title: Relationship between blood lactate and cortical excitability between taekwondo athletes and non-athletes after hand-grip exercise.
abstract: In taekwondo competitions, fatigue has a large influence on performance. Recent studies have reported that the excitability in the primary hand motor cortex, investigated with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is enhanced at the end of a maximal exercise and that this improvement correlates with blood lactate. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between blood lactate and cortical excitability in taekwondo athletes and non-athletes.
  
  
  
  The excitability of the primary motor cortex was measured before and after fatiguing hand-grip exercise by TMS. Capillary blood lactate was measured at rest (pre-test), at the end (0 min), and at 3 and 10 min after the exercise by using a "Lactate Pro" portable lactate analyzer.
  
  
  
  Significant differences in cortical excitability between the two groups were found after the exercise (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we found a significant relationship between cortical excitability and blood lactate (p < 0.01).
  
  
  
  The present findings showed changes in the excitability in the athletes group and also in the non-athletes group. However, blood lactate seems to have the greater effect in trained subjects compared to untrained subjects. In fact, it appears that, during extremely intensive exercise in taekwondo athletes, lactate may delay the onset of fatigue not only by maintaining the excitability of muscle, but also by increasing the excitability of the primary motor cortex more than in non-athletes.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;|b Department of Motor, Human and Health Science , University of Rome, "Foro Italico" , Rome , Italy ;
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moscatelli
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valenzano
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petito
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;
authors.forename: Antonio Ivano
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Triggiani
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;
authors.forename: Michela Anna Pia
authors.initials: MAP
authors.lastname: Ciliberti
authors.affiliation: c Department of Experimental Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy ;
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luongo
authors.affiliation: d Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental, Physical Health and Preventive Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carotenuto
authors.affiliation: d Clinic of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Department of Mental, Physical Health and Preventive Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: c Department of Experimental Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy ;
authors.forename: Antonietta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: c Department of Experimental Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy ;
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Monda
authors.affiliation: c Department of Experimental Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy ;
authors.forename: Marcellino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monda
authors.affiliation: b Department of Motor, Human and Health Science , University of Rome, "Foro Italico" , Rome , Italy ;
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Capranica
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;|c Department of Experimental Medicine , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy ;
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.affiliation: a Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine , University of Foggia , Foggia , Italy ;
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cibelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D016139:Martial Arts / Q000502:physiology*; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid
keywords: Blood lactate; central fatigue; cortical excitability; motor cortex; transcranial magnetic stimulation