Abstract
Purpose
Time-trial require cyclists to have an acute control on their sensory cues to regulate their pacing strategies. Pacing an effort accurately requires an individual to process sensory signals with efficacy, a factor that can be characterized by a high neural efficiency. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a cycling time-trial on neural efficiency in comparison to a low intensity endurance exercise, the latter supposedly not requiring high sensory control.
Methods
On two separate days, 13 competitive cyclists performed a session comprising of two 10 min treadmill tests, performed at different intensity zones from 1 to 5 on the rating subjective exercise intensity scale. The tests were performed before and after both a time-trial and endurance cycling exercise. Electroencephalography activity was measured during each intensity zones of the treadmill exercises. Neural efficiency was then calculated for each intensity block using the α/β electroencephalography activity ratio.
Results
The neural efficiency averaged on the 5 IZ decreased following the time-trial in the motor cortex (− 13 ± 8%) and prefrontal cortex (− 10 ± 12%), but not after the endurance exercise.
Conclusion
To conclude, the time-trial impaired the neural efficiency and increasing the RPE of the cyclists in the severe intensity zone.
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Abbreviations
- MC:
-
Motor cortex
- PC:
-
Parietal cortex
- PFC:
-
Prefrontal cortex
- RSEI:
-
Rate of subjective exercise intensity
- RPE:
-
Rate of perceived exertion
- IZ:
-
Intensity zones
- RPEIZblock :
-
RPE measured during a block of the treadmill test at different IZ of the RSEI scale (1–5)
- α/β IZblock :
-
Alpha/beta ratio measured during a block of the treadmill test at different IZ of the RSEI scale (1–5)
- α/β IZMean :
-
Averaged of the 5 α/βIZblock
- END:
-
Endurance
- TT:
-
Time-trial
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VS, TP, FG and AG conceived and design research. VS and TP conducted experiments. VS analysed the data and wrote the manuscript. TP, AG and FG read and approved the manuscript.
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Each participant wrote informed consent, and the study was conducted following the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (1983) and approved by the regional ethics committee.
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Communicated by William J. Kraemer.
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Scholler, V., Groslambert, A., Pirlot, T. et al. Opposite effects of a time-trial and endurance cycling exercise on the neural efficiency of competitive cyclists. Eur J Appl Physiol 123, 1991–2000 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05216-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05216-1