Abstract
Consistent with other human behaviors, sedentary behavior appears to be modulated, at least in part, by emotional and motivational processes. Past research has found that various emotion and motivation interactions show different patterns of asymmetric frontal cortical activity (FCA). It is possible that the decision, motivation, or the intention to engage in sedentary behavior may depend on the FCA. However, FCA has yet to be investigated as a potential neurobiological marker to predict sedentary behavior. PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between sedentary behavior and resting frontal asymmetry using electroencephalography (EEG). METHODS: Forty-five college students participated in this study in exchange for partial course credit. A modified short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was administered to determine habitual level of physical activity and sedentary time. Standard processing of EEG data was performed using BrainVision Analyzer software. Univariate correlation analyses were used to examine the relationship between frontal asymmetry and sedentary time. RESULTS: Average number of minutes spent sitting on a weekday (r(22) = -0.45, p = 0.027) and on a weekend day (r(22) = -0.55, p = 0.005) correlated with relative left frontal activity. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, our data are the first to find a link between neurobiological markers of approach /avoidance motivation and sedentary activity, suggesting that reduced left frontal activity might be a novel neurophysiological marker for sedentary behavior.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call