The Electrophysiological Signature of the Mental Fatigue-induced Impairment in Endurance Performance

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Electroencephalography; Mental Fatigue

Treatments: Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task); Other: Control (Documentary)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04719975

MF-EEG-MRCP

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this project is to provide further insights into the neurophysiology behind the MF-induced impairment in endurance performance. The aim is to perform a randomized controlled trial in which we partly replicate studies of Marcora et al. (2009) and Bigliassi et al. (2017), while extensively monitoring brain activity during the entire protocol (i.e. both cognitive and physical tasks) by using EEG.

Enrollment: 25 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy (No neurological or cardiovascular disorders)
• Male or female
• No medication
• Non-smoker
• Between 18 and 35 years old
• Recreational athlete population (performance level 2 or 3 for men according to De Pauw et al. (2013) and performance level 2 or 3 for woman according to Decroix et al. (2016)

Exclusion criteria

• Injuries over the last 6 months
• Suffering from any cardiovascular condition
• Use of medication
• Suffering from other health conditions at the time of testing
• Use of caffeine or alcohol 24 hours prior to each trial
• Heavy efforts 24 hours prior to each trial

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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25 participants in 4 patient groups, including a placebo group

Mental Fatigue (Stroop) - Chair task

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will be performing the Chair Task (150 submaximal dynamic knee extensions at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)) when mentally fatigued. A 60 minute variant of the Stroop task will be used to induce the mental fatigue. During the whole trial EEG will be measured.

Treatment:

Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task)

Control Task (Documentary) - Chair Task

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary on the same computer screen as that used for the experimental trial. These documentaries are chosen based on their emotionally neutral, yet engaging content. This will be followed by the Chair Task, During the whole trial EEG will be measured.

Treatment:

Other: Control (Documentary)

Mental Fatigue (Stroop) - Bike Task

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will be performing the Bike Task (a 9 min cycling task performed at 45 rpm with intensity being constant and will be 10% below VT) when mentally fatigued. A 60 minute variant of the Stroop task will be used to induce the mental fatigue. During the whole trial EEG will be measured.

Treatment:

Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task)

Control task (Documentary) - Bike Task

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary on the same computer screen as that used for the experimental trial. These documentaries are chosen based on their emotionally neutral, yet engaging content. This will be followed by the Bike Task, During the whole trial EEG will be measured.

Treatment:

Other: Control (Documentary)