Background: Body representation is a complex process determined by the interaction of information coming from many different stimuli inside and outside the body and is a fundamental construct that reflects our knowledge of self. However, the way in which we perceive our bodies and how the body is represented in the brain during development, particularly during outdoor or indoor physical activity, is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to examine the development of different body representations (i.e., body semantics, body structural representation, and body schema) in school-aged children who practice indoor or outdoor sports. The role of motor coordination was considered as well. Methods:One hundred twelve school aged-children (age range: 8-10 years) completed a computerized battery that included three tasks, the Hand Laterality Task (HLT), Object-Body-Part Association (OBP), and Frontal Body Evocation task(FBE)involving body representation processing as well as control tasks. These control tasks included the Object Laterality Task (OLT), the Christmas Tree Task (CTT), and the Object-Room Association Task (ORT).Theparticipants also performed a foot-tapping performance test (FTap). Results: The effect of indoor or outdoor physical activity on body representations and the associations between age,performance on body representation tasks, and performance on the FTap were all analyzed.When we compared the performance of the two groups on the different body representation and control tasks, we found significant differences only on the FBE, whereas the outdoor physical activity group showed a better performance than the indoor physical activity group. Among the outdoor athletes, significant correlations were foundbetween age and errors made in the FTap, but there were no significant associations between the FTap and the body representation measures. Instead, in the indoor physical activity group, we found significant correlations between the FTap measures and body representation tasks. Discussion: Participants engaging in outdoor physical activities (i.e., soccer, baseball, tennis, cross-country) had better performance on the task assessing the body structural representation (FBE), suggesting that in addition to a significant improvement of physical and mental wellbeing, outdoor physical activity significantly improves the visuo-spatial body map during development.Conclusion:In conclusion,for the first time, we have demonstrated that in school-aged children outdoor physical activity as compared toindoor physical activity improves the structural body representation. These findings are discussed for a better understanding of body representation development and physical activity in indoor and outdoor environments.Also, considering the possible impact of body processing on cognition, this data is discussed in the light of the role of the practice of sportin the educational context.
Indoor and outdoor education: The role of body representations on sport practice
Raimo S.;
2021
Abstract
Background: Body representation is a complex process determined by the interaction of information coming from many different stimuli inside and outside the body and is a fundamental construct that reflects our knowledge of self. However, the way in which we perceive our bodies and how the body is represented in the brain during development, particularly during outdoor or indoor physical activity, is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to examine the development of different body representations (i.e., body semantics, body structural representation, and body schema) in school-aged children who practice indoor or outdoor sports. The role of motor coordination was considered as well. Methods:One hundred twelve school aged-children (age range: 8-10 years) completed a computerized battery that included three tasks, the Hand Laterality Task (HLT), Object-Body-Part Association (OBP), and Frontal Body Evocation task(FBE)involving body representation processing as well as control tasks. These control tasks included the Object Laterality Task (OLT), the Christmas Tree Task (CTT), and the Object-Room Association Task (ORT).Theparticipants also performed a foot-tapping performance test (FTap). Results: The effect of indoor or outdoor physical activity on body representations and the associations between age,performance on body representation tasks, and performance on the FTap were all analyzed.When we compared the performance of the two groups on the different body representation and control tasks, we found significant differences only on the FBE, whereas the outdoor physical activity group showed a better performance than the indoor physical activity group. Among the outdoor athletes, significant correlations were foundbetween age and errors made in the FTap, but there were no significant associations between the FTap and the body representation measures. Instead, in the indoor physical activity group, we found significant correlations between the FTap measures and body representation tasks. Discussion: Participants engaging in outdoor physical activities (i.e., soccer, baseball, tennis, cross-country) had better performance on the task assessing the body structural representation (FBE), suggesting that in addition to a significant improvement of physical and mental wellbeing, outdoor physical activity significantly improves the visuo-spatial body map during development.Conclusion:In conclusion,for the first time, we have demonstrated that in school-aged children outdoor physical activity as compared toindoor physical activity improves the structural body representation. These findings are discussed for a better understanding of body representation development and physical activity in indoor and outdoor environments.Also, considering the possible impact of body processing on cognition, this data is discussed in the light of the role of the practice of sportin the educational context.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
