Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Granada, Spain.
Department of Education, Research and Evaluation Methodology, University Pontifical Comillas, Spain.
J Sports Sci Med. 2021 Oct 1;20(4):789-798. doi: 10.52082/jssm.2021.789. eCollection 2021 Dec.
This study aimed to explore, on one side, the differences between a group of athletes exercising outdoor (OG) and another group exercising indoor (IG) in stress and awareness, and, on the other side, between-group differences in the fMRI activations during the visualization of natural environment images versus urban images. In addition, we aimed to analyze the associations between the resulting task-related brain activations and stress and attention-awareness in each group separately. All the participants (N = 49; OG = 21, 11 females, mean age = 40, SD = 6.49; and IG = 25, 11 females, mean age = 40; 6.19) underwent an fMRI scan and completed the Perceived Stress Scale and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Besides, we collected a sample of hair cortisol. Participants viewed three types of images: water nature, green nature and urban images. Two-sample t-test with corrected p=0.001 values were carried out. Further correlational analyses were performed to estimate the associations between task-related brain activations and our pyscho-emotional measures in each group. Fisher tests were used to explore for potential between-group differences in the correlational indexes. In OG, compared to IG, we found a higher activation of the middle occipital cortex and a cluster comprising the supplementary motor area (SMA), the premotor cortex and the pre-SMA while viewing green nature images versus urban images. In OG, more than in IG, the higher activation of the left SMA cluster negatively correlated with perceived stress, while in the IG, more than in OG, the higher premotor cortex activation was positively related to the total score on MAAS. No significant association was found with the hair cortisol levels. Exercising outdoor would relate to better psycho-emotional outcomes, also for athletes. On the other side, the exposition to green nature led to higher activation of brain areas related to motor planning, but also to emotion regulation and emotional response.
本研究旨在探讨一方面，一组在户外（OG）进行运动的运动员与另一组在室内（IG）进行运动的运动员在压力和意识方面的差异，另一方面，在观看自然环境图像与城市图像时，两组之间 fMRI 激活的差异。此外，我们旨在分析每组中与任务相关的大脑激活与压力和注意力之间的关联。所有参与者（N=49；OG=21，11 名女性，平均年龄=40，标准差=6.49；IG=25，11 名女性，平均年龄=40，标准差=6.19）接受了 fMRI 扫描，并完成了感知压力量表和正念注意意识量表。此外，我们收集了头发皮质醇样本。参与者观看了三种类型的图像：水自然、绿色自然和城市图像。进行了双样本 t 检验，校正后的 p=0.001 值。进一步进行了相关分析，以估计每组中与任务相关的大脑激活与我们的心理情绪测量之间的关联。Fisher 检验用于探索相关指数的潜在组间差异。在 OG 中，与 IG 相比，当观看绿色自然图像与城市图像时，我们发现中枕叶和包含辅助运动区（SMA）、运动前皮层和前 SMA 的簇的激活更高。在 OG 中，与 IG 相比，左 SMA 簇的更高激活与感知压力呈负相关，而在 IG 中，与 OG 相比，运动前皮层的更高激活与 MAAS 的总分呈正相关。与头发皮质醇水平没有显著关联。户外锻炼与更好的心理情绪结果有关，对运动员也是如此。另一方面，暴露在绿色自然中会导致与运动计划、情绪调节和情绪反应相关的大脑区域的更高激活。
