Let the Rhythm Move You: A Scoping Review of Music and Athletic Performance

PURPOSE: Numerous athletes utilize music to train, warm-up, and during competition. Listening to music during sport activity can capture attention, distract from fatigue and comfort, alter mood state, relieve stress, and evoke a sense of power. The purpose of this study is to examine the literature to determine the impact of music on athletic performance. METHODS: Three databases were searched in September 2022. These included PubMed, Science Direct, Taylor & Francis Online, and the California State Polytechnic University Pomona OneSearch, which indexes over 20 databases within the field of exercise science. Articles that described an intervention program that utilized music as a part of their regimen, exercise bouts of varying intensity/duration were included for review. Studies were excluded if they did not focus on effects of music, were animal-based studies, or not published in English. RESULTS: Fourteen articles were identified. The current literature provides multiple positive impacts on athletic performance when combined with music. Studies reported that the introduction of a music stimulus has improved running cadence, and overall improved running performance over a six- minute time trial. Additionally, studies found music with a higher tempo has provided subjects with a greater blood flow rate, heart rate and heart rate recovery post exercise. Studies vary by the genre and tempo of music listened to. Studies primarily investigated the impact of listening to music during activity; very few assessed the impact of listening to music only during the warmup before activity. CONCLUSION: The need for research on the relationship of music and athletic performance is still necessary. Exercise is extremely beneficial for an individual’s health and if the introduction of music into a workout regimen is able to improve the performance of individuals, that exhibits the need for proper research comparing music’s effect of performance

Electromyographic Comparison Between the Rear-Foot-Elevated vs. B-Stance Unilateral Back Squat Techniques

The Rear-Foot-Elevated back squat (RFE) and B-Stance (BS) are two unilateral back squat techniques with the latter commonly proposed as the more stable of the two. There is currently a lack of research comparing these two techniques with respect to neuromuscular demand and movement characteristics. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the muscle activation differences via surface electromyography (EMG) between the RFE vs. BS unilateral back squat techniques with equated load. METHODS: Thirteen healthy college-aged, resistance-trained male (n=10) and female (n=3) subjects were recruited for this study. Subjects visited the laboratory on two occasions separated by 5-7 days. Visit 1 included descriptive measurements and one-repetition max (1RM) testing for the RFE back squat. For visit 2, subjects performed the RFE and BS unilateral squat techniques under a load of 85% of RFE 1RM. Electromyographic assessment of the external oblique (OBL), rectus femoris (RF), gluteus maximums (GM) and biceps femoris (BF) was administered during each technique and subsequently compared. RESULTS: A paired sample t-test was used to compare mean and peak normalized root mean square (RMS) EMG between the RFE and BS techniques. There was no significant difference in mean and peak eccentric, concentric, and total activation between the RFE vs. BS for the OBL and RF. For GM, mean and peak eccentric, concentric, and total activation was greater during the RFE vs. BS (pCONCLUSION: The RFE unilateral back squat technique elicited overall greater activation of the hip extensors, GM and BF vs. BS. Based on these findings, the two unilateral squat techniques are not interchangeable from a muscle activation perspective which should be considered when employing unilateral back squat variations in training or rehabilitation programs

Force dysmetria in spinocerebellar ataxia 6 correlates with functional capacity

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6) is a genetic disease that causes pure cerebellar degeneration affecting walking, balance, and coordination. One of the main symptoms of SCA6 is dysmetria. The magnitude of dysmetria and its relation to functional capacity in SCA6 has not been studied. Our purpose was to quantify dysmetria and determine the relation between dysmetria and functional capacity in SCA6. Ten individuals diagnosed and genetically confirmed with SCA6 (63.7 ± 7.02yrs) and nine age-matched healthy controls (65.9 ± 8.5yrs) performed goal-directed isometric contractions with the ankle joint. Dysmetria was quantified as the force and time error during goal-directed contractions. SCA6 functional capacity was determined by ICARS and SARA clinical assessments. We found that SCA6 participants exhibited greater force dysmetria than healthy controls (P < 0.05), and reduced time dysmetria than healthy controls (P < 0.05). Only force dysmetria was significantly related to SCA6 functional capacity, as measured with ICARS kinetic score (R2 = 0.63), ICARS total score (R2 = 0.43), and SARA total score (R2 = 0.46). Our findings demonstrate that SCA6 exhibit force dysmetria and that force dysmetria is associated to SCA6 functional capacity. Quantifying force and time dysmetria in individuals with SCA6 could provide a more objective evaluation of the functional capacity and disease state in SCA6

Review of machine learning methods in soft robotics

Soft robots have been extensively researched due to their flexible, deformable, and adaptive characteristics. However, compared to rigid robots, soft robots have issues in modeling, calibration, and control in that the innate characteristics of the soft materials can cause complex behaviors due to non-linearity and hysteresis. To overcome these limitations, recent studies have applied various approaches based on machine learning. This paper presents existing machine learning techniques in the soft robotic fields and categorizes the implementation of machine learning approaches in different soft robotic applications, which include soft sensors, soft actuators, and applications such as soft wearable robots. An analysis of the trends of different machine learning approaches with respect to different types of soft robot applications is presented; in addition to the current limitations in the research field, followed by a summary of the existing machine learning methods for soft robots

Maximum shear modulus of calcareous sand in Dejebel Dahar, Tunisia and its dependency on applied stress

The present experimental investigation aims at investigating the small strain stiffness of calcareous sand as a function of applied stress. The calcareous sand was sampled at Tunisia's Dejebel Dahar region, and the shear wave velocity (Vs) of calcareous sand was measured using modified oedometer cell equipped with bender elements. The results of this study demonstrate that the Vs of the tested calcareous sand is smaller than that of silica sand with minimal crushable particles at relatively low applied stress (σ); however, Vs of calcareous sand is greater than that of silica sand at high σ, reflecting strong dependency of calcareous sand on σ. The applied stress dependency of soils can be expressed as a power function of applied stress (Vs = α (σ / 1 kPa)β, where α = Vs at σ = 1 kPa and β = stress exponent). Generally, the single α-β can capture the dependency of Vs on σ, and the typical β value for sand is around 0.25. The measured β of tested silica sand was around 0.20; while, Tunisia calcareous sand shows β of greater than 0.32, and the dependency of Vs on σ cannot be captured by single α-β. This can be attributed to the fact that the variation of Vs of tested calcareous sand with increasing σ reflects not only fabric change but also particle crushing

Differential contribution of visual and auditory information to accurately predict the direction and rotational motion of a visual stimulus

Vision and auditory information are critical for perception and enhance the ability of an individual to respond accurately to a stimulus. However, it is unknown whether visual and auditory information contribute differentially to identify the direction and rotational motion of the stimulus. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of an individual to accurately predict the direction and rotational motion of the stimulus based on visual and auditory information. In this study, we recruited nine expert table-tennis players and used table-tennis service as our experimental model. Participants watched recorded services with different levels of visual and auditory information. The goal was to anticipate the direction of the service (left or right) and the rotational motion of service (topspin, sidespin, or cut). We recorded their responses and quantified the following outcomes: 1) directional accuracy; 2) rotational motion accuracy. The response accuracy was the accurate predictions relative to the total number of trials. The ability of the participants to predict the direction of the service accurately increased with additional visual information but not with auditory information. In contrast, the ability of the participants to predict the rotational motion of the service accurately increased with the addition of auditory information to visual information but not with additional visual information alone. In conclusion, this finding demonstrates that visual information enhances the ability of an individual to accurately predict the direction of the stimulus, whereas additional auditory information enhances the ability of an individual to accurately predict the rotational motion of stimulus.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Fatigability of the Knee Extensor Muscles during High-Load Fast and Low-Load Slow Resistance Exercise in Young and Older Adults

Resistance exercise training is a cornerstone in preventing age-related declines in muscle mass and strength, and fatigability of limb muscle is important to this adaptive response. It is unknown, however, whether fatigability and the underlying mechanisms differ between different resistance exercise protocols in young and older adults. The purpose of this study was to quantify the fatigability of the knee extensors and identify the mechanisms in 20 young (22.2 ± 1.3 yr, 10 women) and 20 older adults (73.8 ± 5.4 yr, 10 women) elicited by a single session of high- and low-load resistance exercise. One leg completed a high-load protocol with contractions performed as fast as possible (HL-fast, ~80% 1 Repetition Max, 1RM), and the contralateral leg a low-load protocol performed with slow contractions (LL-slow, ~30% 1RM, 6 s concentric, 6 s eccentric). Each exercise involved four sets of eight repetitions. Before and immediately following each set, maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC) were performed, and voluntary activation and contractile properties quantified using electrical stimulation. The reduction in MVC was greater following the LL-slow (20%) than the HL-fast (12%, P = 0.004), with no age or sex differences. Similarly, the reduction in the amplitude of the involuntary electrically-evoked twitch was greater in the LL-slow (14%) than the HL-fast (7%, P = 0.014) and correlated with the reduction in MVC (r = 0.546, P \u3c 0.001), whereas voluntary activation decreased only for the LL-slow protocol (5%, P \u3c 0.001). Thus, low-load resistance exercise with slow contractions induced greater fatigability within the muscle than a more traditional high-load resistance protocol for both young and older men and women