Cognitive effects of acute aerobic exercise: Exploring the influence of exercise duration, exhaustion, task complexity and expectancies in endurance-trained individuals
Author(s)
McCartney, Danielle
Desbrow, Ben
Irwin, Christopher
Year published
2020
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The cognitive effects of acute aerobic exercise were investigated in endurance-trained individuals. On two occasions, 21 cyclists; 11 male (VO2max: 57 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1) and 10 female (VO2max: 51 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1), completed 45 min of fixed, moderate-intensity (discontinuous) cycling followed by an incremental ride to exhaustion. Cognitive function was assessed at Baseline, after 15 and 45 min of exercise (15EX and 45EX) and at Exhaustion using a 4-Choice Reaction Time (CRT) test and the Stroop test (Incongruent and Congruent Reaction Time [RT]). A sham capsule was administered on one occasion to determine whether the ...
View more >The cognitive effects of acute aerobic exercise were investigated in endurance-trained individuals. On two occasions, 21 cyclists; 11 male (VO2max: 57 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1) and 10 female (VO2max: 51 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1), completed 45 min of fixed, moderate-intensity (discontinuous) cycling followed by an incremental ride to exhaustion. Cognitive function was assessed at Baseline, after 15 and 45 min of exercise (15EX and 45EX) and at Exhaustion using a 4-Choice Reaction Time (CRT) test and the Stroop test (Incongruent and Congruent Reaction Time [RT]). A sham capsule was administered on one occasion to determine whether the cognitive response to exercise was robust to the influence of a placebo. CRT, Congruent RT and Incongruent RT decreased (improved) at 15EX, 45EX and Exhaustion compared to Baseline (p’s<0.005). While CRT and Congruent RT were faster at 45EX than 15EX (p’s<0.020), Incongruent RT was not (p= 1.000). The sham treatment did not affect cognition. When performed at a moderate-intensity, longer duration exercise (up to 45 min) may improve cognition to a greater extent than shorter duration exercise; however, the magnitude of improvement appears to decrease with increasing task complexity. HI/EE performed following a sustained bout of dehydrating activity may not impair cognition.
View less >
View more >The cognitive effects of acute aerobic exercise were investigated in endurance-trained individuals. On two occasions, 21 cyclists; 11 male (VO2max: 57 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1) and 10 female (VO2max: 51 ± 9 mL·kg−1·min−1), completed 45 min of fixed, moderate-intensity (discontinuous) cycling followed by an incremental ride to exhaustion. Cognitive function was assessed at Baseline, after 15 and 45 min of exercise (15EX and 45EX) and at Exhaustion using a 4-Choice Reaction Time (CRT) test and the Stroop test (Incongruent and Congruent Reaction Time [RT]). A sham capsule was administered on one occasion to determine whether the cognitive response to exercise was robust to the influence of a placebo. CRT, Congruent RT and Incongruent RT decreased (improved) at 15EX, 45EX and Exhaustion compared to Baseline (p’s<0.005). While CRT and Congruent RT were faster at 45EX than 15EX (p’s<0.020), Incongruent RT was not (p= 1.000). The sham treatment did not affect cognition. When performed at a moderate-intensity, longer duration exercise (up to 45 min) may improve cognition to a greater extent than shorter duration exercise; however, the magnitude of improvement appears to decrease with increasing task complexity. HI/EE performed following a sustained bout of dehydrating activity may not impair cognition.
View less >
Journal Title
Journal of Sports Sciences
Note
This publication has been entered as an advanced online version in Griffith Research Online.
Subject
Sports science and exercise
Nutrition and dietetics
Sport and exercise nutrition
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Cognition
dehydration