STATE ANXIETY REDUCTION AND EXERCISE - DOES HEMISPHERIC ACTIVATION REFLECT SUCH CHANGES

Acute bouts of aerobic exercise have been consistently associated with significant reductions in anxiety, but explanations for this effect r emain elusive. The cerebral lateralization hypothesis predicts that an xiety reductions would be caused by a postexercise decrease in anterio r right, relative to left, hemisphere activation. A sample of 19 right -handed males ran at 75% of their VO2max for 30 min on a treadmill. El ectroencephalogram (EEG; F3, F4, T3, T4) and state anxiety were collec ted before and following exercise. Compared with preexercise, anxiety was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced at 10, 20, and 30 min postexercis e. Preexercise EEG alpha asymmetry was significantly related to trait anxiety and also predicted a significant amount of variance (30%; P = 0.008) in postexercise anxiety reduction. From pre- to postexercise, t he relative activation of the left frontal area increased with respect to the homologous right frontal site. Within-subject correlations for the change in anxiety with corresponding EEG changes were small but i n line with theoretical predictions. It is concluded that the cerebral lateralization hypothesis remains tenable for explaining anxiety redu ctions associated with exercise.