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Effect of acute moderate exercise on cognitive P300 in persons having sedentary lifestyles
Naresh Kumar1, Manjeet Singh, Sushma Sood
1Department of Physiology, Sudha Rustagi Dental College, Faridabad, India.
Background:
There are conflicting reports regarding the effect of exercise on cognition. We therefore planned to assess the acute effect of moderate exercise on cognition, studied by event-related brain potential P300, in subjects having sedentary lifestyles.
Materials And Methods:
Sixty adults (40 males and 20 females) in the age-group of 18-30 years having sedentary lifestyles were included in the study. Baseline P300 was first measured and after that the subjects were divided into two equal age- and sex-matched groups. The test group was subjected to moderate exercise (that is, to achieve 60%-80% of maximum heart rate during exercise, where 100%=200-age) on a bicycle ergometer for 5 minutes, following which postexposure P300 was measured. In the control group P300 was re-recorded 15 minutes after baseline recording, without any intervening exercise.
Results:
The latency of P300 was found to be significantly reduced after acute moderate exercise in the test group.
Conclusion:
It appears that acute moderate exercise improves the cognitive brain functions of adults with sedentary lifestyles.
