Abstract
BackgroundA decline in executive function could have a negative influence on the control of actions in dynamic situations, such as sports activities. Mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution could serve as an effective treatment for preserving the executive function in exercise. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution on executive function after sustained moderately high-intensity exercise.MethodsEight young healthy participants completed 65 min of running at 75% V̇O2max with two mouth-rinsing conditions: with a carbohydrate solution (CHO) or with water (CON). Executive function was assessed before and after exercise by using the incongruent task of the Stroop Color and Word Test. The levels of blood glucose; and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), epinephrine, and norepinephrine (NE) were evaluated. A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, with condition (CHO and CON) and time (pre-exercise and post-exercise) as factors, was used to examine the main and interaction effects on the outcome measures.ResultsThe reaction time in the incongruent condition of the Stroop test significantly increased after exercise in CON (pre-exercise 529 ± 45 ms vs. post-exercise 547 ± 60 ms, P = 0.029) but not in CHO (pre-exercise 531 ± 54 ms vs. post-exercise 522 ± 80 ms), which resulted in a significant interaction (condition × time) on the reaction time (P = 0.028). The increased reaction time in CON indicates a decline in the executive function, which was attenuated in CHO. Increases in plasma epinephrine and NE levels demonstrated a trend toward attenuation accompanying CHO (P < 0.085), which appeared to be associated with the preservation of executive function. The blood glucose concentration showed neither significant interactions nor main effects of condition.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution attenuated the decline in executive function induced by sustained moderately high-intensity exercise, and that such attenuation seems to be unrelated to carbohydrate metabolic pathway but rather attributed, in part, to the inhibition of the excessive release of stress hormones.
Highlights
A decline in executive function could have a negative influence on the control of actions in dynamic situations, such as sports activities
Mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution, even without carbohydrate ingestion, has been reported to improve executive function in a resting condition [12, 13], suggesting that its effect is induced through non-energetic mechanisms
Mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution would attenuate a decline in executive function through the activation of reward pathways and/or vagus nerve
Summary
A decline in executive function could have a negative influence on the control of actions in dynamic situations, such as sports activities. Some previous studies [5, 6] have shown that executive function was impaired during and after sustained (> 60 min) high-intensity exercise (>70% V O2max) [7, 8], which causes several changes in modulators of executive function, such as arousal or the levels of some brain neurotransmitters [9, 10] Such exerciseinduced impairment in executive function would have a negative influence on the control of action in dynamic situations that require sustained moderately high-intensity exercise such as sports activities. As its favorable effect on executive function appears to be unaffected by exercise-induced deterioration in brain glucose uptake, and because it does not cause gastrointestinal discomfort, mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution could be a better form of intervention aimed at preserving executive function in sustained moderately high-intensity exercise. To our knowledge, no study has examined the effect of mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate solution on exercise-induced changes in executive function
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