Whole body vibration improves cognition in healthy young adults

This study investigated the acute effects of passive whole body vibration (WBV) on executive functions in healthy young adults. Participants (112 females, 21 males; age: 20.5 +/- 2.2 years) underwent six passive WBV sessions (frequency 30 Hz, amplitude approximately 0.5 mm) and six non-vibration control sessions of two minutes each while sitting on a chair mounted on a vibrating platform. A passive WBV session was alternated with a control session. Directly after each session, performance on the Stroop Color-Block Test (CBT), Stroop Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT), Stroop Difference Score (SDS) and Digit Span Backward task (DSBT) was measured. In half of the passive WBV and control sessions the test order was CBT-CWIT-DSBT, and DSBT-CBT-CWIT in the other half. Passive WBV improved CWIT (p = 0.009; effect size r = 0.20) and SDS (p = 0.034; r = 0.16) performance, but only when the CBT and CWIT preceded the DSBT. CBT and DSBT performance did not change. This study shows that two minutes passive WBV has positive acute effects on attention and inhibition in young adults, notwithstanding their high cognitive functioning which could have hampered improvement. This finding indicates the potential of passive WBV as a cognition-enhancing therapy worth further evaluation, especially in persons unable to perform active forms of exercise

Information and action in punching a falling ball

and vertically punching a dropping ball exploits the inverse of the rate of change of optical expansion, t (r). We raise a number of methodological and logical criticisms against their experiment and conclusions and attempt to rectify them by examining elbow joint angles only, in seated punchers, under both monocular and binocular conditions, with two ball sizes, dropped from two heights. Differences between the binocular and monocular cases suggest the exploitation of different information. We present several techniques to help determine the operative variable(s) controlling the action. The optical variable used to initiate and guide ¯exion appeared to be expansion velocity (looming), rather than t (r); extension appeared to be under the control of different variables in the monocular and binocular cases. Simulations using single variables and single perceptuo-motor intervals were of mixed success. The concept t (r), once known simply as t (e.g., Lee, 1976),1 the ratio of image size (r) to expansion velocity, (r), speci®es the time-to-contact between an eye and an approaching object, given certain boundary conditions. One boundary condition is that the object approaches at a constant velocity; t (r) overestimates time-to-contact when the velocity between eye and object increases- say, when the eye of a gannet accelerates toward the water, or when a ball falls toward a would-be puncher’s eye. Perfect timing of a time-to-contact related action would require that acceleration be perceived (or taken int

The effects of vibration during maximal graded cycling exercise: a pilot study

Whole Body Vibration training is studied and used in different areas, related to sport performance and rehabilitation. However, few studies have investigated the effects of Vibration (Vib) exposure on aerobic performance through the application of this concept to cycling exercise. A specifically designed vibrating cycloergometer, the powerBIKETM, was used to compare the effects of Vib cycling exercise and normal cycling on different physiological parameters during maximal graded exercise test. Twelve recreationally active male adults (25 ± 4.8 yrs; 181.33 ± 5.47 cm; 80.66 ± 11.91 kg) performed two maximal incremental cycling tests with and without Vib in a block-randomized order. The protocol consisted of a 4 min warm up at 70 rev·min-1 followed by incremental steps of 3 min each. Cycling cadence was increased at each step by 10 rev·min-1 until participants reached their volitional exhaustion. Respiratory gases (VO2, VCO2), Heart Rate, Blood Lactate and RPE were collected during the test. Paired t-tests and Cor-relation Coefficients were used for statistical analysis. A significantly greater (P<0.05) response in the VO2, HR, BLa and RPE was observed during the Vib trial compare to normal cycling. No significant differences were found in the maximal aerobic power (Vib 34.32 ± 9.70 ml·kg-1·min-1; no Vib 40.11 ± 9.49 ml·kg-1·min-1). Adding Vib to cycling exercise seems eliciting a quicker energetic demand during maximal exercise. However, mechanical limitations of the vibrating prototype could have affected the final outcomes. Future studies with more comparative setting are recommended to deeply appraise this concept

Whole-body vibration improves cognitive functions of an adult with ADHD

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with a variety of cognitive impairments, which were shown to affect academic achievement and quality of life. Current treatment strategies, such as stimulant drug treatment, were demonstrated to effectively improve cognitive functions of patients with ADHD. However, most treatment strategies are associated with a number of disadvantages in a considerable proportion of patients, such as unsatisfactory effects, adverse clinical side effects or high financial costs. In order to address limitations of current treatment strategies, whole-body vibration (WBV) might represent a novel approach to treat cognitive dysfunctions of patients with ADHD. WBV refers to the exposure of the whole body of an individual to vibration and was found to affect physiology and cognition. In the present study, WBV was applied on 10 consecutive days to an adult diagnosed with ADHD. Neuropsychological assessments were performed repeatedly at three different times, i.e., the day before the start of the treatment, on the day following completion of treatment and 14 days after the treatment have been completed (follow-up). An improved neuropsychological test performance following WBV treatment points to the high clinical value of WBV in treating patients with neuropsychological impairments such as ADHD

The WBV chair.

<p>Accelerations were measured at location A – D to determine the actual vibration frequency and amplitude (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0100506#pone-0100506-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>).</p

Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT) performance after the control condition and after WBV conditions 1–10 (n = 12).

<p>Results of Wilcoxon signed-rank tests between WBV conditions and the control condition are also shown.^a P-values <0.005 are significant after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. *Indicates statistical significance.</p

The actual vibration frequency and amplitude of vertical displacement for different locations (A–D in Figure 1) and different frequency and amplitude settings on the vibration device.

<p>The actual frequency and amplitude were calculated based upon acceleration data. Accelerations were measured without a person on the WBV chair.</p

An example of a session order used in the pilot study and the main study.

<p>Grey blocks represent the WBV conditions (WBV conditions 1–10 in pilot study and WBV condition 7 in main study; see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0100506#pone-0100506-t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> for frequency and amplitude per WBV condition) or control condition (C). White blocks represent the rest periods. Executive functions were assessed immediately after each WBV and control session by using the Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT) in the pilot study, and the CWIT, Color-Block Test (CBT) and Digit Span Backward task (DSBT) in the main study.</p