10 Fakultät Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/11
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Item Open Access The effect of multidirectional loading on contractions of the M. medial gastrocnemius(2021) Ryan, David S.; Stutzig, Norman; Helmer, Andreas; Siebert, Tobias; Wakeling, James M.Research has shown that compression of muscle can lead to a change in muscle force. Most studies show compression to lead to a reduction in muscle force, although recent research has shown that increases are also possible. Based on methodological differences in the loading design between studies, it seems that muscle length and the direction of transverse loading influence the effect of muscle compression on force production. Thus, in our current study we implement these two factors to influence the effects of muscle loading. In contrast to long resting length of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) in most studies, we use a shorter MG resting length by having participant seated with their knees at a 90° angle. Where previous studies have used unidirectional loads to compress the MG, in this study we applied a multidirectional load using a sling setup. Multidirectional loading using a sling setup has been shown to cause muscle force reductions in previous research. As a result of our choices in experimental design we observed changes in the effects of muscle loading compared to previous research. In the present study we observed no changes in muscle force due to muscle loading. Muscle thickness and pennation angle showed minor but significant increases during contraction. However, no significant changes occurred between unloaded and loaded trials. Fascicle thickness and length showed different patterns of change compared to previous research. We show that muscle loading does not result in force reduction in all situations and is possibly linked to differences in muscle architecture and muscle length.Item Open Access Digital assessments of motor-cognitive performance in young and older adults : behavioral and neural correlates(2024) Park, Soo-Yong; Schott, Nadja (Prof. Dr.)Today's technological advances enable us to have a healthy life. Maintaining mental and physical health is one of the most critical aspects of our healthy life with increasing age. Moreover, one of the many ways to stay healthy is to detect problems of motor or cognitive impairment early and accurately in terms of assessment. Digital assessment can help uncover subtle differences in specific motor and cognitive declines. This early detection can lead to an adequate intervention on time, allowing for preliminary prevention before symptoms occur. From a different perspective, exercise effect on our bodies and minds is indescribable. Physical exercise induces cellular and molecular changes in our body, which positively change the structure and function of the brain. These positive changes in our brains can result in improved cognitive function. These effects are attributed to physical activity over a long-term period. However, understanding the acute effects of exercise-induced changes is also essential to potentially explain chronic effects. Also, identifying exercise-induced cortical activation patterns should be considered for cognitive function enhancements. For this reason, it is necessary to investigate the effect of exercise protocol composition, such as exercise intensity and duration, on cognitive function based on neural correlates. Based on these aspects, the present thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part (Part I: Assessment), the paper-pencil version of Trail-Making-Test (ppTMT), a neuropsychological assessment commonly used to investigate cognitive functions, was compared with the digital Trail-Making-Test (dTMT) developed on a tablet version. We verified its reliability and validity by comparing these two versions of TMT. Also, the dTMT was applied in patients with Parkinson's disease to detect subtle differences in fine motor and cognitive performance deterioration. As a strength of the dTMT, the measurement of additional variables for examining the applicability to the clinical field allowed the decomposition of cognitive abilities and observation of changes in performance during the task. The second part (Part II: exercise intervention) investigated the acute effects of exercise-induced cortical activation on cognitive performance using the dTMT. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure hemodynamic response in the brain's frontal lobe and motor cortex for immediate and sustained effects of acute exercise with different exercise intensities. Finally, the interaction of these two parts (assessment and exercise intervention) and the neural mechanisms led to the following discussions. First, we confirmed the value of digital assessment as an early detection tool for motor and cognitive impairment. Second, we identified which exercise intervention positively induces cortical changes in our brain by accompanying the improvement of cognitive performance. The present thesis discussed the role of digital measurement and exercise intervention in maintaining our health and in which direction we should go for our future.Item Open Access Das untere Sprunggelenk als biomechanischer Einflussfaktor : Entwicklung und Anwendung eines IMU-Systems zur Beschreibung der Orientierung der Achsen des Sprunggelenks(2020) Schlechtweg, Sascha; Alt, Wilfried (Prof. Dr.)Item Open Access Effects of acute exercise at different intensities on fine motor‐cognitive dual‐task performance while walking : a functional near‐infrared spectroscopy study(2021) Park, Soo‐Yong; Reinl, Maren; Schott, NadjaStudies on the effects of acute exercises on cognitive functions vary greatly and depend on the duration and intensity of exercise and the type of cognitive tasks. This study aimed to investigate the neural correlates that underpin the acute effects of high‐intensity interval (HIIE) versus moderate‐intensity continuous exercise (MCE) on fine motor‐cognitive performance while walking (dual‐task, DT) in healthy young adults. Twenty‐nine healthy right‐handers (mean age: 25.1 years ± 4.04; 7 female) performed the digital trail‐making‐test (dTMT) while walking (5 km/h) before and after acute exercise. During task performance, the hemodynamic activation of the frontopolar area (FPA), dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), and motor cortex (M1) was recorded using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Both HIIE and MCE resulted in improved dTMT performance, as reflected by an increase in the number of completed circles and a reduction in the time within and between circuits (reflecting improvements in working memory, inhibition, and decision making). Notably, HIIE evoked higher cortical activity on all brain areas measured in the present study than the MCE group. To our knowledge, these results provide the first empirical evidence using a mobile neuroimaging approach that both HIIE and MCE improve executive function during walking, likely mediated by increased activation of the task‐related area of the prefrontal cortex and the ability to effectively use, among other things, high fitness levels as neural enrichment resources.Item Open Access Associations of motor performance and executive functions: comparing children with Down syndrome to chronological and mental age-matched controls(2022) Klotzbier, Thomas J.; Holfelder, Benjamin; Schott, NadjaBackground. Children with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit lower motor and cognitive performance than typically developing children (TD). Although there is a relationship between these two developmental domains, only a few studies have addressed this association in children with DS compared to groups of the same chronological age (CA) or mental age (MA) within one study. This study aimed to fill this research gap. Method and Procedures. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 and the Trail-Making Test was used to assess motor and cognitive performances in 12 children (M = 10.5 ± 10.08) with DS, 12 CA-matched, and 12 MA-matched controls. Results. There are significant group differences in the motor dimension (total test score; p < 0.001, η2p = 0.734), for processing speed (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.396), and cognitive flexibility (p < 0.001, η2p = 0.498). Between TD-CA and both other groups, the differences in the magnitude of correlations for the motor dimension balance are also significant (compared to DS: z = −2.489; p = 0.006, and to TD-MA: z = −3.12; p < 0.001). Conclusions. Our results suggest that the relationships depend on the studied cognitive and motor skills. It seems crucial to select a wide range of tasks for both domains that are as isolated as possible for future studies, to better understand the relationships between cognitive and motor skills in children with DS.Item Open Access Assessing basic and higher-level psychological needs satisfied through physical activity(2023) Dunton, Genevieve F.; Do, Bridgette; Crosley-Lyons, Rachel; Naya, Christine H.; Hewus, Micaela; Kanning, MartinaItem Open Access The effects of the combination of high-intensity interval training with 3D-multiple object tracking task on perceptual-cognitive performance: a randomized controlled intervention trial(2021) Park, Soo-Yong; Klotzbier, Thomas J.; Schott, NadjaThe ability to process goal-related visual information while ignoring goal-irrelevant information is essential for the human attention system. The study aimed to investigate how perceptual-cognitive performance was affected during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) using a 3D-multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) task called Neurotracker (NT). In an experimental design, 42 healthy adults (age M = 23.3 SD = 2.94, VO2max 52.8 ± 5.66 mL·kg-1·min-1) were randomly assigned to an intervention (HIIT + NT, NT, HIIT) or control group. NT performance (20 trials per session) was measured pre-and post-test (at 5, 15, and 25 min while running on the treadmill). The participants trained twice a week for a 4-week intervention period. There was a significant interaction effect between pre/post-test and groups regarding perceptual-cognitive performance, indicating similar enhancements in the HIIT + NT and the NT group during exercise. HIIT influences physical fitness but did not show any impact on perceptual-cognitive performance. Due to the specific NT task characteristics, improved physical abilities may not directly impact sport-specific perceptual-cognitive performance. Our findings suggest that training resulted in substantial task-specific gains. Therefore, combination training may be proposed as a training program to improve perceptual-cognitive, and physical performance in a time-efficient way.Item Open Access Influence of layer separation on the determination of stomach smooth muscle properties(2021) Borsdorf, Mischa; Böl, Markus; Siebert, TobiasUniaxial tensile experiments are a standard method to determine the contractile properties of smooth muscles. Smooth muscle strips from organs of the urogenital and gastrointestinal tract contain multiple muscle layers with different muscle fiber orientations, which are frequently not separated for the experiments. During strip activation, these muscle fibers contract in deviant orientations from the force-measuring axis, affecting the biomechanical characteristics of the tissue strips. This study aimed to investigate the influence of muscle layer separation on the determination of smooth muscle properties. Smooth muscle strips, consisting of longitudinal and circumferential muscle layers (whole-muscle strips [WMS]), and smooth muscle strips, consisting of only the circumferential muscle layer (separated layer strips [SLS]), have been prepared from the fundus of the porcine stomach. Strips were mounted with muscle fibers of the circumferential layer inline with the force-measuring axis of the uniaxial testing setup. The force–length (FLR) and force–velocity relationships (FVR) were determined through a series of isometric and isotonic contractions, respectively. Muscle layer separation revealed no changes in the FLR. However, the SLS exhibited a higher maximal shortening velocity and a lower curvature factor than WMS. During WMS activation, the transversally oriented muscle fibers of the longitudinal layer shortened, resulting in a narrowing of this layer. Expecting volume constancy of muscle tissue, this narrowing leads to a lengthening of the longitudinal layer, which counteracted the shortening of the circumferential layer during isotonic contractions. Consequently, the shortening velocities of the WMS were decreased significantly. This effect was stronger at high shortening velocities.Item Open Access Editorial - the stretch-shortening cycle of active muscle and muscle-tendon complex : what, why and how it increases muscle performance?(2021) Seiberl, Wolfgang; Hahn, Daniel; Power, Geoffrey A.; Fletcher, Jared R.; Siebert, TobiasItem Open Access Cross-bridge mechanics estimated from skeletal muscles’ work-loop responses to impacts in legged locomotion(2021) Christensen, Kasper B.; Günther, Michael; Schmitt, Syn; Siebert, TobiasLegged locomotion has evolved as the most common form of terrestrial locomotion. When the leg makes contact with a solid surface, muscles absorb some of the shock-wave accelerations (impacts) that propagate through the body. We built a custom-made frame to which we fixated a rat (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar) muscle (m. gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis: GAS) for emulating an impact. We found that the fibre material of the muscle dissipates between 3.5 and 23μJ ranging from fresh, fully active to passive muscle material, respectively. Accordingly, the corresponding dissipated energy in a half-sarcomere ranges between 10.4 and 68zJ, respectively. At maximum activity, a single cross-bridge would, thus, dissipate 0.6% of the mechanical work available per ATP split per impact, and up to 16% energy in common, submaximal, activities. We also found the cross-bridge stiffness as low as 2.2pNnm-1, which can be explained by the Coulomb-actuating cross-bridge part dominating the sarcomere stiffness. Results of the study provide a deeper understanding of contractile dynamics during early ground contact in bouncy gait.