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    Analysis of Psychological and Sleep Quality Characteristics of Young and Adult Para-Athletes with Cerebral Palsy During Competitive Period
    (MDPI AG, 2025-06-24)
    Fernando Muñoz-Hinrichsen
    ;
    Felipe Herrera-Miranda
    ;
    Sonny Riquelme
    ;
    Matías Henríquez
    ;
    Joel Álvarez-Ruf
    Emotional processes and sleep quality have become fundamental aspects of performance in Paralympic sports among elite and youth athletes. The objective of this study was to compare levels of depression, stress, anxiety, and sleep quality among youth and adult athletes with cerebral palsy (CP) belonging to the national CP Football team in Chile. A total of 10 adult and 12 youth national team athletes participated, completing the DASS-21, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaires. The athletes were competing in their respective categories at the 2024 Parapan American Games. A cross-sectional design was used to compare the parameters of depression, stress, anxiety, and sleep quality of youth and adult male athletes with CP of a national team selected to compete in a regional event. Significant differences were found where young athletes had lower levels of depression (χ2 = 4.77, p = 0.02, OR = 11.0) and anxiety (χ2 = 6.71, p = 0.01, OR = 16.5). Similar differences could be observed in favor of young athletes in sleep latency (p = 0.04; d = 0.34), bedtime (p = 0.02; d = 0.20), total hours of sleep (p = 0.04; d = 0.10), subjective sleep quality (p = 0.002; d = 0.56), and objective sleep quality (p &lt; 0.001; d = 0.65). This study suggests that adult para-athletes from a national CP Football team exhibit higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to their youth counterparts. Additionally, objective and subjective measures show that adults experience poorer sleep quality. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions by psychological support teams, aiming to enhance athlete performance by promoting healthy habits that address these mental health challenges.</jats:p>
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    Potentiation of Motor Adaptation Via Cerebellar tACS: Characterization of the Stimulation Frequency
    (2024)
    Paulo Figueroa-Taiba
    ;
    Joel Álvarez-Ruf
    ;
    Paulette Ulloa
    ;
    Trinidad Bruna-Melo
    ;
    Liam Espinoza-Maraboli
    Scopus© Citations 5  2
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    Brain’s Energy After Stroke: From a Cellular Perspective Toward Behavior
    (2022)
    Juan José Mariman
    ;
    Enrique Lorca
    ;
    Carlo Biancardi
    ;
    Pablo Burgos
    ;
    Joel Álvarez-Ruf
    <jats:p>Stroke is a neurological condition that impacts activity performance and quality of life for survivors. While neurological impairments after the event explain the performance of patients in specific activities, the origin of such impairments has traditionally been explained as a consequence of structural and functional damage to the nervous system. However, there are important mechanisms related to energy efficiency (trade-off between biological functions and energy consumption) at different levels that can be related to these impairments and restrictions: first, at the neuronal level, where the availability of energy resources is the initial cause of the event, as well as determines the possibilities of spontaneous recovery. Second, at the level of neural networks, where the “small world” operation of the network is compromised after the stroke, implicating a high energetic cost and inefficiency in the information transfer, which is related to the neurological recovery and clinical status. Finally, at the behavioral level, the performance limitations are related to the highest cost of energy or augmented energy expenditure during the tasks to maintain the stability of the segment, system, body, and finally, the behavior of the patients. In other words, the postural homeostasis. In this way, we intend to provide a synthetic vision of the energy impact of stroke, from the particularities of the operation of the nervous system, its implications, as one of the determinant factors in the possibilities of neurological, functional, and behavioral recovery of our patients.</jats:p>
    Scopus© Citations 2  1