Acute Effects Of Group And Individual Exercise On Prefrontal Activation During Emotion Regulation: FNIRS Study

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) supports cognitive reappraisal, which is critical to emotion regulation. Group aerobic exercise may enhance emotional regulation through social interaction. Yet, the acute effects of group vs. individual aerobic exercise on dlPFC activation during cognitive reappraisal remain unknown. PURPOSE: To test the acute effects of 30-min moderate-intensity tandem rope skipping (TRS) and single rope skipping (SRS) on cognitive reappraisal and dlPFC activation. METHOD: 98 college students (52 females, VO2peak = 31.3 ± 8.1 mL/kg/min) were randomly assigned to sit-only control, SRS, and TRS groups. Cognitive reappraisal was expressed as the difference in unpleasantness ratings after viewing negative images with and without cognitive reappraisal. The dlPFC activation was measured with functional near-infrared spectroscopy and expressed as oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels after viewing images with cognitive reappraisal. A 2 (Time: pre, post) x 3 (Group: control, SRS, TRS) analysis of variance was used to test intervention effects. RESULTS: No intervention effects on cognitive reappraisal were noted (P = 0.98). There was a significant intervention effect on oxy-Hb in the left (F (2, 95) = 3.48, P = 0.04) and right dlPFC (F (2, 95) = 4.03, p = 0.02) with no group differences at pre-test (P ≥ 0.37). In contrast, there was a significant Group effect on oxy-Hb in the left (F(2, 95) = 7.13, P < 0.01) and right dlPFC (F(2, 95) = 4.15, P = 0.02) at post-test. Compared to the control, the TRS group had higher oxy-Hb in the left dlPFC (ΔM = 0.11 ± 0.03, P < 0.01), and the SRS group in the right dlPFC (ΔM = 0.11 ± 0.04, P = 0.02). There were no differences between exercise groups (P ≥ 0.56). CONCLUSION: Individual and group aerobic exercise had a generalized effect on PFC function in the context of cognitive reappraisal. The benefits of group over individual aerobic exercise on PFC function and emotion regulation may require long-term exposure.