A case-control study of psychosocial and aerobic exercise factors in women with symptoms of depression

The study is an examination of specific aspects of psychosocial constructs and health-promoting behavior that may be related to symptoms of depression. The authors used a case-control design to investigate possible differences between provisional social support, hardiness dimensions, and exercise behavior and related perceptions in a sample of 94 White, middle-aged women with and without symptoms of depression. The results indicated that women with symptoms of depression have significantly fewer (p < .001) specific forms of social support resources (i.e., reassurance of worth, social integration, guidance, and attachment) and significantly lower (p < .0001) perceptions of control and commitment in their lives. The results also indicated no difference in perceptions and behaviors related to physical activity between women with and without symptoms of depression. Those results suggest that provisional social support, as well as specific dimensions of hardiness, should be the focus of interventions for women with symptoms of depression.     

A Case-Control Study of Psychosocial and Aerobic Exercise Factors in Women With Symptoms of Depression

The study is an examination of specific aspects of psychosocial constructs and health-promoting behavior that may be related to symptoms of depression. The authors used a case-control design to investigate possible differences between provisional social support, hardiness dimensions, and exercise behavior and related perceptions in a sample of 94 White, middle-aged women with and without symptoms of depression. The results indicated that women with symptoms of depression have significantly fewer (p < .001) specific forms of social support resources (i.e., reassurance of worth, social integration, guidance, and attachment) and significantly lower (p < .0001) perceptions of control and commitment in their lives. The results also indicated no difference in perceptions and behaviors related to physical activity between women with and without symptoms of depression. Those results suggest that provisional social support, as well as specific dimensions of hardiness, should be the focus of interventions for women with symptoms of depression.     

Individuals with chronic ankle instability compensate for their ankle deficits using proximal musculature to maintain reduced postural sway while kicking a ball

The aim of this study was to investigate anticipatory (APA), simultaneous (SPA) and compensatory (CPA) postural adjustments in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI) as they kicked a ball while standing in a single-leg stance on a stable and unstable surface. Electromyographic activity (EMG) of postural muscles and center of pressure (COP) displacements were calculated and their magnitudes analyzed during the postural adjustment intervals. Additionally, the COP area of sway was calculated over the duration of the whole task. The activities of postural muscles were also studied using principal component analysis (PCA) to identify between-group differences in patterns of muscle activation. The individuals with CAI showed reduced magnitude of EMG at the muscles around the ankle while around the hip the activity was increased. These were associated with a reduction in balance sway across the entire task, as compared with the control group. The PCA revealed that CAI participants assemble different sets of muscle activation to compensate for their ankle instability, primarily activating hip/spine muscles. These results set up potential investigations to examine whether balance control interventions enhance these adaptations or revert them to a normal pattern as well as if any of these changes proactively address recurrent ankle sprain conditions.     

The import of the cortisol rise in child care differs as a function of behavioral inhibition

Children of ages 3 to 4.5 years (N = 107; 45 boys, 62 girls) were studied twice, 6 months apart, to examine whether the cortisol rise in child care at Time 1 (T1) was associated with (a) changes in anxious, vigilant behavior from T1 to Time 2 (T2) and (b) higher internalizing symptoms at T2. Controlling for measures of home environment and child care quality at T1, as well as for cortisol activity at T2, we obtained results indicating that behavioral inhibition moderated the associations between the rise in cortisol at T1 and child outcomes at T2 (i.e., anxious, vigilant behavior and internalizing symptoms). For both outcomes, the rise in cortisol at T1 became more positively predictive at increasing levels of behavioral inhibition. Specifically, at higher levels of behavioral inhibition, children with larger T1 cortisol increases expressed more internalizing symptoms than did children at lower levels of behavioral inhibition; in contrast, for those with low cortisol activity at T1, children with higher levels of inhibition expressed fewer internalizing symptoms than did children at lower levels of inhibition. In addition, children with higher levels of behavioral inhibition and lower cortisol activity at T1 exhibited reductions in anxious, vigilant behavior from T1 to T2, whereas at lower levels of behavioral inhibition, variations in the T1 cortisol rise bore no relation to changes in this behavior. These results suggest that the rise in cortisol at child care may have differential predictive value as a function of behaviorally inhibited temperament.     

Neuroendocrine stress responses to an oral academic examination: No strong influence of sex, repeated participation and personality traits

Public speaking tasks have been widely used as laboratory stressors in human research. Fewer studies have investigated similar real life situations like oral examinations and results have been inconsistent. The present study investigated salivary cortisol (as a marker of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity) and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA as a marker of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity) within the context of a university examination. Subjects were 40 undergraduate students who participated in an oral examination. Of these, 20 also participated in a second examination within a few weeks. Cortisol and sAA were measured immediately before and after the examination and on a control day. Additionally, subjects filled out personality questionnaires. A strong anticipatory increase in salivary cortisol and sAA as well as more modest further increases between the pre- and post-measurements were detected during the examination. Sex or oral contraceptive use had no influence on either measure. In addition, no significant differences between the first and second examination were observed. The findings indicate the neuroendocrine stress responses to laboratory stressors and to heralded real life stressors as well as the modulatory variables involved differ from each other.     

Contributions of trunk muscles to anticipatory postural control in children with and without developmental coordination disorder

Current evidence suggests that movement quality is impacted by postural adjustments made in advance of planned movement. The trunk inevitably plays a key role in these adjustments, by creating a stable foundation for limb movement. The purpose of this study was to examine anticipatory trunk muscle activity during functional tasks in children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Eleven children with DCD (age 7 to 14 years) and 11 age-matched, typically-developing children performed three tasks: kicking a ball, climbing stairs, and single leg balance. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to examine the neuromuscular activity of bilateral transversus abdominis/internal oblique, external oblique and L3/4 erector spinae, as well as the right tibialis anterior and rectus femoris muscles. Onset latencies for each muscle were calculated relative to the onset of rectus femoris activity. In comparison to the children with DCD, the typically-developing children demonstrated earlier onsets for right tibialis anterior, bilateral external oblique, and right transversus abdominis/internal oblique muscles. These results suggest that anticipatory postural adjustments may be associated with movement problems in children with DCD, and that timing of both proximal and distal muscles should be considered when designing intervention programs for children with DCD.     

Clinico-psychologic studies on the problem of functional psychotic deterioration in schizophrenia

Our concept of the functional-psychotic mental deterioration of schizophrenia approximately characterizes the same point of view as Kraepelin's terminus "Dementia praecox". The first result of our psychological examination on 225 schizophrenic persons with defect psychotic symptoms was the statement of the deficit in achievement between the former school education (average IQ of the school-type) and the results of examination of intelligence during our research. The functional-psychotic mental deterioration as well appears as a decrease of memory and psychomotoric speed deficiency, furthermore as mental deconcentration and increase of psychoorganic signs in the Rorschach-Test. The psychometric results of this research were statisticly significant.     

Functions and recruitment patterns of one- and two-joint muscles under isometric and walking conditions

Hypotheses advanced concerning the functions and advantages of the two-joint (and multi-joint) muscles in the lower limb include transferring energy, ease of control, muscle bulk reduction and decreased velocity of contraction. The aim of this investigation was to assess quantitatively the generality of one such suggestion seen in the literature. It was hypothesized that two-joint muscles would be recruited preferentially when they produced appropriate moments at the joints they crossed. This organizing strategy was used to partition the sagittal plane joint moment at the hip, knee and ankle between the one- and two-joint muscles crossing those joints. If the conditions of the strategy were not met, the moment was considered to be producted by one-joint muscles only. Ten representative muscles were modelled: tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius, short head of biceps femoris, vasti, rectus femoris, long head of biceps femoris, sartorius, gluteus maximus and iliopsoas. A number of static loading and walking conditions were recorded and then compared to simultaneously measured linear envelope EMG records of each activity. The joint moments were determined from a sagittal plane kinetic analysis using cinematography and measurements of the ground reaction force. Overall, the strategy partitioned the moment between the one- and two-joint muscles in accordance with the EMG records. The strategy tended to underestimate the contributions of the one-joint musculature, implying the existence of other important control strategies, such as cocontraction of antagonists for joint stability, or of synergistic activation to share the joint moment. It was, however, observed that predicted activity of two-joint musculature did agree well with recorded EMG activity.     

The effects of a self-management treatment package on daily step count in university students with depressive symptoms

Research demonstrates that exercise can decrease depressive symptoms, yet it is infrequently prescribed as an intervention. Self-management techniques offer an effective and cost-efficient approach to increase engagement in physical activity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of goal setting, self-monitoring, and feedback for increasing daily step count in university students (N = 4) reporting depressive symptoms. The treatment was efficacious for increasing steps for three participants with varying levels of consistency. All participants showed a decrease in some depression symptoms on the University Student Depression Inventory. Expert ratings on the Clinical Global Impression Scale indicated improvement in global functioning for three participants. Additional research is needed to determine the efficacy of this intervention package for increasing daily steps and the relation to depression symptoms.     

Shoulder Muscle Activity Dampens Arm Swing Motion When Altering Upper Limb Mass Characteristics During Locomotion

Weighting the arms during locomotion results in decreased swing motion and increased shoulder muscle activity. To determine the functional relevance of this activity, participants walked on a treadmill with the arms unweighted, or weighted unilaterally or bilaterally. Similar to past work, the weighted arms decreased in swing amplitude and increased their shoulder muscle activity. A close examination of shoulder muscle activities in specific regions of the arm swing cycle suggested these muscles primarily acted eccentrically for all weighting conditions. These findings suggest that the increased shoulder muscle activities when weighting the arms act to dampen the arms when the inertial characteristics of the arms are altered, as opposed to assisting in driving swing of the heavier arms.     

Velocity-dependent EMG activity of masseter and sternocleidomastoideus muscles during a ballistic arm thrusting movement

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the functional relationship between the general somatic motor function and the oral motor function. In Experiment 1, we analyzed the relationship between the amount of masseter muscle (MSS) activity and the velocity of a ballistic, 'karate-do' arm thrusting movement (ThrMov). ThrMov velocity was measured from video images taken with a high-speed CCD camera at a frequency of 500Hz. EMGs of MSS and sternocleidomastoideus (SCM) muscles as well as other related muscles were recorded simultaneously with video images in 6 varsity 'karate-do' athletes. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated between EMG amplitude and movement velocity. EMG activity of MSS as well as the other muscles increased as a function of ThrMov velocity in all participants, as evidenced by highly significant (p<.01) correlation coefficients, ranging from .64 to .87 (mean: .75). MSS EMG activity attained during ThrMovs performed at maximum velocity ranged between 14.6% and 113.8% of this muscle's MVC (45.7+/-39.3% MVC, mean+/-SD). SCM was also strongly active and closely associated with MSS. Besides changes in amount of EMG activity, it was further found that R-MSS EMG onset progressively shifted to the earlier phase of the ThrMov as ThrMov velocity increased. EMG onset time of R-MSS as well as R- and L-SCMs was negatively correlated with ThrMov velocity; when performed at maximum velocity MSS activation preceded the start of ThrMov by more than 100ms, whereas MSS was recruited last at approximately 150ms after the start of ThrMov when performed at moderate speed ( approximately 50% of maximum). In Experiment 2, the effects of head movement relative to the trunk on R-MSS and SCMs EMG activity were tested in both gazing and sidelong glancing conditions. A much smaller head rotation relative to the trunk was necessary during the ThrMov in the sidelong glancing condition compared to the gazing condition. R-MSS EMG activity was affected significantly by the difference between these conditions and decreased by 5.2% MVC in the sidelong glancing condition compared to the gazing condition. In association with the change in requirement for head movement between those conditions, EMG balance between the bilateral SCMs changed substantially. Finally, marked muscle activity during ThrMov was found in the MSS that was not directly involved in performing this movement, indicating a form of 'remote facilitation'.     

Self-Esteem and Negative Affect as Moderators of Sociocultural Influences on Body Dissatisfaction,Strategies to Decrease Weight,and Strategies to Increase Muscles Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

The study was conducted to examine the impact of sociocultural influences and the moderating role of self-esteem and negative affect on body dissatisfaction and body change strategies for both adolescent boys and girls. Surveys designed to assess body dissatisfaction, body change strategies to decrease weight and increase muscles, perceived sociocultural pressures to lose weight and increase muscles, self-esteem and negative affect were administered to 587 boys and 598 girls aged between 11 and 15 years. The majority of respondents were from Anglo-Australian backgrounds (83%) with the remainder being from Asian and European non-English-speaking backgrounds. The sociocultural influences were found to significantly predict body dissatisfaction and body change strategies for both boys and girls. However, in the case of boys, self-esteem was found to moderate the impact of the sociocultural influences in predicting body change strategies. It was primarily the boys with low self-esteem who were more affected by the sociocultural pressures whereas the girls were affected independently of their self-esteem. Negative affect was also found to play a moderating role on some of the sociocultural influences in predicting strategies to increase muscles. Both boys and girls with higher levels of negative affect were more likely to be affected by sociocultural messages directed at increasing muscles. The results from the present study demonstrate that as well as examining the direct influence of sociocultural pressures, it is also important to examine how these may be moderated by self-esteem and negative affect.     

Effect of Age and Gender in the Control of Elbow Flexion Movements

In previous studies of rapid elbow movements in young healthy men, characteristic task-dependent changes in the patterns of muscle activation when movement speed or distance was varied have been reported. In the present study, the authors investigated whether age or gender is associated with changes in the patterns of muscle activity previously reported in young men. Arm movements of 10 healthy older and 10 healthy younger participants (5 men and 5 women in each group) were studied. Surface electromyograms (EMGs) from agonist (biceps) and antagonist (triceps) muscles, kinematic and kinetic parameters, as well as anthropometric and strength measures were recorded. All 4 groups of participants showed similar task- (distance or speed) dependent changes in biphasic EMG activity. Similar modulation of the initial rate of rise of the EMG, integrated agonist and antagonist EMG activity, as well as their relative timing were observed in all 4 groups. Those results suggest that older individuals of both genders retain the control strategies for elbow movements used by young individuals. Despite the qualitative similarities in the patterns of muscle activation, the men moved more quickly than the women, and younger participants moved more quickly than older participants. Those performance differences could not be explained in terms of differences in body size and strength alone.     

Activity of wrist muscles elicited during imposed or voluntary movements about the elbow joint

To examine the coordination of muscles during multijoint movement, we compared the response of wrist muscles to perturbations about the elbow joint with their activation during a volitional elbow movement. The purpose was to test the following two predictions: (a) Responses can occur in muscles not stretched by the perturbation, as has been reported for other multijoint systems; and (b) the motor pattern in response to a perturbation mimics an opposing volitional motor pattern across the two joints. We recorded the electromyographic (EMG) activity of elbow and wrist muscles as well as the flexion/extension motions at the elbow and wrist joints during individual trials that either involved a response to a torque perturbation that extended the elbow or required volitional elbow flexion. The results of this study confirmed that responses were elicited in the nonstretched wrist muscles when the elbow joint was perturbed. The same motor sequence of elbow and wrist flexors was present for both the volitional and perturbation task (with the forearm supinated), regardless of whether the wrist joint was immobilized or freely moving. The findings suggest that the nervous system relies on the purposeful coupling of elbow and wrist flexors to counter the inertial effects during the unrestricted voluntary movement, even though the coupling does not appear to be purposeful during the perturbation or with the wrist immobilized. The coupling of elbow and wrist flexors, however, was not rigidly fixed, as evidenced by muscle onsets that adapted over repeated perturbation trials and a reversal of the wrist muscle activated (wrist extensor) when the forearm was pronated. Hence, the coupling of muscle activities can be modified quantitatively when not beneficial and can be altered qualitatively with different initial configurations of the arm.     

The Role of Cardioprotective Avoidance Beliefs in Noncardiac Chest Pain and Associated Emergency Department Utilization

This study examined cardioprotective avoidance beliefs and general panic/agoraphobia variables among 45 Emergency Department patients with a primary complaint of noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) in the absence of coronary artery disease or other medical explanation. Cardioprotective beliefs about the dangerousness of work and physical activity were assessed with the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ). Additional measures assessed complaints of cardiac distress and panic, anxiety sensitivity, panic-related beliefs, agoraphobic avoidance, and depressive symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that cardiac distress symptoms are a function of panic symptoms and cardioprotective beliefs concerning both physical activity and work, with 62% of the total variance explained. The predictors also explained 57% of the variance in Emergency Department utilization, which was significantly related to cardiac distress symptoms, number of illnesses, and work-avoidance beliefs. Neither outcome was related to demographics, depression symptoms, general anxiety sensitivity, general panic cognitions, or agoraphobic avoidance. Results suggest that current behavioral understandings of NCCP might be advanced by further examination of cardiac-specific avoidance beliefs and behavior and the potential role these factors play in both symptom experience and medical utilization.     

Effect of age and gender in the control of elbow flexion movements

In previous studies of rapid elbow movements in young healthy men, characteristic task-dependent changes in the patterns of muscle activation when movement speed or distance was varied have been reported. In the present study, the authors investigated whether age or gender is associated with changes in the patterns of muscle activity previously reported in young men. Arm movements of 10 healthy older and 10 healthy younger participants (5 men and 5 women in each group) were studied. Surface electromyograms (EMGs) from agonist (biceps) and antagonist (triceps) muscles, kinematic and kinetic parameters, as well as anthropometric and strength measures were recorded. All 4 groups of participants showed similar task- (distance or speed) dependent changes in biphasic EMG activity. Similar modulation of the initial rate of rise of the EMG, integrated agonist and antagonist EMG activity, as well as their relative timing were observed in all 4 groups. Those results suggest that older individuals of both genders retain the control strategies for elbow movements used by young individuals. Despite the qualitative similarities in the patterns of muscle activation, the men moved more quickly than the women, and younger participants moved more quickly than older participants. Those performance differences could not be explained in terms of differences in body size and strength alone.     

Enhanced embodied response following ambiguous emotional processing

It has generally been assumed that high-level cognitive and emotional processes are based on amodal conceptual information. In contrast, however, "embodied simulation" theory states that the perception of an emotional signal can trigger a simulation of the related state in the motor, somatosensory, and affective systems. To study the effect of social context on the mimicry effect predicted by the "embodied simulation" theory, we recorded the electromyographic (EMG) activity of participants when looking at emotional facial expressions. We observed an increase in embodied responses when the participants were exposed to a context involving social valence before seeing the emotional facial expressions. An examination of the dynamic EMG activity induced by two socially relevant emotional expressions (namely joy and anger) revealed enhanced EMG responses of the facial muscles associated with the related social prime (either positive or negative). These results are discussed within the general framework of embodiment theory.     

Enhanced embodied response following ambiguous emotional processing

It has generally been assumed that high-level cognitive and emotional processes are based on amodal conceptual information. In contrast, however, “embodied simulation” theory states that the perception of an emotional signal can trigger a simulation of the related state in the motor, somatosensory, and affective systems. To study the effect of social context on the mimicry effect predicted by the “embodied simulation” theory, we recorded the electromyographic (EMG) activity of participants when looking at emotional facial expressions. We observed an increase in embodied responses when the participants were exposed to a context involving social valence before seeing the emotional facial expressions. An examination of the dynamic EMG activity induced by two socially relevant emotional expressions (namely joy and anger) revealed enhanced EMG responses of the facial muscles associated with the related social prime (either positive or negative). These results are discussed within the general framework of embodiment theory.     

Longitudinal Development of the Automatic Postural Response in Infants

In this longitudinal study, the development of automatic postural responses elicited during stance following perturbation of the support surface was investigated. Infants (N = 9) unable to stand without support were tested initially: follow-up tests were performed until the infants were able to stand and walk independently. Surface electromyographic recordings of leg and trunk muscle activity following a postural perturbation induced by a forward or backward translation of the support surface were made for each infant. Muscle onset latencies following the perturbation and the proportion of trials in which muscle activity was recorded were determined. First, infants activated appropriate muscles either in isolation or in pairs and then combined these muscles into functional synergies. Although activation of all three postural muscles was recorded in infants before they were able to stand and walk independently, the three-muscle response was not consistent in the youngest children. The proportion of trials eliciting muscle activity continued to increase (p <.O5) after infants began to walk independently, with postural muscle activity recorded in virtually every trial by late independent walking. Thus. the automatic postural response elicited during stance was shown to begin with activity in single or paired muscles, followed by activation of the postural muscles in functional synergies. These data illustrate the progressive development of an effective sensory-motor organization.