Human Physiology research group, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussel, Belgium.
Multi-disciplinary Research Unit of Sport, Heath and Society, URePSSS, University of Lille, Artois, Littoral Cote d'Opale, EA7369, 413 rue Eugène Avinée, 59120, Loos, France.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2018 Sep;235(9):2597-2608. doi: 10.1007/s00213-018-4952-2. Epub 2018 Jun 27.
Acute cocoa flavanols (CF) intake has been suggested to modulate cognitive function and neurovascular coupling (NVC). Whether increased NVC is solely driven by improved vascular responsiveness or also by neuronal activity remains unknown. This study investigated the effects of acute CF intake on cognitive performance, NVC, and neuronal activity in healthy subjects in normoxia and hypoxia (4000 m simulated altitude; 12.7% O).
Twenty healthy subjects (age 23.2 ± 4.3 years) performed four trials. Participants performed a Stroop task and "cognition" battery 2 h after acute CF (530 mg CF, 100 mg epicatechin) or placebo intake, and 30 min after initial exposure to hypoxia or normoxia. Electroencephalogram and functional near-infrared spectroscopy were used to analyze hemodynamic changes and neuronal activity.
CF enhanced NVC in the right prefrontal cortex during several tasks (risk decision making, visual tracking, complex scanning, spatial orientation), while neuronal activity was not affected. CF improved abstract thinking in normoxia, but not in hypoxia and did not improve other cognitive performances. Hypoxia decreased accuracy on the Stroop task, but performance on other cognitive tasks was preserved. NVC and neuronal activity during cognitive tasks were similar in hypoxia vs. normoxia, with the exception of increased β activity in the primary motor cortex during abstract thinking.
Acute CF intake improved NVC, but did not affect neuronal activity and cognitive performance in both normoxia and hypoxia. Most cognitive functions, as well as NVC and neuronal activity, did not decline by acute exposure to moderate hypoxia in healthy subjects.
急性可可黄烷醇（CF）的摄入被认为可以调节认知功能和神经血管耦合（NVC）。增加的 NVC 是否仅仅是由血管反应性的改善驱动，还是也由神经元活动驱动，目前尚不清楚。本研究旨在调查急性 CF 摄入对健康受试者在常氧和缺氧（模拟海拔 4000 米；12.7%O）下的认知表现、NVC 和神经元活动的影响。
20 名健康受试者（年龄 23.2±4.3 岁）进行了四项试验。参与者在急性 CF（530mg CF，100mg 表儿茶素）或安慰剂摄入后 2 小时和初次暴露于缺氧或常氧后 30 分钟进行 Stroop 任务和“认知”测试。使用脑电图和功能近红外光谱来分析血液动力学变化和神经元活动。
CF 在几项任务（风险决策、视觉跟踪、复杂扫描、空间定向）中增强了右侧前额叶皮层的 NVC，而神经元活动不受影响。CF 在常氧下改善了抽象思维，但在缺氧下没有改善，也没有改善其他认知表现。缺氧降低了 Stroop 任务的准确性，但其他认知任务的表现保持不变。除了在抽象思维期间初级运动皮层的β活动增加外，NVC 和认知任务期间的神经元活动在缺氧与常氧之间相似。
急性 CF 摄入改善了 NVC，但在常氧和缺氧下均未影响神经元活动和认知表现。在健康受试者中，急性暴露于中等程度的缺氧不会导致大多数认知功能以及 NVC 和神经元活动下降。
