Effects of acute aerobic exercise on the motor inhibitory process in the go/no-go task in humans: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract

Background and objectives While many studies have reported the relationship between human cognitive functions and exercise, only a few have investigated the effect of mild-intensity exercise on the human motor inhibitory process. We employed the go/no-go task as a useful paradigm for studying the neural mechanisms involved in response execution and inhibition. Method Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we observed 17 subjects performing go/no-go tasks under a control condition and an exercise condition. Under the control condition, the subjects performed a go/no-go session before and after a 15 min rest. Under the exercise condition, the subjects performed a go/no-go session before and after a 10 min ergometer cycling session followed by a 5 min rest. We set the exercise intensity individually for each subject at 30% of their maximum heart rate as calculated by Karvonen’s formula. Results We recorded an increase oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) in the go/no-go blocks compared to those in the go blocks and found that mild exercise significantly enhanced the peak amplitude of oxy-Hb. On the other hand, we observed no significant changes under the control condition. Conclusion This result suggests that mild exercise could trigger enhanced activation in the right frontal area, and cause a stronger inhibitory effect related to go/no-go tasks.