Event-related brain potentials reveal enhancing and compensatory mechanisms during dual neurocognitive and cycling tasks

Hsiao-Lung Chan; Yuan Ouyang; Cheng-Chou Lai; Ming-An Lin; Ya-Ju Chang; Szi-Wen Chen; Jiunn-Woei Liaw; Ling-Fu Meng

doi:10.1186/s13102-023-00749-6

Event-related brain potentials reveal enhancing and compensatory mechanisms during dual neurocognitive and cycling tasks

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2023 Oct 17;15(1):133. doi: 10.1186/s13102-023-00749-6.

Authors

Hsiao-Lung Chan^{1

2}, Yuan Ouyang^{1

3}, Cheng-Chou Lai¹, Ming-An Lin⁴, Ya-Ju Chang^{2

5}, Szi-Wen Chen^{2

6}, Jiunn-Woei Liaw^{7

8}, Ling-Fu Meng^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
² Neuroscience Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.
³ Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.
⁴ Faculty of Computer and Software Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huaian, Taiwan, Jiang-Su.
⁵ School of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, and Health Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Electronic Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁸ Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging and Translation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Occupational Therapy and Graduate Institute of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, No.259, Wenhua 1st Rd., Guishan Dist, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan. lfmeng@mail.cgu.edu.tw.
¹⁰ Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan. lfmeng@mail.cgu.edu.tw.

Abstract

Background: Various neurocognitive tests have shown that cycling enhances cognitive performance compared to resting. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by an oddball or flanker task have clarified the impact of dual-task cycling on perception and attention. In this study, we investigate the effect of cycling on cognitive recruitment during tasks that involve not only stimulus identification but also semantic processing and memory retention.

Methods: We recruited 24 healthy young adults (12 males, 12 females; mean age = 22.71, SD = 1.97 years) to perform three neurocognitive tasks (namely color-word matching, arithmetic calculation, and spatial working memory) at rest and while cycling, employing a within-subject design with rest/cycling counterbalancing.

Results: The reaction time on the spatial working memory task was faster while cycling than at rest at a level approaching statistical significance. The commission error percentage on the color-word matching task was significantly lower at rest than while cycling. Dual-task cycling while responding to neurocognitive tests elicited the following results: (a) a greater ERP P1 amplitude, delayed P3a latency, less negative N4, and less positivity in the late slow wave (LSW) during color-word matching; (b) a greater P1 amplitude during memory encoding and smaller posterior negativity during memory retention on the spatial working memory task; and (c) a smaller P3 amplitude, followed by a more negative N4 and less LSW positivity during arithmetic calculation.

Conclusion: The encoding of color-word and spatial information while cycling may have resulted in compensatory visual processing and attention allocation to cope with the additional cycling task load. The dual-task cycling and cognitive performance reduced the demands of semantic processing for color-word matching and the cognitive load associated with temporarily suspending spatial information. While dual-tasking may have required enhanced semantic processing to initiate mental arithmetic, a compensatory decrement was noted during arithmetic calculation. These significant neurocognitive findings demonstrate the effect of cycling on semantic-demand and memory retention-demand tasks.

Keywords: Arithmetic calculation; Color–word matching; Cycling; Dual tasks; Electroencephalogram; Event-related brain potential; Spatial working memory.

Abstract

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