Executive functions, self-paced exercise and cycling performance
The main aim of the present thesis was to understand the role of executive (cognitive) functions in self-paced aerobic exercise (cycling). A self-paced exercise is a physical activity in which the effort has to be distributed in the best possible way to achieve the objective of the event (e.g., to cover a given distance as quickly as possible or to cover the largest possible distance in a given time). Self-paced exercise requires the monitoring and control of feedback from the muscles and cardiorespiratory systems to the brain. From an applied point of view, we could consider that the self-paced aerobic exercise is a goal-directed behaviour towards an objective that involves several cognitive processes, and in particular of executive functions (e.g., inhibitory control or working memory). Consequently, any change at cognitive level (and brain related to the cognitive processes under study) will affect physical performance. To understand this relationship, in an introductory chapter we summarized the role of executive functions on the self-paced exercise, and the empirical evidence of the neural basis. We also summarized the different manipulations that have been designed to investigate the role of the executive functions on self-paced exercise. In the following chapters, we describe the three studies we have conducted to investigate the role of executive functioning on the self-paced exercise. First, we investigated the ergogenic effect of tramadol on physical and cognitive performance. Next, we attempt to understand the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) (applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) on objective and subjective indices of exercise performance. Finally, we investigated the role of cognitive (executive) load during self-paced exercise.