Abstract

Japanese martial arts, Budo, have been reported to improve cognitive function, especially attention. However, the underlying neural mechanisms of the effect of Budo on attention processing has not yet been investigated. Kendo, a type of fencing using bamboo swords, is one of the most popular forms of Budo worldwide. We investigated the difference in functional connectivity (FC) between Kendo players (KPs) and non-KPs (NKPs) during an attention-related auditory oddball paradigm and during rest. The analyses focused on the brain network related to “motivation.” Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and task-based fMRI using the oddball paradigm were performed in healthy male volunteers (14 KPs and 11 NKPs). Group differences in FC were tested using CONN-software within the motivation network, which consisted of 22 brain regions defined by a previous response-conflict task-based fMRI study with a reward cue. Daily general physical activities were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). We also investigated the impact of major confounders, namely, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, IPAQ score, body mass index (BMI), and reaction time (RT) in the oddball paradigm. Resting-state fMRI revealed that KPs had a significantly lower FC than NKPs between the right nucleus accumbens and right frontal eye field (FEF) within the motivation network. Conversely, KPs exhibited a significantly higher FC than NKPs between the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the left precentral gyrus (PCG) within the network during the auditory oddball paradigm [statistical thresholds, False Discovery Rate (FDR) < 0.05]. These results remained significant after controlling for major covariates. Our results suggest that attenuated motivation network integrity at rest together with enhanced motivation network integrity during attentional demands might underlie the instantaneous concentration abilities of KPs.

Highlights

  • Physical exercise is widely believed to be beneficial to health

  • Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that brain functional connectivity (FC) can be used to characterize neural circuits that underpin human cognitive functions, including attention processing assessed by visual oddball paradigm (Li et al, 2016), and health-benefits of non-pathological internet use on motivational function (Fujiwara et al, 2018)

  • To test the effects of smoking and alcohol consumption, general physical exercise, and oddball task reaction time (RT) on the FC differences between Kendo players (KPs) and NKP groups, additional analyses were performed in two steps, including a correlational analysis to investigate the association of FTND, CORE-AUDIT, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), body mass index (BMI), and RT with FC, and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using group as an independent variable, FC as a dependent variable, and (1) FTND, CORE-AUDIT, (2) IPAQ, BMI, (3) RT, and (4) all covariates of (1), (2) and (3), as covariates

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

Physical exercise is widely believed to be beneficial to health. These benefits are felt by walking, gymnastics, and sports as hobbies. A positive effect of Budo on the improvement of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder symptoms has been reported (Woodward, 2009) Despite evidence for these positive impacts of Budo on attention, the underlying neural mechanism has only been investigated by one study. The motivational drive continuously influences on our daily behaviors, that is, instantaneous enhancement of motivation in the face of critical aims/goals, followed by its attenuation after satisfaction We predicted that this ‘‘resting vs attentionally-driven’’ state switching/change of motivation can be trained and becomes more efficient through the mind-body training of Budo. Recent neuroimaging studies have suggested that brain functional connectivity (FC) can be used to characterize neural circuits that underpin human cognitive functions, including attention processing assessed by visual oddball paradigm (Li et al, 2016), and health-benefits of non-pathological internet use on motivational function (Fujiwara et al, 2018). We hypothesized that KPs have: (1) attenuated FC during resting state; and (2) enhanced FC during tasks with an increased attentional-load

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