Zusammenfassung Nachwuchspreis 2022

1. Platz: Sven Egger mit seinem Vortrag "Short-term balance consolidation relies on the integrity of the primary motor cortex (M1): a rTMS study"
Structural and functional adaptations occur in the primary motor cortex (M1) after only a few balance learning sessions. Nevertheless, the role of M1 in consolidating balance tasks remains to be discussed, as direct evidence is missing due to the fact that it is unclear whether adaptations in M1 are indeed the driving force for balance improvements or merely the consequence of improved balance. To investigate this issue, thirty participants were randomly allocated into a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or sham-rTMS group. The experimental design included an acquisition phase, followed by either 15 minutes of rTMS (1 Hz at 115 % of rMT to disrupt the involvement of M1) or sham-rTMS, and finally a retention test 24 hours later. During the acquisition phase, both groups improved balance performance similarly. However, significant differences between the rTMS and the sham-rTMS group were found in the retention test. While the rTMS group had a performance loss, the sham-rTMS group displayed significant off-line gains from the end of the acquisition phase to the retention test (p = 0.001). For the first time, this finding demonstrates a causal relationship between the involvement of M1 and the early learning and consolidation of a balance task.

2. Platz: Lars Lenze mit seinem Vortrag "Patterns of leisure-time physical activity in youth as predictors for lifelong activity? A latent profile analysis with retrospective life course data"
Considering the positive health effects of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), youth is seen as an important life stage to promote lifelong LTPA. However, the stability of LTPA over the life course is low and specific predictors of LTPA in youth for lifelong activity have some shortcomings, for instance, focusing on average effects of the population and neglecting interacting factors of LTPA within individuals.
Therefore, this study investigates patterns of LTPA behavior in youth considering time- and context-related aspects (number of regularly active years, number of different activities practiced, if self-organized activities and organized activities were practiced), and the relationship to lifelong LTPA. Life course data from 1519 Swiss inhabitants aged between 25 and 76 years were recorded retrospectively with a validated questionnaire (computer-assisted telephone interviews).
Using so-called latent profile analyses, six qualitatively distinct patterns in youth could be identified. Overall, mostly inactive youth are also the least active in adulthood, whereas several other patterns are associated with a high activity level in adulthood. More precisely, a high expression in every variable (very diversely active early starters) seems promising regarding lifelong LTPA. Furthermore, many active years (low diversely active, self-organized early starters) or many different activities practiced (very diversely active late entrants) connected with at least a self-organized setting relate to high levels of lifelong LTPA.
In conclusion, there is not just one way of LTPA behavior in youth to stay lifelong active, indicating certain variables can be compensated by each other. Implications for LTPA promotion in youth can be derived from our results. 

3. Platz: Stephan Zahno mit dem Vortrag  "Creativity in elite youth football: Enhancing players’ motor skills rather than a divergent thinking ability fosters creative actions"
In team sports, developing creative players is widely discussed as a crucial and challenging objective. In most studies on the topic, creativity has been understood as a player’s divergent thinking (DT) ability and assessed with specific cognitive tests. Research indicates that DT can be improved with training. However, the underlying assumption that enhanced DT transfers to creative on-field actions has yet to be examined. Alternatively, we hypothesize that performing creative actions is foremost rooted in players’ motor-skill repertoire rather than in DT. We tested predictions from both explanations in a series of studies in elite youth football. In a field-based experiment, 16 under-13 players participated in training interventions to enhance either DT (DT group) or their motor-skill repertoire (functional skills; FS group). Before and after the interventions, we assessed players’ DT as well as the functionality and creativity of actions performed on-field. As expected, the DT group improved more than the FS group in the DT-test.  On-field, however, improvements in DT did not manifest in more creative actions. Rather, the FS group showed more pronounced improvements not only in the functionality but also in the creativity of on-field actions. Two correlational studies with male under-12 and female under-19 elite players support this finding indicating no correlations between players’ DT and on-field creativity but moderate to large correlations between players’ motor-skill level and on-field creativity. Taken together, our findings challenge the so far predominant DT framework and suggest that on-field creativity is better fostered by enhancing players’ motor skills.