Vigilance performance during acute exercise

Vigilance, the cognitive function that determines goal maintenance and atten- tion deployment, is involved in many day life activities, which often implicate phys- ical activity. We investigated vigilance performance during exercise, with a particu- lar focus on exercise intensity. In Experiment 1, participants performed the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) for 5’ at 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of the ven- tilatory anaerobic threshold (VAT), in different sessions. The results showed that PVT performance depended on exercise intensity with an “optimal” point at 80% of VAT. In Experiment 2, participants completed a 45’ version of the PVT at a low- effort (control) condition and at a 75% VAT light-moderate effort condition. Reac- tion times were faster at the light-moderate effort than at the low-effort condition over the 45’. The present study demonstrated that the vigilance performance changes during acute exercise, an effect that is moderated by effort intensity.