Kun Liu

Background: Visualization (motor imagery) is used in sports to enhance performance. Fencing relies on point control and lunge distance, yet little is known about how visualization affects these skills across experience levels. Objective: To examine the effects of brief visualization on point control and lunge distance in fencers of different experience levels. Methods: Nineteen fencers (age 10–56) completed pre- and post-tests of point control (10 hits) and lunge distance (maximum reach). Between tests, the experimental group performed a 1 min guided visualization, while the control group (n = 20) repeated the tests without visualization. Results: Visualization significantly improved point control (+1.3 hits, 25.5%; p = 0.002). Lunge distance increased (+15.6 cm, 11.1%; p = 0.001). Less experienced fencers improved more in point control (39.0% vs. 14.8%), while experienced fencers improved more in lunge distance (12.8% vs. 7.2%). Control participants showed no meaningful gains, and between-group comparisons confirmed significant advantages for visualization in both skills (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Even a short visualization exercise improved fencing performance, with novices benefiting most in accuracy and experienced fencers in explosive reach. Visualization offers a low-cost, adaptable supplement to fencing training.

Background: Visualization (motor imagery) is used in sports to enhance performance. Fencing relies on point control and lunge distance, yet little is known about how visualization affects these skills across experience levels. Objective: To examine the effects of brief visualization on point control and lunge distance in fencers of different experience levels. Methods: Nineteen fencers (age 10–56) completed pre- and post-tests of point control (10 hits) and lunge distance (maximum reach). Between tests, the experimental group performed a 1-minute guided visualization, while the control group (n = 20) repeated the tests without visualization. Results: Visualization significantly improved point control (+1.4 hits, 25.5%; p = 0.0078). Lunge distance increased (+15.6 cm, 11.1%) but was not significant (p = 0.0830). Less experienced fencers improved more in point control (39.0% vs. 14.8%), while experienced fencers improved more in lunge distance (12.8% vs. 7.2%). Control participants showed no meaningful gains, and between-group comparisons confirmed significant advantages for visualization in both skills (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Even a short visualization exercise improved fencing performance, with novices benefiting most in accuracy and experienced fencers in explosive reach. Visualization offers a low-cost, adaptable supplement to fencing training.

The purpose of this study was to discuss the effect of voluntary wheel running on striatal dopamine levels and anxiety-like behavior in rats with global cerebral ischemia. The male Sprague-Dawley rats were signed on in this study and randomly divided into following 4 groups: Control group (C group), Sham group (S group), ischemia group (I group), and 3 weeks physical exercise before ischemia group (3RI group). The rats in the 3RI group were placed in a voluntary running wheel for three weeks to exercise. Then, the rats in I and 3RI groups received bilateral carotid artery ligation (2-VO) operation. The C and S group did not perform voluntary running exercise and the bilateral common carotid arteries of S group were exposed without ligation. In vivo microdialysis was used in conjunction with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection to ascertain the level of dopamine in the striatum. Elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) were used to test anxiety status at 24 hours and 7days after 2-VO cerebral ischemia. Meanwhile, gait and motor coordination evaluations were carried out to eliminate the influence of non-specific motor problems. The results indicated that cerebral ischemia instigate the increase of striatal dopamine in I group rats during acute cerebral ischemia. A 3-week voluntary wheel running significantly enhances the striatal dopamine before ischemia and obstructs a further increase of dopamine during acute cerebral ischemia in 3RI group rats. At 24 hours after ischemia, striatal dopamine returned to pre-ischemic levels in 3RI group. Striatal dopamine in I group were less than pre-ischemic levels at 7 days. Behavioral data indicated that 3-week voluntary wheel running promoted recovery of anxiety-like behavior and gait were not affected by 2-VO cerebral ischemia at 24 hours post-ischemia rats. Therefore, it can be concluded that 3-week physical exercise significantly increased the striatal dopamine and improved anxiety-like behavior by inhibiting the increase of dopamine during acute cerebral ischemia and suppressing the decrease of dopamine after 24 hours and 7 days cerebral ischemia.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that pre-exercise suppresses anxiety-like behavior, but the effects of different exercise times on vascular dementia induced anxiety-like behavior have not been well investigated. Objective: The present study aims to investigate the underlying neurochemical mechanism of different pre-vascular-dementia exercise times on 5-HT and anxiety-like behavior in rats with vascular dementia. Methods: 32 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham group (S group, n = 8), vascular dementia group (VD group, n = 8), 1-week physical exercise and vascular dementia group (1WVD group, n = 8), and 4 weeks physical exercise and vascular dementia group (4WVD group, n = 8). 1 week and 4 weeks of voluntary wheel running were used as pre-exercise training. The vascular dementia model was established by bilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (BCCAo) for 1 week. But bilateral common carotid arteries were not ligated in the sham group. The level of hippocampal 5-HT was detected with in vivo microdialysis coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (MD-HPLC). Elevated plus maze (EPM), open field (OF), and light/dark box test were used to test anxiety-like behavior. Results: Compared with the C group, the hippocampal 5-HT was significantly decreased in the VD group after 1 week of ligated operation. The hippocampal 5-HT levels in 1WVD and 4WVD groups were substantially higher than the level in the VD group. The hippocampal 5-HT level has no significant difference among C, 1WVD, and 4WVD. Behavioral data suggested that the rats in the VD group developed obvious anxiety-like behavior after 1 week of ligation surgery. Still, the rats in 1WVD and 4WVD groups did not show significant anxiety-like behavior. Conclusion: Both 1 week and 4 weeks of voluntary running wheel exercise can inhibit the anxiety-like behavior in rats with vascular dementia by upregulating 5-HT levels in the hippocampus in the VD model.

This study for the first time establishes a reliable non‐enzymatic online electrochemical system (OECS) for selective and continuous measuring glucose in animal cerebral system. We proposed a one‐step electrochemical method to synthetize a Cu nanostructure directly onto electrode, and over‐oxidize it in NaOH to form acanthosphere‐like CuOOH nanospheres (denoted as AN‐CuOOH), which can serve as an excellent electrochemical catalyst for glucose oxidation and thus for simple and reproducible non‐enzymatic glucose detection in strong alkaline solution. To validate the AN‐CuOOH‐based sensors for in vivo applications, we connect the sensors to a merged solution of in vivo microdialysis and 0.4 M NaOH to set up an OECS for in vivo glucose monitoring in rat brain. The response of this system has strong tolerance to the oxygen and pH fluctuation which may happen in the cerebral brain system during some physiological and pathological processes. The fabricated non‐enzymatic OECS has a good linear current response to glucose within a concentration range from 10 to 1000 μΜ with sensitivity of 130.22 nA ⋅ μΜ⁻¹ cm⁻². Additionally, the OECS is stable and does not suffer from the interference coexisting in the cerebral system. With the fabricated non‐enzymatic OECS for glucose measurement, the basal level of glucose in the microdialysate from rats striatum was determined to be 248.63 μΜ (n=3). Furthermore, the glucose was clearly decreased to 26.37 % of the basal level when the rat was undergone by 20 min ischemia, and the glucose concentration was gradually restored to 99.15 % during 40 min of reperfusion. Our work propose a technically simple strategy for the fabrication of a highly reproducible non‐enzymatic OECS system free from oxygen and pH interference, which is promising in exploring the molecular mechanism associated with brain functions.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of voluntary wheel running on striatal dopamine level and behavior of cognition and emotion in molar loss rats. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into following 4 groups: control group (C group), molar loss group (ML group), 1-week physical exercise before molar loss group (1W-ML group), and 4-week physical exercise before molar loss group (4W-ML group). The rats both in 4W-ML and 1W-ML groups were placed in the voluntary running wheel in order to exercise for 4 weeks and 1 week, respectively. Then, the rats in 4W-ML, 1W-M, and ML groups received bilateral molar loss operation. After 10 days, striatal dopamine level was detected by in vivo microdialysis coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical detection. All the rats received behavior test after microdialysis detection. The behavior tests including passive avoidance test were used to assess cognition and elevated plus maze test for emotion. The results indicated that voluntary wheel running promoted striatal dopamine level in rats of molar loss. Behavioral data indicated that voluntary wheel running promoted cognition and emotion recovery after molar loss. Therefore, we concluded physical exercise significantly improved the neurocognitive behaviors and increased the striatal dopamine level after molar loss in rats.