Physical exercise speeds up motor timing

Olga V Sysoeva,Marc Wittmann,Heiko K Strüder,Alexander Tonevitsky,Andreas Mierau,Irina Polikanova

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00612

Abstract

This study aimed to examine effect of physical exercise on motor timing: personal, maximum and “once per second” tapping. The acute effect was examined by comparing the baseline tapping with that after acute exercise in 9 amateur athletes, 8 elite synchronous swimmers and 9 elite biathletes. Then the baseline tapping was compared among athletes of different sports and professional levels (15 elite biathletes, 27 elite cross-country skiers, 15 elite synchronous swimmers and 9 amateur wrestlers) with a control group (44 non-athletes) not involved in regular exercise to examine the sport-specific or long-term effects. Maximum and “once per second” tapping speed increased after acute physical exercise and were also faster in elite athletes compared to controls during the baseline condition. However, personal tapping tempo was not affected by exercise. In addition, physical exercise had no effects on the variability of the intertap interval. The accuracy of “once per second” tapping differentiates controls and amateur wrestlers from elite synchronous swimmers and skiers suggesting sport-specific adaptations to play a role. It is concluded that acute physical exercise selectively speeds up motor timing but does not affect its variability and accuracy, and this speeding-up is suggested to transfer into a long-term effect in elite athletes.

Highlights

Physical exercise is known to have a wide range of effects on the body including the brain
It has been shown that regional cerebral blood flow increases during dynamic exercise (Herholz et al, 1987)
Studies dealing with brain function during or after exercise reported shorter reaction times (Davranche and Audiffren, 2004; Davranche et al, 2006), improved sensorimotor adaptation (Mierau et al, 2009), reduced pain perception (Janal et al, 1984), improved mood states (Janal et al, 1984; Boecker et al, 2008; Schneider et al, 2009), reduced anxiety (Morgan, 1985; Petruzzello et al, 1991; Petruzzello and Landers, 1994), better memory performance (Erickson et al, 2011) as well as a facilitation of attentional and executive functions (Hillman et al, 2003, 2008; Weinstein et al, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Physical exercise is known to have a wide range of effects on the body including the brain. Dynamic exercise induces an increase in the plasma concentration of neural growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor as well as insulin-like growth factor 1, which are known to stimulate synaptogenesis and neurogenesis in the brain (Carro et al, 2000; Cotman and Berchtold, 2002; Cotman and Engesser-Cesar, 2002; Rojas Vega et al, 2006). These neurophysiological responses to exercise are accompanied by significant functional and behavioral changes comprising motor, perceptual, emotional and memory processes. Exercise-induced physiological changes of the body could have a strong impact on temporal processes including motor timing and this topic has not been studied previously

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