ATTENTIONAL FOCUS AFFECTS EMG ACTIVITY AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE DURING SIT-TO-STAND IN ADULTS AND THE ELDERLY
Keywords:
Electromyography features, focus of attention, self-reported response time, standing upAbstract
Even though the benefits of external focus appear to be consistent on movement effectiveness and efficiency, few studies have examined the effects of changing attentional focus on sit-to-stand. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of attentional focus and age-related differences on the feature of muscle activity and self-reported response time during sit-to-stand under different conditions of attentional focus. Twenty-two young adults and 18 elderly people were recruited in this study. Electrodes were attached to the rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and the medial gastrocnemius muscles to monitor electromyography features during standing up. The %maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC), onset, and duration of muscle activities were calculated. A self-reported response time was also recorded. First, the patterns of muscle activities were in compliance with all conditions of attentional focus, including the %MVC, onset, and duration of muscle activation in both age groups. Secondly, the self-reported response times of the external focus (EF) and internal focus (IF) were longer than that of the no attentional focus (no AF) in both age groups. Finally, both age groups showed that the sit-to-stand with somatosensory-internal focus (SIF) generated longer self-reported response times than the EF, whereas the sit-to-stand with muscular-internal focus (MIF) was not different from the EF. In contrast, there was an age-related difference in the duration of muscle contraction. The qualities of the sit-to-stand under different attentional focus, in terms of force generation, onset, and duration of muscle contraction were quite similar in both age groups.
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