The Effects Load Carriage and Physical Fatigue on Cognitive Performance

The present experiment examined whether physiological arousal induced by acute bouts of aerobic exercise would influence attention and memory for scenes depicting or not depicting weapons. In a repeated-measures design, participants exercised at either low or high exertion levels. During exercise, they were presented with images, some of which depicted weapons; immediately following exercise, they completed a recognition test for portions of central and peripheral scene regions. Two primary results emerged. First, in the low exertion condition, we replicated extant research showing inferior peripheral scene memory when images contained, versus did not contain, weapons. Second, the high exertion condition increased central scene memory relative to low exertion, and this effect was specific to images containing weapons. Thus, we provide evidence for accentuated weapon focus effects during states of exercise-induced physiological arousal. These results contribute new applied and theoretical understandings regarding the interactions between physiological state, breadth of attention, and memory.

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“…(3) trainers working to increase individuals' aerobic capacity (Eddy et al, 2015;Hursh et al, 2004;Lieberman et al, 2006).…”

Section: Applied Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercise-Induced Physiological Arousal Biases Attention Toward Threatening Scene Details

Brunyé

Mahoney

2018

Psychol Rep

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“…Participants walked for two hours with or without a load while performing two cognitive tasks (auditory go/no-go and visual target detection). With load, performance on both cognitive tasks declined over time (12), showing that physical load can be detrimental to cognitive performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most cases, pre-post studies examine the effects of exercise on physical (7,8,9,10) or cognitive (1,11) performance separately. Some protocols involve short acute exercise sessions (9) while others examine the effects of prolonged exercise, where fatigue comes into play (7,8,10,11,12). In one such study, Eddy et al evaluated the effects of load carriage and physical fatigue on cognitive performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing the Field into the Lab: a Novel Virtual Reality Outdoor March Simulator for Evaluating Cognitive and Physical Performance

Ketko¹,

Yanovich³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Athletes, soldiers, and rescue personnel must often perform intense, prolonged, and physically demanding activities while maintaining cognitive focus. As cognitive and physical functions are believed to share central nervous system resources, their simultaneous activation can cause reciprocal disruptions in the performance of both. Methods: In the current study, we aimed to develop and validate a virtual reality-based experimental protocol enabling rigorous exploration of the effects of prolonged high-load physical and cognitive efforts, by comparing novel cognitive tasks presented in the context of a simulated loaded march to a battery of established neurocognitive tests. We then used this protocol in a pre-post pilot study exploring the effects of high-load physical and cognitive activity on physical and cognitive performance. Twelve participants underwent a simulated 10-km loaded march on a treadmill in our virtual reality environment, with or without integrated cognitive tasks (VR-COG). At each of three experimental visits, participants underwent pre-activity and post-activity evaluations, including the Color Trail Test, the Synthetic Work Environment (SYNWIN) battery for multitasking evaluation, and physical tests (i.e., ‘time to exhaustion’). Results: In general, strong or moderate correlations (r≥0.58 p≤0.048) were found between VR-COG scores and scores on the validated cognitive tests. Together, VR-COG and CTT measures were able to successfully predict the effects of the combined physical and cognitive load on multitasking performance, as assessed by SYNWIN score. Conclusions: As virtual environments are ideal for studying high performance professional activity in realistic but controlled settings, the novel protocol is optimal for measuring the effects of prolonged, high-load physical and cognitive activity, and can therefore contribute to our knowledge on physical-cognitive interactions.

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“…1993, Martin et al 2019), and although has been assumed to be as a function of elevated core temperature (Hocking et al 2001, Schmit et al 2017, Martin et al 2019, it could also be related to perceptual and/or cardiovascular effects of high skin and mean body temperature (Gaoua 2010, Gaoua et al 2017, dehydration (Cian et al 2001, Ganio et al 2011, Nolte et al 2013, Cvirn et al 2019, nutritional status (van Dokkum et al 1996, Owen et al 2004, Bandelow, Maughan et al 2010, experience (Hancock and Vasmatzidis 2003), solar radiation (Piil et al 2020), physical (Grego et al 2005, Eddy et al 2015, Yanovich et al 2015, Bhattacharyya et al 2017) and cognitive fatigue (Lieberman et al 2006, Head et al 2017, carried loads (Williams et al 1997) and sleep deprivation (Lieberman et al 2005), among other factors. The role of core temperature on cognition remains unclear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of elevated core temperature on cognition in hot environments within a military context

2021

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Purpose Cognition can be impaired during exercise in the heat, potentially contributing to military casualties. To our knowledge, the independent role of elevated core temperature during exercise has not been determined. The aim of the current study was to evaluate effects of elevated core temperature on cognition during physically encumbering, heated exercise, and to determine whether the perceptual cooling effects of menthol preserves cognition. Methods Eight participants complete three trials in randomised order: one normothermic (CON) and two with elevated (38.5°C) core temperature, induced by prior immersion in neutral versus hot water The CON trial and one hot trial (HOT) used a water mouth-rinse following each cognitive task of the trial, (HOT) while the other used a menthol mouth-rinse (MENT). Participants walked in humid heat (33°C, 75% relative humidity) in military clothing, completing a cognitive battery of reaction time, perceptual processing, working memory, executive function, cognitive flexibility, vigilance, and declarative memory. Results No differences in cognitive performance were observed between any conditions. Near-infrared spectroscopy showed greater oxygenated haemoglobin tissue content in HOT and MENT compared to CON (ΔO 2 Hb-deO 2 Hb: 2.3 ± 4.5 µM, p < .024), and lower deoxygenated haemoglobin in MENT than in CON or HOT (p = .017), suggesting higher brain metabolism during the more stressful conditions. Conclusion Moderately elevated core (38.5°C) and skin temperature does not appear to impair cognitive performance during exercise despite mildly elevated cerebral metabolism. The effects of menthol remain undetermined due to the lack of heat-mediated cognitive impairment. Keywords Cognitive • Physiology • Menthol • Exercise Abbreviations CON Control group HOT Hot group MENT Menthol group WI Water immersion (figure only) W Water mouth-rinse (figure only) M Menthol mouth-rinse (figure only) TLX Task-load index

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The Effects Load Carriage and Physical Fatigue on Cognitive Performance

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Exercise-Induced Physiological Arousal Biases Attention Toward Threatening Scene Details

Exercise-Induced Physiological Arousal Biases Attention Toward Threatening Scene Details

Bringing the Field into the Lab: a Novel Virtual Reality Outdoor March Simulator for Evaluating Cognitive and Physical Performance

Impact of elevated core temperature on cognition in hot environments within a military context

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