Thomas Romeas | Université de Montréal (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Romeas

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic struck right during the Olympic preparation, leading to significant trainin... more The COVID-19 pandemic struck right during the Olympic preparation, leading to significant training restrictions such as noncontact practices for combat sports. This case study research describes the application of a complementary virtual-reality (VR) intervention to train elite boxers preparing for Tokyo 2020 during the pandemic. It also addresses the evaluation of broader visuocognitive functions in elite boxers. Six boxers were allocated to two groups: one experimental group trained on a 360°VR (360VR) temporal video-occlusion program, and one active control group trained on a VR game simulation during 11 sessions. Pre-and postevaluations of specific decision-making performance were performed on a 360VR evaluation test. Fundamental visual and visuocognitive functions were assessed at baseline. Greater on-test decision-making improvements were observed in the 360VR-trained group compared with VR game, and 360VR offered self-reported satisfactory, representative, and safe individual training opportunities for the boxers. More research is warranted to explore the applications of 360VR and VR simulation for psycho-perceptual-motor-skill evaluation and training. Superior visuocognitive performance was observed in elite boxers and should also be a topic of further investigation. The methodological approach, implementation, and reflections are provided in detail to guide practitioners toward the applied use of VR in the sporting environment.

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021

Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual... more Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual–cognitive (P–C) skills to make fast and accurate decisions. However, their daily training environment often lacks stimulation and representativeness of game demands. This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where noncontact practices became the “new normal.” In the Canadian Women’s National Team preparation for the 2020 Olympics, goalkeepers’ P–C training was made a priority. Led by the team’s mental performance consultant and experts from transdisciplinary fields, the initiative began with an evaluation of a broad range of P–C skills in goalkeepers. Leading up to the Olympics, a series of P–C activities (i.e., anticipatory training using video occlusion, eye–hand coordination, and visuomotor drills) were adopted based on ecological dynamics principles. Virtual reality technology and constraints-focused tools were used to enrich and diversify the goalkeepers’ daily trainings envir...

Frontiers in Neurology, 2021

Motor control deficits outlasting self-reported symptoms are often reported following mild trauma... more Motor control deficits outlasting self-reported symptoms are often reported following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The exact duration and nature of these deficits remains unknown. The current study aimed to compare postural responses to static or dynamic virtual visual inputs and during standard clinical tests of balance in 38 children between 9 and 18 years-of-age, at 2 weeks, 3 and 12 months post-concussion. Body sway amplitude (BSA) and postural instability (vRMS) were measured in a 3D virtual reality (VR) tunnel (i.e., optic flow) moving in the antero-posterior direction in different conditions. Measures derived from standard clinical balance evaluations (BOT-2, Timed tasks) and post-concussion symptoms (PCSS-R) were also assessed. Results were compared to those of 38 healthy non-injured children following a similar testing schedule and matched according to age, gender, and premorbid level of physical activity. Results highlighted greater postural response with BSA and vR...

Several trends within the simulation and training industry are emphasizing the need for measurabl... more Several trends within the simulation and training industry are emphasizing the need for measurable proof that training solutions meet or exceed the requirements for delivering effective training. Cognitive state is a key component of learning, meaning that classification of cognitive state and capacity can provide a measure of training effectiveness. However, accurate classification of trainee state is an extremely challenging task. The more traditional subjective assessment methods have several limitations, while objective assessment methods can be difficult to implement. We conducted an exploratory study that evaluated the cognitive and physiological load engaged during flight simulation and live flight during maneuvers of three levels of difficulty. The study represents the work performed to date in the first year of a multi-year effort to design a method for assessing the efficacy of training content and devices, including live platforms, that is based on objective cognitive sta...

To perform at the top, athletes must possess a special perceptual-cognitive ability. This talent ... more To perform at the top, athletes must possess a special perceptual-cognitive ability. This talent is the capacity to extract key information from a visual scene and is reflected by sportsmen’s vision and intelligence of play. For a long time, sport science has reported perceptual-cognitive expertise inside the domain-specific sport environment of athletes. But more recently, evidence has shown that expertise could also been reflected outside of this context, in daily activities for instance. Moreover, recent theories surrounding brain plasticity have driven researchers to develop new tools to train perceptual-cognitive skills of athletes in order to increase performance on the field. Those methods are mostly contextual to the athlete’s discipline. However, a new perceptual-cognitive training methodology, called 3-Dimensional Multiple Object Tracking (3D-MOT), which is deprived of sport context, has recently been developed and took a center part in our researches. One of the main objectives was to observe athletes’ specific and non-specific expertise during the same study. We evaluated biological motion perception in soccer players and non-athletes in a virtual reality environment. Sportsmen were systematically more efficient and faster compared to novices when discriminating the direction of the biological motion during a soccer specific exercise (shot) but also during a daily action (walk). The results suggest that athletes are better capable in perceiving human biological motions performed by others. Soccer activity seems to confer a fundamental advantage that goes beyond sport specific functions. Concurrent with those discoveries, we observed the amazing ability of an athlete’s performance to process dynamic and neutral visual scenes. Soccer players outperformed novices throughout the 3D-MOT test which consists in tracking moving targets and simulates perceptual-cognitive skills. Their visual tracking speed and their learning ability were superior. The results confirm previous data obtained by sport experts. The 3D-MOT is an attentional tracking paradigm that stimulates active processing of dynamic visual information. In particular, it targets selective, dynamic and sustained attention, as well as working memory. This tool can be used to train perceptual-cognitive functions of athletes. Soccer players trained with the 3D-MOT throughout 30 sessions have shown an increase in passing decision making (15%) on the field compared to control groups. For the first time, the results demonstrate a perceptual-cognitive transfer from the laboratory to the field following a non-contextual perceptual-cognitive training program. Our research helps to understand athletes’ expertise by using both specific and non-specific approaches and also present perceptual-cognitive training tools, in particular the 3D-MOT technique, to improve performance in sport.

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2021

Gedruckt auf säurefreiem und alterungsbeständigen Papier (ISO 9706).

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2019

This study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive training paradigm that combines t... more This study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive training paradigm that combines three-dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) with motor (Experiment 1) or perceptual (Experiment 2) sport decision-making tasks. We sought to assess the impact of training on task performance and determine optimal training conditions for improvement and learning. Fifty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions (isolated 3D-MOT, 3D-MOT combined with a decision-making task, consolidated 3D-MOT later combined with a decision-making task, and isolated decision-making task). We evaluated task performance using speed thresholds, success rate (%), and reaction time (s). Findings were that the dual-task paradigm was associated with performance beyond chance level on both 3D-MOT and decision-making tasks despite an important dual-task cost. Interestingly, the results seemed to favor consolidated 3D-MOT training over simultaneous 3D-MOT training when combin...

The present study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive paradigm combining three d... more The present study introduces a virtual life-sized perceptual-cognitive paradigm combining three dimensional multiple object tracking (3D-MOT) with motor (Experiment 1) or perceptual (Experiment 2) decision-making tasks. The objectives were to assess the impact of training on task performance and to determine the best training conditions for improvement and learning. Seventy-one participants were randomly trained under one of four training conditions (isolated 3D-MOT task, 3D-MOT simultaneously combined with a decision-making task, consolidated 3D-MOT and decision-making task, isolated decision-making task). Task performance was evaluated using speed thresholds, decision accuracy (%) and reaction time (s). Findings showed that the dual-task paradigm allowed satisfactory degrees of performance on both tasks despite an important dual-task cost. Interestingly, the results seemed to favor consolidated over simultaneous training for dual-task performance when 3D-MOT was combined with a mo...

The Knee, 2018

BACKGROUND A large majority of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are non-contact, most of... more BACKGROUND A large majority of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are non-contact, most often occurring during a landing or change of direction. Recent research indicates that cognitive factors may be involved in non-contact ACL injuries. The aim of this study was to determine if a game-situation perceptual-cognitive load leads to altered landing kinematics in physically fatigued female athletes. METHODS Nineteen female recreational athletes were recruited to perform a series of jumping and landing trials. In a first phase, eight trials were performed in an isolated condition and eight were performed while participants performed a perceptual-cognitive task. Before a second identical phase, participants underwent a muscular fatigue protocol. Knee-joint kinematics were recorded and compared between conditions using paired t-tests. RESULTS Muscle fatigue led to statistically significant increases in peak knee abduction and peak internal knee rotation as well as a decrease in maximum knee flexion, when comparing conditions without the perceptual-cognitive task. The perceptual-cognitive task had no statistically significant effect on any knee rotations, either pre- or post-fatigue. However, a subgroup of 12 athletes showed a significant increase in knee abduction in the presence of the perceptual-cognitive task, only in the fatigued condition. CONCLUSION A perceptual-cognitive task combined with muscle fatigue alters knee kinematics of landing for a subset of recreational athletes, potentially increasing the risk of ACL rupture. Further studies are necessary to confirm this finding and to identify characteristics of at-risk individuals to target them for injury prevention protocols.

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2018

While the rate of sport-related concussion is increasing, more effective tools are needed to help... more While the rate of sport-related concussion is increasing, more effective tools are needed to help monitor the diagnosis and return to play of athletes. The three-dimensional multiple-object tracking (3D-MOT) exercise is a perceptual-cognitive task that has shown predictive power towards the dynamic requirements of real-world activities such as sport. This study introduced the use of the 3D-MOT task, along with the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) and Modified Balance Error Scoring System (M-BESS) tests, for diagnosis and return to play in professional sports. Fifty-nine professional athletes were tested with the 3D-MOT, SAC and M-BESS tests at 48 hours following the injury. The same measures were employed to evaluate the return to play following the standard concussion management protocol. The SAC and M-BESS tests were also performed in pre-season (baseline) in 32 out of the 59 athletes. The injured athletes exhibited poor performance on 3D-MOT at 48 hours post injury com...

Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2017

Abstract While car driving simulators are an essential research tool for assessing drivers’ behav... more Abstract While car driving simulators are an essential research tool for assessing drivers’ behavior under safe and controlled conditions, gender differences in susceptibility to simulator sickness is a major drawback for the interpretation of the outcomes. The present study assessed the efficacy of a technological (Experiment 1; the use of motion-based driving simulator) and a pharmacological (Experiment 2; the use of transdermal scopolamine) solution to solve the methodological issues raised by gender differences in susceptibility to simulator sickness. In experiment 1, twenty-four women and twenty-four men performed two driving sessions lasting 16 min within a high-fidelity motion-based driving simulator. In experiment 2, eight women and eight men were tested in the same simulator but received, in a counterbalanced between subjects design, either a placebo or a scopolamine patch 12 h before the experimentation. In both experiments, simulator sickness questionnaire scores were computed before the first driving session and after the first and the second driving sessions. The results showed that only the pharmacological solution was efficient for solving these methodological issues. Indeed, whereas women experienced greater simulator sickness than men under placebo influence (p 0.05). As a whole, this demonstration paves the way toward better-controlled experiments. Moreover, beyond their implications in many research fields, the results from car driving simulator studies are of use to road safety policy makers. Thus, this approach allowing cancellation of gender differences in susceptibility to simulator sickness is of critical importance at a society level.

Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2016

Journal of Vision, 2015

With continuous exposure to situations, events or action patterns, we can achieve superior levels... more With continuous exposure to situations, events or action patterns, we can achieve superior levels of performance. An effective example that highlights this expertise can be described in athletics (sports). A number of studies report perceptual-cognitive expertise in athletes. Interestingly, recent studies have shown that athletes' domain specific expertise can transfer to everyday tasks such as processing socially realistic multitasking crowd scenes, which involve pedestrians crossing a street or processing complex and dynamic visual scenes. In this study we assessed the perceptual-cognitive expertise of athletes and non-athletes using sport specific and non-specific biological motion perception tasks. Using a virtual environment (EON IcubeTM), forty one university-level soccer players and nineteen non-athletes were asked to perceive the direction of a point-light walker and to predict the trajectory of a masked-ball during a point-light soccer kick. Angles of presentation were varied for orientation (upright, inverted) and distance (2m, 4m, 16m). Correct response (%) and reaction time (s) were measured to assess observers' performance. The two tasks revealed distinct level of performance in both groups (p&lt; 0.001). Response accuracy (p&lt; 0.001) and reaction time (p=0.002 for point-light walker only) varied according to the angle of presentation (task difficulty). Varying difficulty throughout biological motion highlighted athletes' superior ability compare to non-athletes to accurately predict the trajectory of a masked soccer ball during the point-light soccer kick task (p=0.003 accuracy; p=0.961 reaction time). As expected, athletes performed better throughout the domain-specific task (soccer) but more surprisingly, they also displayed greater performance in accuracy (p=0.002) and reaction time (p=0.057) than non-athletes throughout the more fundamental and general point-light walker direction task. Athletes seemed to demonstrate a general fundamental perceptual-cognitive expertise for biological motion perception. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2015

Data in brief, 2017

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "The use of ... more The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "The use of transdermal scopolamine to solve methodological issues raised by gender differences in susceptibility to simulator sickness" (Chaumillon et al., 2017) [1]. In an outstanding first demonstration, Kennedy et al. [2] showed that the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) is an appropriate tool to suit the purposes of characterizing motion sickness experienced in virtual environments. This questionnaire has since been used in many scientific studies. Recently, Balk et al. [3] suggested that the proposed segregation of SSQ scores into three subclasses of symptoms might limit the accuracy of simulator sickness assessment. These authors performed a factor analysis based on SSQ scores obtained from nine studies on driving simulators. Although their factor analysis resulted in the same three orthogonal classes of symptoms as Kennedy et al. [2], unlike this pioneering study, no items were att...

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021

Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual... more Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual-cognitive (P-C) skills to make fast and accurate decisions. However, their daily training environment often lacks stimulation and representativeness of game demands. This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where noncontact practices became the "new normal." In the Canadian Women's National Team preparation for the 2020 Olympics, goalkeepers' P-C training was made a priority. Led by the team's mental performance consultant and experts from transdisciplinary fields, the initiative began with an evaluation of a broad range of P-C skills in goalkeepers. Leading up to the Olympics, a series of P-C activities (i.e., anticipatory training using video occlusion, eye-hand coordination, and visuomotor drills) were adopted based on ecological dynamics principles. Virtual reality technology and constraints-focused tools were used to enrich and diversify the goalkeepers' daily trainings environment. This case study reports the evaluation of P-C skills, the context, and the way in which the P-C activities were implemented, as well as their holistic impact on goalkeepers. Reflections and limitations are also shared to encourage interdisciplinary efforts in sport psychology and increase awareness among mental performance consultants about the importance of psycho-perceptualmotor skill training for mental performance.

Frontiers in Neurology, 2021

vRMS measures in the dynamic conditions. These preliminary findings suggest that using 3D dynamic... more vRMS measures in the dynamic conditions. These preliminary findings suggest that using 3D dynamic visual inputs such as optic flow in a controlled VR environment could help detect subtle postural impairments and inspire the development of clinical tools to guide rehabilitation and return to play recommendations.

Sport-specific agility and change of direction in water polo: The reliability and validity of two... more Sport-specific agility and change of direction in water polo: The reliability and validity of two newly developed tests. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2021-There is a gap in water-based agility testing that considers both the change-of-direction (COD) and perceptive-reactive components of agility. This study sought to develop easily implementable, sport-specific in-water agility tests for water polo and to verify the reliability and validity of these new tests: the in-water Stop and Go (SG) and Jump and Go (JG). Female water polo athletes at the Senior (n 5 12, age 5 22.1 6 2.1 years), Junior (n 5 19, age 5 18.5 6 1.0 years), and Youth (n 5 11, age 5 16.5 6 0.8 years) national levels performed 3 trials of each of the SG, JG, and the existing Functional Test for Agility Performance (FTAP). Senior athletes performed an additional experimental session to assess reliability parameters. Relative reliability for agility and COD versions of the SG and JG was high or very high (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] 5 0.76-0.95). For construct validity analyses, significant between-group differences for each of the new tests (p , 0.05) were found. In contrast, the FTAP was moderately reliable (ICC 5 0.57) and was unsuccessful in discriminating between playing levels. Considering the favorable metrological properties of the SG and JG, their fidelity to in-game demands, and their accessible setups, these new tests represent viable options to implement at grassroots and elite levels for the assessment and training of water polo-specific agility. . Correlations between on-land change of direction (Pro-Agility) and in-water change-of-direction performance on SG-COD and JG-COD, and between in-water agility test performance on the FTAP and on SG-AGIL and JG-AGIL. COD 5 change of direction; AGIL 5 agility; FTAP 5 Functional Test for Agility Performance.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2019

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2022

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021

Frontiers in Neurology, 2021

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2021

Gedruckt auf säurefreiem und alterungsbeständigen Papier (ISO 9706).

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2019

The Knee, 2018

BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2018

Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2017

Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2016

Journal of Vision, 2015

Frontiers in Psychology, 2015

Data in brief, 2017

Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021

Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual... more Goalkeepers play a very specific and crucial role in water polo. They rely on advanced perceptual-cognitive (P-C) skills to make fast and accurate decisions. However, their daily training environment often lacks stimulation and representativeness of game demands. This was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where noncontact practices became the "new normal." In the Canadian Women's National Team preparation for the 2020 Olympics, goalkeepers' P-C training was made a priority. Led by the team's mental performance consultant and experts from transdisciplinary fields, the initiative began with an evaluation of a broad range of P-C skills in goalkeepers. Leading up to the Olympics, a series of P-C activities (i.e., anticipatory training using video occlusion, eye-hand coordination, and visuomotor drills) were adopted based on ecological dynamics principles. Virtual reality technology and constraints-focused tools were used to enrich and diversify the goalkeepers' daily trainings environment. This case study reports the evaluation of P-C skills, the context, and the way in which the P-C activities were implemented, as well as their holistic impact on goalkeepers. Reflections and limitations are also shared to encourage interdisciplinary efforts in sport psychology and increase awareness among mental performance consultants about the importance of psycho-perceptualmotor skill training for mental performance.

Frontiers in Neurology, 2021

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2019

To perform at the top, athletes must possess a special perceptual-cognitive ability. This talent ... more To perform at the top, athletes must possess a special perceptual-cognitive ability. This talent is the capacity to extract key information from a visual scene and is reflected by sportsmen’s vision and intelligence of play. For a long time, sport science has reported perceptual-cognitive expertise inside the domain-specific sport environment of athletes. But more recently, evidence has shown that expertise could also been reflected outside of this context, in daily activities for instance. Moreover, recent theories surrounding brain plasticity have driven researchers to develop new tools to train perceptual-cognitive skills of athletes in order to increase performance on the field. Those methods are mostly contextual to the athlete’s discipline. However, a new perceptual-cognitive training methodology, called 3-Dimensional Multiple Object Tracking (3D-MOT), which is deprived of sport context, has recently been developed and took a center part in our researches.
One of the main objectives was to observe athletes’ specific and non-specific expertise during the same study. We evaluated biological motion perception in soccer players and non-athletes in a virtual reality environment. Sportsmen were systematically more efficient and faster compared to novices when discriminating the direction of the biological motion during a soccer specific exercise (shot) but also during a daily action (walk). The results suggest that athletes are better capable in perceiving human biological motions performed by others. Soccer activity seems to confer a fundamental advantage that goes beyond sport specific functions.
Concurrent with those discoveries, we observed the amazing ability of an athlete’s performance to process dynamic and neutral visual scenes. Soccer players outperformed novices throughout the 3D-MOT test which consists in tracking moving targets and simulates perceptual-cognitive skills. Their visual tracking speed and their learning ability were superior. The results confirm previous data obtained by sport experts.
The 3D-MOT is an attentional tracking paradigm that stimulates active processing of dynamic visual information. In particular, it targets selective, dynamic and sustained attention, as well as working memory. This tool can be used to train perceptual-cognitive functions of athletes. Soccer players trained with the 3D-MOT throughout 30 sessions have shown an increase in passing decision making (15%) on the field compared to control groups. For the first time, the results demonstrate a perceptual-cognitive transfer from the laboratory to the field following a non-contextual perceptual-cognitive training program.
Our research helps to understand athletes’ expertise by using both specific and non-specific approaches and also present perceptual-cognitive training tools, in particular the 3D-MOT technique, to improve performance in sport.

La dépression est une maladie chronique, récurrente et potentiellement mortelle qui affecte plus ... more La dépression est une maladie chronique, récurrente et potentiellement mortelle qui affecte plus de 20 % de la population à travers le monde. Les mécanismes sous-jacents de la dépression demeurent incompris et la pharmacothérapie actuelle, largement basée sur l’hypothèse monoaminergique, fait preuve d’une efficacité sous optimale et d’une latence thérapeutique élevée. Par conséquent, la recherche est amenée à élaborer de nouveaux traitements pharmacologiques. Pour détecter leur action, il est avant tout nécessaire de développer des outils expérimentaux adéquats. Dans cette optique, notre but a été de mesurer l’anhédonie, un symptôme cardinal de la dépression, chez le rat de laboratoire. L’anhédonie a été définie comme une réduction de la récompense et a été mesurée avec le test de consommation de sucrose et la technique d’autostimulation intracérébrale. En vue d’induire l’anhédonie, nous avons effectué une bulbectomie olfactive, une procédure qui entraîne divers changements biochimi...

Journal FORUM Le programme d'entraînement en réalité virtuelle NeuroTracker permet de mesurer non... more Journal FORUM Le programme d'entraînement en réalité virtuelle NeuroTracker permet de mesurer non seulement les capacités perceptivo-cognitives des athlètes de haut niveau lorsqu'ils s'entraînent en laboratoire, mais aussi l'amélioration que cet entraînement leur procure en situation de compétition.