Dohsa-hou training improves bimanual coordination among children with Down Syndrome.

A child with Down syndrome (DS) is physically characterized by muscle hypotonia, joint instability, and poor motor coordination. Here, we tested whether Dohsa-hou training could improve motor coordination among children with DS, compared to a control condition. Forty children with DS were randomly assigned either to Dohsa-hou training or to a control condition. All participants completed a bimanual coordination test, at the following time points: baseline, seven weeks later at completion of the intervention, and again 4 weeks later at follow-up. Bimanual coordination accuracy and consistency improved from baseline to intervention completion and to follow-up, but only in the Dohsa-hou training, compared to the control group. The findings suggest that among children with DS and compared to a control condition, Dohsa-hou training has the potential to enhance the bimanual coordination, thus contributing to improved motor control of children with DS.

Brain gym exercises improve Eye-Hand coordination in elderly males.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Understanding the issues of the elderly or providing opportunities for a more fruitful ageing are some of the challenges that the officials and researchers in the area grapple with. The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a series of brain gym exercises on elderly males' eye-hand coordination. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty old males (60-80 years old) were selected using the convenience sampling technique and were divided equally into an experimental and a control group. After performing baseline measurements, the experimental group performed the brain gym exercises for 16 sessions; the sessions were held twice in week, and each session lasted for 30 min. The touch test disc was applied to assess the participants' eye-hand coordination. RESULTS: The results of mixed-ANOVA indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p < 0.05) and in favour of experimental group. CONCLUSION: The results were quite promising and have practical implications for the exercise and routine programs of rehabilitation centres and nursing homes. However, the limited research studies conducted in the area make use recommend conducting more studies using larger samples of both genders and exploiting other tasks of eye-hand coordination.

Both a holistic and external focus of attention enhance the learning of a badminton short serve.

Attentional focus research consistently demonstrates a benefit of an external focus relative to an internal focus. However, this dichotomous comparison may oversimplify the variety of attentional focus strategies a learner uses when acquiring a motor skill. Recent research suggests a holistic focus of attention provides a similar benefit over an internal focus in performing a standing long jump, but the generalizability of this effect is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine how an internal (IF), external (EF), and holistic focus (HF) and control condition impact the learning of a badminton short serve. Novice participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to IF, EF, HF, or control groups. They practiced the badminton short serve for 150 trials over 5 days and completed retention and transfer tests 48-h post-acquisition. Serve accuracy was analyzed in separate repeated-measures ANOVAs for acquisition and pretest/retention/transfer. All groups improved accuracy through acquisition with the HF group serving more accurately than the IF and control groups. In retention, the HF and EF group served more accurately than the control group, and in transfer, the HF group was more accurate than the IF and control groups. The present findings suggest a benefit of both a holistic and external focus in the learning of an accuracy-based task.

The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on performing a sequential dual task: a randomized experimental study.

When it comes to simultaneous processing of two tasks, information processing capacity is usually below par and not desirable. Therefore, this preliminary study aimed to investigate the effect of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on performing dual tasks. Twenty-six students (average age 25.2 ± 2.43 years) were selected and then randomly divided into experimental and sham groups. All of the participants conducted the Stroop effect test in a dual task situation before and after the tDCS. This test included two intervals between the stimuli of 100 and 900 ms. The results of mixed-ANOVA showed that the average second reaction time of the experimental stimulated group was reduced (in both dual tasks with congruent and incongruent stimuli) significantly after the tDCS. Therefore, it can be stated that the tDCS of the DLPFC increases the information processing speed and the capacity of attention and, as a result, decreases the effect of the psychological refractory period.