A comparison of the effects of fixed versus variable foreperiods on anticipatory cardiac deceleration prior to an exercise task in grade school children.
Children's heart rate responses in anticipation of a signalled exercise task were examined. The use of fixed (15 s) vs variable (10, 15 or 20 s) preparatory intervals (PI) was compared. The analysis across all subjects indicated that the children exhibited a stable deceleration immediately prior to the exercise task. A difference was found between the fixed and variable PI's. During the period immediately before the exercise task, those subjects receiving the variable PI exhibited a decrease across trials in the size of the anticipatory heart rate deceleration. The children receiving the fixed PI showed an increase across trials in the size of the deceleration.
D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005082:Physical Exertion