Learning spaces:built, natural and digital considerations for learning and learners

Learning spaces: Built, natural and digital considerations for learning and learner

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG

Effect of acute experimental hand pain on left-right discrimination response latency for hand recognition

Background: Recent work has indicated that acute experimental pain affects left-right discrimination latency. This phenomenon highlights an effect of pain on the cortex that may have significant clinical importance in the form of pain state assessment. However, to date only limited study has further qualified this effect. A more thorough understanding of the magnitude and characteristics of this phenomenon is needed to determine its potential clinical utility.Objective: This study aimed to closely replicate previous studies investigating response latency changes for left-right discrimination judgements as a result of acute experimental pain.Methods: Twenty-two right-handed participants (n = 11 female, n = 11 male) free from pain, analgesia use, pain-related conditions, upper limb trauma/conditions, visual impairment, and dyslexia took part in this study. Participants completed a hand left-right discrimination judgement task before, during, and after an experimental pain stimulus was delivered to each hand separately. Experimental pain was achieved using an intramuscular injection of hypertonic (5%) saline into the thenar eminence of the left and right hands. Mean response times for the left-right discrimination task were determined and compared for pain location (right, left), pain condition (before, during, after), and image laterality (right, left). Pain intensity was rated at 20 s intervals during each left-right discrimination task.Results: A main effect of pain condition (p = 0.028) confirmed that pain intensity was significantly higher in the during pain condition compared to the before pain and after pain conditions. A main effect of image laterality (p = 0.002) further showed that response latency for right-hand pain was significantly shorter compared to left-hand pain. No significant interaction between the factors pain location and image laterality (p = 0.086) was found. For right-hand pain, response latencies for the unaffected hand were, however, descriptively greater compared to the affected hand, and this was not the case for left-hand pain. Furthermore, no main effect of pain stimulus or of pain location on response times was found (p = 1.00 and p = 0.202, respectively).Conclusion: Our results were not consistent with previous hand left-right discrimination response latency results and may cast doubt on the attentional bias hypothesis that is currently considered to underpin response latency changes during acute experimental hand pain. Individual responses to pain, subsets of participants, and differing mental rotation strategies during the left-right discrimination task may have influenced the results

Extensibility of the hamstrings is best explained by mechanical components of muscle contraction, not behavioral measures in individuals with chronic low back pain

Objective: To examine the relationship between hamstring extensibility by use of the instrumented straight leg raise; mechanical components of muscle contraction, including muscle recruitment, passive torque measures of tissue stiffness, and eccentric strength; and self-reported measures of pain and disability. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Twenty-one individuals with chronic nonspecific axial lower back pain and 15 healthy control subjects. Assessment: Instrumented straight leg raise, concentric and eccentric hamstring strength, self-reported measures of pain, disability, fear avoidance, general health and well-being. Main Outcome Measurements: Objective measures included hamstring extensibility, hamstring muscle stiffness, absolute and relative concentric/eccentric strength, concentric/eccentric strength ratios. Self-reported measures included Oswestry disability index, visual analog pain scale, fear avoidance beliefs, and general health and well being. Results: Patients with lower back pain had lower range of motion, greater changes in muscle stiffness, and impaired concentric-to-eccentric strength levels. Stepwise regression identified measures of stiffness as significantly predicting hamstring extensibility (adjusted r2 = 0.58, F = 23.76, P < .001). Self-reported measures were not associated with extensibility. Gender differences were noted for passive stiffness and absolute strength. For women, later onset of the medial hamstrings also was associated with greater hamstring extensibility. Conclusions: Decreased extensibility of the hamstrings was associated with increased passive stiffness during the common range of motion (20 to 50°). Impaired stretch tolerance is associated with actual mechanical restriction, not behavioral measures indicating increased pain or fear-avoidant behavior. With no relationship to actual disability and contradictory findings in the literature for the relationship of the hamstrings to the mechanics of the low back, it is unclear whether decreased hamstring extensibility should be targeted in rehabilitation programs for axial lower back pain

The eccentric, concentric strength relationship of the hamstring muscles in chronic low back pain

Objective: The objective of this study was to measure hamstring muscle eccentric and concentric strength in individuals with and without low back pain (LBP). Two composite scores for the relative balance of eccentric to concentric strength at the different movement velocities were calculated (the DEC and SEC), to determine whether or not self perceived pain, disability, or fear avoidance measures were associated with hamstring strength characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional repeated measures design. Setting: University laboratory. Participants: Fifteen individuals with chronic LBP and 15 matched controls. Main outcome measures: Isokinetic eccentric and concentric strength at 30° s−1 and 120° s−1. Composite scores (DEC and SEC) based on peak torque were calculated to evaluate the relationship between the different muscle actions across the test velocities. Self report measures included the Oswestry disability index, general health and well being, fear avoidance, and pain. Results: Eccentric/concentric strength ratio at 30° s−1 was higher for the LBP group (F(1,58) = 4.81, p = 0.032). The SEC was also higher for the LBP (F(1,58) = 5.97, p = 0.018). Fear avoidance beliefs and mental well-being were significantly associated with the SEC only in the LBP group (adjusted r2 = 0.26, (F(2,27) = 5.8, p = .008). For the control group both the DEC and SEC were associated with self report measures. Matched differences between groups’ for the SEC were best explained by fear avoidance beliefs about work (adjusted r2 = 0.12, F(1,28) = 5.1, p = 0.03). Conclusion: Reduced concentric relative to eccentric strength is best identified by the SEC. The SEC was significantly associated with impaired self report measures of fear avoidance and mental well being in individuals with LBP. Differences between groups for the SEC were best explained by fear avoidance beliefs about work

Thinking while standing : an exploratory study on the effect of standing on cognitive performance

Sedentary behaviour is extremely prevalent in Western societies and is significantly associated with an elevated risk of all-cause mortality that cannot be mitigated by physical activity. The introduction of standing desks into the workplace offers a solution to this inactivity, but there is limited investigation regarding the effects of standing on cognition, which is a major consideration in much office-based work. This study aims to provide an exploratory investigation on the effect on cognitive performance of standing while working. We tested 30 office-based adults on a battery of 19 cognitive tasks (tapping five cognitive domains) in a randomised, repeated measures crossover design study. Two conditions (standing versus sitting) were investigated over two 7.5-hour work days including morning, midday and afternoon sessions (Time of Day). Effects were analysed using multivariate two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs (Condition by Time of Day) for five cognitive domains. Overall, after correcting for multiple comparisons, there were no differences in performance between sitting and standing. At an uncorrected level, however, significant effects of Condition were found in three of the 19 tasks, with all demonstrating better performance while standing. Importantly, these results suggest that there is no detriment to cognitive performance through standing. They also provide an initial indication that there may be cognitive benefits of standing in the attention and working memory domains, which may be a promising avenue for future inquiry