Academic learning time in physical education (ALT-PE) during an adapted tennis program for children with autism spectrum disorders.

As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases, there is a growing need to develop physical activity interventions that address the behavioral challenges experienced by individuals with ASD. Physical education teachers have employed behavioral supports that add more structure and adapt the environment for individuals with ASD, which are associated with increased engagement for individuals with ASD during PE. The purpose of this study was to quantify motor engaged behaviors (i.e. motor appropriate (MA)), motor inappropriate (MI), motor supported (MS) during skill practice in 18 individuals with ASD (ages 7-19 years) participating in an adapted tennis program (ACEing Autism) using the Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) instrument. Overall, the supports provided during the program may have enabled participants with ASD to spend more time in MA and MS than MI. Indeed, the participants spent over 50% of their time in MA during the program.

A Universal Program to Improve Mental Health among Youth from Low-Income Predominantly Minority Communities: Implementation of Advocates 4 ALL Youth (ALLY).

Disparities in mental health care and access to care disproportionately affect youth from minoritized and low-income communities. School-based prevention programs have the potential to offer a non-stigmatized approach to mental health care as well as the ability to reach many students simultaneously. Advocates 4 All Youth (ALLY) is a program developed for 5-6th grade students aimed at improving self-efficacy and resilience via individualized sessions with a trusted adult (ALLYs). The feasibility of delivering ALLY in a racially and minoritized low-income community is discussed and modifications required to implement the program documented. Students completed questionnaires and sessions with an ALLY. Aspects of program delivery deemed feasible included training ALLYs to delivery program, stakeholder buy-in regarding missing class time, and students attending the sessions. Further modifications included adjustments to materials due to lower reading level and health literacy related-educational needs. Programs designed in one demographic setting may not work in a different setting.

The Effects of Virtual Zumba ® on Functional Outcomes in Adults with Developmental Disabilities.

INTRODUCTION: Few studies have examined the comprehensive impact of adaptive exercise interventions across multiple functional domains (i.e., physical and cognitive health) in adults with developmental disabilities (DD). METHODS: The present study examined the effects of a 10-wk (2 sessions per week, 1 h per session) adapted Zumba ® intervention on the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance, body composition, and executive function in 44 adults with DD age 20.8-69.2 yr. In addition to examining overall differences between control and intervention conditions, the effects of different Zumba ® tempos (normal/low) were examined. A crossover design with a 3-month wash-out period was used such that participants in the intervention also served as controls. The participants were quasi-randomized into one of two Zumba ® conditions: low-tempo Zumba ® (0.75 normal speed; n = 23) and normal-tempo Zumba ® ( n = 21). RESULTS: A significant condition-time interaction was observed for the 6MWT and TUG; participants in the low and normal-tempo Zumba ® conditions significantly increased the distance walked for the 6MWT and reduced the total time for the TUG. No improvement was observed during the control condition for these measures. There were no significant condition-time interactions for the other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have implications on the efficacy and implementation of virtual Zumba ® programs to increase abilities related to independent performance of activities of daily living in adults with disabilities.

Improvements in Swim Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Following a 5-Day Adapted Learn-To-Swim Program (iCan Swim).

Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in children and teenagers. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk for drowning. Improvements in swim skills have been observed in children with ASD participating in learn-to-swim programs. However, it is unclear if age, co-occurring conditions, and/or the dose of practice influence swim skills in this population. To this end, a secondary data analysis of iCan Swim program data was conducted to determine the efficacy of the 5-day adapted learn-to-swim program for a cohort of children with ASD ages 3-16 years (n = 86). Participant swim level was evaluated at the start and end of the program. Linear mixed-effects regression was used to examine the effects of Time (start/end), Age, Dose of Swim Practice (i.e., total time-time out of the water), and ADHD status on the overall swim level. Participants significantly increased the swim level from the beginning to the end of the program (B = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.52-0.74), and participants with ASD and co-occurring ADHD had greater swim levels regardless of Time than those without ADHD (B = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.05-0.84). Overall, iCan Swim is effective in improving the swim skills of children and teenagers with ASD.

Relationships between Physical and Mental Health in Adolescents from Low-Income, Rural Communities: Univariate and Multivariate Analyses.

Environment (i.e., rural vs. urban) and socioeconomic status (SES) are moderating factors of physical (i.e., obesity and/or physical activity) and internalizing mental health (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms) in adolescents. Relationships between physical and mental health have been shown in adolescents; however, research has not addressed these relationships in those from low-income, rural backgrounds. Thus, the present study characterized physical and mental health in rural, low-SES adolescents and investigated relationships between physical and mental health in this population. Data were collected from 253 10th and 11th-grade students from Title I schools in rural Alabama. Self-report measures of mental health, self-esteem, body image, and physical activity were obtained, in addition to functional fitness and physical health assessments completed at each school. Relationships between mental and physical health were assessed using Pearson correlations and multivariate data-driven cluster analysis. Positive correlations were observed between body composition and mental health symptoms, while negative correlations were observed between body image and mental health and body composition. However, sex differences were present in these relationships. The multivariate cluster analysis identified groups of individuals based on profiles of mental and physical health. This individual-level analysis identified students with greater mental and/or physical health burdens (n = 53 and n = 40) who may benefit from targeted interventions. Overall, these results provide evidence of elevated mental and physical health burdens among rural, low-income adolescents. Moreover, targeted programs are needed to provide education about the relationship between physical and mental health to reduce health burdens in both domains in this population.

Intervention Strategies to Elicit MVPA in Preschoolers during Outdoor Play.

Approximately 50% of preschoolers do not meet physical activity recommendations and children who reside in low-income rural communities may be further at risk for higher levels of sedentary behavior. Outdoor play is essential for preschool children; however, literature is unclear as to which types of interventions elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for all preschoolers. The aim of this study was to determine which type of intervention, physical activity or fundamental motor skill focus, elicits MVPA during outdoor play. Ninety-eight preschool children (M age = 4.48 years) from one Head Start center participated in an outdoor play intervention two days per week for 7 weeks. Classes were randomly assigned to one of four groups: fundamental motor skill focus (FMS), physical activity focus (PA), FMS and PA (FMS + PA), and control. An accelerometer worn on the hip measured MVPA. Results showed that age, sex and group assignment contributed to MVPA at the beginning of the intervention and age, sex, group assignment and MVPA during the beginning of the intervention contributed to MVPA at the end of the intervention. Overall, the FMS + PA group elicited MVPA from males and females of all ages. Interventions that combine both FMS and PA may reduce physical activity disparities in preschool children.

A systematic review of acute concussion assessment selection in research.

Background: Several organisations developed guidelines and assessments for aiding in the diagnosis of concussions. The growing number of concussion assessments increases the difficulty for researchers and clinicians to determine the best method of concussion diagnosis. Purpose: To systematically review the current assessments selected for acute sports-related concussion. Methods: Academic Search Premier, CINHAL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and SPORTDiscus were searched. English-language, peer-review published studies of acute (<72 h) concussion assessments were included. Results: A total of 31 studies met inclusion criteria (of 291 evaluated); 27 studies provided sufficient information to be included in the descriptive statistics of the assessments. Six of these assessments were used in at least three studies. Only 12 percent of the population studied was female. The age range for these assessments was 9-67 years, although most participants ranged in age between 18 and 35 years. Conclusion: There is a need for a 'gold' standard concussion assessment to enable consistency across research and clinical outcomes. We found a large discrepancy between the number of males and females assessed, suggesting that future studies are needed to determine if these current assessments identify concussion signs and symptoms unique to females. Further studies are needed to determine which assessments are appropriate and valid for youth athletes.

Effects of cannabinoid administration for pain: A meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Chronic pain states have resulted in an overreliance on opioid pain relievers, which can carry significant risks when used long term. As such, alternative pain treatments are increasingly desired. Although emerging research suggests that cannabinoids have therapeutic potential regarding pain, results from studies across pain populations have been inconsistent. To provide meta-analytic clarification regarding cannabis's impact on subjective pain, we identified studies that assessed drug-induced pain modulations under cannabinoid and corresponding placebo conditions. A literature search yielded 25 peer-reviewed records that underwent data extraction. Baseline and end-point data were used to compute standardized effect size estimates (Cohen's d) across cannabinoid administrations (k = 39) and placebo administrations (k = 26). Standardized effects were inverse-variance weighted and pooled across studies for meta-analytic comparison. Results revealed that cannabinoid administration produced a medium-to-large effect across included studies, Cohen's d = -0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-0.74, -0.43], while placebo administration produced a small-to-medium effect, Cohen's d = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.52, -0.26]. Meta-regression revealed that cannabinoids, ß = -0.43, 95% CI [-0.62, -0.24], p < .05, synthetic cannabinoids, ß = -0.39, 95% CI [-0.65, -0.14], p < .05, and sample size, ß = 0.01, 95% CI [0.00, 0.01], p < .05, were associated with marked pain reduction. These outcomes suggest that cannabinoid-based pharmacotherapies may serve as effective replacement/adjunctive options regarding pain, however, additional research is warranted. Additionally, given demonstrated neurocognitive side effects associated with some constituent cannabinoids (i.e., THC), subsequent work may consider developing novel therapeutic agents that capitalize on cannabis's analgesic properties without producing adverse effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Puberty and testosterone shape the corticospinal tract during male adolescence.

Some of the known sex differences in white matter emerge during adolescence. Here, we replicate and extend our previous findings of sex differences in the structure of the corticospinal tract (Perrin et al. 2009; Hervé et al. 2009). In a large normative sample of adolescents, we observed age × sex interactions in the signal intensity of T1-weighted (T1W) images (n = 941) and in magnetization transfer ratio (MTR; n = 761); both features were inversely associated with age in males but not in females. Moreover, we hypothesized that the age-related differences in CST structure exhibited by males would be mediated by differences in puberty stage and levels of bioavailable testosterone. We confirmed this prediction using mediation analysis with bootstrapping. These findings suggest that sex differences in the CST structure observed during male adolescence may be due to multiple processes associated with puberty, including (but not limited to) the rising levels of testosterone.

The effect of lifelong bilingualism on regional grey and white matter volume.

Lifelong bilingualism is associated with the delayed diagnosis of dementia, suggesting bilingual experience is relevant to brain health in aging. While the effects of bilingualism on cognitive functions across the lifespan are well documented, less is known about the neural substrates underlying differential behaviour. It is clear that bilingualism affects brain regions that mediate language abilities and that these regions are at least partially overlapping with those that exhibit age-related decline. Moreover, the behavioural advantages observed in bilingualism are generally found in executive function performance, suggesting that the frontal lobes may also be sensitive to bilingualism, which exhibit volume reductions with age. The current study investigated structural differences in the brain of lifelong bilingual older adults (n=14, mean age=70.4) compared with older monolinguals (n=14, mean age=70.6). We employed two analytic approaches: 1) we examined global differences in grey and white matter volumes; and, 2) we examined local differences in volume and cortical thickness of specific regions of interest previously implicated in bilingual/monolingual comparisons (temporal pole) or in aging (entorhinal cortex and hippocampus). We expected bilinguals would exhibit greater volume of the frontal lobe and temporal lobe (grey and white matter), given the importance of these regions in executive and language functions, respectively. We further hypothesized that regions in the medial temporal lobe, which demonstrate early changes in aging and exhibit neural pathology in dementia, would be more preserved in the bilingual group. As predicted, bilinguals exhibit greater frontal lobe white matter compared with monolinguals. Moreover, increasing age was related to decreasing temporal pole cortical thickness in the monolingual group, but no such relationship was observed for bilinguals. Finally, Stroop task performance was positively correlated with frontal lobe white matter, emphasizing the importance of preserved white matter in maintaining executive function in aging. These results underscore previous findings implicating an association between bilingualism and preserved frontal and temporal lobe function in aging. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Memory Å.

Adiposity is associated with structural properties of the adolescent brain.

Obesity, a major risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, is associated with variations in a number of structural properties in the adult brain, as assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, we investigated the cross-sectional relationship between visceral fat (VF), total body fat (TBF) and three MRI parameters in the brains of typically developing adolescents: (i) T1-weighted (T1W) signal intensity; (ii) T1W signal contrast between white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM); and (iii) magnetization transfer ratio (MTR). In a community-based sample of 970 adolescents (12-18 years old, 466 males), VF was quantified using MRI, and total body fat was measured using a multifrequency bioimpedance. T1W images of the brain were used to determine signal intensity in lobar GM and WM, as well as WM:GM signal contrast. A magnetization transfer (MT) sequence of MT(ON) and MT(OFF) was used to obtain MTR in GM and WM. We found that both larger volumes of VF and more TBF were independently associated with higher signal intensity in WM and higher WM:GM signal contrast, as well as higher MTR in both GM and WM. These relationships were independent of a number of potential confounders, including age, sex, puberty stage, household income and height. Our results suggest that both visceral fat and fat deposited elsewhere in the body are associated independently with structural properties of the adolescent brain. We speculate that these relationships suggest the presence of adiposity-related variations in phospholipid composition of brain lipids.

Differences in movement-related cortical activation patterns underlying motor performance in children with and without developmental coordination disorder.

Behavioral deficits in visuomotor planning and control exhibited by children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have been extensively reported. Although these functional impairments are thought to result from "atypical brain development," very few studies to date have identified potential neurological mechanisms. To address this knowledge gap, electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded from 6- to 12-yr-old children with and without DCD (n = 14 and 20, respectively) during the performance of a visuomotor drawing task. With respect to motor performance, typically developing (TD) children exhibited age-related improvements in key aspects of motor planning and control. Although some children with DCD performed outside this TD landscape (i.e., age-related changes within the TD group), the group developmental trajectory of the children with DCD was similar to that of the TD children. Despite overall similarities in performance, engagement of cortical resources in the children with DCD was markedly different from that in their TD counterparts. While the patterns of activation are stable in TD children across the age range, the young children with DCD exhibited less engagement of motor cortical brain areas and the older children with DCD exhibited greater engagement of motor cortical brain areas than their TD peers. These results suggest that older children with DCD may employ a compensatory strategy in which increased engagement of relevant motor resources allows these children to perform comparably to their TD peers. Moreover, the magnitude of activation was related to several kinematic measures, particularly in children with DCD, suggesting that greater engagement in motor resources may underlie better behavioral performance.

Electrocortical dynamics reflect age-related differences in movement kinematics among children and adults.

Previous neuroimaging and behavioral studies demonstrated structural and functional changes in the motor system across childhood. However, it is unclear what functionally relevant electrocortical processes underlie developmental differences in motor planning and control during multijoint, goal-directed movements. The current study characterized age-related differences in electrocortical processes during the performance of discrete aiming movements in children and adults. Electroencephalography and movement kinematics were recorded from 3 groups of participants (n = 15 each): young children (mean 6.7 years), older children (mean 10.2 years), and adults (mean 22.1 years). Age-related differences were evident in the electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. First, young children exhibited less movement-related activity in task-relevant motor areas compared with adults (movement-related cortical potentials). Second, young children exhibited greater activation (less alpha power) of the frontal areas and less activation of the parietal areas as compared with the other groups. At the behavioral level, young children made slower and jerkier movements, with less consistent directional planning compared with older children and adults. Significant correlations were also found between EEG and movement kinematic measures. Taken together, the results of this study provide evidence that age-related differences in the quality of motor planning and performance are reflected in the differences in electrocortical dynamics among children and adults.

Beyond age and gender: relationships between cortical and subcortical brain volume and cognitive-motor abilities in school-age children.

There is growing evidence that cognitive and motor functions are interrelated and may rely on the development of the same cortical and subcortical neural structures. However, no study to date has examined the relationships between brain volume, cognitive ability, and motor ability in typically developing children. The NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development consists of a large, longitudinal database of structural MRI and performance measures from a battery of neuropsychological assessments from typically developing children. This dataset provides a unique opportunity to examine relationships between the brain and cognitive-motor abilities. A secondary analysis was conducted on data from 172 children between the ages of 6 to 13 years with up to 2 measurement occasions (initial testing and 2-year follow-up). Linear mixed effects modeling was employed to account for age and gender effects on the development of specific cortical and subcortical volumes as well as behavioral performance measures of interest. Above and beyond the effects of age and gender, significant relationships were found between general cognitive ability (IQ) and the volume of subcortical brain structures (cerebellum and caudate) as well as spatial working memory and the putamen. In addition, IQ was found to be related to global and frontal gray matter volume as well as parietal gray and white matter. At the behavioral level, general cognitive ability was also found to be related to visuomotor ability (pegboard) and executive function (spatial working memory). These results support the notion that cognition and motor skills may be fundamentally interrelated at both the levels of behavior and brain structure.

Improvements in proprioceptive functioning influence multisensory-motor integration in 7- to 13-year-old children.

Accurate and efficient sensorimotor behavior depends on precise localization of the body in space, which may be estimated using multiple sensory modalities (i.e., vision and proprioception). Although age-related differences in multisensory-motor integration across childhood have been previously reported, the extent to which age-related changes in unimodal functioning affect multisensory-motor integration is unclear. The purpose of the current study was to address this knowledge gap. Thirty-seven 7- to 13-year-old children moved their dominant hand in a target localization task to visual, proprioceptive, and concurrent visual and proprioceptive stimuli. During a subsequent experimental phase, we introduced a perturbation that placed the concurrent visual and proprioceptive stimuli in conflicting locations (incongruent condition) to determine the relative contributions of vision and proprioception to the multisensory estimate of target position. Results revealed age-related differences in the localization of incongruent stimuli in which the visual estimate of target position contributed more to the multisensory estimate in the younger children whereas the proprioceptive estimate was up-weighted in the older children. Moreover, above and beyond the effects of age, differences in proprioceptive functioning systematically influenced the relative contributions of vision and proprioception to the multisensory estimate during the incongruent trials. Specifically, improvements in proprioceptive functioning resulted in an up-weighting of proprioception, suggesting that the central nervous system of school-aged children utilizes information about unimodal functioning to integrate redundant sensorimotor inputs.