This study aimed to determine how cognitive control, engaged in a task requiring selective inhibition, is affected by acute steady-state exercise. An adapted version of the Eriksen flanker task, involving three types of trials that varied according to their level of congruency (congruent trials, stimulus-incongruent trials, and response-incongruent trials) was performed during 2 periods of 20-min cycling at a carefully controlled intensity (50% of maximal aerobic power). The results indicated that moderate exercise improves reaction time (RT) performance on the Eriksen flanker task. This facilitating effect appeared to be neither dependent on the nature of the interference (stimulus level conflict vs. response level conflict) nor on the amount of cognitive control engaged in the task (congruent vs. incongruent trials). Distributional RT analyses did not highlight any sign of impairment in the efficiency of cognitive control.

Effect of Acute Exerciseon Cognitive Control RequiredDuring an Eriksen Flanker Task

https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/169219/1/Complete.pdf

Objective measures of functional impairment for degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine: a systematic review of the literature

Introduction: Lumbar spinal stenosis is a frequent indication for spinal surgery. The predictive quality of treadmill testing and MRI for diagnostic verification is not yet clearly defined. The aim of our study was to assess correlations between treadmill testing and MRI findings in the lumbar spine. Methods: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who had been admitted for surgical treatment by means of decompression with or without stabilisation were prospectively examined. We included patients with lumbar spinal stenosis as defined by clinical symptoms like low back and/or leg pain, which increased when walking, and by the area of the dural sac examined by MRI. We excluded patients with clinically manifest peripheral arterial disease, polyneuropathy or musculoskeletal impairments compromising the ability to walk. Treadmill tests were performed using the standardized testing protocoll by Deen at a speed of 0.5 m/sec without inclination. After the onset of symptoms (pain, weakness or dysaesthesia), each patient decided when to end the test. The area of the dural sac and neuroforamina was examined with MRI for the narrowest spinal segment. ODI and VAS were used for clinical assessment. Results: 25 patients were included with a median age of 67 years (Interquartile range IQR 60–72 yrs). In the narrowest spinal segment the median area of the dural sac was 91mm2 (IQR 67–135 mm2). The median ODI was 66 percent (IQR 64–72 percent). The median walking distance in the treadmill test was 70 m (IQR 30–130 m). The distance reached in the treadmill test correlated with the area of the dural sac (Spearman’s rho=0.53) and ODI (rho=0.51), but not with the area of the neuroforamina and VAS. Discussion: The treadmill test helps objectifying pre- and postsurgical clinical complaints and verifying a lumbar spinal stenosis by creating a situation of dynamic strain. Moreover, the treadmill test lets the patient experience his own physical limits and enables the examiner to attain a replicable postoperative assessment. The distance reached in the treadmill test predicts the grade of stenosis in MRI but has a limited diagnostic importance for the level of clinical symptoms in lumbar spinal stenosis.

The diagnostic value of a treadmill test in predicting lumbar spinal stenosis

Considerable literature on the role of attentional focus in motor performance and learning has accumulated for over two decades. We report the results of comprehensive meta-analyses that address the impact of an external focus (EF, on intended movement effects) versus internal focus (IF, on movements of body parts) of attention on the performance and learning of motor skills. Values of effect sizes (ES) from 73 studies with 1,824 participants and 40 studies with 1,274 participants were used for examining the effects of EF versus IF on behavioral outcomes of motor performance and learning (separately for retention and transfer phases) respectively. The EF condition was more effective than the IF condition for performance, Hedges' g value = 0.264 (95% CI [0.217, 0.310]), retention learning, Hedges' g value = 0.583 (95% CI [0.425, 0.741]), and transfer learning, Hedges' g value = 0.584 (95% CI [0.325, 0.842]). Multivariable metaregression analyses on behavioral measures further indicated that neither age group, health status, or skill level, nor their two-way interactions, moderated the ES differences between EF and IF in performance, retention, and transfer models (all p > .100). A secondary analysis on 12 studies with 216 participants that examined the effects of EF versus IF on electromyographic outcomes of motor performance also indicated that EF was associated with more efficient neuromuscular processing, Hedges' g value = 0.833 (95% CI [0.453, 1.213]). From nine studies with 272 participants, performance measured by behavioral outcomes was found to be more effective when a more distal, rather than proximal, EF was used, Hedges' g value = 0.224 (95% CI [0.019, 0.429]). Overall, the meta-analytic results are consistent with prior narrative reviews and indicate that an external focus is superior to an internal focus whether considering tests of motor performance or learning, and regardless of age, health condition, and level of skill expertise. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Valerie Pelleck

Papers

Location versus task relevance: The impact of differing internal focus of attention instructions on motor performance

Fitts’s Law using lower extremity movement: Performance driven outcomes for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Lower Extremity Motor Control: The Impact of Walking-Induced Strain on a Performance-Based Outcome Measure