Affect during incremental exercise: The role of inhibitory cognition, autonomic cardiac function, and cerebral oxygenation

Weslley Quirino Alves Da Silva*, Eduardo Bodnariuc Fontes, Rodrigo Menezes Forti, Zayonara Larissa Lima, Daniel Gomes Da Silva Machado, Andréa Camaz Deslandes, Erika Hussey, Nathan Ward, Rickson Coelho Mesquita, Alexandre Hideki Okano, Hassan Mohamed Elsangedy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Pleasure is a key factor for physical activity behavior in sedentary individuals. Inhibitory cognitive control may play an important role in pleasure perception while exercising, especially at high intensities. In addition, separate work suggests that autonomic regulation and cerebral hemodynamics influence the affective and cognitive responses during exercise. Purpose: We investigated the effects of exercise intensity on affect, inhibitory control, cardiac autonomic function, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation. Methods: Thirty-seven sedentary young adults performed two experimental conditions (exercise and control) in separate sessions in a repeated-measures design. In the exercise condition, participants performed a maximum graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer as we continuously measured oxygen consumption, heart rate variability (HRV), and PFC oxygenation. At each of 8 intensity levels we also measured inhibitory control (Stroop test), associative and dissociative thoughts (ADT), and affective/pleasure ratings. In the control condition, participants sat motionless on a cycle ergometer without active pedaling, and we collected the same measures at the same points in time as the exercise condition. We evaluated the main effects and interactions of exercise condition and intensity level for each measure using two-way repeated measures ANOVAs. Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between affect and inhibitory control, ADT, HRV, and PFC oxygenation using Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Results: For exercise intensities below and at the ventilatory threshold (VT), participants reported feeling neutral, with preservation of inhibitory control, while intensities above the VT were associated with displeasure (p<0.001), decreased inhibitory control and HRV (p<0.001), and increased PFC oxygenation (p<0.001). At the highest exercise intensity, pleasure was correlated with the low-frequency index of HRV (r = -0.34; p<0.05) and the low-frequency/ high-frequency HRV ratio (r = -0.33; p<0.05). PFC deoxyhemoglobin was correlated with pleasure two stages above the VT (r = -0.37; p<0.05). Conclusion: Our results support the notion that exercise at high intensities influences inhibitory control and one’s perception of pleasure, which are linked to changes in cardiac autonomic control and cerebral hemodynamics. These findings strengthen the existence of an integrated brain-heart-body system and highlight the importance of exercise intensity in exercise-related behavior in sedentary individuals.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0186926
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume12
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2017

Bibliographical note

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© 2017, Public Library of Science. All rights reserved. This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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