ReviewFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2022
The effects of acute high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive performance: A structured narrative review.
Review in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of exercise on cognitive performance and ERP (P3, N2) in overweight and obese populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating the methods used to examine sitting breaks and their influence on mental load, physical strain, and cognitive performance - a scoping review.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Transdiagnostic reduction in cortical choline-containing compounds in anxiety disorders: aMolecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The acute effect of two exercise modalities on neurocognitive responses in postmenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial.Experimental physiology · 2026Trial
- Heat Acclimation with Blood Flow Restriction Improves Cognitive-Motor Dual-Task Ability and Neuromuscular Fatigue.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2026Trial
- Oxiracetam and physical activity in preventing cognitive decline after stroke: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial.European stroke journal · 2026Trial
- Acute effects of two different combined exercise modalities on executive function and circulating neurotrophic factors in young healthy adults.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Trial
- Dose-related effects of acute cycling on executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: a within-subject repeated-measures study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Trial
- Acute Cordyceps militaris supplementation and elevated resting oxygen uptake with faster reaction times: A randomized crossover trial.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Comparing four training modalities on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular responses in sedentary young men: a randomized trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Comparison between soldiers and fitness-matched civilians on sustained attention, neuromuscular fatigue and perceived responses during an exhaustive cognitive-motor dual-task.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Cardiorespiratory fitness modulates the effect of acute exercise on vigilance performance in trained soldiers.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Impact of Additional Respiratory Dead Space Volume Mask During Warm-Up on Skin Blood Flow and Choice Reaction Time in Cyclists: A Randomized Crossover Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Oxy-Inflammatory Profile of Finishers and No-Finishers in an Extreme Ultra-Endurance Trail Race: The 866 km Transpyrénéa.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- The impact of acute high-intensity activity on perceptual decision-making dynamics.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Dose-Response Effects of a Multimodal Physical Activity Intervention on Selective Attention in Schoolchildren from Bogotá.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Linking dynamic cerebral autoregulation and inhibitory executive function: Role of modifiable behaviours.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- Maintenance of core temperature in SCUBA divers in cold water: contributions of anthropometrics, suit type, and sex.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Acute effects of sports with different metabolic loads on serum irisin, BDNF, and NRF2 levels and cognitive performance in sedentary young adults: a comparative analysis of basketball and tennis protocols.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Comparison of Acute Irisin and Cognitive Responses to Different Exercise Modalities Among Late Adolescents.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It is well established that acute moderate-intensity exercise improves cognitive performance. However, the effects of acute high-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive performance have not been well characterized. In this review, we summarize the literature investigating the exercise-cognition interaction, especially focusing on high-intensity aerobic exercise. We discuss methodological and physiological factors that potentially mediate cognitive performance in response to high-intensity exercise. We propose that the effects of high-intensity exercise on cognitive performance are primarily affected by the timing of cognitive task (during vs. after exercise, and the time delay after exercise). In particular, cognitive performance is more likely to be impaired during high-intensity exercise when both cognitive and physiological demands are high and completed simultaneously (i.e., the dual-task paradigm). The effects may also be affected by the type of cognitive task, physical fitness, exercise mode/duration, and age. Second, we suggest that interactions between changes in regional cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral oxygenation, cerebral metabolism, neuromodulation by neurotransmitters/neurotrophic factors, and a variety of psychological factors are promising candidates that determine cognitive performance in response to acute high-intensity exercise. The present review has implications for recreational, sporting, and occupational activities where high cognitive and physiological demands are required to be completed concurrently.
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Registered trials
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