Professor, alumna publish work on motor behavior

University of North Georgia (UNG) professor Dr. Andrzej Przybyla and alumna Virginie Eyraud, '21 & '22, published an article on the effects of short-term training in archery. Przybyla works in UNG's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

The article, "Effects of Short-Term Novice Archery Training on Reaching Movement Performance and Interlimb Asymmetries," included the work of professors Ozkan Beyaz and Selcuk Akpinar from Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University and Hacettepe University professor Gıyasettin Demirhan. It chronicled the effects of short-term training on 18 participants over a 12-week period.

The article was published in August after three years of work in Turkey.

"The idea for this study was developed by me and my collaborator, Dr. Selcuk Akpinar, professor in sports science from the department of Physical Education and Sports at Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University in Turkey," Przybyla said. "It was developed based on our previous studies on differences in movement performance between the dominant and the nondominant arm, or in other words, interlimb differences."

The study revealed both dominant and nondominant arms improved similarly in reaching movement performance. The finding differed from Pryzbyla's previous study on the effect of long-term training, which indicated that differences in movement performance between arms were modified.

Eyraud, who earned a degree in biology, as well as, graduated from UNG doctoral program for physical therapy shared the process was a great support to her.

"Participating was lots of fun. Dr. Przybyla was very good at explaining the background for this research and what we needed to achieve to help get this paper published," the Lyon, France, native said. " I learned so much under his tutelage, and even though I was relatively inexperienced in the research world, I felt very supported."