Body Water Compartment and Sympathovagal Balance: Association with Visuomotor Retention in Young Adults

Abstract

Cognitive functions are important for visuomotor learning and are associated with physiological factors such as body fluid compartment and cardiovascular reactivity. Previous studies found that body fluid compartment is associated with brain blood flow, which is regulated via sympathovagal balance. However, more evidence is needed to determine whether body fluid compartment and cardiovascular reactivity are associated with visuomotor learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of body fluid compartment and cardiovascular reactivity to visuomotor learning. We hypothesized that these physiological factors are associated with overall learning retention using upper extremity (including feedforward, volitional, and feedback conditions). Methods: Thirty young adults (12 males, 24.6 ± 3.9 years, right hand dominant) participated in this study. Participants tracked a sinusoidal wave with left arm at pre-test, learning, and post-test sessions on the first visit and at retention test session on the second visit seven days later. Participants performed one set of nine trials during each test and five sets of three trials during learning. Resistance and wave velocity were different in each trial. Learning error was calculated by the averaged absolute distance between the tracking line and the target line. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and low to high frequency power ratio of heart rate variability (LF/HF) were continuously recorded during baseline before pre-test and during tests and learning. We analyzed participants’ extracellular to intracellular body water ratio (ECW/ICW) using an InBody body composition analyzer and tested their cognitive function with Picture Sequence Memory (PSMT), Pattern Comparison Processing Speed, Dimensional Change Card Sort, Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention, and List Sorting Working Memory Tests from NIH Cognitive Toolbox. Data were statistically analyzed using linear regression analysis and quartile analysis. Results: ECW/ICW was associated with young adults’ ability to retain visuomotor learning after one week (R2 = 0.138, p = 0.043), whereas HR, SBP, and LF/HF at each session were not significantly associated with visuomotor retention. No differences were found in pre-test error among quartiles of five cognitive tests. Significant differences in retention error among quartiles were only found in PSMT, with participants scoring in the highest quartile of PSMT having lower SBP during the first visit and lower retention error compared to the lowest quartile. This finding suggests that young adults with better episodic memory were less stressed during learning and had better visuomotor retention. Conclusion: These findings support that ECW/ICW is associated with not only cognitive function but also visuomotor retention. In addition, cardiovascular reactivity during visuomotor learning may provide information for retention behavior. Relationship of body water compartment and sympathovagal balance to feedforward and feedback conditions in learning will be further discussed. Research Support: This study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: R01HD084645, R01HD082109. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.