Tsung Min Hung

Effects of an Aquatic Exercise Program on Inhibitory Control in Children with ADHD: A Preliminary Study

The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine whether an aquatic exercise intervention that involves both aerobic and coordinative exercises influences restraint inhibition in children with ADHD. Thirty participants were assigned to either an aquatic exercise or a wait-list control group. Participants were assessed by Go/Nogo Task and motor ability prior to and after an 8-week exercise intervention (twice per week, 90 min per session) or a control intervention. Significant improvements in accuracy associated with the Nogo stimulus and the coordination of motor skills were observed over time in the exercise group compared with the control group. Only main effects of group were found for reaction time and accuracy associated with the Go stimulus. These findings suggest that an exercise program that involves both quantitative and qualitative exercise characteristics facilitates the restraint inhibition component of behavioral inhibition in children with ADHD.

Exercise mode and executive function in older adults: An ERP study of task-switching

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between exercise mode and executive function and its effect on behavior and neuroelectric activity. Forty-eight older adults were classified into open-skill, closed-skill, and irregular exercise groups based on their experience of exercise participation. Executive function was measured via a task-switching paradigm, in which the behavioral indices and event-related potentials elicited by task-switching were assessed. The results revealed that the exercise groups, regardless of the exercise mode, exhibited faster reaction times in both global and local switches than the irregular exercise group, regardless of the within-task conditions. Similarly, larger P3 amplitudes were observed in both exercise groups compared to the irregular exercise group. Moreover, additional facilitation effects of open-skill exercises on global switch costs were observed, whereas no differences in local switch costs were found among the three groups. The results replicate previous studies that have reported generally improved executive function after participation in exercises; additionally, they extend the current knowledge by indicating that these cognitive improvements in specific aspects of executive function could also be obtained from open-skill exercises.

The neurophysiological performance of visuospatial working memory in children with developmental coordination disorder

Aim  The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying the deficit in visuospatial working memory (VSWM) seen in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and to compare brain activity while performing a VSWM task in children with DCD and typically developing children.

The differences in frontal midline theta power between successful and unsuccessful basketball free throws of elite basketball players.

During the preparatory period of motor skill, attention is considered as one of the most vital factors for athletic performance. Electroencephalographic (EEG) indices, such as occipital α, have been employed to explore the psychological state during the preparatory period in elite athletes. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in frontal midline theta (Fm θ) power during the aiming period between successful and unsuccessful basketball free throws. Fifteen skilled male basketball players were recruited and asked to perform free throws. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data were collected 2seconds prior to the initiation of the free throw and segmented into four 0.5-s epochs. The lower theta (θ1, 4-6Hz) and upper theta (θ2, 6-8Hz) power values was contrasted between the successful and unsuccessful throws. Two 2×4×6 (performance×time×electrode) ANOVAs with repeated measures were conducted separately for θ1 and θ2 power. The results indicate that θ1 power at the Fz site and θ2 power at the Fz and the F4 sites fluctuated significantly during the preparatory period for an unsuccessful throw when compared with a successful throw. Additionally, a higher Fm θ2 power was observed at the beginning of the aiming period of a successful throw. This study suggests that a stable arousal and a relatively constant amount of attention to the task prior to motor execution may facilitate athletic performance.

Effects of cardiorespiratory fitness enhancement on deficits in visuospatial working memory in children with developmental coordination disorder: A cognitive electrophysiological study

The present study aimed to explore the effectiveness of chronic aerobic exercise intervention on the behavioral and neuroelectric performances of children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) when carrying out a visuospatial working memory (VSWM) task. Twenty typically developing children and 40 children with DCD, equally divided into DCD-training and DCD nontraining groups, performed the cognitive task with concomitant event-related potential recording before and after 16 weeks of endurance training. Results indicated that the children with DCD displayed VSWM deficits with regard to behavioral performance (i.e., slower reaction time and low accuracy rate) and the neuroelectric indices (i.e., smaller P3 and pSW amplitudes) during the retrieval-process phase as reported in previous studies. However, after the exercise intervention, DCD-training group showed significantly higher accuracy rates and enhanced P3 amplitudes during the encoding and retrieval-process phases, compared with their pre-training performances. These findings suggest that increased cardiorespiratory fitness could effectively improve the performance of the VSWM task in children with DCD, by enabling the allocation of greater working memory resources related to encoding and retrieval.

Provision of sport psychology services to Taiwan archery team for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Abstract Taiwan organized a sport science team that included a sport psychology team for its archery team in preparation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. For approximately one and a half years prior to the 2004 Olympic Games, the sports psychology team cooperated with the coaches. Within this time period, the Taiwan archers achieved significant improvement in performance. This accomplishment was particularly impressive considering both the inexperience of the team and its modest level of performance in the past. This report intends to provide a personal account of how sport psychology was applied to enhance the archers’ performance. Specifically, given a background of general rejection to sport scientists’ involvement in the sport training by the coaches, this paper will report how these obstacles were overcome and what experiences were gained that may be useful for other countries organizing and trying to integrate a sport psychology team in cooperation with sport teams

Expert-Novice Differences in SMR Activity during Dart Throwing

Previous evidence suggests that augmented sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) activity is related to the superior regulation of processing cognitive-motor information in motor performance. However, no published studies have examined the relationship between SMR and performance in precision sports; thus, this study examined the relationship between SMR activity and the level of skilled performance in tasks requiring high levels of attention (e.g., dart throwing). We hypothesized that skilled performance would be associated with higher SMR activity. Fourteen dart-throwing experts and eleven novices were recruited. Participants were requested to perform 60 dart throws while EEG was recorded. The 2(Group: Expert, Novice)×2(Time window: -2000 ms to -1000 ms, -1000 ms to 0 ms) ANOVA showed that the dart-throwing experts maintained a relatively higher SMR power than the novices before dart release. These results suggest that SMR might reflect the adaptive regulation of cognitive-motor processing during the preparatory period.

Exercise and fitness modulate cognitive function in older adults.

This study investigated the effects of acute exercise on cognitive function and the modulatory role of fitness in the relationship between exercise and cognition. Forty-six healthy older adults, categorized into higher or lower fitness groups, completed the Stroop test after both 30 min of aerobic exercise and a reading control with a counterbalanced order. Our findings demonstrated that acute exercise leads to general improvements in 2 types of cognitive functions and to specific improvements in executive function. Additionally, older adults with initially higher fitness levels experienced greater beneficial effects from acute exercise.

A Preliminary Examination of Aerobic Exercise Effects on Resting EEG in Children With ADHD

Objective: This study attempted to determine whether the effects of physical exercise were reflected in the resting electroencephalographic (EEG) pattern of ADHD children. Method: Thirty-two ADHD children were assigned to either an exercise group or a control group. The exercise group participated in a water aerobics program for 8 weeks, whereas no intervention was administered to the control group. Resting EEGs were recorded under open-eyes condition before and after the intervention. Data from eligible participants, 15 from the exercise group (11 boys and 4 girls, 7.93 ± 1.02 years) and 14 from the control group (14 boys, 8.27 ± 1.04 years), were further analyzed. Results: While controlling for the baseline resting EEG, separate ANCOVAs indicated that the exercise group showed smaller theta/alpha ratios over the frontal and central brain sites after the intervention compared with the control group. Conclusion: This finding suggests that aerobic exercise may enhance the cognitive functions of children with ADHD, as reflected in resting EEG.

Neuroelectric and Behavioral Effects of Acute Exercise on Task Switching in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The main purpose of this two-part study was to examine the effects of acute, moderate intensity exercise on task switching in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In Study 1, we compared the task switching performance of children with and without ADHD. Twenty children with ADHD and 20 matched controls performed the task switching paradigm, in which the behavioral indices and P3 component of event-related potentials elicited by task-switching were assessed simultaneously. The amplitude and latency of P3 reflected the amount of attention resource allocated to task-relevant stimulus in the environment and the efficiency of stimulus detection and evaluation, respectively. The task switching included two conditions; the pure condition required participants to perform the task on the same rule (e.g., AAAA or BBBB) whereas the mixed condition required participants to perform the task on two alternating rules (e.g., AABBAA…). The results indicated that children with ADHD had significantly longer RTs, less accuracy, and larger global switch cost for accuracy than controls. Additionally, ADHD participants showed smaller amplitudes and longer P3 latencies in global switch effects. In Study 2, we further examined the effects of an acute aerobic exercise session on task switching in children with ADHD. Thirty-four children with ADHD performed a task switching paradigm after 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on a treadmill and after control sessions (watching videos while seated). The results revealed that following exercise, children with ADHD exhibited smaller global switch costs in RT compared with after control sessions. The P3 amplitude only increased following exercise in the mixed condition relative to the pure condition, whereas no effects were found in the control session. These findings suggest that single bouts of moderate intensity aerobic exercise may have positive effects on the working memory of children with ADHD.