Impact of acute complex exercise on inhibitory control and brain activation: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

A growing body of literature demonstrates that a single bout of exercise benefits executive function. While the acute effect of simple exercises like walking, running, and cycling has been well investigated, it is less clear how complex exercise, which requires open skills and various motions, impacts executive function and brain activation. Therefore, we compared the acute effects of a complex exercise on inhibitory control and brain activation with those of a simple exercise using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Twenty-four young right-hand dominant adults (9 women) completed three interventions: badminton, running, and a seated rest control condition for 10 min each. During each intervention, oxygen uptake and heart rate were monitored. A Stroop task composed of neutral and incongruent conditions was administrated before and after each intervention. An fNIRS system recorded hemodynamics in the prefrontal cortex to evaluate brain activation during the Stroop task. The intensities of badminton and running were comparable. Performance on the Stroop task was significantly improved after badminton, specifically in the incongruent condition relative to in the neutral condition. On the other hand, neither running nor seated rest affected performance in the Stroop task. The fNIRS measures indicated that badminton and running had no significant influence on brain activation. These results show that a single bout of complex exercise enhances inhibitory control without increasing brain activation compared to simple exercise, suggesting that an acute complex exercise induces neural efficiency.