Hidehiro Nakahara

Effect of acute hypoxia on blood flow in vertebral and internal carotid arteries

•  What is the central question of this study? Does hypoxia enhance blood flow to all parts of the brain uniformly? •  What is the main finding and its importance? During hypoxia, internal carotid artery flow is maintained despite a reduction in (end‐tidal) carbon dioxide tension, while vertebral artery blood flow increases. Only with maintained end‐tidal carbon dioxide tension is there an increase in both vertebral and internal carotid blood flow during hypoxia.

Individual differences in the biomechanical effect of loudness and tempo on upper-limb movements during repetitive piano keystrokes

The present study addressed the effect of loudness and tempo on kinematics and muscular activities of the upper extremity during repetitive piano keystrokes. Eighteen pianists with professional music education struck two keys simultaneously and repetitively with a combination of four loudness levels and four tempi. The results demonstrated a significant interaction effect of loudness and tempo on peak angular velocity for the shoulder, elbow, wrist and finger joints, mean muscular activity for the corresponding flexors and extensors, and their co-activation level. The interaction effect indicated greater increases with tempo when eliciting louder tones for all joints and muscles except for the elbow velocity showing a greater decrease with tempo. Multiple-regression analysis and K-means clustering further revealed that 18 pianists were categorized into three clusters with different interaction effects on joint kinematics. These clusters were characterized by either an elbow-velocity decrease and a finger-velocity increase, a finger-velocity decrease with increases in shoulder and wrist velocities, or a large elbow-velocity decrease with a shoulder-velocity increase when increasing both loudness and tempo. Furthermore, the muscular load considerably differed across the clusters. These findings provide information to determine muscles with the greatest potential risk of playing-related disorders based on movement characteristics of individual pianists.

The effect of oxygen on dynamic cerebral autoregulation; critical role of hypocapnia.

Hypoxia is known to impair cerebral autoregulation (CA). Previous studies indicate that CA is profoundly affected by cerebrovascular tone, which is largely determined by the partial pressure of arterial O(2) and CO(2). However, hypoxic-induced hyperventilation via respiratory chemoreflex activation causes hypocapnia, which may influence CA independent of partial pressure of arterial O(2). To identify the effect of O(2) on dynamic cerebral blood flow regulation, we examined the influence of normoxia, isocapnia hyperoxia, hypoxia, and hypoxia with consequent hypocapnia on dynamic CA. We measured heart rate, blood pressure, ventilatory parameters, and middle cerebral artery blood velocity (transcranial Doppler). Dynamic CA was assessed (n = 9) during each of four randomly assigned respiratory interventions: 1) normoxia (21% O(2)); 2) isocapnic hyperoxia (40% O(2)); 3) isocapnic hypoxia (14% O(2)); and 4) hypocapnic hypoxia (14% O(2)). During each condition, the rate of cerebral regulation (RoR), an established index of dynamic CA, was estimated during bilateral thigh cuff-induced transient hypotension. The RoR was unaltered during isocapnic hyperoxia. Isocapnic hypoxia attenuated the RoR (0.202 +/- 0.003/s; 27%; P = 0.043), indicating impairment in dynamic CA. In contrast, hypocapnic hypoxia increased RoR (0.444 +/- 0.069/s) from normoxia (0.311 +/- 0.054/s; +55%; P = 0.041). These findings indicated that hypoxia disrupts dynamic CA, but hypocapnia augments the dynamic CA response. Because hypocapnia is a consequence of hypoxic-induced chemoreflex activation, it may provide a teleological means to effectively maintain dynamic CA in the face of prevailing arterial hypoxemia.

Performing music can induce greater modulation of emotion-related psychophysiological responses than listening to music.

The present study investigated the differential effects of music-induced emotion on heart rate (HR) and its variability (HRV) while playing music on the piano and listening to a recording of the same piece of music. Sixteen pianists were monitored during tasks involving emotional piano performance, non-emotional piano performance, emotional perception, and non-emotional perception. It was found that emotional induction during both perception and performance modulated HR and HRV, and that such modulations were significantly greater during musical performance than during perception. The results confirmed that musical performance was far more effective in modulating emotion-related autonomic nerve activity than musical perception in musicians. The findings suggest the presence of a neural network of reward-emotion-associated autonomic nerve activity for musical performance that is independent of a neural network for musical perception.

Effects of acute hypoxia on cerebrovascular responses to carbon dioxide

What is the central question of this study? In acute hypoxia, the reduction in arterial CO2 tension due to the hypoxic ventilatory response (respiratory chemoreflex) stimulates cerebral vasoconstriction, which opposes the degree of hypoxic cerebral vasodilatation. The aim was to examine this interaction further. Specifically, we questioned whether arterial CO2 tension‐mediated effects on cerebrovascular regulation are attenuated during acute hypoxia. What is the main finding and its importance? Cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity and CO2‐mediated effects on dynamic cerebral autoregulation were attenuated during acute hypoxia. These findings suggest that blunted cerebrovascular responses to CO2 may limit the degree of CO2‐mediated vasoconstriction to help maintain adequate cerebral blood flow for cerebral O2 homeostasis during acute hypoxia.

Effects of exercise training on gut hormone levels after a single bout of exercise in middle-aged Japanese women

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of exercise training on gut hormone levels after a single bout of exercise in middle-aged Japanese women. Twenty healthy middle-aged women were recruited for this study. Several measurements were performed pre and post exercise training, including: body weight and composition, peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2), energy intake after the single bout of exercise, and the release of gut hormones with fasting and after the single bout of exercise. Exercise training resulted in significant increases in acylated ghrelin fasting levels (from 126.6 ± 5.6 to 135.9 ± 5.4 pmol/l, P < 0.01), with no significant changes in GLP-1 (from 0.54 ± 0.04 to 0.55 ± 0.03 pmol/ml) and PYY (from 1.20 ± 0.07 to 1.23 ± 0.06 pmol/ml) fasting levels. GLP-1 levels post exercise training after the single bout of exercise were significantly higher than those pre exercise training (areas under the curve (AUC); from 238.4 ± 65.2 to 286.5 ± 51.2 pmol/ml x 120 min, P < 0.001). There was a tendency for higher AUC for the time courses of PYY post exercise training than for those pre exercise training (AUC; from 519.5 ± 135.5 to 551.4 ± 128.7 pmol/ml x 120 min, P = 0.06). Changes in (delta) GLP-1 AUC were significantly correlated with decreases in body weight (r = −0.743, P < 0.001), body mass index (r = −0.732, P < 0.001), percent body fat (r = −0.731, P < 0.001), and energy intake after a single bout exercise (r = −0.649, P < 0.01) and increases in peak VO2 (r = 0.558, P < 0.05). These results suggest that the ability of exercise training to create a negative energy balance relies not only directly on its impact on energy expenditure, but also indirectly on its potential to modulate energy intake.

Psycho-physiological responses to expressive piano performance

The present study examined selected autonomic and cardio-respiratory responses of nine elite pianists during solo performances of the same single musical piece. The subjects performed the piece with and without self-perceived emotional expression, and with and without free ancillary body movements during expressive performance. Autonomic nervous system and cardio-respiratory parameters were continuously monitored during all experimental conditions. These parameters were heart rate (HR), sweating rate, the root mean square of successive difference (RMSSD) of heart rate variability and respiratory measurements such as oxygen consumption (VO(2)), minute ventilation, tidal volume and respiratory rate. Kinematics of the trunk and arms were recorded during all conditions. The subjects also provided subjective rating of the emotions that they experienced during their performances for each experimental condition. Analysis revealed that expressive performance clearly produced higher levels of valence and arousal than the non-expressive condition. This observation is consistent with current embodiment theory. The expressive condition also had significantly higher levels of HR, sweating rate, minute ventilation, and tidal volume, and lower levels of RMSSD and respiratory rate than the non-expressive condition. No difference was found for VO(2) between these conditions. The expressive condition with ancillary body movements did not significantly differentiate any of the physiological measures except for respiratory rate from those observed without such body movements. These findings suggested that expressive musical performance could modulate the emotion-related autonomic and cardio-respiratory responses that are independent of the effect of physiological load due to expressive ancillary body movements in playing the selected music on the piano.

Manipulation of central blood volume and implications for respiratory control function.

The respiratory operating point (ventilatory or arterial PCO2 response) is determined by the intersection point between the controller and plant subsystem elements within the respiratory control system. However, to what extent changes in central blood volume (CBV) influence these two elements and the corresponding implications for the respiratory operating point remain unclear. To examine this, 17 apparently healthy male participants were exposed to water immersion (WI) or lower body negative pressure (LBNP) challenges to manipulate CBV and determine the corresponding changes. The respiratory controller was characterized by determining the linear relationship between end-tidal PCO2 (PetCO2 ) and minute ventilation (Ve) [Ve = S × (PetCO2 - B)], whereas the plant was determined by the hyperbolic relationship between Ve and PetCO2 (PetCO2 = A/Ve + C). Changes in Ve at the operating point were not observed under either WI or LBNP conditions despite altered PetCO2 (P < 0.01), indicating a moving respiratory operating point. An increase (WI) and a decrease (LBNP) in CBV were shown to reset the controller element (PetCO2 intercept B) rightward and leftward, respectively (P < 0.05), without any change in S, whereas the plant curve remained unaltered at the operating point. Collectively, these findings indicate that modification of the controller element rather than the plant element is the major factor that contributes toward an alteration of the respiratory operating point during CBV shifts.

Low-frequency severe-intensity interval training improves cardiorespiratory functions.

PURPOSE The present study investigated the effects of severe-intensity interval training at a frequency of once a week on cardiorespiratory function at rest and during exercise. METHODS Fourteen young healthy males were randomly assigned to either an interval training group or control group. Cardiorespiratory function was investigated by incremental maximal exercise test and constant work rate submaximal exercise test before and after the intervention period in all subjects. Submaximal exercise test was conducted at two work rates (80% ventilatory threshold (VT) level and 100% VT level plus 50% of the difference between VT and peak oxygen consumption (V˙O2)) for 8 min; the same work rates and duration were used before and after training. Left ventricular adaptations were assessed by echocardiography under supine resting conditions before and after training. In the interval training group, seven subjects performed cycle ergometer training once per week for 3 months. The training consisted of three bouts of exercises to volitional fatigue at 80% maximum work rate. RESULTS Increased V˙O2max (+13%, P = 0.015), VT (+21%, P = 0.001), and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (+18%, P = 0.002) and reduced minute ventilation (-12%, P = 0.032) and blood lactate concentration (-16%, P = 0.025) during high-intensity exercise were observed after the training program compared with baseline. Although not significant, V˙O2 and cycling economy (V˙O2 per work rate) during high-intensity exercise decreased slightly after training. CONCLUSION The present results indicate that severe-intensity interval training, even when performed at a low frequency, markedly improves cardiorespiratory function as well as induces cardiac morphological adaptations involving left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiorespiratory metabolic response during submaximal exercise. The present findings may provide new insights for low-frequency, severe-intensity interval training in the field of sports science.

The effect of an acute increase in central blood volume on the response of cerebral blood flow to acute hypotension.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the response of cerebral blood flow to an acute change in perfusion pressure is modified by an acute increase in central blood volume. Nine young, healthy subjects voluntarily participated in this study. To measure dynamic cerebral autoregulation during normocapnic and hypercapnic (5%) conditions, the change in middle cerebral artery mean blood flow velocity was analyzed during acute hypotension caused by two methods: 1) thigh-cuff occlusion release (without change in central blood volume); and 2) during the recovery phase immediately following release of lower body negative pressure (LBNP; -50 mmHg) that initiated an acute increase in central blood volume. In the thigh-cuff occlusion release protocol, as expected, hypercapnia decreased the rate of regulation, as an index of dynamic cerebral autoregulation (0.236 ± 0.018 and 0.167 ± 0.025 s(-1), P = 0.024). Compared with the cuff-occlusion release, the acute increase in central blood volume (relative to the LBNP condition) with LBNP release attenuated dynamic cerebral autoregulation (P = 0.009). Therefore, the hypercapnia-induced attenuation of dynamic cerebral autoregulation was not observed in the LBNP release protocol (P = 0.574). These findings suggest that an acute change in systemic blood distribution modifies dynamic cerebral autoregulation during acute hypotension.