behrouz abdoli

This scoping review allows a better understanding of current evidence regarding mirror therapy (MT) among children to help the future development of MT intervention protocol on children.

PubMed, Science-Direct, Web of Science and ProQuest databases were searched from January 2005 to January 2023 for interventions within the scope of MT for children. Google Scholar was also scanned for additional resources. The process of the present study was according to guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses extension for scoping reviews. The main inclusion criteria were articles in English and Persian language and peer-reviewed empirical studies of MT for children. This study charted methodological information from articles according to participant characteristics, design, intervention, and outcome measures. 

Of 18 studies that were included in this scoping review, 17 studies were conducted in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and only two studies were in other conditions. A total of 16 articles were randomized controlled clinical trials, one case study and one single subject. Meanwhile, 33 outcomes were in the body structures (BS) and functions level, and 10 outcome measures were in the activities and participation levels of the International classification of functioning. 

The review indicates that in future studies, it is necessary to pay more attention to other disorders beyond hemiplegic cerebral palsy; furthermore, levels of activity and participation as the outcome need to be used more.

The effect of physical activity and living in enriched environment on some cognitive mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not yet well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic training along with enriched environment on spatial memory and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the Hippocampal tissue of elderly female Wistar rats with Alzheimer's disease.

In this experimental study, 30 elderly female Wistar rats with twenty-one-month-old and average weight of 260±20 grams were used and divided into 6 groups: control-healthy, Alzheimer's, sham group, Alzheimer's + aerobic exercise (treadmill), Alzheimer's + enriched environment, Alzheimer's + enriched environment + aerobic exercise (treadmill). Rats in the training groups performed two 15-min sessions with 5-minute passive rest at a speed of 10 m/min in the first and second weeks. In the third week, they performed three sessions at a speed of 15 m/min with a 5-min break, and in the fourth week, four sessions per day at a speed of 15 m/min with a 5-min break. In the enriched environment group, the animals were kept in a plexiglass material larger than the standard cage (60×50×70 cm3). In these cages, devices such as ladders, hollow pipes, wooden blocks and plastic toys were placed. In Alzheimer's groups, rats were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (20 mg/kg). Then, Alzheimer's Aβ was induced by intracerebroventricular injections (10μg/rat). Spatial memory was measured by Morris water maze, barin derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Trk-B by western blot. In a pilot study in order to evaluate the spatial memory of rats, one week after beta-amyloid injection, all rats were divided into Alzheimer's and control groups. Rats were trained in the maze for four days and the mean percentage permanence in the platform area was recorded. The results of the independent t-test showed that there is a significant difference between the control group and Alzheimer's group (P=0.0152). Therefore,  One-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post-hoc test (P<0.05) were used to analyze the data.

BDNF increased in all groups significantly (P<0.001), and comparisons between groups were significant except for control vs sham (P=0.27) and Alzheimer's vs Aerobic Alzheimer's (P=0.20) groups. Trk-B increased in all groups and between-group comparisons were significant except for control vs sham (P=0.22), aerobic Alzheimer's vs Alzheimer's enriched environment (P=0.32). However, for spatial memory  only between-group comparisons for Alzheimer's vs control (P=0.02), and Alzheimer's vs Alzheimer's + enriched environment + aerobic training (P<0.001) groups were significant.

Based on the findings, it can be concluded that aerobic exercise and living in enriched environment can be effective on the spatial memory of elderly Alzheimer's rats through the increase of neurotrophic factors.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of the type of sport in self-compassion and defense mechanisms of athletes. The current study was a comparative study. In this research, 210 student athletes (100 group members and 110 individual members) with an age range of 20 to 30 years were selected and completed the self-compassion and defense mechanisms questionnaire. The data was analyzed through the statistical test of one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that there was a significant difference only in the subscale of human commonality among the factors of group and individual athletes' self-compassion So that group athletes felt less human commonality. There was no significant difference between group and individual athletes in adopting defense mechanisms and the athletes used defensive styles in a consolidated manner. Based on the findings of this research, it can be said that the absence of an atmosphere of support for members in group sports can neutralize the advantage and superiority of the social context of this type of sports compared to individual sports in the process of coping and adaptation. It seems that participating in sports competitions can improve the mood of athletes and then their level of self-compassion will increase, and according to the integrated use of defensive styles by athletes in an adaptive way, sports psychologists with self-compassion interventions They can provide a platform for creating new coping styles, improving mindfulness and quick psychological recovery after failure for vulnerable athletes.

Mirror neurons have been suggested as a potential neural mechanism of observational learning. This study aims to investigate the effect of self-modeling, skilled model, and learning model on mu rhythm suppression and golf putting acquisition and retention. 

The study was conducted on 45 male volunteer students (aged 19.4±0.37 years) in three experimental groups, self-modeling, skilled, and learning models with six sessions of physical and observational training in three periods of pre-test, acquisition, and retention. In the pre-test, after the initial familiarity with the skill, participants performed 10 golf putting actions while scores were recorded. Then, electrical brain waves in C3, C4, and Cz regions were recorded during the observation of 10 golf putting actions by their group-related models. The acquisition period consisted of golf putting training during six sessions, each consisting of six blocks of 10 trials. Before each training block, participants observed golf putting related to their group 10 times in the form of a video. Acquisition and delayed retention tests were also performed by recording scores of 10 golf putting actions, as well as recording electrical brain waves while observing the skill performed by the related model.

Mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the mu rhythm suppression in the pre-test was more in the self-modeling group compared to the skilled model and learning model groups, but this suppression was not significantly different in all three groups in the acquisition and retention tests. In putting task variables, all three groups that had no significant difference in the pre-test period made considerable progress in learning the desired skill from the pre-test to the acquisition test, and this progress was somewhat stable until the retention test. Also, both in the acquisition and retention periods, the self-modeling group showed better performance than the other two groups; however, no significant difference was observed between these groups.

These results suggest that the model-observer similarity is a crucial factor in modeling interventions and can affect the rate of mu rhythm suppression.

For many years the negative effects of fatigue on performance have been studied. Fatigue can deteriorate different factors in the performance of learned motor skills. This research was undertaken to elucidate the effect of errorless training on the performance of a throwing task in non-fatigued, cognitively fatigued, and physically fatigued conditions.

16 subjects (males: n= 6 and female: n=10) (age mean: 29 ± 5.63) participated In the acquisition phase, the participants performed 5 blocks of 30 trials of a two- step ball throwing task, starting close to the target, and gradually moving away. 48 hours later, the participants first took part in a retention test of 10 throws, and then, after a mental fatigue protocol of 30 minutes of word-color Stroop test, the first transfer test (10 trials) was taken. 48 hours later, the participants made another 10 trials (transfer 2) after the physiological fatigue protocol (maintaining 50% MVC for 2 minutes).

The results of ANOVA with repeated measure showed a significant difference between performance in the retention test and the two transfer tests (p<0.05). Bonferroni test showed better performance in the transfer 1 (p= 0.002) and transfer 2 (p= 0.003) tests compared to the retention). No significant difference was observed between the two transfer tests (p=1.000).

Not only did the performance of the throwing task learned through errorless training not deteriorate with fatigue, but it also improved compared to the non-fatigued condition. It is suggested that people specially athletes and coaches to leverage the errorless training method when designing training courses to prevent the deterioration of performance.

Acrophobia is one of the most common fears that one loses thinking and even standing in face of it. The purpose of this study was to investigate psychometric properties of Cohen Acrophobia Questionnaire (ACQ) among Iranian athletes. 225 athletes (75 girls and 150 boys) age ranged 18-50 years old (25.70±6.86 years) and sport experiences of 8.5 ± 3 year participated in this study. The acrophobia questionnaire includes two items of anxiety and avoidance, each containing 20 questions. Prior to the factor analyses, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's test of sphericity was used to assess the suitability of the respondent data for factor analysis. Then, a confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the construct validity of the questionnaire using Absolute, Comparative and Parsimony fit indices. It was used the internal consistency coefficient of Cronbach's alpha to calculate the reliability of questions in each subscale. The findings of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the comparative, absolute, and parsimony indices are in acceptable range. Also, the results of Cronbach's alpha test showed that reliability coefficient of anxiety and avoidance subscales were .96 and .97 respectively. the findings of this study indicate that, Cohen acrophobia questionnaire could be used as a reliable tool to measure acrophobia among Iranian athletes.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of self-modelling, skilled model, and learning model on the acquisition and retention of golf putting skill.
Forty-five students who volunteered to participate were selected and divided into three groups: self-modelling, skilled model, and learning model. After completing the pretest, participants engaged in six practice sessions, each consisting of six blocks of 10 trials. Prior to each training block, participants watched a video of their respective group's golf putting 10 times. The retention test was conducted 48 hours later.
A mixed ANOVA with repeated measures demonstrated that all three groups made significant progress in learning the desired skill from the pre-test to the acquisition test. This progress remained somewhat stable until the retention test. Additionally, both the acquisition and retention phases showed that the self-modeling group performed better than the other two groups. However, there was no significant difference between these groups.
Based on these results, the type of model used in learning skills such as golf putting has a highly significant effect. Therefore, learning golf putting can benefit from the similarities mentioned in Bandura's theory.

Many studies evaluate the interaction between cognition and posture but the effect of cognitive task difficulty and articulation on postural control remains inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to examine the interaction effect of cognitive task difficulty and articulation on postural control.

Twenty healthy young volunteers (Mean age 22 ± 2.3 years) performed four random conditions while standing on a force platform. Conditions involved combinations of two level of cognitive task difficulty (easy and difficult cognitive task) and two level of verbal response (simultaneous and final).

Two-way ANOVA (significant level P<0.05) results demonstrated marked increased in the standard deviation and area of 95% confidence ellipse of the center of pressure in the difficult cognitive task condition with simultaneous verbal response. (P<0.05). Also, in the final response condition, difficult cognitive task reduced area of 95% confidence ellipse.

According to the results of the present research, it seems that the difficult cognitive task requires a greater part of attention capacity; subsequently, attention is withdrawn from the postural task and automatic control regulates posture more efficiently through unconscious, fast, and reflexive processes. Also, postural control is simultaneously affected by the difficulty of cognitive task and articulation. Therefore, for designing appropriate interventions, it seems necessary to pay attention to the interactive effects of the difficulty and articulation of cognitive task.

Consolidation in motor memory depends on various factors. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of physical exercise (PE (combined with motor imagery (MI) and self-talk (ST) on motor memory consolidation in adolescents.

The participants were 45 unskilled right-handed young males (13 ± 1.8 years), randomly divided into three groups of PE, ST + PE, and MI + PE. After the pre-test participants practiced finger overhead passing and forearm passing for 3 sessions on three consecutive days. The acquisition test was performed immediately after the last training session and the retention one a week after that.

The results of ANOVA with repeated measures indicated that all three groups had experienced consolidation. We found that better performance means of the combined ST+PE group with that of the MI+PE one and the PE group (P = 0.005). Comparing motor performance indicated that the combined ST group, more than the other two groups, and the combined MI group experienced more enhancements in consolidating their motor memory than the PE group (P = 0.005).

Overall, these findings indicated the importance of ST in improving motor memory consolidation.

Although studies has shown the effectiveness of large visual illusion and external focus of attention on motor learning in novices, there is no research evidence about the combined effect of these variables. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of large visual illusion and external focus of attention on learning dart throwing skill in novices.

In the present study, 40 novice participants aged 18-40 voluntarily participated and were randomly divided into four groups; large visual illusion, external focus of attention, combined, and control group. The study consisted of a pre-test, practice phase, post-test, and retention test. Data analysis was performed by repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS software version 20 (P≤0.05).

The results of the analysis of the variance test for the acquisition of dart throwing performance showed that all three effects of stage, group, and interaction were significant (P≤0.05). Accuracy increased in all groups, from pre-test to post-test. In the post-test and retention test, the experimental groups were more accurate than the control group; however, no significant difference was observed between them (P>0.05).

External focus instructions and manipulations that enhance more perceptual processes may lead to optimal performance and learning. The findings of the present study suggest that although combining large visual illusion and external focus can independently improve motor learning, the combination of these manipulations has no additive benefits.

Studies on pain are generally conducted for two

first, to study patients with pain who have physical changes due to nerve and muscle lesions, and second, to regain the appropriate kinematic post-pain pattern. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of pain on the coordination variability pattern and throwing accuracy.

The study participants included 30 people aged 18-25 years who volunteered to participate in the study. Participants practiced and acquired skills in 10 blocks of 15 trials. In the test phase associated with pain, Individuals were randomly divided into three groups: local pain, remote pain, and control. In their respective groups, participants were tested in a 15-block trial, 24 hours, and 1 week after acquisition.

The results revealed that pain did not affect the throwing accuracy (P=0.456). Besides, in the phase of acceleration in throwing, movement variability in the pain-related groups in the shoulder and elbow joints (P=0.518), elbow and wrist (P=0.399), and the deceleration and dart drop phase movement variability in the pain-related groups in the shoulder and elbow joints (P=0.622), elbow and wrist (P=0.534). 

Based on the results, the accuracy and coordination variability in pain-related groups were similar. However, to confirm these results, more research is needed on performing motor functions in the presence of pain.

 older adults show high levels of co-contraction in lower extremities’ muscles due to the deterioration of the neuromuscular and sensory motor systems. Increased co-contraction leads to disruption of daily motor activities, especially movements in which joint stability is critical; therefore, it is important to pay attention to training programs to strengthen muscles and increase intramuscular coordination in older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of unstable resistance training with and without blood flow restriction on ankle muscles’ co-contraction of older adults.

 27 older adults (62 ± 1.5 years old) were assigned into three groups of unstable resistance training without blood flow restriction, unstable resistance training with blood flow restriction (72± 9 mm Hg) and control. The training program consisted of three to four sets of 15 repetitions of body weight squats for four weeks and three sessions per each week, which were gradually added to the program by 5% of each person's body weight. Pre- and post- intervention, the electromyography signals of Tibialis Anterior and soleus muscles were recorded during walking in order to determine the rates of agonist and antagonist activity and muscles’ co-contraction. For data analysis, repeated measures analysis of variance and analysis of covariance tests with Bonferroni post hoc test were used at 0.05 of level of significance.

 The results showed that in post-test, the activity of the Tibialis Anterior muscle of both training groups was significantly increased compared to pre-test. Also, statistically significant difference was found in co-contraction rates of both groups in post-test. The results of Bonferroni post hoc test showed a statistically significant difference in reduction of co-contraction rates between the resistance training group with blood flow restriction and the control group (P=0.015) and between resistance training group without blood flow restriction with the control group (P=0.005). But no statistically significant difference was found between the two training groups.

 Resistance training on unstable surface with and without blood flow restriction is associated with increased agonist muscle activity, which leads to a decrease in ankle muscles’ co-contraction in older adults.

Many heroin-dependent people have defects in cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance training on cognitive functions of heroin-dependent men.

The research method is quasi-experimental and applied in terms of purpose, which was done by pretest-posttest with the control group. Thirty heroin addicts from the Addiction Treatment Center in Tehran participated in study as a sample and were divided into two groups: experimental and control. Participants performed semantic strop and n-back working memory test in the pre-test. The participants of the experimental group performed resistance training sessions 3 times a week for 8 weeks in a circular manner consisting of three sets of 8-12 repetitions consisting of 6 movements with rest intervals of 1-2 minutes between sets and 3-5 minutes between movements. Finally, after the intervention, the post-test was performed. Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the variables of neutral semantic strop (f(1.27)=5/53 p=0.026), positive (f(1.27)=14/75 p=0.001), negative (f(1.27)=6/18 p=0.019) and working memory (f(1.27)=5/29 p=0.029). Due to the difference in means, in working memory, the performance of the experimental group was higher and also the semantic strope reaction time (neutral, positive and negative) was lower in the experimental group.

In a general conclusion, it can be stated that a course of resistance training has a positive effect on cognitive functions (semantic strope and working memory) in heroin-dependent men.

Posture-cognition studies show that postural control is affected by cognitive task. Therefore, the effect of factors such as task difficulty is evaluated in dual-task paradigm but the impact of difficulty of cognitive and postural task on postural control remains inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to examine the interaction effect of cognitive and postural tasks difficulty on postural control. Twenty healthy young volunteers (Mean age 22 ± 2.3 years) performed six random conditions while standing on a force platform. Conditions involved combinations of two level of postural task difficulty (standing on the floor and narrow base) and three level of cognitive task difficulty (without, easy and difficult cognitive tasks). Two way ANOVA (significant level p < 0.05) results demonstrated marked decrease in the standard deviation of the center of pressure in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions for the difficult cognitive task condition in both postural task. (p < 0.05). Also, the easy cognitive task reduced the standard deviation of the center of pressure in the anterior-posterior direction in the narrow base standing condition (p < 0.05). According to the results of the present research, it seems that the difficult cognitive task requires a greater part of attention capacity; subsequently, attention is withdrawn from the postural task and automatic control regulates posture more efficiently through unconscious, fast, and reflexive processes. Also, postural control is simultaneously affected by the difficulty of postural and cognitive tasks. Therefore, in designing appropriate interventions, it seems necessary to pay attention to the interactive effects of posture and cognitive tasks.

The aim of the current research is to study the effect of physical exercise on controlling balance among the visually impaired elderly. Fifteen visually impaired elderly who’s being impaired is confirmed through taking Snellen test and optometry were randomly chosen and divided into two groups’ physical exercise and control. The exercise was of two types of tasks- standing alone or walking along with kinetic and thinking tasks. The elderly chosen for this test participated in pre and post balance test using stabilometr. The groups exercised for 12 weeks and twice a week. To analyze data, we applied dependent T-test and to compare the results of post and pretest in each group with significant at a=0.05. The results showed a physical exercise has effect on balance among visually impaired elderly (p≥0/0.5) also the results of T-Test between the two groups in post-test has shown a significant effect on balance. I.e. the improvement in exercise group has shown in balance. We concluded that doing exercises can improve balance criteria. In this regard, multi-sensory manipulations based on substitution and adapting approaches can lead to even better results and increase its effectiveness.

One of the most common and dangerous injuries in sports is an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury. Today, despite the ACL injury prevention programs, the prevalence of this injury remains high. Most of the instructions used in injury prevention programs are based on internal focus, while studies have shown that using external focus can improve performance in individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of focus of attention on eight weeks of anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention training on landing skill kinetic variables in soccer players.

The current methodology included 35 players from 3 premier league teams in Tehran province. The teams were randomly divided into three groups of Prevent injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) exercises based on the External Focus (EF) (12 people), Internal Focus (IF) (12 people), and control group (11 people). In the pretest of ground reaction force, rate of loading, and time to stabilization during landing skill. The training groups performed pep injury prevention exercises for eight weeks and related instructions instead of warm-up exercises. Control group players were performing the regular activities. ANOVA with repeated measures and one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests were used to evaluate changes.

The test results showed significant changes in vertical, anterior-posterior ground reaction force and rate of loading in the external focus group (P≤0.05). But there was no critical difference in time to stabilization and internal-external ground reaction force.

According to the results, external focus instruction has positive effects on kinetic components. Therefore, it is recommended that exercises based on these instructions be used to reduce the risk of ACL injury and to repair this injury.

The goal of this research is to investigate the effect of instructional self-talk with self-control feedback on the learning of soccer shoot.

60 non-athlete male aged 10 to 12 years were voluntarily selected. After performing pre-test of soccer shoot, the participants were assigned in 5 instructional self-talk, self-control feedback, self-talk with self-control feedback, self-talk with paired self-control feedback and control groups. The acquisition phase was six sessions, in which the participants completed four blocks of six trials in each session. After the last acquisition session, post-test and after 48 hours, retention test was performed. Also, during the shoots, movement patterns were recorded using video camera. For data analyses, ANOVA and Tukey and Dunnet's C were used at a significant level of .05.

The results of the present study for pattern showed that instructional self-talk group and the instructional self-talk with self-control feedback group had significantly better performance than self-control feedback, instructional self-talk with paired feedback and control group in the acquisition and retention tests, but in the result variable, differences among groups were not significant.

self-control feedback alone or in interaction with instructional self-talk can be useful for increasing the level of motor skills.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic activity and vitamin E on spatial memory and CREB protein expression in the hippocampal tissue of young rats with chronic sleep restriction.

Fifty-six healthy adult male Albino-Wistar rats were randomly assigned into the groups. Chronic sleep restriction was applied through 18 hours of sleep deprivation for 4 weeks. Aerobic activity included 4 weeks of running on a treadmill. Vitamin E dissolved in sesame oil was fed to rats by gavage. At the end of the fourth week, the Morris Water Maze test was performed to measure spatial learning and memory. Western blotting technique was used to measure the expression of CREB protein in the hippocampus. Mixed analysis of variance (5 × 3) was used to analyze the data related to acquisition in the Morris Water Maze and one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data related to the probe of the Morris Water Maze and the expression of CREB protein. Bonferroni and Tukey post hoc tests were used for within- and between-group comparisons, respectively.

Chronic sleep restriction significantly impaired memory function during the acquisition phase and probe test as well as CREB expression (p < 0.05). Vitamin E had no significant effect on spatial memory and CREB protein expression in rats with chronic insomnia. Aerobic activity prevented the deleterious effects of chronic sleep restriction on memory function during the acquisition phase, probe test and the CREB protein expression (p < 0.05). Finally, vitamin E along with aerobic activity had a significant effect on the expression of CREB protein in chronic sleep restricted rats (p < 0.05) but in the behavioral test showed no greater effect than aerobic activity (p > 0.05).

It seems that a period of aerobic activity prevents the deleterious effect of sleep restriction on learning and memory impairment in rats. Vitamin E alone had no effect on memory impairment in sleep-deprived rats. Moreover, it did not increase the positive effects of aerobic activity on the memory impairment of the sleep-deprived rats.‎

The notion that non-genetic and non-cultural mechanisms can transmit the memory of exposure to diverse environmental conditions to subsequent generations has excited considerable interest and has brought the Lamarck’s idea back into the limelight. It is widely accepted that the environmental experiences of parents have strong effects on the physiological, metabolic, and cellular functions of living organisms, which are transmitted through epigenetic modifications to the next generations. The epigenetic modifications prone to change in environmental conditions and transmitted to next generations include DNA methylation, histone modification, and small non-coding RNAs. Currently, one of the most exciting topics in the field of epigenetic transmission is the transfer of memory phenotypes and learning and memory capabilities. Inheriting epigenetic traits allows living organisms to transmit compatible or incompatible information with the ancestral environment to their offspring. Studies showed that exposure to environmental stimuli by parents before fertilization would lead to changes in their childrenchr('39')s cognitive capacities. Interestingly, learning cognitive tasks in parents improved the learning and facilitated memory consolidation in offspring. The methylation DNA, histone methylation and histone acetylation are three major epigenetic processes involved in the regulation of learning and memory consolidation. These processes modify genome features or interactions between the genome and the histone nucleus, and then induce structural changes in chromatin, leading to transcriptional changes in various genes that affect memory formation. The transfer of these chromatin modifications from parents to offspring facilitates the offspring learning process and memory consolidation.

Self-report psychological questionnaires are important tools for assessing cognitive and emotional status of athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of test of performance strategies (TOPS) among athletes. For this purpose, 209 males (n=125) and females (n=84) national and champions athletes aged 15 to 18 completed TOPS measure. It was used confirmatory factor analysis to test the construct validity of questionnaire and Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient for testing internal consistency of each factor items. The results of factor analysis identified eight subscales of goal-setting, automaticity, emotional-control, imagery, activation, positive self-talk, relaxation, attentional control/negative thinking for the practice and competition. The results of the Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient indicated appropriate internal consistency of subscales items of practice (.70 to .95) and competition (.77 to .88). It seems that this questionnaire is an appropriate tool for measuring psychological skills among young athletes.

The current study aims to investigate and compare the effects of declarative and interrogative self-talk on perceived exertion, motivation and anaerobic power performance. In order to carry this study out, 15 female students participated in a within-subject design including control, declarative self-talk and interrogative self-talk phases. So as to measure anaerobic power, participants performed vertical jump in all three phases and after each phase, they completed the self-talk manipulation check, the perceived exertion, and the motivation form. Through applying one-way repeated measures ANOVA, the superiority of anaerobic power performance and motivation in declarative and interrogative self-talk phases compared to the control phase was revealed. In general, these findings support the advantage of declarative and interrogative self-talk in sport performance which is consistent with the theoretical foundations of self-talk about the usefulness of self-talk on motor performance and motivation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of manipulation of vision and proprioceptive senses in different ages of childhood on the transition time of the relative phase in bimanual coordination task. 60 children, right-handed, 7-12 aged, with normal vision participated in this study. Participants were seated on adjustable chairs and producing coordination movements with relative phase of 180 degrees and started at 1 Hz frequency that was increased by 0.50 Hz steps in every 5 seconds up to a final movement frequency of 5 Hz. Participants produced the relative phase pattern under different sensory conditions such as with visual and proprioception sense, no vision with proprioception sense, with vision and disorder in biased proprioception. The results revealed that the difference between children was significant in the absence of manipulation of the sense of vision and proprioception. But the interaction between age and vision manipulation wasn't significant in the transition of the relative phase of bimanual coordination. Also, the interaction between ages with proprioception scenes manipulation in the transition of the relative phase of bimanual coordination wasn't significant. .However, manipulation of proprioception scenes and vision scenes without the attention of aged difference were significant. The finding of this study supported the dynamic system based on the self-organization of the system with inducing the velocity parameter that phase transit the out phase to in phase..

Lamarck’s idea of the ability to transfer memories acquired in the face of various environmental conditions through non-educational and non-genetic mechanisms to children has been extensively considered. Previous studies have shown that parents’ environmental experiences, such as exposure to environmental toxins, educational behaviors, stress, and fear, may affect several generations’ phenotypes. The inheritance of epigenetic patterns, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA, to living organisms, allows the information related to the ancestral environment to be passed on to their offspring. Presently, the acquired traits related to learning and memory capabilities are among the essential issues in the field of epigenetic transmission. Considering that methylation DNA, histone methylation, and histone acetylation are three major epigenetic processes involved in the regulation of memory, which leads to modification of epigenetic patterns, and given the possibility of transmitting epigenetic symptoms from parents to offspring, it is anticipated that the phenotypes created in the learning process and memory formation in parents will be passed on to their children. It facilitates the learning process and memory formation of the offspring. Therefore, this study aimed at specifically analyzing whether Paternal learning of a spatial task before fertilization can impact the process of spatial learning in the male offspring.

In the present study, Wistar adult male rats (8 weeks old) were used at the beginning of the study. The first eight male rats were randomly divided into the two groups: spatial memory training group (n=4) and control group (n=4). The rats participated in the spatial memory training group in the Morris water maze Protocol, and the control group did not participate in any training. After the end of the training session, male rats of both groups mated with female rats that had not experienced any training. After the end of mating, pregnancy, birth, and lactation, four male offspring from each mother were randomly selected in each group, and in the two groups, paternal train (n=16), and paternal no-train (n=16) they were practicing Morris water maze within five days.

Escape latency: A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures (2×12) (Group × Trial) showed that the main effect of trials (F11, 330=19.63, P≤0.001), the main effect of group (F11, 30=11.77, P≤0.01), and interactive effect of trials and group (F111, 330=1.98, P≤0.032) is significant. The post-hoc test results revealed that in trial five, there was a significant difference between the time to find the platform in the paternal train and paternal no-train groups, and male offspring of the paternal train group had better performance than others. Swimming speed: A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures (2×12) (Group×Trial) showed significant main effects of Trial (F(11, 330)=7.48, P<0.01) and Group (F(1, 30)=4.52, P<0.05), while the interaction Group×Trial (F(11, 330)= 0.69, P=0.74) was not significant. The results showed that the swimming speed in the male offspring of trained fathers was higher than in the female offspring of not-trained fathers. Total distance swum: A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures (2×12) (Group×Trial) showed significant main effects of Trial (F(11, 330)=10.20, P<0.001) and Group (F(1, 30)=7.14, P<0.05), while the interaction Group×Trial (F(11, 330)=0.72, P=0.71) was not significant. These data indicate that the male offspring of trained fathers’ total distance swum was significantly shorter than that of male offspring of not-trained fathers. Probe phase: Twenty-four hours afterward, the animals were submitted to the spatial probe test, and the time spent in the target quadrant was calculated. Student’s t-test showed a significant difference between groups (t=2.99, df=30, P<0.01). The results showed the longer time spent in the target quadrant displayed by the male offspring of trained fathers compared to the male offspring of not-trained fathers.

These findings indicate that paternal spatial training before fertilization improves the male offspring’s spatial learning and memory consolidation process and motivation.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of aerobic training on consolidation of spatial memory and CREB protein index in the hippocampal tissue of sleep deprived young rats.

Forty Wistar young male rats were randomly assigned to four groups: sedentary/normal sleep control group (Cr), sedentary/sleep deprived (Sd), physical activity/normal sleep (Ph/Ns) and physical activity/ sleep deprived (Ph/Sd). Physical activity was included four weeks aerobic training by running on treadmill. Rats performed aerobic training 5 days/week for 4 weeks by running on a treadmill with a zero-degree slope. In the first and second weeks rats ran for 2 sets of 15 min with speed of 10 m/min. In the third week, 3 sets of 15 min with speed of 15 m/min was performed. In the fourth week, 4 sets of 15 min with speed of 15 m/min was done. After aerobic training, the memory acquisition was asesseded by Morris water maze. Then, sleep deprivation was induced in rats of Sd and Ph/Sd groups for 24 h by a multiple platform device. The spatial memory consolidation was tested 24 h after sleep deprivation. Western blot technique was used to measure the CERB protein index in the hippocampus.

Aerobic training improved acquisition and consolidation of spatial memory while sleep deprivation destroyed the spatial memory (p ˂ 0.05). However, aerobic training prevented the destruction of spatial memory consolidation induced by sleep deprivation. Aerobic training also increased expression of CERB but sleep deprivation had no significant effect on the expression of CERB. However, the effect of aerobic training on the expression of CERB in the sleep deprived rats was significant (p < 0.05).

It seems that aerobic training on treadmill is able to prevent the adverse effects of sleep deprivation on the spatial memory consolidation in rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate relaxation and mindfulness on sports anxiety in female adolescents.

The participants of the present study were 45 adolescent female student athletes from Tehran province with an age range of 11 to 15 years who were selected by convenience sampling. All subjects were physically and mentally healthy. The research samples were divided into three groups of control, relaxation and mindfulness and two experimental groups (relaxation and mindfulness group) were intervened. The Martens Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire was filled out by the subjects before and after the intervention. Combined analysis of variance test was performed using SPSS software version 24 to examine intra-group and inter-group changes.

The results showed that all interventions reduced physical and cognitive anxiety. The mindfulness group had a greater reduction in physical and cognitive anxiety, but the imaging and relaxation groups did not differ significantly in any of the research variables.

The mindfulness group had a greater decrease in physical and cognitive anxiety and their self-confidence scores were higher than the rest of the relaxation and control group.