Analysis of Tract Based Spatial Statistics in Elite Karate Athletes

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 61 - 69, 20.09.2023

Taylan Balcıoğlu , Ferda İlgen Uslu Birol Çotuk , Adil Deniz Duru

https://doi.org/10.18826/useeabd.1325597

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the differences in white matter brain pathways between elite karate athletes and sedentary individuals using Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS).
Methods: The study was conducted with 13 elite athletes between the ages of 18-35, with at least 10 years of experience in karate, competing at the European/World Championship level, and 13 sedentary subjects. In this study, anisotropy measurements were obtained from data collected with 3T MR using the FMRIB Software Library (FSL) toolbox. The obtained fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusion (MD), radial diffusion (RD) and axial diffusion (AD) values were compared between groups. Maps for these criteria were given as input to TBSS based on the adult brain template and the differences between the groups were revealed through TBSS skeletal maps. Statistical correction using threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) in FSL revealed differences in white matter brain pathways between elite athletes and sedentary individuals.
Results: The mean FA values of 0.680 in elite karate athletes and 0.599 in sedentary participants revealed that there was a difference between the groups in the external capsule. Intergroup comparison using independent samples t test, the mean FA values of the external capsule of elite karate athletes were significantly higher than those of sedentary participants (p<0.001).
Conclusion: It is thought that the differentiation of the external capsule, which is important for its role in executive functions and providing corticocortical connections, may be a marker that occurs with the continous high intensity training process in karate athletes at elite level.

Keywords

Karate, DTI, Fractional Anisotropy, External Capsule

Elit Karate Sporcularında Farklılaşan Beyin Yolaklarının Uzamsal İstatistik Yöntemiyle Analizi

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, elit karate sporcularıyla sedanterler arasındaki beyaz madde beyin yolakları farklılıklarının Yolak Tabanlı Uzamsal İstatistik (YTUİ/TBSS) yöntemiyle belirlenmesidir.
Materyal ve Metot: Çalışmaya 18 – 35 yaş aralığında, Karate branşında en az 10 yıl tecrübesi bulunan, Avrupa/Dünya Şampiyonası seviyesinde müsabakalara katılan 13 elit gönüllü sporcu ile 13 sağlıklı sedanter birey katılmıştır. Bu çalışmada, 3 T MR ile toplanan verilerden anizotropi ölçümleri FMRIB Software Library (FSL) araç kutusu kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Ulaşılan fraksiyonel anizotropi (FA), ortalama difüzyon (OD), radyal difüzyon (RD) ve aksiyal difüzyon (AD) değerleri gruplar arasında karşılaştırılmıştır. Bu kriterlere ilişkin haritalar, yetişkin beyin şablonu temel alınarak YTUİ yöntemine girdi olarak verilmiştir. Ardından iki grup arasındaki farklılıklar, YTUİ iskelet haritaları yardımıyla ortaya çıkarılmıştır. FSL bünyesinde yer alan, eşik değeri bağımsız kümeleme iyileştirme (TFCE) kullanılarak uygulanan istatistiksel düzeltmenin sonucunda elit karate sporcularıyla sedanterler arasındaki beyaz madde beyin yolaklarındaki farklılıklar ortaya konmuştur.
Bulgular: Elit karate sporcularında 0,680 ve sedanter katılımcılarda 0,599 olan ortalama FA değerleri, eksternal kapsülde gruplar arasında fark olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bağımsız örnekleklem t testi kullanılarak yapılan gruplar arası karşılaştırmada, elit karate sporcularının eksternal kapsül ortalama FA değerleri sedanterlerden anlamlı derecede yüksek bulunmuştur (p<0,001).
Sonuç: Yürütücü işlevlerdeki rolü ve kortikokortikal bağlantılar sağlamasıyla önem arz eden eksternal kapsülün farklılaşmasının karate sporcularında elit düzeyde sürekli ve yoğun antrenman süreciyle ortaya çıkan bir belirteç olabileceği düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

Karate, DTG, Fraksiyonel Anizotropi, Eksternal Kapsül

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