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Over the last two decades, the functional role of the bilateral anterior temporal lobes (bATLs) has been receiving more attention. They have been associated with semantics and social concept processing, and are regarded as a core region for depression. In the past, the role of the ATL has often been overlooked in semantic models based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) due to geometric distortions in the BOLD signal. However, previous work has unequivocally associated the bATLs with these higher-order cognitive functions following advances in neuroimaging techniques to overcome the geometric distortions. At the same time, the importance of the neural basis of conceptual knowledge in understanding mood disorders became apparent. Theoretical models of the neural basis of mood and anxiety disorders have been classically studied from the emotion perspective, without concentrating on conceptual processing. However, recent work suggests that the ATL, a brain region underlying conceptual knowledge, plays an essential role in mood and anxiety disorders. Patients with anxiety and depression often cope with self-blaming biases and guilt. The theory is that in order to experience guilt, the brain needs to access the related conceptual information via the ATL. This narrative review describes how aberrant interactions of the ATL with the fronto–limbic emotional system could underlie mood and anxiety disorders.

Background: The analysis of the competition in real time is currently one of the most important aspects to develop the sport. The purpose of the analysis should be creating valid and reliable knowledge for coaches to make the best decisions in a situation of competition. Objectives: This study was to determine the inter-observer reliability of the real-time observation tool for handball. Methods: Two groups of two observers each one were required to analyze the men's handball final of the London 2012 Olympic Games (average age: 23.72 ± 2.16 years; experience as handball players: 14.69 ± 1.92 years; experience as coaches: 4.64 ± 4.04 years). The process of training of the observers lasted 22 days, accounting twelve hours of work distributed in 12 training sessions. Results: The reliability showed a very good agreement between the independent observers (Kappa values were 0.96 and 0.90) in the registered events of both teams, and a very good agreement (Kappa values were 0.85 and 0.94) of the registered actions of the goalkeepers. The high coefficient of intra-class correlation with a value of 0.98 and the low value of the standard error with a 0.11 of the actions of the players of both teams showed a high level of inter-observer reliability. Conclusions: These results showed that the tool of observation in handball is reliable for registering the events of a real time match by well-trained observers. With the help of the HandballTAS and using technology, large volumes of real-time data were collected in a simple and easily usable. Keywords: handball; reliability; performance indicators; real time; game analysis

The aim of the current study was (i) to identify how important was a good season start in relation to elite handball teams’ performance, and (ii) to examine if this impact was related to the clubs’ financial budget. The match performances and annual budgets of all teams were collected from the Spanish Professional Handball League during ten seasons. The dependent variable was the difference between the ranking of each team in accordance to the annual budget and the ranking of each team at the end of the season. A k-means cluster analysis classified the clubs according to their budget as High Range Budget Clubs (HRBC), Upper-Mid Range Budget Clubs (UMRBC), Lower-Mid Range Budget Clubs (LMRBC) and Low Range Budget Clubs (LRBC). Data were examined through linear regression models. Overall, the results suggested that the better the team performance at the beginning of the season, the better the ranking at the end of the season. Each position in the ranking above expected in accordance to the budget of the teams in Rounds 3, 4 or 5 improved by 0.47, 0.50 or 0.49, respectively, in the ranking at the end of the season (p

The aim of the study is to analyze the differences between male and female handball players in terms of the response to visual reaction to stimuli located at different positions inside the visual field. The sample (N = 35) consists of 20 women and 15 men. The independent variables are gender and amplitude of the visual field under three experimental conditions (160º, 170º and 180º within the visual field). The dependent variable is the response to visual reaction. The error rate in a dual attention task is used as a control variable. For the error assessment of both the attention and visual field, a dual task procedure is used. ANOVA is used to evaluate differences in the response to visual reaction. Results show that the male players obtained similar values in the error rate of the dual task to those of the female players. There were no gender differences, although statistically significant differences (p < .01) in the responses to visual reaction depending on the experimental condition were found. Results show that gender is a variable which does not influences in the responses to visual reaction, but it does influence the degree of stimulus amplitude located within the player´s visual field. Resumen El objetivo de este estudio es analizar las diferencias entre jugadoras y jugadores de balonmano en la respuesta de reacción visual de estímulos situados dentro del campo visual. La muestra (N = 35) está formada por 20 mujeres y 15 hombres. Las variables independientes son el género y la amplitud del campo visual, bajo tres condiciones experimentales (160º, 170º y 180º dentro del campo visual). La variable dependiente es la respuesta de reacción visual. Como variable control se estableció la tasa de error en una tarea de doble atención. Se utilizó el procedimiento de tarea dual para el registro de errores de la tarea de atención y de la tarea de campo visual. Se aplicó un ANOVA para comprobar las diferencias en la respuesta de reacción visual. Los resultados mostraron que los jugadores obtuvieron valores similares en la tasa de error de la tarea dual que las jugadoras. No se mostraron diferencias de género, aunque sí hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p < .01) en las respuestas de reacción visual según la condición experimental. Los resultados afirman que el género es una variable que no influye en las respuestas de reacción visual, pero sí influye el grado de amplitud de los estímulos situados dentro del campo visual del jugador.

The aim of the study is to analyze the differences between male and female handball players in terms of the response to visual reaction to stimuli located at different positions inside the visual field. The sample (N = 35) consists of 20 women and 15 men. The independent variables are gender and amplitude of the visual field under three experimental conditions (160º, 170º and 180º within the visual field). The dependent variable is the response to visual reaction. The error rate in a dual attention task is used as a control variable. For the error assessment of both the attention and visual field, a dual task procedure is used. ANOVA is used to evaluate differences in the response to visual reaction. Results show that the male players obtained similar values in the error rate of the dual task to those of the female players. There were no gender differences, although statistically significant differences (p < .01) in the responses to visual reaction depending on the experimental condition were found. Results show that gender is a variable which does not influences in the responses to visual reaction, but it does influence the degree of stimulus amplitude located within the player´s visual field.

The aims of this study were: (1) to examine the influence of game location and team quality on performance indicators in elite handball and (2) to analyze the home advantage effect in different gam...