Effects of Mental Fatigue Duration on Cortical Activity and Jump Performance (MF-CMJ-EEG)
4 août 2026 mis à jour par: Oğuzhan Bozkurt, Inonu University
Duration-Dependent Effects of Mental Fatigue on Cortical Activation Patterns and Lower-Limb Explosive Performance
"This study investigates whether the length of time spent on a mentally demanding task affects brain activity and jumping performance in physically active young men.
Twelve healthy male university students, all regularly engaged in sport, completed four separate testing sessions on different days, each at least 72 hours apart.
In one session (the control condition), participants watched a calm nature documentary.
In the other three sessions, mental fatigue was induced by having participants perform a demanding attention task (the Stroop color-word test) continuously for 10, 15, or 30 minutes.
Before and after each session, brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG), a painless method that measures electrical activity through sensors placed on the scalp.
Immediately afterward, participants performed a countermovement jump test, a standard measure of explosive leg power used in sports science.
The study examines whether longer periods of mental fatigue produce progressively larger changes in brain activity and jump performance, and whether changes in brain activity are related to changes in jumping ability.
The findings may help athletes, coaches, and students better understand how mentally tiring activities, such as studying or exams, could affect physical performance shortly afterward."
Aperçu de l'étude
Statut
Complété
Les conditions
Description détaillée
"Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state induced by prolonged demanding cognitive activity, characterized by subjective tiredness and measurable decrements in sustained attention and executive control. While mental fatigue has been linked to impairments in endurance, strength, and anaerobic performance, evidence regarding explosive, single-effort tasks such as the countermovement jump (CMJ) remains sparse and inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether the cortical and behavioral consequences of mental fatigue scale with the duration of the inducing cognitive task.
This study used a single-group, repeated-measures crossover design in which the same twelve participants completed a non-fatiguing control condition and three graded mental-fatigue protocols (10, 15, and 30 minutes of continuous Stroop-task performance), with session order counterbalanced across participants and a minimum 72-hour washout between sessions. All sessions were conducted in the same laboratory within a consistent daily time window (10:00 ± 1 hour) to minimize circadian confounds.
Resting-state EEG (spectral power in delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands; theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios; spectral and sample entropy; frontal theta and posterior alpha) and subjective fatigue (0-10 visual analogue scale) were assessed immediately before and after each condition. Countermovement-jump height and its kinetic/kinematic correlates were then measured to evaluate explosive lower-limb power, the study's primary outcome; EEG parameters were treated as secondary, mechanistic outcomes.
Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, Holm-Bonferroni-corrected Friedman/Wilcoxon tests where appropriate, and repeated-measures correlation to examine the relationship between post-intervention EEG parameters and CMJ performance. The study tested the hypothesis that increasing Stroop-task duration would produce progressively larger shifts in EEG-derived cortical activation and parallel reductions in CMJ performance, and that these neurophysiological and performance changes would be significantly associated with one another."
Type d'étude
Interventionnel
Inscription (Réel)
12
Phase
- N'est pas applicable
Contacts et emplacements
Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.
Lieux d'étude
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Malatya, Turquie (Türkiye), 44280
- İnönü University, Faculty of Sport Sciences
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Critères de participation
Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.
Critère d'éligibilité
Âges éligibles pour étudier
- Adulte
Accepte les volontaires sains
Oui
La description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Healthy male volunteers aged 18-30 years
- Enrolled in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at İnönü University
- Engaged in structured exercise at least three days per week
- Free of any neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
- Physically capable of completing the experimental protocol safely
Exclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Lower-limb injury within the preceding 6 months
- Use of medication known to affect central nervous system function
- Prior diagnosis of a sleep disorder
- Uncorrectable visual impairment or any disturbance of color perception
- Cognitive or sensory limitation likely to interfere with performance of the Stroop task
- Failure to complete a session in full, non-compliance with investigator instructions during testing, inability to produce an EEG recording of analyzable quality for technical reasons, or discontinuation of the experimental procedure for any reason
- Non-compliance with pre-session restrictions (vigorous physical exercise or alcohol consumption within 24 hours before each session; caffeine, energy drinks, or other stimulant substances within 12 hours before each session)
Plan d'étude
Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.
Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?
Détails de conception
- Objectif principal: Traitement
- Répartition: Randomisé
- Modèle interventionnel: Affectation croisée
- Masquage: Seul
Armes et Interventions
Groupe de participants / Bras |
Intervention / Traitement |
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Comparateur factice: Control
Participants viewed a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary for a duration matched to the mental-fatigue protocols, without performing the Stroop task.
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Viewing of a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary matched in duration to the mental-fatigue protocols, serving as a non-fatiguing control condition.
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Expérimental: MF10 (10-min Mental Fatigue)
Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Expérimental: MF15 (15-min Mental Fatigue)
Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Expérimental: MF30 (30-min Mental Fatigue)
Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
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Que mesure l'étude ?
Principaux critères de jugement
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
|---|---|---|
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Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height
Délai: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); sessions were separated by a minimum 72-hour washout period.
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Countermovement jump (CMJ) height was assessed using the My Jump Lab application (version 5.2; C. Balsalobre-Fernández, Madrid, Spain) via video recorded at 240 frames/s on an iPad Air 11-inch (M3), positioned on a tripod approximately 2 m from the participant.
Take-off and landing frames were identified manually by the same investigator using the application's frame-by-frame function, and jump height was calculated from flight time using the equation h = (g·t²)/8.
Two jump attempts were performed in each experimental session, with 60 seconds of rest between trials, and the better performance was retained for analysis.
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Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); sessions were separated by a minimum 72-hour washout period.
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Mesures de résultats secondaires
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
|---|---|---|
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Countermovement Jump-Derived Mechanical and Kinematic Parameters
Délai: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol.
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Countermovement jump (CMJ)-derived mechanical and kinematic parameters were obtained using the My Jump Lab application from the CMJ assessment performed at the end of each experimental protocol.
Average velocity (m/s), take-off velocity (m/s), and impulse (N·s) were provided automatically by the application as derived sub-parameters, computed from jump height and body mass using the biomechanical model incorporated in My Jump Lab.
Flight time (ms) was calculated from the same video recording using the application's frame-by-frame analysis.
These parameters were analyzed as complementary derived measures of CMJ performance.
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Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol.
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EEG Absolute Band Power (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta)
Délai: Recorded immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); each recording lasted 3 minutes with eyes closed.
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Resting-state EEG was recorded using a 10-electrode montage (Fp1, Fp2, Fz, FC1, FC2, Cz, Pz, O1, Oz, O2) following the international 10-20 system, via a wireless EEG system (Emotiv EPOC Flex) sampling at 256 Hz.
Following preprocessing (0.5-45 Hz band-pass filtering, ICA-based artifact removal, and amplitude normalization), power spectral density was computed for each channel using Welch's method, and absolute power was calculated within the delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), and beta (13-30 Hz) frequency bands, expressed in normalized (dimensionless) units.
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Recorded immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); each recording lasted 3 minutes with eyes closed.
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EEG Theta/Beta Ratio
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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The theta-to-beta power ratio was calculated from resting-state EEG recordings (10-electrode montage, international 10-20 system) by dividing theta-band power by beta-band power for each channel.
The outcome was expressed as a unitless ratio.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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EEG Spectral Entropy
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Spectral entropy was computed from the resting-state EEG power spectrum of each channel as a measure of signal complexity, used to characterize the transition from an alert to a fatigued cortical state.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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EEG Sample Entropy
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Sample entropy was computed from the resting-state EEG time series of each channel as a nonlinear measure of signal irregularity and complexity.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Frontal Theta Power
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Frontal theta power was extracted from frontal electrode sites (Fp1, Fp2, Fz) as a regional marker of cognitive-control demand and effortful attentional monitoring.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Posterior Alpha Power
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Posterior alpha power was extracted from occipital electrode sites (O1, Oz, O2) as a regional marker of cortical inhibition and fatigue-related attentional state.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Subjective Mental Fatigue (VAS Score)
Délai: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Subjective mental fatigue was rated using a paper-based 0-10 visual analogue scale, anchored at 0 ("not mentally fatigued at all") and 10 ("the highest possible level of mental fatigue"), in response to the question "How mentally fatigued do you feel right now?" Prior ratings were not visible when a new rating was provided.
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Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
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Collaborateurs et enquêteurs
C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.
Parrainer
Dates d'enregistrement des études
Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.
Dates principales de l'étude
Début de l'étude (Réel)
1 mai 2026
Achèvement primaire (Réel)
1 juillet 2026
Achèvement de l'étude (Réel)
1 août 2026
Dates d'inscription aux études
Première soumission
4 août 2026
Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
4 août 2026
Première publication (Réel)
10 août 2026
Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude
Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)
10 août 2026
Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
4 août 2026
Dernière vérification
1 août 2026
Plus d'information
Termes liés à cette étude
Mots clés
Termes MeSH pertinents supplémentaires
Autres numéros d'identification d'étude
- INU-2025-8104-MFCMJ
- 2025/8104 (Autre identifiant: İnönü University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee)
Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)
Prévoyez-vous de partager les données individuelles des participants (DPI) ?
NON
Description du régime IPD
Individual participant data will not be shared because the study includes a small sample size, and no data-sharing plan was included in the approved study protocol or informed consent.
Aggregate study results will be reported in scientific publications.
Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude
Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine
Non
Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine
Non
Ces informations ont été extraites directement du site Web clinicaltrials.gov sans aucune modification. Si vous avez des demandes de modification, de suppression ou de mise à jour des détails de votre étude, veuillez contacter register@clinicaltrials.gov. Dès qu'un changement est mis en œuvre sur clinicaltrials.gov, il sera également mis à jour automatiquement sur notre site Web .