Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften
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Background:
There is growing evidence that Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) is as effective as a stand-alone treatment and helps facilitating access to treatment. Given the complexity of the treatment, we argue that the effect of ICBT could be even greater if guided by a therapist, as this could increase treatment adherence. We modified an established and well-evaluated treatment approach and developed a mobile application for treating social anxiety disorder (SAD). In the present study, we compare the efficacy of app use alone (APP) with video-based, therapist-guided app use (TG-APP) and with a wait-list control group (WLC) in terms of symptom reduction, and various secondary outcomes such as increase in quality of life or decrease of general psychological distress.
Methods/design:
A within-between interaction design with randomization to one of three conditions will be used. In the APP condition, patients receive only the app without any additional contact with therapists, while in the TG-APP condition, therapists provide 8 sessions of video-based treatment in addition to using the app. The study will be conducted in two university outpatient treatment centers with reliably diagnosed SAD patients. The primary outcome will be defined as change in SAD symptoms, as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (expert rating). Furthermore, a wide range of self-reports and clinician ratings for other symptoms (depression, general psychopathology) or quality of life will be used. A simulation-based power analysis for a 3 × 2 interaction effect (group × time) on the primary outcome in a linear mixed model resulted in a total sample size of N = 165.
Discussion:
The present study will be one of the first to examine the additional benefit of therapist-guided video sessions regarding the use of an app treating SAD. Study results are pivotal to future treatment application in SAD.
The relationship between external and internal load parameters in 3 × 3 basketball tournaments
(2022)
Purpose: 3 × 3 basketball games are characterized by high-intensity accelerations and decelerations, and a high number of changes of direction and jumps. It is played in tournament form with multiple games per day. Therefore, optimal regeneration is crucial for maintaining a high performance level over the course of the tournament. To elucidate how load of a match affects the athletes' bodies (i.e., internal load), muscular responses to the load of 3 × 3 games were analyzed. We aimed to investigate changes in contractility of the m. rectus femoris (RF) and m. gastrocnemius medialis (GC) in response to the load of single 3 × 3 games and a 3 × 3 tournament.
Methods: Inertial movement analysis was conducted to capture game load in 3 × 3. Changes in contractility were measured using tensiomyography (TMG). During a two-day tournament, TMG measurements were conducted in the morning and after each game. Additionally, off-game performance analysis consisting of jump and change-of-direction (COD) tests was conducted the day before the tournament.
Results: Significant changes of the muscle contractility were found for GC with TMG values being higher in the baseline than in the post-game measurements. In contrast to athletes of the GC group, athletes of the RF group responded with either decreased or increased muscle contractility after a single 3 × 3 game. A significant correlation between external and internal load parameters could not be shown. Concerning off-game performance, significant correlations can be reported for COD test duration, CMJ height and ∆Vc as well as COD test duration and ∆Dm. No systematic changes in muscle contractility were found over the course of the tournament in RF and GC.
Conclusion: The athletes' external 3 × 3 game load and their performance level did not seem to affect muscular contractility after a single 3 × 3 game or a complete 3 × 3 tournament within this investigation. This might indicate that elite athletes can resist external load without relevant local muscular fatigue. With respect to the course of the tournament, it can therefore be concluded that the breaks between games seem to be sufficient to return to the initial level of muscle contractility.
Social identification is health-beneficial as social groups provide social support (i.e., the social cure effect). We study this social cure effect in diabetes patients by focusing on two relevant sources of social support, namely medical practitioners (MP) and fellow patients. As both groups have diabetes-specific knowledge, we predict that sharing an identity with them provides access to specific support, which, in turn, optimizes individuals’ diabetes management and reduces diabetes-related stress. We further predict that identifying with their MP or fellow patients will be more strongly related to perceived social support among individuals with lower diabetes-specific resilience because they pay more attention to supportive cues. We tested this moderated mediation model in a two-wave study with n = 200 diabetes patients. Identification with the MP related to more support, which, in turn, was related to better diabetes management and less diabetes-specific stress. Identification with fellow patients related to more support; however, social support was unrelated to diabetes management and stress. Resilience only moderated the relationship between MP identification and support, as people with lower resilience levels reported more support from their MP. This study shows the importance of social identification with the MP and other diabetes patients, especially for people with lower resilience levels.
Nowadays, teachers are facing a more and more digitized world, as digital tools are being used by their students on a daily basis. This requires digital competencies in order to react in a professional manner to individual and societal challenges and to teach the students a purposeful use of those tools. Regarding the subject (e.g., STEM), this purpose includes specific content aspects, like data processing, or modeling and simulations of complex scientific phenomena. Yet, both pre-service and experienced teachers often consider their digital teaching competencies insufficient and wish for guidance in this field. Especially regarding immersive tools like augmented reality (AR), they do not have a lot of experience, although their willingness to use those modern tools in their lessons is high. The digital tool AR can target another problem in science lessons: students and teachers often have difficulties with understanding and creating scientific models. However, these are a main part of the scientific way of acquiring knowledge and are therefore embedded in curricula. With AR, virtual visualizations of model aspects can be superimposed on real experimental backgrounds in real time. It can help link models and experiments, which usually are not part of the same lesson and are perceived differently by students. Within the project diMEx (digital competencies in modeling and experimenting), a continuing professional development (CPD) for physics teachers was planned and conducted. Secondary school physics educators were guided in using AR in their lessons and their digital and modeling competencies for a purposeful use of AR experiments were promoted. To measure those competencies, various instruments with mixed methods were developed and evaluated. Among others, the teachers’ digital competencies have been assessed by four experts with an evaluation matrix based on the TPACK model. Technological, technical and design aspects as well as the didactical use of an AR experiment were assessed. The teachers generally demonstrate a high level of competency, especially in the first-mentioned aspects, and have successfully implemented their learnings from the CPD in the (re)design of their AR experiments.
Mexico’s role in the US-Central American migration regime is threefold: not only is it a country of origin, and a transit country, but also increasingly becoming a receiving country for migrants who flee from violence, insecurity and poverty. The Mexican state responds with detention enforcement. Clinical research usually puts emphasise on the negative impact of detention enforcement on the detainees‘ mental health. Yet, it often disregards the spatial configurations of detention centres and their socio-political context. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing how such factors create harmful environments that affect both the detainees‘ mental health and their social life in Mexico’s migration detention centres. The study’s mixed method approach builds on semi-structured interviews with a sample of N = 56 migrants of diverse nationalities and varying socioeconomic status of whom 22 were still detained while 34 had been released. The interviews include the Torturing Environment Scale (TES), a novel instrument for the analysis of detention environments, as well as clinical psychological measures of emotional distress. Additional n = 10 in-depth interviews with human rights advocates to explore the interconnections between the detention environments, their impact on mental health, and Mexican migration politics. Facultative counter-mappings of the detention centres complement the interviews. Without exception, all interviews of detainees underline that the manipulation of detention conditions creates torturing environments that cause harm to basic physiological and psychological needs. A comparison between detained vs. released interviewees revealed lasting feelings of fear and shame. The study emphasises that immigration detention immobilises migrants in a necropolitical limbo, which destroys hope as much as human integrity. It indicates that detention is part of deterrence politics, which perpetuates harm and inequality through detention and deportation. Highlighting structural human rights violations, the findings stress the need to review current migration policies.
The purpose of this study was to investigate which social groups are perceived as a threat target and which are perceived as a threat source during the COVID-19 outbreak. In a German sample (N = 1454) we examined perceptions of social groups ranging from those that are psychologically close and smaller (family, friends, neighbors) to those that are more distal and larger (people living in Germany, humankind). We hypothesized that psychologically closer groups would be perceived as less affected by COVID-19 as well as less threatening than more psychologically distal groups. Based on social identity theorizing, we also hypothesized that stronger identification with humankind would change these patterns. Furthermore, we explored how these threat perceptions relate to adherence to COVID-19 health guidelines. In line with our hypotheses, latent random-slope modelling revealed that psychologically distal and larger groups were perceived as more affected by COVID-19 and as more threatening than psychologically closer and smaller groups. Including identification with humankind as a predictor into the threat target model resulted in a steeper increase in threat target perception patterns, whereas identification with humankind did not predict differences in threat source perceptions. Additionally, an increase in threat source perceptions across social groups was associated with more adherence to health guidelines, whereas an increase in threat target perceptions was not. We fully replicated these findings in a subgroup from the original sample (N = 989) four weeks later. We argue that societal recovery from this and other crises will be supported by an inclusive approach informed by a sense of our common identity as human beings.
Background: The assessment of therapeutic adherence and competence is essential to understand mechanisms that contribute to treatment outcome. Nevertheless, their assessment is often neglected in psychotherapy research.
Aims/Objective: To develop an adherence and a treatment-specific competence rating scale for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (DBT-PTSD), and to examine their psychometric properties. Global cognitive behavioural therapeutic competence and disorder-specific therapeutic competence were assessed using already existing scales to confirm their psychometric properties in our sample of patients with PTSD and emotion regulation difficulties.
Method: Two rating scales were developed using an inductive procedure. 155 videotaped therapy sessions from a multicenter randomised controlled trial were rated by trained raters using these scales, 40 randomly chosen videotapes involving eleven therapists and fourteen patients were doubly rated by two raters.
Results: Both the adherence scale (Patient-level ICC = .98; αs = .65; αp = .75) and the treatment-specific competence scale (Patient-level ICC = .98; αs = .78; αp = .82) for DBT-PTSD showed excellent interrater – and good reliability on the patient level. Content validity, including relevance and appropriateness of all items, was confirmed by experts in DBT-PTSD for the new treatment-specific competence scale.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that both scales are reliable instruments. They will be useful to examine possible effects of adherence and treatment-specific competence on DBT-PTSD treatment outcome.
Probing the association between resting-state brain network dynamics and psychological resilience
(2022)
Abstract
This study aimed at replicating a previously reported negative correlation between node flexibility and psychological resilience, that is, the ability to retain mental health in the face of stress and adversity. To this end, we used multiband resting-state BOLD fMRI (TR = .675 sec) from 52 participants who had filled out three psychological questionnaires assessing resilience. Time-resolved functional connectivity was calculated by performing a sliding window approach on averaged time series parcellated according to different established atlases. Multilayer modularity detection was performed to track network reconfigurations over time, and node flexibility was calculated as the number of times a node changes community assignment. In addition, node promiscuity (the fraction of communities a node participates in) and node degree (as proxy for time-varying connectivity) were calculated to extend previous work. We found no substantial correlations between resilience and node flexibility. We observed a small number of correlations between the two other brain measures and resilience scores that were, however, very inconsistently distributed across brain measures, differences in temporal sampling, and parcellation schemes. This heterogeneity calls into question the existence of previously postulated associations between resilience and brain network flexibility and highlights how results may be influenced by specific analysis choices.
Author Summary
We tested the replicability and generalizability of a previously proposed negative association between dynamic brain network reconfigurations derived from multilayer modularity detection (node flexibility) and psychological resilience. Using multiband resting-state BOLD fMRI data and exploring several parcellation schemes, sliding window approaches, and temporal resolutions of the data, we could not replicate previously reported findings regarding the association between node flexibility and resilience. By extending this work to other measures of brain dynamics (node promiscuity, degree) we observe a rather inconsistent pattern of correlations with resilience that strongly varies across analysis choices. We conclude that further research is needed to understand the network neuroscience basis of mental health and discuss several reasons that may account for the variability in results.
Visual search in natural scenes is a complex task relying on peripheral vision to detect potential targets and central vision to verify them. The segregation of the visual fields has been particularly established by on-screen experiments. We conducted a gaze-contingent experiment in virtual reality in order to test how the perceived roles of central and peripheral visions translated to more natural settings. The use of everyday scenes in virtual reality allowed us to study visual attention by implementing a fairly ecological protocol that cannot be implemented in the real world. Central or peripheral vision was masked during visual search, with target objects selected according to scene semantic rules. Analyzing the resulting search behavior, we found that target objects that were not spatially constrained to a probable location within the scene impacted search measures negatively. Our results diverge from on-screen studies in that search performances were only slightly affected by central vision loss. In particular, a central mask did not impact verification times when the target was grammatically constrained to an anchor object. Our findings demonstrates that the role of central vision (up to 6 degrees of eccentricities) in identifying objects in natural scenes seems to be minor, while the role of peripheral preprocessing of targets in immersive real-world searches may have been underestimated by on-screen experiments.
Children often perform worse than adults on tasks that require focused attention. While this is commonly regarded as a sign of incomplete cognitive development, a broader attentional focus could also endow children with the ability to find novel solutions to a given task. To test this idea, we investigated children’s ability to discover and use novel aspects of the environment that allowed them to improve their decision-making strategy. Participants were given a simple choice task in which the possibility of strategy improvement was neither mentioned by instructions nor encouraged by explicit error feedback. Among 47 children (8—10 years of age) who were instructed to perform the choice task across two experiments, 27.5% showed a full strategy change. This closely matched the proportion of adults who had the same insight (28.2% of n = 39). The amount of erroneous choices, working memory capacity and inhibitory control, in contrast, indicated substantial disadvantages of children in task execution and cognitive control. A task difficulty manipulation did not affect the results. The stark contrast between age-differences in different aspects of cognitive performance might offer a unique opportunity for educators in fostering learning in children.
Development and preliminary validation of the Emotions while Learning an Instrument Scale (ELIS)
(2021)
Learning to play a musical instrument is associated with different, partially conflicting emotions. This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of the Emotions while Learning an Instrument Scale (ELIS). In a longitudinal study with 545 German elementary school children factorial structure and psychometric properties were evaluated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a two-factor solution measuring Positive musical Emotions while Learning an Instrument (PELI) and Negative Emotions while Learning an Instrument (NELI). Both subscales yielded scores with adequate internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = .74, .86) and relatively stable retest reliabilities over 18 months (r = .11 -.56). Preliminary evidence of congruent and divergent validity of the subscales is provided. Implications for future research of musical emotional experiences in children are discussed.
Investigation of the sympathetic regulation in delayed onset muscle soreness: results of an RCT
(2021)
Sports-related pain and injury is directly linked to tissue inflammation, thus involving the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In the present experimental study, we disable the sympathetic part of the ANS by applying a stellate ganglion block (SGB) in an experimental model of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) of the biceps muscle. We included 45 healthy participants (female 11, male 34, age 24.16 ± 6.67 years [range 18–53], BMI 23.22 ± 2.09 kg/m2) who were equally randomized to receive either (i) an SGB prior to exercise-induced DOMS (preventive), (ii) sham intervention in addition to DOMS (control/sham), or (iii) SGB after the induction of DOMS (rehabilitative). The aim of the study was to determine whether and to what extent sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) is involved in DOMS processing. Focusing on the muscular area with the greatest eccentric load (biceps distal fifth), a significant time × group interaction on the pressure pain threshold was observed between preventive SGB and sham (p = 0.034). There was a significant effect on pain at motion (p = 0.048), with post hoc statistical difference at 48 h (preventive SGB Δ1.09 ± 0.82 cm VAS vs. sham Δ2.05 ± 1.51 cm VAS; p = 0.04). DOMS mediated an increase in venous cfDNA -as a potential molecular/inflammatory marker of DOMS- within the first 24 h after eccentric exercise (time effect p = 0.018), with a peak at 20 and 60 min. After 60 min, cfDNA levels were significantly decreased comparing preventive SGB to sham (unpaired t-test p = 0.008). At both times, 20 and 60 min, cfDNA significantly correlated with observed changes in PPT. The 20-min increase was more sensitive, as it tended toward significance at 48 h (r = 0.44; p = 0.1) and predicted the early decrease of PPT following preventive stellate blocks at 24 h (r = 0.53; p = 0.04). Our study reveals the broad impact of the ANS on DOMS and exercise-induced pain. For the first time, we have obtained insights into the sympathetic regulation of pain and inflammation following exercise overload. As this study is of a translational pilot character, further research is encouraged to confirm and specify our observations.
Strenuous and unaccustomed exercise frequently lead to what has been coined “delayed onset muscle soreness” (DOMS). As implied by this term, it has been proposed that the associated pain and stiffness stem from micro-lesions, inflammation, or metabolite accumulation within the skeletal muscle. However, recent research points towards a strong involvement of the connective tissue. First, according to anatomical studies, the deep fascia displays an intimate structural relationship with the underlying skeletal muscle and may therefore be damaged during excessive loading. Second, histological and experimental studies suggest a rich supply of algogenic nociceptors whose stimulation evokes stronger pain responses than muscle irritation. Taken together, the findings support the hypothesis that DOMS originates in the muscle-associated connective tissue rather than in the muscle itself. Sports and fitness professionals designing exercise programs should hence consider fascia-oriented methods and techniques (e.g., foam rolling, collagen supplementation) when aiming to treat or prevent DOMS.
Korrektur zu: Roth C, Rettenmaier L and Behringer M (2021) High-Protein Energy-Restriction: Effects on Body Composition, Contractile Properties, Mood, and Sleep in Active Young College Students. Front. Sports Act. Living 3:683327. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2021.683327
Background: The promotion of healthy aging is one of the major challenges for healthcare systems in current times. The present study investigates the effects of a standardized physical activity intervention for older adults on cognitive capacity, self-reported health, fear of falls, balance, leg strength and gait under consideration of movement biography, sleep duration, and current activity behavior. Methods: This single-blinded, randomized controlled trial included 49 community-dwelling older adults (36 women; 82.9 ± 4.5 years of age (Mean [M] ± SD); intervention group = 25; control group = 24). Movement biography, sleep duration, cognitive capacity, self-reported health status, and fear of falls were assessed by means of questionnaires. Leg strength, gait, and current activity levels were captured using a pressure plate, accelerometers, and conducting the functional-reach and chair-rising-test. The multicomponent intervention took place twice a week for 45 min and lasted 16 weeks. Sub-cohorts of different sleep duration were formed to distinguish between intervention effects and benefits of healthy sleep durations. Change scores were evaluated in univariate analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) between groups and sub-cohorts of different sleep duration in both groups. Changes in cognitive capacity, self-reported health, fear of falls, balance, leg strength, and gait were investigated using the respective baseline values, movement biography, and current activity levels as covariates. Analysis was by intention-to-treat (ITT). Results: We found sub-cohort differences in cognitive capacity change scores [F(3,48) = 5.498, p = 0.003, ηp2 = 0.287]. Effects on fear of falls [F(1,48) = 12.961, p = 0.001, ηp2 = 0.240] and balance change scores F(1,48) = 4.521, p = 0.040, ηp2 = (0.099) were modified by the level of current activity. Effects on gait cadence were modified by the movement biography [F(1,48) = 4.545; p = 0.039, ηp2 = 0.100]. Conclusions: Unlike for functional outcomes, our multicomponent intervention in combination with adequate sleep duration appears to provide combinable beneficial effects for cognitive capacity in older adults. Trainability of gait, fear of falls, and flexibility seems to be affected by movement biography and current physical activity levels. Trial registration: This study was registered at the DRKS (German Clinical Trials Register) on November 11, 2020 with the corresponding trial number: DRKS00020472.
We investigated whether dichotomous data showed the same latent structure as the interval-level data from which they originated. Given constancy of dimensionality and factor loadings reflecting the latent structure of data, the focus was on the variance of the latent variable of a confirmatory factor model. This variance was shown to summarize the information provided by the factor loadings. The results of a simulation study did not reveal exact correspondence of the variances of the latent variables derived from interval-level and dichotomous data but shrinkage. Since shrinkage occurred systematically, methods for recovering the original variance were fleshed out and evaluated.
The sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic challenged universities to provide students with online teaching and learning settings that were both immediately applicable and supportive of quality learning. This resulted in a broad variety of synchronous and asynchronous online settings of teaching and learning. While some courses balanced both kinds, others offered either predominantly synchronous or asynchronous teaching and learning. In a survey study with students (N=3,056) and teachers (N=396) from a large German university, we explored whether a predominance of synchronous or asynchronous teaching and learning settings in higher education was associated with certain student experiences and outcomes. Additionally, we examined how well these two types of teaching and learning settings support students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness proposed by self-determination theory (SDT). Data were collected after the first online semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results imply that from the students’ perspective, the teaching methods involved in the two settings of teaching and learning differ with regard to their potential to support social interaction and to support basic psychological needs as proposed by SDT. Students who studied mostly in synchronous settings reported more peer-centered activities such as feedback in comparison to students in mostly asynchronous settings. In contrast, teachers perceived fewer differences between teaching methods in synchronous and asynchronous settings, especially regarding feedback activities. Further, students in mostly synchronous settings reported greater support of their basic psychological needs for competence support and relatedness as well as a greater overall satisfaction with the online term compared to students in mostly asynchronous settings. Across all students, greater fulfillment of psychological needs and higher technology acceptance coincided with outcomes that are more favorable. Implications for the post-pandemic classroom are drawn.
Taking blood via venipuncture is part of the necessary surveillance before and after liver transplantation. The spectrum of response from children and their parents is variable, ranging from a short and limited aversion to paralyzing phobia. The aim of this retrospective, cross-sectional study was to determine the level of anxiety amongst children during venipuncture, to compare the anxiety reported by children and parents, and to identify the factors affecting the children’s and parents’ anxiety in order to develop therapeutic strategies. In total, 147 children (aged 0–17 years, 78 female) and their parents completed questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results showed that the majority of children reported anxiety and pain during venipuncture. Younger children had more anxiety (self-reported or assessed by parents). Children and parental reports of anxiety were highly correlated. However, the child’s anxiety was often reported as higher by parents than by the children themselves. The child’s general anxiety as well as the parents’ perceived stress from surgical interventions (but not the number of surgical interventions) prompted parental report of child anxiety. For children, the main stressors that correlated with anxiety and pain were factors during the blood collection itself (e.g., feeling the puncture, seeing the syringe). Parental anxiety was mainly related to circumstances before the blood collection (e.g., approaching the clinic, sitting in the waiting room). The main stressors mentioned by parents were the child’s discomfort and their inability to calm the child. Results indicate that the children’s fear of factors during the blood collection, along with the parents’ perceived stress and helplessness as well as their anticipatory anxiety are important starting points for facilitating the drawing of blood from children before and after liver transplantation, thereby supporting a better disease course in the future.
In the COVID-19 pandemic, human solidarity plays a crucial role in meeting this maybe greatest modern societal challenge. Public health communication targets enhancing collective compliance with protective health and safety regulations. Here, we asked whether authoritarian/controlling message framing as compared to a neutral message framing may be more effective than moralizing/prosocial message framing and whether recipients’ self-rated trait autonomy might lessen these effects. In a German sample (n = 708), we measured approval of seven regulations (e.g., reducing contact, wearing a mask) before and after presenting one of three Twitter messages (authoritarian, moralizing, neutral/control) presented by either a high-authority sender (state secretary) or a low-authority sender (social worker). We found that overall, the messages successfully increased participants’ endorsement of the regulations, but only weakly so because of ceiling effects. Highly autonomous participants showed more consistent responses across the two measurements, i.e., lower response shifting, in line with the concept of reactive autonomy. Specifically, when the sender was a social worker, response shifting correlated negatively with trait autonomy. We suggest that a trusted sender encourages more variable responses to imposed societal regulations in individuals low in autonomy, and we discuss several aspects that may improve health communication.
Background: Abnormalities of heart rate (HR) and its variability are characteristic of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, circadian rhythm is rarely taken into account when statistically exploring state or trait markers for depression. Methods: A 4-day electrocardiogram was recorded for 16 treatment-resistant patients with MDD and 16 age- and sex-matched controls before, and for the patient group only, after a single treatment with the rapid-acting antidepressant ketamine or placebo (clinical trial registration available on https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ with EUDRACT number 2016-001715-21). Circadian rhythm differences of HR and the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) were compared between groups and were explored for classification purposes. Baseline HR/RMSSD were tested as predictors for treatment response, and physiological measures were assessed as state markers. Results: Patients showed higher HR and lower RMSSD alongside marked reductions in HR amplitude and RMSSD variation throughout the day. Excellent classification accuracy was achieved using HR during the night, particularly between 2 and 3 a.m. (90.6%). A positive association between baseline HR and treatment response (r = 0.55, p = 0.046) pointed toward better treatment outcome in patients with higher HR. Heart rate also decreased significantly following treatment but was not associated with improved mood after a single infusion of ketamine. Limitations: Our study had a limited sample size, and patients were treated with concomitant antidepressant medication. Conclusion: Patients with depression show a markedly reduced amplitude for HR and dysregulated RMSSD fluctuation. Higher HR and lower RMSSD in depression remain intact throughout a 24-h day, with the highest classification accuracy during the night. Baseline HR levels show potential for treatment response prediction but did not show potential as state markers in this study.
Treatment outcomes of a CBT-based group intervention for adolescents with internet use disorders
(2021)
Background and aims: Instances of Internet use disorders (IUD) including Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and non-gaming pathological Internet use (ng-PIU) have the extent that they are now a growing mental health issue. Individuals suffering from IUD show a large range of symptoms, high comorbidities and impairments in different areas of life. To date there is a lack of efficient and evidence-based treatment programs for such adolescents. The present registered single-arm trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03582839) aimed to investigate the long-term effects of a brief manualized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program for adolescents with IUD. Methods: N = 54 patients (16.7% female), aged 9–19 years (M = 13.48, SD = 1.72) received the CBT group program PROTECT+. IUD symptom severity (primary outcome variable) as well as comorbid symptoms, risk-related variables and potentially protective skills (secondary outcome variables) were assessed at pretest, posttest, as well as 4 and 12 months after admission. Results: Patients showed a significant reduction in IUD symptom severity at the 12-month follow-up. Effect sizes were medium to large depending on the measure. Beyond the statistical significance, the clinical significance was confirmed using the reliable change index. Secondary outcome variables showed a significant reduction in self-reported depression, social anxiety, performance anxiety and school anxiety as well as in parental-reported general psychopathology. Discussion and conclusions: The present study shows long-term effects of a manual-based CBT treatment for adolescents suffering from IUD. The results indicate that even a 4-session brief intervention can achieve a medium to large effect over 12 months. Future work is needed to confirm the efficacy within a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Background: Physical activity and sleep quality are both major factors for improving one's health. Knowledge on the interactions of sleep quality and the amount of physical activity may be helpful for implementing multimodal health interventions in older adults. Methods: This preliminary cross-sectional study is based on 64 participants [82.1 ± 6.4 years (MD ± SD); 22 male: 42 female]. The amount of physical activity was assessed by means of an accelerometer (MyWellness Key). Self-reported sleep parameters were obtained using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The Barthel Index was used for physical disability rating. Bivariate correlations (Spearman's Rho) were used to explore relationships between the amount of physical activity and sleep quality. To analyse differences between categorial subgroups univariate ANOVAs were applied; in cases of significance, these were followed by Tukey-HSD post-hoc analyses. Results: No linear association between physical activity and sleep quality was found (r = 0.119; p > 0.05). In subgroup analyses (n = 41, Barthel Index ≥90 pts, free of pre-existing conditions), physical activity levels differed significantly between groups of different sleep duration (≥7 h; ≥6 to <7 h; ≥5 to <6 h; <5h; p = 0.037). Conclusion: There is no general association between higher activity levels and better sleep quality in the investigated cohort. However, a sleep duration of ≥5 to <6 h, corresponding to 7.6 h bed rest time, was associated with a higher level of physical activity.
Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been included in the DSM-5 as a diagnosis for further study, and Gaming Disorder as a new diagnosis in the ICD-11. Nonetheless, little is known about the clinical prevalence of IGD in children and adolescents. Additionally, it is unclear if patients with IGD are already identified in routine psychotherapy, using the ICD-10 diagnosis F 63.8 (recommended classification of IGD in ICD-10). This study investigated N = 358 children and adolescents (self and parental rating) of an outpatient psychotherapy centre in Germany using the Video Game Dependency Scale. According to self-report 4.0% of the 11- to 17-year-old patients met criteria for a tentative IGD diagnosis and 14.0% according to the parental report. Of the 5- to 10-year-old patients, 4.1% were diagnosed with tentative IGD according to parental report. Patients meeting IGD criteria were most frequently diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorders, followed by anxiety disorders, F 63.8, conduct disorders, mood disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders (descending order) as primary clinical diagnoses. Consequently, this study indicates that a significant amount of the clinical population presents IGD. Meaning, appropriate diagnostics should be included in routine psychological diagnostics in order to avoid “hidden” cases of IGD in the future.
Finding a bottle of milk in the bathroom would probably be quite surprising to most of us. Such a surprised reaction is driven by our strong expectations, learned through experience, that a bottle of milk belongs in the kitchen. Our environment is not randomly organized but governed by regularities that allow us to predict what objects can be found in which types of scene. These scene semantics are thought to play an important role in the recognition of objects. But when during development are the semantic predictions so far implemented that such scene-object inconsistencies would lead to semantic processing difficulties? Here we investigated how toddlers perceive their environments, and what expectations govern their attention and perception. To this aim, we used a purely visual paradigm in an ERP experiment and presented 24-month-olds with familiar scenes in which either a semantically consistent or an inconsistent object would appear. The scene-inconsistency effect has been previously studied in adults by means of the N400, a neural marker responding to semantic inconsistencies across many types of stimuli. Our results show that semantic object-scene inconsistencies indeed elicited an enhanced N400 over the left anterior brain region between 750 and 1150 ms post stimulus onset. This modulation of the N400 marker provides first indications that by the age of two toddlers have already established their scene semantics allowing them to detect a purely visual, semantic object-scene inconsistency. Our data suggest the presence of specific semantic knowledge regarding what objects occur in a certain scene category.
Background: It is often advised to ensure a high-protein intake during energy-restricted diets. However, it is unclear whether a high-protein intake is able to maintain muscle mass and contractility in the absence of resistance training.
Materials and Methods: After 1 week of body mass maintenance (45 kcal/kg), 28 male college students not performing resistance training were randomized to either the energy-restricted (ER, 30 kcal/kg, n = 14) or the eucaloric control group (CG, 45 kcal/kg, n = 14) for 6 weeks. Both groups had their protein intake matched at 2.8 g/kg fat-free-mass and continued their habitual training throughout the study. Body composition was assessed weekly using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. Contractile properties of the m. rectus femoris were examined with Tensiomyography and MyotonPRO at weeks 1, 3, and 5 along with sleep (PSQI) and mood (POMS).
Results: The ER group revealed greater reductions in body mass (Δ −3.22 kg vs. Δ 1.90 kg, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.360), lean body mass (Δ −1.49 kg vs. Δ 0.68 kg, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.152), body cell mass (Δ −0.85 kg vs. Δ 0.59 kg, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.181), intracellular water (Δ −0.58 l vs. Δ 0.55 l, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 0.445) and body fat percentage (Δ −1.74% vs. Δ 1.22%, p < 0.001, partial η2 = 433) compared to the CG. Contractile properties, sleep onset, sleep duration as well as depression, fatigue and hostility did not change (p > 0.05). The PSQI score (Δ −1.43 vs. Δ −0.64, p = 0.006, partial η2 = 0.176) and vigor (Δ −2.79 vs. Δ −4.71, p = 0.040, partial η2 = 0.116) decreased significantly in the ER group and the CG, respectively.
Discussion: The present data show that a high-protein intake alone was not able to prevent lean mass loss associated with a 6-week moderate energy restriction in college students. Notably, it is unknown whether protein intake at 2.8 g/kg fat-free-mass prevented larger decreases in lean body mass. Muscle contractility was not negatively altered by this form of energy restriction. Sleep quality improved in both groups. Whether these advantages are due to the high-protein intake cannot be clarified and warrants further study. Although vigor was negatively affected in both groups, other mood parameters did not change.
Dual-task paradigms encompass a broad range of approaches to measure cognitive load in instructional settings. As a common characteristic, an additional task is implemented alongside a learning task to capture the individual’s unengaged cognitive capacities during the learning process. Measures to determine these capacities are, for instance, reaction times and interval errors on the additional task, while the performance on the learning task is to be maintained. Opposite to retrospectively applied subjective ratings, the continuous assessment within a dual-task paradigm allows to simultaneously monitor changes in the performance related to previously defined tasks. Following the Cognitive Load Theory, these changes in performance correspond to cognitive changes related to the establishment of permanently existing knowledge structures. Yet the current state of research indicates a clear lack of standardization of dual-task paradigms over study settings and task procedures. Typically, dual-task designs are adapted uniquely for each study, albeit with some similarities across different settings and task procedures. These similarities range from the type of modality to the frequency used for the additional task. This results in a lack of validity and comparability between studies due to arbitrarily chosen patterns of frequency without a sound scientific base, potentially confounding variables, or undecided adaptation potentials for future studies. In this paper, the lack of validity and comparability between dual-task settings will be presented, the current taxonomies compared and the future steps for a better standardization and implementation discussed.
Specifying accurate informative prior distributions is a question of carefully selecting studies that comprise the body of comparable background knowledge. Psychological research, however, consists of studies that are being conducted under different circumstances, with different samples and varying instruments. Thus, results of previous studies are heterogeneous, and not all available results can and should contribute equally to an informative prior distribution. This implies a necessary weighting of background information based on the similarity of the previous studies to the focal study at hand. Current approaches to account for heterogeneity by weighting informative prior distributions, such as the power prior and the meta-analytic predictive prior are either not easily accessible or incomplete. To complicate matters further, in the context of Bayesian multiple regression models there are no methods available for quantifying the similarity of a given body of background knowledge to the focal study at hand. Consequently, the purpose of this study is threefold. We first present a novel method to combine the aforementioned sources of heterogeneity in the similarity measure ω. This method is based on a combination of a propensity-score approach to assess the similarity of samples with random- and mixed-effects meta-analytic models to quantify the heterogeneity in outcomes and study characteristics. Second, we show how to use the similarity measure ω as a weight for informative prior distributions for the substantial parameters (regression coefficients) in Bayesian multiple regression models. Third, we investigate the performance and the behavior of the similarity-weighted informative prior distribution in a comprehensive simulation study, where it is compared to the normalized power prior and the meta-analytic predictive prior. The similarity measure ω and the similarity-weighted informative prior distribution as the primary results of this study provide applied researchers with means to specify accurate informative prior distributions.
School psychologists are asked to systematically evaluate the effects of their work to ensure quality standards. Given the different types of methods applied to different users of school psychology measuring the effects of school psychological services is a complex task. Thus, the focus of our scoping review was to systematically investigate the state of past research on the measurement of the effects of school psychological services published between 1998 and 2018 in eight major school psychological journals. Of the 5,048 peer-reviewed articles published within this period, 623 were coded by two independent raters as explicitly refering to school psychology or counseling in the school context in their titles or abstracts. However, only 22 included definitions of effects of school psychological services or described outcomes used to evaluate school psychological services based on full text screening. These findings revealed that measurement of the effects of school psychological services has not been a focus of research despite its' relevance in guidelines of school psychological practice.
Transcranial alternating-current stimulation (tACS) in the frequency range of 1–100 Hz has come to be used routinely in electroencephalogram (EEG) studies of brain function through entrainment of neuronal oscillations. It turned out, however, to be highly non-trivial to remove the strong stimulation signal, including its harmonic and non-harmonic distortions, as well as various induced higher-order artifacts from the EEG data recorded during the stimulation. In this paper, we discuss some of the problems encountered and present methodological approaches aimed at overcoming them. To illustrate the mechanisms of artifact induction and the proposed removal strategies, we use data obtained with the help of a schematic demonstrator setup as well as human-subject data.
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to clarify whether blood-flow restriction during resting intervals [resting blood-flow restriction (rBFR)] is comparable to a continuous BFR (cBFR) training regarding its effects on maximum strength, hypertrophy, fatigue resistance, and perceived discomfort.
Materials and Methods: Nineteen recreationally trained participants performed four sets (30-15-15-15 repetitions) with 20% 1RM on a 45° leg press twice a week for 6 weeks (cBFR, n = 10; rBFR, n = 9). Maximum strength, fatigue resistance, muscle thickness, and girth were assessed at three timepoints (pre, mid, and post). Subjective pain and perceived exertion were determined immediately after training at two timepoints (mid and post).
Results: Maximum strength (p < 0.001), fatigue resistance (p < 0.001), muscle thickness (p < 0.001), and girth (p = 0.008) increased in both groups over time with no differences between groups (p > 0.05). During the intervention, the rBFR group exposed significantly lower perceived pain and exertion values compared to cBFR (p < 0.05).
Discussion: Resting blood-flow restriction training led to similar gains in strength, fatigue resistance, and muscle hypertrophy as cBFR training while provoking less discomfort and perceived exertion in participants. In summary, rBFR training could provide a meaningful alternative to cBFR as this study showed similar functional and structural changes as well as less discomfort.
Background: Many refugees have experienced multiple traumatic events in their country of origin and/or during flight. Trauma-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (CPTSD) are prevalent in this population, which highlights the need for accessible and effective treatment. Imagery Rescripting (ImRs), an imagery-based treat- ment that does not use formal exposure and that has received growing interest as an innovative treatment for PTSD, appears to be a promising approach.
Objective: This randomized-controlled trial aims to investigate the efficacy of ImRs for refugees compared to Usual Care and Treatment Advice (UC+TA) on (C)PTSD remission and reduction in other related symptoms.
Method: Subjects are 90 refugees to Germany with a diagnosis of PTSD according to DSM-5. They will be randomly allocated to receive either UC+TA (n = 45) or 10 sessions of ImRs (n = 45). Assessments will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention, three-month follow- up, and 12-month follow-up. Primary outcome is the (C)PTSD remission rate. Secondary outcomes are severity of PTSD and CPTSD symptoms, psychiatric symptoms, dissociative symptoms, quality of sleep, and treatment satisfaction. Economic analyses will investigate health-related quality of life and costs. Additional measures will assess migration and stress- related factors, predictors of dropout, therapeutic alliance and session-by-session changes in trauma-related symptoms.
Results and Conclusions: Emerging evidence suggests the suitability of ImRs in the treat- ment of refugees with PTSD. After positive evaluation, this short and culturally adaptable treatment can contribute to close the treatment gap for refugees in high-income countries such as Germany.
Trial registration: German Clinical Trials Register under trial number DRKS00019876, regis- tered prospectively on 28 April 2020.
Background: Researchers who wish to study stress-related disorders need to use valid, reliable, and sensitive instruments and the Clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) con- stitutes the gold standard in the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While the CAPS corresponds with PTSD criteria according to the DSM-5, researchers face a challenge with the forthcoming ICD-11: ICD-11 introduces the new diagnosis Complex PTSD (CPTSD) that does not exist in DSM-5.
Objective: Researchers as well as clinicians will need to assess the incidence and prevalence of CPTSD and will want to evaluate treatment effects according to both criteria sets. However, using two clinician-rated interviews is often not feasible and a burden to patients, particularly in psychotherapy research.
Method & Results: We have therefore developed the Complex PTSD Item Set additional to the CAPS (COPISAC). This clinician rating is an easy-to-use and economic addition to the CAPS that permits assessing diagnosis and evaluating symptom severity of CPTSD. COPISAC consists of three items that assess disturbances in self-regulation including prompts for symptom description and frequency, and two additional items assessing impairment. Diagnostic status and severity ratings for CPTSD are possible. Items that account for the specific forms of trauma which the ICD-11 describes as precursors of CPTSD (e.g. torture, being enslaved) are further suggested as additions to the Life Events Checklist. Conclusion: With an introduction of COPISAC at this point, we aim at suggesting an easy transition into diagnosing CPTSD and evaluating its course over treatment.
Most countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have repeatedly restricted public life to control the contagion. However, the health impact of confinement measures is hitherto unclear. We performed a multinational survey investigating changes in mental and physical well-being (MWB/PWB) during the first wave of the pandemic. A total of 14,975 individuals from 14 countries provided valid responses. Compared to pre-restrictions, MWB, as measured by the WHO-5 questionnaire, decreased considerably during restrictions (68.1 ± 16.9 to 51.9 ± 21.0 points). Whereas 14.2% of the participants met the cutoff for depression screening pre-restrictions, this share tripled to 45.2% during restrictions. Factors associated with clinically relevant decreases in MWB were female sex (odds ratio/OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.11–1.29), high physical activity levels pre-restrictions (OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.16–1.42), decreased vigorous physical activity during restrictions (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.05–1.23), and working (partially) outside the home vs. working remotely (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.16–1.44/OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.23–1.47). Reductions, although smaller, were also seen for PWB. Scores in the SF-36 bodily pain subscale decreased from 85.8 ± 18.7% pre-restrictions to 81.3 ± 21.9% during restrictions. Clinically relevant decrements of PWB were associated with female sex (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.50–1.75), high levels of public life restrictions (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.18–1.36), and young age (OR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03–1.19). Study findings suggest lockdowns instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic may have had substantial adverse public health effects. The development of interventions mitigating losses in MWB and PWB is, thus, paramount when preparing for forthcoming waves of COVID-19 or future public life restrictions.
Reduced social functioning in depression has been explained by different factors. Reduced social connectedness and prosocial motivation may contribute to interpersonal difficulties, particularly in chronic depression. In the present study, we tested whether social connectedness and prosocial motivation are reduced in chronic depression. Forty-seven patients with persistent depression and 49 healthy controls matched for age and gender completed the Inclusion of the Other in the Self Scale (IOS), the Compassionate Love Scale (CLS), the Beck Depression Inventory-II, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. A Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with IOS and CLS as dependent variables revealed a highly significant difference between both groups. The IOS and the CLS-subscale Close Others were lower in persistent depression, whereas there was no difference in the CLS-subscale Strangers/Humanity. IOS and CLS-Close Others showed significant negative correlations with depressive symptoms. Connectedness to family members as measured by the IOS was negatively correlated with childhood trauma in patients with chronic depression. The results indicate that compassion and perceived social connection are reduced in depressed patients toward close others, but not to others in general. Implications for the treatment of depression are discussed.
It is important to understand the processes behind how and why individuals emerge as leaders, so that the best and most capable individuals may occupy leadership positions. So far, most literature in this area has focused on individual characteristics, such as personality or cognitive ability. While interactions between individuals and context do get research attention, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of how the social context at work may help individuals to emerge as leaders. Such knowledge could make an important contribution toward getting the most capable, rather than the most dominant or narcissistic individuals, into leadership positions. In the present work, we contribute toward closing this gap by testing a mediation chain linking a leader's leader self-awareness to a follower's leadership emergence with two time-lagged studies (nstudy1 = 449, nstudy2 = 355). We found that the leader's leader self-awareness was positively related to (a) the follower's leadership emergence and (b) the follower's nomination for promotion and that both relationships were serially mediated by the follower's self-leadership and the follower's leader self-efficacy. We critically discuss our findings and provide ideas for future research.
Reasoning may help solving problems and understanding personal experiences. Ruminative reasoning, however, is inconclusive, repetitive, and usually regards negative thoughts. We asked how reasoning as manifested in oral autobiographical narratives might differ when it is ruminative versus when it is adaptive by comparing two constructs from the fields of psychotherapy research and narrative research that are potentially beneficial: innovative moments (IMs) and autobiographical reasoning (AR). IMs captures statements in that elaborate on changes regarding an earlier personal previous problem of the narrator, and AR capture the connecting of past events with other parts of the narrator’s life or enduring aspects of the narrator. A total of N = 94 university students had been selected from 492 students to differ maximally on trait rumination and trait adaptive reflection, and were grouped as ruminators (N = 38), reflectors (N = 37), and a group with little ruminative and reflective tendencies (“unconcerned,” N = 19). Participants narrated three negative personal experiences (disappointing oneself, harming someone, and being rejected) and two self-related experiences of more mixed valence (turning point and lesson learnt). Reflectors used more IMs and more negative than positive autobiographical arguments (AAs), but not more overall AAs than ruminators. Group differences were not moderated by the valence of memories, and groups did not differ in the positive effect of narrating on mood. Trait depression/anxiety was predicted negatively by IMs and positively by AAs. Thus, IMs are typical for reflectors but not ruminators, whereas the construct of AR appears to capture reasoning processes irrespective of their ruminative versus adaptive uses.
Governments have restricted public life during the COVID-19 pandemic, inter alia closing sports facilities and gyms. As regular exercise is essential for health, this study examined the effect of pandemic-related confinements on physical activity (PA) levels. A multinational survey was performed in 14 countries. Times spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as well as in vigorous physical activity only (VPA) were assessed using the Nordic Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form). Data were obtained for leisure and occupational PA pre- and during restrictions. Compliance with PA guidelines was calculated based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). In total, n = 13,503 respondents (39 ± 15 years, 59% females) were surveyed. Compared to pre-restrictions, overall self-reported PA declined by 41% (MVPA) and 42.2% (VPA). Reductions were higher for occupational vs. leisure time, young and old vs. middle-aged persons, previously more active vs. less active individuals, but similar between men and women. Compared to pre-pandemic, compliance with WHO guidelines decreased from 80.9% (95% CI: 80.3–81.7) to 62.5% (95% CI: 61.6–63.3). Results suggest PA levels have substantially decreased globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key stakeholders should consider strategies to mitigate loss in PA in order to preserve health during the pandemic.
During dynamic ultrasound assessments, unintended transducer movement over the skin needs to be prevented as it may bias the results. The present study investigated the validity of two methods quantifying transducer motion. An ultrasound transducer was moved on a pre-specified 3 cm distance over the semitendinosus muscle of eleven adults (35.8 ± 9.8 years), stopping briefly at intervals of 0.5 cm. Transducer motion was quantified (1) measuring the 2-D displacement of the shadow produced by reflective tape (RT) attached to the skin and (2) using a marker-based, three-dimensional movement analysis system (MAS). Differences between methods were detected with Wilcoxon tests; associations were checked by means of intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 3.1) and Bland–Altman plots. Values for RT (r = 0.57, p < 0.001) and MAS (r = 0.19, p = 0.002) were significantly higher than true distances (TD). Strong correlations were found between RT and TD (ICC: 0.98, p < 0.001), MAS and TD (ICC: 0.95, p < 0.001), and MAS and RT (ICC: 0.97, p < 0.001). Bland–Altman plots showed narrow limits of agreement for both RT (−0.49 to 0.13 cm) and MAS (−0.49 to 0.34 cm) versus TD. RT and MAS are valid methods to quantify US transducer movement. In view of its low costs and complexity, RT can particularly be recommended for application in research and clinical practice. View Full-Text
Keywords: ultrasound; reflective tape; transducer movement
Innovative ideas are essential to sustainable development. Students’ innovative potential in higher education for sustainable development (HESD) has so far been neglected. Innovation is often associated with an interdisciplinary approach. However, the results of research on diversity and its role in innovation are inconsistent. The present study takes a longitudinal approach to investigating student teams in project-based learning courses in HESD in Germany. This study examines how innovation develops in interdisciplinary student teams in contrast to monodisciplinary student teams. The results of the latent change approach from a sample of 69 student teams indicate significant changes in students’ innovation over time. Monodisciplinary student teams outperform interdisciplinary student teams in idea promotion (convincing potential allies) at the beginning, whereas interdisciplinary student teams outperform monodisciplinary student teams in idea generation (production of novel and useful ideas) in the midterm. There is no difference in the long term. The results indicate that interdisciplinary student teams have an advantage in the generation of novel ideas but need time to leverage their access to different discipline-based knowledge. We discuss practical implications for the design of interdisciplinary learning with strategies to support students in the formation phase in project-based learning in HESD.
Repeated search studies are a hallmark in the investigation of the interplay between memory and attention. Due to a usually employed averaging, a substantial decrease in response times occurring between the first and second search through the same search environment is rarely discussed. This search initiation effect is often the most dramatic decrease in search times in a series of sequential searches. The nature of this initial lack of search efficiency has thus far remained unexplored. We tested the hypothesis that the activation of spatial priors leads to this search efficiency profile. Before searching repeatedly through scenes in VR, participants either (1) previewed the scene, (2) saw an interrupted preview, or (3) started searching immediately. The search initiation effect was present in the latter condition but in neither of the preview conditions. Eye movement metrics revealed that the locus of this effect lies in search guidance instead of search initiation or decision time, and was beyond effects of object learning or incidental memory. Our study suggests that upon visual processing of an environment, a process of activating spatial priors to enable orientation is initiated, which takes a toll on search time at first, but once activated it can be used to guide subsequent searches.
The ecological validity of neuropsychological testing (NT) has been questioned in the sports environment. A frequent criticism is that NT, mostly consisting of pen and paper or digital assessments, lacks relevant bodily movement. This study aimed to identify the determinants of a newly developed testing battery integrating both cognitive and motor demands. Twenty active individuals (25 ± 3 years, 11 males) completed the new motor-cognitive testing battery (MC), traditional NT (Stroop test, Trail Making test, Digit Span test) and isolated assessments of motor function (MF; Y-balance test, 20m-sprint, counter-movement jump). Kendal’s tau and partial Spearman correlations were used to detect associations between MC and NT/MF. Except for two items (Reactive Agility A and counter-movement jump; Run-Decide and sprint time; r = 0.37, p < 0.05), MC was not related to MF. Similarly, MC and NT were mostly unrelated, even when controlling for the two significant motor covariates (p > 0.05). The only MC item with (weak to moderate) associations to NT was the Memory Span test (Digit Span backwards and composite; r = 0.43–0.54, p < 0.05). In sum, motor-cognitive function appears to be largely independent from its two assumed components NT and MF and may represent a new parameter in performance diagnostics.
Resistance exercise has been demonstrated to improve brain function. However, the optimal workout characteristics are a matter of debate. This randomized, controlled trial aimed to elucidate differences between free-weight (REfree) and machine-based (REmach) training with regard to their ability to acutely enhance cognitive performance (CP). A total of n = 46 healthy individuals (27 ± 4 years, 26 men) performed a 45-min bout of REfree (military press, barbell squat, bench press) or REmach (shoulder press, leg press, chest press). Pre- and post-intervention, CP was examined using the Stroop test, Trail Making Test and Digit Span test. Mann–Whitney U tests did not reveal between-group differences for performance in the Digit Span test, Trail Making test and the color and word conditions of the Stroop test (p > 0.05). However, REfree was superior to REmach in the Stroop color-word condition (+6.3%, p = 0.02, R = 0.35). Additionally, REfree elicited pre-post changes in all parameters except for the Digit Span test and the word condition of the Stroop test while REmach only improved cognitive performance in part A of the Trail Making test. Using free weights seems to be the more effective RE method to acutely improve cognitive function (i.e., inhibitory control). The mechanisms of this finding merit further investigation.
Low-to-moderate quality meta-analytic evidence shows that motor control stabilisation exercise (MCE) is an effective treatment of non-specific low back pain. A possible approach to overcome the weaknesses of traditional meta-analyses would be that of a prospective meta-analyses. The aim of the present analysis was to generate high-quality evidence to support the view that motor control stabilisation exercises (MCE) lead to a reduction in pain intensity and disability in non-specific low back pain patients when compared to a control group. In this prospective meta-analysis and sensitivity multilevel meta-regression within the MiSpEx-Network, 18 randomized controlled study arms were included. Participants with non-specific low back pain were allocated to an intervention (individualized MCE, 12 weeks) or a control group (no additive exercise intervention). From each study site/arm, outcomes at baseline, 3 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months were pooled. The outcomes were current pain (NRS or VAS, 11 points scale), characteristic pain intensity, and subjective disability. A random effects meta-analysis model for continuous outcomes to display standardized mean differences between intervention and control was performed, followed by sensitivity multilevel meta-regressions. Overall, 2391 patients were randomized; 1976 (3 weeks, short-term), 1740 (12 weeks, intermediate), and 1560 (6 months, sustainability) participants were included in the meta-analyses. In the short-term, intermediate and sustainability, moderate-to-high quality evidence indicated that MCE has a larger effect on current pain (SMD = −0.15, −0.15, −0.19), pain intensity (SMD = −0.19, −0.26, −0.26) and disability (SMD = −0.15, −0.27, −0.25) compared with no exercise intervention. Low-quality evidence suggested that those patients with comparably intermediate current pain and older patients may profit the most from MCE. Motor control stabilisation exercise is an effective treatment for non-specific low back pain. Sub-clinical intermediate pain and middle-aged patients may profit the most from this intervention.
In the course of a growing start-up market and strongly increasing investment volume, investors try to predict the success of a business as precisely as possible in advance. However, when assessing the personality of the founder or founding team, they still rely far too often on their gut feeling, thereby reducing the quality of their decisions. Our study therefore aimed at investigating whether there are any relationships between the founders' personality traits and their performance and thus justifying the need for more targeted and optimized diagnostics in the field of founder personality. With a total of 141 founders, clear correlations between personality traits (conscientiousness, emotional stability) and performance could be demonstrated in the present study. In addition, it became evident that perceived stress is also related to the founders’ personality (emotional stability negative, conscientiousness positive) and in turn has a negative effect on performance. Our findings contribute to raising awareness of the importance of personality as a predictor of founders' performance, improving decision-making, and, in the long run, replacing gut feeling as an inappropriate assessment criterion of investors.
Cognitive flexibility – the ability to adjust one’s behavior to changing environmental demands – is crucial for controlled behavior. However, the term ‘cognitive flexibility’ is used heterogeneously, and associations between cognitive flexibility and other facets of flexible behavior have only rarely been studied systematically. To resolve some of these conceptual uncertainties, we directly compared cognitive flexibility (cue-instructed switching between two affectively neutral tasks), affective flexibility (switching between a neutral and an affective task using emotional stimuli), and feedback-based flexibility (non-cued, feedback-dependent switching between two neutral tasks). Three experimental paradigms were established that share as many procedural features (in terms of stimuli and/or task rules) as possible and administered in a pre-registered study plan (N = 100). Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the efficiency of cognitive and affective task switching (response time switch costs). Feedback-based flexibility (measured as mean number of errors after rule reversals) did not correlate with task switching efficiency in the other paradigms, but selectively with the effectiveness of affective switching (error rate costs when switching from neutral to emotion task). While preregistered confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provided no clear evidence for a shared factor underlying the efficiency of switching in all three domains of flexibility, an exploratory CFA suggested commonalities regarding switching effectiveness (accuracy-based switch costs). We propose shared mechanisms controlling the efficiency of cue-dependent task switching across domains, while the relationship to feedback-based flexibility may depend on mechanisms controlling switching effectiveness. Our results call for a more stringent conceptual differentiation between different variants of psychological flexibility.
Aerobic and resistance exercise acutely increase cognitive performance (CP). High-intensity functional training (HIFT) combines the characteristics of both regimes but its effect on CP is unclear. Thirty-five healthy individuals (26.7 ± 3.6 years, 18 females) were randomly allocated to three groups. The first (HIFT) performed a functional whole-body workout at maximal effort and in circuit format, while a second walked at 60% of the heart rate reserve (WALK). The third group remained physically inactive reading a book (CON). Before and after the 15-min intervention period, CP was assessed with the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test and Digit Span Test. Repeated-measures ANOVAs and post-hoc 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to detect time/group differences. A significant group*time interaction was found for the backwards condition of the Digit Span Test (p = 0.04) and according to the 95% CI, HIFT was superior to WALK and CON. Analysis of the sum score of the Digit Span Test and the incongruent condition of the Stroop Test, furthermore, revealed main effects for time (p < 0.05) with HIFT being the only intervention improving CP. No differences were found for the Trail Making Test (p > 0.05). In conclusion, HIFT represents an appropriate method to acutely improve working memory, potentially being superior to moderate aerobic-type exercise.
Physical exercise has been shown to alter sensory functions, such as sensory detection or perceived pain. However, most contributing studies rely on the assessment of single thresholds, and a systematic testing of the sensory system is missing. This randomised, controlled cross-over study aims to determine the sensory phenotype of healthy young participants and to assess if sub-maximal endurance exercise can impact it. We investigated the effects of a single bout of sub-maximal running exercise (30 min at 80% heart rate reserve) compared to a resting control in 20 healthy participants. The sensory profile was assessed applying quantitative sensory testing (QST) according to the protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain. QST comprises a broad spectrum of thermal and mechanical detection and pain thresholds. It was applied to the forehead of study participants prior and immediately after the intervention. Time between cross-over sessions was one week. Sub-maximal endurance exercise did not significantly alter thermal or mechanical sensory function (time × group analysis) in terms of detection and pain thresholds. The sensory phenotypes did not indicate any clinically meaningful deviation of sensory function. The alteration of sensory thresholds needs to be carefully interpreted, and only systematic testing allows an improved understanding of mechanism. In this context, sub-maximal endurance exercise is not followed by a change of thermal and mechanical sensory function at the forehead in healthy volunteers.
Failed jump landings represent a key mechanism of musculoskeletal trauma. It has been speculated that cognitive dual-task loading during the flight phase may moderate the injury risk. This study aimed to explore whether increased visual distraction can compromise landing biomechanics. Twenty-one healthy, physically active participants (15 females, 25.8 ± 0.4 years) completed a series of 30 counter-movement jumps (CMJ) onto a capacitive pressure platform. In addition to safely landing on one leg, they were required to memorize either one, two or three jersey numbers shown during the flight phase (randomly selected and equally balanced over all jumps). Outcomes included the number of recall errors as well as landing errors and three variables of landing kinetics (time to stabilization/TTS, peak ground reaction force/pGRF, length of the centre of pressure trace/COPT). Differences between the conditions were calculated using the Friedman test and the post hoc Bonferroni-Holm corrected Wilcoxon test. Regardless of the condition, landing errors remained unchanged (p = .46). In contrast, increased visual distraction resulted in a higher number of recall errors (chi² = 13.3, p = .001). Higher cognitive loading, furthermore, appeared to negatively impact mediolateral COPT (p < .05). Time to stabilization (p = .84) and pGRF (p = .78) were unaffected. A simple visual distraction in a controlled experimental setting is sufficient to adversely affect landing stability and task-related short-term memory during CMJ. The ability to precisely perceive the environment during movement under time constraints may, hence, represent a new injury risk factor and should be investigated in a prospective trial.
Recent research has identified significant correlations between traumatic events and depression in refugees. However, few studies have addressed the role of acculturation strategies in this relationship. This study explored the relationship between cultural orientation, traumatic events and depression in female refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia living in Germany. We expected acculturation strategies to moderate the effect of traumatic experiences on depression. The sample included 98 female refugees in Germany. The depression scale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) represented the dependent measure. The trauma checklists derived from the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) as well as the Frankfurt Acculturation Scale (FRACC) were used as independent measures for traumatic events and orientation toward the host culture as well as orientation toward the culture of origin, respectively. A moderation analysis was conducted to examine whether the relationship between the number of traumatic events and depression was influenced by the women’s orientation toward the culture of origin and the host culture. We identified a significant model explaining 26.85% of the variance in depressive symptoms (Cohen’s f2 = 0.37). The number of traumatic events and the orientation toward the host culture exerted significant effects on depressive symptoms. The moderating effect was not significant, indicating that the effect of the number of traumatic events was not influenced by cultural orientation. Based on our results, orientation toward the host culture as well as traumatic experiences exert independent effects on depressive symptoms in refugees.
Current evidence indicates that acute aerobic exercise might increase domain-specific cognitive performance. However, only a small number of studies deduced the impact on lower and higher cognitive functions systematically or analyzed dose–response relationships and the underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to expose the dose–response relationships by investigating the influence of exercise duration on subjective and objective arousal, cognitive attention and visual recognition memory tasks. Nineteen participants (eight female; 25.69 ± 3.11 years) were included in a randomized, three-armed intervention study in a cross-over design. The participants completed three different interventions consisting of either 15, 30 or 45 min of cycling at 60–70% VO2max. Arousal and cognitive measurements were taken before and immediately after (<2 min) exercise. All three interventions led to significant but comparable effects on self-perceived arousal, heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant effects of exercise duration on visual recognition memory accuracy. Reaction times for higher and lower cognitive tasks did not change after exercise. Fifteen minutes of aerobic exercise was feasible to induce beneficial changes in self-perceived arousal. Processing speed of visual recognition memory and attention remained unaltered. Exercise exceeding fifteen minutes seemed to negatively impact visual recognition memory accuracy.