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Introduction Paratrooper training courses are very demanding, leading to a high number of drop-outs, despite existing selection criteria. This study investigated physiological, neuropsychological, and subjective data of completers and drop-outs during paratrooper training to identify potential predictive indices. Methods Tested were 24 paratrooper soldiers before (t0), after 8 wk (t1), and at the end of a 12-wk training camp (t2). There were 11 soldiers who completed the course and 13 dropped out. The Training OPtimalisation test (TOPtest) uses two maximum exercise events to assess changes in measured parameters. The TOPtest was administered at t0, t1, and t2; physiological [i.e., adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, heart rate (HR)], neuropsychological (Stroop, Flanker, Go NoGo, Task Switch), and subjective data [Profile of Mood States (POMS)] were collected. Physiological and subjective raw data was gathered pre- and post-test from each of the two maximum exercise tests. The pre/post-test change of each parameter's raw values was calculated as the parameter's reactivity (or delta score). Results At t0, drop-outs showed a significantly smaller HR reactivity (117.9 ± 14.0 vs.107.7 ± 10.6). Delta scores of tension and fatigue values differed significantly between completers and drop-outs at t0. Completers' physiological reactivity during the TOPtest at t2 (HR: 105.91 ± 13.68 vs. 95.55 ± 10.28) was significantly reduced and became comparable to the drop-outs' reactivity at t0. Delta scores of fatigue and tension values showed a similar pattern. Discussion Reactivity of HR, tension, and fatigue parameter values were found to have predictive value in identifying completers vs. drop-outs of an elite paratrooper training course.Vrijkotte S, Meeusen R, Roelands B, Kubesch S, Mairesse O, de Schutter G, Pattyn N. Refining selection for elite troops by predicting military training outcome. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(9):850-857.

ZusammenfassungDopaminerge Funktionen im Zusammenhang mit Lernen, kognitiver Kontrolle und Risikofreudigkeit beeinflussen nicht nur Alltagsverhalten, sondern auch sportliche (Höchst-)Leistungen. Im Zusammenhang mit Trainingsoptimierung und Leistungssteigerung erlangen in diesem Bereich genetisch bedingte Einflüsse auf die Funktionsweise des Dopaminsystems Bedeutung. Bisher sind zwei entsprechende Polymorphismen mit möglichen Bezügen zu sportlicher Leistung näher charakterisiert, die des Catechol-O-Methyltransferase-(COMT-) Enzyms sowie des Dopamintransporters (DAT). Dabei kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass die mit dem Met-Allel des COMT-Enzyms einhergehende erhöhte Konzentrations- und Aufmerksamkeitsleistung bzw. unter Umständen verringerte Stresstoleranz in Bezug auf sportliche Höchstleistungen relevant ist. Ebenso sollte sich die genetische Ausstattung bezüglich DAT auf Sportarten auswirken, bei denen Risikofreudigkeit eine Erfolgsvoraussetzung darstellt oder die hohe Anforderungen an das motorische Lernvermögen stellen. So könnte ein größerer sportlicher Er-folg für Risikosportarten mit der Trägerschaft des 10R-Allels verbunden sein.

Exekutive Funktionen, die durch korperliches und kognitives Training gefordert werden konnen, sind fur die Lernleistung und die sozial-emotionale Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen von zentraler Bedeutung. Aus diesem Grund sollte zukunftig das Training exekutiver Funktionen im Kindergarten und im Schulkontext und dabei insbesondere sowohl in der Lehreraus- und Weiterbildung als auch im Unterricht fest verankert werden. Gleichzeitig sollten kognitions- und neurowissenschaftliche Studien zum Einfluss des Sports auf die Lernleistung von Heranwachsenden verstarkt unter realen Lernbedingungen und somit in Forschungsschulen stattfinden.

Journal article The current study examined the effects of physical fitness and aerobic exercise on cognitive functioning and coherence of the electroencephalogram in 30 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 14 years. Participants were first classified as fit or unfit and then performed a modified Eriksen flanker task after a bout of acute exercise and after a period of relaxation. Analysis of behavioural differences between the fit and unfit groups revealed an interaction between fitness levels and acute physical exercise. Specifically, fit participants had significantly faster reaction times in the exercise condition in comparison with the rest condition; unfit, but not fit, participants had higher error rates for NoGo relative to Go trials in the rest condition. Furthermore, unfit participants had higher levels of lower alpha, upper alpha, and beta coherence in the resting condition for NoGo trials, possibly indicating a greater allocation of cognitive resources to the task demands. The higher levels of alpha coherence are of particular interest in light of its reported role in inhibition and effortful attention. The results suggest that physical fitness and acute exercise may enhance cognition by increasing the efficacy of the attentional system. peer-reviewed

Physical activity and aerobic exercise in particular, promotes health and effective cognitive functioning. To elucidate mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of physical fitness and acute exercise, behavioral and electrophysiological indices of task preparation and response inhibition as a part of executive functions were assessed in a modified version of an Eriksen flanker task subsequent to an acute bout of aerobic exercise and a period of rest, respectively. 35 higher- and lower-fit adolescents between 13 and 14 years of age participated in a controlled cross-over study design. Results indicate that higher-fit individuals show significantly greater CNV amplitudes, reflecting enhanced task preparation processes, as well as decreased amplitudes in N2, indexing more efficient executive control processes. P3 amplitudes associated with the allocation of attentional and memory control neither showed influences of physical fitness nor the acute bout of exercise. Furthermore, acute aerobic exercise was not related to any of the dependent measures. The current findings suggest that physical fitness, but not an acute bout of aerobic exercise enhances cognitive processing by increasing attentional allocation to stimulus encoding during task preparation.

Background Aerobic endurance exercise has been shown to improve higher cognitive functions such as executive control in healthy subjects. We tested the hypothesis that a 30-minute individually customized endurance exercise program has the potential to enhance executive functions in patients with major depressive disorder. Method In a randomized within-subject study design, 24 patients with DSM-IV major depressive disorder and 10 healthy control subjects performed 30 minutes of aerobic endurance exercise at 2 different workload levels of 40% and 60% of their predetermined individual 4-mmol/L lactic acid exercise capacity. They were then tested with 4 standardized computerized neuropsychological paradigms measuring executive control functions: the task switch paradigm, flanker task, Stroop task, and GoNogo task. Performance was measured by reaction time. Data were gathered between fall 2000 and spring 2002. Results While there were no significant exercise-dependent alterations in reaction time in the control group, for depressive patients we observed a significant decrease in mean reaction time for the congruent Stroop task condition at the 60% energy level (p = .016), for the incongruent Stroop task condition at the 40% energy level (p = .02), and for the GoNogo task at both energy levels (40%, p = .025; 60%, p = .048). The exercise procedures had no significant effect on reaction time in the task switch paradigm or the flanker task. Conclusion A single 30-minute aerobic endurance exercise program performed by depressed patients has positive effects on executive control processes that appear to be specifically subserved by the anterior cingulate.