Search

Skill acquisition science is the study of how motor skills are acquired, developed and/or learned. There is substantive evidence for general motor skill acquisition in controlled laboratory settings yet the literature on the learning of sports-related skills is typically less conclusive. This scoping review aimed to summarise the current literature on skill acquisition intervention studies examining the learning of sports-related skills as part of a randomised controlled trial, by synthesizing and extracting the most relevant features. Four electronic databases (PsychINFO, PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science) were searched for relevant studies. The sample characteristics of these studies were extracted, and summarised. Two systematic searches of the literature were conducted. In the first search, eighty-six studies were retained. A second search was conducted in July 2022 to include new studies and specifically focused on the inclusion of within-subject design studies, resulting in the inclusion of 35 additional studies. A third search was conducted in May 2023 to include new studies resulting in the inclusion of 10 additional studies. One hundred and thirty studies across 29 sports were included in the review. The vast majority of the studies in this scoping review (n = 104) examined the learning of a sport-related skill in participants with no experience. Twenty-eight percent of all retained studies (n = 35) considered only the learning of a golf skill, and all studies were practiced in a laboratory environment, examining closed motor skills (n = 130). The most common intervention categories reported were attention (n = 22), instruction and demonstration (n = 20), practice design (n = 20), and perceptual training (n = 19). Nearly half of all studies used an immediate retention test within 48 h of the cessation of practice (n = 63), and just over one quarter of studies (n = 34) reported incorporating some form of transfer test. Eighty-six percent (n = 112) reported positive findings. The skewed focus on golf skills across a small number of skill acquisition interventions, the inconsistent use and reporting of performance measures, practice durations and measures of learning alongside the relatively small sample sizes consisting mostly of inexperienced learners and the skewed publication of positive findings should warrant caution. More empirical studies across a broader range of sports and with more consistent methodologies are needed to develop a robust pool of literature that can support academics and practitioners interested in which skill acquisition interventions could be used to influence the learning of sports-related skills. • The majority of studies examined golf and were conducted in a laboratory-based setting. • The majority of studies sampled inexperienced participants and used closed skills. • High quality evidence using standardized methodologies in a wide range of contexts is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental exposures strongly influence ALS risk and identification is needed to reduce ALS burden. Participation in hobbies and exercise may alter ALS risk and phenotype, warranting an assessment to understand their contribution to the ALS exposome. Participants with ALS and healthy controls were recruited from University of Michigan and self-completed a survey to ascertain hobbies, exercise, and avocational exposures. Exposure variables were associated with ALS risk, survival, onset segment, and onset age. ALS (n = 400) and control (n = 287) participants self-reported avocational activities. Cases were slightly older (median age 63.0 vs. 61.1 years, p = 0.019) and had a lower educational attainment (p < 0.001) compared to controls; otherwise, demographics were well balanced. Risks associating with ALS after multiple comparison correction included golfing (odds ratio (OR) 3.48, p adjusted = 0.004), recreational dancing (OR 2.00, p adjusted = 0.040), performing gardening or yard work (OR 1.71, p adjusted = 0.040) five years prior to ALS and personal (OR 1.76, p adjusted = 0.047) or family (OR 2.21, p adjusted = 0.040) participation in woodworking, and personal participation in hunting and shooting (OR 1.89, p adjusted = 0.040). No exposures associated with ALS survival and onset. Those reporting swimming (3.86 years, p adjusted = 0.016) and weightlifting (3.83 years, p adjusted = 0.020) exercise 5 years prior to ALS onset had an earlier onset age. The identified exposures in this study may represent important modifiable ALS factors that influence ALS phenotype. Thus, exposures related to hobbies and exercise should be captured in studies examining the ALS exposome. • Participation in certain hobbies and avocational activities alters ALS risk. • Avocational activities should be included in ALS exposome studies. • Certain exercise, hobbies, and avocational ALS risk factors are sex-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]