Cortical and psychophysiological effects of sensory modulation on attentional switching during exercise

The present research programme sought to further understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie the effects of music on exercise. Five original experiments were conducted using a wide range of psychophysical, psychological, physiological, and psychophysiological techniques. The results of the first study indicated that music partially reallocates attention towards task-unrelated thoughts (i.e., external dissociation), suppresses the amplitude of low-frequency waves in the brain, and enhances task performance. The findings of the second study indicated that music can have a negative effect if delivered during the execution of highly-demanding cognitive-motor tasks. In such instances, the right parietal regions of the brain activate in response to the presence of auditory distractors and prevent task performance from being compromised. The third study shed new light on the neural control of working muscles and indicated that music has the potential to reduce the frequency of electrical outputs emitted to the musculature and reduce the communication between the central motor command and adjacent regions. The fourth study of this research programme was conducted in an ecologically valid environment, wherein participants walked at self-paced speeds in the presence of different auditory stimuli. The results of the fourth study indicated that music elicits more positive affective responses and up-regulates beta waves to a greater degree than no-music conditions. Finally, the fifth study of this thesis made use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the brain regions that activate in response to exercise and music. The results of this final study revealed that the left inferior frontal gyrus is highly active when individuals execute part-body exercises with music. The present research programme provides a neurophysiological basis for the use of music in exercise settings. The findings presented herein support the use of music as a valuable tool to explore more complex psychophysiological phenomena such as attention, affect, and fatigue.Brazilian Government (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel [CAPES]

Psychological and psychophysiological effects of recuperative music post-exercise

Purpose: Few studies have examined the psychological and psychophysiological effects of recuperative music following exhaustive exercise. The main purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of two music conditions compared with a no-music control on psychological and psychophysiological recovery processes post-exercise. Methods: A randomized, fully counterbalanced, crossover design was used. Core affect, salivary cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure were measured before exhaustive exercise, immediately after, and in 10-, 20-, and 30-min intervals during passive recovery (21 women and 21 men; 20.9 ± 1.7 yr) over three separate trials (slow, sedative music; fast, stimulative music; no-music control). The exercise task entailed incremental cycle ergometry performed at 75 rpm with a 22.5 W.min-1 increase in intensity at the end of each minute until exhaustion. Data were analyzed using mixed-model 3 (condition) x 4 (time) x 2 (gender) MANOVA/ANCOVA. Results: The largest decline in affective arousal between active and passive recovery phases was evident in the slow, sedative condition (ηp 2 = 0.50). Women had a more pronounced reduction in arousal than men in the slow, sedative music condition. Heart rate measures showed that fast, stimulative music inhibited the return of heart rate toward resting levels (ηp 2 = 0.06). Similarly, salivary cortisol levels tended to be lower in response to slow, sedative music (ηp 2 = 0.11). There was a main effect of condition for affective valence indicating that the slow, sedative condition elicited more positive affective responses than the control and fast, stimulative conditions (ηp 2 = 0.12). Conclusions: The present findings support the notion that slow, sedative music can expedite the recovery process immediately after strenuous exercise

Brain mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational audiovisual stimuli on psychophysiological responses during exercise

Motivational audiovisual stimuli such as music and video have been widely used in the realm of exercise and sport as a means by which to increase situational motivation and enhance performance. The present study addressed the mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational stimuli on psychophysiological responses and exercise performance. Twenty-two participants completed fatiguing isometric handgrip-squeezing tasks under two experimental conditions (motivational audiovisual condition and neutral audiovisual condition) and a control condition. Electrical activity in the brain and working muscles was analyzed by use of electroencephalography and electromyography, respectively. Participants were asked to squeeze the dynamometer maximally for 30 s. A single-item motivation scale was administered after each squeeze. Results indicated that task performance and situational motivational were superior under the influence of motivational stimuli when compared to the other two conditions (~20% and ~25%, respectively). The motivational stimulus downregulated the predominance of low-frequency waves (theta) in the right frontal regions of the cortex (F8), and upregulated high-frequency waves (beta) in the central areas (C3 and C4). It is suggested that motivational sensory cues serve to readjust electrical activity in the brain; a mechanism by which the detrimental effects of fatigue on the efferent control of working muscles is ameliorated.This research was supported, in part, by grants from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Effects of auditory stimuli on electrical activity in the brain during cycle ergometry

© 2017 The Authors. The present study sought to further understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie the effects of music on perceptual, affective, and visceral responses during whole-body modes of exercise. Eighteen participants were administered light-to-moderate intensity bouts of cycle ergometer exercise. Each exercise bout was of 12-min duration (warm-up [3 min], exercise [6 min], and warm-down [3 min]). Portable techniques were used to monitor the electrical activity in the brain, heart, and muscle during the administration of three conditions: music, audiobook, and control. Conditions were randomized and counterbalanced to prevent any influence of systematic order on the dependent variables. Oscillatory potentials at the Cz electrode site were used to further understanding of time–frequency changes influenced by voluntary control of movements. Spectral coherence analysis between Cz and frontal, frontal-central, central, central-parietal, and parietal electrode sites was also calculated. Perceptual and affective measures were taken at five timepoints during the exercise bout. Results indicated that music reallocated participants' attentional focus toward auditory pathways and reduced perceived exertion. The music also inhibited alpha resynchronization at the Cz electrode site and reduced the spectral coherence values at Cz–C4 and Cz–Fz. The reduced focal awareness induced by music led to a more autonomous control of cycle movements performed at light-to-moderate-intensities. Processing of interoceptive sensory cues appears to upmodulate fatigue-related sensations, increase the connectivity in the frontal and central regions of the brain, and is associated with neural resynchronization to sustain the imposed exercise intensity.Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)

Effects of auditory rhythm on movement accuracy in dance performance

São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil, Danish National Research Foundatio

Exploring the Interplay Between Sport Modality and Cognitive Function in Open- and Closed-Skill Athletes

The degree to which each sport modality relies on cognitive visual skills is hitherto under-researched. This study sought to further understanding of the relationship between sport modality and visual search ability, visual working memory, and reasoning. Ninety-five participants took part in the present study. In order to assess visual search ability, we employed the Visual Search Task. Visual working memory was assessed through the Corsi Block Tapping – Backwards Task. Reasoning abilities were assessed through the Cognitive Reflection Task. Results indicate that visual search skills appear to benefit to a higher extent from open-skill sports when compared to closed-skill sports. It is important to emphasize, however, that this result was associated with a small effect size. Moreover, the present findings indicate that closed-skill athletes do not differ in terms of visual search abilities, working memory, and reasoning abilities when compared to control indiv

Equal prefrontal cortex activation between males and females in a motor tasks and different visual imagery perspectives: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study

The purpose of this study was to compare the prefrontal cortex (PFC) blood flow variation and time on in males and females while performing a motor task and imagery perspectives. Eighteen right handed subjects (11 males and 7 females) were volunteers to this study. All subjects went through three randomly conditions, a motor task condition (MT) in which they had to do a simple finger tap. The other conditions included practicing imagery in first and third views. During all the conditions, the fNIRS device was attached to the subject forehead to obtain the blood flow; the total time in each task which was measured with a chronometer. No difference had been found in any condition for both sexes in the PFC and time, nor for all subjects integrated in the PFC. Therefore, we conclu-de that both imageries can be used to mentally train a motor task, and probably both sexes can be benefited