Effects of acute exercise at different intensities on fine motor‐cognitive dual‐task performance while walking: A functional near‐infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract

Studies on the effects of acute exercises on cognitive functions vary greatly and depend on the duration and intensity of exercise and the type of cognitive tasks. This study aimed to investigate the neural correlates that underpin the acute effects of high-intensity interval (HIIE) versus moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MCE) on fine motor-cognitive performance while walking (dual-task, DT) in healthy young adults. Twenty-nine healthy right-handers (mean age: 25.1 years ± 4.04; 7 female) performed the digital trail-making-test (dTMT) while walking (5 km/h) before and after acute exercise. During task performance, the hemodynamic activation of the frontopolar area (FPA), dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC), and motor cortex (M1) was recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Both HIIE and MCE resulted in improved dTMT performance, as reflected by an increase in the number of completed circles and a reduction in the time within and between circuits (reflecting improvements in working memory, inhibition, and decision making). Notably, HIIE evoked higher cortical activity on all brain areas measured in the present study than the MCE group. To our knowledge, these results provide the first empirical evidence using a mobile neuroimaging approach that both HIIE and MCE improve executive function during walking, likely mediated by increased activation of the task-related area of the prefrontal cortex and the ability to effectively use, among other things, high fitness levels as neural enrichment resources.

The Immediate and Sustained Effects of Exercise-Induced Hemodynamic Response on Executive Function During Fine Motor-Cognitive Tasks Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

“…1). Besides, some data (e.g., demographic and physiological data, MPSTEFS, and behavioral and neural data on pre-and post-exercise) have already been reported in the work of [40]. However, behavioral and neural data were reprocessed and analyzed concerning the research question under investigation here.…”

“…The data presented here are part of a larger study of the effects of acute training on cognitive performance [40]. The focus of this article is to compare the changes in individual cortical activations during a fine motor-cognitive task (dTMT-B) in a seated position after a 10-minute postexercise recovery period with two different types of exercise intervention.…”

“…Our goal was to confirm the intervention effects of post-exercise recovery between sessions. Another previously published study examined the acute effects of two exercise protocols on hemodynamic response during dTMT while walking [40].…”

“…In this regard, we also compared the mean value of the hemodynamic response over time with the slope value. In addition, the present study incorporated data from a previously published paper investigating the effects of acute exercise on fine motorcognitive performance while walking [40]. The hemodynamic response data were reprocessed and reanalyzed along with the other data.…”

Time to move: Brain dynamics underlying natural action and cognition

“…Shots that missed the target evoked a stronger midfrontal theta activation than hits, a finding that may help understand the neural bases of performance monitoring during complex activities. The study by Park et al (2021) compared digital trail-making-test performance while walking before and after exercise to determine neural correlates of improved performance. In the review paper by Dietz (2020), studies investigating neural coordination of bilateral power and precision finger movements are discussed.…”