Abstract
Exercise has a profound impact on one’s health, and it is becoming increasingly accepted that exercise also benefits cognitive functioning. Yet, the neural mechanism for which cognitive enhancement occurs is less understood. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to experimentally test whether an acute exercise activity was able to increase theta power and behavioral performance during an executive functioning attentional control task. Participants were randomly assigned to either a stationary-bike exercise or a resting control condition. Thereafter, they completed the Eriksen flanker task, and most participants completed this while EEG data were recorded. From the flanker task data, we demonstrated an interaction effect from both accuracy and reaction time measurements. Importantly, the exercise group was more accurate than the control group in incongruent trials. From the EEG data, theta power was overall higher in the exercise group, especially during the congruent trials, compared to controls. Our results add to the limited but growing body of research that suggests acute exercise produces a general increase in theta power, which in turn may play a role in enhancing cognitive performance. These results, combined with previous research, could have widespread implications in multiple settings such as in the investigation of a biomarker of physical fitness, neurorehabilitation, and in education.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
All data are available upon request.
References
Ahlskog JE, Geda YE, Graff-Radford NR, Petersen RC (2011) Physical exercise as a preventive or disease-modifying treatment of dementia and brain aging. Mayo Clin Proc 86(9):876–884. https://doi.org/10.4065/mcp.2011.0252
American College of Sports Medicine & Fountaine-Walker C (2021) Acsm’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11ème). Wolters Kluwer, Berlin
Archer T (2012) Influence of physical exercise on traumatic brain injury deficits: Scaffolding effect. Neurotoxic Res 21(4):418–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-011-9297-0
Barkley RA (1997) Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychol Bull 121(1):65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.65
Barkley RA (2012) Executive functions: what they are, how they work, and why they evolved. Guilford Press
Begus K, Bonawitz E (2020) The rhythm of learning: Theta oscillations as an index of active learning in infancy. Dev Cognit Neurosci 45:100810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100810
Best MW, Gale D, Tran T, Haque MK, Bowie CR (2019) Brief executive function training for individuals with severe mental illness: effects on EEG synchronization and executive functioning. Schizophr Res 203:32–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.08.052
Botvinick MM, Braver TS, Barch DM, Carter CS, Cohen JD (2001) Conflict monitoring and cognitive control. Psychol Rev 108(3):624–652. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.624
Britton JW, Frey LC, Hopp JL et al (2016) Electroencephalography (EEG): an introductory text and atlas of normal and abnormal findings in adults, children, and infants. American Epilepsy Society, Chicago
Chaire A, Becke A, Düzel E (2020) Effects of physical exercise on working memory and attention-related neural oscillations. Front Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00239
Chang YK, Chi L, Etnier JL, Wang CC, Chu CH, Zhou CL (2014) Effect of acute aerobic exercise on cognitive performance: role of cardiovascular fitness. Psychol Sport Exerc 15(5):464–470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.04.007
Chang YK, Chu CH, Wang CC, Song TF, Wei GX (2015) Effect of acute exercise and cardiovascular fitness on cognitive function: an event-related cortical desynchronization study. Psychophysiology 52(3):342–351. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12364
Chang Y-K, Alderman BL, Chu C-H, Wang C-C, Song T-F, Chen F-T (2017) Acute exercise has a general facilitative effect on cognitive function: a combined ERP temporal dynamics and BDNF study. Psychophysiology 54(2):289–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12784
Chang YK, Chen FT, Kuan G, Wei GX, Chu CH, Yan J, Chen AG, Hung TM (2019) Effects of acute exercise duration on the inhibition aspect of executive function in late middle-aged adults. Front Aging Neurosci 11:227. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00227
Ciria LF, Perakakis P, Luque-Casado A, Sanabria D (2018) Physical exercise increases overall brain oscillatory activity but does not influence inhibitory control in young adults. Neuroimage 181:203–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.07.009
Ciria LF, Luque-Casado A, Sanabria D, Holgado D, Ivanov PCh, Perakakis P (2019) Oscillatory brain activity during acute exercise: tonic and transient neural response to an oddball task. Psychophysiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13326
Clayson PE, Larson MJ (2012) Cognitive performance and electrophysiological indices of cognitive control: a validation study of conflict adaptation. Psychophysiology 49(5):627–637. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01345.x
Clayton MS, Yeung N, Cohen Kadosh R (2015) The roles of cortical oscillations in sustained attention. Trends Cogn Sci 19(4):188–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.02.004
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. Academic Press, New York
Colcombe SJ, Kramer AF, Erickson KI, Scalf P, McAuley E, Cohen NJ, Webb A, Jerome GJ, Marquez DX, Elavsky S (2004) Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101(9):3316–3321. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0400266101
Cotman CW, Engesser-Cesar C (2002) Exercise enhances and protects brain function. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 30(2):75–79
Crabbe JB, Dishman RK (2004) Brain electrocortical activity during and after exercise: a quantitative synthesis. Psychophysiology 41(4):563–574. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2004.00176.x
Diamond A (2013) Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol 64(1):135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Drollette ES, Scudder MR, Raine LB, Moore RD, Saliba BJ, Pontifex MB, Hillman CH (2014) Acute exercise facilitates brain function and cognition in children who need it most: an ERP study of individual differences in inhibitory control capacity. Dev Cogn Neurosci 7:53–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2013.11.001
Eriksen BA, Eriksen CW (1974) Effects of noise letters upon the identification of a target letter in a nonsearch task. Percept Psychophys 16(1):143–149. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203267
Erickson KI, Hillman C, Stillman CM, Ballard RM, Bloodgood B, Conroy DE, Macko R, Marquez DX, Petruzzello SJ, Powell KE, FOR 2018 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE* (2019) Physical activity, cognition, and brain outcomes: a review of the 2018 physical activity guidelines. Med Sci Sports Exerc 51(6):1242–1251. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001936. (PMID: 31095081; PMCID: PMC6527141)
Eysenck MW, Derakshan N (2011) New perspectives in attentional control theory. Pers Individ Differ 50(7):955–960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.08.019
Fan J, Flombaum JI, McCandliss BD, Thomas KM, Posner MI (2003) Cognitive and brain consequences of conflict. Neuroimage 18(1):42–57. https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2002.1319
Faul F, Erdfelder E, Buchner A, Lang AG (2009) Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behav Res Methods 41:1149–1160
Field AP (2018) Discovering statistics using Ibm Spss statistics, 5th edn. SAGE Publications Ltd
Fonte C, Smania N, Pedrinolla A, Munari D, Gandolfi M, Picelli A, Varalta V, Benetti MV, Brugnera A, Federico A, Muti E, Tamburin S, Schena F, Venturelli M (2019) Comparison between physical and cognitive treatment in patients with MCI and Alzheimer's disease. Aging 11(10):3138–3155. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101970
Gratton G, Coles MG, Donchin E (1983) A new method for off-line removal of ocular artifact. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 55(4):468–484. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(83)90135-9
Grimes A, Lightner JS, Pina K, Donis de Miranda ES, Meissen-Sebelius E, Shook RP, Hurley EA (2022) Designing an adaptive adolescent physical activity and nutrition intervention for COVID-19-related health challenges: formative research study. JMIR Form Res 6(1):e33322. https://doi.org/10.2196/33322
Guiney H, Machado L (2013) Benefits of regular aerobic exercise for executive functioning in healthy populations. Psychon Bull Rev 20(1):73–86. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-012-0345-4
Han P, Zhang W, Kang L, Ma Y, Fu L, Jia L, Yu H, Chen X, Hou L, Wang L, Yu X, Kohzuki M, Guo Q (2017). Clinical evidence of exercise benefits for stroke, pp 131–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4304-8_9
Kamijo K, Hayashi Y, Sakai T, Yahiro T, Tanaka K, Nishihira Y (2009) Acute effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive function in older adults. J Gerontol Ser B Psychol Sci Social Sci 64(3):356–363. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbp030
Kappenman ES, Luck SJ (2016) Best practices for event-related potential research in clinical populations. Biol Psychiatry Cognit Neurosci Neuroimaging 1(2):110–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2015.11.007
Klimesch W (1999) EEG alpha and theta oscillations reflect cognitive and memory performance: a review and analysis. Brain Res Rev 29:169–195. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0173(98)00056-3
Klimesch W, Sauseng P, Hanslmayr S, Gruber W, Freunberger R (2007) Event-related phase reorganization may explain evoked neural dynamics. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 31(7):1003–1016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.03.005
Kóbor A, Takács Á, Honbolygó F, Csépe V (2014) Generalized lapse of responding in trait impulsivity indicated by ERPs: The role of energetic factors in inhibitory control. Int J Psychophysiol 92(1):16–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.01.008
Kramer AF, Hahn S, Cohen NJ, Banich MT, McAuley E, Harrison CR, Chason J, Vakil E, Bardell L, Boileau RA, Colcombe A (1999) Ageing, fitness and neurocognitive function. Nature 400(6743):418–419. https://doi.org/10.1038/22682
Lardon MT, Polich J (1996) EEG changes from long-term physical exercise. Biol Psychol 44(1):19–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(96)05198-8
Leung K-K, Lee TMC, Yip P, Li LSW, Wong MMC (2009) Selective attention biases of people with depression: Positive and negative priming of depression-related information. Psychiatry Res 165(3):241–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2007.10.022
Lezak MD (1995) Neuropsychological assessment, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, New York
Liguori G (ed) (2022) ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription, Eleventh. Wolters Kluwer, Philadelphia
Liu-Ambrose T, Nagamatsu LS, Voss MW, Khan KM, Handy TC (2012) Resistance training and functional plasticity of the aging brain: a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Neurobiol Aging 33(8):1690–1698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.05.010
Luck SJ, Kappenman ES (2012) The Oxford handbook of event-related potential components. Oxford University Press
Luque-Casado A, Perakakis P, Hillman CH, Kao SC, Llorens F, Guerra P, Sanabria D (2016) Differences in sustained attention capacity as a function of aerobic fitness. Med Sci Sports Exerc 48(5):887–895.https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000857
Luque-Casado A, Ciria LF, Sanabria D, Perakakis P (2020) Exercise practice associates with different brain rhythmic patterns during vigilance. Physiol Behav 224:113033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113033
Marques-Aleixo I, Beleza J, Sampaio A, Stevanović J, Coxito P, Gonçalves I, Ascensão A, Magalhães J (2021) Preventive and therapeutic potential of physical exercise in neurodegenerative diseases. Antioxid Redox Signal 34(8):674–693. https://doi.org/10.1089/ars.2020.8075
Martin LE, Potts GF (2009) Impulsivity in decision-making: an event-related potential investigation. Pers Individ Differ 46(3):303–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.10.019
Moeller FG, Barratt ES, Dougherty DM, Schmitz JM, Swann AC (2001) Psychiatric aspects of impulsivity. Am J Psychiatry 158(11):1783–1793. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.158.11.1783
Moustafa AA, Tindle R, Frydecka D, Misiak B (2017) Impulsivity and its relationship with anxiety, depression and stress. Compr Psychiatry 74:173–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.01.013
Norman DA, Shallice T (1986) Attention to action. In: Davidson RJ, Schwartz GE, Shapiro D (eds) Consciousness and self-regulation. Springer, Boston, MA. pp 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0629-1_1
Pang MYC, Yang L, Ouyang H, Lam FMH, Huang M, Jehu DA (2018) Dual-task exercise reduces cognitive-motor interference in walking and falls after stroke. Stroke 49(12):2990–2998. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.118.022157
Petersen SE, Posner MI (2012) The attention system of the human brain: 20 years after. Annu Rev Neurosci 35(1):73–89. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-neuro-062111-150525
Pfurtscheller G, Lopes da Silva FH (1999) Event-related EEG/MEG synchronization and desynchronization: basic principles. Clin Neurophysiol 110(11):1842–1857. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1388-2457(99)00141-8
Reuters EM, Vieluf S, Koutsandreou F, Hübner L, Budde H, Godde B, Voelcker-Rehage C (2019) A Non-linear relationship between selective attention and associated ERP markers across the lifespan. Front Psychol 10:30. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00030
Ridderinkhof KR, van der Molen MW, Bashore TR (1995) Limits on the application of additive factors logic: violations of stage robustness suggest a dual-process architecture to explain flanker effects on target processing. Acta Physiol (oxf) 90(1–3):29–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(95)00031-O
Ludyga S, Gerber M, Brand S, Holsboer‐Trachsler E, Pühse U (2016) Acute effects of moderate aerobic exercise on specific aspects of executive function in different age and fitness groups: a meta-analysis. Psychophysiology 53(11):1611–1626. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.2016.53
Servant M, Logan GD (2019) Dynamics of attentional focusing in the Eriksen flanker task. Atten Percept Psychophys 81(8):2710–2721. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-019-01796-3
Smulders FTY, ten Oever S, Donkers FCL, Quaedflieg CWEM, van de Ven V (2018) Single-trial log transformation is optimal in frequency analysis of resting EEG alpha. Eur J Neurosci 48(7):2585–2598. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.13854
Stroop JR (1935) Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. J Exp Psychol 18(6):643–662. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054651
Sudikoff EL, Bertolin M, Lordo DN, Kaufman DA (2015) Relationships between executive function and emotional regulation in healthy children. J Neurol Psychol S(2):8
Sweitzer MM, Allen PA, Kaut KP (2008) Relation of individual differences in impulsivity to nonclinical emotional decision making. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 14(5):878–882. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617708080934
Warburton D, Jamnik V, Bredin S, Shephard R, Gledhill N (2021) The 2021 Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+) and electronic Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination (ePARmed-X+). Health Fitness J Can 14(1):83–87. https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i1.351
Waters A, Zou L, Jung M, Yu Q, Lin J, Liu S, Loprinzi PD (2020) Acute exercise and sustained attention on memory function. Am J Health Behav 44(3):326–332. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.44.3.5. (PMID: 32295680)
Won J, Alfini AJ, Weiss LR, Callow DD, Smith JC (2019) Brain activation during executive control after acute exercise in older adults. Int J Psychophysiol 146:240–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.10.002
Xie Y, Li Y, Duan H, Xu X, Zhang W, Fang P (2021) Theta oscillations and source connectivity during complex audiovisual object encoding in working memory. Front Hum Neurosci 15:614950. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.614950
Yamagishi N, Callan DE, Anderson SJ, Kawato M (2008) Attentional changes in pre-stimulus oscillatory activity within early visual cortex are predictive of human visual performance. Brain Res 1197:115–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2007.12.063
Yoon M, Yang P-S, Jin M-N, Yu HT, Kim T-H, Jang E, Uhm J-S, Pak H-N, Lee M-H, Joung B (2021) Association of physical activity level with risk of dementia in a nationwide cohort in Korea. JAMA Netw Open 4(12):e2138526. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.38526
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all our participants for donating their time to this study. We would also like to thank Lauren Jackson, Rachel Eubanks, Emma Spurling, Jefferson Bass, Harshi Lodha Jain, Kaia McMullen, Maggie Zheng, Chayse Stevens, Laney Dezanet, Jayla Jackson, and McKenzie Guest for helping assist with data collection.
Funding
This work was supported by a Magellan grant received through the Advanced Support for Innovative Research Excellence at the University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina Aiken’s Summer Scholars Institute.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MAG: conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, software, writing—review and editing, project management. BP: conceptualization, supervision, resources. NSV: formal analysis. LJ-S: data curation, formal analysis, supervision, resources, writing—original draft/review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Communicated by Matthew Heath.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Griggs, M.A., Parr, B., Vandegrift, N.S. et al. The effect of acute exercise on attentional control and theta power in young adults. Exp Brain Res 241, 2509–2520 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06660-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06660-3