Near‐infrared spectroscopy reveals link between chronic physical activity and anterior frontal oxygenated hemoglobin in healthy young women

Abstract

Cerebrovascular and cognitive functioning peak developmentally in young adults, yet recent evidence indicates they may benefit on these fronts from regular engagement in physical activity. In light of epidemiological trends for increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the importance of optimal cerebrovascular and cognitive functioning, here we investigated relationships between physical activity levels, anterior frontal hemodynamics, and cognitive performance in 52 healthy young women. Analyses positively linked chronic physical activity level (CPAL) with anterior frontal oxygenated hemoglobin and cognitive inhibitory control, indicating regular physical activity may lead to hemodynamic and cognitive benefits, even in a cohort at developmental peak. In addition, higher anterior frontal oxygenated hemoglobin was linked to better performance for the most difficult cognitive task. Given the importance of oxygen availability for cognitive functioning, the current discovery of a relationship with CPAL may provide important insight toward understanding exercise-cognition links.

Investigating links between habitual physical activity, cerebrovascular function, and cognitive control in healthy older adults

“…However, those latter studies did not isolate the specific effect of switching from other components of the task, leaving open the possibility that the benefits reflected functions other than switching ability. Importantly, our finding that physical activity was associated with benefits for inhibitory control but not switching aligns with our previous work in young adults (Cameron, Lucas, & Machado, 2015;Guiney et al, 2015).…”

Applications of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Neuroimaging in Exercise–Cognition Science: A Systematic, Methodology-Focused Review

“…In almost all studies baseline brain activation was assessed in a sitting position [6,7,8,11,12,13,77,78,79,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,115,116,117,118,119,120]. The quantification of baseline brain activation lasted from 2 s [6,7,8,12,77,106,109] to 10 min [97,116,119].…”

“…The quantification of baseline brain activation lasted from 2 s [6,7,8,12,77,106,109] to 10 min [97,116,119]. Other commonly used durations for the evaluation of baseline brain activation were 10 s [13,79,99,100,107], 30 s [102,104,105,108,120], or 120 s [103,111,118]. An overview about baseline durations is provided in Figure 4b.…”

“…A block design was used in eleven studies [11,13,78,99,100,102,103,104,107,112,113], whereas an event-related design was applied in ten studies [6,7,8,12,77,106,109,110,111,114]. In the remaining studies, cognitive testing was performed after the assessment of baseline brain activity [79,96,97,98,101,105,108,115,116,117,118,119,120].…”

Cerebral Oxygenation Reserve: The Relationship Between Physical Activity Level and the Cognitive Load During a Stroop Task in Healthy Young Males

“…Several underlying mechanisms have been put forward to explain this link between regular PA and executive performance [10,11]. Cerebral oxygenation is considered as one of the cornerstones of this relationship [12]. Its importance is determined in part by the interaction between cerebral vasculature and the regulation of cerebral blood flow, which defines the magnitude of the cerebrovascular reserve, and by the capacity of cerebral blood vessels to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) as a response to metabolic demand in activated brain regions [13][14][15].…”