Pretest Exercise Research Articles

Response to Moderate and Vigorous Aerobic/Resistance Exercise in a Woman With Long-COVID

Response to Moderate and Vigorous Aerobic/Resistance Exercise in a Woman With Long-COVID

Corporate Governance Practices and Financial Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Rwanda: A Case Study of Microfinance Inkingi Ltd

The study was undertaken to investigate how corporate governance practices can influence the financial performance of microfinance institutions with a case study of microfinance inking ltd. This study specifically analyzed the effect of board size, gender diversity and CEO duality in the governance structures on performance of microfinance institutions. The descriptive method was used to collect data and the target population was forty-six, where 35 were the staff of INKINGI microfinance ltd 11 were members of the board. In data collection at the field, questionnaire and face-to-face discussion were used. To confirm the reliability, the research conducted a pre-test exercise before the actual data collection process. The validity was tested through experts in the domain of financial statements analysis and managerial decision making by asking the supervisor and other lecturers from Mount Kenya University. The researcher used the SPSS as tool of analysis, which helped to summarize the primary data into quantitative data and the researcher given the proper interpretation of the results basing on research objectives and questions. The analysis showed that board size, board independent and CEO duality were positively correlated with financial performance of Rwandan microfinance institutions (r= 0.810, p< 0.00 r= 00.706, p< 0.04 r= 0.623, p< 0.003 and r= 0.431, p< 0.00) respectively. Furthermore, the research showed that the board independence, gender diversity as well as board size have a considerable effect on financial contribution. According to the perception of the respondents, the results showed that corporate governance increases the profitability of the company, customer loyalty as well as extension of product line and services in the company. The study concluded that board size, board independent and CEO duality are important aspects to consider for better governance of microfinance. The study recommended that INKINGI microfinance ltd should improve their gender diversity for better corporate governance that provides diverse viewpoints, values and new ideas to the boards and provokes lively boardroom discussions. The management should appoint more women directors as they possess managerial skills like public relations, human resource and communication skills than operating and marketing skills. Keywords: Corporate governance practices, financial performance, microfinance institutions, Inkingi Ltd, Rwanda

Managing job stress in teachers of children with autism: A rational emotive occupational health coaching control trial.

Background/Objective:Teaching has been found to be 1 of the most stressful occupations worldwide. Stress associated with teaching is more critical among teachers teaching children with special needs in general and those with autism specifically, partly due to the heterogeneous nature of the disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Occupational Health Coaching (REOHC) in minimizing job stress in teachers of children with autism (CWA).Methods:A group-randomized waitlist control-trial design was adopted. A sample of 87 teachers of CWA who participated in the study was randomized into the immediate intervention group (IIG) and waitlist group (WLG). Participants were evaluated on 3 occasions: pretest, post-test and follow-up. Three instruments (Occupational Stress Index, Perceived Occupational Stress Scale and Stress Symptom Scale) were used to measure dimensions of job stress. After the pretest exercise, the IIG participated in a 2-hour REOHC programme weekly for a period of 12 weeks. Post- and follow-up evaluations were conducted respectively at 2 weeks and 3 months after the REOHC programme. Those in WLG were exposed to the REOHC after the follow-up assessment. Data collected were analysed using t-test statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance and bar charts.Results:Results revealed that the perceived stress and stress symptoms of the REOHC group reduced significantly over WLG at post-test, and follow-up assessments. Changes in the occupational stress index scores across pre-, post- and follow-up measurements were minimal and could not account for a significant difference between the IIG and WLG.Conclusion:It was concluded that REOHC is effective in reducing subjective feelings and physiological symptoms of job stress, even when the objective stressors remain constant among teachers of CWA and other employees who work in stressful occupational environments.

Impact of biofuel on health and environment

After 71 years of independence 69 per cent peoples are living in rural areas and for cooking they still depend on bio-fuels. The over-dependence on biofuels has led to several ecological and health problems. Keeping this in view a study was conducted to assess biofuel collection pattern, consumption pattern and its impact on health in rural areas. This study was conducted in two villages Achitpur and Chota Mirzapur Khurd of Jamalpur Block of Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. A multi stage sampling design was followed. The target groups who were interviewed were women above 18 years of age. A total of 125 rural women (16 % of the total household) were selected randomly for data collection purpose. Desk review and analysis of secondary literature/data was also carried out to supplement the research. Survey method was adopted for quantitative data collection in the selected villages. The quantitative data collection tool was developed keeping in view the objectives, scope and focus of the study. The draft interview schedule was pre-tested in study villages of Mirzapur district in which around 50 respondents were interviewed. The data collection instruments were modified and finalized based on feedback of the pre-test exercise. Before the data analysis, a tabulation plan was developed. The quantitative data analysis was carried out by using latest version of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS programme). The bi-variate analysis was carried out for the data analysis. Descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation and percentage frequency were used for describing background characteristics of the respondents. This study points to a need for creating awareness on the environmental and health issues. At the same time, effective interventions on the popularization and use of fuel efficient and renewable energy cooking appliances should be carried out by the government and non-government organizations. Intersectoral co-ordination for the promotion of public health is also need of the hour.

The Effect of Pretest Exercise on Baseline Computerized Neurocognitive Test Scores.

Background:Baseline neurocognitive assessment plays a critical role in return-to-play decision making following sport-related concussions. Prior studies have assessed the effect of a variety of modifying factors on neurocognitive baseline test scores. However, relatively little investigation has been conducted regarding the effect of pretest exercise on baseline testing.Purpose/Hypothesis:The aim of our investigation was to determine the effect of pretest exercise on baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) scores in adolescent and young adult athletes. We hypothesized that athletes undergoing self-reported strenuous exercise within 3 hours of baseline testing would perform more poorly on neurocognitive metrics and would report a greater number of symptoms than those who had not completed such exercise.Study Design:Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:The ImPACT records of 18,245 adolescent and young adult athletes were retrospectively analyzed. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, participants were dichotomized into groups based on a positive (n = 664) or negative (n = 6609) self-reported history of strenuous exercise within 3 hours of the baseline test. Participants with a positive history of exercise were then randomly matched, based on age, sex, education level, concussion history, and hours of sleep prior to testing, on a 1:2 basis with individuals who had reported no pretest exercise. The baseline ImPACT composite scores of the 2 groups were then compared.Results:Significant differences were observed for the ImPACT composite scores of verbal memory, visual memory, reaction time, and impulse control as well as for the total symptom score. No significant between-group difference was detected for the visual motor composite score. Furthermore, pretest exercise was associated with a significant increase in the overall frequency of invalid test results.Conclusion:Our results suggest a statistically significant difference in ImPACT composite scores between individuals who report strenuous exercise prior to baseline testing compared with those who do not. Since return-to-play decision making often involves documentation of return to neurocognitive baseline, the baseline test scores must be valid and accurate. As a result, we recommend standardization of baseline testing such that no strenuous exercise takes place 3 hours prior to test administration.

Effects of the belt electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation system on lower extremity skeletal muscle activity: Evaluation using positron emission tomography

BackgroundLower-extremity muscle weakness in athletes after lower limb trauma or surgery can hinder their return to sports, and the associated muscle atrophy may lead to deterioration in performance after returning to sports. Recently, belt electrode skeletal muscle electrical stimulation (B-SES) which can contract all the lower limb skeletal muscles simultaneously was developed. However, no study has evaluated skeletal muscle activity with B-SES. Since only superficial muscles as well as a limited number of muscles can be investigated using electromyography, we investigated whether positron emission tomography (PET) can evaluate the activity of all the skeletal muscles in the body simultaneously. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the B-SES system using PET. MethodsTwelve healthy males (mean age, 24.3 years) were divided into two groups. The subjects in the control group remained in a sitting position for 10 min, and [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was intravenously injected. In the exercise group, subjects exercised using the B-SES system for 20 min daily for three consecutive days as a pre-test exercise. On the measurement day, they exercised for 10 min, received an injection of FDG, and exercised for another 10 min. PET-computed tomography images were obtained in each group 60 min after the FDG injection. Regions of interest were drawn in each lower-extremity muscle. We compared each skeletal muscle metabolism using the standardized uptake value. ResultsIn the exercise group, FDG accumulation in the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, quadriceps femoris, sartorius, and hamstrings was significantly higher than the muscles in the control (P < 0.05). ConclusionExercise with B-SES increased the skeletal muscle activity of the gluteal muscles as well as the most lower-extremity muscles simultaneously.

A New Virtual Reality Training Module for Laparoscopic Surgical Skills and Equipment Handling: Can Multitasking Be Trained? A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: During laparoscopic surgery distractions often occur and multitasking between surgery and other tasks, such as technical equipment handling, is a necessary competence. In psychological research, reduction of adverse effects of distraction is demonstrated when specifically multitasking is trained. The aim of this study was to examine whether multitasking and more specifically taskswitching can be trained in a virtual-reality (VR) laparoscopic skills simulator. DESIGN: After randomization, the control group trained separately with an insufflator simulation module and a laparoscopic skills exercise module on a VR simulator. In the intervention group, insufflator module and VR skills exercises were combined to develop a new integrated training in which multitasking was a required competence. At random moments, problems with the insufflator appeared and forced the trainee to multitask. During several repetitions of a different multitask VR skills exercise as posttest, performance parameters (laparoscopy time, insufflator time, and errors) were measured and compared between both the groups as well with a pretest exercise to establish the learning effect. A face-validity questionnaire was filled afterward. SETTING: University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Overcoming weight bias: promoting physical activity and psychosocial health

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Feel WonderFull Fitness (FWF), a program adhering to the Health At Every SizeTM (HAES) paradigm, on larger women's physical activity and psychosocial health. FWF was tailored to overcome barriers based on weight bias.Design/methodology/approach– The study compared “overweight” and “obese” women in FWF to those not currently enrolled in formal exercise programs. Controls were divided into low physical activity (LPA) and moderate physical activity (MPA) conditions based on pretest exercise level. Outcome measures were collected at pretest and three months later at posttest.Findings– FWF participants had the greatest gains in physical activity and demonstrated significantly greater improvements in depression than the LPA group. FWF and the MPA group showed more improved scores on perceived body attractiveness than the LPA group. Scores on an eating disorders measure improved for all groups, but somewhat more so for the FWF group. Improvements occurred in the absence of weight loss or decreases in body mass index and body fat percentage.Research limitation– The study was based on a small, homogenous sample using a quasi-experimental design.Practical implications– The study illustrates HAES strategies that practitioners might incorporate into various health and fitness settings.Social implications– The study highlights weight bias as a social justice issue and as a barrier to physical activity participation for larger women.Originality/value– The study adds to a growing body of literature evaluating HAES approaches, with HAES representing a novel alternative to weight-loss interventions for improving psychosocial health among larger women. It also contributes to the literature on weight bias that has been understudied relative to bias based on other areas of difference.

A New Virtual-Reality Training Module for Laparoscopic Surgical Skills and Equipment Handling: Can Multitasking be Trained? A Randomized Controlled Trial

During laparoscopic surgery distractions often occur and multitasking between surgery and other tasks, such as technical equipment handling, is a necessary competence. In psychological research, reduction of adverse effects of distraction is demonstrated when specifically multitasking is trained. The aim of this study was to examine whether multitasking and more specifically task-switching can be trained in a virtual-reality (VR) laparoscopic skills simulator. After randomization, the control group trained separately with an insufflator simulation module and a laparoscopic skills exercise module on a VR simulator. In the intervention group, insufflator module and VR skills exercises were combined to develop a new integrated training in which multitasking was a required competence. At random moments, problems with the insufflator appeared and forced the trainee to multitask. During several repetitions of a different multitask VR skills exercise as posttest, performance parameters (laparoscopy time, insufflator time, and errors) were measured and compared between both the groups as well with a pretest exercise to establish the learning effect. A face-validity questionnaire was filled afterward. University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands. Medical and PhD students (n = 42) from University Medical Centre Utrecht, without previous experience in laparoscopic simulation, were randomly assigned to either intervention (n = 21) or control group (n = 21). All participants performed better in the posttest exercises without distraction of the insufflator compared with the exercises in which multitasking was necessary to solve the insufflator problems. After training, the intervention group was significantly quicker in solving the insufflator problems (mean = 1.60Log(s) vs 1.70Log(s), p = 0.02). No significant differences between both the groups were seen in laparoscopy time and errors. Multitasking has negative effects on the laparoscopic performance. This study suggests an additional learning effect of training multitasking in VR laparoscopy simulation, because the trainees are able to handle a secondary task (solving insufflator problems) quicker. These results may aid the development of laparoscopy VR training programs in approximating real-life laparoscopic surgery.

Optimal Sensor Placement for CNC Machine Tools

Proper pretest planning is a vital component of any successful CNC machine tools’ vibration test. An extremely important part of the pretest exercise is the placement of sensors. In general, the placement of sensors of CNC is uniform distribution, which depends on test engineer’s experience. This paper considers the problem of locating sensors on the CNC machine tools with the aim of maximizing the data information so that structural dynamic behavior of CNC machine tools can be fully characterized. We present a new technique, based upon Effective Independence (EfI) and Shannon’s Sampling Theorem, that can meet test accuracy requirements and the visualization of the mode shapes. The technique is applied on XHK5140 CNC machine tool successfully

Effects Of Exercise Training On Aerobic Capacity, Muscular Strength And Depression In TBI Patients

PURPOSE: This pilot study attempted to determine if 8 weeks of aerobic and strength training can improve aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and depression in individuals recovering from moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Eleven outpatients at least 1 year post TBI were randomly assigned to a control group (6 participants) or to an exercise group (5 participants). YMCA test to estimate aerobic capacity, 1 RM (upper extremity) muscular strength, Biodex isokinetic (lower extremity) strength and Beck Depression Inventory were measured before and after an 8-week conditioning program. RESULTS: There were no participant mortality or morbidity incidents during the study. The exercise group had a significant (p < 0.05) increase in right arm curl muscle strength with Pretest mean =35.0 lbs, SD =25.65 Post Test mean =42.60 lbs, SD =29.38. In addition, results approaching (p < 0.08) significance were found for the estimated aerobic capacity Pre-Test Exercise Group VO2 ml/kg/min mean =19.52, SD =2.16, Post -Test = VO2 ml/kg/min mean =19.98, SD =2.89 and the left arm curl muscle strength Pre-Test Exercise Group mean =30.10 lbs, SD =17.26, Post -Test mean =36.40 lbs, SD =19.13. All other apparent differences between the exercise intervention and non-exercising groups observed were statistically nonsignificant. In addition, there were no significant changes in the control groups with any of the parameters. CONCLUSION: This pilot study demonstrated that an aerobic and resistance training program for TBI individuals can be safe and have at least modest gains in most areas of fitness testing.

The Effect of a Physical Education Exercise Bout on Percent Body Fat using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Girls

PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect that a physical education exercise class had on percent body fat (%BF) estimated by leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis (LBIA) in adolescent girls. METHODS: Seventy-six girls (age: 12.2 ± 1.0 yr; height: 153.9 ± 7.5 cm; body mass: 51.9 ± 15.5 kg; BMI: 21.7 ± 5.4 kg/m2) participated in this investigation. LBIA measured %BF values were obtained immediately before and within five minutes after completing a structured, in-school, physical education class. RESULTS: Significant reductions (p<0.001) in mean %BF (25.0 ± 10.2 vs. 24.4 ± 10.3 %) were observed for the group following the physical education class. For the majority of the girls (88%), the %BF alteration was less than ± 2.0 %BF. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that although the exercise session altered the LBIA-determined %BF estimate, the magnitude of change was relatively small and had no impact on the adiposity classification category (healthy vs. unhealthy body fat). As such, adhering to the pre-test exercise guideline appears unnecessary when using LBIA to categorize the health-risk of an adolescent girl.

Does a Physical Education Bout Alter Percent Body Fat and the Adiposity Health Risk Classification When Using Leg-to-leg Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Girls?

The purposes of this investigation were to determine: 1) whether a structured in-school physical education exercise bout altered percent body fat (%BF) determined by leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis (LBIA); and 2) whether the potential exercise-induced %BF magnitude of change altered the health risk classification of the child. Methods: Seventy-six girls (age: 12.2 ± 1.0 yr; height: 153.9 ± 7.5 cm; body mass: 51.9 ± 15.5 kg; BMI: 21.7 ± 5.4 kg/m2) participated in this investigation. LBIA measured %BF values were obtained immediately before and within five minutes after completing a structured, in-school, physical education class. Results: Significant reductions (p &lt; 0.0001) in mean %BF (25.0 ± 10.2 vs. 24.4 ± 10.3 %) were observed for the group following the physical education class. For the majority of the girls (88%), the %BF alteration was less than ± 2.0 %BF. More specifically, the %BF magnitude of change was ± 1.0 %BF in 64.5% of the girls, between 1.1 and 2.0 %BF in 23.7% of the girls, and by more than 2.0 %BF in 11.8% of the girls. Regardless of the %BF magnitude of change, all girls remained in the same adiposity classification category (healthy vs. unhealthy body fat) following exercise. Conclusion: Adhering to the pre-test exercise guideline appears unnecessary when using LBIA to categorize the health risk of an adolescent girl.

Effect of Resistance Exercise on Percent Body Fat Using Leg-to-Leg and Segmental Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a resistance exercise bout on percent body fat (%BF) measured by leg-to-leg and segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis (LBIA; SBIA) in adults. Eighty-six volunteers (45 women; 41 men) reported to the weight training facility on 2 separate occasions. After an initial LBIA and SBIA assessment, subjects performed 60 minutes of continuous resistance exercise, or did nothing, which served as the control. During the resistance exercise trial, subjects completed an 8-exercise circuit protocol consisting of 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions at 65-75% of 1 repetition maximum for each exercise. Subjects were provided with a bottle of water for consumption during both trials. Body composition was reassessed 60 minutes after baseline for comparison. For the resistance exercise trial, significant reductions (p < 0.05) in SBIA-measured %BF (women = 0.9 +/- 1.0%; men = 1.4 +/- 0.8%) and impedance (women = 22.2 +/- 17.0 Omega; men = 22.3 +/- 10.0 Omega) were observed, whereas LBIA body composition measurements remained unchanged. After the control trial, significant increases (p < 0.05) in SBIA-measured %BF (women = 0.6 +/- 0.8%; men = 0.5 +/- 0.7%) and impedance (women = 7.8 +/- 12.6 Omega; men = 4.7 +/- 8.3 Omega) and LBIA-measured %BF (women = 0.4 +/- 0.7%; men = 0.4 +/- 0.5%) were observed because of the body mass gain (approximately 300-400 g) after drinking. When using SBIA, assessments should be performed before resistance exercise to eliminate exercise-induced alterations in %BF. Conversely, resistance exercise had no effect on the LBIA measurements, and, therefore, following pretest exercise guidelines may not be necessary when this technology is used for the body composition assessment.

Use of atropine in patients with recent myocardial infarction during exercise myocardial perfusion study

Patients with recent myocardial infarction frequently require a myocardial perfusion study for risk stratification. However a conclusive study cannot be accomplished in many due to non-attainment of target heart rate. To evaluate the effect of pre-stress administration of atropine in exercise performance of patients with recent myocardial infarction. Study included 43 test and 43 control patients and were matched for their age, sex, status of pretest exercise tolerance, area of infarction and for interval between infarction and stress thallium test. Atropine (0.01 mg/kg) was administered intravenously 3 min prior to treadmill stress in all the 43 test patients and no atropine was administered to control patients. Target heart rate was attained in 95.3% patients receiving atropine compared to in 67.4% of control patients. There was no significant difference between mean ages (p>0.33), basal BP (p>0.47), peak BP (p>0.18) of both groups. There was significant difference between the increment in exercise-induced heart rate (p<0.004), peak heart rate (p<0.001) and double product (p<0.001) attained between both groups. No significant adverse effect was noted in patients who received atropine. Pre-stress administration of atropine in patients with recent myocardial infarction is safe and results in a significantly better exercise performance, which might be useful in decreasing the number of equivocal myocardial perfusion studies.

Sensor set expansion for modal vibration testing

Pretest planning is crucial to successful modal vibration testing. Sensor placement is one of the more important tasks performed during the pretest exercise. The accelerometers must be distributed such that all of the required dynamic information is obtained during the course of the vibration test. A new method for triaxial sensor set selection based on maximizing the determinant of the target mode information matrix is presented. Maximizing the determinant maximizes a combination of target mode signal strength and linear independence critical to both test-analysis correlation and modal identification. The method iteratively expands an initial set of sensors instead of iteratively reducing a large candidate set. In many cases, the candidate sensor set can have thousands of sensor locations. This change in approach can result in a dramatic reduction in the required computational effort. In addition, the new method allows a test engineer to specify a set of locations that they absolutely want to have in the final sensor configuration, and then optimally expand the initial set to the desired number of sensors. The initial sensor set can be as small as one triax. The work presented focuses on the selection of triaxial accelerometers as single units at nodes, but the method can be generalized to the selection of any number of sensors at each iteration.

Optimal placement of triaxial accelerometers for modal vibration tests

Proper pretest planning is a vital component of any successful vibration test. An extremely important part of the pretest exercise is the placement of sensors, usually in the form of accelerometers. The accelerometers must be placed such that all of the important dynamic information is obtained during the course of the test. The resulting sensor configuration must be optimal in some sense such that test resources are conserved. The state-of-the-practice is to select individual sensor location/directions from a candidate set based upon one of several available criteria. Triaxial accelerometers are then placed at the corresponding locations. In general, this results in the non-optimal placement of many of the accelerometers. This paper presents a new technique, based upon Effective Independence, that places triaxial accelerometers as single units in an optimal fashion. The technique is applied and compared with standard approaches using the X-33 vehicle.

健常日本人におけるコンピュータ眼球運動解析とＶｉｓｕａｌ Ａｎａｌｏｇｕｅ Ｓｃａｌｅを用いたＮｉｔｒａｚｅｐａｍの薬物動態 薬力学相関に対する評価

The effects of drugs on the central nervous system can be evaluated using a large number of tests in human. Since each test has a different sensitivity, to obtain pharmacodynamic parameters direct comparison of the results obtained by different tests is sometimes misleading. Thus, the choice of methods for evaluation likely affects the results of studies on sedative effects of drugs . Analysis of saccadic eye movement is reported to be a highly selective method to evaluate the sedative effect of benzodiaze-pines. This study was performed using computerized eye movement analysis to validate their application for evaluation of the effects of the anxiolytic, nitrazepam.A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study was carried out with eight healthy volunteers. Nitrazepam (5 mg) or its placebo was administered in each occasion with a 2 week wash-out period. Pharmacodynamic tests (saccadic eye movement, smooth persuit and VAS) were performed before intake and 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 180, 240, 360 and 480 minutes after the drug administration. Serum nitrazepam concentrations were measured by HPLC. Pharmacokinetic parameters of nitrazepam were as follows: Cmax: 75.78±28.86 ng/ml, tmax: 1.56±1.24 hr, t1/2: 27.10±6.09 hr. The tmax and t1/2 were similar to those reported in Caucasians. However, the Cmax of Japanese subjects was about two-fold higher than that of Caucasians. A significant decrease in saccadic peak velocity was observed in every subject after nitrazepam administration (treatment effect, p=0.002). Saccadic latency was significantly prolonged in the nitrazepam group (treatment effect, p=0.04). No significant effects on smooth pursuit performance were found (p=0.07).The concentration-effects relationship for saccadic peak velocity was described by a linear-model or clock-wise type.Measurement of saccadic peak velocity and saccadic latency have been used successfully to characterize the sedative effects of nitrazepam in healthy subjects. The computerized eye movement analysis is a simple, sensitive and reproducible method without pre-test exercise and can be applied for the evaluation of effects of other CNS acting drugs.

Effects of Various Stimuli on Activity Level and Learning by High- and Low-Active Retarded Children

Abstract Increased attention has recently been directed toward research on motor activity levels of mentally retarded children. Very high rates, as well as very low rates, are observed more frequently in mentally retarded populations than in nonretarded populations. The effects on activity levels of external stimuli, such as noise and light, have created interest in researchers for some time. Sixty-nine retarded children were classified according to activity rates and presented two learning tasks under four conditions: (a) quiet unstimulated; (b) noise and light stimuli; (c) pretest exercise; (d) pretest exercise, noise and light stimuli. Analysis indicated that the lower the intelligence the higher the activity level. High-active subjects had a decrease in learning performance in condition b and condition d. Low-active subjects remained low-active for all conditions and high-active subjects remained high-active for all conditions. Lower learning performance was observed for high-active subjects over all ...