Human Movement Science最新文献

{"title":"Skill level influences the learning of a taekwondo-based serial task","authors":"Cláudio Manoel Ferreira Leite ,&nbsp;Marcelo da Silva Januário ,&nbsp;Edson Filho ,&nbsp;Thábata Viviane Brandão Gomes ,&nbsp;Leonardo Luiz Portes ,&nbsp;Leszek Antoni Szmuchrowski ,&nbsp;Rodolfo Novellino Benda","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103355","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103355","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigated the influence of skill level on the learning of a new serial task in Taekwondo, along with the underlying aspects of the learning processes. Two groups of Taekwondo athletes, skilled and beginners, practiced a serial task based on basic TKD fighting movements on the first intervention day and were tested for retention in the following day. We recorded temporal elements of the task: response time (RespT), reaction time (RT), movement time (MT), and the time interval between task components (TITC) to analyze performance throughout the acquisition phase and in the retention test, chunking, and the informational aspects related to task performance. Additionally, we investigated online and offline learning processes. Both groups learned the task, but the skilled participants exhibited greater improvements in performance, particularly in the retention test. Best performance of skilled participants appear to be linked to the benefits of chunking in serial tasks. Moreover, skilled participants required less information processing to complete the task, indicating automaticity effects related to chunking. Despite these differences, especially in terms of informational demands, both groups learned predominantly through online learning process. Increasing skill level enhances performance, and influences the learning of new motor skills in a specific sports domain. This advantage may be explained by the superior chunking ability demonstrated by skilled performers, likely resulting from larger experiences within Taekwondo, which facilitated the recombination of previously learned motor skills. The relationship between motor learning and skillfulness warrants further investigation for understanding motor learning itself, but can also assist professionals in organizing practice schedules in sports contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103355"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143768881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mutual avoidance behaviours of two pedestrians passing through an aperture","authors":"T.A. Holloway,&nbsp;M.E. Cinelli","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103352","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103352","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans use visual information to safely guide locomotion to avoid collisions with objects or other people within cluttered environments. The purpose of the current study was <em>t</em>o examine head-on mutual avoidance behaviours of two young adults when approaching an aperture from opposite sides. It was hypothesized that when two young adults are on a collision course, both pedestrians would accurately perceive the difference in arrival time between one another to predict and maintain passing order through an aperture. Nineteen young adults (<span><math><mover><mi>x</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover><mo>=</mo><mn>21.35</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0.49</mn></math></span> years, 9 males and 10 females) participated in the study and interacted with a female research assistant (RA) (22 years, 157.5 cm). Starting at one of two locations on opposite sides of a 10 m pathway, the participant and the RA were instructed to approach one another, and mutually decide who would pass first through an aperture located halfway (5 m) along the path. Kinematic trunk data was collected from both the participant and the RA using the Optotrak motion analysis system. The results revealed that the walkers were able to accurately perceive and maintain the predicted order of crossing (i.e., predicted order matched their observed crossing order) on 90.9 % of the trials. This finding indicate that individuals are in-tune to the visual information necessary in determining and maintaining crossing order, such that the walker passing second (P2) slowed down and deviated from the path to allow the other walker (P1) to pass through the doorway first. Additionally, it was revealed that individuals distribute their gaze fixations equally between the aperture and the approaching person prior to crossing the aperture. The results suggest that when two young adults are approaching a doorway from opposite sides, they may rely on the coupling of two optical expansion rates, or <em>tau-coupling</em>, to determine crossing order as indicated by the low number of inversions. While gaze behaviours are coupled with locomotion to maintaining path trajectory and determining crossing order.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103352"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143714997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of posterior parietal cortex anodal transcranial direct current stimulation on ankle tracking visuomotor control in healthy young adults","authors":"I-Fei Cho ,&nbsp;Chi-Chao Chao ,&nbsp;Ta-Te Lin ,&nbsp;Yuan Yang ,&nbsp;Pei-Fang Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ankle motor control is crucial for balance maintenance and fall prevention. Neurocomputational models of motor control suggest that the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) plays a critical role in estimating body and environmental states, a process fundamental to motor control. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) has been shown to modulate cortical excitability and alter behaviors accordingly. This study explored the impact of atDCS over the PPC on ankle tracking visuomotor control using a motor adaptation research paradigm in healthy young adults. Thirty-eight participants were randomly assigned to either an atDCS or sham control group. All participants completed an ankle tracking experiment divided into three phases: pre-adaptation, adaptation, and re-adaptation, with each phase comprising eight blocks of five trials. During the experiment, each participant wore a sensor on the non-dominant foot and performed continuous dorsiflexion and plantarflexion movements to track a target cursor on a screen. Visual feedback of the foot position was provided, with a 1:1 feedback ratio in the pre- and re-adaptation phases and a 2.5:1 ratio in the adaptation phase to promote visual-motor remapping. The atDCS group received 20 min of 2 mA atDCS over the PPC during the adaptation phase. Tracking performance on each trial was measured as the root mean squared error (RMSE) between the target and actual movement trajectories. Both groups showed similar RMSEs in the pre-adaptation phase (<em>p</em> &gt; 0.05). However, in the adaptation phase, the atDCS group demonstrated a significant reduction from block 1 to block 2 (<em>p</em> = 0.001, <em>Cohen's d</em> = 0.86) and maintained this improved performance in the following blocks, while the sham group showed no significant changes throughout this phase (<em>p</em> &gt; 0.05). In the re-adaptation phase, both groups quickly returned to their pre-adaptation performance levels. These findings indicate that neither the atDCS nor the sham group adapted to the high visual feedback ratio. However, the early reduction in RMSE observed in the atDCS group suggests that atDCS over the PPC may transiently enhance ankle tracking visuomotor control under the heightened visual feedback ratio condition, resulting in short-term improvements. Future research is warranted to explore whether multiple atDCS sessions over the PPC could provide long-term benefits for lower extremity visuomotor control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103351"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143644530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How do the motor efficiency and visuo-spatial skills of primary school children relate to their teachers' evaluation of visuo-spatial skills?","authors":"Maria Chiara Fastame ,&nbsp;Micaela Porta ,&nbsp;Bruno Leban ,&nbsp;Federico Arippa ,&nbsp;Giulia Casu ,&nbsp;Massimiliano Pau","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study mainly intended to examine whether the objective motor and visuospatial measures assessed in school-aged children predicted the evaluations expressed by their teachers. Moreover, it was investigated whether the pupils identified by their teachers as those with the poorest visuospatial skills also exhibited the worst performance in an instrumentally administered functional mobility task using wearable inertial sensors. Non-verbal fluid reasoning, visuospatial fluency, spatial understanding, and mobility (i.e., the instrumented Timed Up and Go test, iTUG) were assessed in 116 children (M_age = 105.4 months, SD = 16.4 months) attending several Italian primary schools, whereas their teachers completed the visuospatial subtest of the Shortened Visuospatial questionnaire for teachers (i.e., SVS-vs). Statistically significant associations were found between the SVS-vs score, certain psychological measures, and the time required to perform the intermediate and final 180° turn in the iTUG task. Then, approximately 30 % of the variance in the SVS-vs condition was predicted by non-verbal reasoning, spatial understanding, and the time required to perform the final 180° turn in the iTUG task. Finally, children who reported the lowest SVS-vs scores were slower in performing the 180° intermediate turn of the iTUG test than the group who exhibited the highest SVS-vs scores.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103342"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143577863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between fine motor function and fundamental cooking skills in preschool-aged children","authors":"Rachael Harmon,&nbsp;Matthew Beerse,&nbsp;Diana Cuy Castellanos","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103340","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103340","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Early exposure to performing cooking skills at a young age might have the dual capability to improve nutrition behavior and fine motor function. While some evidence has demonstrated the positive benefits for nutrition behavior, there is a paucity of evidence relating cooking skills to fine motor function.</div></div><div><h3>Research question</h3><div>Is better cooking skills (CS) performance associated with better fine motor skills (FMS) in preschool-aged children and what are the shoulder and elbow joint control strategies employed during cooking skill performance?</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study of preschool-aged children. Thirty-eight participants aged 3–5 years (17 males, 20 females; mean age = 3.89 years, sd = 0.7 years) were recruited through non-randomized, convenience sampling. Participants completed the Nine Hole Peg Test (NHPT) and Circle Drawing Test to assess fine motor skills, and four CS: stirring, mashing, spooning, and spreading. A piloted criterion-based test was implemented to score both the outcome and movement performance of each CS. Total CS ability was calculated as the summed total of each CS composite score. An inertial measurement unit motion capture system registered elbow and shoulder joint kinematics during the performance of the cooking skills.</div></div><div><h3>Results and significance</h3><div>Correlation analyses indicated that better NHPT performance was associated with higher total CS score, mashing performance, and spreading performance. In general, children that demonstrated better fine motor function via the NHPT maintained a more anatomically neutral shoulder joint position and faster average joint velocities during the performance of CS. Independent <em>t</em>-tests indicated that there were no sex differences between male and female children on the CS nor FMS performance. Our results demonstrated preliminary evidence suggesting an association between cooking skills performance and fine motor function, as well as initial characterization of cooking skill movement patterns associated with more adept fine motor control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103340"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143577948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of robot-assisted gait training on trunk symmetry improvement in patients with chronic hemiplegia: A randomized, single-blind clinical trial","authors":"Young Hyoun Rha ,&nbsp;Jun Bum Shin ,&nbsp;Jee Hwan Choi ,&nbsp;Sang Min Im ,&nbsp;Im Kyoung Shin","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103339","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103339","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Stroke-induced gait impairments often result in asymmetrical trunk alignment, affecting mobility and quality of life of patients. This randomized, single-blind clinical trial investigated the efficacy of robot-assisted gait training in addressing this issue and explored its impact on lower limb functions.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Fifty patients with chronic stroke were included in this study, with one group receiving traditional rehabilitation therapy and the other receiving additional robot-assisted gait training session. Participants in the robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) group underwent 30-min session, thrice per week for 4 weeks, totaling 12 sessions, in addition to traditional rehabilitation therapy. All participants underwent preintervention assessments, with reassessments at 2 and 4 weeks after the intervention. We assessed trunk symmetry and gait parameters, including step time, step length, separation line, and foot force, along with knee joint extensor muscle strength and stiffness.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>Significant improvements in trunk symmetry were observed in the RAGT group (F(2,46) = 35.52, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001, η² = 0.607). Changes in step length asymmetry were significant for both groups (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.000 each) without intergroup differences, whereas paralyzed knee extensor strength showed greater improvement in the RAGT group (p &lt; 0.001).</div></div><div><h3>Interpretation</h3><div>The study findings revealed significant improvements in trunk symmetry and muscle strength among patients receiving RAGT. These results underscore the promising role of RAGT in stroke rehabilitation. Thus, proper gait patterns may contribute to maintaining a healthy posture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"101 ","pages":"Article 103339"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143570587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamic balance of persons with unilateral upper limb absence when responding to a walking disturbance","authors":"Clare Severe ,&nbsp;Jenny A. Kent ,&nbsp;Paul Hammond II ,&nbsp;Matthew J. Major","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103338","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103338","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>A high prevalence of falls has been reported in individuals with upper limb absence (ULA). This prevalence is increased in upper limb prosthesis users. It is possible that ULA and prosthesis use may alter recovery mechanisms in response to a perturbation.</div></div><div><h3>Research question</h3><div>The purpose of this study was to investigate the reactive response of individuals with unilateral transradial ULA to perturbations during walking compared to control participants, and to determine the effect of prosthesis use on perturbation response strategies and resultant dynamics.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>10 upper limb prosthesis users and 10 matched able-bodied control participants completed two walking treadmill tasks: 1) a steady-state walking baseline trial at 1.0 m/s, and 2) 12 perturbation trials containing an unexpected, rapid treadmill belt acceleration and deceleration while walking. Six perturbations were delivered to each leg during single limb stance. Prosthesis users completed both tasks with and without their customary prosthesis.</div><div>Whole-body angular momentum ranges (<em>L</em>_{<em>range</em>}) in each plane during baseline and perturbation response were compared between prosthesis users and controls using one-sided independent <em>t</em>-tests. A two-way repeated measures ANCOVA, with years of prosthesis use modeled as a covariate, assessed the main and interaction effects of prosthesis use and perturbation side of <em>L</em>_{<em>range</em>} in three planes, and shoulder add-abduction and flexion-extension ranges in prosthesis users.</div></div><div><h3>Results and significance</h3><div>Prosthesis users exhibited greater <em>L</em>_{<em>range</em>} than controls during baseline and perturbation response, in the sagittal-plane only. <em>L</em>_{<em>range</em>} during perturbation response was significantly greater when the prosthesis was not worn, also in the sagittal-plane only. Perturbations may present a greater recovery challenge to people with transradial ULA partially due to a mass and inertia imbalance between the sound and impaired limbs when not wearing a prosthesis. Holistic rehabilitation regimes including both prosthesis and balance training should be considered for ULA populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"100 ","pages":"Article 103338"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143488595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Collision avoidance behaviours in chronic non-specific low back pain participants: A prospective cohort study","authors":"Agathe Bilhaut ,&nbsp;Mathieu Ménard ,&nbsp;Olivier Roze ,&nbsp;Simon Ozan ,&nbsp;Rébecca Crolan ,&nbsp;Phillippe Carson-Jouzel ,&nbsp;Armel Crétual ,&nbsp;Anne-Hélène Olivier","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103335","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103335","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Chronic non-specific low back pain (cNSLBP) is a leading cause of disability, influenced by bio-psycho-social factors. However, its impact on everyday activities such as navigating streets and interacting with other pedestrians remains underexplored. This study aimed to assess the effect of cNSLBP on perceptual-motor processes in a pedestrian crossing task, focusing on 1) collision avoidance behaviours, 2) the walker's role in avoiding collisions, and 3) the influence of pain perception.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Seventeen asymptomatic adults (AA, 11 females, 46.4 ± 12.8 years) and seventeen cNSLBP participants (10 females, 47.9 ± 12.7 years) performed a task involving crossing paths at a 90° angle with another walker. Participants interacted in three groups pairings: AA-AA, AA-cNSLBP, and cNSLBP-cNSLBP. Key metrics included crossing order inversion, collision risk threshold informing movement adaptation, crossing distance, and the walker's contribution (speed/orientation).</div></div><div><h3>Results and discussion</h3><div>No significant differences were observed between groups for the collision risk threshold (≈0.93 m) or crossing distance (≈0.8 m). However, cNSLBP participants exhibited distinct avoidance strategies, especially in cNSLBP-cNSLBP interactions, which showed more frequent inversions. When crossing first, cNSLBP participants contributed less, whereas when crossing second, they contributed more, primarily by adjusting their speed. A significant negative correlation emerged between depression scores and the level of contribution when cNSLBP participants crossed second.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These findings suggest that pain perception may influence collision avoidance behaviours. Further research, potentially incorporating virtual reality, is needed to control environmental factors and deepen our understanding of these interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"100 ","pages":"Article 103335"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143379478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"External versus internal focus enhances motor performance and learning in children with different visuospatial working memory capacities","authors":"Saeed Nazari Kakvandi ,&nbsp;Hesam Ramezanzade ,&nbsp;Morteza Homayounnia Firouzjah ,&nbsp;Yousri Elghoul ,&nbsp;Reza Abdollahipour","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103327","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103327","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research has shown that external focus (EF) instructions—directing attention to intended movement effects (e.g., ball's or dart's path)—are more effective for enhancing motor performance and learning than internal focus (IF) instructions, which focus on body movements (e.g., arm or foot motion). Nonetheless, the impact of visuospatial working memory capacity (WMC) in this context, especially among children, has been less investigated. This research sought to examine the effects of EF compared to IF on the skill acquisition and motor learning of a dart-throwing task among children with both high and low visuospatial WMC. Forty-eight boys aged 9–11 (Mage: 9.67 ± 0.76 years) were grouped by high or low WMC based on spatial span and memory tests, then assigned to receive either EF or IF instructions. The experiment comprised three stages: practice, retention, and two transfer tests, including throwing from a longer distance and a dual-task scenario with added cognitive load (tone counting). Results showed that EF outperformed IF at all stages. While WMC did not affect performance during practice and retention, children with low WMC performed better than those with high WMC during the longer distance test. In dual-task conditions, an EF continued to surpass an IF, whilst the WMC exerted no significant impact. The present findings suggest that an EF relative to an IF promotes more automatic movement and enhanced multitasking, while the impact of visuospatial WMC was less than expected, highlighting the benefits of EF in teaching motor skills to children, regardless of visuospatial WMC.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"100 ","pages":"Article 103327"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143200667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acute effects of voluntary breathing patterns on postural control during walking","authors":"Dimitris N. Karagiannakis,&nbsp;Dimitris G. Mandalidis","doi":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.humov.2025.103326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Breathing and postural control is reported to be both neuromuscularly and mechanically interdependent. To date, the effects of voluntary abdominal and thoracic breathing (VAB and VTB) on the EMG activity of muscles involved in both respiratory and postural functions, as well as gait biomechanics related to these breathing patterns, have not been investigated in young, healthy adults. The aim of the study was to evaluate the EMG responses of neck and trunk muscles, as well as the kinematic, stability, and kinetic parameters of gait induced by VAB and VTB compared to involuntary breathing (INB).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Twenty-four healthy, physically active participants (12 men and 12 females) were required to complete three two-minute walking sessions on an instrumented treadmill (e.g. devices with capacitive sensors embedded beneath the running belt) at 5.0 km h⁻¹, first with INB and then alternatively with VAB and VTB. A respiratory inductive plethysmography unit was used to provide real-time visual feedback of the breathing pattern performed by each participant. The EMG activity of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), upper trapezius (UT), thoracic and lumbar erector spinae (TES and LES), as well as spatiotemporal (step width, stride length, stride time, stance phase, swing phase, and cadence), stability (anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure trajectory), and dynamic gait parameters (vertical ground reaction forces, vGRF) were recorded during each testing condition.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Our findings revealed that both voluntary breathing patterns significantly affected the EMG activity of the SCM (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) and UT (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), with the activity between these muscles, as expressed by the SCM:UT ratio, being more balanced during VAB (0.94) and VTB (1.05) compared to INB (0.73). Additionally, VAB walking led to a narrower step width (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) and reduced vGRF over the forefoot (p &lt; 0.01) compared to INB walking. Neither VAB nor VTB influenced the activation levels of the LES and TES, nor did they affect other spatiotemporal, stability, or dynamic gait parameters (<em>p</em> &gt; 0.05).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our findings suggest that certain gait parameters (e.g. step width, forefoot vGRFs) are primarily influenced by VAB compared to INB, likely due to the more balanced activation of the SCM and UT muscles. This balanced activation may enhance head stability and control during walking, thereby contributing to improved postural control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55046,"journal":{"name":"Human Movement Science","volume":"99 ","pages":"Article 103326"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}