Effects of acute aerobic exercise with different intensities on cerebral dopamine/norepinephine/serotonin metabolites and executive-related oculomotor control in individuals with Parkinson's disease

The present study aimed to investigate the acute effects of aerobic exercise with different intensities on executive-related oculomotor control and cerebral dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine metabolite concentrations in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-eight PD individuals completed acute bouts of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE), moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE), and REST sessions. The order of the three sessions was counterbalanced. We assessed the concentrations of homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), as well as neuropsychological and oculomotor performance indices in the saccade paradigm at baseline and following each session. The present study found that there was no significant effect of acute HIIE or MICE on the coefficient of variation of reaction time (RT) in individuals with PD. However, HIIE resulted in significantly shorter RTs in the antisaccade condition, and MICE achieved the same in both the prosaccade and antisaccade conditions. For oculomotor performance, we observed a change in saccade peak velocity only following MICE but not HIIE. Neither of the two aerobic exercise modes significantly affected saccade amplitude and latency. In addition, concentrations of HVA and MHPG, but not 5-HIAA, significantly increased following both MICE and HIIE in individuals with PD. Notably, MICE had a greater impact on HVA compared to HIIE. We also found significant correlations between the changes in MHPG concentration, but not HVA and 5-HIAA, and RTs before and after the two aerobic exercise interventions. These results suggest that although acute HIIE and MICE protocols could not improve oculomotor control, the two aerobic exercise modes induced distinct beneficial effects on executive function and cerebral neurotransmitter concentrations in individuals with PD.