Clinical trial NCT06817681: Exercise-Induced Lactate and Cognitive Function (ExLBC)
Official title: The Effect of Exercise-Induced Lactate on BDNF and Cognition
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Cognition
Sodium Bicarbonate
Lactate
Exercise
Keywords: Lactate
Sodium Bicarbonate
NaHCO3
Cognition
Executive Function
Acute Exercise
Lead sponsor: McMaster University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-02-10
Enrollment: 32
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 35
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Intervention model description: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover design will be used to test 2 conditions. Participants will ingest gelatin capsules containing: 1) 0.4 g/kg body weight of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3); or 2) 0.4 g/kg body weight of sodium chloride (NaCl) (placebo supplement).
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: A single bout of exercise can rapidly improve cognitive functions including memory, attention, and executive functions, which help us navigate through everyday life. However, we do not fully understand the mechanism behind this process. A promising candidate mechanism is lactate, which was previously considered merely a waste product of our muscles during exercise. It is now recognized as an important molecule that is used by the brain as an energy source. Studies have shown that increases in lactate during exercise are positively related to improved cognitive function after completion of exercise. Another potential mechanism involves the increase in neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) following exercise. The increase in lactate and BDNF during exercise may be connected to cause these cognitive improvements.

However, because lactate increases with higher exercise intensities, we currently do not know how lactate specifically impacts brain health. To address this, muscle and blood lactate concentrations can be experimentally manipulated during exercise using sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) supplementation and will allow us to explore how lactate specifically affects brain function.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the effect of exercise-induced lactate on BDNF and cognition following oral NaHCO3 supplementation in young adults. We hypothesize that BDNF levels will be higher, and cognition will be improved in executive function, visuospatial memory, and working memory in the NaHCO3 condition due to higher plasma lactate during exercise compared to placebo.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Between the ages of 18-35 years old.
* Perform ≥150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity per week.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes.
* Presence of hypoglycaemia.
* History of concussion(s) with persistent symptoms.
* History of mental health conditions.
* History of cardiovascular events requiring hospitalization (e.g., heart attack).
* Pre-existing injuries that prevent completion of aerobic exercise.
* Presence of colour-blindness.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Cognitive Function (Executive Function)
timeFrame: 3-hour
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Cognitive Function (Working Memory)
timeFrame: 3-hour
measure: Cognitive Function (Visuospatial Memory)
timeFrame: 3-hour
measure: Blood Lactate
timeFrame: 3-hour
measure: Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO3)
timeFrame: 3-hour
measure: Blood pH
timeFrame: 3-hour
measure: Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
timeFrame: 3-hour
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Hamilton
country: Canada
facility: McMaster University
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: McMaster University
name: Jeremy J Walsh, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: