A single session of mild intensity physical exercise modulates brain oscillations in healthy young adults: a pilot study

An acute session of moderate or vigorous physical exercise (PE) induces a cascade of neurophysiological processes such as release of growth factors, which relate to increased electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. Studies using animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) showed that these mechanisms are disrupted even at asymptomatic stages of the disease. Specifically, increased neural activity within Theta band observed in healthy mice was not evidenced in mice models of AD, suggesting that EEG could be a suitable non-invasive tool to detect preclinical AD. The present study aims investigating the possible neurophysiological effects after a session of mild intensity PE, which is feasible to carry out in most population, during an EEG recording. Thus, sixteen young humans cycled at a low intensity in a stationary bike to study PE effects on the EEG frequency bands. EEG was acquired before and after PE (immediately after performing the PE, or 20-25 minutes later). Results showed that PE increased Alpha activity in frontal and central electrodes for at least 25 minutes, which aligns with previous studies in humans. Trends to increased Theta activity were observed within the left hemisphere immediately after PE, but not 25 minutes after finishing PE. Studies using larger samples should assess whether mild intensity PE increases Alpha and Theta and induces effects of different duration in both frequency bands, suggesting sensitivity of EEG to detect diverse neurophysiological effects induced by PE. Another pending issue is whether increased Alpha after PE in humans is functionally equivalent to increased Theta observed in mice.