Cui Jie, Zou Liye, Herold Fabian, Yu Qian, Jiao Can, Zhang Yanjie, Chi Xinli, Müller Notger G, Perrey Stephane, Li Lin, Wang Chenbo
College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Front Hum Neurosci. 2020 Oct 6;14:569010. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.569010. eCollection 2020.
The beneficial effects of acute exercise on executive function have been well-documented, but the influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on this effect requires further investigations, especially using imaging technique. This study aimed to examine the effects of cardiorespiratory fitness on acute exercise-induced changes on behavioral performance and on functional brain activation.
Based on their cardiorespiratory fitness level, 62 participants ranked in the top and bottom of the maximum oxygen consumption (VO max) were finally selected and allocated to high-fit group or low-fit group. Both groups were asked to complete the Stroop task after 30 min of aerobic exercise and chair-seated rest (control session). Among them, 26 participants were randomly selected and asked to undergo the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Behavioral results showed that individuals responded significantly faster after exercise than those in the control session. The fMRI results revealed a significant interaction effects of Group by Session in brain regions including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and bilateral dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). For the ACC, activation in the high-fit group was significantly decreased after aerobic exercise compared to those in the control session; whereas an increased activation was noticed in the low-fit group. Regarding to the bilateral DLPFC, activation in high-fit group was significantly decreased after exercise compared to those in the control session, while no significant differences were found in the low-fit group. In addition, for the post-exercise session, a significant positive correlations between activation of the ACC and left DLPFC in the high-fit group was observed. There was a significant negative correlation between activation of the ACC and reaction time in the congruent condition after exercise in the low-fit group.
Findings further clarify the neurophysiological processes of acute exercise-induced changes in cognitive performance as they suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness is an important factor which influences changes in brain activation patterns in response to acute aerobic exercises.
急性运动对执行功能的有益影响已有充分记录，但心肺适能对这种影响的作用还需要进一步研究，尤其是采用成像技术进行研究。本研究旨在探讨心肺适能对急性运动引起的行为表现变化和大脑功能激活的影响。
根据最大摄氧量（VO₂max）水平，最终从62名参与者中选取排名前和后的个体，并分为高适能组和低适能组。两组都被要求在进行30分钟有氧运动和坐在椅子上休息（对照时段）后完成Stroop任务。其中，随机选取26名参与者进行功能磁共振成像（fMRI）检查。
行为学结果显示，运动后个体的反应明显比对照时段更快。fMRI结果显示，在前扣带回皮质（ACC）和双侧背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）等脑区，组间与时段存在显著的交互作用。对于ACC，与对照时段相比，高适能组有氧运动后激活显著降低；而低适能组激活增加。对于双侧DLPFC，与对照时段相比，高适能组运动后激活显著降低，而低适能组未发现显著差异。此外，在运动后时段，高适能组ACC和左侧DLPFC激活之间存在显著正相关。低适能组运动后在一致条件下ACC激活与反应时间之间存在显著负相关。
研究结果进一步阐明了急性运动引起认知表现变化的神经生理过程，因为它们表明心肺适能是影响大脑对急性有氧运动激活模式变化的一个重要因素。
