The effect of exercise on brain performance: The effect of short term exercise on cognition

This study investigated the effect of acute high intensity exercise on cognition in sportsmen and sedentary males. A total of 40 volunteers, 20 sedentary (control group) and 20 sportsmen (experimental group), aged between18- 25 participated in the study. Wingate anaerobic power cycle ergometer was used as acute high intensity exercise. The ?2 back task? assessing working memory was administered on lap top computer as a cognitive task. The volunteers cycled for 30 seconds against a weight load measuring 7.5% of their own weight for 5 minutes before and after the loading they cycled 60-65 cycles/minute with no load. Participants performed the ?2 back task? consisting of a series of 120 letters before and immediately after the maximal exercise. The statistical packet program Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows (SPSS) 20 was used for the statistical analysis of data. Paired sample t-tests were used for within group evaluations, Independent-Samples t tests were used for between group evaluations. A significance level of 0.05 was used. Analysis of results for all 40 participants revealed a significantly increase between number of incorrect responses on the ?2 back test? taken before and after maximal exercise. There was no significant difference between ?2 back scores? before and after exercise in either group. No significant difference was observed when two groups were compared in respect to their performance before and after exercise. Wingate power output means were taken of all 40 participants; and incorrect response number was found to significantly increase after exercise for those who fell under the mean Fatigue Index (FI) score. In the control group, correct response number was found to significantly increase, and numbers of missed responses were found to significantly decrease for those who had a FI above the mean. In the experimental group, total reaction time was observed to significantly decrease for those who had a Peak Power (PP) above the mean and incorrect response number was found to significantly increase for those who had a FI below the mean. Key words: Acute exercise, cognition, working memory, physical activity, Wingate Anaerobic Test