Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Caffeine and Placebo Improved Maximal Exercise Performance Despite Unchanged Motor Cortex Activation and Greater Prefrontal Cortex Deoxygenation

Full text
Author(s):
Pires, Flavio O. [1] ; dos Anjos, Carlos A. S. [2] ; Covolan, Roberto J. M. [2] ; Fontes, Eduardo B. [3] ; Noakes, Timothy D. [4] ; Gibson, Alan St Clair ; Magalhaes, Fernando H. [1] ; Ugrinowitsch, Carlos [5]
Total Authors: 8
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Arts Sci & Humanities, Exercise Psychophysiol Res Grp, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Estadual Campinas, Gleb Wataghin Phys Inst, Neurophys Grp, Campinas, SP - Brazil
[3] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Res Grp Phys Act Cognit & Behav, Natal, RN - Brazil
[4] Univ Cape Town, Sports Sci Inst South Africa, Dept Human Biol, Cape Town - South Africa
[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Phys Educ & Sport, Sao Paulo - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 5
Document type: Journal article
Source: FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY; v. 9, AUG 17 2018.
Web of Science Citations: 7
Abstract

Caffeine (CAF) is an ergogenic aid used to improve exercise performance. Independent studies have suggested that caffeine may have the ability to increase corticospinal excitability, thereby decreasing the motor cortex activation required to generate a similar motor output. However, CAF has also been suggested to induce a prefrontal cortex (PFC) deoxygenation. Others have suggested that placebo (PLA) may trigger comparable effects to CAF, as independent studies found PLA effects on motor performance, corticospinal excitability, and PFC oxygenation. Thus, we investigated if CAF and CAF-perceived PLA may improve motor performance, despite the likely unchanged MC activation and greater PFC deoxygenation. Nine participants (26.4 +/- 4.8 years old, VO(2MAX )of 42.2 +/- 4.6 mL kg(-1) min(-1)) performed three maximal incremental tests (MITs) in control (no supplementation) and similar to 60 min after CAF and PLA ingestion. PFC oxygenation (near-infrared spectroscopy at Fpl position), MC activation (EEG at Cz position) and vastus lateralis and rectus femoris muscle activity (EMG) were measured throughout the tests. Compared to control, CAF and PLA increased rectus femoris muscle EMG (P = 0.030; F = 2.88; d = 0.84) at 100% of the MIT, and enhanced the peak power output (P = 0.006; F = 12.97; d = 1.8) and time to exhaustion (P = 0.007; F = 12.97; d = 1.8). In contrast, CAF and PLA did not change MC activation, but increased the PFC deoxygenation as indicated by the lower O(2)Hb (P = 0.001; F = 4.68; d = 1.08) and THb concentrations (P = 0.01; F = 1.96; d = 0.7) at 80 and 100% the MIT duration. These results showed that CAF and CAF-perceived PLA had the ability to improve motor performance, despite unchanged MC activation and greater PFC deoxygenation. The effectiveness of CAF as ergogenic aid to improve MIT performance was challenged. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 16/16496-3 - Effects of carbohydrate mouth rinse on physical performance and psychophysiological responses in individuals mentally fatigued during VO2MAX test
Grantee:Flávio de Oliveira Pires
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 15/13096-1 - Neuromuscular adaptations associated with sports practice: effect of muscle fatigue on electromyographic parameters and on postural control
Grantee:Fernando Henrique Magalhães
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants