Fitness Level Moderates Executive Control Disruption During Exercise Regardless of Age

Labelle, Véronique; Bosquet, Laurent; Mekary, Saïd; Vu, Thien Tuong Minh; Smilovitch, Mark; Bherer, Louis

doi:10.1123/jsep.2013-0115

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The results presented in the literature regarding the acute effect of different exercise intensities on RT and error rates are contradictory The decrease in accuracy found in the present study is in line with a number of studies [ 41 , 44 – 46 ]. On the other hand, Stroop interference in terms of RT did not change throughout the session, which also corroborates previous studies [ 44 , 45 ]. Nonetheless, meta-analyses have shown a small increase in Stroop RT at high exercise intensities [ 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Affect during incremental exercise: The role of inhibitory cognition, autonomic cardiac function, and cerebral oxygenation

Silva¹,

Fontes²,

Forti³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundPleasure is a key factor for physical activity behavior in sedentary individuals. Inhibitory cognitive control may play an important role in pleasure perception while exercising, especially at high intensities. In addition, separate work suggests that autonomic regulation and cerebral hemodynamics influence the affective and cognitive responses during exercise.PurposeWe investigated the effects of exercise intensity on affect, inhibitory control, cardiac autonomic function, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation.MethodsThirty-seven sedentary young adults performed two experimental conditions (exercise and control) in separate sessions in a repeated-measures design. In the exercise condition, participants performed a maximum graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer as we continuously measured oxygen consumption, heart rate variability (HRV), and PFC oxygenation. At each of 8 intensity levels we also measured inhibitory control (Stroop test), associative and dissociative thoughts (ADT), and affective/pleasure ratings. In the control condition, participants sat motionless on a cycle ergometer without active pedaling, and we collected the same measures at the same points in time as the exercise condition. We evaluated the main effects and interactions of exercise condition and intensity level for each measure using two-way repeated measures ANOVAs. Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between affect and inhibitory control, ADT, HRV, and PFC oxygenation using Pearson’s correlation coefficients.ResultsFor exercise intensities below and at the ventilatory threshold (VT), participants reported feeling neutral, with preservation of inhibitory control, while intensities above the VT were associated with displeasure (p<0.001), decreased inhibitory control and HRV (p<0.001), and increased PFC oxygenation (p<0.001). At the highest exercise intensity, pleasure was correlated with the low-frequency index of HRV (r = -0.34; p<0.05) and the low-frequency/high-frequency HRV ratio (r = -0.33; p<0.05). PFC deoxyhemoglobin was correlated with pleasure two stages above the VT (r = -0.37; p<0.05).ConclusionOur results support the notion that exercise at high intensities influences inhibitory control and one’s perception of pleasure, which are linked to changes in cardiac autonomic control and cerebral hemodynamics. These findings strengthen the existence of an integrated brain-heart-body system and highlight the importance of exercise intensity in exercise-related behavior in sedentary individuals.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Affect during incremental exercise: The role of inhibitory cognition, autonomic cardiac function, and cerebral oxygenation

Silva¹,

Fontes²,

Forti³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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show abstract

“…Accordingly, this would imply that older adults with a sedentary lifestyle who participate in regular exercise training would experience greater benefits in terms of EF. This finding supports previous reviews which suggested that exercise in those with lower physical fitness levels might be more beneficial to EF as compared to such activity in those with high physical fitness levels [ 59 , 60 ]. However, while the ESs for sedentary and fit participants were significantly different, the findings of this review suggested a positive effect on EF regardless of fitness levels.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of Exercise Training Interventions on Executive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

et al. 2020

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Background Chronic exercise training has been shown be to positively associated with executive function (EF) in older adults. However, whether the exercise training effect on EF is affected by moderators including the specific sub-domain of EF, exercise prescription variables, and sample characteristics remains unknown. Objectives This systematic and meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigated the effects of exercise training on EF in older adults and explored potential moderators underlying the effects of exercise training on EF. Methods In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, the electronic databases MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE (Scopus) were searched from January 2003 to November 2019. All studies identified for inclusion were peer-reviewed and published in English. To be included, studies had to report findings from older (> 55 years old), cognitively normal adults or adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) randomized to an exercise training or a control group. The risk of bias in each study was appraised using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Fixed-effects models were used to compare the effects of exercise training and control conditions on EF assessed at baseline and post-intervention. In addition, subgroup analyses were performed for three moderators (i.e., the specific sub-domain of EF, exercise prescription variables, and sample characteristics). Results Thirty-three RCTs were included. Overall, exercise training was associated with a significant small improvement in EF [Q(106) = 260.09, Hedges’ g = 0.21; p < 0.01]. The EF sub-domain moderator was not significant [Q(2) = 4.33, p > 0.05], showing that the EF improvement in response to exercise is evident for measures of inhibition, updating, and shifting. Regarding exercise prescription variables, results were significantly moderated by frequency of exercise training [Q(1) = 10.86, p < 0.05], revealing that effect sizes (ESs) were larger for moderate frequency (g = 0.31) as compared to low frequency exercise (g = 0.15). The results also showed type of exercise training moderated the ESs [Q(4) = 26.18, p < 0.05], revealing that ESs were largest for other forms of exercise (g = 0.44), followed by Tai Chi and yoga (g = 0.38), resistance exercise (g = 0.22), aerobic exercise (g = 0.14), and combined exercise (g = 0.10). In addition, The results showed moderated length of training the ESs [Q(2) = 16.64, p < 0.05], revealing that ESs were largest for short length (g = 0.32), followed by mid length (g = 0.26) and long length (g = 0.09). No significant difference in effects was observed as a function of exercise intensity [Q(1) = 2.87 p > 0.05] and session time [Q(2) = 0.21, p > 0.05]. Regarding sample characteristics, the results were significantly moderated by age [Q(2) = 20.64, p < 0.05], with significant benefits for young-old (55–65 years old) (g = 0.30) and mid-old (66–75 years old) (g = 0.25), but no effect on EF for old-old (more than 75 years old). The results were also significantly moderated by physical fitness levels [Q(1) = 10.80, p < 0.05], revealing that ESs were larger for sedentary participants (g = 0.33) as compared to physically fit participants (g = 0.16). In addition, results were also significantly moderated by cognitive status [Q(1) = 11.44, p < 0.05], revealing that ESs were larger for participants with cognitively normal (g = 0.26) as compared to those with mild cognitive impairment (g = 0.08). No significant differences in effects were observed as a function of sex [Q(2) = 5.38, p > 0.05]. Conclusions Exercise training showed a small beneficial effect on EF in older adults and the magnitude of the effect was different across some moderators.

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“…In fact, the current empirical evidence regarding age-related difference is somewhat contradictory. Dimitrova et al [ 67 ] reported larger cognitive gains in older adults, but others found no such difference [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]. Nevertheless, it is hard to directly compares these studies since they differed in terms of whether they included a non-exercise condition (Dimitrova et al did not), exercise modes (e.g., Hsieh et al adopted resistance exercise whereas others adopted aerobic exercise), timing of cognitive assessments (e.g., Labelle et al assessed in-exercise cognitive performance while the others assessed post-exercise performance), and cognitive tasks (e.g., while Kamijo et al employed the Flanker task and Hsieh et al used the working memory task, the Stroop test was used by others).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute Exercise Facilitates the N450 Inhibition Marker and P3 Attention Marker during Stroop Test in Young and Older Adults

Hsieh

Huang

et al. 2018

JCM

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While considerable evidence supporting the positive influence of acute exercise on cognitive inhibition, little is known regarding the underlying cognitive processes. There is also little neuroelectric evidence regarding the effects on older adults of acute exercise-elicited cognitive benefits. Thus, our objective was to explore the possible neural markers underlying improved cognitive inhibition, with particular attention to the N450 and P3 components, following acute exercise. Another aim was to investigate whether cognitive gains seen in young adults are replicated in older adults. Twenty-four young males and 20 older males underwent either a single bout of aerobic exercise or video-watching in counterbalanced order. Afterwards, cognitive inhibition was assessed by the Stroop test. Results revealed that acute exercise resulted in shorter response time regardless of age or congruency. Regarding the neuroeletric data, acute exercise resulted in larger P3 amplitude and smaller N450 amplitude regardless of congruency or age. Further, following exercise, changes in response time interference were correlated with changes in incongruent N450 amplitude. Collectively, acute exercise-facilitated conflict monitoring and attention control, as signified by the N450 and P3 components, may be the underlying processes leading to better Stroop performance, with conflict monitoring having a stronger association with task performance. Further, cognitive gains resulting from acute exercise were found to the same extent in both young and older adults.

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Fitness Level Moderates Executive Control Disruption During Exercise Regardless of Age

Cited by 19 publications

References 40 publications

Affect during incremental exercise: The role of inhibitory cognition, autonomic cardiac function, and cerebral oxygenation

Affect during incremental exercise: The role of inhibitory cognition, autonomic cardiac function, and cerebral oxygenation

Effects of Exercise Training Interventions on Executive Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Acute Exercise Facilitates the N450 Inhibition Marker and P3 Attention Marker during Stroop Test in Young and Older Adults

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