Abstract
Background: Aerobic exercise can modulate measures of cortical excitability and inhibition, and may be used as a suitable primer for neuromodulation. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a single-session of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on facilitatory I-wave interaction.
Methods: Ten healthy, recreationally active males (Mean age ± SD 27 ± 6.5; range: 21-40 years) performed 30 minutes of recumbent cycling at moderate- (Exercise) and low-intensity (Control) in a randomised order over 2 sessions separated by at least 48 hours. After each exercise condition, repetitive paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at 1.5 ms inter-stimulus interval (ITMS) was applied every 5 seconds for 15 minutes. ITMS motor-evoked potentials (iMEPs) were averaged for each minute.
Results: Following the exercise condition, iMEP amplitude was not significantly greater from baseline. Cohen’s d showed a medium to large effect (ES d = 0.683 – 0.895) in paired-pulse MEP amplitude from the 8th to 15th min following the Control condition, whilst only a small effect (ES d = 0.217 – 0.334) was detected following the Exercise condition across the same time points.
Conclusion: In this exploratory study, a bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise diminished neuromodulation as determined by ITMS. Our results however are limited by the small sample size, but suggest further studies investigating the effects of moderate-intensity exercise on neuroplasticity are warranted.
Methods: Ten healthy, recreationally active males (Mean age ± SD 27 ± 6.5; range: 21-40 years) performed 30 minutes of recumbent cycling at moderate- (Exercise) and low-intensity (Control) in a randomised order over 2 sessions separated by at least 48 hours. After each exercise condition, repetitive paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation at 1.5 ms inter-stimulus interval (ITMS) was applied every 5 seconds for 15 minutes. ITMS motor-evoked potentials (iMEPs) were averaged for each minute.
Results: Following the exercise condition, iMEP amplitude was not significantly greater from baseline. Cohen’s d showed a medium to large effect (ES d = 0.683 – 0.895) in paired-pulse MEP amplitude from the 8th to 15th min following the Control condition, whilst only a small effect (ES d = 0.217 – 0.334) was detected following the Exercise condition across the same time points.
Conclusion: In this exploratory study, a bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise diminished neuromodulation as determined by ITMS. Our results however are limited by the small sample size, but suggest further studies investigating the effects of moderate-intensity exercise on neuroplasticity are warranted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 84 |
| Pages (from-to) | e45-e45 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Brain Stimulation |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2017 |