Effects of creatine on mental fatigue and cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation.
While the role of creatine in preventing muscle (peripheral) fatigue for high performance athletes is well understood, its biochemical role in prevention of mental (central) fatigue is not. Creatine is abundant in muscles and the brain and after phosphorylation used as an energy source for adenosine triphosphate synthesis. Using double-blind placebo-controlled paradigm, we demonstrated that dietary supplement of creatine (8 g/day for 5 days) reduces mental fatigue when subjects repeatedly perform a simple mathematical calculation. After taking the creatine supplement, task-evoked increase of cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin in the brains of subjects measured by near infrared spectroscopy was significantly reduced, which is compatible with increased oxygen utilization in the brain.
Watanabe
Airi
A
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, 113-8655, Tokyo, Japan.
Kato
Nobumasa
N
Kato
Tadafumi
T
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003401:Creatine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005221:Fatigue / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D003401:Creatine