en
Scientific article
English

Does cerebral oxygen delivery limit incremental exercise performance?

Published inJournal of applied physiology, vol. 111, no. 6, p. 1727-1734
Publication date2011
Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that a reduction in cerebral oxygen delivery may limit motor drive, particularly in hypoxic conditions, where oxygen transport is impaired. We hypothesized that raising end-tidal Pco(2) (Pet(CO(2))) during incremental exercise would increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen delivery, thereby improving peak power output (W(peak)). Amateur cyclists performed two ramped exercise tests (25 W/min) in a counterbalanced order to compare the normal, poikilocapnic response against a clamped condition, in which Pet(CO(2)) was held at 50 Torr throughout exercise. Tests were performed in normoxia (barometric pressure = 630 mmHg, 1,650 m) and hypoxia (barometric pressure = 425 mmHg, 4,875 m) in a hypobaric chamber. An additional trial in hypoxia investigated effects of clamping at a lower Pet(CO(2)) (40 Torr) from ∼75 to 100% W(peak) to reduce potential influences of respiratory acidosis and muscle fatigue imposed by clamping Pet(CO(2)) at 50 Torr. Metabolic gases, ventilation, middle cerebral artery CBF velocity (transcranial Doppler), forehead pulse oximetry, and cerebral (prefrontal) and muscle (vastus lateralis) hemoglobin oxygenation (near infrared spectroscopy) were monitored across trials. Clamping Pet(CO(2)) at 50 Torr in both normoxia (n = 9) and hypoxia (n = 11) elevated CBF velocity (∼40%) and improved cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation (∼15%), but decreased W(peak) (6%) and peak oxygen consumption (11%). Clamping at 40 Torr near maximal effort in hypoxia (n = 6) also improved cerebral oxygenation (∼15%), but again limited W(peak) (5%). These findings demonstrate that increasing mass cerebral oxygen delivery via CO(2)-mediated vasodilation does not improve incremental exercise performance, at least when accompanied by respiratory acidosis.

Keywords
  • Adult
  • Anoxia/physiopathology
  • Bicycling/physiology
  • Blood Flow Velocity
  • Brain/metabolism
  • Carbon Dioxide/blood
  • Cerebrovascular Circulation/physiology
  • Exercise/physiology
  • Exercise Test
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Oxygen/blood
  • Oxygen Consumption/physiology
  • Young Adult
Citation (ISO format)
SUBUDHI, Andrew W et al. Does cerebral oxygen delivery limit incremental exercise performance? In: Journal of applied physiology, 2011, vol. 111, n° 6, p. 1727–1734. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00569.2011
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
accessLevelRestricted
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal1522-1601
516views
0downloads

Technical informations

Creation12/13/2012 6:19:00 PM
First validation12/13/2012 6:19:00 PM
Update time03/14/2023 5:48:26 PM
Status update03/14/2023 5:48:26 PM
Last indexation01/16/2024 12:42:24 AM
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack