Search Results (4)

Background and Objectives: This study analyzes the effects of proprioceptive training on the physical fitness and soccer-specific technical skills of young professional soccer players. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight male professional soccer players from the Türkiye Football Federation’s Third League, aged 20.46 ± 1.60 years (average), participated voluntarily. Body composition was assessed with the Inbody270 bioelectrical impedance analyzer, while agility and maximal VO₂ cardiorespiratory fitness were measured using the ChronoJump smartspeed mat. Soccer-specific technical skill assessments were also conducted. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22, with paired sample t-tests for comparisons, Cohen’s d test for effect size, and repeated measures two-way ANOVA for interaction effects (group × time). Eta squared (η²) values were reported for effect size. A 95% confidence level and p = 0.05 were used. Results: Proprioceptive training significantly improved body fat percentage (p < 0.05; η² = 0.006) and soccer-specific technical skills, including free juggling (p < 0.05; η² = 0.302), alternating foot juggling (p < 0.05; η² = 0.271), right foot juggling (p < 0.05; η² = 0.250), and shooting performance (p < 0.05; η² = 0.513). Conclusions: A 12-week proprioceptive training program, when incorporated into soccer practice, significantly enhances soccer-specific technical skills and reduces body fat percentage. Full article

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) has become increasingly crucial in several applications, ranging from motion-driven virtual games to automated video surveillance systems. In these applications, sensors such as smart phone cameras, web cameras or CCTV cameras are used for detecting and tracking physical activities of users. Inevitably, spoof detection in HAR is essential to prevent anomalies and false alarms. To this end, we propose a deep learning based approach that can be used to detect spoofing in various fields such as border control, institutional security and public safety by surveillance cameras. Specifically, in this work, we address the problem of detecting spoofing occurring from video replay attacks, which is more common in such applications. We present a new database containing several videos of users juggling a football, captured under different lighting conditions and using different display and capture devices. We train our models using this database and the proposed system is capable of running in parallel with the HAR algorithms in real-time. Our experimental results show that our approach precisely detects video replay spoofing attacks and generalizes well, even to other applications such as spoof detection in face biometric authentication. Results show that our approach is effective even under resizing and compression artifacts that are common in HAR applications using remote server connections. Full article

To establish the characteristics of spontaneous neural activity during learning football juggling. We used fMRI to see which parts of the brain were changed by learning football juggling. Through recruitment, 111 college students (37 females and 74 males) were selected and randomly divided into football juggling (FJ) (n = 68, 23 females and 45 males) and a control group (CON) (n = 43, 14 females and 29 males). The FJ group learned football juggling 70 times, while CON had regular study sessions at the same time. Static functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure the dynamic changes of spontaneous nerve activity during learning football juggling. The result shows that the ALFF value in the right cerebellum 8 area was significantly higher than that before the 70 times of learning football juggling. The present study provides initial evidence that learning football juggling 70 times effectively increased the level of spontaneous neural activity in the cerebellum region. These promising findings provide new evidence to fully reveal the relationship between motion learning and brain plasticity. Full article

Cross-sectional studies suggest that motor skill learning is associated with working memory (WM) and white matter integrity (WMI). However, it has not been established whether motor skill learning improves WM performance, and information on its neural mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. Therefore, this study compared WM and WMI across time points prior to and following football juggling learning, in early adulthood (18–20 years old), relative to a control group. Study participants in the experimental group were subjected to football juggling for 10 weeks while participants in the control category went on with their routine life activities for the same period of time and were not involved in the learning-related activities. Data on cognitive measurements and that from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were collected before and after learning. There was a significant improvement in WM performance of the experimental group after motor learning, although no improvement was observed in the control group. Additionally, after learning, DTI data revealed a significant increase in functional anisotropy (FA) in the genu of corpus callosum (GOCC) and the right anterior corona radiata (R.ACR) in the experimental group. Moreover, the better WM associated with football juggling learning was correlated to a higher FA. Mediation analysis suggested that FA in the GOCC acts as a mediation variable between football juggling learning and WM. These findings show that motor skill learning improves the WM and remodels WMI in early adulthood. With a particular emphasis on the importance of WMI in motor skill learning and WM, this study also revealed the possible neural mechanisms mediated by WMI. Full article