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Abstract

Abstract:Static stretching appears to not only enhance flexibility, but also to improve mood state. However, little is known about how acute static stretching influences cognitive function. To elucidate this, we tested the hypothesis that alterations in mood state following static stretching would improve visual search performance. Sixteen participants were divided into stretching and control groups. In the stretching group, the participants answered questionnaires about mood state and performed a visual search task before and after 30 min of static stretching. In the control group, the participants rested instead of stretching. The questionnaires included items related to pleasantness, relaxation, anxiety, negative affect, positive engagement, and tranquility. We evaluated changes in cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation during the visual search task via near-infrared spectroscopy. In the stretching group, reaction time in the visual search task decreased (P < 0.05), while response accuracy was not affected. This improvement in response speed was accompanied by increase in positive engagement (P < 0.01) and a decrease in anxiety (P < 0.05). Stretching did not modulate cerebral hemodynamics or oxygenation during the visual search task. Visual search performance was not altered in the control group. These results suggest that improved response speed is associated with an increase in positive engagement and a decrease in anxiety after static stretching.

Applications of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Neuroimaging in Exercise–Cognition Science: A Systematic, Methodology-Focused Review

“…The majority of the reviewed studies used the international EEG system for the placement of the optodes [6,7,8,11,12,13,77,79,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109] and set the source-detector separations at 3.0 cm [6,7,8,12,77,78,79,96,99,100,102,104,106,107,109,110,111]. A detailed overview about the used source-detector separations utilized in the remaining studies is given in Figure 4a.…”

“…In almost all studies baseline brain activation was assessed in a sitting position [6,7,8,11,12,13,77,78,79,96,97,98,99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,115,116,117,118,119,120]. The quantification of baseline brain activation lasted from 2 s [6,7,8,12,77,106,109] to 10 min [97,116,119].…”

“…The quantification of baseline brain activation lasted from 2 s [6,7,8,12,77,106,109] to 10 min [97,116,119]. Other commonly used durations for the evaluation of baseline brain activation were 10 s [13,79,99,100,107], 30 s [102,104,105,108,120], or 120 s [103,111,118]. An overview about baseline durations is provided in Figure 4b.…”

“…A block design was used in eleven studies [11,13,78,99,100,102,103,104,107,112,113], whereas an event-related design was applied in ten studies [6,7,8,12,77,106,109,110,111,114]. In the remaining studies, cognitive testing was performed after the assessment of baseline brain activity [79,96,97,98,101,105,108,115,116,117,118,119,120].…”

“…A constant, wavelength-dependent DPF with the values of 7.25/6.38 (760 nm/850 nm) was used in two studies [103,110]. Two studies [108,120] used age-dependent DPF values calculated as described in Duncan et al [123]. In the remaining studies, arbitrary units [6,7,8,12,13,77,78,79,96,100,102,104,106,107,109,111] or saturation index/tissue oxygenation index ( StO 2 or TOI = oxyHb/totHb) [10,105,108,115,116,120], which do not rely on specific DPF values [124,125], were used.…”