Finger Tapping Test Research Articles

Evaluation of the functional state of taekwondo athletes 7-13 years old according to the indicators of the finger-tapping test

Background and Study Aim. The functional state of organs and systems determines the level of preparedness of athletes in modern sports. The evaluation of the state of the central nervous system is of particular importance. The purpose of the study is a comparative analysis of the results of the tapping test of taekwondo athletes of different ages. Material and Methods. 42 taekwondo athletes were divided into groups of 14 people depending on age: group 1 - (7.50±0.14) years, group 2 - (10.07±0.22) years, group 3 - (13.36±0.27) years. Participants of groups 1 and 2 were engaged in the amateur level, and group 3 had a skill level of 2 Gup - 1 Dan. A special computer program for devices with the iOS operating system was used. An Apple tablet was used - iPad, 4th generation with a screen diagonal of 9.7 inches. The finger-tapping test was carried out for 60 s, 12 subtests of 5 s each. For analysis, we evaluated the total number of depressions during the entire test, the average number of depressions per 5 s, the number of depressions in each subtest, the duration of depressions in each subtest, and the dynamic performance index (DPI). Group results were compared using the nonparametric Rosenbaum test (Q) and sign test (z). Results. It was found that the athletes of the 2nd group performed more depressions in the test as a whole and in 11 out of 12 subtests compared with the athletes of the 1st group. Comparison of the middle and senior groups also confirmed the best results of the athletes of the senior group in 6 subtests out of 12. The senior athletes had a longer duration of depressions in 2 subtests. The most pronounced differences were established when comparing the results of the junior and senior groups. A significant excess in the number of depressions was confirmed for senior athletes in all subtests. The duration of depressing was longer in senior athletes in 2 subtests. A significant reduction in the number of depressions from the beginning to the end of the test was determined. Changes in the duration of depressions were opposite, and the time increased from the beginning to the end of the test. Conclusions. The presence of a direct dependence of the results of the finger-tapping test of taekwondo athletes on age is determined. An increase in the number of depressions in the test, an increase in the integral criterion - an indicator of dynamic performance was determined. The results reflect an increase in the strength of nervous processes, positive changes in the functional state under the influence of regular training loads. This condition should be evaluated as a predictor of the success of taekwondo athletes. The computer version of the test is mobile, informative and valid. It can be used in monitoring the functional state of combat sports athletes.

Feasibility of using the Leap Motion Controller to administer conventional motor tests: a proof-of-concept study

Although upper-limb movement impairments are common, the primary tools for assessing and tracking impairments in clinical settings are limited. Markerless motion capture (MMC) technology has the potential to provide a large amount of quantitative, objective movement data in routine clinical use. Many past studies have focused on whether MMC are sufficiently accurate. However, another necessary step is to create meaningful clinical tests that can be administered via MMC in a robust manner. Four conventional upper-limb motor tests common in clinical assessments (visually guided movement, finger tapping, postural tremor, and reaction time) were modified so they can be administered via a particular MMC sensor, the Leap Motion Controller (LMC). In this proof-of-concept study, we administered these modified tests to 100 healthy subjects and present here the successes and challenges we encountered. Subjects generally found the LMC and the graphical user interfaces of the tests easy to use. The LMC recorded movement with sufficiently high sampling rate (>106 samples/s), and the rate of LMC malfunctions (mainly jumps in time or space) was low, so only 1.9% of data was discarded. However, administration of the tests also revealed some significant weaknesses. The visually guided movement test was easily implemented with the LMC; the modified reaction time test worked reasonably well with the LMC but is likely more easily implemented with other existing technologies; and the modified tremor and finger tapping tests did not work well because of the limited bandwidth of the LMC. Our findings highlight the need to develop and evaluate motor tests specifically suited for MMC. The real strength of MMC may not be in replicating conventional tests but rather in administering new tests or testing conditions not possible with conventional clinical tests or other technologies.

Application of imaging techniques to objectify the Finger Tapping test used in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Application of imaging techniques to objectify the Finger Tapping test used in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Clinical utility of paced finger tapping assessment in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

The Finger Tapping (F-T) test is useful for assessing motor function of the upper limbs in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). However, quantitative evaluation of F-T for iNPH has not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of the quantitative F-T test and optimal measurement conditions as a motor evaluation and screening test for iNPH. Sixteen age-matched healthy controls (mean age 73 ± 5 years; 7/16 male) and fifteen participants with a diagnosis of definitive iNPH (mean age 76 ± 5 years; 8/15 male) completed the study (mean ± standard deviation). F-T performance of the index finger and thumb was quantified using a magnetic sensing device. The performance of repetitive F-T by participants was recorded in both not timing-regulated and timing-regulated conditions. The mean value of the maximum amplitude of F-T was defined as M-Amplitude, and the mean value of the maximum velocity of closure of F-T was defined as cl-Velocity. Finger Tapping in the iNPH group, with or without timing control, showed a decrease in M-Amplitude and cl-Velocity compared to the control group. We found the only paced F-T with 2.0 Hz auditory stimuli was found to improve both M-Amplitude and cl-Velocity after shunt surgery. The quantitative assessment of F-T with auditory stimuli at the rate of 2.0 Hz may be a useful and potentially supplemental screening method for motor assessment in patients with iNPH.

Performance validity tests in nonlitigant patients with functional motor disorder.

Performance validity tests (PVTs) are used in neuropsychological assessments to detect patterns of performance suggesting that the broader evaluation may be an invalid reflection of an individual's abilities. Data on functional motor disorder (FMD) are currently poor and conflicting. We aimed to examine the rate of failure on three different PVTs of nonlitigant, non-compensation-seeking FMD patients, and we compared their performance to that of healthy controls and controls asked to simulate malingering (healthy simulators). We enrolled 29 nonlitigant, non-compensation-seeking patients with a clinical diagnosis of FMD, 29 healthy controls, and 29 healthy simulators. Three PVTs, the Coin in the Hand Test (CIH), the Rey 15-Item Test (REY), and the Finger Tapping Test (FTT), were employed. Functional motor disorder patients showed low rates of failure on the CIH and REY (7% and 10%, respectively) and slightly higher rates on the FTT (15%, n= 26), which implies a motor task. Their performance was statistically comparable to that of healthy controls but statistically different from that of healthy simulators (p< 0.001). Ninety-three percent of FMD patients, 7% of healthy simulators, and 100% of healthy controls passed at least two of the three tests. Performance validity test performance of nonlitigant, non-compensation-seeking patients with FMD ranged from 7% to 15%. Patients' performance was comparable to that of controls and significantly differed from that of simulators. This simple battery of three PVTs could be of practical utility and routinely used in clinical practice.

SARN: Shifted Attention Regression Network for 3D Hand Pose Estimation

Hand pose estimation (HPE) plays an important role during the functional assessment of the hand and in potential rehabilitation. It is a challenge to predict the pose of the hand conveniently and accurately during functional tasks, and this limits the application of HPE. In this paper, we propose a novel architecture of a shifted attention regression network (SARN) to perform HPE. Given a depth image, SARN first predicts the spatial relationships between points in the depth image and a group of hand keypoints that determine the pose of the hand. Then, SARN uses these spatial relationships to infer the 3D position of each hand keypoint. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we conducted experiments on three open-source datasets of 3D hand poses: NYU, ICVL, and MSRA. The proposed method achieved state-of-the-art performance with 7.32 mm, 5.91 mm, and 7.17 mm of mean error at the hand keypoints, i.e., mean Euclidean distance between the predicted and ground-truth hand keypoint positions. Additionally, to test the feasibility of SARN in hand movement recognition, a hand movement dataset of 26K depth images from 17 healthy subjects was constructed based on the finger tapping test, an important component of neurological exams administered to Parkinson's patients. Each image was annotated with the tips of the index finger and the thumb. For this dataset, the proposed method achieved a mean error of 2.99 mm at the hand keypoints and comparable performance on three task-specific metrics: the distance, velocity, and acceleration of the relative movement of the two fingertips. Results on the open-source datasets demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, and results on our finger tapping dataset validated its potential for applications in functional task characterization.

Validation of cognitive and neuromuscular latencies using an iPad-based tool to quantify simple reaction times in asymptomatic subjects.

Simple reaction times (SRTs), measured in milliseconds (msec), are equal to the sum of subject-dependent latencies that occur during cognitive processing and neuromuscular responses to a preprogrammed stimulus presented to a subject. SRTs have the advantage of being a relatively pure, neurologically driven motor/sensory task that provides a clinician with a generalized assessment of functional deficits. SRTs are easily obtained, and studies have reported that the average number of finger-taps during a 10-s interval can be utilized to distinguish between patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and healthy controls. A stimulus/response SRT protocol, utilizing an iPad-based tool, was utilized to see if differentiation andquantification of individual components of cognitive latency (CL) and neuromuscular latency (NL) from a subject's total SRT could be accomplished. The study hypothesis was that cognitive latencies, related to a specific cognitive challenge, would remain constant even as latencies due to neuromuscular challenges changed. Two categories of SRT tests were utilized. The first was a simple finger tapping test (FTT), without any cognitive involvement, that was designed to quantify pureNL. The second test was a choice test (CT) that was characterized by the addition of a cognitive task to the FTT. The objective of the FTT was for the subject to simply tap a single target positioned on the iPad screen as fast as possible over an interval of 10s. Measurement of the SRT began when a target was displayed and ended when the target was tapped. Two levels of challenge for the FTT and CT tests were presented to the subjects: a small random displacement (SD) of the target of up to 6mm, and a large random displacement (LD) of the target of up to 24mm. It was expected that the magnitude of the SRT (FTT) would be directly related to the magnitude of the displacement of the target due to kinematic response characteristics of the hand and arm. To validate the study hypothesis, CL for both small and large displacements was calculated by subtracting the respective NL from the total SRT. Utilizing a repeated measures t-test analysis utilizing SPSS, a significant difference between CL (SD) and CL (LD) at p=0.696 was not observed. Differentiation and quantification of individual components of CL and NL from a subject's total SRTwas accomplished. An Apple iPad Pro was selected asa platform for our study because: (1) it is readily available, affordable, and programmable; (2) it meets a requirement for portability; and (3) it allows the modification/addition of test parameters to meet future needs. The ability to quantify the extent of cognitive andneuromuscular dysfunction in the TBI patient is an essential component of developing an effective treatment plan.

A Three-dimensional Finger-tapping Framework for Recognition of Patients with Mild Parkinson's Disease.

Upper limb tremor is a prominent symptom of both Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. Its kinematic parameters overlap substantially for these two pathological conditions, thus leading to high rate of misdiagnosis, especially for community doctors. Several groups have proposed various methods for improving differential diagnosis. These prior studies have attempted to identify better kinematic parameters, however they have mainly focused on single limb features including tremor intensity, tremor frequency, and tremor variability. In this paper, we propose a wearable system for multi-segment assessment of upper limb tremor and differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease versus essential tremor. The proposed system collected tremor data from both wrist and fingers simultaneously. From this data, we extracted multi-segment features in the form of phase relationships between limb segments. Using support vector machine classifiers, we then performed differential diagnosis from the extracted features. We evaluated the performance of the proposed system on 19 Parkinson's disease patients and 12 essential tremor patients. Moreover, we also assessed the performance cost associated with reducing task load and sensor array size. The proposed system reached perfect accuracy in leave-one-out cross validation. Task reduction and sensor array reduction were associated with penalties of 2% and 9-10% respectively. The results demonstrated that the proposed system could be simplified for clinical applications, and successfully applied to the differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease versus essential tremor in real-world setting.

Enhancement of motor skill acquisition by intermittent theta burst stimulation: a pilot study.

This study aims to analyze the effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) on motor skill acquisition of healthy subjects when applied on alternate days to ensure high adherence to treatment. Ten healthy participants (40-54years) were included in the study. The control group (CG) (60% female) only received motor training (i.e., finger tapping task-FTTa), whereas the experimental group (EG) (100% female) received iTBS in addition to the motor training (every other day for 5 sessions). Cortical excitability measurements were taken with TMS. The correct sequences of the finger tapping test (FTTe) were recorded for behavioral analysis. While SICI was increased by 0.03 in EG, ICF was increased by 0.18 between pre-and post-treatment. On the other hand, CG had a lower ICF difference (MD: 0.05) and a higher SICI difference (MD: 0.21). There was no difference between EG and CG in FTTe at the end of the intervention (p > 0.05 for all variables), except for the increased number of correct sequences within the EG (p = 0.018). There was a significant difference in FTTa between EG and CG, in favor of EG (p = 0.042). The effect size was 0.62. Although no difference was found in terms of cortical excitability and FTTe between the EG and CG at the end of the alternate-day treatment, it seemed like iTBS increased cortical facilitation further than CG. Furthermore, the number of correct sequences in FTTe and FTTa was significantly increased in EG, showing that intermittent iTBS might improve motor learning and performance.

ALLFTD Mobile App Balance and Finger Tapping Tasks: Task Description and Initial Reliability and Validity Findings

AbstractBackgroundMotor disturbances are common in patients with a variety of neurodegenerative and neurological syndromes, such as Parkinson’s disease and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Accurately quantifying motoric changes could enable earlier detection and monitoring of these syndromes, and remote quantification may allow for more frequent assessments and may improve access to research for underrepresented and geographically dispersed participants. With these benefits in mind, investigators from the ALLFTD consortium developed smartphone tests of balance and finger tapping speed. Here we present preliminary test‐retest reliability and associations with gold standard tests.MethodThe tasks were analyzed in two independent samples. The first was an in‐person cohort of healthy older adults (n = 7), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 1) and FTD (n = 3) who completed the smartphone standing/balance and finger tapping tests (FTT) twice in person. The second sample included 31 ALLFTD participants with a range of clinical presentations (healthy older adults [n = 11], FTD [n = 5], MCI [n = 2], unknown [n = 13]) who were asked to complete the balance test three times over two weeks at home. The primary outcomes were total taps for the FTT and root mean squared acceleration for the balance test. Test‐retest reliability was calculated using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC); given the small sample size, outliers (n = 6) were removed from the balance test. We tested the association of smartphone FTT with the gold standard mechanical FTT and the balance task with the CDR®+NACC‐FTLD‐SB (disease severity) using Spearman’s correlations. A Wilcoxon‐sign rank test compared participants with motor features on the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Rating Scale (PSPRS&gt;0) to those without (PSPRS = 0).ResultThe smartphone FTT showed good test‐retest reliability (ICC = 0.78) and a strong correlation (r = 0.8,p&lt;0.05) with mechanical FTT. The test‐retest reliability for the balance task was excellent for the remote sample (ICC = 0.97) and in‐person (ICC = 0.89) samples. In the remote sample, greater acceleration was correlated with higher CDR®+NACC‐FTLD‐SB (r = 0.7,p = 0.003), and participants with motor features on the PSPRS had higher acceleration than those without (W = 11,p = 0.04).ConclusionThese findings provide preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the ALLFTD Mobile App tests of motor function. Replication in a larger sample is required.

Poststroke action slowing: Motor and attentional impairments and their imaging determinants. Evidence from lesion-symptom mapping, disconnection and fMRI activation studies

Background and objectivesAlthough action slowing is the main cognitive impairment in stroke survivors, its mechanisms and determinants are still poorly understood. The objectives of the present study were to determine the mechanisms of post-stroke action slowing (using validated, highly specific simple reaction time (SRT) and tapping tests) and identify its imaging determinants (using multivariate lesion-symptom mapping (mLSM)). MethodsAction speed in the GRECogVASC cohort was assessed using finger tapping and SRT tests performed with both hands and analyzed using previously validated indices. Imaging determinants were identified using validated mLSM analyses and disconnection analysis and compared to those of an fMRI activation meta-analytic database. ResultsBoth the tapping time and SRT were 10.7% slower for the 394 patients (p = 0.0001) than for the 786 controls, without a group × test interaction (p = 0.2). The intra-individual distribution curve was characterized by a rightward shift with an unaltered attentional peak. The mLSM analyses showed tapping to be associated with lesions in the frontostriatal tract (p = 0.0007). The SRT was associated with lesions in the frontostriatal tract (p = 0.04) and the orbital part of F3 (p = 0.0001). The SRT-tapping index was associated with lesions in the orbital part of F3 (p = 0.0001). All lesions were located in the right hemisphere only and were responsible for the disconnection of several structures involved in motor preparation, initiation, and speed. A comparison with fMRI activation meta-analytic data highlighted mostly the same regions, including the orbital part of F3, the ventral and dorsal parts of F1, and the premotor and cingulate regions in the right hemisphere. DiscussionOur results confirm the marked impairment of action speed in stroke and show that the primary mechanism is motor slowing and that it is related to lesions in the right frontostriatal tract. A deficit in sustained alertness accounted for action slowing in the subgroup with lesions in the right orbital part of F3. Our SRT and mLSM results were in accordance with the fMRI activation data. Thus, stroke induces slowing in the broad network associated with SRT tasks by disrupting the frontostriatal tract and, to a lesser extent, other sites involved in attention.

Night shifts in interns: Effects of daytime napping on autonomic activity and cognitive function.

ObjectiveNight shifts have adverse cognitive outcomes that might be attenuated by daytime napping. The neurovisceral integration model suggests that resting vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is linked with cognitive function. This study investigated the relationship between resting vmHRV and cognitive function after different nap durations in interns after shift work.MethodsA total of 105 interns were randomly allocated to one of three groups (non-nap, n = 35; 15-min nap, n = 35; 45-min nap, n = 35) to perform cognitive tests and resting vmHRV at 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00. Information processing (digit symbol substitution test; DSST), motor speed (finger tapping test; FTT), response selection (choice reaction time; CRT), and attention shifts (shifting attention test; SAT) were assessed. Resting vmHRV was assessed at baseline and during each cognitive task across groups.ResultsCompared with the non-nap control, the 15-min and 45-min naps improved all outcome measures (including subjective sleepiness and cognitive performance) at 15:00, with some benefits maintained at 18:00. The 15-min nap produced significantly greater benefits on the FTT at 15:00 after napping than did the 45-min nap. Resting vmHRV was significantly correlated with DSST and SAT performance. In addition, FTT performance was the only significant predictor of DSST performance across different nap durations.ConclusionOur results demonstrate links between daytime napping (in particular, a 15-min nap) and improved cognitive control in relation to autonomic activity after shift work in interns. These results indicated that autonomic activity when awake plays a crucial role in DSST and SAT performance and facilitated the understanding of differences in neurocognitive mechanisms underlying information processing after different nap durations.

Low-intensity transcranial ultrasound stimulation facilitates hand motor function and cortical excitability: A crossover, randomized, double blind study.

ObjectiveTranscranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is a new form of non-invasive brain stimulation. Low-intensity TUS is considered highly safe. We aimed to investigate the effect of low-intensity TUS on hand reaction responses and cortical excitability in healthy adults.MethodsThis study used a crossover, randomized, and double-blind design. A total of 20 healthy participants were recruited for the study. All the participants received TUS and sham stimulation on separate days in random order. The finger tapping test (tapping score by using a tablet) and motor evoked potential (MEP) were assessed before and after stimulation, and discomfort levels were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) score.ResultsNo significant differences in tapping score or MEP amplitude between the two experimental conditions were registered before stimulation. After stimulation, tapping scores were increased regardless of the specific treatment, and the real stimulation condition receiving TUS (90.4 ± 11.0 points) outperformed the sham stimulation condition (86.1 ± 8.4 points) (p = 0.002). The MEP latency of real TUS (21.85 ± 1.33 ms) was shorter than that of sham TUS (22.42 ± 1.43 ms) (p < 0.001). MEP amplitude of real TUS (132.18 ± 23.28 μV) was higher than that of sham TUS (114.74 ± 25.5 μV, p = 0.005). There was no significant difference in the discomfort score between the two conditions (p = 0.163).ConclusionTranscranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) can decrease the hand reaction response time and latency of the MEP, enhance the excitability of the motor cortex, and improve hand motor function in healthy individuals without obvious discomfort.

Finger Tapping Test for Assessing the Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

A testing method for early diagnosis of Mild cognitive dementia (MCI) that can be easily applied in clinical practice was investigated in this study. We examined whether MCI risk can be determined through finger movements. Between 2013 and 2020, 1097 individuals were screened. After applying propensity-score matching to adjust for variability between the groups, 173 individuals each in the mild cognitive impairment and control groups were selected. Thereafter, differences between groups in mean values of parameters extracted from finger tap movements were determined using unpaired t-test and effect size. Furthermore, area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated from the receiver operating characteristic curve for parameters with significant difference. A significant difference was observed, especially in the number of taps in the MCI group compared with that in the control group (p < .001; 95% CI, -12.7 to -8.8; r = 0.51). A cut-off value of 30 taps was applied (sensitivity, 0.77; specificity, 0.67; AUC, 0.79). Significant differences were also observed in rhythm-related parameters. These parameters might be useful for capturing MCI risk. Finger taps are easily measured and may be suitable for screening large populations. This tool might be used as a supplemental method to increase the sensitivity of traditional cognitive tests.

Vision-Based Finger Tapping Test in Patients With Parkinson's Disease via Spatial-Temporal 3D Hand Pose Estimation.

Finger tapping test is crucial for diagnosing Parkinson's Disease (PD), but manual visual evaluations can result in score discrepancy due to clinicians' subjectivity. Moreover, applying wearable sensors requires making physical contact and may hinder PD patient's raw movement patterns. Accordingly, a novel computer-vision approach is proposed using depth camera and spatial-temporal 3D hand pose estimation to capture and evaluate PD patients' 3D hand movement. Within this approach, a temporal encoding module is leveraged to extend A2J's deep learning framework to counter the pose jittering problem, and a pose refinement process is utilized to alleviate dependency on massive data. Additionally, the first vision-based 3D PD hand dataset of 112 hand samples from 48 PD patients and 11 control subjects is constructed, fully annotated by qualified physicians under clinical settings. Testing on this real-world data, this new model achieves 81.2% classification accuracy, even surpassing that of individual clinicians in comparison, fully demonstrating this proposition's effectiveness. The demo video can be accessed at https://github.com/ZhilinGuo/ST-A2J.

Moving towards intelligent telemedicine: Computer vision measurement of human movement

Background:Telemedicine video consultations are rapidly increasing globally, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This presents opportunities to use computer vision technologies to augment clinician visual judgement because video cameras are so ubiquitous in personal devices and new techniques, such as DeepLabCut (DLC) can precisely measure human movement from smartphone videos. However, the accuracy of DLC to track human movements in videos obtained from laptop cameras, which have a much lower FPS, has never been investigated; this is a critical gap because patients use laptops for most telemedicine consultations. Objectives:To determine the validity and reliability of DLC applied to laptop videos to measure finger tapping, a validated test of human movement. Method:Sixteen adults completed finger-tapping tests at 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, 2 Hz, 3 Hz and at maximal speed. Hand movements were recorded simultaneously by a laptop camera at 30 frames per second (FPS) and by Optotrak, a 3D motion analysis system at 250 FPS. Eight DLC neural network architectures (ResNet50, ResNet101, ResNet152, MobileNetV1, MobileNetV2, EfficientNetB0, EfficientNetB3, EfficientNetB6) were applied to the laptop video and extracted movement features were compared to the ground truth Optotrak motion tracking. Results:Over 96% (529/552) of DLC measures were within +/−0.5 Hz of the Optotrak measures. At tapping frequencies >4 Hz, there was progressive decline in accuracy, attributed to motion blur associated with the laptop camera’s low FPS. Computer vision methods hold potential for moving us towards intelligent telemedicine by providing human movement analysis during consultations. However, further developments are required to accurately measure the fastest movements.

Neurocognitive Capabilities and Physiological Responses to Cognitive Stress as well as General Health and Fitness Measurements in Competitive Gamers versus Non‐Gamers

Competitive video gaming, also known as eSports, is a growing industry in the US and worldwide. As interest in eSports has grown, so has the interest in those who participate, particularly competitive eSports athletes. The physiological and cognitive impact of various training regimes, high frequency and duration of play, and live or virtual competitions has gained recent attention. The aim of this study was to characterize potential cognitive and physiological differences among competitive gamers and non‐gamers while accounting for fitness levels. Specifically, the physiological parameters compared were differences in stress response [as measured by changes in heart rate (HR), blood pressure (MAP), and respiration rate (RR)] due to cognitive load (via various cognitive assessments) and fitness measurements such as body composition and health and skill related fitness components. Twenty‐two total participants were studied [n=11 in gamers (9M, 2F, play &gt;5 hrs/wk) and non‐gamers (8M, 3F)]. The six different cognitive tests used were to measure various neurocognitive components that have previously been shown to be enhanced in gamers: the Stroop Test (cognitive set shifting, inhibitory control, and set twitching), Modified Card Sorting Test (problem solving and abstract thinking), Finger Tapping Test (psychomotor speed), Trail Making Test (speeded visual search and tracking), Spatial Processing Task (spatial recognition), and Iowa Gambling Test (risky decision making) were administered via a computer (Millisecond). After completing cognitive testing, each subject’s health‐related fitness components (muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and estimated aerobic capacity) were assessed with a handgrip dynamometer, Situp Bleep test, V Sit and Reach Test, and Modified Bruce Treadmill, respectively. Skill‐related fitness components (power, balance, hand‐eye coordination) were assessed with vertical jump, the Balance Error Scoring System, and the Alternate Hand Wall Ball Test, respectively. Body anthropometrics was measured through height, weight, BMI, body fat percentage (via bioelectrical impedance analysis), and hip‐to‐waist measurements. Of the cognitive components assessed, the only difference was that the video gamers had average scores for the Finger Tapping Test (70.1±10.6) that were trending towards significance versus the non‐gamers (62.3±6.7; p=0.052). The systemic physiological responses to the cognitive testing were minimal (non‐gamers: ∆MAP ‐1.7 to 0.3 mmHg, ∆RR 0.1 to 3.4 BPM, ∆HR ‐3.5 to 7.8 BPM; gamers: ∆MAP ‐0.01 to 1.5 mmHg, ∆RR 2.4 to 4.3 BPM, ∆HR ‐2.7 to 4.0 BPM) and did not differ between the two groups. As intended, given the potential impact of fitness on cognitive performance and sympathoexcitation, the fitness levels of the participants were not different. Thus, when physical activity is accounted for, competitive gamers and non‐gamers perform similarly in most cognitive tasks and have similar physiological responses to this stress.

Water supplementation affects the fluid intake and serum levels of BDNF among the elderly nursing home residents

ObjectivesThe link between dehydration and fluid intake with brain function in elderly individuals has produced conflicting findings. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of water supplementation on fluid intake, cognitive and motor performance, and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in euhydrated and dehydrated elderly. MethodsTwenty participants 60 to 89 y of age were randomly divided into four groups, namely; euhydration + control (EC), euhydration + treatment (ET), dehydration + control (DC), and dehydration + treatment (DT) groups. The treatment groups were personally supplemented with plain water for 7 d. The volume of water intake was assessed with food recalls. The digit span test and finger tapping test were used to examine cognitive and motor performances. Peripheral BDNF levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of serum samples. ResultsWater supplementation increased 2.5 times the volume of water and total fluid intake in the ET and DT groups. The mean of the volume water intake on day 7 in ET and DT was significantly different from EC (P < 0.01) and DC (P < 0.001) groups. Serum BDNF levels were higher on preintervention in dehydration compared to euhydration groups (P < 0.05) and significantly negative correlated with the volume of water (r = –0.59, P = 0.006) and fluid intake (r = –0.60, P = 0.004). ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that 7 d of water supplementation increased the water and the total fluid intake in elderly individuals regardless of dehydration status. Serum BDNF levels increased during dehydration and reverted to physiologic levels after appropriate rehydration.

The Effects of Water Provision and Education on Students’ Hydration Status, Cognitive Abilities, and Fine Motor Function in A Full-Day Primary School

Background/aim: Dehydration due to inadequate water intake in children may disrupt brain functions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydration education with water provision on hydration status, cognitive functions and motor performance. Materials and Methods: Forty-eight children in primary full-day school (age 8 – 11 years) were recruited in this study. The intervention of hydration education was performed for two days, both for students and teachers. The water was provision for 12 days. Letter cancellation task (LCT), symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), and direct image different test (DIDT) were used to assess cognitive functions. Motor performance was evaluated using a finger tapping test (FTT). Hydration status was determined with urine specific gravity (USG) and urine color (UC). Before and after interventions, all parameters were evaluated.Results: Most students found dehydrated (&gt;65%). The students had lower USG and UC after the intervention and it was correlated with each other (before; rs=0.45, P = 0.001 and after; rs=0.82, P = 0.001). All cognitive and motor functions were significantly higher after an intervention (P &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Hydration education to students and teachers combined with water provision at primary full-day school increases hydration status and enhances cognitive and fine motor skills.

A Simple Field Tapping Test for Evaluating Frequency Qualities of the Lower Limb Neuromuscular System in Soccer Players: A Validity and Reliability Study.

Over the years, the foot tapping test protocol has been proposed by scientists to identify the capabilities of the lower limb neuromuscular system in the medical context; however, to our knowledge, no studies have established its usefulness and relationship to athletic performance. The aim of the present study was to test the reliability, criterion validity and sensitivity of a new foot tapping (TAP) test, and to examine its relationship with proxies of athletic performance in soccer players. Forty voluntary soccer players of two different levels participated in this study (20 players from the national level: age: 22.6 ± 2.5 years and 20 players from regional level: 25.1 ± 3.6 years). They performed the TAP test on two separate occasions to test its relative and absolute reliability. To examine the criterion validity of the TAP test, all participants performed four types of jumps, sprint tests, agility tests, the Wingate test and the finger tapping test considered a gold standard tapping test. The sensitivity was assessed with national and regional player levels. The TAP test presented a high relative and absolute reliability with intra-class correlation coefficient ICC > 0.90, standard errors of measurement SEM < 5% and mean difference ±95% limits of agreement equal to 0.2 ± 0.8 tap·s−1. National level players showed a higher TAP score (p < 0.001; dz = 1.96, large) compared to regional players (9.68 ± 1.41 tap·s−1 vs. 7.28 ± 1.01 tap·s−1, respectively) and the value of area under curve measured by the receiver operating characteristic curve technique was 0.95 (95% CI: 0.827–0.990). The TAP test showed a significant association with the finger tapping test (r = 0.84, p < 0.001), whereas no correlation was seen between the TAP test and all the other physical tests measured. The TAP test could be considered a valid and reliable test to assess lower limb neuromuscular ability in soccer players.