Articles

Effect of empathy trait on attention to faces: an event-related potential (ERP) study

Empathy is deeply linked with the ability to adapt to human social environments. The present study investigated the relationship between the empathy trait and attention elicited by discriminating facial expres...

Authors: Damee Choi and Shigeki Watanuki

Fermented foods, microbiota, and mental health: ancient practice meets nutritional psychiatry

The purposeful application of fermentation in food and beverage preparation, as a means to provide palatability, nutritional value, preservative, and medicinal properties, is an ancient practice. Fermented foo...

Authors: Eva M Selhub, Alan C Logan and Alison C Bested

Difference in effects of cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption on serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels is related to mitochondrial DNA 5178 C/A polymorphism in middle-aged Japanese men: a cross-sectional study

Mitochondrial DNA 5178 cytosine/adenosine (Mt5178 C/A) polymorphism is associated with longevity in the Japanese. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether Mt5178 C/A polymorphism modifies the effect...

Authors: Akatsuki Kokaze, Mamoru Ishikawa, Naomi Matsunaga, Kanae Karita, Masao Yoshida, Tadahiro Ohtsu, Hirotaka Ochiai, Takako Shirasawa, Hinako Nanri, Hiromi Hoshino and Yutaka Takashima

Sexual dimorphism in digital dermatoglyphic traits among Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka

The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender-wise diversity of digital dermatoglyphic traits in a sample of Sinhalese people in Sri Lanka.

Authors: Buddhika TB Wijerathne, Geetha K Rathnayake, Shamila C Adikari, Subashini Amarasinghe, Prasanna L Abhayarathna and Ajith S Jayasena

Visual information without thermal energy may induce thermoregulatory-like cardiovascular responses

Human core body temperature is kept quasi-constant regardless of varying thermal environments. It is well known that physiological thermoregulatory systems are under the control of central and peripheral senso...

Authors: Jun'ya Takakura, Takayuki Nishimura and Shigeki Watanuki

Recent topics on the scope of physiological anthropology

Authors: Akira Yasukouchi

Adaptation changes in dynamic postural control and contingent negative variation during repeated transient forward translation in the elderly

Adaptation changes in postural control and contingent negative variation (CNV) for the elderly were investigated during repeated forward floor translation.

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

Ocular blood flow decreases during passive heat stress in resting humans

Heat stress induces various physiological changes and so could influence ocular circulation. This study examined the effect of heat stress on ocular blood flow.

Authors: Tsukasa Ikemura, Akane Miyaji, Hideaki Kashima, Yuji Yamaguchi and Naoyuki Hayashi

Asynchronous dentofacial development and dental crowding: a cross-sectional study in a contemporary sample of children in France

The causes of dental crowding are not fully understood, but it may result from an evolutionary trend towards reduced facial volume, without a proportional reduction in tooth sizes. Most previous studies conduc...

Authors: Wei Yan-Vergnes, Jean-Noel Vergnes, Jean Dumoncel, Pascal Baron, Christine Marchal-Sixou and José Braga

Effect of maintaining neck flexion on anti-saccade reaction time: an investigation using transcranial magnetic stimulation to the frontal oculomotor field

Reaction time for anti-saccade, in which the gaze is directed to the position opposite to an illuminated target, shortens during maintenance of neck flexion. The present study applied transcranial magnetic sti...

Authors: Kenji Kunita and Katsuo Fujiwara

Higher ventilatory responses during and after passive walking-like leg movement in older individuals

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

Relationship between adult height and body weight and risk of carotid atherosclerosis assessed in terms of carotid intima-media thickness: The Nagasaki Islands study

Previous studies have reported an inverse association between height and risk of cardiovascular disease. However, evidence is limited for the association between risk of atherosclerosis and height. Further, al...

Authors: Yuji Shimizu, Mio Nakazato, Takaharu Sekita, Koichiro Kadota, Kazuhiko Arima, Hironori Yamasaki, Hisashi Goto, Satoshi Shirahama, Noboru Takamura, Kiyoshi Aoyagi and Takahiro Maeda

Physiological and psychological effects of walking on young males in urban parks in winter

Interaction with nature has a relaxing effect on humans. Increasing attention has been focused on the therapeutic effects of urban green space; however, there is a lack of evidence-based field research. This s...

Authors: Chorong Song, Dawou Joung, Harumi Ikei, Miho Igarashi, Mariko Aga, Bum-Jin Park, Masayuki Miwa, Michiko Takagaki and Yoshifumi Miyazaki

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

Association between melanopsin gene polymorphism (I394T) and pupillary light reflex is dependent on light wavelength

Our aim was to determine the association between melanopsin gene polymorphism and pupillary light reflex under diverse photic conditions, including different intensities and wavelengths.

Authors: Sang-il Lee, Akiko Hida, Sei-ichi Tsujimura, Takeshi Morita, Kazuo Mishima and Shigekazu Higuchi

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