Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Exercise Promotes Motor Cortex Plasticity and Executive Function in Sedentary Females

Previous research has demonstrated that regular exercise modulates motor cortical plasticity and cognitive function, but the influence of short-term high-intensity interval training (HIIT) remains unclear. In the present study, the effect of short-term HIIT on neuroplasticity and executive function...

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Published in:Frontiers in human neuroscience 2021-04, Vol.15, p.620958-620958
Main Authors: Hu, Min, Zeng, Ningning, Gu, Zhongke, Zheng, Yuqing, Xu, Kai, Xue, Lian, Leng, Lu, Lu, Xi, Shen, Ying, Huang, Junhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerobics
Blood pressure
Cognitive ability
Contraindications
Cortex (motor)
Ethics
Executive function
Exercise
Heart rate
high-intensity interval training
Impulsivity
Infrared spectroscopy
Interval training
intracortical facilitation
Magnetic fields
Neuroplasticity
Neuroscience
Physical fitness
Physiology
Prefrontal cortex
Questionnaires
sedentary females
short intracortical inhibition
Spectrum analysis
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
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Summary:Previous research has demonstrated that regular exercise modulates motor cortical plasticity and cognitive function, but the influence of short-term high-intensity interval training (HIIT) remains unclear. In the present study, the effect of short-term HIIT on neuroplasticity and executive function was assessed in 32 sedentary females. Half of the participants undertook 2 weeks of HIIT. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) was used to measure motor cortical plasticity via short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF). We further adapted the Stroop task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate executive function in the participants. The results indicated that, compared with the control group, the HIIT group exhibited decreased ICF. In the Stroop task, the HIIT group displayed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) even though no significant difference in task performance was observed. These findings indicate that short-term HIIT may modulate motor cortical plasticity and executive function at the neural level.
ISSN:1662-5161
1662-5161
DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2021.620958