Impact of Long-Rope Jumping on Monoamine and Attention in Young Adults

Previous research has shown that rope jumping improves physical health; however, little is known about its impact on brain-derived monoamine neurotransmitters associated with cognitive regulation. To address these gaps in the literature, the present study compared outcomes between 15 healthy participants (mean age, 23.1 years) after a long-rope jumping exercise and a control condition. Long-rope jumping also requires co-operation between people, attention, spatial cognition, and rhythm sensation. Psychological questionnaires were administered to both conditions, and Stroop task performance and monoamine metabolite levels in the saliva and urine were evaluated. Participants performing the exercise exhibited lower anxiety levels than those in the control condition. Saliva analyses showed higher 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (a norepinephrine metabolite) levels, and urine analyses revealed higher 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (a serotonin metabolite) levels in the exercise condition than in the control. Importantly, urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level correlated with salivary and urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol levels in the exercise condition. Furthermore, cognitive results revealed higher Stroop performance in the exercise condition than in the control condition; this performance correlated with salivary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol levels. These results indicate an association between increased 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol and attention in long-rope jumping. We suggest that long-rope jumping predicts central norepinephrinergic activation and related attention maintenance.