The Electrophysiological Signature of the Mental Fatigue-induced Impairment in Endurance Performance

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this project is to provide further insights into the neurophysiology behind the MF-induced impairment in endurance performance. The aim is to perform a randomized controlled trial in which we partly replicate studies of Marcora et al. (2009) and Bigliassi et al. (2017), while extensively monitoring brain activity during the entire protocol (i.e. both cognitive and physical tasks) by using EEG.

Official Title
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The Electrophysiological Signature of the Mental Fatigue-induced Impairment in Endurance Performance

Conditions
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Mental Fatigue, Electroencephalography

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task)
* Other: Control (Documentary)


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy (No neurological or cardiovascular disorders) Male or female No medication Non-smoker Between 18 and 35 years old Recreational athlete population (performance level 2 or 3 for men according to De Pauw et al. (2013) and performance level 2 or 3 for woman according to Decroix et al. (2016) Exclusion Criteria: Injuries over the last 6 months Suffering from any cardiovascular condition Use of medication Suffering from other health conditions at the time of testing Use of caffeine or alcohol 24 hours prior to each trial Heavy efforts 24 hours prior to each trial

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Randomized, blinded, counter-balanced, cross-over design
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Mental Fatigue (Stroop) - Chair task<br>Participants will be performing the Chair Task (150 submaximal dynamic knee extensions at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)) when mentally fatigued. A 60 minute variant of the Stroop task will be used to induce the mental fatigue. During the whole trial EEG will be measured. | Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task)<br>* A modified Stroop task of approximately 60 min will be used in order to induce mental fatigue (MF). This will be based on their performance during the max test that was conducted during the familiarization session. In this task, which will be partitioned in 4 blocks of 468 stimuli, four colored words (rood, blauw, groen and geel) will be presented one at a time on a computer screen. The participants will be required to indicate the color of the word, ignoring the meaning of the word itself.<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Control Task (Documentary) - Chair Task<br>In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary on the same computer screen as that used for the experimental trial. These documentaries are chosen based on their emotionally neutral, yet engaging content. This will be followed by the Chair Task, During the whole trial EEG will be measured. | Other: Control (Documentary)<br>* In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary of 60 min on the same computer screen as the one used for the experimental trial. In order to avoid under- and over-arousal the subjects will have the opportunity to choose between several documentaries as proposed by the research team. During the control task physiological and psychological measures will be assessed at the same time points as during the mental fatigue trial.<br>|
| Experimental: Mental Fatigue (Stroop) - Bike Task<br>Participants will be performing the Bike Task (a 9 min cycling task performed at 45 rpm with intensity being constant and will be 10% below VT) when mentally fatigued. A 60 minute variant of the Stroop task will be used to induce the mental fatigue. During the whole trial EEG will be measured. | Other: Mental Fatigue (Stroop task)<br>* A modified Stroop task of approximately 60 min will be used in order to induce mental fatigue (MF). This will be based on their performance during the max test that was conducted during the familiarization session. In this task, which will be partitioned in 4 blocks of 468 stimuli, four colored words (rood, blauw, groen and geel) will be presented one at a time on a computer screen. The participants will be required to indicate the color of the word, ignoring the meaning of the word itself.<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Control task (Documentary) - Bike Task<br>In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary on the same computer screen as that used for the experimental trial. These documentaries are chosen based on their emotionally neutral, yet engaging content. This will be followed by the Bike Task, During the whole trial EEG will be measured. | Other: Control (Documentary)<br>* In the control task subjects will have to watch a documentary of 60 min on the same computer screen as the one used for the experimental trial. In order to avoid under- and over-arousal the subjects will have the opportunity to choose between several documentaries as proposed by the research team. During the control task physiological and psychological measures will be assessed at the same time points as during the mental fatigue trial.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Electroencephalogram data | During whole of the trials EEG data will be gathered, each trial will last one and a half to two hours. EEG power in delta, theta, alpha, beta band. | 1 hours 30 minutes - 2 hours | 
| Reaction Time Flanker Task | Reaction Time will be assessed during Flanker task | Total of 10 minutes | 
| Accuracy Flanker Task | Accuracy will be assessed during Flanker task | Total of 10 minutes | 
| Reaction Time Stroop Task | Reaction Time will be assessed during Stroop task | 60 minutes | 
| Accuracy performance Stroop Task | Accuracy will be assessed during Stroop task | 60 minutes |