Investigating the Relationship between Big Five Personality Traits and Sports Performance among Disabled Athletes.

Awareness of the psychological issues of different groups of society can help in the management of sports programs and thus improve their athletic performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the big five personality traits and the sports performance of disabled athletes in team sports. Three hundred and seventy-six team athletes participated in the study. Subjects completed a questionnaire of five major personality factors, and based on the information available on the provincial boards and the Veterans and Disabled Federation, the positions obtained by each athlete were considered as a criterion for sports performance. There was a significant relationship between the flexibility factor for men and women (r = 0.123, p = 0.017), neuroticism (r = 0.114, p = 0.027), adaptation (r = 0.171, p = 0.001), extraversion (r = 0.157, p = 0.002), duty orientation (r = 0.104, p = 0.045), and sports performance at a national level. There was a significant relationship between neuroticism (r = 0.142, p = 0.006), adaptation (r = 0.133, p = 0.010), extraversion (r = 0.163, p = 0.002), and duty orientation (r = 0.130, p = 0.011) with sports performance at a provincial level. There was a significant relationship between neuroticism (r = 0.156, p = 0.002), extraversion (r = 0.168, p = 0.001), duty orientation (r = 0.182, p = 0.001), and sports performance at international level. Disabled athletes seem to have above-average performance scores in most personality factors, which can improve their physical health and increase their success in sports.

Probiotic Supplementation and High-Intensity Interval Training Modify Anxiety-Like Behaviors and Corticosterone in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Mice.

Evidence supports the role of exercise training and probiotics on reducing obesity. Considering the relationship between obesity and high-fat diet with anxiety indices, the aim of this study was to assess the effect of probiotic supplementation and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on anxiety-like behaviors, corticosterone and obesity indices in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity mice. Thirty male adult C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups: (1) Control with normal diet (CON), (2) High-fat diet (HFD), (3) HFD + exercise training (HT), (4) HFD + probiotics supplement (HP) and (5) HFD + exercise training +probiotics (HTP). Exercise training consisted of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) programs. Probiotics supplement included 0.2 mL Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Anxiety-like behaviors were measured by open field (OF) and Elevated plus maze (EPM). OF and EPM tests, visceral fat mass (VFM) measurement, and blood sampling for corticosterone were performed after the intervention. Bodyweight was measured at different stages during the intervention. HFD regime in C57BL/6 mice increased bodyweight, VFM, and serum corticosterone levels and anxiety-like behaviors (p < 0.05). HIIT, probiotic and their combination, decreased bodyweight, VFM, and serum corticosterone levels and improved anxiety-like behavior in the HFD mice (p < 0.05). The effect of a combination of HIIT and probiotic on most of the anxiety indices was more than each one separately (p < 0.5). HIIT and probiotic supplements separately or above all in combination, may have beneficial effects in reducing obesity and anxiety indices.

The Effect of Swimming on Anxiety-Like Behaviors and Corticosterone in Stressed and Unstressed Rats.

This study assessed the effect of swimming training on anxiety-like behaviors and corticosterone. Thirty adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to five study conditions: swimming training (ST); exposure to chronic mild stress (CS); exposure to chronic mild stress followed by swimming training (CS + ST); exposure to chronic mild stress followed by a recovery period (CS + recovery); control. The exercise training consisted of 60 min of swimming exercise per day, for five days a week, and four consecutive weeks. A chronic mild stress program (CMS) was applied for a period of four weeks. Anxiety-like behaviors were measured by open field test (OFT). The number of excrements and blood corticosterone were used as physiological parameters of anxiety. To assess corticosterone, blood samples were taken 48 h after the last session of experiments. Compared to other study conditions, the lowest anxiety-like behaviors and corticosterone concentrations were observed in the ST condition in unstressed rats. In stressed rats, as in the ST + CS group, swimming training probably reduced some anxiety behaviors, but the results showed increased corticosterone compared to control and CS + Recovery. Anxiety parameters and corticosterone concentrations were greatest in the CS condition. In the ST group, anxiety parameters were less than for the ST + CS group. In the CS + Recovery group, anxiety parameters were less than for the CS group. In summary, self-paced swimming training could attenuate some anxiety parameters in both stressed and non-stressed rats. The effect of swimming training in unstressed rats was more prominent than in stressed rats. In stressed rats, a period of recovery was more effective than swimming training in reducing corticosterone. Mechanisms of anxiety reduction other than cortisol should be investigated in future research.