Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Response inhibition impairs subsequent self-paced endurance performance

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to test the effects of mental exertion involving response inhibition on pacing and endurance performance during a subsequent 5-km running time trial.

Methods

After familiarization, 12 physically active subjects performed the time trial on a treadmill after two different cognitive tasks: (i) an incongruent Stroop task involving response inhibition (inhibition task) and (ii) a congruent Stroop task not involving response inhibition (control task). Both cognitive tasks were performed for 30 min.

Results

Neither the inhibition nor the control task induced subjective feelings of mental fatigue. Nevertheless, time trial performance was impaired following the inhibition task (24.4 ± 4.9 min) compared to the control task (23.1 ± 3.8 min) because of a significant reduction in average running speed chosen by the subject. The response inhibition task did not affect pacing strategy, which was negative in both conditions. Heart rate and blood lactate responses to the time trial were not affected by the inhibition task, but subjects rated perceived exertion higher compared to the control condition (13.5 ± 1.3 vs 12.4 ± 1.3).

Conclusion

These findings show for the first time that 30 min of mental exertion involving response inhibition reduces subsequent self-paced endurance performance despite no overt mental fatigue. The impairment in endurance performance observed after the incongruent Stroop task seems to be mediated by the higher perception of effort as predicted by the psychobiological model of endurance performance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ACC:

Anterior cingulate cortex

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

HR:

Heart rate

RPE:

Rating of perceived exertion

References

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Tiffany Weedon for her help with participant recruitment and data collection.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuele M. Marcora.

Additional information

Communicated by Guido Ferretti.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pageaux, B., Lepers, R., Dietz, K.C. et al. Response inhibition impairs subsequent self-paced endurance performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 114, 1095–1105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2838-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2838-5

Keywords

Navigation