ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH02
Background: Enhanced attentional control is linked to mentally tough behaviours and overall superior sporting performance. One potential explanation for this connection is that attentional control (AC) may help regulate psychophysiological responses to stress, such as gaze behaviour and heart rate, leading to increased focus on task demands and reduced distraction from irrelevant stimuli. Research suggests that individuals sensitive to punishment are more adept at identifying and reacting to threats early. This may help to lower anxiety and free up attentional resources, allowing for superior AC. This study aimed to investigate the impact of punishment (PS) and reward sensitivities (RS) on cognitive performance and psychophysiological responses to stress. Methods: 83 participants completed three AC tasks targeting shifting, inhibition, and updating. Each task involved coins with varying monetary values under two conditions: gain/no gain (clicking earns money, failure to click results in no gain) and loss/non-loss (failure to click results in a loss, clicking prevents it). Tasks included a practice block, low-stress block (no carryover of earned money), and a high-stress block (where real monetary rewards were based on gains and losses). In the first task (shifting), participants were given £20 credit in the loss condition, providing them with money to lose. Eye tracking and heart rate variability were recorded throughout. Hypothesis: Individuals with high PS focus on avoiding loss, and their early threat detection may reduce anxiety and improve AC during high-stress tasks. In contrast, those with high RS may be more distracted by gains, leaving fewer resources to manage task demands. Results: Preliminary data shows a significant increase in self-report anxiety across conditions (t(43) = -3.69, p = .001). Shifting-task data shows individuals high in PS clicked more coins (β = 2.83, p = .01) than those high in RS (β = 1.70, p = .18), with PS individuals accounting for 24% of the variability in the gain, high-stress condition. Both PS and RS fixated more on the gain condition, though PS individuals demonstrated a greater increase in eye fixation duration on gain coins (β = 1262.45, p = .01), compared to their RS counterparts (β = 978.02, p = .07), with PS predicting 28% of the variability from gain to loss in high stress. Conclusion: Individuals high in PS excel at task-switching, clicking more coins, fixating longer, and showing less distraction by losses. This may result from stress-induced recruitment of attentional resources, which blunts their stress response to loss and leads them to use strategies (such as utilising the £20 credit in the loss condition to maximize gains and prevent greater overall loss). In contrast, individuals high in RS struggled with task demands, clicking fewer coins and fixating less, for shorter periods. This suggests that the presence of rewards may impair task-switching performance, in RS individuals.
Read CV Louisa CoddECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH02
Introduction: Mental fatigue(MF) is a state of mental tiredness and impaired performance caused by cognitive efforts[1]. Based on the Mental Fatigability Theory[2] those people with greater mental fatigability (higher MF or major performance impairments by engage in cognitive tasks) are more likely to suffer MF and its risks (e.g., falls). Moderating factors and potential countermeasures for mental fatigability are still missing in the elderly. Aims: Our research purposes were threefold: to test the moderating effect of age (Study 1) and lifestyle (Study 2), and to compare the effects of Brain Endurance Training (BET) -combined exercise+cognitive tasks- and Exercise Training (Study 3) on mental fatigability in the elderly. Methods: In Study 1, 31 sedentary men (12 aged 51-64; 18 aged 65-80y), and Study 2, 48 men-women aged 65-76y (24 active, 24 sedentary, based on their scores in the International Physical Activity Questionnaire), participated. Physical, cognitive performance and MF-ratings were tested before/after a cognitively demanding Time-Load-Dual-Back (TLDB) in Studies 1-2. ANOVAs with age and lifestyle as between- and test (pre, post TLDB) as within- participants factor were run. In study 3, 64 sedentary men-women aged >65y were randomly assigned to 3 train/week x 8 weeks BET (n=32; 45min. endurance+20min. prior cognitive task) or exercise training (n=32; same 45min. endurance, no cognitive task) groups. Physical, cognitive performance and MF-ratings were tested before/after TLDB task in weeks 0 (pre) - 8 (post-intervention). ANOVAS with group (BET, exercise) as between-, time (week 0,8) and test (pre, post TLDB) as within- participants factors were run. Results: Studies 1-2 found greater mental fatigability in the older than younger cohort (+8%; p <.01) and in the sedentary than the active cohort (+6%; p <.01). Study 3 confirmed that 8-weeks BET (-12%; p <.001) and exercise (-5%; p <.01) attenuated mental fatigability in people >65y. Higher benefits were found for BET. Discussion: Our findings extend previous evidence by confirming that mental fatigability worsens with age, but can be mitigated by regular physical activity, and, specially, BET, that is more effective than exercise trainings to these purpose in the elderly. BET can attenuate mental fatigability by increasing cognitive capacity and/or efficiency[3] and thereby improve and extend the health span of older adults. To highlight, evidence confirmed detrimental effects of MF on elderly’s wellbeing and health ([4]; e.g., higher fall risks). Conclusion: Mental fatigability is accentuated by age but attenuated by regular physical activity, exercise training and, specially, BET in the elderly. References [1]Van Cutsem et al. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0672-0 [2]Kluger et al. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e31827f07be [3]Díaz-García et al. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102757 [4]Welburn et al. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gl
Read CV Jesus Diaz-GarciaECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH02
Introduction: Mental fatigue impairs performance and safety. This research aims to uncover the underlying causes of mental fatigue by identifying factors that intensify and accelerate its onset. We developed computer-based protocols manipulating (a) cognitive-control demands and (b) real-time task difficulty adjustments designed to promote sustained engagement with the fatiguing activity. Methods: In a within-subject single-task study (n = 36) and a between-subject multi-task study (n = 72), we manipulated task parameters from three executive function domains (inhibition, switching, updating) across conditions of (a) lower vs higher cognitive-control demands without difficulty adjustments and (b) high cognitive control with vs without difficulty adjustments, where speed increased following correct responses and decreased otherwise. Subjective, behavioural, and physiological data were analysed for changes in cognitive load, task engagement, and fatigue. Statistical significance was evaluated using ANOVA planned contrasts and reported as percentage changes. Results: The within-subject study showed that higher (vs lower) cognitive control increased perceived workload by 16.25% while reducing boredom by 23.80% and sleepiness by 6.40%. It also slowed responses by 9.75%, impaired accuracy by 2.65%, and decreased blink rate by 11.50%. Difficulty adjustments (vs none) heightened workload by 34.33% and led to 7.08% less accurate but 32.58% faster responses, with a further 15.89% reduction in blink rate. The between-subject study extended these findings to mental fatigue. Higher (vs lower) cognitive control did not consistently elevate perceived workload but led to 11.01% lower accuracy and 58.98% slower response times. Difficulty adjustments (vs none) increased workload by 37.22% across all executive function domains and impaired accuracy by 23.85% while speeding up responses by 20.24%. Mental fatigue was 60.87% larger at the end than the beginning of the study on average across all conditions but emerged 28.69% faster under higher cognitive-control demands with (vs without) difficulty speed adjustments. A 15.22% reduction in parasympathetic activity and 78.98% more blink flurries were observed immediately after (vs before) completing the high cognitive-control condition with difficulty adjustments, possibly reflecting compensatory responses to elevated cognitive workload. Conclusion: These findings reveal how prolonged exertion of cognitive control and task difficulty adjustments can intensify cognitive load and fatigue. While the former can create additional cognitive load, the latter promotes task engagement and accelerates fatigue onset. Beyond identifying contributors to mental fatigue, this research introduces an innovative, time-efficient approach that addresses limitations of previous one-size-fits-all fatiguing protocols, promising to reduce opportunity for disengagement and therefore variability in individual responses in mental fatigue.
Read CV Thipkanlaya JaiaueECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH02