Changes in brain cortical activity measured by EEG are related to individual exercise preferences

Exercise is well known to result in changes of brain cortical activity measured by EEG. The aim of this study was (1) to localise exercise induced changes in brain cortical activity using a distributed source localisation algorithm and (2) to show that the effects of exercise are linked to participants' physical exercise preferences. Electrocortical activity (5 min) and metabolical parameters (heart rate, lactate, peak oxygen uptake) of eleven recreational runners were recorded before and after incremental treadmill, arm crank and bicycle ergometry. Electroencephalographic activity was localised using standardised low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Results revealed an increase in frontal alpha activity immediately post exercise whereas increases after bike exercise were found to be localised in parietal regions. All three kinds of exercise resulted in an increase of beta activity in Brodmann area 7. Fifteen and thirty minutes post exercise a specific activation pattern (decrease in frontal brain activity-increase in occipital regions) was noticeable for treadmill and bike but not arm crank exercise. We conclude that specific brain activation patterns are linked to different kinds of exercise and participants' physical exercise preferences.