Differential cognitive, neurophysiological, and stress responses to acute cycling and stretching in young adults with risky alcohol use
While physical activity has shown beneficial effects on mood, anxiety, and drug-related variables in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD), its impact on young individuals with risky alcohol use (RAU) remains under- explored. This study examined the effects of an acute, intense exercise session on...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad Autónoma de Madrid |
| Repositorio: | Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:biblosearchi::c55252c6a8d50afcf6bef6b266869399 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10486/760500 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2026.174190 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Alcohol Cognition Exercise Psychophysiology Youth Psicología |
| Sumario: | While physical activity has shown beneficial effects on mood, anxiety, and drug-related variables in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD), its impact on young individuals with risky alcohol use (RAU) remains under- explored. This study examined the effects of an acute, intense exercise session on cognitive and psychophysiological outcomes in young participants with RAU compared to controls (CO). Participants engaging in >150 min/ week of moderate-to-vigorous activity were excluded. Based on AUDIT scores (RAU: ♂ ≥ 8, ♀ ≥ 6; CO: ≤3), volunteers (RAU = 47 (14 men and 33 women), CO = 53 (11 men and 42 women)) were assigned to either a 12- min submaximal cycling protocol (RAU = 29, CO = 32) or a stretching session (RAU = 18, CO = 21). The mean age of the sample was 19.54 ± 0.28 years and no differences were observed in waist-to-height ratio with mean values of 0.43 in the CO group and 0.44 in the RAU group. Rate perceived exertion (RPE), lactate levels, heart rate variability (HRV), salivary cortisol (sCORT), and alpha amylase (sAA) were assessed, alongside resting EEG (rsEEG), craving, state anxiety, and neuropsychological performance. Cycling elevated lactate levels and reduced HRV. RAU men showed lower watts compared to the CO men, and this group rated higher RPE than RAU women in both types of exercise. A single short bout of cycling improved phonological fluency in the RAU group and reduced the number of d2 test omissions regardless of group and sex. Intense exercise induced changes in sCORT and sAA increased, particularly higher sCORT in RAU men. Unexpectedly, it was the stretching condition that induced greater changes in brain activity, especially in delta and theta bands. Our findings highlight how different types and intensities of exercise can distinctly influence both brain function and cognition, as well as the relevance of designing exercise interventions according to the individual needs and characteristics of vulnerable young population |
|---|