Physical exercise and its influence on evoked cognitive potentials in the female subjects

Abstract

The aim of this study was to give better knowledge on the influence of physical activity at different levels on the amplitude and latency of P300 component of cognitive potentials in female athletes and non athletes. After registering cognitive event related potentials at rest participants underwent a controlled exercise on a cycle ergometer. Each exercise lasted for 10 minutes with succesive increase of intensity up to 60%, 75% and 90% of maximal heart rate. Immediately after finishing each bout of exercise, event related potentials were registered again. The results of our study implicate that acute bouts of exercise at different intensities make an impact on cognitive functions of female judo players compared with the group of healthy female students. In our study the effects of single bouts of exercise at different intensities seem to be positive on the amplitude of P300 componennt of ERP. Short duration medium intensity exercise corresponding to 60% and 75% HRmax facilitated cognitive processing in the CNS, whereas high-intensity exercise corresponding to 90% HRmax decreases cognitive functions. The findings in the group of female judokas are more prominent compared with the ones of the female student group for the mid-intensity loads (60% and 75% Hrmax) and this difference is statistically significant p<0,05. Further, our study showed that improvement in cognitive tasks performance can be achieved not only by aerobic but also anaerobic type of exercise since judo is highly anaerobic sport.