Executive Function
Conditions
Keywords
acute exercise, concurrent exercise, cognitive flexibility
Brief summary
Executive function is a high-level cognition which plays an important role in our life. Meta-analysis study has demonstrated that acute exercise could improve executive function. However, it is still unclear whether executive function can be enhanced by the concurrent exercise that combines aerobic and resistance exercise. Moreover, previous studies indicated that acute exercise could increase the concentration of blood lactate which is positive correlated to executive function. It is still unclear whether the effect of acute concurrent exercise on executive function is mediated by blood lactate. Therefore, the purposes of present study are: (1) Measuring the effect of acute concurrent exercise and aerobic exercise on executive function. (2) Measuring whether the effect of acute concurrent exercise on executive function is mediated by blood lactate.
Detailed description
Executive function is a high-level cognition which plays an important role in academic performance, career, and interpersonal relationship. Meta-analysis study has demonstrated that acute exercise could improve executive function, and also observed similar positive effect through both aerobic and resistance exercise. However, it is still unclear whether executive function can be enhanced by the concurrent exercise that combines aerobic and resistance exercise. Moreover, previous studies indicated that acute exercise could increase the concentration of blood lactate which is positive correlated to executive function. It is still unclear whether the effect of acute concurrent exercise on executive function is mediated by blood lactate. Therefore, the purposes of present study are: (1) Measuring the effect of acute concurrent exercise and aerobic exercise on executive function. (2) Measuring whether the effect of acute concurrent exercise on executive function is mediated by blood lactate.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALconcurrent exercise
Participants conduct warm up for 5-min, aerobic exercise for 12-min, resistance exercise for 13-min, and 5-min cool down.
BEHAVIORALaerobic exercise
Participants conduct warm up for 5-min, resistance training for 25-min, and 5-min cool down.
Sponsors
National Taiwan Normal University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Participants were randomly assigned to three group, namely the concurrent exercise group (CE), the aerobic exercise group (AE), and the reading control group (RC). Participants in CE groups were asked to finish 5 min warm-up, 12 min aerobic exercise, 13 min resistance exercise, and 5 min cool down. Participants in the AE group were asked to finish 5 min warm-up, 25 min aerobic exercise, and 5 min cool down. Participants in RC group were required to finish 35 min reading. All groups took a 30 min cognitive test before and after the intervention. The blood lactate were collected before, 17 minutes after, and after the intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 28 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. no history of psychiatric or neurological disorders 2. no history of cardiovascular disease 3. normal or corrected to normal vision and normal color perception 4. right handed 5. 18.5 \< BMI \< 27
Exclusion criteria
1\. Diagnosed with epilepsy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Task Switch Test Response Times | 30 minutes | The shifting aspect of executive function was assessed using a computerised task-switching test. Each participant (N=78) completed 384 trials across six blocks (64 trials per block). The test consisted of two types of cognitive tasks: (1) number magnitude judgment (greater/less than 5) for digits 1-9 presented in solid-line squares, and (2) odd/even judgment for numbers presented in dotted-line squares. Performance was analysed by calculating each participant's mean response time (milliseconds) under four conditions: Homogeneous condition: Blocks where participants performed the same task repeatedly (Blocks 1 & 2, e.g., AAAA or BBBB) Heterogeneous condition: Blocks where tasks were mixed (Blocks 3-6, e.g., AABBAA) Non-switch trials: Consecutive trials of the same task type within heterogeneous blocks (e.g., AA or BB) Switch trials: Trials where the task changed from the previous trial within heterogeneous blocks (e.g., AB or BA) Lower response time represents better task perform |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blood Lactate | before intervention, 17 minutes after intervention, and immediately after the 35 minute intervention | The lactic acid system is one of the important systems of human energy metabolism. In addition to supplying energy to muscles, it can also be used as an energy source for brain energy metabolism. When people doing exercise, the concentration of blood lactate will be increased, and the lactate acid system will replace the glucose system as the main energy source for the brain. In the present study, blood lactate were collected from fingertip with a lancet and measured by lactate analyzer before, 17 minutes after, and after intervention. |
| Stroop Task | 30 minutes | The Stroop task consists of neutral, congruent, and incongruent trials. In neutral trials, colored rectangles were presented and participants were instructed to respond to whether the squares were red, blue, or green. For congruent and incongruent trials, participants were presented with the names of the three Chinese color words of 紅 (red), 藍 (blue), or 綠 (green) printed in either the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) ink color and instructed to respond to the color of the ink while inhibiting the meaning of the word. |
Countries
Taiwan
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE Participants conduct 5-min warm up, 12-min aerobic exercise, 13-min resistance exercise, and 5-min cool down.
concurrent exercise: Participants conduct warm up for 5-min, aerobic exercise for 12-min, resistance exercise for 13-min, and 5-min cool down. | 26 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE Participants conduct 5-min warm up, 25-min aerobic exercise, and 5-min cool down.
aerobic exercise: Participants conduct warm up for 5-min, resistance training for 25-min, and 5-min cool down. | 26 |
| Reading Control Group, RC Participants conduct reading for 35 minutes. | 26 |
| Total | 78 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Reading Control Group, RC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 78 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 22.81 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 2 | 22.85 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.54 | 22.81 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.9 | 22.82 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.8 |
| BMI | 21.25 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.02 | 20.42 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.42 | 21.72 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.82 | 21.13 kg/m^2 STANDARD_DEVIATION 2.14 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Hispanic or Latino | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Not Hispanic or Latino | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 78 Participants |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 26 Participants | 78 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment Taiwan | 26 participants | 26 participants | 26 participants | 78 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 14 Participants | 13 Participants | 13 Participants | 40 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 12 Participants | 13 Participants | 13 Participants | 38 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 | 0 / 26 |
Outcome results
Primary
Task Switch Test Response Times
The shifting aspect of executive function was assessed using a computerised task-switching test. Each participant (N=78) completed 384 trials across six blocks (64 trials per block). The test consisted of two types of cognitive tasks: (1) number magnitude judgment (greater/less than 5) for digits 1-9 presented in solid-line squares, and (2) odd/even judgment for numbers presented in dotted-line squares. Performance was analysed by calculating each participant's mean response time (milliseconds) under four conditions: Homogeneous condition: Blocks where participants performed the same task repeatedly (Blocks 1 & 2, e.g., AAAA or BBBB) Heterogeneous condition: Blocks where tasks were mixed (Blocks 3-6, e.g., AABBAA) Non-switch trials: Consecutive trials of the same task type within heterogeneous blocks (e.g., AA or BB) Switch trials: Trials where the task changed from the previous trial within heterogeneous blocks (e.g., AB or BA) Lower response time represents better task perform
Time frame: 30 minutes
Population: The analysis was based on participants' mean response times under four cognitive conditions (Homogeneous, Heterogeneous, Non-switch, and Switch), derived from their performance across 384 trials (6 blocks × 64 trials).
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Heterogeneous | 783.97 millisecond | Standard Error 11.65 |
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Homogeneous | 566.46 millisecond | Standard Error 14.67 |
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Non-switch | 737.73 millisecond | Standard Error 11.63 |
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Switch | 833.32 millisecond | Standard Error 13.34 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Homogeneous | 547.82 millisecond | Standard Error 14.7 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Heterogeneous | 788.76 millisecond | Standard Error 11.66 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Switch | 825.39 millisecond | Standard Error 13.34 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Task Switch Test Response Times | Non-switch | 753.98 millisecond | Standard Error 11.62 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Task Switch Test Response Times | Switch | 882.18 millisecond | Standard Error 13.34 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Task Switch Test Response Times | Homogeneous | 618.30 millisecond | Standard Error 14.72 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Task Switch Test Response Times | Non-switch | 797.48 millisecond | Standard Error 11.62 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Task Switch Test Response Times | Heterogeneous | 839.46 millisecond | Standard Error 11.65 |
Other Pre-specified
Blood Lactate
The lactic acid system is one of the important systems of human energy metabolism. In addition to supplying energy to muscles, it can also be used as an energy source for brain energy metabolism. When people doing exercise, the concentration of blood lactate will be increased, and the lactate acid system will replace the glucose system as the main energy source for the brain. In the present study, blood lactate were collected from fingertip with a lancet and measured by lactate analyzer before, 17 minutes after, and after intervention.
Time frame: before intervention, 17 minutes after intervention, and immediately after the 35 minute intervention
Population: Blood lactate samples were collected from fingertip with a lancet and measured by lactate analyzer at three time points: before, 17 minutes after, and after intervention (three blood samples were collected from each participant).
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Blood Lactate | After intervention | 8.94 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.44 |
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Blood Lactate | Before intervention | 2.95 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.32 |
| Concurrent Exercise Group, CE | Blood Lactate | Seventeen minutes after intervention | 5.58 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.41 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Blood Lactate | Seventeen minutes after intervention | 5.27 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.41 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Blood Lactate | Before intervention | 3.09 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.32 |
| Aerobic Exercise Group, AE | Blood Lactate | After intervention | 4.65 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.44 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Blood Lactate | Before intervention | 2.4 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.32 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Blood Lactate | After intervention | 2.44 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.44 |
| Reading Control Group, RC | Blood Lactate | Seventeen minutes after intervention | 2.13 mmol/l | Standard Error 0.41 |
Other Pre-specified
Stroop Task
The Stroop task consists of neutral, congruent, and incongruent trials. In neutral trials, colored rectangles were presented and participants were instructed to respond to whether the squares were red, blue, or green. For congruent and incongruent trials, participants were presented with the names of the three Chinese color words of 紅 (red), 藍 (blue), or 綠 (green) printed in either the same (congruent) or different (incongruent) ink color and instructed to respond to the color of the ink while inhibiting the meaning of the word.
Time frame: 30 minutes
Population: Given temporal constraints, the Stroop task was not measured in this study.