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5 Sustaining Soldier Performance
Pages 45-66

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From page 45...
... The psychological stressors such as emotional trauma. performance deficits discussed here often occur during or This chapter discusses neuroscience advances aimed soon after a single extended operation (the usual time frame at sustaining soldier performance before, during, and after for sustainment) , but other deficits affect performance over battle.
From page 46...
... , transcranial magnetic stimulation, more sophisti- the neurophysiological basis of the complex interactions cated behavioral studies in humans, and basic neurochemical between the brain and peripheral factors. and physiological assessments in rodents. Nowhere is an understanding of the biological mecha Good evidence is emerging to suggest that CNS fatigue nisms by which the CNS and peripheral factors in fatigue may be caused, in part, by reduced availability of glucose, inter­act more important than in sustaining today's soldiers.
From page 47...
... . Although Neurophysiological Basis of CNS Fatigue glucose availability has traditionally been thought to remain Very little neuroscience research has focused on the relatively constant throughout the brain under most conditions possible biological basis of CNS fatigue.
From page 48...
... , improved postexercise Stroop Colour-Word test scores (Hassmèn et Brain Inflammation, Interleukin-1β, and Fatigue ­ al., 1994; ­Blomstrand et al., 1997) , maintained performance Cytokines are an important link between the immune system in postexercise shape-rotation and figure-identification tasks inflammatory responses and CNS fatigue.
From page 49...
... (2004) reported no significant differences in mood, also lessen the increase in brain ammonia, which is toxic to perceived exertion, or cognitive performance with BCAA the brain (Nybo et al., 2005)
From page 50...
... Preliminary evi dence suggests that the effect of quercetin on CNS fatigue Tyrosine  Tyrosine is the amino acid precursor of the is like the effect of caffeine as an adenosine antagonist with neurotransmitter dopamine, which has been associated with resulting increase in dopamine activity. Perhaps the most energetic mood, arousal, motivated behaviors, and move- important and exciting aspect of quercetin supplementation ment initiation and control (Davis, 2000)
From page 51...
... choline supplementation (50 mg per kilogram body weight) Because studies of the potential beneficial effects of had no effects on physical or cognitive performance, includginseng on physical exercise performance often involve ing tests of reaction time, logical reasoning, vigilance, spatial long-term vs.
From page 52...
... CNS fatigue The brain exhibits non-insulin-dependent glucose uptake. may be caused in part by reduced glucose availability or by Glucose is transported from the blood compartment to the an imbalance between serotonin, dopamine, and adenosine, astrocytic end feet surrounding the vascular endothelial cells along with an increase in circulating ammonia, inflammatory by glucose transport molecules (Dwyer, 2002)
From page 53...
... egories have been identified, with Type 1 individuals being These and similar observations show that different facets highly tolerant of sleep deprivation (cognitive performance of attention and decision making decay at different rates as near normal on the tests used)
From page 54...
... . Moreover, caffeine greatly attenuates the electro­ ing major depression and stress-related disorders such as encephalography markers of non-REM-sleep homeostasis post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
From page 55...
... Salivary cortisol measurement kits vary significantly in their ability to obtain paralleling plasma cortisol levels (assumably the gold standard)
From page 56...
... DOD-wide recognition of the importance of neuroscience research in these areas is evidenced by the establishment of the Defense Centers of BraiN iNJury Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain As noted in Chapter 1, the committee was tasked to focus Injury in 2008. its study on nonmedical applications in light of the numerous studies of medical neuroscience research and applications.
From page 57...
... When conditioned studies consistently reveal reduced hippocampal volume in fear exists, both animal and human studies point to a loss of patients suffering from PTSD; the degree of atrophy corre- inhibitory control over the relevant nuclei of the amygdala lates significantly with the degree of cognitive impairment by the medial prefrontal cortex. Indeed, prolonged stress (Bremner, 2006)
From page 58...
... d-cycloserine (Rizzo et al., 2008) . These outcomes, along with neuropsychological research connected with recovery/ Major Depressive Disorder in the Military Context treatment for traumatic brain injuries, are likely to continue as a source of future neuroscience opportunities.
From page 59...
... Markers of cellular damage are increased in the CSF of boxers with no evidence of concussion. The Longer-Term Performance Deficits absence of structural magnetic resonance imaging changes Linked to Traumatic Brain Injury in boxers demonstrates that it may be an insensitive index As noted by Hoge et al.
From page 60...
... If this progressive degeneration occurs because neurons are lost along the neural pathways connecting to the cells or junctions that were damaged directly by the pressure waves from the blast, then connectomics may help to explain how the cell loss spreads from the initial foci of damage to other brain regions. An example of progress in connectomics with long-term relevance for TBI is a recent technique by which researchers can trace individual neural pathways in the brains of transgenic mouse models.
From page 61...
... 2005. Effect of the development of PTSD could inform interventions that c ­ arbohydrate ingestion on brain exchange of amino acids during susmitigate a risk for PTSD and related stress disorders, thereby tained exercise in human subjects.
From page 62...
... Medicine & Science in Sports & on brain ammonia and amino acids. International Journal of Sports Exercise 39(5)
From page 63...
... 2008. Mild traumatic brain injury in U.S.
From page 64...
... 2003. CNS fatigue and prolonged exercise: Effect of glucose supple- consumed with and without glucose, on blood glucose levels and cogni mentation.
From page 65...
... Biological Psychiatry 63(6) : sequelae of injury mechanisms and mild traumatic brain injury incurred 629-632.
From page 66...
... Brain Meta-analysis of APOE4 allele and outcome after traumatic brain injury. Research Bulletin 52(1)


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