Articles

Evaluation of mental stress by physiological indices derived from finger plethysmography

Quantitative evaluation of mental stress is important to prevent stress-related disorders. Finger plethysmography (FPG) is a simple noninvasive method to monitor peripheral circulation, and provides many physi...

Authors: Emiko Minakuchi, Eriko Ohnishi, Junji Ohnishi, Shigeko Sakamoto, Miyo Hori, Miwa Motomura, Junichi Hoshino, Kazuo Murakami and Takayasu Kawaguchi

Physiological relaxation induced by horticultural activity: transplanting work using flowering plants

Despite increasing attention and a growing volume of research data, little physiological evidence is available on the benefits of horticultural activity and the different effects on individuals. Therefore, the...

Authors: Min-sun Lee, Bum-jin Park, Juyoung Lee, Kun-tae Park, Ja-hyeong Ku, Jun-woo Lee, Kyung-ok Oh and Yoshifumi Miyazaki

Individual differences in the physiological effects of forest therapy based on Type A and Type B behavior patterns

In recent years, the physiological relaxation effects of natural environments have been widely exploited, and although individual differences in the effects of forest therapy are known, assessment methods have...

Authors: Chorong Song, Harumi Ikei, Juyoung Lee, Bum-Jin Park, Takahide Kagawa and Yoshifumi Miyazaki

The relationship between consumption of tyrosine and phenylalanine as precursors of catecholamine at breakfast and the circadian typology and mental health in Japanese infants aged 2 to 5 years

This study aims to examine the relationship between tyrosine and phenylalanine intake at breakfast as precursors of dopamine, and scores on the Torsvall-Åkerstedt Diurnal Type Scale and of mental health in Jap...

Authors: Osami Akimitsu, Kai Wada, Teruki Noji, Nozomi Taniwaki, Milada Krejci, Miyo Nakade, Hitomi Takeuchi and Tetsuo Harada

Validity of ultrasound muscle thickness measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass in healthy Japanese middle-aged and older individuals

The skeletal muscle mass of the lower limb plays a role in its mobility during daily life. From the perspective of physical resources, leg muscle mass dominantly decreases after the end of the fifth decade. Th...

Authors: Yohei Takai, Megumi Ohta, Ryota Akagi, Emika Kato, Taku Wakahara, Yasuo Kawakami, Tetsuo Fukunaga and Hiroaki Kanehisa

Clothing insulation and temperature, layer and mass of clothing under comfortable environmental conditions

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the microclimate temperature and clothing insulation (I _cl ) under comfortable environmental conditions. In total,...

Authors: JuYoun Kwon and Jeongwha Choi

Association between alkaline phosphatase and hypertension in a rural Japanese population: The Nagasaki Islands study

Although serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels have been associated with hypertension, and ALP is known as an enzyme affected by alcohol consumption, no study has been published on the associations between A...

Authors: Yuji Shimizu, Mio Nakazato, Takaharu Sekita, Koichiro Kadota, Hironori Yamasaki, Noboru Takamura, Kiyoshi Aoyagi, Yosuke Kusano and Takahiro Maeda

Effects of a late supper on digestion and the absorption of dietary carbohydrates in the following morning

Our previous experiment showed that the light intensity exposed on the subjects during evening time had no effect in the following morning on the efficiency of the digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydr...

Authors: Yukie Tsuchida, Sawa Hata and Yoshiaki Sone

Age-related, interindividual, and right/left differences in anterior-posterior foot pressure ratio in preschool children

This study aimed to examine age-related, interindividual, and right/left differences in anterior-posterior foot pressure ratio in 764 preschool children (364 boys and 400 girls) aged 3.5-6.5 years.

Authors: Shigeki Matsuda and Shinichi Demura

Psychological and physiological effect in humans of touching plant foliage - using the semantic differential method and cerebral activity as indicators

Numerous studies have reported on the healing powers of plants and nature, but there have not been so many instances of experimental research. In particular, there are very few psychological and physiological ...

Authors: Kazuko Koga and Yutaka Iwasaki

The core interthreshold zone during exposure to red and blue light

This study tested the hypothesis that the core interthreshold zone (CIZ) changes during exposure to red or blue light via the non-visual pathway, because it is known that light intensity affects the central ne...

Authors: Naoshi Kakitsuba, Igor B Mekjavic and Tetsuo Katsuura

Reviewer acknowledgement 2012

The editors of Journal of Physiological Anthropology would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 31 (2012).

Authors: Akira Yasukouchi

Influence of maturation on anthropometry and body composition in Japanese junior high school students

The purpose of this study was to examine maturity-related differences in anthropometry and body composition in Japanese youth within a single year.

Authors: Yuko Fukunaga, Yohei Takai, Takaya Yoshimoto, Eiji Fujita, Masayoshi Yamamoto and Hiroaki Kanehisa

Association between body mass index and muscularity in healthy older Japanese women and men

Body mass index (BMI), expressed as the ratio of body mass to height squared (kg/m²), involves not only fat but also lean mass. The present study aimed to clarify how BMI is associated with total muscle mass (TMM...

Authors: Hiroaki Kanehisa and Tetsuo Fukunaga

Oxygen uptake, heart rate, perceived exertion, and integrated electromyogram of the lower and upper extremities during level and Nordic walking on a treadmill

Authors: Koji Sugiyama, Mami Kawamura, Hisato Tomita and Shizuo Katamoto

Sustaining biological welfare for our future through consistent science

Physiological anthropology presently covers a very broad range of human knowledge and engineering technologies. This study reviews scientific inconsistencies within a variety of areas: sitting posture; negativ...

Authors: Yoshihiro Shimomura and Tetsuo Katsuura

Peripheral and central vascular conductance influence on post-exercise hypotension

Post-exercise hypotension (PEH) following prolonged dynamic exercise arises from increased total vascular conductance (TVC) via skeletal muscle vasodilation. However, arterial vasodilation of skeletal musculat...

Authors: Masako Y Endo, Kazue Shimada, Akira Miura and Yoshiyuki Fukuba

The effects of neck flexion on cerebral potentials evoked by visual, auditory and somatosensory stimuli and focal brain blood flow in related sensory cortices

A flexed neck posture leads to non-specific activation of the brain. Sensory evoked cerebral potentials and focal brain blood flow have been used to evaluate the activation of the sensory cortex. We investigat...

Authors: Katsuo Fujiwara, Kenji Kunita, Naoe Kiyota, Aida Mammadova and Mariko Irei

Comparison of cardiovascular response to sinusoidal and constant lower body negative pressure with reference to very mild whole-body heating

The purpose of the present study was to compare sinusoidal versus constant lower body negative pressure (LBNP) with reference to very mild whole-body heating. Sinusoidal LBNP has a periodic load component (PLC) a...

Authors: Keita Ishibashi, Takafumi Maeda, Shigekazu Higuchi, Koichi Iwanaga and Akira Yasukouchi

Tendon vibration attenuates superficial venous vessel response of the resting limb during static arm exercise

The superficial vein of the resting limb constricts sympathetically during exercise. Central command is the one of the neural mechanisms that controls the cardiovascular response to exercise. However, it is no...

Authors: Anna Ooue, Kohei Sato, Ai Hirasawa and Tomoko Sadamoto

Effects of L-theanine or caffeine intake on changes in blood pressure under physical and psychological stresses

L-theanine, an amino acid contained in green tea leaves, is known to block the binding of L-glutamic acid to glutamate receptors in the brain, and has been considered to cause anti-stress effects by inhibiting...

Authors: Ai Yoto, Mao Motoki, Sato Murao and Hidehiko Yokogoshi

Relationship between the obstacle height cognition and step movement in the elderly

This study examines the effect of obstacle height cognition (OHC) on single-leg forward step (SFS) and Obstacle-SFS.

Authors: Sohee Shin, Shinichi Demura, Tsuneo Watanabe, Haruka Kawabata, Hiroki Sugiura and Toshio Matsuoka

Physiological functions of the effects of the different bathing method on recovery from local muscle fatigue

Recently, mist saunas have been used in the home as a new bathing style in Japan. However, there are still few reports on the effects of bathing methods on recovery from muscle fatigue. Furthermore, the effect...

Authors: Soomin Lee, Shogo Ishibashi, Yoshihiro Shimomura and Tetsuo Katsuura

Effects of duration of stay in temperate area on thermoregulatory responses to passive heat exposure in tropical south-east Asian males residing in Japan

In this study, we investigated the effects of duration of stay in a temperate area on the thermoregulatory responses to passive heat exposure of residents from tropical areas, particularly to clarify whether t...

Authors: Titis Wijayanto, Sayo Toramoto, Hitoshi Wakabayashi and Yutaka Tochihara

Suppression of cardiocirculatory responses to orthostatic stress by passive walking-like leg movement in healthy young men

Although passive walking-like leg movement in the standing posture (PWM) has been used in the clinical field, the safety of PWM has not been fully determined despite the risks of orthostatic intolerance due to...

Authors: Hisayoshi Ogata, Ikuyo Fujimaru, Keiko Yamada and Takaharu Kondo

Effects of blue pulsed light on human physiological functions and subjective evaluation

It has been assumed that light with a higher irradiance of pulsed blue light has a much greater influence than that of light with a lower irradiance of steady blue light, although they have the same multiplica...

Authors: Tetsuo Katsuura, Yukifumi Ochiai, Toshihiro Senoo, Soomin Lee, Yoshika Takahashi and Yoshihiro Shimomura

Relationship between seasonal cold acclimatization and mtDNA haplogroup in Japanese

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the interaction between mtDNA haplogroup and seasonal variation that contributes to cold adaptation.

Authors: Takayuki Nishimura, Midori Motoi, Yousuke Niri, Yoshikazu Hoshi, Ryuichiro Kondo and Shigeki Watanuki

Comparison of variations between percentage of body fat, body mass index and daily physical activity among young Japanese and Thai female students

In our series of investigations concerning the causes of seasonal change in fat accumulation in young university students, we could not find any contribution of seasonal variation in the ratio of carbohydrate ...

Authors: Tomoko Morinaka, Porn-ngarm Limtrakul, Luksana Makonkawkeyoon and Yoshiaki Sone

Distinct responses of cones and melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells in the human electroretinogram

The discovery of the novel photoreceptor, melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs), has raised researchers’ interest in photoreceptive tasks performed by the mRGC, especially in non-image-forming v...

Authors: Yumi Fukuda, Shigekazu Higuchi, Akira Yasukouchi and Takeshi Morita

Diurnal cortisol rhythms among Latino immigrants in Oregon, USA

One of the most commonly used stress biomarkers is cortisol, a glucocorticoid hormone released by the adrenal glands that is central to the physiological stress response. Free cortisol can be measured in saliv...

Authors: Erica C Squires, Heather H McClure, Charles R Martinez Jr, J Mark Eddy, Roberto A Jiménez, Laura E Isiordia and J Josh Snodgrass

A pilot study of allostatic load among elderly Japanese living on Hizen-Oshima Island

Between July and September 2005, a preliminary sampling of the elderly population of Hizen-Oshima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan was conducted by the local hospital’s nursing staff.

Authors: Douglas E Crews, Hajime Harada, Kiyoshi Aoyagi, Takahiro Maeda, Alexandria Alfarano, Yoshiaki Sone and Yosuke Kusano

Effect of preceding exercise on cerebral and splanchnic vascular responses to mental task

To investigate the effect of preceding acute exercise on the peripheral vascular response to a mental task, we measured splanchnic and cerebral blood flow responses to performing a mental task after exercise a...

Authors: Nami Someya, Tsukasa Ikemura and Naoyuki Hayashi

Physiological responses at short distances from a parametric speaker

In recent years, parametric speakers have been used in various circumstances. In our previous studies, we verified that the physiological burden of the sound of parametric speaker set at 2.6 m from the subject...

Authors: Soomin Lee, Yoshihiro Shimomura and Tetsuo Katsuura

Efficacy of light therapy for perinatal depression: a review

Perinatal depression is an important public health problem affecting 10% to 20% of childbearing women. Perinatal depression is associated with significant morbidity, and has enormous consequences for the wellb...

Authors: Shannon K Crowley and Shawn D Youngstedt

Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm

The thermal environment is one of the most important factors that can affect human sleep. The stereotypical effects of heat or cold exposure are increased wakefulness and decreased rapid eye movement sleep and...

Authors: Kazue Okamoto-Mizuno and Koh Mizuno

Which characteristic of Natto: appearance, odor, or taste most affects preference for Natto

In Japan, consumption of Natto, a fermented bean dish, is recommended because of its high quality protein, digestibility in the gut and its preventive effect on blood clot formation due to high vitamin K conte...

Authors: Yuki Tsumura, Aki Ohyane, Kuniko Yamashita and Yoshiaki Sone

Adaptation changes in dynamic postural control and contingent negative variation during backward disturbance by transient floor translation in the elderly

We investigated adaptation changes in dynamic postural control and contingent negative variation (CNV) in 13 young and 12 elderly adults. Subjects repeatedly underwent backward postural disturbance by a forwar...

Authors: Katsuo Fujiwara, Maki Maekawa, Naoe Kiyota and Chie Yaguchi

Can breakfast tryptophan and vitamin B6 intake and morning exposure to sunlight promote morning-typology in young children aged 2 to 6 years?

This study tried to examine, from epidemiological and physiologic anthropological (Japanese culture on breakfast) points of view, the integrated effects of the amount of tryptophan and vitamin B6 intake and th...

Authors: Miyo Nakade, Osami Akimitsu, Kai Wada, Milada Krejci, Teruki Noji, Nozomi Taniwaki, Hitomi Takeuchi and Tetsuo Harada

Comparison of seasonal variation in the fasting respiratory quotient of young Japanese, Polish and Thai women in relation to seasonal change in their percent body fat

From the viewpoint of human physiological adaptability, we previously investigated seasonal variation in the amount of unabsorbed dietary carbohydrates from the intestine after breakfast in Japanese, Polish an...

Authors: Tomoko Morinaka, Malgorzata Wozniewicz, Jan Jeszka, Joanna Bajerska, Porn-ngarm Limtrakul, Luksana Makonkawkeyoon, Naoko Hirota, Shoko Kumagai and Yoshiaki Sone

Normative references of heart rate variability and salivary alpha-amylase in a healthy young male population

This study aimed to present normative reference values of heart rate variability and salivary alpha-amylase in a healthy young male population with a particular focus on their distribution and reproducibility.

Authors: Hiromitsu Kobayashi, Bum-Jin Park and Yoshifumi Miyazaki

Sex and age-level differences of walking time in preschool children on an obstacle frame

Stepping over an obstacle is a kind of compound movement that makes walking more difficult, especially for preschool children. This study examines sex and age-level differences in walking time in preschool chi...

Authors: Kosho Kasuga, Shin-ichi Demura, Hiroki Aoki, Sohee Shin, Hiroki Sugiura and Yu Uchida

Pathophysiology and pathogenesis of circadian rhythm sleep disorders

Metabolic, physiological and behavioral processes exhibit 24-hour rhythms in most organisms, including humans. These rhythms are driven by a system of self-sustained clocks and are entrained by environmental c...

Authors: Akiko Hida, Shingo Kitamura and Kazuo Mishima

Prioritizing sleep for healthy work schedules

Good sleep is advantageous to the quality of life. Sleep-related benefits are particularly helpful for the working class, since poor or inadequate amounts of sleep degrade work productivity and overall health....

Authors: Masaya Takahashi

Daily rhythms of the sleep-wake cycle

The amount and timing of sleep and sleep architecture (sleep stages) are determined by several factors, important among which are the environment, circadian rhythms and time awake. Separating the roles played ...

Authors: Jim Waterhouse, Yumi Fukuda and Takeshi Morita

Herbs in exercise and sports

The use of herbs as ergogenic aids in exercise and sport is not novel. Ginseng, caffeine, ma huang (also called 'Chinese ephedra'), ephedrine and a combination of both caffeine and ephedrine are the most popul...

Authors: Chee Keong Chen, Ayu Suzailiana Muhamad and Foong Kiew Ooi

Oral administration of γ-aminobutyric acid affects heat production in a hot environment in resting humans

Central administration of γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) induces lower body temperature in animals in hot ambient air. However, it is still unknown whether oral GABA administration affects temperature regulation ...

Authors: Taiki Miyazawa, Takashi Kawabata, Kazunobu Okazaki, Takashi Suzuki, Daiki Imai, Takeshi Hamamoto, Shinya Matsumura and Toshiaki Miyagawa

Cognitive characteristics of older Japanese drivers

Some causes of accidents among older drivers are: not paying attention to traffic signals; missing stop lines; and having to deal with and misjudging emergency situations. These causes of accidents reveal prob...

Authors: Indri H Susilowati and Akira Yasukouchi

Journal of Physiological Anthropology aims to investigate, how the speed of technological advance, experienced during the 21^st century, is affecting mankind

Authors: Akira Yasukouchi