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Cao B, Guo Y, Lu M, Wu X, Deng F, Wang J, Huang R. The long-term intensive gymnastic training influences functional stability and integration: A resting-state fMRI study. PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND EXERCISE 2024; 74:102678. [PMID: 38821251 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Long-term motor skill training has been shown to induce anatomical and functional neuroplasticity. World class gymnasts (WCGs) provide a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of long-term intensive training on neuroplasticity. Previous resting-state fMRI studies have demonstrated a high efficient information processing related to motor and cognitive functions in gymnasts compared with healthy controls (HCs). However, most research treated brain signals as static, overlooking the fact that the brain is a complex and dynamic system. In this study, we employed functional stability, a new metric based on dynamic functional connectivity (FC), to examine the impact of long-term intensive training on the functional architecture in the WCGs. METHODS We first conducted a voxel-wise analysis of functional stability between the WCGs and HCs. Then, we applied FC density (FCD) to explore whether regions with modified functional stability were also accompanied by changes in connection patterns in the WCGs. We identified overlapping regions showing significant differences in both functional stability and FCD. Finally, we applied seed-based correlation analysis (SCA) to determine the detailed changes in connection patterns between the WCGs and HCs within these overlapping regions. RESULTS Compared with the HCs, the WCGs exhibited higher functional stability in the bilateral angular gyrus (AG), bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), bilateral precentral gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus and lower functional stability in the bilateral hippocampus, bilateral caudate, right rolandic operculum, left superior temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, right middle cingular cortex, and right precuneus than the HCs. We found that the bilateral AG and ITG not only showed higher functional stability but also increased global and long-range FCD in the WCGs relative to the HCs. The right precuneus displayed lower functional stability as well as decreased local, long-range, and global FCD in the WCGs. Both AG and ITG showed higher FC with regions in the default mode network (DMN) in the WCGs than in the HCs. CONCLUSIONS The increased functional stability in the AG and ITG might be associated with enhanced functional integration within the DMN in the WCGs. These findings may offer new spatiotemporal evidence for the impact of long-term intensive training on neuroplasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolin Cao
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu Guo
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Min Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Feng Deng
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Ruiwang Huang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
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Ma M, Xu Y, Xiang Z, Yang X, Guo J, Zhao Y, Hou Z, Feng Y, Chen J, Yuan Y. Functional whole-brain mechanisms underlying effects of tDCS on athletic performance of male rowing athletes revealed by resting-state fMRI. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1002548. [PMID: 36267058 PMCID: PMC9576861 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1002548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that applied to modulate brain activity and enhance motor recovery. However, the neurobiological substrates underlying the effects of tDCS on brain function remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the central mechanisms of tDCS on improving the athletic performance of male rowing athletes. Methods Twelve right-handed male professional rowing athletes received tDCS over the left primary motor cortex while undergoing regular training. The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired before and after tDCS. Measures of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated and compared between baseline and follow-up, as well as topological measures including global and local efficiency of functional brain networks constructed by graph theoretical analysis. Results Male rowing athletes showed increased isokinetic muscle strength of the left knee and left shoulder after tDCS. Increased ALFF values were found in the right precentral gyrus of male rowing athletes after tDCS when compared with those before tDCS. In addition, male rowing athletes showed increased ReHo values in the left paracentral lobule following tDCS. Moreover, increased nodal global efficiency was identified in the left inferior frontal gyrus (opercular part) of male rowing athletes after tDCS. Conclusion The findings suggested that simultaneous tDCS-induced excitation over the primary motor cortex might potentially improve the overall athletic performance in male rowing athletes through the right precentral gyrus and left paracentral lobule, as well as left inferior frontal gyrus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Ma
- Department of Rehabilitation, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ziliang Xiang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xi Yang
- Department of Rehabilitation, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianye Guo
- Department of Rehabilitation, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yong Zhao
- Department of Rehabilitation, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhenghua Hou
- Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuxu Feng
- Department of Orthopaedics, Pukou Central Hospital, PuKou Branch Hospital of Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing, China
- Yuxu Feng,
| | - Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
- Jianhuai Chen,
| | - Yonggui Yuan
- Department of Psychosomatics and Psychiatry, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- *Correspondence: Yonggui Yuan,
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