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Memory, personality and blood lactate during a judo competition

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Abstract

Purpose

In the last decades, several studies have been conducted on a particular martial art, judo, to evaluate performances and psychology of its athletes. In the present study, to investigate other possible variables, we analyzed, in adult athletes of both sexes practicing judo from at least 5 years, the relation between blood lactate levels and short-term memory.

Methods

Furthermore, in all subjects we evaluated personality’s aspects with the Sensation Seeking Scale V, the amount of stress with the Mesure du Stress Psychologique and the ratio between the second (index) and fourth (ring) finger. Participants in the research were 217 adult athletes practicing judo from at least 5 years. The research protocol was divided in two parts: (1) administration to each participant of SSS-V and MSP and measurement of Digit ratio; (2) administration to 50 athletes performing a 5 min combat, a digit span test and evaluation of blood lactate in three moments: before the competition, just after the conclusion, and 10 min after the end.

Results

Results showed, at the end of combat, an increase blood lactate above 4 mmol/l and an association between blood lactate levels and backward memory capacity, with relevant correlation between SSS-V, MSP and the Digit ratio. Lactate production, even if minimal, has a protective role against fatigue toward frontal cortex and define worse performances in backward memory capacity by conditioning strategic ability of the athletes.

Conclusion

We concluded that judo turns out to be a sport discipline useful to help women for manifesting disinhibition and their personality and men to control their aggressiveness and to try of overcoming their limits. These positive implications are more likely in individuals, both men and women, with a low digit ratio.

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Abbreviations

2D:4D:

Second-to-fourth finger ratio

ACT:

Attention e concentration activity

AIP:

Italian Psychological Association

APA:

American Psychiatric Association

BS:

Boredom susceptibility

DIS:

Disinhibition

ES:

Experience seeking

MSP:

Mesure du stress psychologique

SD:

Standard deviation

SSS-V:

Sensation Seeking Scale-V

TAS:

Thrill and adventure seeking.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Marinella Coco, Sabrina Castellano, Simona Massimino & Vincenzo Perciavalle

  2. Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Silvia Platania, Sabrina Castellano, Elisabetta Sagone, Concetta Pirrone, Concetta De Pasquale, Santo Di Nuovo & Valentina Perciavalle

  3. Kore University, Enna, Italy

    Tiziana Ramaci, Donatella Di Corrado & Maria Guarnera

  4. Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Maria Cristina Petralia

  5. Department of Educational Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Maria Cristina Petralia

  6. University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Melania Agati, Cosimo Costa & Giulia Di Gregorio

  7. Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Human Physiology Section, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Paolo Cavallari

  8. Horus Social Cooperative, Ragusa, Italy

    Andrea Buscemi

  9. Department of Research, Center Studies of Osteopathy, Catania, Italy

    Andrea Buscemi

Authors
  1. Marinella Coco
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  2. Silvia Platania
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  3. Sabrina Castellano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marinella Coco.

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The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethical committee of the University of Milan (Number 15/16) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Cite this article

Coco, M., Platania, S., Castellano, S. et al. Memory, personality and blood lactate during a judo competition. Sport Sci Health 14, 547–553 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-018-0458-x

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