<p>Cognitive Inhibition Correlates with Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia After Aerobic Bicycling in Pain-Free Participants</p>

Abstract

Purpose: Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) is the short-term reduction of pain sensitivity after a single bout of exercise. Descending pain inhibition has been proposed to at least partly underlie EIH. Cognitive inhibition is the ability to inhibit a pre-potent response and has in turn been associated with descending pain inhibition, as indexed by conditioned pain modulation. Therefore, we hypothesized that cognitive inhibition is associated with higher EIH. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 37 pain-free participants (16 male, age 27.75 ± 9.91) completed a stop-signal task assessing cognitive inhibition ability and a control condition in the first session. In the second session, pre-post-test design EIH was assessed by means of aerobic bicycling (15 min., 75% VO 2 max) and isometric knee extension (90 sec, 30% MVC). EIH was assessed with pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and temporal summation of pain (TSP), each at the hand and at the leg. Correlational analyses quantified the associations between cognitive inhibition and EIH change scores. Results: Better cognitive inhibition correlated with EIH change scores in PPTs after aerobic bicycling at the hand (r = −0.35, 95% CI: −0.57; −0.08, p =0.021), but not at the leg (rho = −0.10, 95% CI: −0.36; 0.18, p = 0.277). No correlations between cognitive inhibition and change in PPTs after isometric knee extension at the hand (rho = −0.03, 95% CI: −0.30; 0.25, p = 0.857) nor at the leg (rho = −0.03, 95% CI: −0.25; 0.30, p = 0.857) were observed. There were no EIH effects after isometric exercise and, generally, no effects of exercise on TSP. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence for the notion that cognitive inhibition might play a supportive role in EIH. Although these results are clearly in need of replication, they accord well with previously reported associations between cognitive inhibition, experimental pain and descending pain inhibition.

Pain and executive function: no association between remote exercise-induced hypoalgesia and cognitive inhibition in pain-free participants

“…Therefore, the strongest association should be observed between remote EIH effects and cognitive inhibition. This hypothesis was recently supported by a smaller study from our laboratory, observing an association between better performance in a cognitive inhibition task and higher remote EIH after aerobic bicycling [15]. However, as this study was an exploratory study within a larger investigation, additional studies are warranted.…”

“…An a-priori power analysis was conducted based on the primary aim of this study. To determine the sample size required for achieving a power of 0.9 with an effect size of r=0.35, we took the previous study from our lab [15] as the best available estimate for effect size. This resulted in a sample size of n=63.…”

“…The stop-signal task administered here has been described in detail elsewhere [15]. Essentially, on each trial a black square or circle was presented along with a black square-shaped frame around the shape cues.…”

Evoked Potentials Differentiate Developmental Coordination Disorder From Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a Stop-Signal Task: A Pilot Study

“…Participants were informed of this tracking procedure and subsequently were to respond as fast and accurately as possible without waiting for the stop-signal to appear. The entire SST was presented against a gray background, and the SST was based on that of Gajsar et al (2020 ; see Figure 1 ).…”

“…The stop-signal reaction time (SSRT), or the estimated amount of time required to inhibit a response about to be executed, represents response latencies that were estimated for stop trials (i.e., in which a key was not pressed). The SSRTs were calculated with the block-based integration method ( Verbruggen et al, 2013 ; see Gajsar et al, 2020 for a detailed description of this procedure). However, mean SSDs involved in estimating SSRTs were used to align with actual screen presentation times and are referred to simply as “SSDs”; see Verbruggen et al, 2019 ).…”