Effects of acute aerobic exercise on exogenous spatial attention

Sanabria, Daniel; Morales, Esther; Antonio Luque‐Casado; Galvéz-García, Germán; Huertas, Florentino; Lupiáñez, Juan · 2011 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2011.04.002

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Summary

This study investigates how acute aerobic exercise influences the deployment of exogenous spatial attention and executive control. While the relationship between exercise and cognitive performance is widely studied, prior research has largely focused on endogenous attention or executive functions, leaving a gap in understanding how physical exertion affects exogenous visual spatial attention—the automatic orienting of attention triggered by peripheral stimuli. The authors hypothesized that acute aerobic exercise would enhance attentional reactivity to peripheral stimuli, potentially increasing facilitation at short cue-target intervals and reducing or eliminating the inhibition of return (IOR) effect at longer intervals. Twenty undergraduate students participated in a within-subjects design involving three conditions: rest, concurrent exercise (online-effort), and post-exercise (post-effort). Participants performed an exogenous cueing discrimination task while cycling on a cycloergometer. The task measured reaction times (RTs) to targets appearing at cued or uncued locations at two Stimulus Onset Asynchronies (SOAs): 100 ms (short) and 1000 ms (long). Executive control was assessed via the stimulus-response compatibility (Simon) effect. Exercise intensity was controlled at approximately 85% of the individual anaerobic threshold. The post-effort session occurred after participants returned to baseline heart rates following a 20-minute exercise bout. Results indicated that participants responded significantly faster during both exercise conditions (mean RTs ~494–505 ms) compared to rest (562 ms). At the short SOA, a significant facilitation effect (faster RTs for cued trials) was present in all three conditions, with no significant differences in magnitude between them. However, the IOR effect (slower RTs for cued trials at long SOAs), which was significant during rest (17.4 ms), was absent in both the online-effort and post-effort sessions. The stimulus-response compatibility effect remained consistent across all conditions, indicating no change in executive control. The findings demonstrate that acute aerobic exercise modulates exogenous spatial attention by eliminating the IOR effect, both during and immediately after exercise. The authors interpret this as an enhancement of attentional reactivity to peripheral stimuli, reducing the habituation of the orienting response. This suggests that exercise makes the attentional system more responsive to new stimuli regardless of prior exposure, a trait potentially beneficial in dynamic sports environments. The study provides the first evidence that acute aerobic exercise specifically alters the deployment of exogenous spatial attention, distinct from its effects on executive control.

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• attention selective divided