Brain electrocortical activity during and after exercise: A quantitative synthesis

Abstract

Investigators of brain electrocortical responses to exercise have interpreted increased activity, or frontal hemispheric asymmetry, in the alpha frequency band as indicative of relaxation or a change in affect. However, few studies compared alpha activity with other frequencies and within or across hemispheres. To clarify the cumulative evidence in this area, we provide a quantitative review of the effects of exercise on brain electrocortical activity according to frequency bands and recording sites. Fifty-eight effects from 18 studies and 282 participants were retrieved. The mean effect size was moderately large (0.54 SD, 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.65) but heterogeneous. Compared to before exercise, alpha activity was greater immediately after and during exercise when expressed as absolute power but not as relative to power in other frequency bands; delta, theta, and beta activity also increased (0.38 to 0.75 SD). Effects did not differ significantly by recording sites. The cumulative evidence does not indicate that change in brain electrocortical activity after exercise is specific to alpha activity or hemispheric site.

Tonic and transient oscillatory brain activity during acute exercise

“…The overall power increase across the frequency spectrum during moderate-to-high intensity exercise with respect to light intensity is in line with the results of the only meta-analysis to date that has addressed this issue [12]. Indeed, Crabbe and Dishman [12] found no evidence of the selective effect of exercise on alpha frequency band at frontal localizations suggested by previous empirical research [9][10][11] [33].…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] parametric paired t-test maps comparing the averaged spectral power across subjects over time (x-axes) and frequency (y-axes) during moderate-to-high intensity and light intensity exercise in standard trials. The enclosed areas denote significant clusters of channels and time with p < 0.025.…”

“…The majority of these studies focused on changes in the alpha frequency band at frontal localizations [9] reporting increased alpha activity during exercise [10] [11]. The only meta-analysis to date [12], however, indicates that alpha brain rhythm activation is not selective and maybe parallel by an increase of other brain rhythms, suggesting a possible power increase across the entire frequency spectrum during exercise. Notably, these early studies focused on the averaged steady state spectral activation across the entire exercise period and have not investigated transient modulation in brain rhythms in response to task relevant stimuli under physical effort.…”

Using the Placebo Effect to Isolate Control Mechanisms of Athletic Performance: A Research Protocol

“…The authors argue that understanding EEG brain activity during experimental manipulations like fatigue requires EEG responses to exercise under normal controlled conditions to be understood first. 64 Bailey and colleagues examined multiple frequency bands from lateral (F7, F8, F3, F4), central (C3, C4) and parietal (P3, P4) sites during different intensities of aerobic exercise to volitional fatigue. They found global increases in theta, alpha and beta frequencies during exercise and suggest future studies to examine the association between changes in EEG and changes in cognition, emotions, and perception as well as the influence of peripheral physiology on EEG during exercise.…”

“…We will attempt to replicate the findings of the metaanalysis by Crabbe and Dishman, suggesting that EEG responses during and after exercise show increases in alpha, delta, theta and beta activity. 64 We further aim to analyze the association between changes in EEG and changes in fatigue perception and the influence of peripheral physiology during exercise as suggested by Bailey and colleagues.…”