Abstract
The present study examined the effects of an exhaustive exercise on executive functions by using the Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT), Trail Making Test (TMT), A and B, and simple Reaction Time (RT). Thirty adults agreed to participate; 15 participants had a mean age of 24.7 years ± 3.2 Standard Deviation (SD, Standard Deviation) (group YOUNG), while the remaining 15 had a mean age of 58.9 years ± 2.6 SD (group OLD). Each subject performed the cognitive tasks at rest and blood lactate was measured (pre); each subject executed the acute exhaustive exercise and, immediately after the conclusion, executed the cognitive tasks and blood lactate was again measured (end). Cognitive tests were repeated and blood lactate measured 15 min after its conclusion of the exhaustive exercise (post). We observed: (1) a significant positive correlation between blood lactate levels and RT levels; (2) a significant negative relationship between levels of blood lactate and the SCWT mean score; (3) no significant correlation between blood lactate levels and TMT scores (time and errors), both A and B; (4) variations in blood lactate levels, due to exhaustive exercise, and parallel deterioration in the execution of RT and SCWT are significantly more pronounced in the group YOUNG than in the group OLD. The present study supports the possibility that high levels of blood lactate induced by an exhaustive exercise could adversely affect the executive functions pertaining to the prefrontal cortex.
Highlights
The effects of acute physical exercise on the cognitive performances of an adult individual are still under discussion [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]
The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of an exhaustive exercise on executive functions by using the Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT), correlated with cognitive flexibility and resistance to interference from external stimuli [25], and Trail Making Test (TMT), associated with visual attention and task switching [28]
In the group YOUNG, blood lactate levels increased from 1.63 mmol/L (±0.57 SD)
Summary
The effects of acute physical exercise on the cognitive performances of an adult individual are still under discussion [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18]. There are few studies on the effects of an exhaustive exercise on executive functions. [27,28,29,30,31,32] This term indicates a set of cognitive processes that allow us to plan, Int. J. Public Health 2020, 17, 898; doi:10.3390/ijerph17030898 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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