and further impact whole-body motor skill performance. The aims of the current study were to compare a whole-body motor skill via a piano task following moderate-intensity training (MIT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and to determine if M1 activation is linked to any such changes in performance. Nine subjects (seven females and two males), aged 18±1years completed a control, MIT, and HIIT trial followed by administration of a piano performance task. M1 activation was evaluated by measuring oxyhemoglobin (O2Hb) and hemoglobin difference (Hbdiff) changes during post-exercise piano performance using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The results indicate that piano performance scores were higher after the MIT trial, but not HIIT trial, compared to the control trial. A negative relationship was detected between heart rate during HIIT and post-HIIT piano scores. M1 activation (as measured by Hbdiff) was significantly increased after the HIIT trial. M1 activation was also positively associated with piano performance when exercise trials (HIIT + MIT) and all trials (HIIT + MIT+Control) were combined. We found that acute moderate-intensity exercise led to an improvement in complex motor skill performance while higher-intensity exercise increased M1 activation. These results demonstrate that moderate-intensity exercise can prime the nervous system for the acquisition of whole-body motor skills, suggesting that similar exercise protocols may be effective in improving the outcomes of other motor tasks performed during regular routines of daily life (e.g., sporting tasks, activities of daily living or rehabilitation). In addition, it appears that improvements in motor task performance may be driven by M1 activation. Our findings provide new mechanistic insight into the complex relationship between exercise intensity, M1 activation, and whole-body motor skill performance

Acute Aerobic Exercise-Induced Motor Priming Improves Piano Performance and Alters Motor Cortex Activation

Acute aerobic exercise has been shown to improve fine motor skills and alter activation of the motor cortex (M1). The intensity of exercise may influence M1 activation, and further impact whole-body motor skill performance. The aims of the current study were to compare a whole-body motor skill via a piano task following moderate-intensity training (MIT) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and to determine if M1 activation is linked to any such changes in performance. Nine subjects (seven females and two males), aged 18 ± 1 years completed a control, MIT, and HIIT trial followed by administration of a piano performance task. M1 activation was evaluated by measuring oxyhemoglobin (O2Hb) and hemoglobin difference (Hbdiff) changes during post-exercise piano performance using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The results indicate that piano performance scores were higher after the MIT trial, but not HIIT trial, compared to the control trial. A negative relationship was detected between heart rate during HIIT and post-HIIT piano scores. M1 activation (as measured by Hbdiff) was significantly increased after the HIIT trial. M1 activation was also positively associated with piano performance when exercise trials (HIIT + MIT) and all trials (HIIT + MIT + Control) were combined. We found that acute moderate-intensity exercise led to an improvement in complex motor skill performance while higher-intensity exercise increased M1 activation. These results demonstrate that moderate-intensity exercise can prime the nervous system for the acquisition of whole-body motor skills, suggesting that similar exercise protocols may be effective in improving the outcomes of other motor tasks performed during regular routines of daily life (e.g., sporting tasks, activities of daily living or rehabilitation). In addition, it appears that improvements in motor task performance may be driven by M1 activation. Our findings provide new mechanistic insight into the complex relationship between exercise intensity, M1 activation, and whole-body motor skill performance