title: Pushing to the limits: the dynamics of cognitive control during exhausting exercise.
abstract: This study aimed at investigating concurrent changes in cognitive control and cerebral oxygenation (Cox) during steady intense exercise to volitional exhaustion. Fifteen participants were monitored using prefrontal near-infrared spectroscopy and electromyography of the thumb muscles during the completion of an Eriksen flanker task completed either at rest (control condition) or while cycling at a strenuous intensity until exhaustion (exercise condition). Two time windows were matched between the conditions to distinguish a potential exercise-induced evolutive cognitive effect: an initial period and a terminal period. In the initial period, Cox remained unaltered and, contrary to theoretical predictions, exercise did not induce any deficit in selective response inhibition. Rather, the drop-off of the delta curve as reaction time lengthened suggested enhanced efficiency of cognitive processes in the first part of the exercise bout. Shortly before exhaustion, Cox values were severely reduced - though not characteristic of a hypofrontality state - while no sign of deficit in selective response inhibition was observed. Despite this, individual's susceptibility to making fast impulsive errors increased and less efficient online correction of incorrect activation was observed near exhaustion. A negative correlation between Cox values and error rate was observed and is discussed in terms of cerebral resources redistribution.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire LAMHESS (EA6309), Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France; Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance (INSEP), Département de la Recherche, Paris, France. Electronic address: cyril.schmit@insep.fr.
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmit
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LPC UMR 7290, FR 3C FR 3512, 13331 Marseille cedex 3, France.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davranche
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire LAMHESS (EA6309), Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France; Spinal Cord Injury Centre, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Easthope
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire LAMHESS (EA6309), Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Serge S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Colson
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire LAMHESS (EA6309), Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Jeanick
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brisswalter
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire LAMHESS (EA6309), Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France.
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Radel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004576:Electromyography; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cerebral oxygenation; Cognitive functions; Exhaustion; Physical exercise; Response inhibition