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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cognit.
Sec. Cognition and Movement
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcogn.2024.1370064
This article is part of the Research Topic Insights in Cognition and Movement 2023 View all 6 articles

PROLONGED SITTING REDUCES CEREBRAL OXYGENATION IN PHYSICALLY ACTIVE YOUNG ADULTS

Provisionally accepted
Brett Baker Brett Baker 1Darla M. Castelli Darla M. Castelli 2*
  • 1 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
  • 2 Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Physical activity is known to enhance cognitive functioning across the lifespan, yet the effects of sedentary behaviors on cognitive functioning remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine how an acute daily bout of prolonged sitting influenced working memory, inhibitory control, and cerebral oxygenation (HbO2) in a sample of healthy young adults. Methods: Forty-one young adults (aged between 18-30 years of age) participated in an exploratory design intended to establish a control standard for determining how an acute two hour bout of prolonged sitting influenced working memory, inhibitory control, and HbO2. The Flanker task, Simon task, and Delayed Match to Sample were utilized to assess inhibitory control and working memory, respectively, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy assessed HbO2.Participants were further subdivided into a physically active (Active) group and a physically inactive group (Inactive) based on self-reported physical activity participation. Paired sample ttests were used to determine any changes in working memory, inhibitory control, and HbO2 from pre-to-post and between groups. Results: There were no differences in working memory or inhibitory control reaction time following prolonged sitting for the entire sample (p>0.05) or between activity groups (p>0.05). There was a significant reduction in Flanker accuracy postprolonged sitting for both the congruent (p<0.05) and incongruent (p<0.05) conditions. For those in the Inactive group, there was no difference in HbO2 concentrations post-prolonged sitting.Those in the Active group exhibited a significant reduction in HbO2 during the Flanker Task following prolonged sitting (p<0.05). Conclusions: An acute bout of daily prolonged sitting significantly reduced HbO2 in physically active young adults but not in inactive young adults.We recommend that future studies examining the effects of sedentary behaviors on microvasculature include an objective assessment of physical fitness and a direct measure of physical activity patterns and consider these values when assigning participants to the intervention condition.

    Keywords: Prolonged sitting, fNIRS, sedentary behavior, physical activity, young adults

    Received: 13 Jan 2024; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Baker and Castelli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Darla M. Castelli, Northeastern University, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.