Study on neuropsychological and neurophysiological functions: acute effect of aerobic exercise training in sleep disturbed collegiates

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of aerobic-exercise (AE) on neurophysiological-functions and neuropsychological-functions in sleep-disturbed collegiates. 32 eligible students were included in study. They completed 30 minutes of single bout of moderate AE (at 60–70% of maximal heart rate reserve). Pre and post training measures were tested for both, neurophysiological-functions by recording eventrelated- potential-P300 [P300-amplitude and P300-latency], and for neuropsychological-functions by administering neuropsychological-test-battery [Attention, Working-memory, Sensorimotor-speed and Executive-function (EF)]. In experimental group, statistically significant improvements were observed when analyzed for all 3 (group-by-time interaction, main-time, and main-group) effects in neurophysiological-functions. However, results were not significant for all neuropsychological-functions measures except for EF. Correlation-analysis demonstrated no association between neurophysiologicalfunctions and neuropsychological-functions except for post-intervention (p300-latency and attention). It is therefore can be concluded that acute bout of AE may be a promising approach to improve cognitivefunctions in sleep-disturbed collegiates, however long-lasting effects are still unclear.