Cognitive Processing Efficiency (Throughput) Improves with Aerobic Exercise and Is Independent of the Environmental Oxygenation Level: A Randomized Crossover Trial.

ABSTRACT: Aerobic exercise with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may enhance cognition via cerebrovascular pathways. We tested whether mild hyperbaric oxygen (HBO; 1.41 atmospheres absolute [ATA], approximately 30% O₂) adds to gains in cognitive processing capacity (throughput) versus normobaric normoxia (1.0 ATA, approximately 21% [20.9%] O₂). Healthy young adults (n = 16) performed cycling exercise at 60-70% VO_2peak for 60 min, twice weekly, for 4 weeks per environment with a 1-week washout; EPA (2170 mg·day^-1) was taken during each 4-week training phase (total 8 weeks) and was paused during the washout. An EPA-only control (n = 8) was included for supplementary analysis. The primary outcome was throughput (correct·min^-1; T1-T4); seco

SUBMITTER: Nakao T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12845533 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature