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The rider's ability to consistently coordinate their movements to their horse is a key determinant of performance in equestrian sport. This study investigated the inter-segmental coordination variability between the vertical displacement of a riding simulator and the pitch rotation of 28 competitive female dressage riders' head, trunk, pelvis, and left foot, in simulated medium and extended trot. A statistical non-parametric mapping three-way repeated-measures ANOVA investigated the influence of gait, competition level and segment on coordination variability. There was a significant main effect of gait and segment (p = 0.05), however, no significant effect of competition level. In medium trot, simulator-pelvis coupling was significantly (p

This current study aimed to investigate the impact of drum training on behavior and brain function in autistic adolescents with no prior drumming experience. Thirty-six autistic adolescents were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups. The drum group received individual drum tuition (two lessons per week over an 8-wk period), while the control group did not. All participants attended a testing session before and after the 8-wk period. Each session included a drumming assessment, an MRI scan, and a parent completing questionnaires relating to the participants’ behavioral difficulties. Results showed that improvements in drumming performance were associated with a significant reduction in hyperactivity and inattention difficulties in drummers compared to controls. The fMRI results demonstrated increased functional connectivity in brain areas responsible for inhibitory control, action outcomes monitoring, and self-regulation. In particular, seed-to-voxel analyses revealed an increased functional connectivity in the right inferior frontal gyrus and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A multivariate pattern analysis demonstrated significant changes in the medial frontal cortex, the left and right paracingulate cortex, the subcallosal cortex, the left frontal pole, the caudate, and the left nucleus accumbens. In conclusion, this study investigates the impact of a drum-based intervention on neural and behavioral outcomes in autistic adolescents. We hope that these findings will inform further research and trials into the potential use of drum-based interventions in benefitting clinical populations with inhibition-related disorders and emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Static assessment and grouping of riders by competition level are prevalent in equestrian coaching practice and research. This study explored sagittal pelvic tilt in 35 competitive dressage riders to analyse the relationship between static and dynamic postures and assess the interaction of competition level. Riders were assessed using optical motion capture on a riding simulator at halt and in walk, trot, and left and right canter. Mean, minimum and maximum pelvic tilt, and range of motion (ROM) were measured as the pitch rotation of a rigid body formed by markers placed on the rider's left/right anterior and posterior superior iliac spines and sacrum, averaged over six time-normalised strides. Three key results emerged: (1) there are correlations between the rider's mean pelvic tilt in simulated walk, trot and canter, but not at halt; (2) mean pelvic tilt values are not significantly influenced by competition level (

It is unclear to what extent cerebellar networks show long-term plasticity and accompanied changes in cortical structures. Using drumming as a demanding multimodal motor training, we compared cerebellar lobular volume and white matter microstructure, as well as cortical thickness of 15 healthy non-musicians before and after learning to drum, and 16 age matched novice control participants. After 8 weeks of group drumming instruction, 3 ×30 minutes per week, we observed the cerebellum significantly changing its grey (volume increase of left VIIIa, relative decrease of VIIIb and vermis Crus I volume) and white matter microstructure in the inferior cerebellar peduncle. These plastic cerebellar changes were complemented by changes in cortical thickness (increase in left paracentral, right precuneus and right but not left superior frontal thickness), suggesting an interplay of cerebellar learning with cortical structures enabled through cerebellar pathways.

Objectives: Drumming may have therapeutic and learning benefits but there exists little causal evidence regarding the benefits for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Methods: Six EBD pupils (EBD Drum) and six peers (Peer Drum) were given 2, 30-min rock drumming lessons per week, over 5 weeks. Six matched individuals received no drumming instruction (3 = EBD Control; 3 = Peer Control). An exploratory, mixed-methods analysis was used to explore quantitative changes in skills and qualitative perspectives of the teaching staff. All pupils were tested two times (pretest and posttest) on drumming ability and Motor skills (Movement Assessment Battery for Children, version 2). Teacher’s rating of social behavior (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) was tested two times (pretest and retention). Results: Significant differences in total SDQ difficulties between the four groups (χ2(3) = 8.210, p = 0.042) and the hyperactivity subscale (χ2(3) = 10.641, p = 0.014) were observed. The EBD Drum group had greater reductions in total difficulties compared to the Peer Drum (p = 0.009) group and specifically greater reductions in hyperactivity compared to Peer Drum (p = 0.046) and the EBD Control (p = 0.006) group. In follow-up interviews, staff spoke positively about changes in pupil’s attitudes toward learning and social confidence. Conclusions: The positive changes to social and behavioral skills reported in this pilot study are similar to those recorded for other music modalities.

Neuroimaging methods have recently been used to investigate plasticity-induced changes in brain structure. However, little is known about the dynamic interactions between different brain regions after extensive coordinated motor learning such as drumming. In this article, we have compared the resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) in 15 novice healthy participants before and after a course of drumming (30-min drumming sessions, 3 days a week for 8 weeks) and 16 age-matched novice comparison participants. To identify brain regions showing significant FC differences before and after drumming, without a priori regions of interest, a multivariate pattern analysis was performed. Drum training was associated with an increased FC between the posterior part of bilateral superior temporal gyri (pSTG) and the rest of the brain (i.e., all other voxels). These regions were then used to perform seed-to-voxel analysis. The pSTG presented an increased FC with the premotor and motor regions, the right parietal lobe and a decreased FC with the cerebellum. Perspectives and the potential for rehabilitation treatments with exercise-based intervention to overcome impairments due to brain diseases are also discussed.

Highly aerobically trained individuals are unable to achieve maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) during exhaustive running lasting ~2 min, instead V̇O2 plateaus below V̇O2max after ~1 min. Hypoxia offers the opportunity to study the (V̇O2) response to an exhaustive run relative to a hypoxia induced reduction in V̇O2max. The aim of this study was to explore whether there is a difference in the percentage of V̇O2max achieved (during a 2 min exhaustive run) in normoxia and hypoxia. Fourteen competitive middle distance runners (normoxic V̇O2max 67.0 ± 5.2 ml.kg−1.min−1) completed exhaustive treadmill ramp tests and constant work rate (CWR) tests in normoxia and hypoxia (FiO2 0.13). The V̇O2 data from the CWR tests were modeled using a single exponential function. End exercise normoxic CWR V̇O2 was less than normoxic V̇O2max (86 ± 6% ramp, P < 0.001). During the hypoxic CWR test, hypoxic V̇O2max was achieved (102 ± 8% ramp, P = 0.490). The phase II time constant was greater in hypoxia (12.7 ± 2.8 s) relative to normoxia (10.4 ± 2.6 s) (P = 0.029). The results demonstrate that highly aerobically trained individuals cannot achieve V̇O2max during exhaustive severe intensity treadmill running in normoxia, but can achieve the lower V̇O2max in hypoxia despite a slightly slower V̇O2 response.

To compare the phase II oxygen uptake time constant (τV'O(2)) and V'O(2) mean response time (V'O(2)MRT) in overweight (OW) and non-OW (NO) children during moderate intensity exercise.Between subjects where participants completed a maximal ramp exercise test on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer to determine peak V'O(2) (V'O(2peak)) and gas exchange threshold (GET). Gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath using a mass spectrometer. On subsequent visits, 6 square-wave transitions (2 per day) from 0 W to 90% GET were completed. Individual phase II τV'O(2) and V'O(2)MRTs were estimated from time aligned average V'O(2) traces.Eleven OW (11.8±0.4 years) and 12 NO (11.9±0.4 years) children were recruited to the study. The OW group was significantly heavier (62.9±9.7 vs 39.4±5.8 kg, P0.001), taller (1.58±0.05 vs 1.47±0.07 m, P0.001) and had a higher body mass index (25.8±3.4 vs 18.3±1.8 kg m(-2), P0.001).Both τV'O(2) (30.2±9.6 vs 22.8±7.1 s, P0.05) and V'O(2)MRT (43.5±10.7 vs 36.3±5.3 s, P0.05) were significantly slower in OW compared with NO children; absolute V'O(2peak) was higher in the OW compared with NO group (2.23±0.04 vs 1.74±0.04 l min(-1), P0.05); mass relative V'O(2peak) was lower in OW compared with NO children (35.9±8.3 vs 43.8±6.2 ml kg(-1) min(-1), P0.05); allometrically scaled V'O(2peak) was similar between OW and NO groups whether relative to body mass(0.67) (139.8±29.1 vs 147.2±23.9 ml kg(-67) min(-1)) or stature(3) (576.0±87.2 vs 544.9±84.9 ml m(-3) min(-1)) (P0.05); absolute V'O(2) at GET was similar between OW and NO groups (0.94±0.24 vs 0.78±0.27 l min(-1), P0.05); GET expressed as percentage of V'O(2peak) was similar between the groups (42.0±0.1 vs 44.8±0.1%, P0.05).These findings demonstrate impairment in the factors determining V'O(2) kinetics in OW children at a relatively young age. Furthermore, assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness using peak exercise values is likely to be misleading and not useful when designing exercise programmes for OW children.

Objective The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of acute, short-duration exercise on the performance of simple and choice visual reaction and movement times. Method Following an incremental test to exhaustion to determine exercise intensities, 12 male participants completed simple and choice reaction tests on a cycle ergometer where both reaction time and movement time were measured, with each test being performed on a separate day. Tests were performed at rest, moderate, heavy and severe intensities. Result For reaction time, a 2-way (reaction time complexity × exercise intensity) repeated measures Analysis of Variance demonstrated a significant interaction effect ( p = 0.02) and polynomial contrasts demonstrated a linear effect for choice reaction time ( p p = 0.01) (with movement time fastest in the moderate to heavy domains). There was a significant main effect for complexity in both reaction ( p p = 0.002) time. Conclusion The results of this study showed that simple and choice reaction times were affected differently by acute, short-duration exercise of differing intensities. The movement time data differ from previous research and show a quadratic effect rather than a linear one.

Previous investigations have revealed that in well-trained middle-distance runners, oxygen uptake (VO2) does not attain maximal values (VO2max) in exhaustive treadmill trials where the VO2 demand exceeds VO2max. To date, this shortfall in the VO2 attained has been demonstrated in trials as short as 2 min in duration. In this study, we investigated whether a reduction in exhaustive test duration influences the VO2 attained during running on a treadmill. Six middle-distance runners participated in the study, completing an exhaustive 400 m and 800 m trial. These trials, together with a progressive test to determine VO2max, were completed in a counterbalanced order. Oxygen uptakes attained during the 400 m and 800 m trials were compared to examine the influence of exhaustive test duration. A plateau in VO2 was observed in all participants for the progressive test, demonstrating the attainment of VO2max. The mean speed, duration, and resulting distance in the constant-speed exhaustive trials were 25.8 km h(-1) (s=1.2), 55.8 s (s=2.3), and 400.2 m (s=20.2) for the 400 m trial, and 24.3 km h(-1) (s=0.8), 108.4 s (s=21.2), and 730.1 m (s=129.1) for the 800 m trial, respectively. A paired-samples t-test revealed a significantly different (P=0.018)%VO2max was attained for the 400 m (85.7%, s=3.0) and 800 m (89.1%, s=5.0) trials. In conclusion, VO2 did not reach VO2max during the exhaustive constant-speed 400 m and 800 m trials, but the test duration does influence the%VO2max achieved. Specifically, the VO2 attained becomes progressively further below VO2max as trial duration is reduced, such that 89% and 86% VO2max is achieved in exhaustive 800 m and 400 m constant-speed trials, respectively.

Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation, [1]. Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. AIMs: This study investigated social support, body image perception and depressive symptoms by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was a cross sectional survey. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria.2500 anonymous questionnaire was sent to students during a class lecture, 1549 responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity and 388 students did not return their questionnaire. The variables examined were, demographic, income status, social support, body image perception and depressive symptoms. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: The result showed that depression indicated significant differences by gender and ethnicity, with students from the Hausa ethnic group reporting depression more than other ethnic groups, and female students more than males. Body image indicated a sex*ethnicity interaction effect for theideal female body image. Further analysis of the data suggested that Igbo males and Yoruba females’ preferred bigger female body size. Irrespective of ethnicity, the study indicated that more female students preferred bigger female body sizes than males. With regard to social support and monthly income, the result indicated sex*ethnicity interaction effects, where female students from the Hausa ethnic group reported better social support and monthly income. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample were poorer than those of male students and female students from the Hausa ethnic group demonstrating the worst possible health outcome, despite a morefavorable social support and income status. This study made a major contribution to the understanding that people who live among regions with conflict and violence may report poor psychological health compared to those that live in a conflict free zones.

Background: The health determinant model indicates that certain socio-cultural, socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors influence health status and wellbeing of any population group in any given nation Previous studies have suggested the need for regional and interregional comparison of health inequalities due to the interaction of these factors. Aims: This study investigated mental health indicators and cognitive health status by sex and ethnicity among university students in Nigeria. Method: The study was cross sectional. Full time university students were recruited from six universities within the major three ethnic groups in Nigeria. Data collection was with an anonymous questionnaire. One thousand five hundred and forty-nine responses were valid, while 563 responses were rejected for missing data especially sex and ethnicity. The variables examined were, psychosomatic health complaints and cognitive behaviours. Descriptive tests, chi-square tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were conducted. Results: With regard to mental health indicators, the results showed that while depression indicate significant differences by gender and ethnicity, life satisfaction showed significant differences by ethnicity alone. Cognitive health status showed sex*ethnicity interaction effect for self-efficacy, sense of coherence and powerful others locus of control. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mental health of female students in the sample was poorer than those of male students; with female students from the Hausa ethnic group, demonstrating the worst possible health outcome.

Despite the vigorous nature of rock/pop drumming, there are no precise data on the energy expenditure of this activity. The aim of this study was to quantify the energy cost of rock/pop drumming. Fourteen male drummers (mean +/- SD; age 27 +/- 8 yrs.) completed an incremental drumming test to establish the relationship between energy expenditure and heart rate for this activity and a ramped cycle ergometer test to exhaustion as a criterion measure for peak values (oxygen uptake and heart rate). During live concert performance heart rate was continuously measured and used to estimate energy expenditure (from the energy expenditure vs. heart rate data derived from the drumming test). During concert performance, estimated energy expenditure (mean +/- SD) was 623 +/- 168 kcal(.)h(-1) (8.1 +/- 2.2 METs) during performances of 38.6 +/- 15.6 min, and drummers achieved a peak heart rate of 186 +/- 16 b.min(-1) During the drumming test participants attained 78.7 +/- 8.3% of the cycle ergometer peak oxygen uptake. Rock/pop drumming represents a relatively high-intensity form of physical activity and as such involves significant energy expenditure. Rock/pop drumming should be considered as a viable alternative to more traditional forms of physical activity.

We tested the hypothesis that prior heavy-intensity exercise reduces the difference between asymptotic oxygen uptake (VO2) and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) during exhaustive severe-intensity running lasting ≍2 minutes. Ten trained runners each performed 2 ramp tests to determine peak VO2 (VO2peak) and speed at venti-latory threshold. They performed exhaustive square-wave runs lasting ≍2 minutes, preceded by either 6 minutes of moderate-intensity running and 6 minutes rest (SEVMOD) or 6 minutes of heavy-intensity running and 6 minutes rest (SEVHEAVY). Two transitions were completed in each condition. VO2 was determined breath by breath and averaged across the 2 repeats of each test; for the square-wave test, the averaged VO2 response was then modeled using a monoexponential function. The amplitude of the VO2 response to severe-intensity running was not different in the 2 conditions (SEVMOD vs SEVHEAVY; 3925 ± 442 vs 3997 ± 430 mL/min, P = .237), nor was the speed of the response (τ; 9.2 ± 2.1 vs 10.0 ± 2.1 seconds, P = .177). VO2peak from the square-wave tests was below that achieved in the ramp tests (91.0% ± 3.2% and 92.0% ± 3.9% VO2peak, P < .001). There was no difference in time to exhaustion between conditions (110.2 ± 9.7 vs 111.0 ± 15.2 seconds, P = .813). The results show that the primary VO2 response is unaffected by prior heavy exercise in running performed at intensities at which exhaustion will occur before a slow component emerges.

Purpose:Previously it has been observed that, in well-trained 800-m athletes, VO2max is not attained during middle-distance running events on a treadmill, even when a race-type pacing strategy is adopted. Therefore, the authors investigated whether specialization in a particular running distance (400-m or 800-m) influences the VO2 attained during running on a treadmill.Methods:Six 400-m and six 800-m running specialists participated in the study. A 400-m trial and a progressive test to determine VO2max were completed in a counterbalanced order. Oxygen uptakes attained during the 400-m trial were compared to examine the influence of specialist event.Results:A VO2 plateau was observed in all participants for the progressive test, demonstrating the attainment of VO2max. The VO2max values were 56.2 ± 4.7 and 69.3 ± 4.5 mL · kg−1 · min−1 for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively (P = .0003). Durations for the 400-m trial were 55.1 ± 4.2 s and 55.8 ± 2.3 s for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively. The VO2 responses achieved were 93.1% ± 2.0% and 85.7% ± 3.0% VO2max for the 400-m- and 800-m-event specialists, respectively (P = .001).Conclusions:These results demonstrate that specialist running events do appear to influence the percentage of VO2max achieved in the 400-m trial, with the 800-m specialists attaining a lower percentage of VO2max than the 400-m specialists. The 400-m specialists appear to compensate for a lower VO2max by attaining a higher percentage VO2max during a 400-m trial.

Traditionally, it has been assumed that during middle-distance running oxygen uptake (VO2) reaches its maximal value (VO2max) providing the event is of a sufficient duration; however, this assumption is largely based on observations in individuals with a relatively low VO2max. The aim of this study was to determine whether VO2max is related to the VO2 attained (i.e. VO2peak) during middle-distance running on a treadmill. Fifteen well-trained male runners (age 23.3 +/- 3.8 years, height 1.80 +/- 0.10 m, body mass 76.9 +/- 10.6 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. The participants undertook two 800-m trials to examine the reproducibility of the VO2 response. These two trials, together with a progressive test to determine VO2max, were completed in a randomized order. Oxygen uptake was determined throughout each test using 15-s Douglas bag collections. Following the application of a 30-s rolling average, the highest VO2 during the progressive test (i.e. VO2max) was compared with the highest VO2 during the 800-m trials (i.e. VO2peak) to examine the relationship between VO2max and the VO2 attained in the 800-m trials. For the 15 runners, VO2max was 58.9 +/- 7.1 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). Two groups were formed using a median split based on VO2max. For the high and low VO2max groups, VO2max was 65.7 +/- 3.0 and 52.4 +/- 1.8 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) respectively. The limits of agreement (95%) for test-retest reproducibility for the VO2 attained during the 800-m trials were +/- 3.5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for a VO2peak of 50.6 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (the mean VO2peak for the low VO2max group) and +/- 2.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for a VO2peak of 59.0 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (the mean VO2peak for the high VO2max group), with a bias in VO2peak between the 800-m runs (i.e. the mean difference) of 1.2 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). The VO2peak for the 800-m runs was 54.8 +/- 4.9 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for all 15 runners. For the high and low VO2max groups, VO2peak was 59.0 +/- 3.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (i.e. 90% VO2max) and 50.6 +/- 2.0 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (i.e. 97% VO2max) respectively. The negative relationship (-0.77) between VO2max and % VO2max attained for all 15 runners was significant (P = 0.001). These results demonstrate that (i) reproducibility is good and (ii) that VO2max is related to the %VO2max achieved, with participants with a higher VO2max achieving a lower %VO2max in an 800-m trial on a treadmill.

The oxygen uptake (VO2) attained during a constant speed 800-m pace trial on a treadmill is less than the maximal VO2 (VO2max) in male middle-distance runners with a high VO2max (i.e.,65 ml x kg (-1) x min (-1)). We therefore investigated whether the VO2 attained was influenced by the pacing strategy adopted. Eight male middle-distance runners (age 25.8 +/- 3.3 years; height 1.78 +/- 0.10 m; mass 67.8 +/- 4.7 kg) with a personal best 800-m time of 112.0 +/- 3.3 s volunteered to participate. Subjects undertook a speed ramped progressive test to determine VO2max and three 800-m pace runs to exhaustion all in a randomised order. The three 800-m pace runs included constant speed, acceleration, and race simulation runs. Oxygen uptake was determined throughout each test using 15-s Douglas bag collections. Following the application of a 30-s rolling average, the highest VO2 during the progressive test (i.e., VO2max) and the highest VO2 during the 800-m pace runs (i.e., VO2peak) were compared. For the eight runners, VO2max was 67.2 +/- 4.3 ml x kg (-1) x min (-1) x VO2peak was 60.1 +/- 5.1 ml x kg (-1) x min (-1), 61.1 +/- 5.2 ml x kg (-1) x min (-1), and 62.2 +/- 4.9 ml x kg (-1) x min (-1), yielding values of 89.3 +/- 2.4 %, 90.8 +/- 2.8 %, and 92.5 +/- 3.1 % VO2max for the constant speed, acceleration and race simulation runs, respectively. Across runs, repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant effect (p = 0.048). Trend analysis identified a significant linear trend (p = 0.025) with the % VO2max attained being higher for the acceleration run than the constant speed run, and higher still for the race simulation run. These results demonstrate that in middle-distance runners a) pacing strategy influences the VO2 attained, with a race simulation run elevating the VO2 attained compared with other pacing strategies, and b) regardless of pacing strategy the VO2 attained in an 800-m pace run on a treadmill is less than VO2max.

We report a case of overdrinking-induced hyponatraemia from the 2007 London Marathon. The patient was a 37-year-old experienced female marathon runner. She was brought to the emergency room more than 6 h after completing the marathon suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and confusion, and was unable to recall any detail of the race. An arterial blood sample confirmed hyponatraemia ([Na(+)] 117 mmol.l(-1)) associated with hypokalaemia (serum potassium concentration 3.4 mmol.l(-1)) and respiratory alkalosis (pH 7.62, bicarbonate 16.1 mmol.l(-1) and Pco(2) 2.14 kPa). A diagnosis of uncomplicated exercise-associated hyponatraemia due to voluntary overdrinking was made and the patient was catherised and treated with a slow (1 h) intra-venous infusion of 500 ml of 1.8% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. The following morning her serum [Na(+)] had normalised at 135 mmol.l(-1) and she was discharged in the afternoon. She has recovered fully without sequelae.