Association between cardiorespiratory fitness and social cognition in healthy adults

Abstract

Purpose Whereas there is compelling evidence for an association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and executive function and attention, its relation with social cognition has not been investigated yet. However, social cognition is linked with mental health and career success in jobs with high demands on social interaction. The present study aims to examine the association between CRF and the facial emotion recognition aspect of social cognition in police officers. Methods The study utilized a cross‐sectional design. 198 male and female participants (aged 38.3 ± 1.3 years) completed the Åstrand submaximal bicycle ergometer test and their CRF was estimated using the Åstrand‐Rhyming nomogram. Additionally, a 2‐choice reaction time task and two facial emotion recognition tasks (labeling and matching) with low (emotion recognition from faces) and high (emotion recognition from eyes) difficulty trials were administered for the assessment of attention and social cognition. Results Adjusting for age, gender, education, and attention, hierarchical regression supported higher CRF to be related to higher performance on overall performance on the facial emotion labeling and matching tasks, Beta = 0.141, P = .046. With regard to difficulty levels, a similar association between CRF and task performance was found for the faces condition, Beta = 0.147, P = .043, but not for the eyes condition, Beta = 0.105, P = .132. Conclusions Social cognition appears to differ as a function of adults’ CRF level. The present findings have a high relevance for police officers, because they need to rely on this cognitive domain for many decisions in their work‐life.

Association between aerobic fitness and the functional connectome in patients with schizophrenia

“…Finally, we observe a positive influence of aerobic fitness on emotion recognition capability mediated by sFC between central and limbic seeds. A positive link between aerobic fitness and emotion recognition has recently been demonstrated in healthy participants [87]. We could replicate this finding in people with schizophrenia and provide new evidence on the mediating role of sFC between the right Rolandic operculum and the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus.…”

Do different cognitive domains mediate the association between moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity and adolescents’ off‐task behaviour in the classroom?

“…The limited evidence suggests acute benefits of aerobic exercise for children and adolescents’ emotion‐recognition skills (Brand et al., 2019 ). Similarly, higher cardiorespiratory fitness in adults has been associated with a greater ability to label and match emotions from faces (Ludyga, Schilling, et al., 2020 ). Recalling the beneficial effect of MVPA on cardiorespiratory fitness (Silva et al., 2013 ), regular engagement in such activities might also be linked to improved emotion recognition among adolescents.…”

The Dose–Response Relationships of Different Dimensions of Physical Activity with Daily Physical Function and Cognitive Function in Chinese Adults with Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In addition, related studies have shown that exercise in patients with hypertension was helpful for improving the flexibility of the brain, and enabled patients to have a certain spatial imagination ability [ 36 ]. Furthermore, cardiorespiratory function or aerobic capacity was related to the improvement of CF [ 50 ]. Exercise intensity can improve the CF of the brain more than exercise duration; therefore, appropriate exercise intensity has a more significant effect on improving CF and delaying cognitive decline [ 51 ].…”