Acute Exercise Type and Cognitive Function: An Event-related Potential Study

Effects of Different Types of Acute Exercise on Cognitive Function: An Event-related Potential Study

This study aims to examine the effects of different types of acute exercise on cognitive functions in healthy adults.

Acute exercise, a single session of exercise, has been shown to enhance cognitive functions. The meta-analysis research has suggested that such benefits might depend upon the types of exercise. However, the predominant types of exercise examined within this area of research are aerobic and resistance exercises. The effects of other types of exercises on cognitive functions are poorly understood. Accordingly, this study is going to examine the effects of different types of acute exercise [i.e., aerobic exercise (AE), aerobic exercise with virtual reality (AE-VR), and combined exercise (CE)] on cognitive functions.

140-180 healthy young adults will be recruited and then randomly assigned to the AE, AE-VR, CE, and Control groups for a 35-minute intervention. Cardiovascular fitness will be assessed beforehand. Additionally, Stroop tasks and several questionnaires will be conducted before and after the intervention. The targeted primary outcomes are changes in cognitive behavior performance (assessed by the Stroop tasks) and neuroelectrical indices (e.g., P3 of event-related potential). The secondary outcomes are the changes in exercise enjoyment, motivation, and emotion.

Inclusion Criteria:

• no major psychiatric illness or physical disease
• able to do 30-minutes moderate exercise
• normal or corrected-to-normal vision
• right-handed
• moderate exercise ≤ 150 min/week

Exclusion Criteria:

• any neurological, respiratory, vascular, metabolic, or brain-relative disease
• any physical limitation or injury
• any wounds on the scalp
• have experience of using technology products
• regular engagement in exercise training programs