Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

Long-term physical activity is related to improved cardiovascular, nervous system, and cognitive processing. However, limited studies have measured the effect of different physical activity levels on cognitive processing. The earlier research evidence was based on behavioral measures and may be confounded with subjective errors and bias. Objective assessment had seldom been carried out. Objectives: The effect of different physical activity levels were measured using mismatch negativity and P300 endogenous cognitive potentials. Study group: Thirty-seven young adults with normal hearing participated in the study. Method: Based on the results of the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire, the participants were divided as active, moderately active, moderately inactive, and inactive. The mismatch negativity and P300 were recorded for all the participants from frontocentral and parietal-central sites. Results: The results showed that the amplitude of mismatch negativity and P300 and the area under the curve for mismatch negativity were significantly higher for active and moderately active groups than the physically inactive groups. Conclusion: Individuals with active lifestyles are less likely to develop cognitive problems than those with less active lifestyles.

Keywords: Endogenous potentials, electrophysiology, cognition, neural processing, lifestyle