Citation

Luque-Casado A, Perakakis P, Hillman CH, Kao SC, Llorens F, Guerra P, Sanabria D. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2015; 48(5): 887-895.

Affiliation

1Brain, Mind, & Behavior Research Center. University of Granada, Spain; 2Department of Experimental Psychology. University of Granada, Spain; 3Department of Physical Education & Sport. University of Granada, Spain; 4Department of Personality, Evaluation & Psychological Treatment. University of Granada, Spain; 5Department of Kinesiology & Community Health. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL; 6Department of Physical Activity & Sport Sciences. Catholic University of Valencia, Spain; 7Universidad Internacional Valenciana (VIU), Valencia, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1249/MSS.0000000000000857

PMID

26694844

Abstract

PURPOSE: We investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness and sustained attention capacity by comparing task performance and brain function, by means of event-related potentials (ERPs), in high- and low-fit young adults.

METHODS: Two groups of participants (22 higher-fit and 20 lower-fit) completed a 60' version of the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). Behavioral (i.e., reaction time; RT) and electrophysiological ERP (i.e., contingent negative variation; CNV; and, P3) were obtained and analyzed as a function of time-on-task. A submaximal cardiorespiratory fitness test confirmed the between-groups difference in terms of aerobic fitness.

RESULTS: The results revealed shorter RT in higher-fit than in lower-fit participants in the first 36' of the task. This was accompanied by larger CNV amplitude in the same period of the task in higher-fit than in lower-fit group. Crucially, higher-fit participants maintained larger P3 amplitude throughout the task compared to lower-fit, who showed a reduction in the P3 magnitude over time.

CONCLUSION: Higher fitness was related to neuroelectric activity suggestive of better overall sustained attention demonstrating a better ability to allocate attentional resources over time. Moreover, higher fitness was related to enhanced response preparation in the first part of the task. Taken together, the current dataset demonstrated a positive association between aerobic fitness, sustained attention, and response preparation.

Language: en