سجاد پارسایی

Anxiety means threats and insecurity whose source is not clear to the individual. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on anxiety in Veterans and Disabled Athletes.

The method of this study was semi-experimental. Twenty-four veterans and disabled members of Board of Veterans and Disabled in Ahvaz city were selected by available sampling. First, all participants completed the Beck Anxiety and State-Competitive Anxiety questionnaire. The participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group received tDCS intervention for three consecutive days. After the last intervention session, once again, all participants completed the Beck Anxiety and State-Competitive Anxiety questionnaire. ANCOVA test was used to compare post-test of two groups.

The results showed that tDCS intervention had a significant effect on general anxiety (p=0.001) and state-competitive anxiety (p=0.001) and anxiety level in experimental group better than the sham group (p < 0.05).

tDCS with Two-mA intensity during 3 sessions of 20 minutes can improve the performance of general anxiety and state-competitive anxiety in veterans and disabled athletes. Therefore, it is recommended that coaches, those involved, and veteran and disabled athletes use tDCS interventions to improve and control their anxiety whenever possible on the days leading up to the competition.

Objectives :

having adequate physical activity during aging period can be effective in improving mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of physical activity in the relationship of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Psychological Well-Being (PWB). 

Methods & Materials :

This is a descriptive/correlational study. The study population consisted of elderly people in Ahvaz, Iran. Of these, 120 with a mean age of 64.52±2.98 were selected using convenience and purposive sampling methods and based on inclusion criteria (age over 60 years, the ability to understand and answer to the questions, full consciousness, and mental health). Data were collected using Cyberia-Shrink’s EI test, Ryff’s PWB questionnaire and Craig’s International Questionnaires of Physical Activity. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS V. 21 and AMOS V.18 applications by using the correlation coefficient and Bootstrap test (to determine the mediating role of physical activity). The significance level was set at P<0.05.  

Results:

 There was a significant correlation between EI and physical activity(r= 0.70), between EI and PWB (r= 0.84) and between physical activity and PWB (r= 0.70) (p<0.01). Physical activity had a mediating role in the relationship of EI and PWB using Bootstrap test (P <0.001).

Conclusion:

 There was a positive and significant relationship between EI and PWB and physical activity had a mediating role. Therefore, encouraging elderly people to have physical activity can improve their emotional and mental health and help them have a healthy and comfortable old age.

self-talk is considered as the appropriate way for interfering to improve athletes’ performance that effectors use it during the learning of the skills overtly or covertly to effect on performance and promote it. The purpose of this study was to examine The Effect of Instructional Self-Talk Using Different Attention Instructions on Badminton Short Serve.

The method of this research was semi-experimental and its design was pre-posttest with control group. Participants included elementary male students of Ahvaz city. Among this society selected 36 with age range 10-11 years old in convenience sampling. According to pre test scores, participants assigned in three groups (n=12): self-talk with internal attentional focus, self-talk with external attentional focus and control group.

The comparisons between experimental and control group did not show any significant effect and only the self-talk could differentiate between two attentional focus that self-talk with external focus group were better than other group in performing of the skill.

However, self-talk could not differentiate between experimental and control group but participants increased their self-confidence, focus of attention and effort by using self-talk.

Recently, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been considered by researchers to improve various processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tDCS on reaction time in veterans and athletes with disabilities.

This semi-experimental study with pre-test post-test design was conducted in 2018 among all veterans and athletes with disabilities, who were members of Veterans and disabled board of Shiraz. 24 veterans and disabled persons of Shiraz athletes were selected by available sampling and allocated to experimental and artificial stimulation (sham) groups. Acquisition stage was held during 3 sessions. In the experimental group, an anode electrode was placed on the C4 and the cathode electrode was placed in the FP1. The stimulation rate was 1.5 milliamps in 20 minutes. In the sham groups, the anode and cathode electrode were placed on the C4 and FP1 points, but the stimulation was discontinued after 30 seconds. After the last session, a post-test was performed. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 22, using independent t-test and Multivariable analysis of covariance.

In the post-test, there was a significant difference between the experimental group and the sham at the simple reaction time and choice reaction time and the performance of the experimental group was better than the sham group (p=0.0001).

tDCS can improve the simple and choice reaction time in veterans and athletes with disabilities.

Working memory is the most basic pillar of memory for doing cognitive tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory in veterans and disabled athletes.   The method of this study was semi-experimental. 24 veterans and disabled of Shiraz athletes participated in this study in an available sampling. After the pre-test, the participants were randomly divided into real stimulation and sham groups. In the real stimulation group, anodal electrode was on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and cathode electrode in the FP1. The location of the electrodes in the sham group was the same as the real stimulation group, but the stimulation was interrupted after 30 seconds. The stimulation rate was 2 mA for 15 minutes, which was performed during three sessions with an interval of 48 hours per session. Data analysis was performed using ANCOVA test in SPSS version 22.   The results showed that there was a significant difference between the real stimulation group and the sham at the working memory (P = 0.0001). The results of Bonferroni post-hoc test showed that the performance of the real stimulation was better than the sham group (P = 0.0001).   It can be said that anodal tDCS in the DLPFC region with 2 mA excitation can improve working memory in veterans and disabled athletes.

The ability of the elderly to maintain balance during cognitive activity changes. Given the importance of recognizing the nature of the balance disorder among the elderly and the importance of verbal commands in rehabilitating such disorders, the purpose of this study was to investigate the Effectiveness of Dual Task and Focus of Attention Intervention on Balance in Elderly in Ahvaz.

The research method is semi-experimental and applied in terms of purpose. The statistical population was the elderly men of Salehin House in Ahvaz in 1397. 40 people were selected by available method. First, a static and dynamic equilibrium test was taken. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups of 10: dual task, internal attention, external attention, and control. The intervention was performed for 3 consecutive days. The dual task group performed a cognitive secondary task while performing a static and dynamic balance. The inner focus group focused on their feet during the performance. While performing the dynamic balance, the external focus group focused on the end of the path and focused on the static balance at a distance of 3 meters. An hour after the end of the training phase, the post-test was taken. Data analysis was performed using the statistical analysis of one-way variance analysis with SPSS software version 22.

The results showed that the groups did not differ in demographic characteristics (P <0.05). In the pre-test phase, there is no significant difference between groups (P <0.05), but in the post-test period, there is a significant difference between groups in both static and dynamic equilibrium (P <0.05).

The results of this study confirmed that the exercises of the instruction of the focus of internal attention weaken the static and dynamic balance. Exercises of the external focus guide improve static and dynamic balance, and the dual task attention guideline improves static balance in the elderly, but has a weakening effect on the dynamic balance of the elderly.

: Imagery is the concept of assimilation, creating or recreating a perception experience the sensory moderator in mind. the aim of this study was to the relationship between mirror neuron action and different mental imagery speeds in the motor performance.
The research method was semi-empirical. The subjects included 30 female students of Shahid Chamran University (average age 22± 1.12) selected through a purposive sampling (No experience basketball game) method and categorized in three groups of rapid-speed, real-speed, low-speed imagery. Following the basketball dribble function in pretests, the subjects were involved in imagery for a period of four consecutive days, and were subsequently tested for the real dribble function on the middle cones in the posttests. They were also subjected electroencephalographic assessment during imagery, focusing primarily on the reaction of the mirror neurons within the process.
All of the group improved dribble function (p≤0.05). With the effect size observed a significant improvement in the groups with slow-speed and real-speed imagery compared to those receiving high-speed imagery. Additionally, higher function of the mirror neurons was observed in the groups subjected to slow-speed imagery and also there is significant relationship mirror neuron action and different mental imagery speeds on the basketball dribble function (p≤0.05).
The mirror neurons within the premotor cortex establish an essential nervous mechanism within the cognitive activity pattern which impacts the effect of imagery for the improvement of motor skills.

Aims: Reaction time is one of the most accurate indicators for evaluating speed and efficiency of decision making in different situations, especially sport situations. This study aimed to investigate the effect of neurofeedback training on the visual and auditory reaction time of veterans and disabled athletes.
In this semi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test design in 2017, 16 veterans and disabled people in Shiraz, were selected by convenience sampling. They were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in 15 sessions of neurofeedback training with Vilistus tool and enhancement sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) protocol and declining Theta. All the participants performed a simple and selective reaction time in visual and auditory, before and after the beginning of the training. Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 using mixed analysis of variance, analysis of variance with repeated measure and LSD post hoc tests.
Neurofeedback training reduced reaction time in visual simple (p=0.007), auditory simple (p=0.001), visual selective (p=0.003), and auditory selectivity (p=0.0001).
Neurofeedback training is effective on improving brain functions for simple and selective reaction time during visual and auditory in veterans and disabled athletes.

Physical function, such as balance is disturbed with increasing age. Neurofeedback program has the ability to affect physical function through self-regulatory control of brain waves abnormalities. In this study, the effect of beta/theta neurofeedback training, was investigated on static and dynamic balance in the elderly in Ahvaz city.
The present study was a semi-experimental study and was practical in terms of purpose. Eighteen elderly individuals with the mean age of 65.3±3.1, were selected and equally divided into two groups of experimental and control. To evaluate static and dynamic balance of the participants, single leg stand test and time to get up and go, were used. The subjects of the experimental group participated in 12 sessions of neurofeedback trainings (including increase of beta power and decrease of theta power). The control group had the same conditions, but watched the recorded waves of trainings of the experimental group as training.
In this study, according to the t-test, neurofeedback training significantly improved static and dynamic balance performance as compared to the control group (p˂0.05).
The results of this study showed that neurofeedback trainings by enhancing or inhibiting brain wave activity in a specific area, lead to changes in individual performance and can be considered as an effective training methods to improve balance in the elderly.

In recent decades, psychological aspects of veteran and disabled athletes have attracted researchers, happiness and mental toughness have not been studied simultaneously in veteran and disabled athletes. This study aimed to examine the relationship between happiness and mental toughness in veteran and disabled athletes.
This This descriptive cross-sectional study recruited all 100 veteran and disabled athletes in Shiraz in 2016 through convenience sampling. They filled the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire by Argyle (1989) and Mental Toughness Questionnaire by Clough (2002). Data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis in SPSS 18 at significance level of p The results of correlation coefficients showed significant relationships between happiness and the following variables: total score of mental strength (r = 0.453), challenge (r = 0.592), commitment (r = 0.230), emotional control (R = 0.258), confidence in ability (r = 0.497) and interpersonal trust (r = 0.228) subscales (p A positive and significant relationship between mental toughness and happiness and a high level of mental toughness and happiness in veteran and disabled athletes shows that physical activity may increase mental toughness and happiness, and generally mental health among veteran and disabled athletes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between mental toughness and psychological well-being among students with the intermediate role of physical activity. The research method was descriptive-correlational. Statistical population included all of the students of Shahid Chamran university of Ahvaz among which 201 participants were selected through convenient sampling method (age mean: 23/05 ± 3/37). The participants completed psychological well-being, mental toughness and international physical activity questionnaires. Pearson’s correlation coefficient, goodness indices and bootstrap were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that physical activity mediate the relationship between mental toughness and psychological well-being (P<0/05). Correlation coefficients also showed significant relationships between majority of mental toughness and psychological well-being subscales (no relationships were reported between self-acceptance and control of emotion and interpersonal confidence, positive relation with others and interpersonal confidence, environmental mastery and interpersonal confidence (0/190<r<0/320, P<0/05). The strongest relationship was found between life control and self-determination (r=0/320). The finding suggests that encouragement of students to engage in sport and physical activities in youth and adolescence period enhances mental health and psychological well-being .

Imagery is a cognitive process playing a vital role in the programming and execution of movements and can be used as a tool for learning motor skills, retraining movements, and also clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different mental imagery speeds on motor performance and to evaluate the role of the mirror neurons.
This research was carried out as a semi-experimental study using pretest-posttest design. Forty female students (mean age, 22±1.12), were selected by purposeful sampling and assigned to four groups (fast-speed, equal-speed, low-speed imagery, and control). Following the basketball dribble function in pretests, the subjects performed imagery for 4 consecutive days, then, they were tested for real dribble function. In the end, the brain waves of the participants were recorded during the imagery, and the mirror neuron response were recorded using an electroencephalography system. The data were analyzed using intragroup analysis of variance. The significant level was considered 5%.
All the imagery groups progressed in their performance (p≤0.05). In terms of the size effect, the low-speed and equal-speed imagery groups showed better performance compared to the fast-speed imagery group. Additionally, it was revealed that mirror neurons had higher function in the low-speed imagery group.
The results of this study showed that mirror neurons within the premotor cortex are an important neural mechanism in the brain activity pattern, which causes the effectiveness of imagery in the improvement of motor skills.

Imagery is a cognitive process that may play an important role in the planning and execution of movements and actions and in many cases it can be used as a tool for learning skills and retraining movements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different speeds of mental imagery on basketball dribbling performance in the young women.

the research method was semiexperimental which was performed with pretest-posttest design. 40 female students of Shahid Chamran University with average of age (22+1/12) years were selected by purposive sampling and assigned in one of four groups: (low-speed imagery, real-peed imagery, rapid-speed imagery and control without imagery). After performing basketball dribbling skill in a pretest, the subjects of experimental group performed four consecutive days of imagery training and then performed the same skill.

The results showed that all groups improved in their performance except control group (p ≤ 0/05). But with regard to the effect size, the best performance belongs to the low-speed imagery and real-peed imagery group.

we conluded that it is better to use low-speed imagery and real-peed imagery when learning a new task and in the novice.

Objectives Given the reduction of the ability to correctly predict stimuli, the aging process is often associated with an increase in reaction time. This is particularly more pronounced in the elderly. The neurofeedback program can influence the cognitive function and physical performance by auto-tuning the brain wave abnormalities. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of neurofeedback exercises upon the improvement of the reaction time in elderly, passive males.
Methods & Materials The study was a quasi-experimental research in which 18 elderly males, with an average (SD) age of 65.38 (3.12) years, were selected and randomly assigned in experimental and control groups. A YB-1000 reaction timer was used to evaluate the reaction time of the subjects across 3 sets of measurements (pretests, midtests, and posttests). The subjects in the experimental group participated in 12 neurofeedback exercise sessions (increase of beta and decrease of theta powers). To eliminate the impact of empathy, the control group was subject to a similar training plan in which they only observed the recorded waves of the experimental group exercises.
Results Statistical analysis of the results based on the MANCOVA test demonstrated a significant improvement in the reaction time of the experimental group compared with the control group following the neurofeedback exercising (PConclusion Based on the reinforcement or inhibition of the brain waves as well as the improvement of the memory use, neurofeedback exercises can serve as an effective means to improve the cognitive processes (e.g. the reaction time) of the elderly.

Objectives In recent years, psychology and psychotherapy have received particular attention, especially with regard to the elderly. As a direct consequence of the growing number of mental disorders among the elderly, it has become more important to identify factors affecting the mental health of the elderly. The purpose of this research was to study the relationship between psychological well-being and mental toughness among elders, with physical activity playing the mediator role.
Methods & Materials This research is a descriptive correlational study. The study subjects included 217 active and non-active elderly people (average age 65.38±3.12 y) selected through a purposeful sampling method. They completed international physical activity, psychological well-being and mental toughness questionnaires. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Full consciousness and mental health of inclusion criteria were having. Data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation test was used Bootstrap to determine Mediating Role of Physical Activity. SPSS-21 and AMOS version 18 was used to analyze data. The significance level was considered as PResults Based on the physical activity questionnaire results, the participants were divided into two groups: active and non-active. The results revealed that there were positive and significant relationships between the majority of subscales of mental toughness and psychological well-being. It was also found that the average mental toughness and psychological well-being was higher among active elders than those who were inactive.
Conclusion In accordance with the results of this study, the elders should be encouraged to perform physical activities, which in turn improves aspects of mental health such as psychological well-being and mental toughness

Objectives Cognitive functions such as reaction time undergo change with aging. Given the importance of preparation in response to reaction time in various life situations, this study aimed to examine the effect of various foreperiods (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 s), and handedness at the time of simple and choice auditory reaction time.
Methods & Materials The current research followed a quasi-experimental methodology and was carried out using a self-made software. The study population comprised all old people living in Ahvaz City. Of them, 30 people were selected through purposive sampling method and allocated into two groups of right- and left-handed people. Each individual was randomly tested for simple and selective reaction with randomly chosen foreperiods.
Results The findings demonstrated a significant difference (PConclusion Since cognitive processing occurs slower in the elderly, it is recommended that foreperiods with very short durations be avoided when preparing elders for different motor skills. In addition, the dominance of the right hemisphere, which contains higher numbers of neurons, among the left-handed might lead them to possess lower reaction times compared with right-handed individuals.

Introduction and aim: Mental imagery is an important skill that athletes should always be applied; especially during competition, with high confidence, using it in order to relieve stress and improving performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of mirror neuron on different speeds of mental imagery on basketball dribbling performance.
The research method was semi-empirical manner conducted through a pretest-posttest design. The subjects included 30 female students (average age 22± 1.12) selected through a purposive sampling method and categorized in three groups of rapid-speed, equal-speed, and low-speed imagery. Following the basketball dribble function in pretests, the subjects were involved in imagery for a period of four consecutive days, and were subsequently tested for the real dribble function in the posttests. They were also subjected electroencephalographic assessment during imagery, focusing primarily on the reaction of the mirror neurons within the process. The findings were then analyzed using the intragroup analysis of variance.
The results demonstrated an improved dribble function in all groups (p≤0.05). However, investigation of the effect size indicated a significant improvement in the groups with slow-speed and equal-speed imagery compared to those receiving high-speed imagery. Mu rhythm suppression in areas C4 and Cz were observed in all groups (p≤0.05). C3 area active just in slow-speed group.
Mental imagery cause required movements encoding for performing skill in the brain by activating mirror neurons. In brain, this movement encoding leads to facilitate motor skills.