Mental Training Group Research Articles

App-Based Mental Training to Reduce Atrial Fibrillation-Related Symptoms After Pulmonary Vein Isolation: MENTAL AF Trial.

Even after atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation, many patients still experience relevant symptom burden. The objective of the MENTAL AF trial was to determine whether app-based mental training (MT) during the 3 months following pulmonary vein isolation reduces AF-related symptoms. Patients scheduled for pulmonary vein isolation were enrolled and randomized 1:1 to either app-based MT or usual care. Of 174 patients, 76 in the MT and 75 in the usual care group were included in the final analysis. The intervention was delivered by a daily 10-minute app-based MT. The primary outcome was the intergroup difference of the mean AF6 sum score, an AF-specific questionnaire, during the 3-month study period. Secondary outcomes included quality-of-life measures such as the AFEQT (Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality of Life). Mean age (SD) was 61 (8.7) years and 61 (41%) were women. The mean AF6 sum score over the study period was 8.9 (6.9) points in the MT group and 12.5 (10.1) in the usual care group (P=0.011). This referred to a reduction in the AF6 sum score compared with baseline of 75% in MT and 52% for usual care (P<0.001). The change in the AFEQT Global Score was 22.6 (16.3) and 15.7 (22.1), respectively; P=0.026. MENTAL AF showed that app-based MT as an adjunctive treatment tool following pulmonary vein isolation was feasible. App-based MT was found to be superior to standard care in reducing AF-related symptom burden and improving health-related quality of life. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT04067427.

Influence of Mental Training of Attentional Control on Autonomic Arousal Within the Framework of the Temporal Preparation of a Force Task.

While temporal preparation has frequently been examined through the manipulation of foreperiods, the role of force level during temporal preparation remains underexplored. In our study, we propose to manipulate mental training of attentional control in order to shed light on the role of the force level and autonomic nervous system in the temporal preparation of an action. Forty subjects, divided into mental training group (n = 20) and without mental training group (n = 20), participated in this study. The influence of the attentional control and force levels on the autonomic nervous system were measured using the skin conductance response and the heart rate variability; the accuracy of the motor responses was measured using a method derived from machine learning. Behaviorally, only the mental training group reinforced its motor and attentional control. When using short foreperiod durations and high force level, motor and attentional control decreased, consistent with the dominant sympathetic system. This resulted in an increased anticipation rate of responses with a higher reaction time compared to the long foreperiods duration and low force level, in which the reaction time significantly decreased, with enhancement of the expected force level, showing consistency with the dominant parasympathetic system. Interestingly, results revealed a predictive relationship between the sympathovagal balance and motor and attentional control during the long foreperiods and low force level. Finally, results demonstrate that attentional mental training leads to the reinforcement of interactions between the autonomic nervous system and attentional processes which are involved in the temporal preparation of a force task.

Effectiveness of Mental and Physical Training on Blood Pressure and Resting Heart rate among Prehypertensive Young Adults

Mental and physical training (MAP) has been reported to improve outcomes related to mental health issues, but there is scarcity in current literature with regards to its effect on blood pressure (BP) in prehypertensive population. Therefore, aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of MAP on BP and resting heart rate (RHR) among prehypertensive young male adults. Methods – A single blinded randomized controlled trial with 43 prehypertensive (BP 120-139/80-89 mmHg) participants were divided into 2 experimental and 1 control groups. Mental training group (MT) participated in mindfulness meditation, while physical training group (PT) engaged in moderate intensity aerobic exercise. Both groups underwent training for 6-weeks, 3 sessions/week, each session lasting for 20 minutes. Control group did not participate in any training and was debriefed about Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Participants in all 3 groups were instructed not to engage in any type of relaxation training or physical activity throughout this study. Systolic BP, diastolic BP, and RHR were assessed at baseline, at end of 3-weeks and 6-weeks intervention. Results – Mean age of participants in MT, PT and DASH group were 20.8±1.5, 20.1±1.8 and 19.8±1.8 respectively. Within group time effect demonstrated a significant difference in SBP (F=42.392, P=0.000), DBP (F=1836.863, P=0.000) and a non-significant difference in RHR (F=1.856, P=0.171), while between group analysis did not show significant difference in SBP (F=0.222, P=0.802); DBP (=0.325, P=0.739), and RHR (=0.63, P=0.939). Conclusions – All 3 interventions are equally effective in reducing the BP in pre-hypertensive young adults, however they did not have any effect on RHR.

Quality of life and perception after pulmonary vein isolation and app-based mental training - Results from the randomized controlled MENTAL AF Trial

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): German Heart Foundation Introduction It was recently shown that app-based mental training (MT) reduces atrial fibrillation (AF) related symptoms as compared to usual care in patients undergoing catheter ablation for AF. We now report the effect of MT on quality of life (QoL) and AF burden. Methods MENTAL AF was a RCT with two parallel treatment groups enrolling patients undergoing catheter ablation for symptomatic AF during August 2019 and July 2021. Patients were randomized in a 1:1-ratio to app-based MT or usual care. The MT group gained access to a daily 10-minute app-based breathing, relaxation and meditation training, with a minimum requirement of 2 sessions/week. A total of 183 patients were randomized of which 151 could be included in the final analysis (76 in the MT and 75 in the usual care group). The primary outcome was the intergroup difference of the mean AF6 sum scores during the 3 months study period. Secondary outcomes included web-based QoL measures as assessed by the AF Effect on Quality of Life (AFEQT) and PROMIS Global Health as well as time in AF/atrial tachycardia documented on 7-day Holter. Results Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the MT vs control group, respectively: mean (SD) age 60.6 (8.7) vs 61.5 (8.7) years, female patients 42 vs 40%, paroxysmal AF 55 vs 55%, and left ventricular ejection fraction 58.0 (7.3) vs 57.5 (7.8) %. The primary outcome of AF6 sum score was 8.9 (6.9) points in the MT and 12.5 (10.1) in the usual care group (P = .011). The median difference of the AFEQT Global Score from baseline to 3 month was 18.3 (IQR 11.7 to 35) in the MT and 10.8 (IQR 1.7 to 31.7) in the usual care group (P = .026). The PROMIS Physical Health domain improved by 4.6 (IQR 0; 7.5) in the MT as compared to 0 (-2.6; 4.7) in the usual care group; P = .000. As for the Mental Health domain there was a trend towards a more pronounced improvement [2.9 (IQR 0 to 5.2) vs 0.8 (IQR -2.6 to 4.7); P = .061]. On 3-month follow-up 7-day-Holter 10 patients (16.9 %) in the MT vs 11 patients (14.3 %) in the usual care group exhibited AF/ atrial tachycardia (P = .67). During the registration period 35 patients (53.8 %) in usual care and 25 patients (35.7 %) in MT reported heart rhythm-related symptoms (P = .034). Conclusion MENTAL AF shows that an app-based mind &amp; body intervention as an adjunctive treatment tool improves QoL despite an equal actual arrhythmia burden on 7-day Holter. These results suggest that mental training unfolds its effect by a modification of disease perception and coping.

Three weeks of mental training changes physiological outcomes during a time trial to exhaustion

Mental training (MT) can increase endurance performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the minimum dose of mental training needed to increase performance and elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying this improvement. In a randomized between groups pre-test–post-test design, 33 participants visited the lab on 6 separate days. A VO2peak with ventilatory threshold (VT) was performed on day 1. The subsequent visits consisted of time trials to exhaustion (TTE) performed at 10% above VT. Between visit 3 and 6, the MT group (n = 16) watched a video for 10–15 min each day for 3 weeks, while the control group (CON; n = 17) did no mental training. Heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), VAS scores for pain and fatigue, electromyography, and metabolic and neuromuscular data were collected and recorded during the time trials. The GRIT-S and CD-RISC 10 surveys were completed before study days 3 and 6. TTE increased significantly for MT beginning after 2 weeks (10.0 ± 13.1%) with no further change after 3 weeks (10.4 ± 13.2). TTE also significantly decreased during the last TTE for CON (−10.3 ± 12.7). VO2, ventilation, and frequency of breathing were significantly reduced in the latter stages of the TTE for MT. EMG was also significantly decreased for MT as compared for CON throughout the trial. Three weeks of mental training improves performance by reducing EMG, decreasing activation of the muscle and reducing metabolic factors during the latter stages of exercise.

Motor Imagery Training Is Beneficial for Motor Memory of Upper and Lower Limb Tasks in Very Old Adults.

Human aging is associated with a decline in the capacity to memorize recently acquired motor skills. Motor imagery training is a beneficial method to compensate for this deterioration in old adults. It is not yet known whether these beneficial effects are maintained in very old adults (>80 years), who are more affected by the degeneration processes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mental training session of motor imagery on the memorization of new motor skills acquired through physical practice in very old adults. Thus, 30 very old adults performed 3 actual trials of a manual dexterity task (session 1) or a sequential footstep task (session 2) as fast as they could before and after a 20 min motor imagery training (mental-training group) or watching a documentary for 20 min (control group). Performance was improved after three actual trials for both tasks and both groups. For the control group, performance decreased in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min break and remained stable in the sequential footstep task. For the mental-training group, performance was maintained in the manual dexterity task after the 20 min motor imagery training and increased in the sequential footstep task. These results extended the benefits of motor imagery training to the very old population, showing that even a short motor imagery training session improved their performance and favored the motor memory process. These results confirmed that motor imagery training is an effective method to complement traditional rehabilitation protocols.

Evaluation of the Effect of Cognitive Bias Modification and Mental Imagery on Visual and Verbal Memory

Introduction: The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive bias modification and mental imagery on visual and verbal memory of female high school students in Yazd city.&#x0D; Methods: The present experimental study was conducted based on a pretest-posttest pre-posttest design along with a control group. Four high schools from district 2 education of Yazd were selected by cluster sampling method and 15 students from each high school were randomly selected and placed into three experimental and a control group. Initially, all subjects were tested by Wechsler memory scale. The subjects were exposed to eight different educational sessions. The experimental groups included (Experimental group 1: Cognitive bias modification training group), (Experimental group 2: Mental imagery training group), and (Experimental groups 3: Cognitive bias modification and Mental imaging training). The control group had no intervention. After completing the experimental group training, the 4 groups were tested by the Wechsler memory scale.&#x0D; Results: cognitive bias modification training and mental imagery training significantly affected visual memory (P = 0.001, F = 24.264) and this effect was 57%, while the effect of cognitive bias modification training and mental imagery had a significant effect on verbal memory (P = 0.053, F = 2.7226) and had an effect of 13%. It is therefore confirmed that cognitive bias modification training and mental imagery enhance learners' visual and verbal memory performance.&#x0D; Conclusion: Such interventions can have a significant contribution in learning, school efficiency, and medical clinical treatments.

The Contribution of Physical and Mental Trainings to Depression and Insomnia Disorders in Older Adults

Introduction: Aging is associated with biological changes and may lead to various cognitive behavioural disorders such as insomnia and depression. Non-pharmacological interventions with pharmacological therapies would be effective, economical, and safe. The present study compared the effect of muscle strength-range of movement (MSROM) training and digital game on insomnia and depression disorders in older women and men.&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods: This was a quasi-experimental pre/post- intervention. After recruitment invitations and screening, 92 participants were randomly assigned into three groups including physical training (PT; n = 31), mental training (MT; n = 30) and control group (CG; n = 31). Insomnia and depression were measured by insomnia severity index and geriatric depression scale (short form), respectively. The training programs were held 3 days per week for 8 weeks. Physical training began with 25 minutes in the first week and finished with 60 minutes in the eighth week using Borg rating of perceived exertion within the desired 13 to 15 range. A mental game has been launched on Android operating systems on cell phones/tablets which consisted of 4 games with 3 levels. Differences in variables were assessed via Factorial ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test (p ≤ 0.05).&#x0D; &#x0D; Results: The Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed significant decreases in PT compared with CG in men (p = 0.010) and women (p = 0.038) regarding insomnia. Furthermore, there were significant decreases in PT compared with CG (p = 0.005) and PT compared with MT (p = 0.003) in men regarding depression; Significant decreases were also observed through comparing PT with CG (p = 0.043) in women regarding depression.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion: Findings demonstrated that MSROM training improved moderate insomnia and mild depression compared to smart thinker training in older women and men regardless of gender.

“I know what’s inside because you showed me”: Training 33-month-old children to attribute knowledge and ignorance to themselves and others

The present study investigated the role of language in two-year-old children’s early understanding of knowledge and ignorance. An intense microgenetic training consisting of 12 to 14 training sessions within six to seven weeks was conducted between 33 and 36 months. One training group experienced and participated in discourse about epistemic states in theoretically relevant situations which highlighted, for instance, the relation between seeing and knowing or contrasts between different people’s knowledge states. The other training group was trained on complement syntax using sentence repetition tasks. An age-matched control group received no training. The complement syntax training was not effective in improving complement syntax competence more than in the other two groups. In contrast, the mental state training led to higher improvements in the mental state training group than in the other two groups on tasks assessing comprehension of the targeted concepts (e.g., comprehension of the seeing-knowing relation). The mental state training also had an effect on children’s metacognitive awareness of their own ignorance which was, however, not independent of complement syntax competence assessed at 33 months. No effect was obtained on epistemic perspective-taking skills. Our findings indicate that the use of mental state language in discourse promotes children’s acquisition of epistemic concepts even before their third birthday.

The Effects of Virtual Reality Nonphysical Mental Training on Balance Skills and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Activity in Healthy Adults.

Athletic skills such as balance are considered physical skills. However, these skills may not just improve by physical training, but also by mental training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mental training programs on balance skills and hemodynamic responses of the prefrontal cortex. Randomized controlled trial. Fifty-seven healthy adults (28 females, 29 males), aged between 18-25 years, participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups: virtual reality mental training (VRMT) group, conventional mental training (CMT) group, and control group. The training program included action observation and motor imagery practices with balance exercise videos. The VRMT group trained with a VR head-mounted display, while the CMT group trained with a non-immersive computer screen, for 30 minutes, 3 days per week for 4 weeks. At baseline and after 4 weeks of training, balance was investigated with stabilometry and Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT). Balance tests were performed with simultaneous functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging to measure prefrontal cortex oxygenation. For the stabilometry test, at least 1 variable improved significantly in both VRMT and CMT groups but not in the control group. For SEBT, composite reach distance significantly increased in both VRMT and CMT groups but significantly decreased in the control group. For separate directional scores, reach distance was significantly increased in both mental training groups for nondominant leg posterolateral and posteromedial directions, and dominant leg posterolateral direction, while nondominant posteromedial score was significantly increased only in the VRMT group. Between-group comparisons showed that dominant leg posteromedial and posterolateral score improvements were significantly higher than control group for both mental training groups, while nondominant leg improvements were significantly higher than control group only for the VRMT group. The fNIRS oxyhemoglobin levels were not significantly changed during stabilometry tests. However, oxyhemoglobin levels significantly reduced only in the control group during SEBT. Our findings suggest that both mental training interventions can significantly improve balance test results. Additionally, VRMT may have some advantages over CMT. These findings are promising for the use of mental training in prevention and rehabilitation for special populations such as athletes and older adults.

The Effects of Virtual Reality Nonphysical Mental Training on Coordination and Skill Transfer in Healthy Adults

Mental training is a promising method to improve motor skills. However, transfer of these improvements to different skills or functional activities is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mental balance training programs on motor coordination and skill transfer. Randomized controlled trial. Fifty-seven healthy adults (28 females and 29 males) aged between 18 and 25years participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups: virtual reality (VR) mental training group, conventional mental training group, and control group. The training program included action observation and motor imagery practice with balance exercise videos. The VR mental training group trained with a VR head-mounted display and the conventional mental training group trained with a nonimmersive computer monitor for 30 minutes, 3 days per week, for 4 weeks. Coordination skills were tested with 2 separate custom-made obstacle course tests (OCT-1 and OCT-2). OCT tests included crouching, turning, leaning, stepping over, changing direction, walking on various surfaces, or using repeated hand and arm movement tasks. OCT-1 was used to investigate the effects of mental exercises on coordination skills, and OCT-2 to investigate transfer effects for novel tasks. Test time (total and corrected) and error types (minor, major, and total) were recorded. Touching an obstacle without changing its position was classified as a minor error, and changing its position was a major error. OCT-1 test time and number of errors significantly decreased in the VR mental training and conventional mental training groups, but not in the control group. The number of minor errors was only decreased in the VR mental training group. For OCT-2, total and corrected time were not significantly different between the groups. However, both training groups were significantly superior to the control group for all types of errors. Our findings suggest that both training interventions can significantly improve coordination and skill transfer test results. In addition, VR mental training may have some advantages over conventional mental training. These findings are promising for the use of mental training for prevention and rehabilitation in special populations.

Effect of Mindfulness Training on Fatigue and Recovery in Elite Volleyball Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Follow-Up Study.

Volleyball is a team sport with high physical and perceptual-cognitive demand, hence, increasing the perception of physical and mental fatigue during a competition. To alleviate fatigue (physical and mental), mindfulness and music have been proposed. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of mindfulness-based mental versus music training on mental fatigue, physical fatigue, and recovery in elite competitive female volleyball athletes using a randomized two-controlled study with follow-up. Participants were 30 elite female Brazilian volleyball athletes. Athletes were randomly assigned to the following groups: 1) mindfulness-based mental training group (MBMT); 2) music-based training group (MBT); or 3) control group (CG). Three variables were evaluated as follows: 1) recovery based on total quality recovery; 2) mental fatigue visual analog scale; and 3) physical fatigue visual analog scale. Regarding recovery, there was no difference between the MBMT, MBT, and CG groups (p > 0.05). A difference in mental fatigue was noted between MBT and CG at follow-up [F(2,26) = 5.71, p = 0.009; large]. Regarding physical fatigue, there was no difference between the MBMT, MBT, and CG groups (p > 0.05). The mindfulness intervention effectively attenuated the mental fatigue caused by competition in volleyball athletes. These results will assist coaches and staff in providing fatigue management and reinforce the applicability of mental training in sports.

Behavioral and ERP Correlates of Long-Term Physical and Mental Training on a Demanding Switch Task.

Physical and mental training are associated with positive effects on executive functions throughout the lifespan. However, evidence of the benefits of combined physical and mental regimes over a sedentary lifestyle remain sparse. The goal of this study was to investigate potential mechanisms, from a source-resolved event-related-potential perspective, that could explain how practicing long-term physical and mental exercise can benefit neural processing during the execution of an attention switching task. Fifty-three healthy community volunteers who self-reported long-term practice of Tai Chi (n = 10), meditation + exercise (n = 16), simple aerobics (n = 15), or a sedentary lifestyle (n = 12), aged 47.8 ± 14.6 (SD) were included in this analysis. All participants undertook high-density electroencephalography recording during a switch paradigm. Our results indicate that people who practice physical and mental exercise perform better in a task-switching paradigm. Our analysis revealed an additive effect of the combined practice of physical and mental exercise over physical exercise only. In addition, we confirmed the participation of frontal, parietal and cingulate areas as generators of event-related-potential components (N2-like and P3-like) commonly associated to the performance of switch tasks. Particularly, the N2-like component of the parietal and frontal domains showed significantly greater amplitudes in the exercise and mental training groups compared with aerobics and sedentary groups. Furthermore, we showed better performance associated with greater N2-like amplitudes. Our multivariate analysis revealed that activity type was the most relevant factor to explain the difference between groups, with an important influence of age, and body mass index, and with small effects of educational years, cardiovascular capacity, and sex. These results suggest that chronic combined physical and mental training may confer significant benefits to executive function in normally aging adults, probably through more efficient early attentional processing. Future experimental studies are needed to confirm our results and understand the mechanisms on parieto-frontal networks that contribute to the cognitive improvement associated with practicing combined mental and aerobic exercise, while carefully controlling confounding factors, such as age and body mass index.

Long-Term Effects of Mental Training on Manual and Cognitive Skills in Surgical Education – A Prospective Study

Limited training opportunities and expanding requirements are challenging surgical education, calling for alternative training methods like simulation or mental training. The aim of this study is to evaluate short- and long-term effects of a structured mental training on surgical performance. Medical students without laparoscopic experience were randomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) control (2) video training, and (3) video plus mental training performing 2 E-BLUS (European Training in Basic Laparoscopic Urological Skills) exercises, "peg transfer" (PT) and "cutting a circle" (CC). Group 3 performed a structured mental training course (identification of procedural key steps, relaxation, mental vocalization, and imaging). Longitudinal assessment including binominal checklists, global rating scales (GRS), procedural times, and Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) were performed at baseline, day 2, 14, and after 16 months. Statistical analysis included ANOVA and general linear models with repeated measures. The study was conducted in "Olympus Training and Education Center Hamburg West" and "Endo Club Academy" at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Participants were eligible if they were medical students with no experience in laparoscopy. 24 participants were recruited and finished the study. The mental training group maintained significantly better GRS scores at 16 months for PT (mean score 24.6 [95% CI: 21-28.25]) and CC (mean score 22.5 [18.4-26.6]) (both p < 0.01) and performed faster in the latter (261 seconds [Std. Dev 116] vs. 427 seconds [SD 132] vs. 368 seconds [SD 78]) compared to the other groups (p = 0.004). Longitudinally, mental training had a significant effect on TOPS scores and procedural times (p < 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). In addition to short time efficacy, our study is the first to ascertain a positive long-term effect of mental training on manual and cognitive skills and might be a useful and cost-effective tool in surgical education.

Effect of mental rotation skills training on ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia task performance by novice operators: a rater-blinded, randomised, controlled study

BackgroundThe effect of mental rotation training on ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia (UGRA) skill acquisition is currently unknown. In this study we aimed to examine whether mental rotation skill training can improve UGRA task performance by novice operators. MethodsWe enrolled 94 volunteers with no prior experience of UGRA in this randomised controlled study. After a baseline mental rotation test, their performance in a standardised UGRA needling task was independently assessed by two raters using the composite error score (CES) and global rating scale (GRS). Volunteers with low baseline mental rotation ability were randomised to a mental rotation training group or a no training group, and the UGRA needling task was repeated to determine the impact of the training intervention on task performance. The study primary outcome measure was UGRA needling task CES measured before and after the training intervention. ResultsMultivariate analyses controlling for age, gender, and previous performance showed that participants exposed to the training intervention made significantly fewer errors (CES B=-0.66 [standard error, se=0.17]; P<0.001; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.92 to -0.26) and displayed improved overall performance (GRS B=6.15 [se=2.99], P=0.048, 95% CI=0.06 to 12.13) when undertaking the UGRA needling task. ConclusionsA simple training intervention, based on the manipulation and rotation of three-dimensional models, results in improved technical performance of a UGRA needling task in operators with low baseline mental rotation skills.

It's all in Your Head! Influence of Mental Training on the Acquisition of Practical Skills in Surgical Training

Practical skills are very important for medical doctors, but, for many practical skills, the optimal teaching form is not yet known. Surgical education and training can be compared to high performance sports, since complex movements and differentiated coordination have to be united perfectly in both disciplines. Thus, it would be useful to integrate into medical training methods that have been established and analysed in detail in sports sciences. The aim of the present study was to perform an analysis of the comparative effectiveness of mental training and the traditional "see one, do one" approach - with respect to both the acquired expertise, as well as the personnel and material costs. Third year undergraduate medical students were randomised into two groups while participating in a practical skills training session: The control group was taught using the "see one, do one" approach, but the intervention group used mental training. As an example of a complex surgical skill, wound care was selected, as it consists of applying a local anaesthetic, the sterile covering and preparation of a wound, as well as performing a simple interrupted suture. The learning success was recorded at 3 measuring times: Directly after the training in an introductory OSCE (time point 1), two weeks after training using a free recall test (time point 2) as well as 5 - 14 weeks after training in an overall OSCE (time point 3). 123 students participated in the study. At the first time point, the students of the "mental training" group showed significantly better results in performing the sterile covering and wound preparation ("see one, do one" group 67.4% + 11.1; mental training group 71.6 + 10.6, p = 0.035). At other stations and at other time points there were no significant differences between the two groups. The cost analysis shows a potential saving of 4067.68 € per semester due to the resource-saving handling of materials and personnel. Mental training represents a teaching method that can be used with good results in curricular teaching in the field of surgery, which goes hand in hand with a reduction in personnel and material costs.

The protective impact of a mental skills training session and motivational priming on participants’ psychophysiological responses to performance stress

The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether a motivational priming session (i.e., educational lecture) and/or cognitive restructuring-based mental skills training session can elicit a protective physiological response to performance stress (i.e., an ego-involving climate). The stress hormones dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol were assessed. DHEA is a neurosteroid that counters many of the negative effects of cortisol (Morgan et al., 2004). As a secondary purpose, threat and challenge appraisals (Mendes, Gray, Mendoza-Denton, Major, & Epel, 2007), stress mindset (Crum, Salovey, & Achor, 2013a), and affect (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) were examined. Male college students (N = 59, Mage = 20.25) were screened for potential confounds and randomly assigned to a control group (n = 16), a mental skills training group (n = 27), or an achievement goal perspective theory-based (AGPT; Nicholls, 1984, 1989) educational lecture group (n = 16). The experimental manipulation (i.e., lecture/session) took place during the 15 min prior to exposure to the performance stressor. The mental skills training session that aimed to foster a stress-is-enhancing mindset and a more task-oriented approach toward achievement yielded more adaptive responses to stress including a significant spike in DHEA-sulfate (i.e., DHEA-S), a challenge appraisal of the performance stressor, and a stress-is-enhancing mindset, compared to the control and AGPT groups. The AGPT lecture prevented a rise in salivary cortisol (i.e., a potentially threatening stress hormone) in response to the performance stressor. These findings suggest individuals can better protect themselves against psychosocial threats in performance settings, for which they have little control over, through education and training.

Acute psychosocial stress increases serum BDNF levels: an antagonistic relation to cortisol but no group differences after mental training.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an essential facilitator of neuronal plasticity. By counteracting the adverse effects of excessive stress-induced glucocorticoid signaling, BDNF has been implicated as a resilience factor to psychopathology caused by chronic stress. Insights into the effects of acute stress on peripheral BDNF levels in humans are inconclusive. The short-term interplay between BDNF and cortisol in response to acute psychosocial stress remains unexplored. Furthermore, it is unknown whether mental training that is effective at reducing cortisol reactivity can also influence BDNF during acute stress. In the current study, we investigated serum BDNF levels during an acute psychosocial stress paradigm, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), in 301 healthy participants (178 women, mean age = 40.65) recruited as part of the ReSource Project, a large-scale mental training study consisting of three distinct 3-month training modules. Using a cross-sectional study design, we first examined the relationship between BDNF and salivary cortisol in a control group with no mental training. Subsequent analyses focused on differences in BDNF stress levels between control and mental training groups. We show that serum BDNF is indeed stress-sensitive, characterized by a significant post-stress increase and subsequent decline to recovery. While respective increases in BDNF and cortisol were not associated, we found two indications for an antagonistic relationship. Higher BDNF peaks after stress were associated with steeper cortisol recovery. On the other hand, the magnitude of the cortisol stress response was linked to steeper BDNF recovery after stress. BDNF levels were not modulated by any of the mental training modules. Providing novel evidence for the dynamics of BDNF and cortisol during acute stress, our findings may further inform research on the physiological mechanisms involved in stress chronification and the associated health risks.

Effect of Mental Imagery Coupled with Plyometric on Vertical Jump and Agility

Background: Among the extensive research done, there are many studies on imagery use by athletes. These studies have looked at athletes imagery use under a number of different conditions except its use clubbed with physical training which has less available evidences.1,29,35 The additional advantage being in the case of acute injuries, when actual training is not possible, imagery training is believed to be extremely beneficial without causing any further exertion to the injury. The objective of the study is to study the efficacy of a program combining mental and physical practice with the efficacy of a program composed of only plyometric training or only mental practice on vertical jump and Agility. Methods: A total of 36 healthy male volunteers participated in the study from Hamdard University and Darbari Lal D.A.V. Model School. It was a different subject experimental study with a Pre-Test – Post Test design. They were randomly assigned between three groups. Main outcome measure was vertical jump using Stand and reach test and Agility t-test for Agility. The data was analyzed with the help of statistician using SPSS 15.0 version. Paired-t test was used to see the within Group analysis of both the outcome measures as vertical jump and Agility t-test. Results of training from pretesting to post testing were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and compared across three groups. When a significant F-ratio was found, a Bonferoni’s post-hoc test was used to determine differences between mean values across the three groups. Alpha was set at .05 to achieve statistical significance for all analysis. Results: It was seen that all the three groups i.e. combination (plyometric and mental imagery) group C, mental imagery training (group B) and plyometric training (group A) has yielded significant improvements on both the outcome after training for 6 weeks. Combined training significantly improved performance in agility test and vertical jump as compared to plyometric and imagery alone(p-value=0.000 for difference VJ and p-value=0.000 for difference test at p 5% significance). Conclusion: It was concluded through the study that combination of mental imagery training with plyometric yields better and added effects than the intervention involving plyometric and mental imagery training alone.

The use of motor imagery training to retain the performance improvement following physical practice in the elderly.

With physiological aging, appears a deterioration of the ability to retain motor skills newly acquired. In this study, we tested the beneficial role of motor imagery training to compensate this deterioration. We tested four groups: young control group (n = 10), elderly control group (n = 10), young mental-training group (n = 13) and elderly mental-training group (n = 13). In pre- and post-tests, the participants performed three trials on a dexterity manual task (the Nine Hole Peg Test), commonly used in clinic. We recorded the movement duration as a factor of performance. Each trial, including 36 arm movements, consisted in manipulating sticks as fast as possible. The control groups watched a non-emotional documentary for 30min and the mental-training groups imagined the task (50 trials). First, we observed a speed improvement during the pre-test session for all groups. Immediately after viewing the movie (post-test 1), the young control group showed a preservation of motor performance in comparison to the performance measured before the break (pret-test 3), while the young mental-training group improved performance after motor imagery practice. For the elderly, the control group showed a deterioration of motor performance at post-test 1, attesting a deterioration of the ability to retain motor skills with aging. Interestingly, the elderly mental-training group showed a preservation of motor performance between the pre-test 3 and the post-test 1. The present findings demonstrate the beneficial role of mental training with motor imagery to retain the performance improvement following physical practice in the elderly. This method could be an alternative to prevent the deterioration of motor skills.