Wang, YB;
Hutchinson, J;
Bird, JM;
Cheval, B;
Herold, F;
Fessler, L;
Gerber, M;
... Zou, L; + view all
(2025)
Affective and cerebral haemodynamic responses to audiovisual stimuli during exercise above and below the ventilatory threshold.
International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
10.1080/1612197X.2025.2549884.
(In press).
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Wang et al. 2025 IJSEP.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 2 November 2026. Download (1MB) |
Abstract
Audiovisual stimuli during exercise can improve affective and perceptual responses; however, the factors moderating this benefit as well as the associated cerebral haemodynamic responses remain largely unexplored. Accordingly, the present work investigated the moderating role of exercise intensity on affective, perceptual and haemodynamic responses to audiovisual stimuli. Fifty participants (M<inf>age</inf> = 20.24 ± 2.89 years, 45 females) were randomly assigned to either audiovisual stimuli group or control group. Both groups completed separate 20-min bouts of aerobic exercise at 10% below and 10% above participant-specific ventilatory threshold (VT). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure prefrontal cortex oxygenated haemoglobin (O<inf>2</inf>Hb), as marker of brain activity, during exercise. Affective valence, perceived activation, perceived exertion, and attentional focus were measured every 5 min during exercise. Data were analysed using linear mixed models with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons. The intensity × time interaction for affective valence was statistically significant (p =.02). Post hoc tests showed exercise at 10% above VT induced less pleasure than 10% below VT at 15 min (b = −0.70, p =.01) and 20 min (b = −0.96, p <.01). The time × hemisphere interaction for O<inf>2</inf>Hb was also significant (p <.01). Post hoc tests indicated that greater PFC activity was observed in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere at 5–10 min (b = 0.001, p <.01) during exercise. Finally, the results showed significantly greater dissociation (i.e., external thoughts) in the audiovisual group compared to the control group (b = 15.42, p <.01), The use of audiovisual stimuli during exercise represents a cost-effective intervention to shift the individual's attentional focus away from internal, typically unpleasant interoceptive sensations perceived at higher exercise intensities, to external thoughts. Exercise at an intensity below VT may be beneficial for physically inactive individuals who intend to exercise.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Affective and cerebral haemodynamic responses to audiovisual stimuli during exercise above and below the ventilatory threshold |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1612197X.2025.2549884 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197x.2025.2549884 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Social Sciences, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism, Psychology, Applied, Social Sciences - Other Topics, Psychology, Affective responses, attentional focus, near-infrared spectroscopy, perceived exertion, PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY, MUSIC-VIDEO, INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES, PLEASURE, BRAIN, DISSOCIATION, DISPLEASURE, PERFORMANCE, PREFERENCE, FITNESS |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10219582 |
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