Sport participation and vigilance in children:Influence of different sport expertise

Purpose： The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between different types of sport expertise （externally-paced vs. self-paced sports） and vigilance performance in children by evaluating the cardiovascular fitness level of the participants. Methods： Three groups of children （11.0 ± 0.2 years） differentiated in terms of their regular sport participation （football players, n = 20; track and field athletes, n = 20; non-athletic controls, n = 20） took part in the study. In one session, participants performed the Leger Multi-stage fitness test to estimate their aerobic fitness level. In another session, participants completed the Psychomotor Vigilance Task （PVT） to evaluate their vigilance performance under 2 conditions of velocity demands （normal vs. speed）. Results： The results revealed that both groups of sport practitioners had higher cardiovascular fitness than non-athlete controls. In contrast, no significant differences in the performance PVT were found between track and field athletes and controls. Crucially, football players showed better performance in the PVT than track and field athletes and controls. These between-group differences were not modulated by the speed demands of the task. Conclusion： The major novel finding of this research points to a positive relationship between sport participation and vigilance performance during childhood. We discuss our results in terms of the different hypotheses put forward in the literature to explain the relationship between regular exercise and cognitive fimctioning： the ＂cardiovascular fitness＂ and the ＂cognitive component skills＂ hypotheses.2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. （http：//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/）.

Altered Neurogranin Phosphorylation and Protein Levels Are Associated with Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors in Rats Following Forced Swim Stress

Here we tested the hypothesis that stress-induced alterations in Neurogranin (Ng) synthesis and/ or utilization might underlie stress-related depression and anxiety. Rats were randomly divided into five conditions: chronic swim stress (CS), acute swim stress (AS), and three control groups. The CS group was exposed to daily swim stress (5 min/day) for 14 consecutive days, the AS group received a single swim stress, and control groups were maintained in a stress-free condition. Both before and after swim stress, rats were tested for body weight gain, open-field locomotor activity, and saccharine preference. Ng and phospho-Ng (P-Ng) levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were determined by Western blot analysis. Compared to controls, CS animals displayed significantly decreased body weight gain, ambulation, and saccharine intake, and increased grooming behavior. CS animals had decreased Ng levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In CS animals, Ng levels were positively correlated with saccharine intake and ambulation, and inversely correlated with grooming behavior. Compared to controls, AS increased immobility behavior and P-Ng and Ng levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In AS animals, immobility behavior was positively correlated with the P-Ng in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, CS and AS produced opposing effects on Ng and P-Ng levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Low Ng levels in the hippocampus were associated with anhedonic behavior in CS animals, whereas high P-Ng levels in the prefrontal cortex were associated with anxiety-like behavior in AS animals. Thus, Ng dysfunction might contribute to the neural mechanisms underlying stress-induced depression and anxiety.

The effects of oral smokeless tobacco administration on endurance performance

Background： Smokeless tobacco is widely used by athletes to enhance performance. Nicotine is a central nervous system stimulant and acts on cardiocirculatory and metabolic systems, involving tissue blood flow and circulatory vasoreactivity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the oral smokeless tobacco （Swedish snus （SS）） on the perception of fatigue and time to exhaustion （TTE） during moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Methods： Fourteen healthy non-tobacco male users were recruited for a double-blind, controlled crossover design （SS vs. snus placebo （SP））. Subjects were tested for 3 sessions： experimental session 1 （Exp 1） consisted of an incremental test to determine the maximal aerobic power out-put （Wmax）, whereas Exp2 and Exp3 consisted of exercising at 65%Wmax until exhaustion in SS or SP conditions. During Exp2 and Exp3, muscle and cerebral oxygenation was assessed by means of near-infrared spectroscopy, and the rating of perceived exertion （RPE） was recorded. Results： Comparing SS with SP tests, significant differences （p 〈 0.05） were found in the values of cerebral （-3%） and muscular tissues oxygenation （-4%） in the first 30 min of exercise. The RPE values were not significantly different between the 2 conditions （SS vs. SP）. No significant difference was found in TTE （SS： 54.25 ± 21.84 min; SP： 50.01 ± 17.03 min）. Conclusion： This study showed that muscular and cerebral oxygenation increased significantly with snus administration during an endurance exercise until exhaustion, but this did not affect fatigue perception and TTE. The results showed that snus could not be considered an ergogenic substance in non-tobacco users.2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai University of Sport. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license. （http：//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/）.