Increase in reaction time for the peripheral visual field during exercise above the ventilatory threshold

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether reaction time (RT) for the peripheral visual field increases at exercise intensity above the ventilatory threshold (VT) during incremental exercise and to examine the relationship between aerobic capacity and the extent of increase in the RT. Nine healthy subjects performed a simple manual RT task for the peripheral visual field at rest, during exercise on a cycle ergometer, and immediately after exercise. After warm-up exercise, the subjects cycled at 40 W for 3 min, increasing by 40 W every 3 min until 240 W in a step-wise manner. During incremental exercise, RT measurements were performed 1 min and 30 s after the start of every increase in workload. The RT for the peripheral visual field significantly increased at exercise intensity above VT, as compared with at rest. The increase in the RT, which was calculated by subtracting the RT at rest from the RT at 240 W, negatively correlated with maximal oxygen uptake VO(2max) for each subject (r = -0.73, P < 0.05). It is likely that high aerobic capacity attenuates the increase in the RT for the peripheral visual field during exhaustive exercise.