Impact of acute partial-body cryostimulation on cognitive performance, cerebral oxygenation, and cardiac autonomic activity

Abstract

We assessed the effects of a 3-min partial-body cryostimulation (PBC) exposure—where the whole body is exposed to extreme cold, except the head—on cognitive inhibition performance and the possible implications of parasympathetic cardiac control and cerebral oxygenation. In a randomized controlled counterbalanced cross-over design, eighteen healthy young adults (nine males and nine females) completed a cognitive Stroop task before and after one single session of PBC (3-min exposure at − 150 °C cold air) and a control condition (3 min at room temperature, 20 °C). During the cognitive task, heart rate variability (HRV) and cerebral oxygenation of the prefrontal cortex were measured using heart rate monitoring and near-infrared spectroscopy methods. We also recorded the cerebral oxygenation during the PBC session. Stroop performance after PBC exposure was enhanced (562.0 ± 40.2 ms) compared to pre-PBC (602.0 ± 56.4 ms; P < 0.042) in males only, accompanied by an increase (P < 0.05) in HRV indices of parasympathetic tone, in greater proportion in males compared to females. During PBC, cerebral oxygenation decreased in a similar proportion in males and females but the cerebral extraction (deoxyhemoglobin: ΔHHb) remained higher after exposure in males, only. These data demonstrate that a single PBC session enhances the cognitive inhibition performance on a Stroop task in males, partly mediated by a greater parasympathetic cardiac control and greater cerebral oxygenation. The effects of PBC on cognitive function seem different in females, possibly explained by a different sensitivity to cold stimulation.

Combination of whole body cryotherapy with static stretching exercises reduces fatigue and improves functioning of the autonomic nervous system in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

“…Interestingly, both in our, and previous studies, cryotherapy improved selected cognitive abilities, while others were unaffected. For example, Theurot et al [31] showed an improvement in the reaction time but not accuracy on the Stroop test, while we showed an improvement in the processing speed, cognitive flexibility and executive control but not in DSST set shifting. A meta-analysis by Pilcher et al [36] showed importance of parameters such as the duration of exposure to the experimental temperature, or the duration of the task, for the effect on cognitive performance [36].…”

“…Within these limitations however, ours and previous studies consistently show a beneficial impact of cryotherapy on cognitive function. Specifically, a recent investigation, using WBC in an older population with mild cognitive impairment, showed an improvement in immediate recall on Dem-Tect test and orientation on Test Your Memory task [28], while three studies in healthy populations, albeit using partial extreme cold application to the head [29], cheeks [30], and the body apart from the head [31], showed improvement in executive function, namely in cognitive inhibition measured by the Stroop task [28][29][30][31].…”

“…The only study using fMRI showed an increase in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activity in response to cold stimuli, allowing some insight into potential mechanisms at the neural level [30]. Another study, which combined an assessment of cognitive and autonomic functions, proposed that improvement in cognitive performance was related to a greater parasympathetic cardiac control and a greater cerebral O2 extraction following a PBC session [31]. Similar to Theurot et al, we also observed an increase in the parasympathetic function after WBC (seen as a decrease in LF, LF/HR ratio, and HR, and an increase in HF) in healthy individuals.…”

Immediate Effect of Cryo-Compression Therapy on Biomechanical Properties and Perfusion of Forearm Muscles in Mixed Martial Arts Fighters

“…There are no definitive findings about cryotherapy's effects on muscle regeneration [8,9]. Cryo-compression is aimed at lowering the temperature of the tissues [10,11] and reducing inflammation in the damaged area [12][13][14]. Studies have shown that CC reduces swelling [11,14] and improves tissue perfusion [6,15,16].…”

A single session of whole-body cryotherapy boosts maximal cycling performance and enhances vagal drive at rest

“…HRV tests do not require expensive apparatuses, besides reliable monitors capable of beat-by-beat acquisition. Current literature reports that WBC involves the autonomic drive at rest (Louis et al 2015(Louis et al , 2020Theurot et al 2021), but these studies did not address the effect of exercise. Instead, Sautillet et al (2021) tested the WBC effect by applying it only after exercise, thus leading to a cumulative evaluation of both factors.…”