Caffeine counteracts the ergogenic action of muscle creatine loading

1996 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Vandenberghe ◽  
N. Gillis ◽  
M. Van Leemputte ◽  
P. Van Hecke ◽  
F. Vanstapel ◽  
...  

This study aimed to compare the effects of oral creatine (Cr) supplementation with creatine supplementation in combination with caffeine (Cr+C) on muscle phosphocreatine (PCr) level and performance in healthy male volunteers (n = 9). Before and after 6 days of placebo, Cr (0.5 g x kg-1 x day-1), or Cr (0.5 g x kg-1 x day-1) + C (5 mg x kg-1 x day-1) supplementation, 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the gastrocnemius muscle and a maximal intermittent exercise fatigue test of the knee extensors on an isokinetic dynamometer were performed. The exercise consisted of three consecutive maximal isometric contractions and three interval series of 90, 80, and 50 maximal voluntary contractions performed with a rest interval of 2 min between the series. Muscle ATP concentration remained constant over the three experimental conditions. Cr and Cr+C increased (P < 0.05) muscle PCr concentration by 4-6%. Dynamic torque production, however, was increased by 10-23% (P < 0.05) by Cr but was not changed by Cr+C. Torque improvement during Cr was most prominent immediately after the 2-min rest between the exercise bouts. The data show that Cr supplementation elevates muscle PCr concentration and markedly improves performance during intense intermittent exercise. This ergogenic effect, however, is completely eliminated by caffeine intake.

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 1338-1344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Halperin ◽  
David Copithorne ◽  
David G. Behm

Nonlocal muscle fatigue occurs when fatiguing 1 muscle alters performance of another rested muscle. The purpose of the study was to investigate if fatiguing 2 separate muscles would affect the same rested muscle, and if fatiguing the same muscle would affect 2 separate muscles. Twenty-one trained males participated in 2 studies (n = 11; n = 10). Subjects performed 2 pre-test maximum voluntary contractions (MVCs) with the nondominant knee extensors. Thereafter they performed two 100-s MVCs with their dominant knee extensors, elbow flexors, or rested. Between and after the sets, a single MVC with the nondominant rested knee extensors was performed. Subsequently, 12 nondominant knee extensors repeated MVCs were completed. Force, quadriceps voluntary activation (VA), and electromyography (EMG) were measured. The same protocol was employed in study 2 except the nondominant elbow-flexors were tested. Study 1: Compared with control conditions, a significant decrease in nondominant knee extensors force, EMG, and VA was found under both fatiguing conditions (P ≤ 0.05; effect size (ES) = 0.91–1.15; 2%–8%). Additionally, decrements in all variables were found from the first post-intervention MVC to the last (P ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.82–2.40; 9%–20%). Study 2: No differences were found between conditions for all variables (P ≥ 0.33; ES ≤ 0.2; ≤3.0%). However, all variables decreased from the first post-intervention MVC to the last (P ≤ 0.05; ES = 0.4–3.0; 7.2%–19.7%). Whereas the rested knee extensors demonstrated nonlocal effects regardless of the muscle being fatigued, the elbow-flexors remained unaffected. This suggests that nonlocal effects are muscle specific, which may hold functional implications for training and performance.


2002 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Hespel ◽  
B. Op ‘t Eijnde ◽  
M. Van Leemputte

The effect of creatine and caffeine supplementation on muscle torque generation and relaxation was investigated in healthy male volunteers. Maximal torque (Tmax), contraction time (CT) from 0.25 to 0.75 of Tmax, and relaxation time (RT) from 0.75 to 0.25 of Tmax were measured during an exercise test consisting of 30 intermittent contractions of musculus quadriceps (2 s stimulation, 2 s rest) that were induced by electrical stimulation. According to a double-blind randomized crossover design, subjects ( n = 10) performed the exercise test before (pretest) and after (posttest) creatine supplementation (Cr, 4 × 5 g/day, 4 days), short-term caffeine intake (Caf, 5 mg · kg−1 · day−1, 3 days), creatine supplementation + short-term caffeine intake (Cr+Caf), acute caffeine intake (ACaf, 5 mg/kg) or placebo. Compared with placebo, Cr shortened RT by ∼5% ( P < 0.05). Conversely, Caf increased RT (+∼10%, P < 0.05), in particular as RT increased because of fatigue. RT was not significantly changed by either Cr+Caf or ACaf. Tmax and CT were similar during all experimental conditions. Initial Tmax was ∼20% of voluntary maximal isometric contraction force, which was not different between treatments. It is concluded that Caf intake (3 days) prolongs muscle RT and by this action overrides the shortening of RT due to creatine supplementation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 970-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harrison T. Finn ◽  
David M. Rouffet ◽  
David S. Kennedy ◽  
Simon Green ◽  
Janet L. Taylor

During fatiguing voluntary contractions, the excitability of motoneurons innervating arm muscles decreases. However, the behavior of motoneurons innervating quadriceps muscles is unclear. Findings may be inconsistent because descending cortical input influences motoneuron excitability and confounds measures during exercise. To overcome this limitation, we examined effects of fatigue on quadriceps motoneuron excitability tested during brief pauses in descending cortical drive after transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants ( n = 14) performed brief (~5-s) isometric knee extension contractions before and after a 10-min sustained contraction at ~25% maximal electromyogram (EMG) of vastus medialis (VM) on one ( n = 5) or two ( n = 9) days. Electrical stimulation over thoracic spine elicited thoracic motor evoked potentials (TMEP) in quadriceps muscles during ongoing voluntary drive and 100 ms into the silent period following TMS (TMS-TMEP). Femoral nerve stimulation elicited maximal M-waves (Mmax). On the 2 days, either large (~50% Mmax) or small (~15% Mmax) TMS-TMEPs were elicited. During the 10-min contraction, VM EMG was maintained ( P = 0.39), whereas force decreased by 52% (SD 13%) ( P < 0.001). TMEP area remained unchanged ( P = 0.9), whereas large TMS-TMEPs decreased by 49% (SD 28%) ( P = 0.001) and small TMS-TMEPs by 71% (SD 22%) ( P < 0.001). This decline was greater for small TMS-TMEPs ( P = 0.019; n = 9). Therefore, without the influence of descending drive, quadriceps TMS-TMEPs decreased during fatigue. The greater reduction for smaller responses, which tested motoneurons that were most active during the contraction, suggests a mechanism related to repetitive activity contributes to reduced quadriceps motoneuron excitability during fatigue. By contrast, the unchanged TMEP suggests that ongoing drive compensates for altered motoneuron excitability. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We provide evidence that the excitability of quadriceps motoneurons decreases with fatigue. Our results suggest that altered intrinsic properties brought about by repetitive activation of the motoneurons underlie their decreased excitability. Furthermore, we note that testing during voluntary contraction may not reflect the underlying depression of motoneuron excitability because of compensatory changes in ongoing voluntary drive. Thus, this study provides evidence that processes intrinsic to the motoneuron contribute to muscle fatigue of the knee extensors.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. R1078-R1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Jones ◽  
Daryl P. Wilkerson ◽  
Jonathan Fulford

We hypothesized that increasing skeletal muscle total creatine (Cr) content through dietary Cr supplementation would result in slower muscle phosphocreatine concentration ([PCr]) kinetics, as assessed using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy, following the onset and offset of both moderate-intensity (Mod) and heavy-intensity (Hvy) exercise. Seven healthy males (age 29 ± 6 yr, mean ± SD) completed a series of square-wave transitions to Mod and Hvy knee extensor exercise inside the bore of a 1.5-T superconducting magnet both before and after a 5-day period of Cr loading (4× 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate). Cr supplementation resulted in an ∼8% increase in the resting muscle [PCr]-to-[ATP] ratio (4.66 ± 0.27 vs. 5.04 ± 0.22; P < 0.05), consistent with a significant increase in muscle total Cr content consequent to the intervention. The time constant for muscle [PCr] kinetics was increased following Cr loading for Mod exercise (control: 15 ± 8 vs. Cr: 25 ± 9 s; P < 0.05) and subsequent recovery (control: 14 ± 8 vs. Cr: 27 ± 8 s; P < 0.05) and for Hvy exercise (control: 54 ± 18 vs. Cr: 72 ± 30 s; P < 0.05), but not for subsequent recovery (control: 41 ± 11 vs. Cr: 44 ± 6 s). The magnitude of the increase in [PCr] following Cr loading was correlated ( P < 0.05) with the extent of the slowing of the [PCr] kinetics for the moderate off-transient ( r = 0.92) and the heavy on-transient ( r = 0.71). These data demonstrate, for the first time in humans, that an increase in muscle [PCr] results in a slowing of [PCr] dynamics in exercise and subsequent recovery.


2014 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 1063-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Christian ◽  
David J. Bishop ◽  
François Billaut ◽  
Olivier Girard

Central motor drive to active muscles is believed to be reduced during numerous exercise tasks to prevent excessive peripheral fatigue development. The purpose of the present study was to use hypoxia to exacerbate physiological perturbations during a novel, intermittent exercise task and to explore the time-course and interplay between central and peripheral neuromuscular adjustments. On separate days, 14 healthy men performed four sets of 6 × 5 maximal-intensity, isokinetic leg extensions (1 repetition lasting ∼7 s) at 300°/s (15 and 100 s of passive rest between repetitions and sets, respectively) under normoxia (NM, fraction of inspired O2 0.21), moderate (MH, 0.14), and severe normobaric hypoxia (SH, 0.10). Neuromuscular assessments of the knee extensors were conducted before and immediately after each set. There was an interaction between time and condition on the mean peak torque produced during each set ( P < 0.05). RMS/M-wave activity of the rectus femoris decreased across the four sets of exercise, but there was no difference between conditions (8.3 ± 5.1% all conditions compounded, P > 0.05). Potentiated twitch torque decreased post set 1 in all conditions (all P < 0.05) with greater reductions following each set in SH compared with NM but not MH (end-exercise reductions 41.3 ± 3.0% vs. 28.0 ± 3.2%, P < 0.05 and 32.1 ± 3.3%, P > 0.05). In conclusion, severe hypoxia exacerbates both peripheral fatigue development and performance decrements during maximal, intermittent, dynamic leg extensions. In contrast to observations with other exercise modes, during exercise involving a single muscle group the attenuation of central motor drive does not appear to independently regulate the development of peripheral muscle fatigue.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Anna Kwiatkowska ◽  
Małgorzata Mróz

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of stereotypical and counter-stereotypicalinformation on the self-esteem and cognitive performance of 10-year-old children. Our sampleconsisted of 37 girls and 37 boys. Children were presented with 10 “mathematical” puzzles in threeexperimental conditions: stereotypical (boys are better), counter-stereotypical (girls are better), andthe control condition (no particular information). Self-esteem was measured using a non-verbaltask. The results showed a significant interaction effect of “condition x sex” on self-esteem andperformance. Girls revealed no significant differences between control and experimental conditions,while boys showed a significant drop in self-esteem and performance in the counter-stereotypicalcondition as compared to the control condition and a significant lift in self-esteem and performancein the stereotypical condition as compared to the control condition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Zhu ◽  
L J Johnston ◽  
M H Reese ◽  
E S Buchanan ◽  
J E Tallaksen ◽  
...  

Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate whether cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water could alleviate negative impacts of heat stress on lactating sows. Thirty sows (Landrace × Yorkshire, Parity = 1 to 6) were housed in individual farrowing stalls in two rooms with temperatures being controlled at 29.4°C (0700–1900 hours) and 23.9°C (1900–0700 hours). Sows in one room (Cool), but not in the other room (Control) were provided cooled floor pads (21–22°C) and chilled drinking water (13–15°C). Behavior of sows (15 sows/treatment) was video recorded during farrowing, and days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after farrowing. Videos were viewed continuously to register the birth time of each piglet, from which total farrowing duration and birth intervals were calculated. The number of drinking bouts and the duration of each drinking bout were registered for each sow through viewing videos continuously for 2 h (1530–1730 hours) each video-recording day. Postures (lying laterally, lying ventrally, sitting, and standing) were recorded by scanning video recordings at 5-min intervals for 24 h each video-recording day, and time budget for each posture was calculated. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were measured for all sows the day before and after farrowing, and then once weekly. Sow and litter performance was recorded. Data were analyzed using the Glimmix procedure of SAS. The cooling treatment did not affect sow behavior or litter performance. Sows in the Cool room had lower rectal temperature (P = 0.03) and lower respiration rate (P &lt; 0.001), consumed more feed (P = 0.03), tended to have reduced weight loss (P = 0.07), and backfat loss (P = 0.07) during lactation than sows in the Control room. As lactation progressed, sows increased drinking frequency (P &lt; 0.001) and time spent lying ventrally (P &lt; 0.0001), standing (P &lt; 0.001), and sitting (P &lt; 0.0001), and decreased time spent lying laterally (P &lt; 0.0001) in both Cool and Control rooms. While cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water did not affect sow behavior, they did alleviate heat stress partially, as indicated by decreased rectal temperature, respiration rate, weight, and backfat loss, and increased feed intake in lactating sows.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1757
Author(s):  
Yesica Vicente-Martínez ◽  
Manuel Caravaca ◽  
Antonio Soto-Meca ◽  
Miguel Ángel Martín-Pereira ◽  
María del Carmen García-Onsurbe

This paper presents a novel procedure for the treatment of contaminated water with high concentrations of nitrates, which are considered as one of the main causes of the eutrophication phenomena. For this purpose, magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with silver (Fe3O4@AgNPs) were synthesized and used as an adsorbent of nitrates. Experimental conditions, including the pH, adsorbent and adsorbate dose, temperature and contact time, were analyzed to obtain the highest adsorption efficiency for different concentration of nitrates in water. A maximum removal efficiency of 100% was reached for 2, 5, 10 and 50 mg/L of nitrate at pH = 5, room temperature, and 50, 100, 250 and 500 µL of Fe3O4@AgNPs, respectively. The characterization of the adsorbent, before and after adsorption, was performed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Nitrates can be desorbed, and the adsorbent can be reused using 500 µL of NaOH solution 0.01 M, remaining unchanged for the first three cycles, and exhibiting 90% adsorption efficiency after three regenerations. A deep study on equilibrium isotherms reveals a pH-dependent behavior, characterized by Langmuir and Freundlich models at pH = 5 and pH = 1, respectively. Thermodynamic studies were consistent with physicochemical adsorption for all experiments but showed a change from endothermic to exothermic behavior as the temperature increases. Interference studies of other ions commonly present in water were carried out, enabling this procedure as very selective for nitrate ions. In addition, the method was applied to real samples of seawater, showing its ability to eliminate the total nitrate content in eutrophized waters.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1710
Author(s):  
Jinwook Lee ◽  
Hyo-Sun Kim ◽  
Donik Ku ◽  
Jihun Lim ◽  
Minkyu Jung ◽  
...  

Membrane-based vacuum dehumidification technology is currently being actively studied. In most studies, the performance of the membrane-based systems is evaluated under the assumption that the membrane can achieve ideal separation, which results in ideal coefficient of performance (COP) values. However, the performance factors for membranes vary depending on the experimental conditions and measurement methods. Therefore, relevant values can only be calculated if the data are measured in an environment close to that of the application conditions. The cup measurement method is a simple method to measure the permeability, however, there are limitations regarding adding variables during the experiment. To overcome these limitations, a new experimental device was constructed that combines pressurized cell with the cup method. Using the device, the performance of polyethylene-amide-bonded dense membranes was evaluated under conditions where absolute pressure differentials occurred before and after the membrane, such as in air conditioner dehumidification systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. McCutcheon ◽  
Toby Pillinger ◽  
Maria Rogdaki ◽  
Juan Bustillo ◽  
Oliver D. Howes

AbstractAlterations in cortical inter-areal functional connectivity, and aberrant glutamatergic signalling are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia but the relationship between the two is unclear. We used multimodal imaging to identify areas of convergence between the two systems. Two separate cohorts were examined, comprising 195 participants in total. All participants received resting state functional MRI to characterise functional brain networks and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to measure glutamate concentrations in the frontal cortex. Study A investigated the relationship between frontal cortex glutamate concentrations and network connectivity in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Study B also used 1H-MRS, and scanned individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls before and after a challenge with the glutamatergic modulator riluzole, to investigate the relationship between changes in glutamate concentrations and changes in network connectivity. In both studies the network based statistic was used to probe associations between glutamate and connectivity, and glutamate associated networks were then characterised in terms of their overlap with canonical functional networks. Study A involved 76 individuals with schizophrenia and 82 controls, and identified a functional network negatively associated with glutamate concentrations that was concentrated within the salience network (p < 0.05) and did not differ significantly between patients and controls (p > 0.85). Study B involved 19 individuals with schizophrenia and 17 controls and found that increases in glutamate concentrations induced by riluzole were linked to increases in connectivity localised to the salience network (p < 0.05), and the relationship did not differ between patients and controls (p > 0.4). Frontal cortex glutamate concentrations are associated with inter-areal functional connectivity of a network that localises to the salience network. Changes in network connectivity in response to glutamate modulation show an opposite effect compared to the relationship observed at baseline, which may complicate pharmacological attempts to simultaneously correct glutamatergic and connectivity aberrations.


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