Effects of voice enhancement technology and relaxing music on the frequency of imagery among break dancers.

A device was developed in 2008 by Hypnoke International Ltd. for use by performance consultants and hypnotherapists. It enhances a practitioner's voice and blocks out auditory distractions while delivering imagery inductions, thereby increasing their effectiveness. This study examined the impact of voice-enhancement technology and relaxing music on the frequency of imagery experienced by a sample of elite British break dancers (N = 20; mean age = 26.5 years, SD = 1.5 years). An imagery script was administered to participants under four conditions: voice enhancement with music, voice enhancement only, a music-only control, and a no-voice-enhancement-and-no-music control. Frequency of imagery was assessed using the Sport Imagery Questionnaire. There was a higher incidence of imagery in the voice enhancement with music, voice enhancement only, and music-only conditions when compared to the no-voice-enhancement-and-no-music control. The key finding was that imagery was most frequent when voice enhancement was combined with music in a complementary manner. Thus, it is concluded that the use of voice enhancement technology can improve the efficacy of relaxation and imagery training for break dancers, and potentially, dancers in general.

Exosome release of ß-catenin: a novel mechanism that antagonizes Wnt signaling.

CD82 and CD9 are tetraspanin membrane proteins that can function as suppressors of tumor metastasis. Expression of CD9 and CD82 in transfected cells strongly suppresses ß-catenin-mediated Wnt signaling activity and induces a significant decrease in ß-catenin protein levels. Inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling is independent of glycogen synthase kinase-3ß and of the proteasome- and lysosome-mediated protein degradation pathways. CD82 and CD9 expression induces ß-catenin export via exosomes, which is blocked by a sphingomyelinase inhibitor, GW4869. CD82 fails to induce exosome release of ß-catenin in cells that express low levels of E-cadherin. Exosome release from dendritic cells generated from CD9 knockout mice is reduced compared with that from wild-type dendritic cells. These results suggest that CD82 and CD9 down-regulate the Wnt signaling pathway through the exosomal discharge of ß-catenin. Thus, exosomal packaging and release of cytosolic proteins can modulate the activity of cellular signaling pathways.