Matching Items (62)
Description
Previous research has found improvements in motor control following Assisted Cycle Therapy (ACT) in persons with Parkinson's disease, Down syndrome (DS) and autism. Our study examined the effect of ACT on manual dexterity in adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Nine adults with ADHD completed six weeks of light intensity cycling on a stationary bicycle, three times per week for 30 minutes. Four adults with ADHD were in the voluntary cycling (VC) group in which they pedaled at their self-selected rate. Five adults with ADHD were in the ACT group in which a motor moved their legs at a rate approximately 13% faster than their voluntary rate. Our results showed that the dominant hand moved more pegs following ACT than VC. Our results were interpreted with respect to upregulation of neurotrophic factors in the motor cortex following ACT.
ContributorsRupp, Emily Anne (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Caterino, Linda (Committee member) / Broman, Tannah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This research study examined the effects of assisted cycling using a stationary recumbent bicycle that had an internal motor to help participants pedal at a desired cadence. The participants were either placed in an Assisted Cycling (AC), Voluntary Cycling (VC), or No Cycling (NC) intervention group. Those placed in the AC of VC groups then came to a laboratory setting 3 days a week for 8 weeks to cycle for 30 minutes. This research specifically analyzes the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale II to analyze the changes in daily living skills and maladaptive behaviors pre and post the exercise intervention. After analyzing the VABS II scores it was found that those in the VC intervention had statistically significant improvements in maladaptive behaviors. An interpretation of this finding is that the VC intervention had an increased heart rate over the span of the intervention and had a larger power output than those in the AC group. A limitation of this research is that it was a self-reported questionnaire that was given to the caregivers of the participant. The caregivers were not always controlled for, so in some cases two different caregivers were given the questionnaire for a single participant. A suggestion for future research would be to use the participant's mental age versus their chronological age when using the VABS-II and to use the Adaptive Behaviors Assessment System III (ABAS-III).
ContributorsJenkins, Cayla Marie (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This study examines cognitive and motor function in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) following an 8-week assisted cycling therapy intervention. Forty-four participants were randomly assigned to three groups consisting of an assisted cycling (AC) (i.e., exercise accomplished through the use of a motor), a voluntary cycling (VC) (self-selected cadence), and a no cycling (NC) control group. Both ACT and VC groups rode a stationary bicycle for three 30-minute sessions a week, for a total of eight weeks. Participants completed cognitive testing that assessed information processing and manual dexterity at the beginning and at the end of the 8-week intervention. Consistent with our hypothesis, the results showed that information processing and manual dexterity improved following 8 weeks of cycling for the ACT group. These results were not seen for individuals in the voluntary and non-exercise groups. Our results suggest that assisted cycling therapy may induce permanent changes in the prefrontal cortex in adolescents with DS.
ContributorsJimenez, Andrew (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of our study was to examine the effectiveness of a cycling intervention on body composition in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Participants completed one of three interventions over eight consecutive weeks. The interventions were: 1) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate 2) Assisted Cycling (AC), in which the participants' voluntary pedaling rates were assisted with a motor to ensure the maintenance of 80 rpms. 3) No cycling (NC), in which the participants acted as controls. Participants in the AC intervention did not decrease body fat or increase lean body mass however they did maintain these measures during the intervention as compared to the VC and NO participants who increased body fat and decreased lean body mass. These statistics were not exactly as expected nor were they statistically significant. Future research will try to replicate this data with statistically significant values for more cycling adolescents with DS using more randomized intervention groups.
ContributorsBennett, Kristen Leigh (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Brown, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Adaptive behavior consists of the social, conceptual and practical skills an individual must execute to function independently in their everyday life. Individuals with Down syndrome have limitations in their adaptive behavior due to cognitive and physical deficits. The aim of this study was to examine if an exercise program would improve the adaptive behavior skills in persons with Down syndrome. The exercise intervention, Exercise for Adults with Down Syndrome (ExDS), was a semester long program where adults with Down syndrome participate in twice weekly workouts planned and executed by Arizona State University students. The workouts consisted of an aerobic warm up, aerobic exercises, resistance exercises, balance exercises and stretches. The participants' adaptive behavior and cognitive planning ability were assessed before ExDS and after ExDS. The Adaptive Behavior Assessment System Second Edition (ABAS-II) was used to measure adaptive behavior. The ABAS-II consisted of a forum that addressed the Social, Conceptual and Practical domains of adaptive behavior and was filled out by the participants' caregiver. The Tower of London (ToL) was used to measure cognitive planning ability. The change in the ABAS-II scores from pre- to post-testing were statistically insignificant. The change from pre- to post-testing in the ToL scores approached statistical significance. Limitations included bias caregiver perception and respondent inconsistency. There is a need for further research on the effect of exercise on the adaptive behavior in adults with Down syndrome.
ContributorsRoss, Alexandra Jill (Author) / Holzapfel, Simon (Thesis director) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on depression in older adults with Down Syndrome (DS). We predicted that older adults with Down Syndrome would see an improvement in their depressive symptoms after ACT and Voluntary Cycling (VC). However, we predicted there would be a greater improvement in depressive symptoms after ACT in comparison to VC. Depression was measured using a modified version of the Children's Depression Inventory 2 (CDI 2) due to the low mental age of our participant population. Twenty-one older adults with DS were randomly assigned to one of three interventions, which took place over an eight-week period of time. Eleven older adults with DS completed the ACT intervention, which is stationary cycling on a recumbent bicycle with the assistance of a motor to maintain a cadence at least 35% greater than the rate of voluntary cycling. Nine participants completed the voluntary cycling intervention, where they cycled at a cadence of their choosing. One participant composed our no cycling control group. No intervention group reached results that achieved a conventional level of significance. However, there was a trend for depression to increase after 8 weeks throughout all three intervention groups. We did see a slightly slower regression of depression in the ACT group than the VC and control. Our results were discussed with respect to social and cognitive factors relevant to older adults with DS and the subjective nature of the CDI2. This study brings attention to the lack of accurate measures and standardized research methods created for populations with intellectual disabilities in regards to research.
ContributorsBeaman, Emily Kiernan (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Bosch, Pamela (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examines the one month retention of executive function benefits gained by adolescents with Down syndrome after an 8-week aerobic exercise intervention. Sixteen participants were randomly divided between voluntary (VC) (i.e., self-selected cadence) and assisted (AC) (i.e., 30% faster than self-selected cadence accomplished by a motor) cycling groups, with one participant used as a control (NC). Both cycling groups rode a stationary bicycle, for 30 minutes, three times a week, for eight weeks. At the beginning (i.e., pretest) and end (posttest) of the 8-week session, three executive functions including: set-switching, inhibition, and cognitive planning, were tested. Approximately one month after the posttest, all participants underwent the cognitive testing again. The results showed that for the AC group cognitive planning improved after eight weeks of assisted cycling and these improvements were maintained after one month of no cycling. However, no significant differences were found between the cycling groups for our measure of inhibition. Set-switching appeared to be improved by both types of exercise, rather than only assisted, but the improvements were not maintained during the one month retention period for either group. Thus, our results suggest that Assisted Cycling causes potentially permanent changes in the brain in regards to cognitive planning.
ContributorsRichter, Madeline B. (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Eric (Committee member) / Maraj, Brian (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The aim was to examine the effectiveness of a cycling intervention on body composition in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Four participants completed three interventions over eight consecutive weeks. The interventions were: 1) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate 2) Assisted Cycling (AC), in which the participants' voluntary pedaling rates were augmented with a motor to ensure the maintenance of 80 rpms. 3) No cycling (NC), in which the participants acted as controls. Total weight of the participants and percentage body fat of the participants both decreased but not in values that were statistically significant. The only statistically significant value was the ratio of android fat to gynoid fat, which increased. Future research will try to replicate this data with statistically significant values for more cycling adolescents with DS.
ContributorsFankhauser, Kristin Marie (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / Hillman, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The aim of this case study was to help MH, a young adult male with Down syndrome, lose weight and improve his health. Initially he was morbidly obese, suffering from physical, mental, emotional, and health-related side effects. MH and his mother requested help from Dr. Shannon Ringenbach, and resided in Arizona for four months during the process of developing and implementing a program of diet and exercise for him. We created a plan to maximize weight loss in this short period of time. Overall, MH reduced his weight from 276 lbs. to 217 lbs. in four months, his lowest weight being 201 lbs. after he and his mother returned home to Oregon. This is a 75 lb. weight loss and body mass index (BMI) reduction of 13.7 kg/m2. Although to reach a healthy body weight MH would still need to continue his weight loss, this is a significant amount of weight, which is especially difficult for people with Down syndrome to lose. In this case study it was crucial to take into consideration the other aspects that affect weight gain and loss, such as motivation, family life, diet, and lifestyle.
ContributorsBrennan, Julia (Co-author) / Wright, Berlin (Co-author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Committee member) / Chen, Chih-Chia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of two modes of exercise on depression in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Twelve participants randomly completed one of two exercise interventions. The interventions were: 1) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate 2) Assisted Cycling (AC), in which the participants' voluntary pedaling rates were augmented with a motor to ensure the maintenance of 80 rpms. In each intervention, the participant completed three cycling sessions each week for a total of eight weeks. Depression scores did decrease or improved after both AC and VC, but not significantly. There was a greater mean improvement for participants in the AC group than VC when analyzing total score and t-score. Future research will include a greater sample size and control group to reach significant results as well as try and reveal the mechanisms involved in these mental health improvements found after an acute bout of assisted cycling in adolescents with DS.
ContributorsTeslevich, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-12