Neuroelectric indices of goal maintenance following a single bout of physical activity

Previous event-related brain potential (ERP) investigations have demonstrated that single bouts of physical activity have transient benefits to aspects of cognitive control. However, this line of research has yet to explore goal maintenance. ERPs were collected using a within-participants design with young-adults following 30-min of both moderate walking and a non-exercise control session. Participants completed three conditions of an AX-continuous performance task (AX-CPT) that targeted goal maintenance processes, which were placed under greater cognitive demand when contexts were conflicting, as indexed by modulation of the N2 and P3 components. Following exercise, individuals exhibited increased accuracy for target trials, and P3 amplitude was greater at midline-parietal sites for both target trials and non-target trials. These results suggest that a single bout of aerobic exercise may facilitate goal maintenance processes and enable individuals to better inhibit extraneous neural activity to allocate greater attentional resources towards the updating and revision of goal representations.

► The influence of aerobic exercise on goal maintenance was examined in young adults.
► ERPs were recorded during an AX-continuous performance task (AX-CPT).
► AX-CPT context was manipulated to bias participant's expectancy to respond.
► P3 amplitude and task accuracy increased following exercise when compared to rest.
► Results support exercise as a means to provide transient benefits to cognition.