Acute Exercise Type and Cognitive Function: An Event-related Potential Study

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Exercise Training; Neurocognitive Function
• Interventions: Behavioral: aerobic exercise with virtual reality group (AE-VR); Behavioral: aerobic exercise group (AE); Behavioral: combined exercise group (CE); Behavioral: Control group

• Registration Number: NCT05294354
• Lead Sponsor: National Taiwan Normal University

Brief Summary

This study aims to examine the effects of different types of acute exercise on cognitive functions in healthy adults.

Detailed Description

Acute exercise, a single session of exercise, has been shown to enhance cognitive functions. The meta-analysis research has suggested that such benefits might depend upon the types of exercise. However, the predominant types of exercise examined within this area of research are aerobic and resistance exercises. The effects of other types of exercises on cognitive functions are poorly understood. Accordingly, this study is going to examine the effects of different types of acute exercise \[i.e., aerobic exercise (AE), aerobic exercise with virtual reality (AE-VR), and combined exercise (CE)\] on cognitive functions.

140-180 healthy young adults will be recruited and then randomly assigned to the AE, AE-VR, CE, and Control groups for a 35-minute intervention. Cardiovascular fitness will be assessed beforehand. Additionally, Stroop tasks and several questionnaires will be conducted before and after the intervention. The targeted primary outcomes are changes in cognitive behavior performance (assessed by the Stroop tasks) and neuroelectrical indices (e.g., P3 of event-related potential). The secondary outcomes are the changes in exercise enjoyment, motivation, and emotion.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2022-03-15
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-03-15
• Study Start: 2022-03-20
• Study First Posted: 2022-03-24
• Status Verified: 2022-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-04-01
• Last Update Posted: 2022-04-04
• Primary Completion: 2023-03
• Study Completion: 2023-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 160

Inclusion Criteria

• no major psychiatric illness or physical disease
• able to do 30-minutes moderate exercise
• normal or corrected-to-normal vision
• right-handed
• moderate exercise ≤ 150 min/week

Exclusion Criteria

• any neurological, respiratory, vascular, metabolic, or brain-relative disease
• any physical limitation or injury
• any wounds on the scalp
• have experience of using technology products
• regular engagement in exercise training programs

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
aerobic exercise with virtual reality group (AE-VR)	aerobic exercise with virtual reality group (AE-VR)	35-min cycling at moderate intensity (50-60% heart rate reserve) with 3D virtual reality.
aerobic exercise group (AE)	aerobic exercise group (AE)	35-min cycling at moderate intensity (50-60% heart rate reserve).
combined exercise group (CE)	combined exercise group (CE)	This 35-min exercise combines aerobic, bodyweight exercise, and meditation.
control group	Control group	It has a 35-minute video about exercise science.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Inhibition performance: Changes in Stroop test performance	30 minutes each at the pretest and posttest	The computerized Stroop test will be administrated to assess participants' cognitive functions, and their changes in reaction time and accuracy will be examined.
Changes in neuroelectrical activities	30 minutes each at the pretest and posttest	The neuroelectrical activities during the computerized cognitive tasks will be recorded. The changes in the event-related potential (e.g., P3) will be analyzed.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in emotion	5-10 minutes each at the pretest and posttest	The Chinese version of the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) will be used to assess the changes in emotion levels. It is a self-reporting questionnaire consisting of two 10-item scales and each item is scored on a Likert-type scale that ranges from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).
Changes in motivation	3-5 minutes each at the pretest and posttest	The Chinese version of the Motivation for Future Use questionnaire will be used. The scale consists of 3 items and each item is scored on a Likert-type scale that ranges from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating a higher level of motivation.
Changes in physical activity enjoyment	5-10 minutes each at the pretest and posttest	The Chinese version of the physical activity enjoyment scale (PACES) questionnaire, with a total of 13 items, will be used to examine the changes in physical activity enjoyment. Participants will rate "how you feel at the moment about the exercise you have been doing" using a 7- point bipolar Likert scale, from 1 (I enjoy it) to 7 (I hate it).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University; 🇨🇳 Taipei, Taiwan