BRAIN ACTIVATION, AFFECT, AND AEROBIC EXERCISE - AN EXAMINATION OF BOTH STATE-INDEPENDENT AND STATE-DEPENDENT RELATIONSHIPS

Resting electroencephalograph (EEG) asymmetry is a biological marker o f the propensity to respond affectively to, and a measure of change in affect associated with, acute aerobic exercise. This study examined t he EEG-affect-exercise relationship. Twenty participants performed eac h of three randomly assigned 30-min conditions: (a) a nonexercise cont rol, (b) a cycling exercise at 55% VO(2)max, and (c) a cycling exercis e at 70% VO(2)max. EEG and affect were assessed pre-and 0, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min postcondition. No significant results were seen in the cont rol or 55% conditions. In the 70% exercise condition, greater relative left frontal activation preexercise predicted increased positive affe ct and reduced state anxiety postexercise. Participants (n = 7) with e xtreme relative left frontal activation postexercise reported concomit ant decreases in anxiety, whereas participants (n = 7) with extreme re lative right frontal activation postexercise reported increases in anx iety. These findings (a) replicate prior work, (b) suggest a dose-resp onse intensity effect, and (c) support the idea that exercise is an em otion-eliciting event. Affective responses seem to be mediated in part by differential resting levels of activation in the anterior brain re gions. Ongoing anterior brain activation reflected concurrent postexer cise affect.