Effects of acute aerobic exercise on sweet taste preference and its brain mechanisms in tobacco addicts

Aerobic exercise can improve cravings for smoking and inhibition control in tobacco-dependent individuals; however, its effect on their sweet taste preferences remains unclear. This study aims to examine the effects of acute aerobic exercise on sweet taste preferences and nerve sensitivity in brain regions associated with the prefrontal cortex in tobacco-dependent subjects. Participants were asked to perform 35 minutes of exercise or rest. They took the sweet taste preference test and the Visual Food Cues Paradigm Task immediately before and immediately after the experiment. After the intervention with acute high-intensity exercise, participants' preference for low-sweetness foods increased significantly ( F  = 14.220, P  < 0.001). Following the moderate-intensity exercise intervention, when participants were shown pictures of low-sweetness food, the average concentration of oxyhemoglobin in the right orbitofrontal cortex increased significantly ( F  = 14.215, P  < 0.001). Additionally, the change in functional connection strength between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was significantly enhanced ( F  = 4.113, P  = 0.046). These results suggest that acute aerobic exercise can alter the sweet taste preferences of tobacco-dependent subjects, as well as the level of PFC activation and functional connectivity, thereby temporarily restoring the nerve sensitivity related to sweet taste that has been impaired by nicotine.