The relation of aerobic fitness to neuroelectric indices of cognitive and motor task preparation (original) (raw)
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The aim of this research was to investigate the implicit and explicit cognitive processes during and after the cessation of the aerobic acute exercises with different intensities in individuals with different working memory capacity (WMC) based on the transient hypofrontality thesis. Participants consist of 60 males (30 high WMC and 30 low WMC) with moderate level of physical fitness (age: 20.82 ± 2.2; VO2max = 49.33 ± 6 ml. kg. min) by different cycling intensities (80-90%, 60-70% and 40-50% maximum heart rate) and WMC were divided randomly to six groups of 10 people . Implicit (choice reaction time) and explicit (stroop) cognitive tests were administered in four different times before, during, 1 and 15 minute after the cessation of the exercise. Results of ANOVA through repeated measures and between groups factor revealed the main effect of time was significant for the implicit cognitive process (p<0.05). Main effects of the time and group interactions were significant in explicit cognitive process (p<0.05). Based on the Bonferroni correction, there was a significant difference between high and low intensity groups (more interference in high intensity group) (p<0.05) but there was no difference between the individuals with high and low WMC in the same intensities. The results of this research showed that the transient hypofrontality occurs during high intensity aerobic acute exercise and WMC has no effects on the emergence of this temporary change.
The Effect of Acute Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Working Memory
PONTIFEX, M. B., C. H. HILLMAN, B. FERNHALL, K. M. THOMPSON, and T. A. VALENTINI. The Effect of Acute Aerobic and Resistance Exercise on Working Memory. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 927-934, 2009. Purpose: The goal of this investigation was to assess the influence of acute bouts of aerobic versus resistance exercise on the executive control of working memory. Methods: Twenty-one young adult participants completed a cardiorespiratory fitness test and maximal strength tests. On subsequent days, task performance measures of reaction time (RT) and accuracy were collected while participants completed a modified Sternberg working memory task before the start of, immediately after, and 30 min after an intervention consisting of 30 min of either resistance or aerobic exercise and a seated rest control. Results: Findings indicated shorter RT immediately and 30 min after acute aerobic exercise relative to the preexercise baseline with no such effects observed after resistance exercise or seated rest. Further, in the aerobic condition, a larger reduction in RT from the baseline occurred during task conditions requiring increased working memory capacity. Again, no effect was observed in the resistance exercise or the seated rest conditions. Conclusion: These data extend the current knowledge base by indicating that acute exercise-induced changes in cognition are disproportionately related to executive control and may be specific to the aerobic exercise domain.
Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function in Healthy Preadolescent Children
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005
HILLMAN, C. H., D. M. CASTELLI, and S. M. BUCK. . Purpose: We investigated the relationship between age, aerobic fitness, and cognitive function by comparing high-and low-fit preadolescent children and adults. Method: Twenty-four children (mean age ϭ 9.6 yr) and 27 adults (mean age ϭ 19.3 yr) were grouped according to their fitness (high, low) such that four approximately equal groups were compared. Fitness was assessed using the Fitnessgram test, and cognitive function was measured by neuroelectric and behavioral responses to a stimulus discrimination task. Results: Adults exhibited greater P3 amplitude at Cz and Pz sites, and decreased amplitude at the Oz site compared with children. High-fit children had greater P3 amplitude compared with low-fit children and high-and low-fit adults. Further, adults had faster P3 latency compared with children, and high-fit participants had faster P3 latency compared with low-fit participants at the Oz site. Adults exhibited faster reaction time than children; however, fitness interacted with age such that high-fit children had faster reaction time than low-fit children. Conclusion: These findings suggest that fitness was positively associated with neuroelectric indices of attention and working memory and response speed in children. Fitness was also associated with cognitive processing speed, but these findings were not age-specific. These data indicate that fitness may be related to better cognitive functioning in preadolescents and have implications for increasing cognitive health in children and adults.
The relationship between aerobic fitness and executive control was assessed in 38 higher-and lower-fit children (M age ϭ 9.4 years), grouped according to their performance on a field test of aerobic capacity. Participants performed a flanker task requiring variable amounts of executive control while event-related brain potential responses and task performance were assessed. Results indicated that higher-fit children performed more accurately across conditions of the flanker task and following commission errors when compared to lower-fit children, whereas no group differences were observed for reaction time. Neuroelectric data indicated that P3 amplitude was larger for higher-compared to lower-fit children across conditions of the flanker task, and higher-fit children exhibited reduced error-related negativity amplitude and increased error positivity amplitude compared to lower-fit children. The data suggest that fitness is associated with better cognitive performance on an executive control task through increased cognitive control, resulting in greater allocation of attentional resources during stimulus encoding and a subsequent reduction in conflict during response selection. The findings differ from those observed in adult populations by indicating a general rather than a selective relationship between aerobic fitness and cognition.
Aerobic fitness and intra-individual variability of neurocognition in preadolescent children
This study examined behavioral and neuroelectric intra-individual variability (IIV) in preadolescent children during a task requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. The current study further examined whether IIV was moderated by aerobic fitness level. Participants performed a modified flanker task, comprised of congruent and incongruent arrays, within compatible and incompatible stimulus–response conditions. Results revealed that congruent, relative to incongruent, conditions were associated with less IIV of RT. Further, less IIV of RT, P3 amplitude, and P3 latency was observed for the compatible relative to the incompatible condition. Higher fitness was associated with shorter and less variable RT only for the incompatible condition, with no fitness-related differences observed for P3 variability. The findings suggest that conditions requiring greater cognitive control are associated with increased IIV, and that higher fitness may be associated with greater integrity of cognitive control systems during development.
Experimental Gerontology, 2018
Objectives: Cognition, along with aerobic and muscular fitness, declines with age. Although research has shown that resistance and aerobic exercise may improve cognition, no consensus exists supporting the use of one approach over the other. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of steady-state, moderate-intensity treadmill training (TM) and high-velocity circuit resistance training (HVCRT) on cognition, and to examine its relationships to aerobic fitness and neuromuscular power. Methods: Thirty older adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups: HVCRT, TM, or control. Exercise groups attended training 3 days/wk for 12 weeks, following a 2 week adaptation period. The NIH Cognitive Toolbox was used to assess specific components of cognition and provided an overall fluid composite score (FCS). The walking response and inhibition test (WRIT) was specifically used to assess executive function (EF) and provided an accuracy (ACC), reaction time (RT) and global score (GS). Aerobic power (AP) and maximal neuromuscular power (MP) were measured pre-and post-intervention. Relationships between variables using baseline and mean change scores were assessed. Results: Significant increases were seen from baseline in ACC (MD = 14.0, SE = 4.3, p = .01, d = 1.49), GS (MD = 25.6, SE = 8.0, p = .01, d = 1.16), and AP (MD = 1.4, SE = 0.6, p = .046, d = 0.31) for HVCRT. RT showed a trend toward a significant decrease (MD = −0.03, SE = 0.016, p = .068, d = 0.32) for HVCRT. No significant within-group differences were detected for TM or CONT. Significant correlations were seen at baseline between AP and FCS, as well as other cognitive domains; but none were detected among change scores. Although no significant correlation was evident between MP and FCS or GS, there was a trend toward higher MP values being associated with higher FCS and GS scores. Conclusions: Our results support the use of HVCRT over TM for improving cognition in older persons, although the precise mechanisms that underlie this association remain unclear.
Biological Psychology, 2014
This aim of the present study was to investigate relationships between aerobic fitness, sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiac control using pre-ejection period (PEP) and high frequency heart rate variability (HF HRV), and performance on a task requiring variable amounts of cognitive control. Fifty-six participants completed a modified-version of the Eriksen flanker task while PEP and HF HRV were collected. A graded maximal exercise test was subsequently used to measure aerobic fitness by assessing maximal oxygen uptake. Results indicated a significant relation of fitness to reaction time performance. Although no fitness differences were observed in resting state PEP or HF HRV, higher fit adults exhibited greater taskinduced parasympathetic cardiac control. However, no significant mediation was found for HF HRV on the fitness-cognitive control relationship, suggesting other mediators may be important. These findings highlight the role of aerobic fitness in enhancing integrated autonomic and neurocognitive health.
PLOS ONE
Many studies have shown that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function and maintains brain health. In particular, moderate-intensity exercise is effective for improving cognitive performance. However, there is no strong consensus on whether a single exercise session improves working memory (WM) function, as it does inhibitory function. It is possible that these discrepancies involve inter-individual differences in WM function. Therefore, we investigated whether acute mild and moderate aerobic exercise improve WM, and whether there exist inter-individual differences in improvements in WM. Thirty healthy subjects were recruited and participated in three experimental conditions (control, mild-intensity exercise, and moderate-intensity exercise). Subjects performed 10 min of exercise on a cycle ergometer with an individualized load. Their pedaling rate was maintained at 60 rpm. In the control condition, subjects rested on the cycle ergometer instead of performing exercise. The Nback task (2-back and 0-back task) was performed to assess WM function before, 5 min, and 15 min after the 10-min exercise session. In this study, to elucidate the effect of an acute bout of mild or moderate exercise on WM, the "2-back-0-back" contrast, which is assumed to represent WM function, was calculated. The Two-Dimensional Mood Scale was adopted to measure changes in psychological mood states efficiently. The results revealed that working memory function was not improved by acute mild or moderate exercise. However, baseline working memory function was significantly associated with any change in working memory function following exercise, and this was independent of exercise intensity. Subjects with the lowest working memory function at baseline responded the most favorably. The results revealed that improvements in working memory function after a single session of aerobic exercise depend on baseline working memory function.