Temporal dynamics of varying physical loads on speed and accuracy of cognitive control

Thomas Finkenzeller*, Sabine Würth, Michael Doppelmayr, Günter Amesberger

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of 4 physical-load conditions on interference control throughout a period of 45 min.
A sample of 52 sport students was assigned to either a no, a low, an alternating low to moderate, or a moderate physicalload condition. A modified Eriksen-flanker task was administered in the preexercise period, 7 times during the exercise,
and twice after completing the exercise. Significant interaction effects of time and condition, and significant time effects
within condition on the reaction time of congruent stimuli and errors on incongruent stimuli, suggest a specific in-task effect of
the alternating low to moderate and moderate physical-load conditions. Thus, it was concluded that moderate physiological
arousal influences interference control by an increase of information-processing speed in tasks that require less cognitive control
(congruent condition), which is at the expense of accuracy in cognitively more demanding tasks (incongruent condition).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)206-214
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Volume41
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • alternating physical load
  • arousal theory
  • catecholamine hypothesis
  • different exercise intensities
  • executive functions

Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012

  • 107 Other Natural Sciences

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