When we exercise, our brain doesn’t stop working. While we pedal, run, or swim, we’re constantly regulating our effort, which involves continuous decision-making and information processing. But does physical activity influence our cognitive performance?
To answer this question, the Human Brain and Cognition Lab – Cognitive and Affective Dynamics, in collaboration with researchers from Sports Science and Ghent University, analyzed in this study how physical effort and cognitive performance influence each other. They asked cyclists and athletes from other disciplines to perform a cognitive task while pedaling at high intensity, and used Granger Causality, a technique that allows analysis of cause-and-effect relationships over time, to examine the connection between the two processes.
The results showed that this interaction is not the same for everyone. In some participants, physical effort influenced their response speed and vice versa, while in others, this relationship was not observed. This suggests that the connection between body and mind during exercise is highly individual, and its impact may depend on personal differences in effort self-regulation capacity or cognitive processing.
These findings help us better understand how the relationship between physical activity and mental function varies from person to person. They also pave the way for more personalized strategies in the fields of sports training, rehabilitation, and the optimization of cognitive performance under physical stress.
Reference
Avancini, C., Marinazzo, D., Sanabria, D., Pérez-Díaz, J. J., Salas-Montoro, J. A., & Ciria, L. F. (2025). Investigating cognitive-physical task interaction during self-paced cycling: a Granger Causality study. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 102809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102809
Contact
Chiara Avancini chiara.avancini@ugr.es
Luis Ciria lciria@ugr.es