Causes and Consequences of Interindividual Response Variability: A Call to Apply a More Rigorous Research Design in Acute Exercise-Cognition Studies

Fabian Herold; Alexander Törpel; Dennis Hamacher; Henning Budde; Liye Zou; Tilo Strobach; Notger G Müller; Thomas Gronwald

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.682891

Causes and Consequences of Interindividual Response Variability: A Call to Apply a More Rigorous Research Design in Acute Exercise-Cognition Studies

Front Physiol. 2021 Jul 22:12:682891. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.682891. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Fabian Herold^{1

2}, Alexander Törpel³, Dennis Hamacher⁴, Henning Budde⁵, Liye Zou⁶, Tilo Strobach⁷, Notger G Müller^{1

2

8}, Thomas Gronwald⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
² Research Group Neuroprotection, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany.
³ German Swimming Federation, Kassel, Germany.
⁴ Department of Sport Science, German University for Health and Sports (DHGS), Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Faculty of Human Sciences, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
⁶ Exercise and Mental Health Laboratory, Institute of KEEP Collaborative Innovation, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁷ Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
⁸ Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), Magdeburg, Germany.
⁹ Department of Performance, Neuroscience, Therapy and Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

Abstract

The different responses of humans to an apparently equivalent stimulus are called interindividual response variability. This phenomenon has gained more and more attention in research in recent years. The research field of exercise-cognition has also taken up this topic, as shown by a growing number of studies published in the past decade. In this perspective article, we aim to prompt the progress of this research field by (i) discussing the causes and consequences of interindividual variability, (ii) critically examining published studies that have investigated interindividual variability of neurocognitive outcome parameters in response to acute physical exercises, and (iii) providing recommendations for future studies, based on our critical examination. The provided recommendations, which advocate for a more rigorous study design, are intended to help researchers in the field to design studies allowing them to draw robust conclusions. This, in turn, is very likely to foster the development of this research field and the practical application of the findings.

Keywords: acute physical exercise; cognition; exercise prescription; interindividual variability; intraindividual variability; neuroscience; physical activity.