Title: Evaluation of postural stability in modern dance dancers Objectives: The aim of this Diploma thesis is to objectivly evaluate and compare ability of dynamic and static postural stability between modern dancers (women only) and normal healthy population (women only), who don't do any sport activities on a regular basis. Another aim of this study is to evaluate whether the personal preferences of the standing lower limb, used in performing dance piruettes, will affect the load on the lower limbs and it's stability, during testing static and dynamic postural stability. Methods: This thesis is quantitative observational cross-sectional study involved 40 women between 18-29 years. Experimental group included women dancers (n1=20) and control group included women non-athletes from faculty (n2=20). For objective measure of postural stability was used NeruCom Smart EquiTest and following five measuring protocols: Sensory Organization Test, Motor Control Test, Unilateral Stance Test, Limits of Stability a Weight Bearing Squat. Results of measurement was statistically processed in Microsoft Excel 2016 for each group and then compared between groups. For statisticial analysis was used: Shapiro-Wilk test, Student's T-test and Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: A statistically significant difference was found...

This experiment investigated sex differences in dynamic functional cerebral laterality effects on cardiovascular reactivity and dichotic listening in response to a stressor (a cold pressor). 120 right-handed undergraduate men (N = 60) and women (N = 60) underwent physiological measurements of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) before and after exposure to the cold pressor and a phonemic dichotic listening task. Functional cerebral laterality was assessed through the administration of the phonemic dichotic listening task. Group differences in dynamic functional cerebral laterality were predicted. Findings indicated a sex by focus interaction effect where men's, but not women's, systolic blood pressure increased significantly when focusing on sounds presented at the left ear during the dichotic listening task. Also, a compartmentalized, dynamic response in dichotic listening test performance was evidenced in both men and women (as both experienced increased accuracy at the right, but not left, ear), brought about as a function of the cold pressor. Men and women both evidenced increased cardiovascular reactivity, with men experiencing significantly more cardiovascular reactivity (SBP) than women in response to cold pressor pain. Women were also able to identify significantly more speech sounds presented to the left ear than men, and they were able to dynamically increase accuracy at the targeted ear identified within each focus group (left or right). Speech sounds processing (dichotic listening task) significantly decreased men's, but not women's, systolic blood pressure. These results contribute to the literature on sex differences in functional cerebral laterality. / Master of Science

After an intelligence test battery, the sixty right-handed subjects (30 males, 30 females) performed two visual field (VF) reaction time (RT) tasks requiring odd-even judgments concerning the whole numbers 1 through 8. Numbers were presented as words, a right VF left-hemisphere (LH) advantage task, or as bargraphs, a left, VF right-hemisphere (RH) advantage task, the height of the bargraphs indicating the number.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第18451号 / 医博第3906号 / 新制||医||1004(附属図書館) / 31329 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 福山 秀直, 教授 村井 俊哉, 教授 平岡 眞寛 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

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The aim of this study is to contribute to the standardization of the new diagnostic tools assessing the motor manifestations of laterality in adults and children aged 8 to 10 years, both in terms of determining the theoretical concept and the selection of appropriate items, and the verification of structural hypotheses concerning the design of acceptable models, including the diagnostic quality of individual parts of the test battery. Moreover in this study we try to suggest new approach in assessing of motor laterality manifestation by means of relationship between cerebellar dominance and hand performance. The first part of this thesis deals with the concept of laterality, its manifestations and meaning in non-living systems and living organisms. As a human characteristic, laterality is manifested in a variety of functional and structural asymmetries. This part also discusses ways of diagnosing motor manifestations of laterality and the issue of cerebellar dominance, including its reflection in the form of asymmetry of the extinction physiological syndrome of upper limbs. The second part focuses on the process of the standardization study, the statistical method of structural equation modelling, and the actual design of test battery construction. The last part of this thesis presents the results...

Volume 1 = Thesis, Volume 2 = Appendices / Asymmetry is a useful tool for osteological analysis as it detects disruptions in the developmental stability of osseous structures attributed to environmental and biomechanical environments. The primary aim of this study is to establish a baseline for normal levels of asymmetry in English archaeological populations in order to distinguish between normal population variation and increased developmental instability or biomechanical stress. Directional and fluctuating asymmetry is assessed through a database of a comprehensive selection of osteological measurements throughout the skeletons of 1753 adults and subadults. The sample is from 11 archaeological sites spanning the Anglo-Saxon to the Victorian periods. The extent of developmental instability is also determined, for the first time, by employing the prevalence of population outliers. The normal range for directional asymmetry was found to be -5.79 to 6.62%, while fluctuating asymmetry was found to be 0 to 6.53%. The extent of asymmetry, however, was found to be trait specific. Deviations from normal population levels of asymmetry were found to be due to a complex mixture of biomechanical and environmental stresses influenced by age, sex, settlement type, socio-economic status, and period-specific origins of the sample populations. Possible causes of asymmetry could be discerned from comparisons of the levels of population asymmetry when placed in the context of physical activity, social networking, health, and environment developed from the historical, archaeological and osteological record. / Andy Jagger Fund and the Francis Raymond Hudson Memorial Fund

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One hundred twenty-six right-handed undergraduate men and women underwent physiological measurements of SBP, DBP, and HR before and after verbal and figural fluency tasks, used as stressors. Dynamic and functional cerebral regulation of cardiovascular reactivity was assessed, specifically, the role that the frontal lobes have in regulating SBP, DBP, and HR in men and women. Sex differences in the functional cerebral regulation of these cardiovascular factors were predicted. Hostility was assessed in these participants, using the Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory (6 total groups of 21 participants each: high-, mid-, and low-hostile participants were identified). Sex and group (hostility) differences were predicted, as well as task (fluency type) differences. Comparisons were also made from a time estimation task (30 and 180 seconds), and the effect that women's menstrual cycle had on fluency. The MCSDS and the STAI were administered. The principal findings of the current investigation were that the verbal fluency task raised SBP across sex and group, that both stressors raised SBP or DBP in different patterns (no sex differences were found), while stressors interacted with both sex and group. High-hostile men performed better on the first trial of the verbal fluency test compared to low-hostile men, while high-hostile women performed worse on the first trial of the verbal fluency test, compared to low-hostile women. Men perseverated more on each trial of the verbal fluency test, while women perseverated less across trials. High-hostile men's time perception seems to be more rapid than low-hostile men, while for women it is the opposite. Women reported significantly more stress from the figural fluency task than men. Women in the luteal phase of menstruation did better on the verbal fluency test than women in the follicular phase of menstruation, and hostility and menstrual phase interact with verbal fluency. This study encourages the consideration of neuropsychological sex differences in order to better understand cardiovascular regulation mechanisms and disease, leading to the development of improved prevention and behavioral management programs. Findings supporting this idea may bring about a new research focus, as some forms of cardiovascular disease may be more appropriately investigated as arising from neuropsychological problems. / Ph. D.

This experiment was primarily designed to identify higher cortical correlates of cardiovascular arousal. Low- and high-hostile, right-handed, undergraduate men were identified using the Cook Medley Hostility Scale (CMHS). All participants (N = 30) completed the cold pressor paradigm. Cardiovascular (heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure) and electroencephalographic (beta magnitude) data were collected before and after the stressor. As predicted, high-hostiles showed greater increases of heart rate and systolic blood pressure to the stressor relative to low-hostiles. The primary findings of this research include significantly greater beta magnitude recorded by the T3, relative to F7, electrode among low-hostiles. This may suggest that low-hostiles experience left-frontal disinhibition of left-temporal regions, thereby strengthening cardiovascular regulation during the cold-pressor stress. In addition, irrespective of condition, high-hostiles evidenced significantly greater beta magnitude at regions corresponding to the F7 and F8 electrodes. This perhaps suggests that high-hostiles have a relative inability to increase their rostral modulation of posterior systems related to cardiovascular activity/regulation. Low- and high-hostiles did not, however, evidence reliable differences in their ability to monitor cardiovascular arousal to the cold-pressor stress. Findings are discussed in terms of a systems approach, and pertinent future research is recommended. This research did not support the prominent neuropsychological theories of cardiovascular regulation proposed by Heilman et al. (1993) and Tucker and Williamson (1984). Rather, the results may suggest that right- and left-cerebral mechanisms may be primarily responsible for sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiovascular arousal, respectively. / Ph. D.