Abstract:
Prior research has highlighted the potential impact of aerobic exercise on cognitive functioning, particularly in situations demanding heightened cognitive control. However, the mechanism underlying this cognitive enhancement has remained unknown. To address this issue, this study examined the impact of a 4-week aerobic exercise program on cognitive control processes in young male adults (aerobic exercise group: n=36, aged 21.42±1.13years) in comparison to a control group that received no treatment (n=33, aged 21.82±1.76years). We employed the redundant-target Stroop task to investigate inhibition processes at both perceptual and semantic stages. Utilizing systems factorial technology and the drift diffusion model, we assessed changes in resilience capacity and the underlying cognitive mechanisms. Our primary findings revealed a significant reduction in mean response times (RTs) in the aerobic exercise group, accompanied by a decrease in RT variability when inhibiting semantic processing. Resilience capacity significantly declined in both groups at similar levels. Notably, the aerobic exercise group exhibited an enhanced drift rate during automatic response inhibition and reduced non-decision time in the condition involving the inhibition of perceptual information. This study deepens our understanding of how a 4-week aerobic exercise program enhances cognitive control, affecting distinct cognitive processes, including processing speed, information accumulation during automatic response inhibition, and sensory and motor processes in perceptual conflicts. Our research underscores the potential of aerobic exercise as a means to boost cognitive control among young adults.
摘要:
先前的研究强调了有氧运动对认知功能的潜在影响,特别是在需要加强认知控制的情况下。然而,这种认知增强的潜在机制仍然未知.为了解决这个问题,与未接受治疗的对照组(n=33,年龄21.82±1.76)相比,这项研究研究了4周有氧运动计划对年轻男性成年人(有氧运动组:n=36,年龄21.42±1.13岁)认知控制过程的影响.我们采用了冗余目标Stroop任务来研究感知和语义阶段的抑制过程。利用系统阶乘技术和漂移扩散模型,我们评估了复原力和潜在认知机制的变化.我们的主要研究结果表明,有氧运动组的平均反应时间(RTs)显着减少,伴随着抑制语义加工时RT变异性的降低。两组的复原能力在相似水平下均显着下降。值得注意的是,有氧运动组在自动反应抑制期间的漂移率提高,在涉及感知信息抑制的情况下,非决策时间减少。这项研究加深了我们对4周有氧运动计划如何增强认知控制的理解,影响不同的认知过程,包括处理速度,自动反应抑制过程中的信息积累,以及知觉冲突中的感觉和运动过程。我们的研究强调了有氧运动作为增强年轻人认知控制的一种手段的潜力。