We examined the effects of an evaluated situation on cardiovascular activity and psychological responses in social anxiety situation. Twenty-one undergraduate and graduate students were assigned to each of evaluated situations as follows: 1) a laboratory speaking in front of evaluators, 2) a laboratory speaking faced to a video camera. Participants of the first group as “evaluators group” performed a public speaking task in front of a male and a female evaluators who evaluated participants' speaking abilities in laboratory. In the second group as “video camera group”, participants were asked to perform a public speaking task faced to a video camera in laboratory, and the participants were informed that their performance was videotaped and their speaking abilities were going to be evaluated later. Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure (SBP, DBP, MBP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), total peripheral resistance (TPR) were measured during each speaking task. Participants in the evaluators group showed greater responses in SBP, DBP, and MBP during speaking tasks more than the video camera group. Furthermore, from hemodynamic analysis, the blood pressure responses were attributed to not CO but TPR. The results indicated that facing evaluators might be an important factor that effected on the high cardiovascular activity in the social anxiety situation such as a public speaking.

  We investigated postural movement and muscle activation patterns during bilateral arm flexion for elderly women, and differences with postural movement pattern in the deformity of lumbar vertebral bodies and incidence of chronic low back pain. Subjects comprised 50 elderly women living without assistance in a farming community. Based on sagittal video imaging recorded at a frame rate of 60 Hz, constant movement angles of foot-leg and leg-trunk during arm flexion were analyzed. Activation timing of postural muscles with respect to burst onset of the anterior deltoid (AD) was identified by analyzing electromyographic activity. Lateral radiography during quiet standing was taken to calculate the ratio of anterior to posterior height of each lumbar vertebral body. Correlation between the two movement angles in the elderly was markedly lower than in young adults, with the constant movement angle of foot-leg being small. Regardless of individual differences in postural movement pattern, the erector spinae activated in advance of the AD, whereas biceps femoris and gastrocnemius did not. Ratios of anterior to posterior height at the L1 and L5 vertebral bodies were significantly lower for subjects with postural movement pattern where the hip joint flexed than for subjects with postural movement pattern where the hip joint extended, and incidence of chronic low back pain was also significantly higher. These results suggest that in elderly women, the target of postural control is focused on the trunk, and that postural movement pattern influences the deformity of lumbar vertebral bodies and the incidence of chronic low back pain.

  The present study investigated changes in extremity muscle mass of obese middle-aged and elderly women who lost weight by participating in a diabetes prevention program. Subjects comprised 15 consenting middle-aged and elderly obese women with ≥30% body fat (mean age, 62.7±2.3 years). For estimation of body composition, including extremity muscle mass, a 12-lead bioelectrical impedance muscle analyzer was used (Muscle-α, 50 kHz, 500 μA). Muscle mass of the forearm, upper arm, thigh and lower leg was measured. The diabetes prevention program lasted 6 months and mainly comprised nutrition and exercise guidance. Subjects participated in water-based exercises once a week and performed strength training on their own at home. After the program, body weight, fat mass and fat-free mass were significantly decreased (body weight: -2.6±1.0 kg; fat mass: -1.2±1.0 kg; and fat-free mass: -1.4±0.6 kg). The present study measured extremity muscle mass, and the results confirmed that as body weight decreased, muscle mass of the extremities (forearm, thigh and lower leg) decreased significantly. The degree of decrease was significantly higher for the lower leg than for other segments. Furthermore, degree of decrease was significantly higher for leg muscle mass than for arm muscle mass. The reduction in leg muscle mass due to body weight loss was attributable to the leg having to support less weight, or in other words, physiological adaptation. In addition, the degree of decrease in muscle mass of the thigh was lower than that of the lower leg, and this was attributed to water-based exercise and home strength training suppressing decreases in muscle mass loss.

  Many previous studies of event-related potentials (ERPs) have found that sensory-evoked ERPs (P1 and N1 components) for visual stimuli were enlarged with visuo-spatial attention. These studies were performed with subjects sitting. However, it is possible that this enhancement will not be observed with standing, since maintenance of the standing posture requires attentional resources, which will therefore not be allocated sufficiently to visual stimuli. In addition, clear P1 and N1 components will not be obtained in ERPs for visual stimuli because of head movements associated with body sway. We therefore examined whether visuo-spatial attention is reflected in amplitudes of P1 and N1 components (P1 and N1 amplitudes) during standing. Ten healthy young adults participated in the study. All measurements were performed while subjects were standing. ERPs were recorded for peripheral visual stimuli preceded by a centrally presented directional cue. The cue indicated the location at which the visual stimulus was most likely to appear. Cue validity was set at 60% probability. Visual stimuli were randomly presented either to the left or right of a fixation point. ERPs were recorded under two reaction conditions. Subjects discriminated between the target and non-target stimuli: (1) they responded by flexing their fingers only to the target stimulus (Reaction condition, R-condition), or (2) no response to the target stimulus was required (No-reaction condition, NoR-condition). In both conditions, clear P1 and N1 components were obtained in ERPs for visual stimuli. Only in the R-condition were enhancements of P1 amplitude observed at occipital electrodes contralateral to the validly cued stimuli. These findings suggest that visuo-spatial attention is reflected in P1 amplitude during standing.