Heiland Emerald G, Lindh Frida, Regan Callum, Ekblom Örjan, Kjellenberg Karin, Larsen Filip J, Fernström Maria, Nyberg Gisela, Ekblom Maria M, Helgadóttir Björg
Department of Physical Activity and Health, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH), Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Surgical Sciences, Medical Epidemiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
NPJ Sci Food. 2024 Sep 13;8(1):64. doi: 10.1038/s41538-024-00308-4.
It remains unknown whether dietary nitrate and breakfast may enhance working memory (WM) performance by augmenting physiological mechanisms and subjective psychological well-being. We performed a 3-arm randomised within-subject crossover study, with pretest-posttest comparisons, to test whether nitrate consumption via breakfast with a beetroot juice shot or regular breakfast compared to no breakfast improved WM (measured with n-back tests) and cognitive task-related changes in prefrontal cortical haemodynamic response (oxygenated- and deoxygenated-haemoglobin derived from functional near-infrared spectroscopy). In addition, effects on peripheral vascular function and self-reported psychological factors were assessed. In 60 adolescents (13-15 years old; 66% girls), WM improved in all conditions, with no intervention effects. Intervention effects were seen for oxygenated-haemoglobin changes, such that it increased after the breakfast with a nitrate shot during the WM tests and decreased after the regular breakfast. Thus, different neurophysiological mechanisms may be at play to preserve WM in adolescents depending on their breakfast composition. The trial was registered in the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN16596056) on 21/02/2022.
饮食中的硝酸盐和早餐是否可通过增强生理机制和主观心理健康来提高工作记忆(WM)表现仍不清楚。我们进行了一项三臂随机受试者内交叉研究,并进行前后测比较,以测试与不吃早餐相比,通过饮用含甜菜根汁的早餐或常规早餐摄入硝酸盐是否能改善WM(通过n-back测试测量)以及前额叶皮质血流动力学反应(源自功能近红外光谱的氧合血红蛋白和脱氧血红蛋白)中与认知任务相关的变化。此外,还评估了对外周血管功能和自我报告的心理因素的影响。在60名青少年(13 - 15岁;66%为女孩)中,所有条件下WM均有改善,但无干预效应。观察到了氧合血红蛋白变化的干预效应,即在WM测试期间,饮用含硝酸盐的早餐后其增加,而在常规早餐后减少。因此,根据早餐成分不同,可能有不同的神经生理机制在青少年维持WM过程中发挥作用。该试验于2022年2月21日在ISRCTN注册库(ISRCTN16596056)中注册。