Brawn And Brainpower: Acute Resistance Exercise Improves Behavioral And Neuroelectric Measures Of Executive Function

PURPOSE: Investigate the effect of acute resistance exercise (RE) on measures of inhibitory control (IC) and working memory (WM) and explore physiological mechanisms through which exercise may influence IC and WM. METHODS: Using a randomized controlled trial design, participants (n = 121) aged 18-50 years were randomly assigned to the RE and rest groups to measure blood lactate, blood pressure, IC, and WM before and after a 42-min moderate-intensity RE or rest intervention. IC and WM were assessed by response time (RT), accuracy, and the amplitude and latency of N2 and P3 components of event related potentials (ERPs) derived from the Flanker and 2-back tasks. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that following RE, lactate (t(59) = 17.18, p < 0.01, d = 2.06) and systolic pressure (t(59) = 10.58, p < 0.01, d = 0.99) increased but remained unchanged after rest. Compared with rest, RE decreased RT (t(119) = -2.05, p = 0.02, d = 0.37), P3 latency (t(119) = -2.16, p = 0.02, d = 0.41), and N2 amplitude congruency effect during IC task, while RE decreased only RT during WM task (t(112) = -1.99, p = 0.02, d = 0.48). Exploratory regression analysis revealed negative associations of time-related increase in lactate with decreased P3 latency during IC task (t(119) = -3.31, p < 0.01, Δr2 = 0.08, β = -0.29) and decreased RT during WM task (t(112) = -2.80, p = 0.01, Δr2 = 0.06, β = -0.25). Additionally, the time-related increase in systolic pressure was negatively related to faster RT during IC (t(117) = -2.83, p = 0.01, Δr2 = 0.06, β = -0.25) and WM (t(110) = -3.89, p < 0.01, Δr2 = 0.12, β = -0.34) tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Acute RE is an effective tool to enhance the IC and WM domains of executive function, highlighting its potential for optimizing both physical and cognitive health. Blood lactate and systolic pressure were related to improved IC and WM performance regardless of group assignment, but further research is needed to clarify the mechanistic pathways through which RE-induced physiological responses impact cognition.