Supervisors info:
Ρουσάνογλου Ελισσάβετ, Καθηγήτρια Αθλητικής Βιομηχανικής, Σχολή Επιστήμης Φυσικής Αγωγής και Αθλητισμού, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (Επιβλέπουσα Καθηγήτρια).
Μπουντόλος Κωνσταντίνος, Αφυπηρετήσας Καθηγητής Αθλητικής Βιομηχανικής, Σχολή Επιστήμης Φυσικής Αγωγής και Αθλητισμού, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών.
Ζώης Ηλίας, Αναπλ. Καθηγητής Ψηφιακής Εικόνας και Βιομετρικής Ταυτοποίησης, Τμ. Ηλεκτρολόγων & Ηλεκτρονικών Μηχανικών, Σχολή Μηχανικών, Πανεπιστήμιο Δυτικής Αττικής.
Summary:
The use of auditory cues during the execution of a motor task has been shown to positively affect the kinematic parameters of movement and reduce overall variability, thereby contributing to a more stable motor pattern. These observations have highlighted rhythmic auditory stimulation as a potential mechanism for optimizing motor performance. Individuals with atypical visual acuity rely almost entirely on auditory cues, from which they derive spatial and temporal information to guide their movements in space.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of auditory stimuli, rhythmic speed, and their interaction on kinematic and timing-related parameters of movement in individuals with atypical visual acuity. The study included 15 individuals with visual impairments (35,8 ± 9,2 years, 177 ± 0,1 cm, 83 ± 14,3 kg) and 15 individuals with normal vision (35,3 ± 10,5 years, 174 ± 0,1 cm, 79,7 ± 12,1 kg), all with moderate physical fitness levels. Participants performed three attempts for each combination of auditory stimulus (2 levels: without auditory stimulus, with auditory stimulus) and rhythmic speed (3 levels: natural, as slow as possible, as fast as possible). Data were collected on acceleration variability (Biopac BN-ACCL3, 1000 Hz) and timing (Biopac BN-STRIKE-XDCR, 1000 Hz). A three-way repeated-measures ANOVA was applied to examine the effects of auditory stimuli, rhythmic speed, and their potential interaction on the selected variables. For statistical analysis, SPSS version 29.0 software was used, with the significance level set at p < .05 for all analyses.
The results showed that the presence of auditory stimuli had a significant effect on movement cycle duration and its variability. Rhythmic speed significantly affected maximum linear acceleration, the rate of acceleration change, movement cycle duration, timing differences between acceleration and metronome, timing differences between strike and metronome, movement cycle duration variability, and the variability of the timing difference between acceleration and metronome. Finally, a significant interaction between auditory stimulus and rhythmic speed was observed for maximum linear acceleration and movement cycle duration.
The findings of this study support the research hypotheses and highlight the value of using auditory stimuli for individuals with atypical visual acuity. The use of auditory cues can improve the motor patterns of individuals with atypical visual acuity and could potentially be used in both rehabilitation and skill training for these individuals.
Keywords:
Rhythmic auditory stimulation, heel strike, coefficient of variation, synchronization, non-typical visual acuity, accelerometry
