Elite Cyclists and Brain Fatigue Resistance

In a Brain Post from 2012 I reviewed a study of fatigue in elite athletic performance. This study supported a key role in the brain insula in regulating the perception of exercise-induced fatigue. You can access this post by clicking HERE.

An update on this topic was recently published in PloS One by a research team in Australia.

This study compared performance on a cognitive task after extreme 20 minute cycling time trial. Professional cyclists were compared to recreational cyclists on the Stroop test that requires inhibitory control.

The results of the study were that elite cyclists performed significantly better on the Stroop test (more correct responses) following exercise than non-elite cyclists. This is indicative of a greater resistance effects of fatigue on brain performance.

The authors note in the discussion section:

"These finding suggest that successful endurance performance may require superior inhibitory control and resistance to mental fatigue."

This resistance to mental fatigue at high levels of exercise may be a key component in successful performance at the elite level.

Inhibitory control has been shown to have a significant genetic association and to be stable over time. It is possible that training interacts with genetic factors to produce brain fatigue resistance in the elite cyclist population.

Readers with more interest in this topic can access the free full-text research manuscript by clicking on the PMID link in the citation below.

Follow the author on Twitter HERE.

Photo of non-elite cyclist participating in triathlon is from the author's files. 


Martin K, Staiano W, Menaspà P, Hennessey T, Marcora S, Keegan R, Thompson KG, Martin D, Halson S, & Rattray B (2016). Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists. PloS one, 11 (7) PMID: 27441380

How Learning Braille Changes the Brain

Learning a new skill provides the opportunity to study brain neuroplasticity.

The Daily Mail recently highlighted research examining the effects of learning Braille language in a group of 29 sighted individuals.

The authors noted that changes in the the somatosensory cortex related to the tactile nature of Braille were found as expected.

However, the research team also found activation in a region of the lateral occipital lobe known as the visual word form area. This finding was unexpected and suggests new mechanisms in learning brain.

The study used sighted individuals and blind individuals may have distinct mechanisms for learning Braille. An informative study would use sighted and blind individuals with fMRI before and after a period of Braille training.

You can access the story on the Daily Mail HERE.

The free full text manuscript by the Polish research team can be found HERE.

Brain figure highlighting occipital cortex is mine from an iPad screen shot using the 3D Brain app.

Follow me on Twitter @WRY999

Top 10 Brain Posts 2015: Exercise and Brain Integrity

A final Top 10 Brain Post in 2015 focussed on a study of the correlation between exercise habits and integrity of brain white matter.

This study found that brain white matter integrity decreased with age.

However, some of this deterioration in integrity was minimized in older adults with higher measures of fitness.

The original post on this research can be found 

HERE

Follow the author on Twitter WRY999

Photo of jogger on beach in Fort Myers, Florida is from the author's files.

BCAAs and Keto diets

(Note: This article is a departure from our tradition of end-to-end citations, and other practices necessary for establishing high confidence in medical assertions. This departure is merely in the interest of publishing more ideas in less time, as our intensely busy lives have led to a huge backlog of unfinished articles for which the verification and explicit justification process has proved to be at least 80% of the work. Because of its importance to us, though, when we return to more fundamental ketogenic science articles, we will return that style.)

Benefits of BCAAs

If you follow the bodybuilding community, you are probably aware of some of the benefits of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). That's because they are known to have positive effects on muscle growth and recovery. (See for example Nutraceutical Effects of Branched-Chain Amino Acids on Skeletal Muscle, and Branched-Chain Amino Acids Activate Key Enzymes in Protein Synthesis after Physical Exercise.)

Less well known is that BCAAs have favourable effects on the brain, in particular the glial cells (brain cells that aren't neurons, are more numerous than neurons, and turn out to be essential for supporting neurons — it seems probable that most brain afflictions are caused by problems in the glial cells). The beneficial effects of BCAAs come from their important role in the manufacture of neurotransmitters, and vital metabolic cycles such as the leucine-glutamate cycle.

Here are a couple of examples of beneficial effects of BCAA supplementation on the brain: Dietary branched chain amino acids ameliorate injury-induced cognitive impairment, Branched-chain amino acids may improve recovery from a vegetative or minimally conscious state in patients with traumatic brain injury: a pilot study, Recovery of brain dopamine metabolism by branched-chain amino acids in rats with acute hepatic failure..

The problems being helped by BCAA supplementation are similar to some of the benefits that have been shown to be helped by ketogenic diets, and this is no coincidence.

One important effect of keto-adaptation is a dramatic increase in circulating BCAAs.

This fact is one the many proposed mechanisms of the anti-epileptic properties of ketogenic diets. (See also The ketogenic diet and brain metabolism of amino acids: relationship to the anticonvulsant effect.)

There also appears to be a bit of a feedback loop, in that supplementing a ketogenic diet with BCAAs can itself increase ketogenesis relative to the same amount of other proteins.

Nonetheless, the important point to take away from this post is that a ketogenic diet itself achieves what others are striving for by ingesting expensive (and, frankly, revolting-tasting) powders. Therefore it is quite plausible that in addition to the more-studied positive nervous system effects, a ketogenic diet will improve muscle growth and recovery relative to a glycolytic diet, something already anecdotally reported.

How Golf Practice Changes the Brain

Neuroscience research provides increased understanding of how behavior and specific activities change the brain.  This type of research underscores the concept of neuroplasticity--that our brains change in response to how it is used on a daily basis.

One area of research in neuroplasticity is the effect of specific cognitive and motor behavior on brain structure.  A novel study published in The Journal of Neuroscience examined the effect of golf practice on brain structure.  Bezzola and colleagues from Switzerland and Germany in this study proposed that golf practice is likely to effect the following brain regions based on their known functions:

• Dorsal stream--development of visuomotor skills
• Subcortical and cerebellar regions--motor learning
• Frontal association areas--cognitive aspects of skill development

A group of relatively novice golfers had brain scan before and after a period of 40 hours of golf practice.  This study used a real world type of design.  The golfer intervention group were directed to complete their practice under a golf instructor at their own course at their own pace.  The experimental group and control groups in this study were between the ages of 40 and 60 years of age as the goal was to examine the effect in those who were likely to begin experiencing some decline in brain cognitive function.

The brain imaging in this study was completed using magnetic resonance imaging or MRI.  This technique allows for examination of small changes in brain gray and white matter volumes.

The golf practice intervention group demonstrated significant brain volume increases in a variety of brain regions including the:

• ventral premotor cortex
• several regions in the parietal cortex including the inferior parietal cortex (area demonstrated in the attached Brain Tutor HD screen shot)
• parietal-occipital junction

The golfers in the study took up to five months to complete the 40 hours of practice.  Interestingly, those who completed their practice in the least number of days showed the greatest increase in brain volumes in at the parietal occipital junction.

The authors note their study is important because it shows brain neuroplasticity occurs not just in strictly controlled motor exercise protocols but in the real world of structured leisure activity like golf.  The note structured leisure exercise activities "may be considered an additional therapeutic setting in the process of neuro-rehabilitation.

This study also suggests middle-aged individuals have a new excuse for taking up a new physical activity like golf.  If their spouse objects to heading out to the golf course to practice, a scientific response might be: "Honey, I'm just going out to work out my brain parietal-occipital junction".

Photo of Steve Williams assisting Tiger Woods practice golf at the 2010 PGA Championship from the author's private collection.

Screen shot of the inferior parietal lobe from Brain Tutor HD iPad app.

Bezzola L, Mérillat S, Gaser C, & Jäncke L (2011). Training-induced neural plasticity in golf novices. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 31 (35), 12444-8 PMID: 21880905