Des évidences suggèrent que l’entraînement golfique améliore l’acuité proprioceptive et la stabilité posturale. Cependant, la proprioception du membre supérieur des golfeurs experts n’a jamais été évaluée. De plus, aucune étude ne s’est intéressée à la demande attentionnelle de la performance motrice des golfeurs élites. Nous avons comparé la performance de golfeurs élites à celle de non-athlètes sédentaires dans deux tâches motrices effectuées sans vision : une tâche d’atteintes manuelles vers des cibles proprioceptives situées dans l’espace tridimensionnel et une tâche de limites de la stabilité posturale dynamique. Ces tâches étaient effectuées isolément (tâche simple) ou simultanément à une tâche cognitive attentionnelle de soustraction mathématique (tâche double). La précision et la variabilité des atteintes manuelles étaient mesurées à l’aide d’un système d’analyse de mouvement. Les limites de la stabilité posturale étaient quantifiées à partir des déplacements des centres de pression obtenus à l’aide d’une plateforme de force. Nos résultats démontrent que les atteintes manuelles des golfeurs élites sont moins variables que ceux des sujets témoins uniquement dans la condition de tâche double. La performance cognitive des golfeurs est également meilleure que celles des sujets témoins en condition de tâche double. Par ailleurs, les limites médio-latérales de la stabilité posturale des golfeurs élites sont plus grandes que les non-athlètes et mobilisent, en moyenne, moins de ressources attentionnelles. Ensemble, ces résultats suggèrent que l’entraînement golfique augmente l’efficacité de contrôle proprioceptif des mouvements de bras et de la stabilité posturale et diminue les exigences attentionnelles de la performance motrice. / Evidence suggests that golf training improves proprioceptive acuity and postural stability. However, proprioceptive sensitivity at the upper limb has never been investigated in expert golfers. Furthermore, no previous study assessed the attentional demand of motor performance in elite golfers. We compared the performance of elite golfers to sedentary non-athletes in two motor tasks performed without vision: a task involving reaching movements to proprioceptive targets located in three-dimensional space and a dynamic postural stability limit task. These tasks were performed alone (single-task) and simultaneously to a cognitive-attentional subtraction task (dual-task). The accuracy and variability of reaching movements were measured using a motion analysis system. The limits of postural stability were quantified from center of pressure displacements recorded with a force platform. Our results demonstrated that reaching movements of elite golfers were less variable than those of control subjects only in the dual task condition. As well, the cognitive performance of elite golfers was better than those of non-athletes in the dual task condition. Moreover, the medio-lateral stability limits of elite golfers were larger than those of non-athletes and, on average, mobilized less attentional resources. Together, these results suggest that golf training increases the efficiency of the proprioceptive control of arm movements and postural stability and decreases the attentional demand of motor performance.

Purpose: We investigated motor-respiratory coordination (MRC) in visually guided forearm tracking movements focusing on two main questions: (1) Does attentional demand, training or complexity of the tracking task have an effect on the degree of MRC? (2) Does MRC impair the precision of those movements? We hypothesized that (1) enhanced attention to the tracking task and training increase the degree of MRC while higher task complexity would reduce it, and (2) MRC impairs tracking precision. Methods: Thirty-five volunteers performed eight tracking trials with several conditions: positive (direct) signal–response relation (SRR), negative (inverse) SRR to increase task complexity, specific instruction for enhanced attention to maximize tracking precision (“strict” instruction), and specific instruction that tracking precision would not be evaluated (“relaxed” instruction). The trials with positive and negative SRR were performed three times each to study training effects. Results: While the degree of MRC remained in the same range throughout all experimental conditions, a switch in phase-coupling pattern was observed. In conditions with positive SRR or with relaxed instruction, we found one preferred phase-relationship per period. With higher task complexity (negative SRR) or increased attentional demand (strict instruction), a tighter coupling pattern with two preferred phase-relationships per period was adopted. Our main result was that MRC improved tracking precision in all conditions except for that with relaxed instruction. Reduction of amplitude errors mainly contributed to this precision improvement. Conclusion: These results suggest that attention devoted to a precision movement intensifies its phase-coupling with breathing and enhances MRC-related improvement of tracking precision.

Purpose: We investigated motor-respiratory coordination (MRC) in visually guided forearm tracking movements focusing on two main questions: (1) Does attentional demand, training or complexity of the tracking task have an effect on the degree of MRC? (2) Does MRC impair the precision of those movements? We hypothesized that (1) enhanced attention to the tracking task and training increase the degree of MRC while higher task complexity would reduce it, and (2) MRC impairs tracking precision. Methods: Thirty-five volunteers performed eight tracking trials with several conditions: positive (direct) signal–response relation (SRR), negative (inverse) SRR to increase task complexity, specific instruction for enhanced attention to maximize tracking precision (“strict” instruction), and specific instruction that tracking precision would not be evaluated (“relaxed” instruction). The trials with positive and negative SRR were performed three times each to study training effects. Results: While the degree of MRC remained in the same range throughout all experimental conditions, a switch in phase-coupling pattern was observed. In conditions with positive SRR or with relaxed instruction, we found one preferred phase-relationship per period. With higher task complexity (negative SRR) or increased attentional demand (strict instruction), a tighter coupling pattern with two preferred phase-relationships per period was adopted. Our main result was that MRC improved tracking precision in all conditions except for that with relaxed instruction. Reduction of amplitude errors mainly contributed to this precision improvement. Conclusion: These results suggest that attention devoted to a precision movement intensifies its phase-coupling with breathing and enhances MRC-related improvement of tracking precision.