This study was designed to investigate the physiological effects of color by contingent negative variation (CNV) while looking at color cloth. Profile of Mood States (POMS) was also used to declare the psychological effects. Five stimuli colors (red, yellow, green, purple, blue), and black color as reference were shown to every subject in randomized orders. The results showed that, color effect on the late component of CNV was significant, red and green elicited significantly higher values than blue. The tension-anxiety (T-A) score of POMS also strongly showed significant differences with respect to color stimuli, while green and blue were lower than red. The correlation coefficient between POMS scores and relative values of late CNV component in terms of the ratio of each color to black reference showed that the T-A score appeared to mostly have a positive correlation with the late CNV component. In conclusion, the opposite physiological and psychological effects between red and blue cloths were confirmed, and the green cloth affected people physiologically in a similar way to the red cloth, meanwhile it affected people psychologically in the way of the blue cloth in this study.

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The purpose of this study is to prove that the characteristics of the stepping reaction from the center of foot pressure (CFP) deflection toward the lateral direction in the elderly are related to muscular strength. Nine elderly people and eleven young students participated in this study. A subject stepped toward the lateral direction on a force plate. We measured CFP deflection characteristics of the subjects in the two groups. We measured muscular strength from the trunk to the foot using a hand-held dynamometer. We compared the CFP deflection characteristics between the two age groups. Furthermore, we observed a correlation between the muscular strength and CFP deflection characteristics in the single stance phase, which recognized a pathognomonic difference between the two groups. As compared with the young group, the elderly group showed significantly low values of deflection speed and standard deviation of deflection speed. It was suggested that the antigravity muscle extending from the planta pedis to the trunk contributed to the control of CFP deflection speed in the elderly group. Furthermore, it was suggested that the unsteadiness in the elderly was a result of a decrease in the CFP control ability due to the depression of the feedback mechanism of the sensory system with aging.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships of exercise habits and parents' body type to body composition in 192 males aged 15-20 years. The subjects were classified into the athlete group who belong to athlete clubs (n=103) and the non-athlete group without exercise habits (n=89), and the physique (BMI, W/H ratio), skinfold thickness, and percent (%) body fat (air displacement method) were compared between the two groups, and the parents related to the subjects by blood were also investigated. BMI did not significantly differ between the athlete and non-athlete groups, but % body fat was significantly lower in the athlete group. In all subjects, the BMI in the mother was significantly related to that in the subject. However, in the athlete group, no association was observed. In adults, lack of exercise is reflected by % body fat and BMI. However, in the youth in the latter period, lack of exercise may be reflected only by % body fat and not by BMI. The physique and physical composition may be inherited from the mother, but the inherited constitution may be modified by exercise habits.

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We investigated the effects of the alternate activity in the synergistic muscles (type AA) and the enhanced physiological tremor (type EPT) on 1) maximal muscle force, muscle endurance performance and static work and 2) these parameters on the next day. Eight male subjects performed prolonged static contractions at an ankle joint angle of 110°and 130°plantar flexion under constant load of 10% maximal voluntary contraction as a fatigue test on days 1 and 2. Surface electromyograms were recorded from the triceps surae muscle. Endurance time in the AA group was significantly longer than that in the EPT group on both days (p<0.05). The fatigue test significantly reduced the maximal force in both groups on days 1 and 2 (p<0.05), but the rate of decrease in the maximal force was greater in the EPT group than in the AA group. Endurance time and static work in the EPT group declined by 40% and 45% on day 2, respectively (p<0.05). However, no significant differences in these parameters in the AA group were found between days 1 and 2. The results suggest that the type AA may reduce the development of muscle fatigue and have little effect on the static work on the next day.

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We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on seven normal, right-handed volunteers while they viewed video clips of a static or moving hand, with fingers pointed toward the subject. Brain areas that showed significantly higher activation while viewing dynamic hands vs. static hands were the occipito-temporal area (BA19) contralateral to the observed hand, and the right ventral premotor area (BA6) and superior temporal sulcus (STS; BA22) regardless of the hand. Observation of the left hand significantly activated the right dorsal premotor area whether it was moving or static, while observation of the right hand significantly activated the somatosensory cortex when it was moving compared with when it was static. Therefore, perception of another person's moving hand was associated with the form processing of hand, biological motion analysis of hand movement, and inhibition of the tendency to imitate another person's moving hand.

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It is quite important to maintain the balance between an activity and a rest to improve the healthy life of the elderly. In this study, we aimed to reveal the relationship between a subjective feeling of sleep for an essential measurement of sleep quality and exercise quantity in the elderly. For 44 people older than 65 years old who voluntarily participated in the exercise program that the NPO offered, we examined their subjective feelings of sleep (the OSA-MA version), exercise quantity, and activities. We revealed that their subjective feelings of sleep and exercise quantity in the afternoon are related. This result indicates that exercises in the afternoon by the elderly may improve their subjective sleep qualities, and have an effect on recovering from their fatigue and maintaining their sleep. Furthermore, we found that total hours of activities and subjective feelings of sleep are negatively related, suggesting that excessive exercises by the elderly may spoil their sleep qualities. In conclusion, this study suggests that the OSA-MA version is useful as an index to evaluate the suitable amount of exercises and activities of the elderly to maintain their sleep qualities.

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