Cognitive-motor multitasking in athletes with and without intellectual impairment

Influence of intellectual disability on exercise regulation: exploring verbal, auditory and visual guidance to contribute to promote inclusive exercise environments

Objective

The role of intellectual disability (ID) in exercise regulation has remained largely unexplored, yet recent studies have indicated cognitive-related impaired pacing skills in people with ID. In a well-controlled laboratory environment, this study aims to (1) establish the role of ID in pacing and explore the ability of people with and without ID to maintain a steady pace; (2) to investigate if verbal feedback and/or (3) the presence of a pacer can improve the ability of people with ID to maintain a preplanned submaximal velocity.

Methods

Participants with (n=10) and without ID (n=10) were recruited and performed 7 min submaximal trials on a cycle ergometer (Velotron). Participants with ID also performed a cycling trial with a pacer (virtual avatar).

Results

The non-parametric tests for repeated measures data (p≤0.05) showed that (1) people with ID deviated more from the targeted pace compared with people without ID, (2) the verbal feedback did not influence their ability to keep a steady pace and (3) they deviated less from the targeted pace when a visual pacer was introduced.

Conclusion

The results revealed the difficulties of people with ID in planning and monitoring their exercise and the difficulties in appropriately responding to auditory and verbal feedback. Coaches and stakeholders who want to offer inclusive exercise pathways should consider that people with ID perform and pace themselves better when supported by intuitive, visual and personally meaningful stimuli such as other cyclists (avatars).

Scoping review of dual-task interference in individuals with intellectual disability

Dual-task paradigms can provide insights on the structures and mechanisms underlying information processing and hold diagnostic, prognostic, and rehabilitative value for populations with cognitive deficits such as in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). In this paradigm, two tasks are performed separately (single-task context) and concurrently (dual-task context). The change in performance from single- to dual-task context represents dual-task interference. Findings from dual-task studies have been largely inconsistent on whether individuals with ID present with dual-task-specific deficits. The current review aimed to map the published literature on dual-task methods and pattern of dual-task interference in individuals with ID. A scoping review based on Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage methodological framework was performed. Seventeen electronic databases and registries were searched to identify relevant studies, including gray literature. Charted data from included studies were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. PRISMA guidelines informed the reporting of this review. Twenty-two studies involving 1,102 participants (656 with ID and 446 without ID) met the review's inclusion criteria. Participants in the included studies were heterogeneous in sex, age (range 3-59 years), etiology and ID severity. Included studies characterized their ID-sample in different ways, most commonly using intelligence quotient (IQ) scores. Other measures of intellectual function (e.g., mental age, ID severity, verbal and/or visuospatial ability scores) were also used, either solely or in combination with IQ. Methods of dual-task testing varied across studies, particularly in relation to dual-task combinations, equation of single-task performance between groups, measurement and reporting of dual-task performance for each single-task, and task priority instructions. Thematic content of the included studies were: (1) structural interference to dual-tasking; (2) etiology-based differences in dual-tasking; (3) gait and balance dual-task performance; (4) testing executive function using dual-task paradigms; and (5) training effect on dual-task performance. Although the evidence consistently supported the intact dual-tasking ability of individuals with ID, the pattern of dual-task interference was inconsistent. Likewise, the evidence was inconclusive regarding dual-task deficit specific to individuals with ID because of heterogeneity in dual-task study designs among included studies.

Dual-Task Training Effects on the Cognitive-Motor Interference in Individuals with Intellectual Disability

This study explored the effect of dual task (DT) training compared to single task (ST) training on postural and cognitive performances in DT conditions in individuals with intellectual disability (ID). Postural sways and cognitive performances were measured separately and simultaneously before and after 8 weeks in the ST training group (STTG), the DT training group (DTTG) and the control group (CG) that did not received any training. Before training, postural sways and cognitive performances were higher in the DT condition compared to ST one in all groups. After training, postural sways were higher in the DT condition compared to the ST only in the STTG and the CG. The cognitive performance increased after training only in the DTTG.

Athletes with intellectual disability: The effects of cognitive deficits and sports practice on bipedal standing balance

BACKGROUND

Athletes with intellectual disability represent a unique population who experiences the contrasting effects of cognitive deficits and benefits of sports on balance. This study investigated the combined impact of intellectual disability and sport practice on balance.

METHOD

Center-of-pressure excursion in bipedal stance of 2 disability (with and without intellectual disability) × 2 sport practice (athlete and novice) participant groups was measured in several balance conditions.

RESULTS

Sport practice exerted no significant effect on any of the center-of-pressure measures used. In contrast, intellectual disability's effects on balance, which were most apparent in challenging balance conditions, were significant (p < .05) and had large effect sizes (η_p ²  > 0.13).

CONCLUSION

The negative effects of cognitive deficits on the balance of young adults with intellectual disability underscore the need for effective interventions. Although findings did not support sports' balance-remediating potential, the value of sport participation for individuals with intellectual disability cannot be fully dismissed just yet.

Psychosocial aspects of sports medicine in pediatric athletes: Current concepts in the 21st century

Behavioral aspects of organized sports activity for pediatric athletes are considered in a world consumed with winning at all costs. In the first part of this treatise, we deal with a number of themes faced by our children in their sports play. These concepts include the lure of sports, sports attrition, the mental health of pediatric athletes (i.e., effects of stress, anxiety, depression, suicide in athletes, ADHD and stimulants, coping with injuries, drug use, and eating disorders), violence in sports (i.e., concepts of the abused athlete including sexual abuse), dealing with supervisors (i.e., coaches, parents), peers, the talented athlete, early sports specialization and sports clubs. In the second part of this discussion, we cover ergolytic agents consumed by young athletes in attempts to win at all costs. Sports doping agents covered include anabolic steroids (anabolic-androgenic steroids or AAS), androstenedione, dehydroepiandrostenedione (DHEA), human growth hormone (hGH; also its human recombinant homologue: rhGH), clenbuterol, creatine, gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), amphetamines, caffeine and ephedrine. Also considered are blood doping that includes erythropoietin (EPO) and concepts of gene doping. In the last section of this discussion, we look at disabled pediatric athletes that include such concepts as athletes with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), myelomeningocele, cerebral palsy, wheelchair athletes, and amputee athletes; also covered are pediatric athletes with visual impairment, deafness, and those with intellectual disability including Down syndrome. In addition, concepts of autonomic dysreflexia, boosting and atlantoaxial instability are emphasized. We conclude that clinicians and society should protect our precious pediatric athletes who face many challenges in their involvement with organized sports in a world obsessed with winning. There is much we can do to help our young athletes find benefit from sports play while avoiding or blunting negative consequences of organized sport activities.