Prediction of winning amateur boxers using pretournament reaction times

AIM

Boxing requires agility and manual dexterity, which is associated with fast reflexes and reaction time. This study evaluated the relation between reaction times on cognitive tasks and competition outcomes in boxers.

METHODS

The design was a prospective cohort study. Participants were collegiate amateur boxers who won at least one bout in a single elimination tournament. Optimal pre-participation performance using a computerized cognitive assessment tool (CCAT, Axon Sports) and no significant deterioration in cognitive performance within 24 hours post-bout was required to compete in future bouts. Winners were assumed to be motivated to perform optimally on testing. Performance on speed and accuracy measures were compared in winning and non-winning boxers. Pre-competition minutes of sparring and tournament seedings were recorded.

RESULTS

There were 96 eligible boxers who won at least one of 160 bouts. The mean age was 21.3 (SD 1.9) years (range 18.5-29.7). A significant improvement in mean reaction times as a function of advancement in the boxing tournament was observed. The 18 winning boxers who advanced to the finals had significantly faster mean reaction times at the baseline assessment before the competition began (speed composite z-score F(1,94)=4.14, P<0.05, effect size 0.54). Winners also had more sparring experience (Mann-Whitney U=302.5, P<0.001) and higher pre-competition rankings (Mann-Whitney U=288.5, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

In highly motivated amateur boxers, finalists performed significantly faster than those who failed to reach the finals on measures of pre-competition reaction time. These findings suggest that winners of boxing tournaments might be predicted using pre-competition measures of processing speed.

A prospective controlled study of cognitive function during an amateur boxing tournament

BACKGROUND

Few studies have reported acute postbout cognitive function in amateur boxers, and none have documented the effects of repeated boxing bouts within a short time frame.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether participation in a 7-day amateur boxing tournament is associated with acute deterioration in cognitive test performance.

METHODS

A prospective study was done of 82 collegiate amateur boxers participating in a 7-day single elimination tournament and a group of 30 matched nonboxing control participants. No participants had a history of recent concussion or past history of brain injury. For boxers, cognitive assessment using a computerized test battery was performed before the tournament and within 2 hours of completing each bout. Tests of simple and choice reaction time, working memory, and learning were administered. Analysis of variance was conducted to compare the serial performance of control participants with that of boxers participating in one, two, and three bouts.

RESULTS

The 82 boxers fought 159 times. Cognitive testing was performed after 142 of these bouts. On simple reaction time, choice reaction time, and working memory tasks, the serial performance of boxers participating in three bouts (n = 22) was equivalent to that of boxers participating in two bouts (n = 22) and one bout (n = 32) and to nonboxing control participants (n = 30). An improvement in performance was observed on the learning task in boxers participating in three bouts. Boxers whose bout was stopped by the referee (n = 7) displayed significant slowing in simple and choice reaction time.

CONCLUSIONS

With the exception of boxers whose contest is stopped by the referee, amateur boxers participating in multiple bouts during a 7-day tournament display no evidence of cognitive dysfunction in the immediate postbout period.

Dopamine genes and ADHD

Family, twin, and adoption studies have documented a strong genetic basis for ADHD/HKD, but these studies do not identify specific genes linked to the disorder. Molecular genetic studies can identify allelic variations of specific genes that are functionally associated with ADHD/HKD, and dopamine genes have been the initial candidates based on the site of action of the stimulants drugs, which for a half century have provided the primary pharmacological treatment for ADHD/HKD. Two candidate dopamine genes have been investigated and reported to be associated with ADHD/HKD: the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene [Cook et al., American Journal of Human Genetics 1995;56:993-998, Gill et al., Molecular Psychiatry 1997;2:311-313] and the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene [LaHoste et al., Molecular Psychiatry 1996;1:121-124: Smalley et al., 1998;3:427-430; Swanson et al., Molecular Psychiatry 1998;3:38-41]. Speculative hypotheses [Swanson and Castellanos, NIH Consensus Development Conference: Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, November 1998. p. 37-42] have suggested that specific alleles of these dopamine genes may alter dopamine transmission in the neural networks implicated in ADHD/HKD (e.g. that the 10-repeat allele of the DAT1 gene may be associated with hyperactive re-uptake of dopamine or that the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene may be associated with a subsensitive postsynaptic receptor). These and other variants of the dopamine hypothesis of ADHD will be discussed.

Portal venous thrombosis in a backpacker: the role of exercise

Effort thrombosis usually afflicts an extremity and is caused by compression. This case report, in contrast, involves superior mesenteric and left portal vein septic thrombosis in a backpacker following prolonged hiking and abdominal straining. The condition may have been caused by localized splanchnic venous ischemia, erosion of the bowel-blood barrier, and release of bacterial endotoxin in this dehydrated and detrained athlete. Diagnosis of this disorder is aided by noting characteristic abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting, as well as by imaging with MRI, CT, or duplex ultrasonography. Antibiotics and anticoagulants are key to treatment.

Distant entry pneumothorax in a competitive fencer

An elite level fencer sustained a penetrating wound to the upper arm after his opponent's blade broke. Standard care for a deep puncture wound was given but it was some time before the athlete presented symptoms of a pneumothorax, which was confirmed by radiograph. Although resolution of this case was unremarkable, the possibility of penetrating thoracic injury, even when the point of entry is well outside the thorax and the athlete is not immediately symptomatic, should be born in mind by medical personnel working with fencers.

Low incidence of adverse experiences after measles or measles-rubella mass revaccination at a college campus

A postvaccination questionnaire and review of student and employee clinic visits were carried out at Notre Dame University in the spring of 1990 after mass campus revaccination with measles or measles-rubella vaccines in the autumn of 1989, in order to assess the incidence of adverse experiences after revaccination. Rates of adverse experiences (AE), which included chiefly local injection site discomfort and flu-like symptoms, among respondents were 6.6% and 13.4%, male and female students, respectively, and 9.3% and 25%, male and female employees, respectively. Rates of joint-related complaints (4%) were lower than reported after primary vaccination, particularly in young adult women. AEs in general, and joint reaction rates in particular, were generally mild and transient, and only 0.23% resulted in a clinic visit. Revaccination of prior vaccinees appears to be associated with relatively low AE rates.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a college athlete

The greatest catastrophy in sports is an athlete's unexpected sudden death. Identifying those athletes at risk remains a great challenge to physicians performing preseason examinations. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of nontraumatic sudden death in athletes. Most cases of this diseased heart are diagnosed easily by echocardiography. The case presented exemplifies the attention to detail required to differentiate the borderline diseased heart from the conditioned athletic heart. Once a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is made, further participation in intense physical exercise is discouraged. This recommendation is necessary despite the unknown relative sudden death risk for the minimal criteria cases.

American Indian health. Providers, communities surmount profound problems

Minnesota's urban and rural Indian communities today face a similar set of complex and daunting health problems. No one overriding issue exists, nor does an overall solution. While staff shortages, a dire lack of Indian health professionals, and inadequate financial resources play a role, poverty, racism, lifestyle, alcoholism, and cultural change and conflict all further complicate health problems for Indian people.