Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, United States of America.
Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, United States of America; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, United States of America.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2021 Dec;170:218-228. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.08.006. Epub 2021 Sep 10.
Previous research has established an impact of acute exercise on cognitive performance, which has inspired investigations into neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie the observed benefits. Pupillary responses have been posited to reflect activation of such underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The current study recruited healthy young adults to investigate the effects of a single bout of moderate-to-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise on subsequent performance and pupillary responses during an inhibitory control task. Results showed that an acute bout of exercise was related to shorter reaction times and increased tonic pupil dilation during an inhibitory control task. Although pupillary responses did not mediate the acute exercise effect on inhibitory control, higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with greater phasic pupil dilation following exercise relative to seated rest. The current study supported the plausibility of the pupillary response as a marker of LC-NE system activation that is sensitive to acute exercise. Whether pupillary responses could account for transient benefits of acute exercise on brain and cognition remains unclear.
先前的研究已经证实了急性运动对认知表现的影响，这激发了对可能构成观察到的益处的神经生物学机制的研究。瞳孔反应被认为反映了这种潜在神经生物学机制的激活。本研究招募了健康的年轻成年人，以调查单次中等至剧烈强度有氧运动对随后的表现和抑制控制任务中的瞳孔反应的影响。结果表明，急性运动与反应时间缩短和抑制控制期间的瞳孔扩张增加有关。尽管瞳孔反应并没有介导急性运动对抑制控制的影响，但与坐姿休息相比，更高的心肺适能与运动后相性瞳孔扩张更大相关。本研究支持了瞳孔反应作为 LC-NE 系统激活的标志物的合理性，该标志物对急性运动敏感。瞳孔反应是否可以解释急性运动对大脑和认知的短暂益处尚不清楚。
