Effects of Inositol-Enhanced Bonded Arginine Silicate Ingestion on Cognitive and Executive Function in Gamers

Abstract

Inositol stabilized arginine silicate (ASI) ingestion has been reported to increase nitric oxide levels while inositol (I) has been reported to enhance neurotransmission. The current study examined whether acute ASI + I (Inositol-enhanced bonded arginine silicate) ingestion affects cognitive function in e-sport gamers. In a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, and crossover trial, 26 healthy male (n = 18) and female (n = 8) experienced gamers (23 ± 5 years, 171 ± 11 cm, 71.1 ± 14 kg, 20.7 ± 3.5 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to consume 1600 mg of ASI + I (nooLVL®, Nutrition 21) or 1600 mg of a maltodextrin placebo (PLA). Prior to testing, participants recorded their diet, refrained from consuming atypical amounts of stimulants and foods high in arginine and nitrates, and fasted for 8 h. During testing sessions, participants completed stimulant sensitivity questionnaires and performed cognitive function tests (i.e., Berg-Wisconsin Card Sorting task test, Go/No-Go test, Sternberg Task Test, Psychomotor Vigilance Task Test, Cambridge Brain Sciences Reasoning and Concentration test) and a light reaction test. Participants then ingested treatments in a randomized manner. Fifteen minutes following ingestion, participants repeated tests (Pre-Game). Participants then played their favorite video game for 1-h and repeated the battery of tests (Post-Game). Participants observed a 7–14-day washout period and then replicated the study with the alternative treatment. Data were analyzed by General Linear Model (GLM) univariate analyses with repeated measures using weight as a covariate, paired t-tests (not adjusted to weight), and mean changes from baseline with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Pairwise comparison revealed that there was a significant improvement in Sternberg Mean Present Reaction Time (ASI + I vs. PLA; p < 0.05). In Post-Game assessments, 4-letter Absent Reaction Time (p < 0.05), 6-letter Present Reaction Time (p < 0.01), 6-letter Absent Reaction Time (p < 0.01), Mean Present Reaction Time (p < 0.02), and Mean Absent Reaction Time (p < 0.03) were improved with ASI + I vs. PLA. There was a non-significant trend in Pre-Game Sternberg 4-letter Present Reaction time in ASI + I vs. PLA (p < 0.07). ASI + I ingestion better maintained changes in Go/No-Go Mean Accuracy and Reaction Time, Psychomotor Vigilance Task Reaction Time, and Cambridge Post-Game Visio-spatial Processing and Planning. Results provide evidence that ASI + I ingestion prior to playing video games may enhance some measures of short-term and working memory, reaction time, reasoning, and concentration in experienced gamers.

Dose-Response of Paraxanthine on Cognitive Function: A Double Blind, Placebo Controlled, Crossover Trial

“…The IBM ® Version 28 SPSS ® statistical package (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to analyze data. Adequate sample size was determined based on an expected improvement of 5% with a power of 85% in primary outcome cognitive function related variables observed in our prior study [25,[41][42][43]. The n-size evaluated also had sufficient power to assess clinically significant side effects consistent with similarly designed studies conducted in our lab [41][42][43][44][45].…”

“…Adequate sample size was determined based on an expected improvement of 5% with a power of 85% in primary outcome cognitive function related variables observed in our prior study [25,[41][42][43]. The n-size evaluated also had sufficient power to assess clinically significant side effects consistent with similarly designed studies conducted in our lab [41][42][43][44][45]. Participants were randomized to treatments using a balanced Latin Square designer program [46].…”

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of a Microalgae Extract Containing Fucoxanthin Combined with Guarana on Cognitive Function and Gaming Performance

“…Trial duration, start speed, percentage of targets correctly identified, and the total score were evaluated to assess performance. We previously reported a test-retest Cv of identifying correct targets from this test of 6.5% [26].…”

“…sourceforge.net; accessed on 14 October 2021) [32]. A detailed description of each test and methods employed for the PEBL test in our lab was previously described [26,33]. The assessment battery included the Berg-Wisconsin Card Sorting Task test (BCST) which uses reaction time and accuracy of sorting cards to evaluate reasoning, learning, executive function, attention shifting (i.e., flexibility in responding to changing reinforcement schedules), and impulsiveness [32,[34][35][36][37]; the Go/No-Go Task test that assesses response control and sustained attention in responding ("Go") or not responding ("No-Go") to seeing the letters P or R appear on a computer monitor [34,35,38]; the Sternberg Task test (STT) that entails identifying visual stimuli as either present or absent within 2, 4, and 6 letter sequences in 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18-second intervals to assess short-term/working memory involving cognitive control processes with the resulting reaction time and accuracy [34,35,39]; and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task test (PVTT) that examines general attention via sustained attention reaction times by reacting to a visual stimulus using a keyboard [32,34,35,40,41].…”

“…The NeuroTracker Pro on-site system (NeuroTracker, Montreal, QC, Canada) lighttracking reaction performance test in 3-dimension mode was administered to assess perceptual-cognitive skills, as previously described [26]. The system was operated using a Zephyrus GX501 gaming laptop (AsusTek Computer Inc., Taipei, Taiwan) with a wireless Logitech G PRO gaming mouse (Logitech Europe S.A., Lausanne, CHE).…”