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PubMed1993

Youth fitness--problems and solutions.

Review of the current data in the area of youth fitness reveals some alarming trends. Children in the United States are fatter, slower, and weaker than their counterparts in other developed nations. In addition, U.S. children seem to be adopting a sedentary lifestyle at earlier ages. Although there is no easy solution to this problem, there are specific recommendations that can ensure improvement in this area. The cornerstone for any meaningful change must involve programs that seek to increase physical activity both in school and at home. Daily, quality physical education in grades K-12 should be mandated in all states. Parents should be educated regarding the critical importance and the multitude of benefits to be derived from their involvement in fitness-related activities with their children. A healthy balance must be established between sedentary activities, e.g., television and video games, and physical activity. All schools should establish fitness testing programs for children and these should be based on health-fitness parameters rather than on athletic performance variables. To ensure improvements in youth fitness across our nation, other interventions are also necessary. These include appropriate involvement of local communities, state and federal governments, the medical health professions, and the media. Specific strategies are available for each group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The cardiovascular effects of nicotine during stress.

The acute cardiovascular effects of smoking during stress may be greater than those of smoking or stress alone, a finding which could have implications for determining which smokers may be at particular risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Methodological problems inherent in using tobacco smoking to deliver nicotine (believed responsible for smoking's cardiovascular effects) prevent clear examination of the cardiovascular effects of inhaled nicotine. This study compared the cardiovascular increases due to a video game stress task plus 1.0 mg nicotine with those of stress or nicotine alone using an aerosol method of presenting nicotine in measured doses. Twelve young male smokers each participated in four conditions on 4 separate days: stress + nicotine, stress + placebo (stress alone), rest + nicotine (nicotine alone), and rest + placebo. The effects of stress and nicotine were additive for heart rate but less than additive for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. These results indicate that the combined effects of stress and nicotine may be relevant to understanding the prevalence of CHD among smokers. They also suggest that the effects of each on cardiovascular activity may be different, as the effects are independent for heart rate but overlap for blood pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Projected free fall trajectories. II. Human experiments.

We are very adept at using the purely two-dimensional information we get from our retinae to manoever and react to the three-dimensional world: witness the tennis player returning a 100 mph serve. In another article (Saxberg 1987) we have shown how gravity can in theory be used as a constraint to determine the initial conditions of a three-dimensional free fall trajectory from the two-dimensional central projection of the trajectory. We have developed a simple video game to investigate what information is important to humans trying to solve a problem of this sort: predicting where a ball will fall. We show that humans do not seem to use the trajectory information suggested by the theoretical results in (Saxberg 1985), but rely on other sources of information, such as the size of the image on the projection surface.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Self-regulation of slow cortical potentials in psychiatric patients: depression.

Findings on depressive patients indicate that depressives have electrophysiological characteristics similar to those of schizophrenics, in that they exhibit reduced Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) amplitudes and more distinct Postimperative Negative Variations (PINVs) than normal controls. In a biofeedback experiment, 8 medicated male inpatients with the DSM III-R diagnosis of "Bipolar Disorder, Depressive," and "Major Depression" demonstrated no impairment in the self-regulation of Slow Cortical Potentials (SCP) in comparison to schizophrenics in terms of increasing and suppressing negativity. Continuous visual SCP feedback is presented to the patient as a horizontally moving rocket in a video game format. The direction changes of the rocket represented SCP changes at each point in time, recorded by the central EEG (based on the pretrial baseline). Depressives demonstrated SCP self-regulation across 20 sessions, although with many between-and-within variations. The 8 male controls were unable to regulate their SCPs across 5 sessions. This result contradicts other findings of our laboratory on normal controls. Motivational factors and insufficient operant reinforcement (financial reward) may have facilitated this effect.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Association of depression with Body Mass Index, sedentary behavior, and maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors in 11 to 13-year old children.

We examined the relation of different behavioral dimensions of depression with weight-related variables (BMI percentile, sedentary behavior, eating attitudes, and weight control behaviors) in children aged 11 to 13 years. Depression was assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Sedentary behavior was measured in 45 sixth grade students (23 boys and 22 girls) using a validated 24-hour recall instrument, the Self-Administered Physical Activity Checklist. BMI was calculated directly from measured height and weight (kg/m2). The Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) was used to measure eating attitudes and weight control behaviors. There were not significant gender differences in reported minutes (142 vs. 91 minutes for boys vs. girls; p=0.25) of sedentary behavior (i.e., television watching and video game playing). The major finding of this study was that certain aspects of depression (i.e., interpersonal problems and feelings of ineffectiveness) were correlated with higher levels of sedentary behavior in children aged 11 to 13. A factor analysis of the study variables indicated that most dimensions of depression, sedentary behavior, and body size represent distinct but correlated behavioral dimensions. This study provides support for a link between specific aspects of depression (i.e., interpersonal problems and feelings of ineffectiveness) and sedentary behavior in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

A French study of the Dominic Interactive.

INTRODUCTION: The Dominic Interactive was developed in North America to assess a child's perception of her/his own symptoms, which is critical to balance parents' and school professionals' perception. It is a computerized, DSM-IV-based pictorial questionnaire akin to a video game, for children aged 6-11. A strengths and competencies scale displays positive situations. Most children complete the Dominic Interactive 90 situations within 10-15 min. OBJECTIVE: Because of the cultural differences between North American and French children, a study of the appropriateness of the instrument to assess French children was required. METHODS: The CD-ROM-based Dominic Interactive was completed by 253 community children, and by 150 children from outpatient clinics in four French cities. The latter also received clinical diagnoses. Prevalence estimates yielded by the Dominic Interactive in the general population and referred children, relationships between prevalence estimates based on the Dominic Interactive and clinical judgments, and differences between Dominic Interactive scores in sub-samples of children with and without a clinical diagnosis were studied. RESULTS: Significant differences between clinically referred and non-referred children were found for every diagnosis, and between Dominic Interactive scores of referred children with and without a clinical diagnosis with the exception of oppositional disorder. Parental acceptability of the instrument was never a problem, children like it, and clinicians' comments were positive. DISCUSSION: Reference and clinical judgment both indicate that the Dominic Interactive is appropriate to assess child mental health in France. Clinical judgment discrepancies between sites and small numbers are the limitations of this study. CONCLUSION: The instrument performed well in the French context. The potential advantages of using the Dominic Interactive (children enjoy the activity, parents approve of it, it is relatively cost-effective, etc.) suggest its applicability in other settings.

Child↗
PubMed1999

Low back pain in a population of school children.

A study was undertaken to analyse the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) and confounding factors in primary school children in the city of Antwerp. A total of 392 children aged 9 were included in the study. All children completed a validated three-page questionnaire and they all underwent a specific lumbar spine oriented medical examination during their annual routine medical school control. This examination was performed by the city school doctors. The questionnaire was composed of easy "yes/no" questions and visual analogue scales. Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t-test and chi-squared test at the significance level P < 0.05. The prevalence of LBP was high. No gender difference was found. A total of 142 children (36%) reported having suffered at least one episode of LBP in their lives. Of these, 33 (23%) had sought medical help for LBP from a doctor or physiotherapist. Sixty-four percent of children reporting LBP said that at least one of their parents suffered from or complained of LBP. This was significantly higher than for the children who did not report having suffered LBP. The way in which the school satchel was carried (in the hand, on the back) had no bearing on the incidence of LBP. There was significantly more LBP in children who reported playing video games for more than 2 h per day, but this was not so for television watchers. The visual analogue scales concerning general well-being were all very significantly correlated with self-reported LBP, with children who reported LBP being more tired, less happy, and worse sleepers. Of the 19 clinical parameters taken down during the medical examination, only one was significantly more prevalent in the group of children reporting LBP: pain on palpation at the insertion site on the iliac crest of the ilio-lumbar ligament. From this study we can establish that there are few clinical signs that can help to single out school children with LBP.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Effects of goal-related motivational states on the orienting of spatial attention.

Three experiments are presented indicating that motivational processes arising from incentive and feedback signals exert specific effects on the orienting of visual spatial attention. Subjects played a video game in which targets were presented in one of two peripheral locations. Pre-target cues were employed to orient attention to a location where points could be gained (positive incentive cue), to a location where points could be lost (negative incentive cue) or to neither location (neutral cue). Cost-benefit analyses were used to assess the consequences of such orienting. Although there was no evidence of general attentional biases favoring positive over negative incentives, all three experiments demonstrated an interaction between the incentive value of the current trial and the outcome of the previous trial. Following unsuccessful outcomes, attentional costs were greater for positive than negative incentives, whereas following successful outcomes, costs were larger for negative than positive cues. This pattern was evident for tasks involving detection, perceptual discrimination and memory scanning. These findings are discussed in light of contemporary models of motivation and the control of attention.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Relation of psychosocial and stress reactivity variables to ventricular arrhythmias in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Pilot Study (CAPS).

Both animal and human data implicate psychosocial distress and cardiovascular reactivity in response to challenge in the etiology of sudden cardiac death. In this study, the relation of these biobehaviorial factors to frequency of ventricular premature complexes, a predictor of sudden death was investigated. The study population was made up of patients enrolled in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Cardiac Arrhythmia Pilot Study (CAPS). Ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) were assessed by multiple, 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiographic recordings. Patients completed trait psychosocial measures assessed at baseline and state psychosocial measures assessed periodically during a 1-year follow-up period. Psychosocial measures included self-reports of depression, anxiety, anger and type A behavior pattern. A competitive challenge using a video game was used as a stressor to elicit cardiovascular reactivity and was administered at baseline and during follow-up sessions. Cardiovascular reactivity was defined as peak level during stressor exposure minus the mean of resting levels for systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate. Results indicated that biobehavioral factors were not associated with diurnal VPC rates. Furthermore, biobehavioral factors did not predict response to antiarrhythmic therapy. Based upon the results of this study, it is speculated that the established relation between behavioral factors and sudden death may not be mediated by VPC rates.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗
PubMed1992

Intermodal selective attention. I. Effects on event-related potentials to lateralized auditory and visual stimuli.

The effects of intermodal selective attention on event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were examined in 2 experiments. In experiment 1, auditory ERPs were compared (1) when subjects responded to easy and difficult-to-detect target tones in sequences of tone bursts; and (2) when they ignored the same auditory sequences and played a demanding video game. In experiment 2, auditory ERPs to tone bursts and visual ERPs to vertical line gratings were compared as subjects responded to difficult-to-detect targets in one modality or the other. Attention to auditory stimuli resulted in biphasic enhancements in auditory ERPs, the Nda (negative auditory difference wave, latency 120-160 msec) and the Pda (positive auditory difference wave, latency 200-240 msec) waves. These had longer latencies and somewhat different scalp distributions than N1 and P2 components evoked by non-attended tones. The Nda and Pda could be contrasted with the monophasic processing negativities typically found in dichotic selective attention tasks. Nda amplitudes were larger for difficult-to-detect targets (closely resembling standards) than for standards themselves, but no Ndas were recorded to highly deviant targets. Deviant auditory stimuli evoked mismatch negativities (MMNs) that persisted during visual attention. MMN amplitudes to difficult-to-detect deviants were enlarged with attention, but no change was found in MMN amplitudes to easy-to-detect deviants. In experiment 2 intermodal attention was associated with biphasic changes in visual ERPs over the posterior scalp: the occipital Pdv (100-130 msec), and contralateral-temporal Ndv (120-320 msec) deflections. Deviant visual stimuli also elicited mismatch negativity/N2b components, largest over the inferotemporal cortex contralateral to the stimulated visual field. Like the auditory MMN, the MMN increased in amplitude with attention, but it was also evident during attend auditory conditions. The results suggest that sustained, intermodal attention depends primarily in processing modulations in modality-specific cortex. We found no evidence of the participation of modality non-specific cortex. This excludes the possibility that intermodal attention depends on a single, supramodal attention system. The relatively long latency of intermodal effects suggests that they may depend on the reafferent (top down) modulation, and do not index "template matching" operations.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A computerized test battery for the assessment of cardiovascular reactivity.

Recent evidence has suggested a possible relationship between the tendency to exhibit excessive cardiovascular reactions during psychological challenge and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Valid techniques for reliably assessing such reactions are, however, minimally available. A test battery for the assessment of cardiovascular reactivity to experimental challenge is currently being developed at the University of Pittsburgh in conjunction with the University of Miami and Duke University. An IBM-AT compatible microcomputer is being used for the concurrent collection of physiological data and presentation of the laboratory stressors. Digitized cardiovascular data being collected include EKG, Impedance Cardiogram (ICG), phonocardiogram, and a peripheral pulse wave measure. Blood pressure readings are also being collected and stored on disk. The computer presents three challenging video games, each designed to elicit cardiovascular reactions. Processing programs are being used and developed for the standardized scoring of the digitized signals. To assist in epidemiological research a mobile testing unit has been assembled for the easy administration of the test battery in varying geographical locations. The test battery being developed will increase the feasibility of epidemiological and clinical assessment of stress-induced cardiovascular responses which may substantiate a link between reactivity and cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1992

Affective moderators of the cardiovascular response to stress in offspring of hypertensives.

The present study examined the influence of trait anxiety on the cardiovascular responses of normotensive offspring of hypertensives and normotensives. Forty-eight young adult males, half of whom were offspring of hypertensives (PH+), were exposed to an extended active coping stressor. This was a 1 hr shock avoidance procedure with avoidance made contingent on video-game performance. Trait anxiety status interacted with parental history of hypertension in predicting cardiovascular response. PH+ subjects who scored high on trait anxiety exhibited greater elevations of heart rate and forearm blood flow, and decreases in forearm vascular resistance than did PH+/low trait anxiety subjects or offspring of normotensives (PH-). Cardiovascular responses of PH+/low trait anxiety subjects did not differ significantly from those of PH- subjects. Results suggest affective factors may moderate cardiovascular responses of individuals at risk for hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Self-efficacy as a component of active coping: effects on cardiovascular reactivity.

Active coping remains a poorly understood construct in cardiovascular reactivity testing. We have shown that active coping comprises two independent effects: the enhanced control and the effort of exercising control. The present study tested the proposition that, with effort left unconstrained, increased self-efficacy will increase cardiovascular response. Forty women were assigned to low or high self-efficacy conditions; self-efficacy was manipulated using false feedback. Subjects then engaged in a video game shape-matching task, while blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. SBP and DBP changes were smaller in the low self-efficacy group, as predicted: 17.9 versus 25.2 mmHG for SBP (p < 0.05); and 8.7 versus 13.0 mmHG for DBP (p = 0.07). Heart rate was similar for the two conditions. We conclude that self-efficacy for a task may be an integral part of the active coping process, indirectly affecting the blood pressure response by acting on the effort involved in the coping response.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

A twin study of cardiac reactivity and its relationship to parental blood pressure.

The cardiac reactivity of 40 monozygotic and 40 dizygotic pairs of young male twins was monitored during psychological challenge, as afforded by a video game. The observed pattern of variation could not be accounted for solely by environmental factors. In fact, a simple genetic model that implicated additive genetic effects, along with those stemming from individual environments, best fitted the data. In addition, cardiac reactions were substantially greater for subjects whose parents both had relatively elevated blood pressure. Overall, these data suggest individual differences in cardiac reactivity have a heritable component, and that high reactivity may be a precursor of elevated blood pressure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Sympathetic indices during psychological and physical stimuli before and after training.

The effects of psychological and physical stimuli on cardiovascular and catecholamine changes were studied before and after physical training. These functions were investigated in eight labile hypertensive men in response to the mild psychological stimulus of playing a video game and the mild physical stimuli of sitting and standing. The results show that plasma norepinephrine concentration rises with sitting and standing but plasma epinephrine concentration increases only with the psychological stimulus. Physical training was associated with smaller increases in blood pressure during psychological and physical stimuli and with a lower heart rate at rest. On the other hand, plasma catecholamines at rest as well as in response to the different stimuli were unchanged following moderate training. These observations suggest that the adrenal medulla is selectively activated during a period of mild psychological stress, while the activity of the sympathetic fibers is preferentially increased during mild physical stimuli. Furthermore, the results of this study show that plasma catecholamine levels at rest and their increase during various stimuli are unchanged following training.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Temporal and inter-task consistency of heart rate reactivity during active psychological challenge: a twin study.

Heart rate was monitored while 22 pairs of young male monozygotic and 29 pairs of young male dizygotic twins were exposed to a video game and a mental arithmetic task. The heart rate reactions of the monozygotic twins showed much greater concordance than those of the dizygotic twins. Analysis of the data for the 102 individuals demonstrated reliable inter-task consistency of heart rate reaction. In addition, comparison of the heart rate reactions of ten pairs of monozygotic and ten pairs of dizygotic twins who had been tested more than a year earlier and their present reactivities revealed impressive temporal consistency.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Habituation and dishabituation of human salivary response.

Habituation may be relevant for understanding how sensory stimuli influence factors related to ingestive behavior. In the first of three experiments in humans we showed that salivation and hedonic ratings to lemon or lime juice habituated within 10 presentations, and dishabituation of the salivation and hedonic ratings to the original juice were observed after a new juice was presented. Experiment 2 replicated the habituation and decrease in hedonics to lemon juice, and showed both dishabituation and a relative increase in hedonics when chocolate taste, rather than another juice, served as the dishabituating stimulus. In a third experiment we showed a video game, a nontaste stimulus, could serve as a distractor to prevent the development of habituation, as well as a dishabituator after habituation had occurred.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Heart rate reactions to standard laboratory challenges and a naturalistic stressor.

Extreme high and low heart rate reactors were selected on the basis of responses to two laboratory stressors; a video game, and mental arithmetic. The heart rates of the same subjects were then recorded during a public speaking competition. Heart rate reactions to this more naturalistic stressor were generally in line with the laboratory-based designations.

Adult↗