Mental fatigue impairs physical performance but not the neural drive to the muscle: a preliminary analysis

Alix-Fages, Carlos; Jiménez-Martínez, Pablo; Oliveira, Daniela Souza de; Möck, Sebastian; Balsalobre-Fernández, Carlos; Vecchio, Alessandro Del

doi:10.1007/s00421-023-05189-1

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…A study conducted in individuals with multiple sclerosis proposed that RFD-SF modulations were due to deficiencies in the central nervous system (e.g., reduced neural drive and maximal motor unit discharge rates). Although mental fatigue did not seem to impair neural drive to the muscle [ 57 ], a recent study evidenced a decrease in motor unit firing rate after a mentally fatiguing task for dorsiflexion contractions at 20% of MVC for males and females, and at 50% of MVC for males [ 58 ]. The decrease in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity, a brain region connected with motor planning regions such as the prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor areas, in the presence of mental fatigue [ 59 ] could induce changes in the activation of synergistic muscle groups or changes in the co-contraction [ 58 ] and could explain the decrease in motor unit firing rate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of mental fatigue on hand force production capacities

Jacquet,

Poulin-Charronnat,

Bard

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Mental fatigue is common in society, but its effects on force production capacities remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the impact of mental fatigue on maximal force production, rate of force development-scaling factor (RFD-SF), and force steadiness during handgrip contractions. Fourteen participants performed two randomized sessions, during which they either carried out a cognitively demanding task (i.e., a visual attention task) or a cognitively nondemanding task (i.e., documentary watching for 62 min). The mental fatigue was evaluated subjectively and objectively (performances and electroencephalography). Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force, RFD-SF, and force steadiness (i.e., force coefficient of variation at submaximal intensities; 25, 50, and 75% of MVC) were recorded before and after both tasks. The feeling of mental fatigue was much higher after completing the cognitively demanding task than after documentary watching (p < .001). During the cognitively demanding task, mental fatigue was evidenced by increased errors, missed trials, and decreased N100 amplitude over time. While no effect was reported on force steadiness, both tasks induced a decrease in MVC (p = .040), a force RFD-SF lower slope (p = .011), and a reduction in the coefficient of determination (p = .011). Nevertheless, these effects were not explicitly linked to mental fatigue since they appeared both after the mentally fatiguing task and after watching the documentary. The study highlights the importance of considering cognitive engagement and mental load when optimizing motor performance to mitigate adverse effects and improve force production capacities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of mental fatigue on hand force production capacities

Jacquet,

Poulin-Charronnat,

Bard

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…At this point, the fatigue of athletes and individuals engaged in physical activity may be different from each other. The studies conducted have shown that mental fatigue affects muscle endurance in sports performance (Alix-Fages et al, 2023), the efficiency of training (Staiano et al, 2023) and the revealed power (Alix-Fages et al, 2022) reported that it had a negative effect. For athletes, training or competition is also a cognitive and physical task, but physical activity can be said to be based more on volunteering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictores del Nivel de Actividad Física, Fatiga Física y Mental Autoinformada en Estudiantes de Ciencias del Deporte

Akpınar,

Güler,

Yanar

2023

Apunt. univ.

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El objetivo de este estudio fue revelar la posibilidad de que los niveles de actividad física de los estudiantes universitarios predigan los niveles de fatiga autoinformados. Participaron voluntariamente en la investigación un total de 331 estudiantes (mujeres: 130, hombres: 201) de la Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte de la Universidad Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey ; y se utilizaron el Cuestionario de información personal, el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Física y la Escala de Fatiga de Chalder. Los datos recogidos en el estudio se analizaron en el programa estadístico Jamovi (2.0.0) con intervalo de confianza del 95% y nivel de significancia de 0,05. Para analizar los datos se utilizó la prueba t de muestra independiente, la prueba de correlación de Pearson, la prueba de regresión multinomial y el diagrama de dispersión. Las mujeres tuvieron puntuaciones de fatiga total y fatiga física significativamente más altas que los hombres, mientras que los hombres tuvieron puntuaciones totales de MET significativamente más altas que las mujeres (p<0,05). A medida que aumentaron las puntuaciones totales de MET de los participantes, su fatiga total y fatiga mental disminuyeron significativamente (p<0,05). La investigación demostró que el aumento de los niveles de actividad física de los estudiantes de ciencias del deporte puede disminuir los puntajes de fatiga física y mental autoinformados.

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