The relationship between aerobic fitness and neural oscillations during visuo-spatial attention in young adults

Chun Hao Wang, Wei Kuang Liang, Philip Tseng, Neil G. Muggleton, Chi Hung Juan, Chia Liang Tsai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

While the cognitive benefits of aerobic fitness have been widely investigated, current findings in young adults remain unclear. Specifically, little is known about how these effects are reflected in the time–frequency domain. This study thus assessed the relationship between aerobic fitness and neural oscillations during visuo-spatial attention. A between-subjects design that included 20 participants with higher aerobic fitness (age = 21.95 ± 2.24 years; VO2max = 58.98 ± 6.94 ml/kg/min) and 20 age- and gender-matched lower aerobic fitness participants (age = 23.25 ± 2.07 years; VO2max = 35.87 ± 3.41 ml/kg/min) was used to examine the fitness-related differences in performance and neuroelectric indexes during a Posner visuo-spatial attention paradigm. The results demonstrated that high-fitness participants, in comparison with their low-fitness counterparts, showed faster reaction times as well as greater modulation of oscillatory theta and beta power during target processing, regardless of cue types. Moreover, the neurocognitive correlation showed that higher theta power was related to better task performance. Collectively, these findings suggest that aerobic fitness is associated with general enhanced attentional control in relation to visuo-spatial processing, as evidenced through greater motor preparation and in particular the up-regulation of attentional processing in healthy young adults. The present study may contribute to current knowledge by revealing the relationship between aerobic fitness and modulation of brain oscillations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1069-1078
Number of pages10
JournalExperimental Brain Research
Volume233
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 11 2015

Keywords

  • Attentional processing
  • Cardiorespiratory fitness
  • Oscillatory brain rhythms
  • Time–frequency analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The relationship between aerobic fitness and neural oscillations during visuo-spatial attention in young adults'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this