Previously submitted to: JMIR Serious Games (no longer under consideration since Dec 22, 2025)
Date Submitted: Dec 17, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The Dose-Effect of Acute Exergaming on Inhibitory Control in Sedentary University Students: A Randomized Crossover Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
Although acute physical exercise enhances inhibitory control, the effects of exercise intensity (EI) and cognitive engagement (CE) during exergaming, as well as the underlying mechanisms in sedentary university students, remain unclear.
Objective:
Objective:
This study aimed to examine the effects of EI and CE during acute exergaming on inhibitory control and associated brain activity in sedentary university students.
Methods:
Methods:
A 2 (EI: low vs. moderate) × 2 (CE: low vs. high) randomized crossover design was used, with both factors as within-subject variables, resulting in four distinct exergaming conditions. Twenty-eight sedentary university students participated, each randomly assigned to one condition per week with a one-week washout period between conditions. Inhibition control tests and fNIRS data collection were conducted immediately after the intervention.
Results:
Results:
Behavioral results: (1) Response inhibition: A significant main effect of CE was found (P < .001), with higher CE significantly reducing response time (RT). (2) Conflict inhibition: A significant EI × CE interaction was observed (P < .001), with moderate EI reducing RT under low CE, and high CE reducing RT under low EI (P < .001). Additionally, moderate EI with low CE also significantly reduced RT (P = .01). fNIRS results: (1) Response inhibition: A significant main effect was observed in left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (L-VLPFC) activation (P = .04), with moderate EI significantly activating this area. A significant interaction between premotor and supplementary motor cortex (PM-SMC) EI and CE was found, with moderate EI activating the area under low CE (p = .01), and high CE activating it under low EI (P = .02). A main effect of CE on primary sensory cortex (S1) activation was also observed (P = .01), with higher CE significantly activating this region. (2) Conflict inhibition: A significant interaction between L-VLPFC activation and CE (P = .05) was consistent with behavioral results. A main effect of PM-SMC EI was significant, with moderate EI significantly activating this area (P < .001). The low CE condition specifically activated the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (R-DLPFC).
Conclusions:
Conclusions:
The findings indicate a resource-dependent interaction between EI and CE, with distinct effects on different subcomponents of inhibitory control. Clinical Trial: Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) ChiCTR2500114475; https://www.chictr.org.cn
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