Wieland Björn, Fleddermann Marie-Therese, Zentgraf Karen
Department of Movement Science and Training in Sports, Institute of Sport Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2022 Aug 30;13:905772. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905772. eCollection 2022.
This study investigated acute effects of real and imagined endurance exercise on sustained attention performance in healthy young adults in order to shed light on the action mechanisms underlying changes in cognitive functioning. The neural similarities between both imagined and physically performed movements reveal that imagery induces transient hypofrontality, whereas real exercise reflects both transient hypofrontality effects and the global release of signaling factors (e.g., BDNF or serotonin) due to muscle contraction and the accompanying sensory feedback. We hypothesized improved cognitive functioning after both interventions (imagery and physical endurance exercise) with greater improvements for real exercise because it targets both mechanisms. Fifty-three sport science students completed two 25-min sessions of moderate endurance exercise in either a motor imagery modality or an executed bodily activity within the framework of an order-balanced crossover study. Assessments for sustained attention performance (d2-R) were performed before and after each endurance exercise condition. Statistical results showed improvements for both groups over time, which can mostly be explained by retest effects. However, we observed a significant interaction effect between group and time, (1.6, 81.9) = 3.64, = 0.04, = 0.07, with higher increases in the first session in case physical endurance exercise was performed compared to motor imagery exercise, (51) = -2.71, = 0.09, = 0.75. This might suggest that the release of signaling factors due to muscle contractions with sensory feedback processing is an additional mediating mechanism alongside motor-related transient hypofrontality that improves cognitive performance.
本研究调查了真实和想象的耐力运动对健康年轻成年人持续注意力表现的急性影响，以阐明认知功能变化背后的作用机制。想象运动和实际身体运动之间的神经相似性表明，想象会诱发短暂的额叶功能减退，而实际运动既反映了短暂的额叶功能减退效应，也反映了由于肌肉收缩和伴随的感觉反馈而导致的信号因子（如脑源性神经营养因子或血清素）的整体释放。我们假设两种干预措施（想象和身体耐力运动）后认知功能都会改善，实际运动的改善更大，因为它针对两种机制。在一项顺序平衡交叉研究的框架内，53名体育科学专业学生完成了两个25分钟的中等耐力运动课程，分别采用运动想象模式或实际身体活动。在每种耐力运动条件前后进行持续注意力表现（d2-R）评估。统计结果显示两组随时间均有改善，这主要可以用重测效应来解释。然而，我们观察到组和时间之间存在显著的交互作用，（1.6, 81.9）= 3.64，= 0.04，= 0.07，与运动想象运动相比，进行身体耐力运动时，第一阶段的增加更高，（51）= -2.71，= 0.09，= 0.75。这可能表明，由于肌肉收缩并伴有感觉反馈处理而导致的信号因子释放，是除运动相关的短暂额叶功能减退之外，改善认知表现的另一种中介机制。
