2019 Volume 40 Pages 47-57
In the present study, we investigated the effects of aerobic exercise under dehydrated and euhydrated conditions on human cognitive processing. Fifteen healthy males performed 4 × 15-min bouts of cycling exercise, and event-related potentials （ERPs） were recorded in three sessions during somatosensory Go/No-go paradigms （Pre- and Post exercise and Recovery）．As thermoregulatory and hemodynamic variables and blood tests, the esophageal temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, plasma osmolality, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were recorded. The reaction time was earlier at Post than Pre under dehydrated and euhydrated conditions. The peak amplitude of the N140 component, which was mainly related to somatosensory processing, was significantly reduced at Post and Recovery than at Pre under dehydrated conditions, but not under euhydrated conditions. The peak amplitude of the P300 component, which was linked to the cognitive processes of context updating, context closure, and event-categorization, was not affected by aerobic exercise under dehydrated or euhydrated conditions. These results suggest that aerobic exercise under dehydrated conditions affects neural activity for somatosensory processing, while the executive function, which was based on reaction times and error rates, and higher cognitive processing reflected by P300 would not be affected by aerobic exercise under dehydrated or euhydrated conditions.
