Assessing visually guided reaching in people with multiple sclerosis with and without self-reported upper limb impairment.

The ability to accurately complete goal-directed actions, such as reaching for a glass of water, requires coordination between sensory, cognitive and motor systems. When these systems are impaired, like in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), deficits in movement arise. To date, the characterization of upper limb performance in PwMS has typically been limited to results attained from self-reported questionnaires or clinical tools. Our aim was to characterize visually guided reaching performance in PwMS. Thirty-six participants (12 PwMS who reported upper limb impairment (MS-R), 12 PwMS who reported not experiencing upper limb impairment (MS-NR), and 12 age- and sex-matched control participants without MS (CTL)) reached to 8 targets in a virtual environment while seeing a visual representation of their hand in the form of a cursor on the screen. Reaches were completed with both the dominant and non-dominant hands. All participants were able to complete the visually guided reaching task, such that their hand landed on the target. However, PwMS showed noticeably more atypical reaching profiles when compared to control participants. In accordance with these observations, analyses of reaching performance revealed that the MS-R group was more variable with respect to the time it took to initiate and complete their movements compared to the CTL group. While performance of the MS-NR group did not differ significantly from either the CTL or MS-R groups, individuals in the MS-NR group were less consistent in their performance compared to the CTL group. Together these findings suggest that PwMS with and without self-reported upper limb impairment have deficits in the planning and/or control of their movements. We further argue that deficits observed during movement in PwMS who report upper limb impairment may arise due to participants compensating for impaired movement planning processes.

Taxonomic Interference Associated with Phonemic Paraphasias in Agrammatic Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Phonemic paraphasias are thought to reflect phonological (post-semantic) deficits in language production. Here we present evidence that phonemic paraphasias in non-semantic primary progressive aphasia (PPA) may be associated with taxonomic interference. Agrammatic and logopenic PPA patients and control participants performed a word-to-picture visual search task where they matched a stimulus noun to 1 of 16 object pictures as their eye movements were recorded. Participants were subsequently asked to name the same items. We measured taxonomic interference (ratio of time spent viewing related vs. unrelated foils) during the search task for each item. Target items that elicited a phonemic paraphasia during object naming elicited increased taxonomic interference during the search task in agrammatic but not logopenic PPA patients. These results could reflect either very subtle sub-clinical semantic distortions of word representations or partial degradation of specific phonological word forms in agrammatic PPA during both word-to-picture matching (input stage) and picture naming (output stage). The mechanism for phonemic paraphasias in logopenic patients seems to be different and to be operative at the pre-articulatory stage of phonological retrieval. Glucose metabolic imaging suggests that degeneration in the left posterior frontal lobe and left temporo-parietal junction, respectively, might underlie these different patterns of phonemic paraphasia.

Educación para un apego seguro: aproximación para pediatras / Education for a secure attachment: approach for pediatricians

La teoría del apego formulada originariamente por John Bowlby en la década de los cincuenta ha permitido profundizar en el conocimiento del vínculo de los padres con el bebé, así como mostrar que este vínculo es esencial para que los niños se desarrollen sanamente. La calidad de este vínculo de apego con las personas que cuidan al niño influirá en el desarrollo de sus capacidades mentales. Los pediatras tienen un papel privilegiado para mostrar a padres y madres la manera adecuada de atender tanto las necesidades psicológicas como físicas del bebé y de los niños

The Psychological attachment theory originally formulated by John Bowlby in the fifties has allowed to deepen the knowledge of the link parents-baby and has showed that the bond of attachment is essential for children to develop healthily. The quality of this bond of attachment with the people who care for the child will influence the development of their mental capacities. Pediatricians have a privileged role to show fathers and mothers the proper way to meet both the psychological and physical needs of baby and children

The effect of how to perform movement sequences on absolute and relative timing transfer

Depending on the difficulty of the task in terms of movement duration and the number of elements forming the sequence, recent research has shown that movement sequences are coded in visual-spatial coordinates or motor coordinates. An interesting question that arises is how a specific manner of performance without a change in such functional difficulties affects the representation of movement sequences. Accordingly, the present study investigated how the way in which a movement sequence is performed affects the transfer of timing properties (absolute and relative timing) from the practised to unpractised hand under mirror (same motor commands as those used in practice) and non-mirror (the same visual-spatial coordinates as those present during practice) conditions in two experiments each with segment movement time goals that were arranged differently. The study showed that after a limited amount of practice, the pattern of results obtained for relative timing differed between the two experiments. In the first experiment, there was no difference between retention and non-mirror transfer, but performance on these tasks was significantly better than that for mirror transfer, whereas in the second experiment, there was no difference between the mirror and non-mirror transfer. For total errors, no significant difference was found between the retention and transfer tests in both experiments. It was concluded that the way in which a sequence is performed could affect the representation of the task and the transfer of relative timing, while absolute timing could purposefully be maintained if necessary

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Motor differentiation's and cognitive skill in pre-scholar age / Diferenciación motora y habilidades cognitivas en la edad preescolar / Diferenciação motora e habilidade cognitiva na idade pré-escolar

Little research has been produced about literacy readiness in Kindergarten children at risk for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), despite this age being one of the most important epoch of motor and cognitive development. In this study we compared pre-literacy skills in Kindergarten children at risk for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) with Typically Developing (TD) children. Participants were 26 Italian children, who had a mean age of 5.1 years, 13 at risk for DCD and 13 TD attending kindergarten schools. Pre-literacy abilities were measured trough tasks derived by the Italian PRCR-2 battery: Semi-circles (A and B), Letter identification and Object Naming Time. Children at risk for DCD showed worse performance on all these pre-literacy assessments compared to TD children. Significant differences were found between children at risk for DCD and TD children on tasks of visual memory of printed signs, visual analysis ability, visual discrimination and attention and sequentiality of eye movements. Findings suggest the need to implement pre-school cognitively challenging motor activities programs to enhance manual dexterity, aiming and catching skills as well as static and dynamic balance at early age

Existe escasa literatura científica sobre la preparación para la alfabetización en niños de Educación Infantil con riesgo de Trastorno o Desorden del Desarrollo de la Coordinación (DCD), a pesar de que esta edad es una de las etapas más importantes para el desarrollo motor y cognitivo. En este estudio, comparamos las habilidades de pre- alfabetización entre niños de infantil con riesgo de DCD y niños con desarrollo típico (TD). La muestra estuvo formada por 26 niños italianos, con una edad media de 5,1 años, de los cuales, 13 con riesgo de DCD y 13 TD que asistían a diferentes escuelas de Educación Infantil. Las habilidades de pre-alfabetización se midieron a través de diversas tareas derivadas de la batería italiana PRCR-2: semicírculos (A y B), identificación de letras y tiempo de nomenclatura de objetos. Los niños en riesgo de DCD mostraron un peor desempeño en todas estas evaluaciones de pre-alfabetización en comparación con los niños con TD. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en tareas de memoria visual de signos impresos, capacidad de análisis visual, discriminación visual y atención y secuencialidad de los movimientos oculares entre los niños con riesgo de DCD y TD. Los hallazgos sugieren la necesidad de implementar programas de actividades motoras cognitivamente desafiantes adaptadas a estas edades con el fin de mejorar la destreza manual, las habilidades de apuntar y atrapar, así como el equilibrio estático y dinámico a estas edades tempranas

Poucas pesquisas foram produzidas sobre a prontidão para a alfabetização em crianças do jardim de infância sob risco de Transtorno do Desenvolvimento da Coordenação (TDC), apesar de essa idade ser uma das mais importantes do desenvolvimento motor e cognitivo. Neste estudo, comparamos as habilidades de pré-alfabetização em crianças do Jardim de Infância com risco de Desordem de Coordenação do Desenvolvimento (DCD) com crianças com Desenvolvimento Típico (DT). Os participantes foram 26 crianças italianas, que tinham uma idade média de 5,1 anos, 13 em risco de DCD e 13 TD frequentando escolas de jardim de infância. As habilidades de pré- alfabetização foram medidas através de tarefas derivadas da bateria italiana do PRCR-2: Semi-círculos (A e B), identificação de letras e tempo de nomeação de objetos. Crianças em risco de DCD apresentaram pior desempenho em todas essas avaliações de pré-alfabetização em comparação com crianças com DT. Diferenças significativas foram encontradas entre crianças com risco de DCD e TD em tarefas de memória visual de sinais impressos, habilidade de análise visual, discriminação visual e atenção e sequencialidade dos movimentos oculares. Os resultados sugerem a necessidade de implementar programas de atividades motoras cognitivamente desafiadoras da pré-escola para melhorar a destreza manual, apontar e captar habilidades, bem como equilíbrio estático e dinâmico na idade precoce

Distinguishing Patients With a Coordination Disorder From Healthy Controls Using Local Features of Movement Trajectories During the Finger-to-Nose Test.

Assessment of coordination disorders is valuable for monitoring progression of patients, distinguishing healthy and pathological conditions, and ultimately aiding in clinical decision making, thereby offering the possibility to improve medical care or rehabilitation. A common method to assess movement disorders is by using clinical rating scales. However, rating scales depend on the evaluation and interpretation of an observer, implying that subjective phenotypic assignment precedes the application of the scales. Objective and more accurate methods are under continuous development but gold standards are still scarce. Here, we show how a method we previously developed, originally aimed at assessing dynamic balance by a probabilistic generalized linear model, can be used to assess a broader range of functional movements. In this paper, the method is applied to distinguish patients with coordination disorders from healthy controls. We focused on movements recorded during the finger-to-nose task (FNT), which is commonly used to assess coordination disorders. We also compared clinical FNT scores and model scores. Our method achieved 84% classification accuracy in distinguishing patients and healthy participants, using only two features. Future work could entail testing the reliability of the method by using additional features and other clinical tests such as finger chasing, quiet standing, and/or usage of tracking devices such as depth cameras or force plates.

Interrater Reliability of a Field-Based Preschool Movement Skills Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the interrater reliability of the Preschool Movement Assessment (PMA), a unique field-based assessment tool for use by early childhood professionals in preschool settings. METHODS: A total of 123 preschool children, aged 3-5years, were assessed by 6 trained raters using the PMA tool in an intervention. Interrater agreement on individual items of the PMA was determined using the kappa (κ) and intraclass correlation coefficient statistics. RESULTS: Weighted κ values were 0.82-0.96, indicating excellent agreement for all constructs of the PMA. The 95% confidence intervals indicated that all weighted κ's were statistically significant. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the PMA total score was 0.97. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: After additional developmental research, the tool might serve to establish and support a minimum level of functional movements that should be attained before a child enters grade school.

Hand Dexterity Impairment in Patients with Cervical Myelopathy: A New Quantitative Assessment Using a Natural Prehension Movement.

Cervical myelopathy (CM) caused by spinal cord compression can lead to reduced hand dexterity. However, except for the 10 sec grip-and-release test, there is no objective assessment system for hand dexterity in patients with CM. Therefore, we evaluated the hand dexterity impairment of patients with CM objectively by asking them to perform a natural prehension movement. Twenty-three patients with CM and 30 age-matched controls were asked to reach for and grasp a small object with their right thumb and index finger and to subsequently lift and hold it. To examine the effects of tactile afferents from the fingers, objects with surface materials of differing textures (silk, suede, and sandpaper) were used. All patients also underwent the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) test. Preoperative patients showed significantly greater grip aperture during reach-to-grasp movements and weaker grip force than controls only while attempting to lift the most slippery object (silk). Patients, immediately after surgery, (n = 15) tended to show improvements in the JOA score and in reaction time and movement time with respect to reaching movements. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that some parameters of the prehension task could successfully predict subjective evaluations of dexterous hand movements based on JOA scores. These results suggest that quantitative assessments using prehension movements could be useful to objectively evaluate hand dexterity impairment in patients with CM.

The impact of free-order and sequential-order instructions on task-order regulation in dual tasks.

Dual tasks (DTs) are characterized by the requirement for additional mechanisms that coordinate the processing order of two temporally overlapping tasks. These mechanisms are indicated by two types of costs that occur when comparing DT blocks with fixed and random orders of the component tasks. On a block level, task-order control costs are reflected in increased reaction times (RTs) in random-order compared to fixed-order blocks, indicating global, monitoring-based, coordination mechanisms. On a trial level, within random-order blocks, order-switch costs are indicated by increased RTs on order switch compared to order repetition trials, reflecting memory-based mechanisms that guide task-order in DTs. To test the nature of these mechanisms in two experiments, participants performed DTs in fixed- and random-order blocks. In random-order blocks, participants were either instructed to respond to both tasks according to the order of task presentation (sequential-order instruction) or instructed to freely decide in which order to perform both tasks (free-order instruction). As a result of both experiments, we demonstrated that task-order control costs were reduced under the free-order compared to the sequential-order instruction, whereas order-switch costs were not affected by our instruction manipulation. This pattern of results suggests that the task-order control costs reflect global processes of task-order regulation such as engaging monitoring processes that are sensitive to changes in order instructions, while order-switch costs reflect rather local memory-based mechanisms that occur irrespective of any effort to coordinate task-order.

"Optimal suppression" as a solution to the paradoxical cost of multitasking: examination of suppression specificity in task switching.

Switching between tasks necessitates maintaining tasks in high readiness, yet readiness creates paradoxical interference from these tasks when they are not currently required. "Optimal suppression", which targets just the interfering information, provides a partial solution to this paradox. By examining the carryover of suppression of a competitor stimulus-response (S-R) set from Trial N - 1 to Trial N, Meiran, Hsieh  and colleagues (Meiran  et al., J Exp Psychol Learn mem cognit 36:992-1002, 2010; Cognit Affect Behav Neurosci 11:292-308, 2011, and Hsieh et al., Acta Psychol 141:316-321, 2012) found that only the competing stimulus-response (S-R) set of rules is suppressed. Specifically, they found that a competitor S-R set in Trial N - 1 incurs cost when it becomes the relevant set in Trial N [competitor becomes relevant (CbR)]. Extending this logic, we predicted performance benefit when the competitor S-R set in Trial N - 1 remains the competitor S-R set in Trial N [competitor remains competitor (CrC)]. Here, we examined the question of whether what is being suppressed when encountering a response conflict is the entire S-R set of rules (e.g., "IF pink PRESS right", and "IF blue PRESS left") or an even more specific representation, namely, the currently interfering S-R rule (e.g., just "IF blue PRESS left"). We show that both CbR and CrC interact with Response (i.e., left or right key), suggesting that the system can recognize the exact source of interference (the competing S-R rule), and inhibit only this source.

Multitasking as a choice: a perspective.

Performance decrements in multitasking have been explained by limitations in cognitive capacity, either modelled as static structural bottlenecks or as the scarcity of overall cognitive resources that prevent humans, or at least restrict them, from processing two tasks at the same time. However, recent research has shown that individual differences, flexible resource allocation, and prioritization of tasks cannot be fully explained by these accounts. We argue that understanding human multitasking as a choice and examining multitasking performance from the perspective of judgment and decision-making (JDM), may complement current dual-task theories. We outline two prominent theories from the area of JDM, namely Simple Heuristics and the Decision Field Theory, and adapt these theories to multitasking research. Here, we explain how computational modelling techniques and decision-making parameters used in JDM may provide a benefit to understanding multitasking costs and argue that these techniques and parameters have the potential to predict multitasking behavior in general, and also individual differences in behavior. Finally, we present the one-reason choice metaphor to explain a flexible use of limited capacity as well as changes in serial and parallel task processing. Based on this newly combined approach, we outline a concrete interdisciplinary future research program that we think will help to further develop multitasking research.

What is a task? An ideomotor perspective.

Although multitasking has been the subject of a large number of papers and experiments, the term task is still not well defined. In this opinion paper, we adopt the ideomotor perspective to define the term task and distinguish it from the terms goal and action. In our opinion, actions are movements executed by an actor to achieve a concrete goal. Concrete goals are represented as anticipated sensory consequences that are associated with an action in an ideomotor manner. Concrete goals are nested in a hierarchy of more and more abstract goals, which form the context of the corresponding action. Finally, tasks are depersonalized goals, i.e., goals that should be achieved by someone. However, tasks can be assigned to a specific person or group of persons, either by a third party or by the person or the group of persons themselves. By accepting this assignment, the depersonalized task becomes a personal goal. In our opinion, research on multitasking needs to confine its scope to the analysis of concrete tasks, which result in concrete goals as anticipated sensory consequences of the corresponding action. We further argue that the distinction between dual- and single-tasking is dependent on the subjective conception of the task assignment, the goal representation and previous experience. Finally, we conclude that it is not the tasks, but the performing of the tasks, i.e. the actions that cause costs in multitasking experiments.

Quantitative assessment of paretic limb dexterity and interlimb coordination during bilateral arm rehabilitation training.

In neuro-rehabilitation after stroke, the conventional constrained induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been well-accepted. Existing bilateral trainings are mostly on mirrored symmetrical motion. However, complementary bilateral movements are dominantly involved in activities of daily living (ADLs), and functional bilateral therapies may bring better skill transfer from trainings to daily life. Neurophysiological evidence is also growing. In this work, we firstly introduce our bilateral arm training system realized with a haptic interface and a motion sensor, as well as the tasks that have been designed to train both the manipulation function of the paretic arm and coordination of bilateral upper limbs. Then, we propose quantitative measures for functional assessment of complementary bilateral training performance, including kinematic behavior indices, smoothness, submovement and bimanual coordination. After that, we describe the experiments with healthy subjects and the results with respect to these quantitative measures. Feasibility and sensitivity of the proposed indices were evaluated through comparison of unilateral and bilateral training outcomes. The proposed bilateral training system and tasks, as well as the quantitative measures, have been demonstrated effective for training and assessment of unilateral and bilateral arm functions.

Building a framework for a dual task taxonomy.

The study of dual task interference has gained increasing attention in the literature for the past 35 years, with six MEDLINE citations in 1979 growing to 351 citations indexed in 2014 and a peak of 454 cited papers in 2013. Increasingly, researchers are examining dual task cost in individuals with pathology, including those with neurodegenerative diseases. While the influence of these papers has extended from the laboratory to the clinic, the field has evolved without clear definitions of commonly used terms and with extreme variations in experimental procedures. As a result, it is difficult to examine the interference literature as a single body of work. In this paper we present a new taxonomy for classifying cognitive-motor and motor-motor interference within the study of dual task behaviors that connects traditional concepts of learning and principles of motor control with current issues of multitasking analysis. As a first step in the process we provide an operational definition of dual task, distinguishing it from a complex single task. We present this new taxonomy, inclusive of both cognitive and motor modalities, as a working model; one that we hope will generate discussion and create a framework from which one can view previous studies and develop questions of interest.

Relación entre estado nutricional, nivel de actividad física y desarrollo psicomotor en preescolares / Relationship between nutritional status, level of physical activity and psychomotor development in preschoolers

Introducción: La OMS ha señalado la obesidad y sobrepeso como pandemia, siendo los niños el grupo donde se recomienda intervenir, al poder incluir programas de actividad física (AF) y desarrollo psicomotor (DP) en los establecimientos educacionales. En Chile existen altos índices de sobrepeso, obesidad y sedentarismo, asociado a la inexistencia de programas preescolares sobre realización de AF. Objetivo: Relacionar el estado nutricional, el desarrollo psicomotor y la cantidad e intensidad de AF en la jornada escolar en preescolares de 5 años. Métodos: Estudio piloto, no experimental, transversal y correlacional, 23 preescolares de 5 años. Se midieron tres aspectos; Estado nutricional con puntaje z-IMC, AF con Actigrafía y DP con la Batería Da Fonseca. Resultados: Un 26% de los niños presentó sobrepeso y un 52% obesidad. Todos realizaron al menos 60 minutos de Actividad Física moderada a vigorosa (AFMV) durante la jornada escolar. El 82,6% de los niños se encontró en la categoría Normal en DP y el resto en la categoría de Dispraxia. Se encontró una relación inversa significativa (p=0,032) entre z-IMC y DP. Conclusión: El porcentaje de niños obesos, supera ampliamente cifras internacionales y encuestas nacionales. En la evaluación psicomotriz, 17,4% de los niños son dispráxicos. Los niños con mayor z-IMC tienen menor puntaje en la batería Da Fonseca, lo que puede ser atribuido a un mayor peso en relación a la estatura, generando a largo plazo un menor DP. No se observaron relaciones entre las demás variables (AU)

Background: Obesity and overweight have been included as a pandemic by the WHO; children are the group where intervention is recommended, given that they can enter physical activity (PA) and psychomotor development (PD) programs at education centres. Chile accounts for high rates of overweight, obesity and sedentary life, together with an absence of preschool PA programs. Objective: To relate the nutritional status, the psychomotor development and the quantity and intensity of PA in school routine for 5 year-old preschoolers. Methods: Pilot, non-experimental, transversal correlational study, including 23 preschoolers aged 5. We assessed three values: nutritional status with score z-IMC, PA with Actigraphy and PD with Da Fonseca Battery. Results: 26% of the children presented with overweight and 52% with obesity. All of them had at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) during their school-day. 82.6% of the children were in the Normal category for PD and the rest were in the Dispraxia category. A significant inverse relationship was found (p=0,032) between z-IMC and PD. Conclusion: The percentage of obese children is notably above international average values and national surveys. 17.4% of children show dispraxia at the psychomotor assessment. Children with higher z-IMC have a lower score in Da Fonseca battery, which could be due to a higher weight in relation to size, and generating a lower PD in the long term. No relationships were detected within the other variables (AU)

Generating a taxonomy of spatially cued attention for visual discrimination: effects of judgment precision and set size on attention.

Attention precues improve the performance of perceptual tasks in many but not all circumstances. These spatial attention effects may depend upon display set size or workload, and have been variously attributed to external noise filtering, stimulus enhancement, contrast gain, or response gain, or to uncertainty or other decision effects. In this study, we document systematically different effects of spatial attention in low- and high-precision judgments, with and without external noise, and in different set sizes in order to contribute to the development of a taxonomy of spatial attention. An elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) provides an integrated account of a complex set of effects of spatial attention with just two attention factors: a set-size dependent exclusion or filtering of external noise and a narrowing of the perceptual template to focus on the signal stimulus. These results are related to the previous literature by classifying the judgment precision and presence of external noise masks in those experiments, suggesting a taxonomy of spatially cued attention in discrimination accuracy.

Latent profile analysis of working memory performance in a sample of children with ADHD.

The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to ascertain distinct groups of children with ADHD (N = 701) in terms of performance on working memory (WM) tasks that tapped visuospatial sketchpad, spatial central executive, and verbal central executive functions. It compared the WM performances of these classes with a clinical comparison group (N = 59). The participants' age ranged from 7 to 16 years (586 males, 71 females). The results of the LPA supported three classes. For all three WM tasks, class 1 (N = 196) had more difficulties than classes 2 (N = 394) and 3 (N = 111), and the clinical comparison group. Class 2 had more difficulties than class 3 and the clinical comparison group, and there was no difference between class 3 and the clinical comparison group. Class 1 had lower IQ and academic abilities, and relatively more individuals with depressive disorders. The implications of the findings for understanding ADHD and its treatment are discussed.

Performance da equipe do Barcelona e seus adversários nos jogos finais da Champions League e da Copa do Mundo de Clubes FIFA 2010 / Rendimiento del equipo de Barcelona y sus oponentes en la final de los partidos de la Liga de Campeones y la Copa Mundial de Clubes de la FIFA 2010 / Performance of Barcelona's team and their opponents in the finals matches of the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup 2010

Objetivo: O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a performance da equipe do Barcelona em confronto com seus adversários, nos dois jogos mais importantes da temporada (final do Mundial Interclubes da FIFA e final UEFA Champions League), entre Barcelona e Santos FC, e entre Barcelona e Manchester United, respectivamente. Método: A análise dos comportamentos desempenhados pelos jogadores levou em consideração o número de jogadores envolvidos e os fundamentos técnicos divididos em três categorias: fundamentos ofensivos, fundamentos defensivos e tipos de passe. Resultados: A partir da análise dos jogos, foi possível observar a superioridade da equipe do Barcelona, em ambos os jogos, onde a mesma tende a ficar mais tempo com a posse de bola e envolver uma maior quantidade de jogadores na fase ofensiva. Conclusão: O modelo de jogo evidenciado privilegia a manutenção sistemática da posse de bola, caracterizando um ataque posicional de abertura e redução de espaços de jogo

Objetivo. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo evaluar el rendimiento del equipo en la confrontación del Barcelona con sus oponentes, en los dos partidos más importantes de la temporada (finales de la Copa Mundial de Clubes FIFA y la UEFA Champions League), entre Barcelona y Santos FC, y entre Barcelona y Man-chester United, respectivamente. Método. El análisis de las conductas realizadas por los jugadores ha tenido en cuenta el número de jugadores involucrados y los fundamentos técnicos divididos en tres categorías: los fundamentos ofensivos, fundamentos defensivos y tipos de pases. Resultados. A partir del análisis de los juegos, fue posible observar la superioridad del equipo de Barcelona en los dos partidos, en los que tiende a tener más tiempo el balón y hacer participar a un mayor número de jugadores en la fase ofensiva. Conclusión. El modelo de juego evidenciado favorece el mantenimiento sistemático del balón, caracterizando un ataque posicional de apertura del juego y reducción de los espacios de juego (AU)

Objective. The present study aims to evaluate the performance of the team in Barcelona confrontation with their opponents, the two most important games of the season (end of the FIFA World Club Cup and UEFA Champions League Final), between Barcelona and Santos FC, and between Barcelona and Manchester United respectively. Method. The analysis of the behaviors performed by players took into account the number of players involved and the technical fundamentals divided into three categories: offensive fundamentals, defensive fundamentals and types of passes. Results. From the analysis of the games, it was possible to observe the superiority of the Barcelona team in both games, when they tend to spend more time with the ball and involve a greater number of players in the offensive phase. Conclusion. The game model evidenced favors systematic maintenance of possession, featuring a positional attack and reduced opening game spaces (AU)

An intervention to enhance the performance of a 3000 metre steeplechase athlete with the use of segmentation and self-talk

Se realiza una intervención con un atleta de 3000 metros obstáculos con el objetivo de mejorar su rendimiento en el cuarto segmento de la pista. Las tres fases de la intervención tuvieron como objetivo la instauración de estrategias de segmentación y auto-verbalización de instrucción. Los resultados del segundo video análisis biomecánico mostraron una mejora sustancial del rendimiento del atleta en el cuarto segmento de la pista (t = 1.21 segundos). El protocolo de registro guiado mostró un alto porcentaje de uso de las auto-verbalizaciones (85.8% en los primeros 3 segmentos; 100% en el cuarto segmento). Se concluye que la auto-verbalización puede mediar en los procesos cognitivos para la mejora de la resistencia dinámica (AU)

An intervention was carried out with an aerobic endurance athlete in order to enhance his performance in the fourth segment of the 3000 metre steeplechase race. The three-phase intervention consisted of implementing segmentation and instructional self-talk strategies. Results of the second biomechanics video-analysis showed a substantial increase in the athlete’s performance in the 4th segment (t =1.21 seconds). The manipulation check protocol showed a high usage of self-talk (85.8% in the first 3 segments; 100% in the fourth segment). It is concluded that self-talk can mediate cognitive processes in order to enhance aerobic endurance (AU)

Is the inside pass a performance indicator? Observational analysis of elite basketball teams

Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: 1) analizar la influencia del pase interior en el éxito del ataque y 2) detectar si la localización espacial de pasador y receptor, y la acción motriz inmediata del receptor afectan sobre el rendimiento del pase interior. Cuatro observadores analizaron un total de nueve partidos de Playoff de la Euroliga 2012, obteniendo un total de 1324 fases de ataque. Se utilizó la metodología observacional a través de un diseño de seguimiento, ideográfico y multimiensional. Se elaboró un instrumento ad-hoc para lograr un registro sistemático de las conductas de juego. Para el primer objetivo se incluyeron los siguientes criterios para cada fase de ataque: 1) eficacia ofensiva, 2) zona de lanzamiento, 3) total de puntos anotados en la fase de ataque, 4) tiempo de posesión y 5) número de pases. Para el segundo objetivo se analizó, en aquellas fases de ataque con pase interior: 1) localización espacial del pasador, 2) localización espacial del receptor y 3) acción inmediata del receptor. Se comprobó la fiabilidad interobservadores mediante el iìndice multirater k free (Randolph, 2005), obteniendo un valor por encima de .84 en cada variable. Al final del proceso se evaluó la concordancia intraobservadores mediante el Kappa de Cohen, obteniendo un valor mínimo de .90. Para el análisis estadístico se calcularon la U de Mann-Whitney, tablas de contingencia, Chi-cuadrado y regresión logística multinomial. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que 1) aquellas fases de ataque en las que se realiza el pase interior resultan más efectivas y obtienen una mayor cantidad de puntos, y 2) la localización espacial del pasador y la acción inmediata del receptor resultan determinantes en la eficacia del pase interior, siendo el pase exterior con recepción interior la opción con mayores garantías de éxito. Éstos resultados sugieren la consideración del pase interior como un indicador de rendimiento en baloncesto (AU)

The purposes of this study were: 1) to analyse the influence of inside pass on the basketball offensive success and 2) to detect the influence of both passer and receiver location, and the receiver immediate action on successful inside pass. The sample was 1324 attack phases of nine games of the 2012 Euroleague Playoff. All recorded matches were analysed by four observers. Observational methodology was used through a follow-up, ideographic, and multidimensional design approach. An ad-hoc instrument was developed in order to obtain behaviour systematic registration. For the first aim, analysed criteria were: 1) offensive effectiveness, 2) shooting zone, 3) total points scored by attack phase, 4) possession duration and 5) number f passes. For the second one: 1) passer location, 2) receiver location, and 3) immediate receiver action were registered for each inside pass attack. Multirater k free index (Randolph, 2005) was used to measure inter-observers agreement, obtaining a value over .84 in each case. In addition, intraobservers reproducibility was evaluated at the end of the observation process by calculating Cohen’s Kappa, obtaining a minimum value of .90. For statistical data analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, crosstabs, Chi-square and multinomial logistic regression were carried on. The finding results show that a) those attack phase in which inside pass is done are more effective and achieve a larger amount of points, and b) passer location and immediate receiver action determinate a successful inside pass, being the outside pass with an inside reception the most effective option. These results suggest to consider the inside pass as a performance indicator in basketball (AU)