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Research regarding the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on executive function has grown exponentially in recent years. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the current state of literature. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to summarize previous research regarding the acute and chronic effects of HIIT on executive function across the lifespan and highlight future research directions. The results indicated that acute bouts of HIIT has a positive effect on inhibition in children/adolescents and adults, and further that chronic HIIT benefits inhibition and working memory in children. More research employing chronic interventions, focusing on middle-aged and older adults, and examining the effects on the working memory and cognitive flexibility domains of executive function are needed. Future research should also focus on a) the use of stronger research designs, b) the effects of HIIT dosage/modality, c) consideration of individual differences, d) possible underlying mechanisms, and e) examining the feasibility of translating HIIT to real-word settings.

BackgroundWe sought to investigate the prognostic impact of missed RT sessions in patients who had undergone surgery for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC).MethodsThe study sample consisted of 905 patients with surgically treated OCSCC who fulfilled criteria of RT course ≤8 weeks. The study participants were divided into three groups based on the characteristics of missed RT, as follows: 1) early missed RT, 2) late missed RT, and 3) RT as scheduled.ResultsThe 5-year overall survival (OS) rates in the early missed RT, late missed RT, and RT as scheduled groups were 53.0, 58.1, and 64.5%, respectively (p = 0.046). In multivariate analysis, early missed RT was independently associated with both OS (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.486; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.122–1.966;p = 0.006) and the occurrence of distant metastasis (HR = 1.644; 95% CI: 1.047–2.583;p = 0.031).ConclusionEarly missed RT was independently associated with a higher occurrence of distant metastasis and less favorable OS in patients who had undergone surgery for OCSCC.

Medium-chain triacylglycerides (MCTs) are dietary supplements that can induce ketosis without the need for a traditional ketogenic diet or prolonged fasting. They have the potential to marginally delay the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. However, there have been inconsistencies in reports of the MCT dose–response relationship, which may be due to differences in MCT composition, participant characteristics, and other factors that can influence ketone generation. To resolve these discrepancies, we reviewed studies that investigated the ketogenic effect of MCTs in healthy adults. Aside from the treatment dose, other factors that can influence the ketogenic response, such as accompanying meals, fasting duration, and caffeine intake, were assessed. Based on the available literature, four practical recommendations are made to optimize the ketogenic effect of MCTs and reduce unwanted side effects (primarily gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea). First, the starting dose should be either 5 g of octanoic acid [caprylic acid (C8); a component of MCTs] or 5 g of a combination of C8 and decanoic or capric acid (C10; another component of MCTs), and the dose should be progressively increased to 15–20 g of C8. Second, MCTs should be consumed after an overnight fast, without an accompanying meal if tolerable, or with a low-carbohydrate meal. Third, the addition of caffeine may slightly increase the ketogenic response. Fourth, emulsifying the MCTs might increase their ketogenic effect and alleviate side effects.

Accurate organ at risk (OAR) segmentation is critical to reduce the radiotherapy post-treatment complications. Consensus guidelines recommend a set of more than 40 OARs in the head and neck (H&N) region, however, due to the predictable prohibitive labor-cost of this task, most institutions choose a substantially simplified protocol by delineating a smaller subset of OARs and neglecting the dose distributions associated with other OARs. In this work we propose a novel, automated and highly effective stratified OAR segmentation (SOARS) system using deep learning to precisely delineate a comprehensive set of 42 H&N OARs. SOARS stratifies 42 OARs into anchor, mid-level, and small & hard subcategories, with specifically derived neural network architectures for each category by neural architecture search (NAS) principles. We built SOARS models using 176 training patients in an internal institution and independently evaluated on 1327 external patients across six different institutions. It consistently outperformed other state-of-the-art methods by at least 3-5% in Dice score for each institutional evaluation (up to 36% relative error reduction in other metrics). More importantly, extensive multi-user studies evidently demonstrated that 98% of the SOARS predictions need only very minor or no revisions for direct clinical acceptance (saving 90% radiation oncologists workload), and their segmentation and dosimetric accuracy are within or smaller than the inter-user variation. These findings confirmed the strong clinical applicability of SOARS for the OAR delineation process in H&N cancer radiotherapy workflows, with improved efficiency, comprehensiveness, and quality.

This study aimed to compare the contributions of sources of proprioception to the reproduction accuracy of relatively slower and more rapid arm movements. We recruited 34 volunteers and gave them dart throwing tasks under two different durations followed by joint position sense (JPS) tests and force sense (FS) tests at the elbow and the wrist. We found moderately positive correlations between slow movement performance and proprioceptive acuity with FS (wrist) and JPS (elbow), accounting for 52% of the absolute errors ( p < .001), and, with FS (wrist), accounting for 50% of the variable error ( p < .001). Moreover, we observed a smaller correlation between rapid movement performance and proprioceptive acuity, accounting for 17% of absolute errors with JPS (elbow; p = .008) and 11% of variable error ( p = .033). These results suggest that relatively slow movement performance is partly determined by performers’ proprioceptive acuity of the movement-related limbs. Relatively rapid movement performance is also affected by correctional proprioceptive feedback, though to a lesser degree.

OBJECTIVE To compare the levels of social support, physical function, and social-emotional function between oral cavity cancer survivors who did or did not resume work 6 months or longer after treatment completion. METHODS This cross-sectional study examined survivors of oral cavity cancer who were treated at the outpatient radiation department of a medical center in Northern Taiwan. Questionnaires were used to collect data regarding perceived social support, physical function, social-emotional function, and return to work status after treatment. Logistic regression was conducted to determine factors related to returning to work. RESULTS We examined 174 survivors of oral cavity cancer, 55.2% of whom returned to work after treatment. Relative to survivors who returned to work, those who did not return to work reported needing greater tangible social support, having fewer positive social interactions, having poorer physical function, and having poorer social-emotional function. Multivariable analysis indicated that younger age (OR = 0.864, P < .05), higher family income (OR = 10.835, P < .05), sufficient tangible social support (OR = 0.943, P < .05), positive social interaction (OR = 1.025, P < .05), and better physical function (OR = 1.062, P < .05) were significantly associated with the return to work. CONCLUSIONS Survivors of oral cavity cancer who did not return to work had worse physical and social-emotional function and required more tangible social support and positive social interactions. Providing occupational rehabilitation and counseling for oral cavity cancer survivors may help them return to work.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Facebook remote live-streaming-guided exercise on the functional fitness of community-dwelling older adults.Method: This study used a non-randomized controlled design with single-blinding (outcome assessors). Older adults (mean age = 70.36 ± 4.51 years) were assigned to either the experimental group (n = 39) or the control group (n = 34). The experimental group participated in a 75-min Facebook remote live-streaming-guided exercise routine twice a week for 8 weeks at home, whereas the control group maintained their original lifestyle without any intervention. Functional fitness was assessed using the Senior Fitness Test, which assessed upper and lower limb flexibility and muscle strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, and balance. The test was administered before and after the intervention.Results: The results revealed that an 8-week Facebook remote live-streaming-guided exercise intervention increased lower limb flexibility and muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness in community-dwelling older adults.Conclusion: The current findings suggest that a home-based exercise program using the Facebook platform may be a feasible method to broadly improve the functional fitness of community-dwelling older adults.

Despite that previous studies have supported relationships between motor ability and inhibitory function, and between resting brain theta/beta power ratios (TBR) and inhibition in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little research has examined the mechanism within these relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether TBR would mediate the relationship between motor ability and inhibitory function. A total of 71 children with ADHD were recorded resting electroencephalographic (EEG) data during eyes-open. Motor abilities were evaluated by Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) and inhibitory ability were assessed by a modified Eriksen’s flanker task. The results of mediation analyses revealed that TBR could completely mediate the relationship between motor competence and response speed (indirect effect = −0.0004, 95% CI [−0.0010, −0.0001]) and accuracy (indirect effect = 0.0003, 95% CI [0.0000, 0.0010]) in the incongruent condition of the flanker task. This study suggests that TBR may be one of the mechanisms between motor ability and inhibition function in children with ADHD.

Chinese mind-body exercises (CMBEs) are positively associated with executive function (EF), but their effects on EF, from synthesized evidence using systematic and meta-analytic reviews, have not been conducted. Therefore, the present systematic review with meta-analysis attempted to determine whether CMBEs affect EF and its sub-domains, as well as how exercise, sample, and study characteristics moderate the causal relationship between CMBEs and EF in middle-aged and older adults. Seven electronic databases were searched for relevant studies published from the inception of each database through June 2020 (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Weipu). Randomized controlled trials with at least one outcome measure of CMBEs on EF in adults of mean age ≥ 50 years with intact cognition or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and with or without chronic diseases were included. A total of 29 studies (N = 2,934) ultimately were included in this study. The results indicated that CMBEs improved overall EF (Standardized Mean Differences = 0.28, 95% CI 0.12, 0.44), as well as its sub-domains of working memory and shifting. The beneficial effects of CMBEs on EF occurred regardless of type (Tai Chi, Qigong), frequency of group classes (≤2 time, 3-4 time, ≥5 times), session time (≤45 min, 46-60 min), total training time (≥150 to ≤300 min, >300 min), and length of the CMBEs (4-12 week, 13-26 week, and >26 week), in addition to that more frequent participation in both group classes and home practice sessions (≥5 times per week) resulted in more beneficial effects. The positive effects of CMBEs on EF were also demonstrated, regardless of participants mean age (50-65 years old, >65 years old), sex (only female, both), and cognitive statuses (normal, MCI, not mentioned), health status (with chronic disease, without chronic disease), as well as training mode (group class, group class plus home practice) and study language (English, Chinese). This review thus suggests that CMBEs can be used as an effective method with small to moderate and positive effects in enhancing EF, and that more frequent group classes and home practice sessions may increase these effects. However, certain limitations, including strictly design studies, limited ES (effect size) samples for specific variables, and possible biased publications, required paying particular attention to, for further exploring the effects of CMBEs on EF.

It is difficult to draw conclusions about the effect of resistance exercises on information processing speed and inhibitory control from previous studies due to possible underestimations of maximal strength and the lack of information on the intervention programs. To address this issue, a familiarization of resistance exercise was introduced before the strength test, and the repetition-to-fatigue method was used to calculate the 1RM (one repetition max). A two-arm RCT was conducted to evaluate the cognitive effect of resistance exercise. Male adults aged 50–65 years old performed a single bout of multiple joint, structural barbell resistance exercises (back squat, press, and deadlift) with 75% 1RM * 5 repetitions * 3 sets with 2–3 min rest between sets and exercises or a stretching exercise session (active-control intervention). This type of resistance exercise improved the information processing speed measured by Stroop task reaction time (t(23) = − 2.313, p = .030, M = − 16 ms, 95% CI [− 30, − 2]) and decreased the conflict-related neural activity measured by event-related potential N2b in both congruent (t(20) = 2.674, p = .015, M = 2.290 μv, 95% CI [0.504, 4.075]) and incongruent (t(20) = 2.851, p = .018, M = 2.291 μv, 95% CI [0.439, 4.142]) conditions. Resistance exercise significantly improved information processing speed and decrease conflict-related neural activity, but did not change inhibitory control in older adults compared to active control.Trial registration: NCT04534374 (01/09/2020).

Purpose/Objective(s) Identifying suspicious cancer metastasized lymph nodes (GTV is an essential task in esophageal cancer radiotherapy. Manual delineation requires high-level sophisticated clinical reasoning in multi-modality imaging, which is challenging and suffers from high subjectivity and inter-observer variability. We propose an automated esophageal GTV_LN detection method via integrating a distance-based decision stratification into a multi-task deep network, which is able to effectively learn the GTV_LN oncology features. This is inspired by the fact that lymph node involvements often follow certain distance patterns from the primary tumors. Materials/Methods We collected and curated 2 esophageal cancer datasets with PET and RTCT images. The 1st dataset contained 141 patients and 651 annotated GTV_LN for training and evaluating our deep network (60%, 10% and 30% for training, validation and testing), while the 2nd dataset contained 10 patients aiming for the multi-user agreement analysis. A distance-based decision stratification is designed to divide GTV_LN into “tumor-proximal” and “tumor-distal” categories and a multi-branch deep network is proposed to solve each of them. The multi-branch network has a shared encoder and separate decoders to detect and segment two GTV_LN subcategories, respectively. The distance-based decision stratification enables the automated multi-branch method to specialize in GTV_LN oncology features of each subcategory. We use both PET and RTCT as the network inputs to exploit the complementary information in each imaging modality. Results In the testing set of the 1st esophageal cancer dataset (34 patients with 138 GTV_LNs), our method achieves a sensitivity of 73.8% and 79.1% at 6 and 12 false positives (FPs) per patient as compared to 72.0% and 75.9% by MULAN, the state-of-the-art deep learning based universal lesion detection algorithm. On the 2nd dataset containing 10 patients, 3 radiation oncologists annotated 53 GTV_LNs in total, among which 42 GTV_LNs were agreed with all 3 physicians leading to 79.2% multi-user agreement. Our method achieves a sensitivity of 77.4% at 6 FPs per patient on the 2nd dataset. This shows that the sensitivity achieved by our automated deep learning approach can be close to the multi-user agreement. Conclusion We proposed a multi-task deep learning method with distance-based decision stratification to effectively detect and segment the GTV_LN in esophageal cancer radiotherapy. It significantly improves on previous state-of-the-art and the achieved performance has potential clinical values considering the large multi-user variability in this challenging task.

Acute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a time-efficient strategy to improve physical health; however, the effect of acute HIIT on executive function (EF) is unclear. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing evidence and quantify the effect of acute HIIT on overall EF and the factors affecting the relationship between acute HIIT and EF. Standard databases (i.e., the PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and CENTRAL databases) were searched for studies that examined the effect of acute HIIT on EF and were published up until January 2021. The overall EF and factors grouped by three categories, namely, EF assessment characteristics, exercise intervention characteristics, and sample and study characteristics, were analyzed by percentage of comparison for positive or null/negative effects. Overall, 35 of 57 outcomes (61%) across 24 studies revealed that acute HIIT has a positive effect on overall EF. In terms of factors, the results indicated that among EF assessment characteristics, groups, inhibition, updating, and the assessment occurring within 30 min may moderate the effect of acute HIIT on EF, while among exercise intervention characteristics, total time within 11 to 30 min may moderate the effect. Finally, among sample characteristics, age under 40 years may moderate the effect. Acute HIIT is generally considered a viable alternative for eliciting EF gains, with factors related to EF components, timing of the assessment, exercise total time, and age potentially moderating the effect of HIIT on EF.

Biofeedback training (BFT) and neurofeedback training (NFT) are designed based on the premise that every physiological change is associated with a parallel change in mental processes and emotional states. Psychological skills training (PST) in sports comprises a variety of psychological methods that aim to promote emotional competence, cognitive abilities, resilience, or mental strength, leading to improved sport performance. Greater clarity is required regarding the principles for effective BFT/NFT protocols and the underlying mechanisms for enhancing sport performance. In summary, the evidence regarding the effectiveness of electroencephalography (EEG) NFT for enhancing sport performance is equivocal. Although a large number of high-quality studies using randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs demonstrated a positive effect of EEG NFT on sport performance, a small number of RCT studies failed to show effects. BFT/NFT can be used to both assess and assist PST in reducing these interferences.

The current study focused on the effects of an 8-week motor skill-based physical activity (i.e., gymnastics) program on the contingent negative variation derived from event-related brain potentials (CNV-ERP) during a working memory task in children. Children aged 7–10 years old were assigned to a gymnastics group (n = 26) or a wait-list control group (n = 24). The gymnastics group engaged in a gymnastics program whereas children in the control group were asked to maintain their typical routine during the intervention period. Working memory performance was measured by a delayed-matching working memory task, accompanied by CNV-ERP collection. The results revealed significant improvement of response accuracy from pre-test to post-test in the gymnastic group regardless of memory demands. Moreover, significant increase from pre-test to post-test in the initial CNV was observed in the gymnastic group regardless of memory demands. Bivariate correlations further indicated that, in the gymnastic group, increases in response accuracy from pre-test to post-test were correlated with increases in initial CNV from pre-test to post-test in task conditions with lower and higher memory loads. Overall, the current findings suggest that up-regulation of proactive control may characterize the beneficial effects of childhood motor skill-based physical activity on working memory.

The current study examined the effects of acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (MAE) on inhibitory control and resting-state heart rate variability (HRV) in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Our data show that acute MAE resulted in higher response accuracy of a modified flanker task regardless of task difficulty for 60 min (p = .001). Aerobic exercise further resulted in more effective conflict detection, as measured by greater amplitude (p = .012) and shorter latency (p = .029) of the N2 component of event-related brain potential, for 60 min regardless of task difficulty. In contrast, acute MAE did not modulate sympathovagal balance signified by HRV at either 30 min or 60 min following exercise cessation. Collectively, our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of acute aerobic exercise on inhibitory control are sustained for 60 min in children with ADHD. However, acute aerobic exercise may not modulate sympathovagal balance during the post-exercise recovery. Overall, we highlight the importance of acute aerobic exercise for children with ADHD as a potential means to facilitate brain health.

Background Unresectable esophageal cancer harbors high mortality despite chemoradiotherapy. Better patient selection for more personalized management may result in better treatment outcomes. We presume the ratio of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of metastatic lymph nodes to primary tumor (NTR) in 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) may provide prognostic information and further stratification of these patients. Methods The patients with non-metastatic and unresectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) receiving FDG PET/CT staging and treated by chemoradiotherapy were retrospectively reviewed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the optimal cut-off value for NTR. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model were used for survival analyses and multivariable analyses, respectively. Results From 2010 to 2016, 96 eligible patients were analyzed. The median follow-up time was 10.2 months (range 1.6 to 83.6 months). Using ROC analysis, the best NTR cut-off value was 0.46 for prediction of distant metastasis. The median distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) was significantly lower in the high-NTR group (9.5 vs. 22.2 months, p = 0.002) and median overall survival (OS) (9.5 vs. 11.6 months, p = 0.013) was also significantly worse. Multivariable analysis revealed that NTR was an independent prognostic factor for DMFS (hazard ratio [HR] 1.81, p = 0.023) and OS (HR 1.77, p = 0.014). Conclusions High pretreatment NTR predicts worse treatment outcomes and could be an easy-to-use and helpful prognostic factor to provide more personalized treatment for patients with non-metastatic and unresectable esophageal SCC.

Objective The purpose of this study of survivors of head and neck cancer was to evaluate the effects of a behavior change program and health education on depression, fear of social interactions, avoidance of social interactions, physical function, and social-emotional function. Methods This was a randomized controlled trial of 100 subjects, in which changes in the scores of several psychometric scales were recorded for an experimental group (behavior change program and health education) and a control group (routine care only). Assessments were performed at baseline (T0), and at 1 month (T1), 2 months (T2), and 3 months (T3) after completing the intervention. Results After the intervention, the experimental group reported significantly less fear of social interactions, less avoidance of social interactions, and better physical function than the control group. The experimental group also had less depression at T3 than at T0, although there was no such change in the control group. Analysis of physical function indicated that both groups experienced improvements from T0 to T1, slight declines from T1 to T2, and slight declines from T2 to T3; however, both groups had significantly better physical function at T3 than at T0. Conclusions Head and neck cancer patients who received a behavior change program and health education reported less fear of social interactions, less avoidance of social interactions, and improved physical function during the 3 months after this intervention.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of swallowing ability, depression, and dysphagia-specific health-related quality of life (QOL), and the predictors of dysphagia-specific health-related QOL in oral cavity cancer patients post-treatment. Methods A cross-sectional study of 151 oral cavity cancer patients was performed at a medical center. Patients were assessed for swallowing ability, depression, and dysphagia-specific health-related QOL. Multiple stepwise regression was used to identify factors related to dysphagia-specific health-related QOL. Results Of the 151 patients surveyed, the top swallowing impairments were difficulty swallowing dry foods, difficulty swallowing hard food, and swallowing problems interfering with enjoyment or QOL. Patients with tumors of the tongue had worse functional dysphagia QOL than those with cancers in other locations. Patients with buccal cancer had worse overall dysphagia QOL, functional dysphagia QOL, and physical dysphagia QOL than patients with cancers in other locations. Patients with poor swallowing ability were more likely to have worse global dysphagia QOL. Emotional dysphagia QOL was associated with poor swallowing ability and depression. Poor swallowing ability, higher level of depression, and tumors of the tongue were associated with the worst functional dysphagia QOL. Patients with poor swallowing ability, higher level of depression, and less functional oral intake were more likely to have worse physical dysphagia QOL. Conclusion Swallowing ability and depression were the most important factors associated with dysphagia-specific health-related QOL. Patient-centered swallowing rehabilitation programs are recommended to help cope with swallowing impairment.

OBJECTIVE Given previous research examining the relationship between physical activity (PA) and working memory in children has not taken into account of potentially confounders, this study specifically controlled for the effects of intelligence and fitness-related factors (i.e., aerobic and motor fitness) on this relationship. METHOD Thirty-two children were assigned to either the higher PA group (HP) (n = 16) or lower PA group (LP) (n = 16) based on their amount of PA as measured by an accelerometer. Working memory was measured by the delayed-matching test, with concurrent recordings of event-related potentials including the P3 and the positive slow wave (PSW) components. RESULTS Data analysis controlling for the effects of potential confounders found that the HP group had higher response accuracy in both task conditions relative to the LP group. For reaction times (RT), the HP group showed shorter RT than the LP group in the delayed condition. Furthermore, the HP group had similar P3 amplitudes across task conditions, whereas amplitudes in the delayed condition were smaller than that in the non-delayed condition in the LP group. In addition, the HP group also showed larger PSW amplitudes than the LP group. Supplementary partial correlations analysis indicated negative correlations between levels of PA with RT in both task conditions, and positive correlations with P3 amplitude and PSW amplitude in the delayed condition. CONCLUSIONS Children with higher levels of PA, while controlling for individual differences in intelligence and fitness-related factors, have better working memory as assessed by both behavioral and neuroelectric measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

This two stage study examined the effects of acute exercise on resting electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The first stage compared the neural oscillatory patterns of children with and without ADHD. Resting EEGs were recorded under an open-eyes condition from 24 boys with ADHD and 28 matched controls. The second stage of the study employed a randomized cross-over trial design. The 24 boys with ADHD engaged in a 30-min intervention that consisted of either running on a treadmill or watching a video on alternative days, with resting EEGs recorded before and after treatment. The first stage found that children with ADHD exhibited significantly higher theta/beta ratios over the midline electrodes sites than controls. The second stage further indicated that children with ADHD displayed smaller theta/beta ratios following the exercise condition compared with the video-watching condition. This finding suggests that acute exercise normalizes arousal and alertness of children with ADHD, as reflected in resting EEG readings.

The new 2018 edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAGA18) released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [1] and directly informed by the 779-page 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report [2] will undoubtedly change how we promote and research physical activity (PA). For the first time, PAGA18 include new insights on the role of a single session of PA for cognitive function and brain health, suggesting that the scientific evidence supporting PA benefits on cognitive function and brain health has matured. In addition, considering the difficulty in initiating and adhering to a long-term exercise program, cognitive function benefits from a single bout may provide a new approach to promote exercise for people who are not ready yet to adopt and adhere to an ongoing habitual exercise routine...

Objective Whether the beneficial effect of coordination exercise on executive function extends to obese adolescents remains understudied and no study to date has examined the effect of exercise on food-cue related executive function. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effects of a coordination exercise program on executive function in obese adolescents. Design A randomized controlled trial. Methods Eighty obese adolescents were randomly assigned to a 12-week coordination exercise program or a waitlist control group and data from 70 participants (n = 35 for each group) were analyzed. The after-school exercise program involving a multifaceted moderate-intensity jump rope program performed twice weekly for 75 min per session. The primary outcome of normal and food-cue related Stroop task performance was assessed prior to and following the intervention. Secondary outcomes included physical fitness and body mass index (BMI). Results The coordination exercise intervention improved both normal and food-cue related cognitive function. Similar beneficial effects were also found for physical fitness and BMI. However, pre-to-post intervention change in physical fitness and BMI did not significantly mediate enhanced cognitive and executive function performance. Conclusion In obese adolescents, a coordination exercise intervention is an effective approach to improve multiple aspects of cognitive function while enhancing physical fitness and reducing obesity. These findings also suggest a possible role of cognitive inhibition in exercise-associated weight loss among obese adolescents.

Background Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been associated with the regulation of certain types of internalizing psychopathologies, and is affected by acute aerobic exercise (AE). However, no previous studies have examined the association between FAA and internalizing problems or the effects of acute exercise on FAA in children with ADHD. Aims This study had two objectives. First, it aimed to examine the relationship between FAA and internalizing behaviors in children with ADHD. Second, it sought to investigate the differential effects of acute AE (30 and 50 min) on FAA. Method Participants were assigned to one of the following three groups: 50 min of AE, 30 min of AE, and a control group. Resting electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded before and after their respective treatments. EEG data from 43 participants were analyzed to investigate the association between pre-test FAA and internalizing problems as assessed by Child Behavior Checklist scores. Additionally, EEG data from 46 participants were analyzed to examine the effects of acute AE on post-test FAA while controlling for pre-test FAA. Results Pre-test FAA was found to be significantly negatively associated with internalizing problems, with both hemispheres contributing to this association. Regarding the effects of acute exercise, the 50-minute AE group had highest post-test FAA, reflected by the increased relative left-side frontal activity. Conclusions These findings suggest that FAA is a biological marker of internalizing symptoms in children with ADHD, and a 50-minute session of AE can effectively modulate FAA.

Objectives The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between physical fitness and interference control by comparing higher and lower fitness children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral indices. Design Cross-sectional design was employed. Method Eighty children, previously diagnosed with ADHD, were evaluated on their inhibitory ability as measured during their participation in the flanker task, and this ability was examined in relationship to measures of their physical fitness. Only children in the top 40% or in the bottom 40% of the distribution for each fitness components were included in the statistical analysis. Results The results showed that children with higher levels of muscular endurance, muscular power, and aerobic capacity had shorter reaction times (RT) and larger P3 amplitudes compared to less fit children. In addition, children with lower body composition had shorter reaction times and shorter P3 latencies compared to those with higher body composition. Conclusions Better physical fitness, especially muscular endurance, muscular power, aerobic capacity, and body composition, were associated with enhanced interference control in children with ADHD. Our findings suggest the need for a closer examination of the possible impact of different aspects of fitness on the general relationship between physical fitness and cognition.

Brain Breaks videos are web-based structured physical activity (PA) videos that aim at stimulating an interest in learning and promoting health. Exercise is one of the important treatment regimens for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effects that Brain Breaks videos have on the motives for PA, as measured by the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale-Malay (PALMS-M), and the amount of PA, as measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Malay (IPAQ-M), in T2DM patients (the most common type of diabetes mellitus patients). This study was conducted using a randomized, double-blind design and grouped subjects under two research conditions: an experimental group given Brain Breaks videos and a control group. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit 70 T2DM patients (male = 39, female = 31) with the mean age of 57.6 (SD = 8.5) from Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan. Over a four-month period, the participants in the experimental group were asked to perform PA daily based on a Brain Breaks video (10 min in duration) that was shared through a WhatsApp group. All participants from both groups answered the PALMS-M questionnaire five times: pre-intervention, the end of the first month, second month, and third month, and post-intervention. A repeated measure multivariate analysis of variance and a repeated measure analysis of variance were performed for the analyses of the data. The results demonstrated that four (appearance, others’ expectations, physical condition, and mastery) out of eight motives for PA produced a significant mean score difference between the two study groups. All eight motives for PA showed an upward trend for the experimental group during the study period, while the control group showed a downward trend for all motives during the study period. As for the amount of PA, both groups showed significant differences (p = 0.001). The amount of PA increased in the experimental group during the study period, while it decreased in the control group. Therefore, Brain Breaks videos can be considered as an effective intervention for motivating T2DM patients for PA and improving their amount of PA.

We aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the relative maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of metastatic lymph node (LN) compared with that of primary tumor (SUVLN / SUVTumor) based on a pretreatment [18F]-FDG PET/CT scan in patients with clinically node-positive esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (cN+ ESCC) treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT). We retrospectively evaluated cN+ ESCC patients who underwent a PET/CT scan before dCRT. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed to identify the optimal cutoff value for SUVLN / SUVTumor. Prognostic influences of SUVLN / SUVTumor on distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using the Kaplan&ndash, Meier method and log-rank test for univariate analysis and Cox&rsquo, s proportional hazards regression model for multivariate analysis. We identified 112 patients with newly diagnosed cN+ ESCC. After a median follow-up of 32.0 months, 50 (44.6%) patients had distant failure and 84 (75.0%) patients died. Patients with high SUVLN / SUVTumor (&ge, 0.39) experienced worse outcomes than low SUVLN / SUVTumor (&lt, 0.39) (two-year DMFS: 26% vs. 70%, p &lt, 0.001, two-year OS: 21% vs. 48%, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that SUVLN / SUVTumor was an independent prognostic factor for both DMFS (adjusted HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.34&ndash, 3.75, p = 0.002) and OS (adjusted HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.03&ndash, 2.53, p = 0.037). Pretreatment of SUVLN / SUVTumor is a simple and useful marker for prognosticating DMFS and OS in cN+ ESCC patients treated with dCRT, which may help in tailoring treatment and designing future clinical trials.

Background Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are associated with breast cancer prognosis. Research is limited regarding the role of circulating cancer stem-like cells (cCSCs) considering the treatment response and survival among patients with metastatic breast cancer. Accordingly, we performed this prospective study to clarify the prognostic significance of baseline cCSCs for metastatic breast cancer in terms of first-line chemotherapy. Methods Between April 2014 and January 2016, we prospectively enrolled 48 patients with stage IV breast invasive ductal carcinoma who underwent first-line chemotherapy. We identified and analyzed CTCs and cCSCs by using a protocol based on negative selection and flow cytometry before chemotherapy. CTCs were identified as EpCAM+Hoechst+CD45– cells and cCSCs as CD133+EpCAM+Hoechst+CD45– cells. cCSCs were expressed as a percentage of CTCs. The associations between CTCs, cCSCs, and the clinicopathological variables that were predictive of the treatment response and survival outcome were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results We identified CTCs in all the enrolled patients, with a median number of 33.9/mL CTCs. CSCs were isolated in 97.9% of the patients; the median percentage of cCSCs was 14.7%. A high baseline level of cCSCs was correlated with an inferior tumor response rate (54.2% vs. 95.8%, p Conclusions Baseline cCSCs predict the treatment response as well as survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer undergoing first-line chemotherapy. Therefore, the measurement of cCSCs may assist in identifying early cancer treatment response and prognosis.

Background After neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for esophageal cancer, high pathologically complete response (pCR) rates are being achieved especially in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). An active surveillance strategy has been proposed for SCC patients with clinically complete response (cCR) after nCRT. To justify omitting surgical resection, patients with residual disease should be accurately identified. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of response evaluations after nCRT based on the preSANO trial, including positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET-CT), endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in patients with potentially curable esophageal SCC. Methods Operable esophageal SCC patients who are planned to undergo nCRT according to the CROSS regimen and are planned to undergo surgery will be recruited from four Asian centers. Four to 6 weeks after completion of nCRT, patients will undergo a first clinical response evaluation (CRE-1) consisting of endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies. In patients without histological evidence of residual tumor (i.e. without positive biopsies), surgery will be postponed another 6 weeks. A second clinical response evaluation (CRE-2) will be performed 10–12 weeks after completion of nCRT, consisting of PET-CT, endoscopy with bite-on-bite biopsies and EUS with FNA. Immediately after CRE-2 all patients without evidence of distant metastases will undergo esophagectomy. Results of CRE-1 and CRE-2 as well as results of the three single diagnostic modalities will be correlated to pathological response in the resection specimen (gold standard) for calculation of sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value. Discussion If the current study shows that major locoregional residual disease (> 10% residual carcinoma or any residual nodal disease) can be accurately (i.e. with sensitivity of 80.5%) detected in patients with esophageal SCC, a prospective trial will be conducted comparing active surveillance with standard esophagectomy in patients with a clinically complete response after nCRT (SINO trial). Trial registration The preSINO trial has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03937362 (May 3, 2019).

Objectives: This study addressed the effects of acute, moderate-intensity aerobic and resistance exercise on the shifting aspect of cognition following a 30-min recovery period. It also explored the neuro-electrical activation that underlies the relationship between acute exercise and cognitive function through the examination of P3b and N1 components of event-related potentials. Design: A counterbalanced, repeated-measures experimental design. Methods: Thirty-five volunteer young adults completed two experimental sessions (i.e., acute aerobic exercise (AE) and resistance exercise (RE), matched in terms of intensity, and one reading session (control). The AE entailed cycling at 60–70% of maximal heart rate reserve for 30 min. In the RE session, participants performed seven exercises with two sets of 8–12 repetitions at 70% of 10-repetition maximum. Each participant's neuro-electrical activation was recorded 30 min after each session while s/he completed the task-switching test. Results: After the 30-min recovery period, both AE and RE elicited shorter response times in global switching (ηp2=0.24) and local switching (ηp2=0.16) were observed when compared to control. Additionally, larger P3b amplitudes (but not N1 amplitudes) were evident in global switching (ηp2=0.15) and local switching (ηp2=0.16), regardless of exercise modality. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that acute exercise has positive effects on cognitive function. Exercise-induced alterations during the later stages of mental processing might result in superior performance. There were significant selective benefits in terms of brain function regardless of exercise modality. Taiwanese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 105-2628-H-003-004-MY3, 107-2628-H-003-003-MY3); National Taiwan Normal University from the Higher Education Sprout Project of the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.

The current study examined the effects of acute resistance exercise (RE) on adult males’ attention control. Eighteen younger males (23.9 ± 2.3 years) and 17 older males (66.4 ± 1.2 years) were recruited. Participants underwent a RE session and a reading session in a counterbalanced order. RE protocol required individuals to perform two sets of 10 repetitions of eight exercises using weights set at 70% of 10-repetition maximum. Attention control was assessed by go/no-go SART with intraindividual variability in reaction times (IIV in RT), in addition to reaction time and accuracy, employed as measures of attention control. Results indicated that IIV in RT was smaller following RE sessions than after reading sessions for both age groups. In addition, RTs were shorter after the exercise session. These findings suggest that RE enhances attention control in adult males and that the size of this effect is not moderated by age.

Paper-based clinical outcome data collection methods have practical limitations when used in clinical settings, as the data are often not summarized in time to facilitate patient–physician communications and therefore cannot be used in clinical decision making. This study aimed to develop a computerized clinical outcome assessment tool (COAT) and evaluate its acceptability, feasibility, and potential clinical applications during clinical encounters for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). The traditional Chinese (TChi) character version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck (FACT-H&N) questionnaire was first transcribed and implemented into a touch-screen computerized administration and reporting system (COAT-HNC for short). Each HNC patient was invited to complete the COAT-HNC during their scheduled clinic visits as part of their clinical care. Upon completion, a structured summary report was generated, and subsequently used for treatment evaluation and planning. A cohort of 385 HNC patients were enrolled. Each scale of the computerized TChi FACT-H&N questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach coefficient alpha ranging from 0.74 to 0.90. The touch-screen-based and audio-capable COAT-HNC was reported to be easy to use. Patients and physicians were able to utilize the summary report during their clinical encounters to discuss treatment progress and to plan care. It is practically feasible to design, develop, and implement the COAT-HNC system in routine HNC care. The COAT-HNC has the potential to become a valuable tool for data collection and management of clinical outcomes, and appears useful for HNC patients. However, larger studies to demonstrate its clinical usefulness are still needed.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to evaluate the role of baseline circulating tumor cells (CTCs) before and during concurrent chemoradiotherapy and attempted to determine the impacts of CTCs on the outcomes in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS CTCs were detected using a negative selection strategy and flow cytometry protocol. RESULTS We observed a significant correlation between baseline CTCs and staging (P = 0.001). The CTC counts were significantly reduced within 2-4 weeks in 47 concurrent chemoradiotherapy responders (P < 0.001). Change of CTC counts correlates with progression-free survival (PFS, P = 0.01) and overall survival (OS, P = 0.01). CTC decline status was an independent prognostic factor in PFS (P = 0.03) and OS (P = 0.05) in multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION In chemoradiotherapy responders, CTCs are significantly reduced. CTC decline within the first month indicates a longer PFS and OS, suggesting that the dynamics of CTCs could be more important than CTC number alone.

Objectives This study proposed that Mu (8–13 Hz) and SMR (12–15 Hz) readings in the sensorimotor cortical area can be used to investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying optimal motor performance. Design This study used a within-subject design. Method Forty expert golfers were recruited to perform 60 putts while their EEGs were recorded. The putting distance was chosen to ensure that approximately 50% of all putts would be missed so that there was a need for constant adjustments to be made during performance. Successful performance was defined as the ball going in the hole. Results (a) Lower Mu power in Cz, and alpha power in Pz and Oz were observed for successful performances compared with unsuccessful performances at T1 (−2000 ∼ −1000 ms); (b) Higher SMR power in Cz was observed for successful performances relative to unsuccessful performances at T2 (−1000 ∼ 0 ms). Conclusions These findings not only support the multi-action plan model (MAP) and the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis, but also reveal the temporal dynamics of the cognitive mechanisms in an optimal-controlled state.

This study investigated the association between exercise type and inhibition of prepotent responses and error detection. Totally, 75 adults (M = 68.88 years) were classified into one of three exerc...

While considerable evidence supporting the positive influence of acute exercise on cognitive inhibition, little is known regarding the underlying cognitive processes. There is also little neuroelectric evidence regarding the effects on older adults of acute exercise-elicited cognitive benefits. Thus, our objective was to explore the possible neural markers underlying improved cognitive inhibition, with particular attention to the N450 and P3 components, following acute exercise. Another aim was to investigate whether cognitive gains seen in young adults are replicated in older adults. Twenty-four young males and 20 older males underwent either a single bout of aerobic exercise or video-watching in counterbalanced order. Afterwards, cognitive inhibition was assessed by the Stroop test. Results revealed that acute exercise resulted in shorter response time regardless of age or congruency. Regarding the neuroeletric data, acute exercise resulted in larger P3 amplitude and smaller N450 amplitude regardless of congruency or age. Further, following exercise, changes in response time interference were correlated with changes in incongruent N450 amplitude. Collectively, acute exercise-facilitated conflict monitoring and attention control, as signified by the N450 and P3 components, may be the underlying processes leading to better Stroop performance, with conflict monitoring having a stronger association with task performance. Further, cognitive gains resulting from acute exercise were found to the same extent in both young and older adults.

Objectives The aim of the current study was two-fold: to examine the effects of acute, moderate intensity resistance exercise (RE) on working memory in young and older males, respectively. Design A two-study approach with a within-subjects design. Methods Study 1 recruited 20 young males aged 21–30 years. Participants underwent two experimental sessions, the exercise session and reading session, in a counterbalanced order. The RE protocol included two sets of 10 repetitions at 70% of 10-repetition maximum of eight muscle exercises. The Sternberg working memory paradigm with two probe types (in-set probes and out-of-set probes) was used as the cognitive task where reaction times (RT) and response accuracy were identified. Study 2 recruited 20 older male adults aged 65–72 years. The methods and experimental procedures were the same as Study 1. Results In Study 1, young males demonstrated shorter RTs after the exercise treatment as compared with the reading treatment for both probe types. In Study 2, older males showed shorter RTs after the exercise treatment as compared with the reading treatment in the out-of-set probes only. Conclusions While acute RE benefited working memory in both young and older males, rather than general facilitation, it was shown to have a disproportionately larger effect on older males for tasks involving higher working memory demands.

Purpose: The physical properties of proton therapy allow for decreased dose delivery to nontarget structures. The purpose of this study was to determine if this translates into a clinical benefit by comparing acute and chronic morbidity between patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who are treated with intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and those treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Materials and Methods: Patients receiving IMPT for nasopharyngeal cancer from 2011-13 were matched in a 2:1 IMPT to IMRT ratio. Matching criteria were, in order, T-stage, N-stage, radiation dose, chemotherapy type, World Health Organization classification, sex, and age. Results: Ten patients treated with IMPT and 20 matched patients treated with IMRT were included. By the end of treatment, 2 IMPT-treated patients (20%) and 13 IMRT-treated patients (65%) required gastrostomy tube (GT) insertion (P = .020). Patients receiving IMPT had significantly lower mean doses to the oral cavity, brain...

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that often develops in adolescence, which impacts patients, families, and society. Although research on the beneficial effects of exercise in patients with schizophrenia is scant, it is worth reviewing the relevant studies in order to gain some insight into finding alternative ways for improvement in patients. We start with discussing the possible aetiology of schizophrenia and then review studies on exercise and schizophrenia. Although there are different and unsettled issues related to the aetiologies of schizophrenia, neuroscience studies have demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia possess abnormal brain structures, with elements such as a smaller hippocampus and abnormal neurotransmitters systems. As for the benefits of exercise, although some researches have shown that exercise can improve the psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia, most of the researches suffer from methodological problems such as too-small sample size, non-random assignment, and inconsisten...

Purpose Acute exercise has been linked to the facilitation of executive function, but little is known regarding executive function assessed by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The present research consisted of two experiments aimed to determine whether acute aerobic exercise influences successive WCST performance. Methods In Study 1, 27 young adults were randomly assigned to the exercise or reading control group and then instructed to perform the WCST before and after assigned treatment. In exercise group, participants completed a single bout aerobic exercise with moderate intensity for 20 min on a stationary bike. A similar experimental protocol was replicated in Study 2 with 24 late middle-aged adults to look for age differences during adulthood and control for a potential ceiling effect at young adult age. Results Although a significant time effect was observed in young adults, both studies revealed that there was no main effect for treatment or an interaction between treatment and time on any of the WCST indices. Conclusion Acute aerobic exercise failed to influence executive function as assessed by the WCST, revealing that this classical neuropsychological test tapping executive function may not be sensitive to acute exercise. Our findings suggest that acute exercise does not broadly affect the entire family of executive functions, or its effect on a specific aspect of executive function may be task-dependent, as proposed by Etnier and Chang (2009).

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by a deviant pattern of brain oscillations during resting state, particularly elevated theta power and increased theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios that are related to cognitive functioning. Physical fitness has been found beneficial to cognitive performance in a wide age population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness and resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations in children with ADHD. EEG was recorded during eyes-open resting for 28 children (23 boys and 5 girls, 8.66 ± 1.10 years) with ADHD, and a battery of physical fitness assessments including flexibility, muscular endurance, power, and agility tests were administered. The results indicated that ADHD children with higher power fitness exhibited a smaller theta/alpha ratio than those with lower power fitness. These findings suggest that power fitness may be associated with improved attentional self-control in children with ADHD.

Our purpose was to examine the prognostic value of post-CRT PET based on the presence or absence of FDG-avid metastatic lymph node(s) and metabolic response of the primary tumor in patients with clinically node-positive ESCC treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT).We identified 108 eligible patients treated by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with or without resection from our prospectively collected database. Absence of FDG-avid metastatic lymph node with at least partial response of the primary tumor on PET scan after initial CRT was defined as the Post-CRT PET favorable group (yPET-F), and otherwise as unfavorable group (yPET-U). The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were performed for survival analyses and multivariable analysis, respectively.The study cohort was comprised of 59 patients receiving dCRT. Forty-five patients receiving trimodality therapy (TMT) comprised the comparative group and four patients were excluded from further analyses for developing interval distant metastasis detected on post-CRT PET scan. The median follow-up for the study cohort was 41 months. On K-M analysis of the study cohort, yPET-F was found to have significantly better OS (2-year: 72.5% vs 13.7%, p 0.01) and DMFS (2-year: 71.6% vs 36.6%, p = 0.01) than yPET-U. In multivariable analysis, yPET-F remained as a strong independent favorable prognosticator on both OS (HR 0.08, p 0.01) and DMFS (HR 0.14, p = 0.02) for the dCRT cohort. Compared with TMT cohort, for yPET-U patients, TMT had better OS (p = 0.03) than dCRT-Operable and dCRT-Operable had superior OS (p = 0.04) than dCRT-Unresectable. For yPET-F patients, there was no difference in both OS (p 0.99) and DMFS (p = 0.92) between these three groups.Absence of FDG-avid metastatic lymph node with at least partial response of the primary tumor on PET scan after CRT (i.e., yPET-F status) prognosticate for excellent OS and DMFS in cN+ ESCC patients treated with dCRT, and might be comparable to TMT.

Background In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of surgical procedures on the body image of head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy and with or without radical surgery. Methods A cross-sectional survey of 150 patients with head and neck cancer was conducted. Sixty patients had nasopharyngeal cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy without surgery, and 90 patients had oral cavity cancer treated with radical surgery plus adjuvant radiotherapy. All participants completed a 10-item Body Image Scale (BIS) questionnaire to assess body image dissatisfaction. Among all patients, the socio-demographic and clinical variables were age, gender, partnership, education, employment, and radical surgery. In surgically-treated patients, the clinical variables were facial skin sacrificed, mouth angle sacrificed, glossectomy, maxillectomy, and mandibulectomy. ANOVAs, t-tests, and multiple regressions were used to evaluate the relationships between these variables and BIS results. Results In all patients, radical surgery was the strongest independent predictor of BIS scores. Surgically-treated patients had significantly worse BIS scores than the patients without surgery. In surgically-treated patients, facial skin sacrificed, mouth angle sacrificed, maxillectomy, and mandibulectomy were significantly associated with body image. According to multivariable analyses, inferior maxillectomy and segmental mandibulectomy were independent prognosticators of a poor BIS score in surgically-treated patients. Conclusion Radical surgery for head and neck cancer patients has a significant impact on their body image, especially for those undergoing facial bone destructive surgery.

A single-subject design was used to examine the influence of one session of neurofeedback training (NFT) on reducing frontal midline theta (Fmθ) amplitude and enhancing golf putting performance. Posttraining, three highly skilled golfers improved in putting score or score stability. Although the Fmθ amplitude during the pre-putt period inconsistently decreased across participants, all golfers exhibited lower Fmθ amplitude during the resting condition following NFT, suggesting that the tonic reduction of Fmθ may play a role in subsequent performance improvement. Overall, these results indicate that a short session of NFT may be an effective method of performance enhancement in some sports.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine whether an aquatic exercise intervention that involves both aerobic and coordinative exercises influences restraint inhibition in children with ADHD. Thirty participants were assigned to either an aquatic exercise or a wait-list control group. Participants were assessed by Go/Nogo Task and motor ability prior to and after an 8-week exercise intervention (twice per week, 90 min per session) or a control intervention. Significant improvements in accuracy associated with the Nogo stimulus and the coordination of motor skills were observed over time in the exercise group compared with the control group. Only main effects of group were found for reaction time and accuracy associated with the Go stimulus. These findings suggest that an exercise program that involves both quantitative and qualitative exercise characteristics facilitates the restraint inhibition component of behavioral inhibition in children with ADHD.

The article How the 2018 US Physical Activity Guidelines are a Call to Promote and Better Understand Acute Physical Activity for Cognitive Function Gains, written by Yu-Kai Chang, Kirk I. Erickson, Emmanuel Stamatakis and Tsung-Min Hung, was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume 49, issue 11, pages 1625–1627 [#-#] the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication.

Objectives The present study was to examine the relationship between exercise type and inhibitory function in older adults using neuroelectric indices. Design A cross-sectional design was employed in the present study. Method Sixty adults (M = 69.42 years) were categorized into open-skill, closed-skill, and irregular exercise groups according to their history of exercise participation. The participants conducted a flanker task while their behavioral performance and event-related brain potentials were assessed. Results The results indicated that regular exercisers, regardless of exercise type, exhibited a faster reaction time across conditions of the flanker task compared to irregular exercisers. For the P300 amplitude of the open-skill exerciser group, the peak amplitude was larger at the vertex site compared to the frontal site, whereas no site differences were observed in the closed-skill and irregular exerciser groups. Conclusions These findings extend current knowledge by suggesting that, for older adults, participation in physical exercise involving increased cognitive demand is associated with better neural efficiency in resource allocation for tasks that require interference control.

During the preparatory period of motor skill, attention is considered as one of the most vital factors for athletic performance. Electroencephalographic (EEG) indices, such as occipital α, have been employed to explore the psychological state during the preparatory period in elite athletes. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in frontal midline theta (Fm θ) power during the aiming period between successful and unsuccessful basketball free throws. Fifteen skilled male basketball players were recruited and asked to perform free throws. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data were collected 2 seconds prior to the initiation of the free throw and segmented into four 0.5-s epochs. The lower theta (θ1, 4–6 Hz) and upper theta (θ2, 6–8 Hz) power values was contrasted between the successful and unsuccessful throws. Two 2 × 4 × 6 (performance × time × electrode) ANOVAs with repeated measures were conducted separately for θ1 and θ2 power. The results indicate that θ1 power at the Fz site and θ2 power at the Fz and the F4 sites fluctuated significantly during the preparatory period for an unsuccessful throw when compared with a successful throw. Additionally, a higher Fm θ2 power was observed at the beginning of the aiming period of a successful throw. This study suggests that a stable arousal and a relatively constant amount of attention to the task prior to motor execution may facilitate athletic performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between exercise mode and executive function and its effect on behavior and neuroelectric activity. Forty-eight older adults were classified into open-skill, closed-skill, and irregular exercise groups based on their experience of exercise participation. Executive function was measured via a task-switching paradigm, in which the behavioral indices and event-related potentials elicited by task-switching were assessed. The results revealed that the exercise groups, regardless of the exercise mode, exhibited faster reaction times in both global and local switches than the irregular exercise group, regardless of the within-task conditions. Similarly, larger P3 amplitudes were observed in both exercise groups compared to the irregular exercise group. Moreover, additional facilitation effects of open-skill exercises on global switch costs were observed, whereas no differences in local switch costs were found among the three groups. The results replicate previous studies that have reported generally improved executive function after participation in exercises; additionally, they extend the current knowledge by indicating that these cognitive improvements in specific aspects of executive function could also be obtained from open-skill exercises.