ABSTRACT
Prospective evidence indicates that functional biomechanics and brain connectivity may predispose an athlete to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, revealing novel neural linkages for targeted neuromuscular training interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a real-time biofeedback system for altering knee biomechanics and brain functional connectivity. Seventeen healthy, young, physically active female athletes completed 6 weeks of augmented neuromuscular training (aNMT) utilizing real-time, interactive visual biofeedback and 13 served as untrained controls. A drop vertical jump and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging were separately completed at pre- and posttest time points to assess sensorimotor adaptation. The aNMT group had a significant reduction in peak knee abduction moment (pKAM) compared to controls (p = .03, d = 0.71). The aNMT group also exhibited a significant increase in functional connectivity between the right supplementary motor area and the left thalamus (p = .0473 after false discovery rate correction). Greater percent change in pKAM was also related to increased connectivity between the right cerebellum and right thalamus for the aNMT group (p = .0292 after false discovery rate correction, r2 = .62). No significant changes were observed for the controls (ps > .05). Our data provide preliminary evidence of potential neural mechanisms for aNMT-induced motor adaptations that reduce injury risk. Future research is warranted to understand the role of neuromuscular training alone and how each component of aNMT influences biomechanics and functional connectivity.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Physiological/physiology , Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/prevention & control , Biofeedback, Psychology/physiology , Biomechanical Phenomena/physiology , Cerebellum/physiology , Connectome , Knee/physiology , Nerve Net/physiology , Practice, Psychological , Psychomotor Performance/physiology , Sensorimotor Cortex/physiology , Thalamus/physiology , Adolescent , Biofeedback, Psychology/methods , Cerebellum/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging , Sensorimotor Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Thalamus/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Preclinical studies have shown that blueberry supplementation can improve cognitive performance and neural function in aged animals and have identified associations between anthocyanins and such benefits. Preliminary human trials also suggest cognitive improvement in older adults, although direct evidence of enhancement of brain function has not been demonstrated. In this study, we investigated the effect of blueberry supplementation on regional brain activation in older adults at risk for dementia. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial we performed pre- and post-intervention functional magnetic resonance imaging during a working memory (WM) task to assess the effect of blueberry supplementation on blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, a risk condition for dementia. RESULTS: Following daily supplementation for 16 weeks, blueberry-treated participants exhibited increased BOLD activation in the left pre-central gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and left inferior parietal lobe during WM load conditions (corrected P < 0.01). There was no clear indication of WM enhancement associated with blueberry supplementation. Diet records indicated no between-group difference in anthocyanin consumption external to the intervention. DISCUSSION: These data demonstrate, for the first time, enhanced neural response during WM challenge in blueberry-treated older adults with cognitive decline and are consistent with prior trials showing neurocognitive benefit with blueberry supplementation in this at-risk population.
Subject(s)
Blueberry Plants/chemistry , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Cognitive Dysfunction/diet therapy , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Anthocyanins/pharmacology , Brain/drug effects , Brain/physiology , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnostic imaging , Dementia , Dietary Supplements , Double-Blind Method , Female , Frontal Lobe/diagnostic imaging , Frontal Lobe/drug effects , Fruit , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Memory, Short-Term , Parietal Lobe/diagnostic imaging , Parietal Lobe/drug effects , Prefrontal Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Prefrontal Cortex/drug effectsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To identify abnormalities in high energy phosphate cerebral metabolism in euthymic bipolar disorder. METHODS: Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((31)P MRSI) data were acquired from the entire brain of 9 euthymic adults with bipolar disorder and 13 healthy adults. Estimates of phosphocreatine (PCr) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in homogeneous gray and white matter were obtained by tissue regression analysis. RESULTS: Analyses of covariance revealed the effect of age to be significantly different between bipolar and healthy groups for concentrations of PCr (p=0.0018) and ATP (p=0.013) in gray matter. These metabolites were negatively correlated with age in gray matter in bipolar subjects while PCr was positively correlated with age in gray matter of healthy subjects. Additionally, age-corrected concentrations of PCr in gray matter were significantly elevated in bipolar subjects (p=0.0048). LIMITATIONS: Given that this cross-sectional study possessed a small sample and potentially confounding effects of medication status, we recommend a larger, longitudinal study to more robustly study relationships between bioenergetic impairment and duration of disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest bioenergetic impairment related to mitochondrial function may be progressive in multi-episode bipolar subjects as they age.