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Wilhelm RA, Lacey MF, Masters SL, Breeden CJ, Mann E, MacDonald HV, Gable PA, White EJ, Stewart JL. Greater weekly physical activity linked to left resting frontal alpha asymmetry in women: A study on gender differences in highly active young adults. PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND EXERCISE 2024; 74:102679. [PMID: 38797225 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Physical activity, beneficial for physical and psychological health, may facilitate affective mechanisms of positive emotion and approach-motivation. Greater resting frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), an index of greater relative left than right frontal cortical activity, is a neural correlate of affective mechanisms possibly associated with active lifestyles. This study sought to amplify limited literature on the relationship between physical (in)activity, FAA, and gender differences. College students (n = 70) self-reported physical activity (Total PA) and sedentary activity (Total Sitting) via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), followed by a resting electroencephalography session to record FAA. A Total PA × gender interaction (β = 0.462, t = 3.163, p = 0.002) identified a positive relationship between Total PA and FAA in women (β = 0.434, t = 2.221, p = 0.030) and a negative relationship for men (β = -0.338, t = -2.300, p = 0.025). Total Sitting was positively linked to FAA (β = 0.288, t = 2.228, p = 0.029; no gender effect). Results suggest affective mechanisms reflected by FAA (e.g., positive emotion, approach-motivation) are associated with physical activity for women, indicating a possible mechanism of the psychological benefits linked with physically active lifestyles. A positive relationship between sedentary behavior and greater left FAA may also reflect motivated mechanisms of behavior that aid in minimizing energy expenditure, particularly within the context of our highly active sample.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo A Wilhelm
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR), Tulsa, OK, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA.
| | - Micayla F Lacey
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Behavioral & Social Sciences, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA.
| | - Stephanie L Masters
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Psychology & Counseling, Hood College, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Christopher J Breeden
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Psychology, Wingate University, Wingate, NC, USA
| | - Eric Mann
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR), Tulsa, OK, USA
| | | | - Philip A Gable
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Evan J White
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR), Tulsa, OK, USA; Oxley School of Community Medicine, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
| | - Jennifer L Stewart
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR), Tulsa, OK, USA; Oxley School of Community Medicine, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
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Lin Y, Sun X. The Effect of Induced Regulatory Focus on Frontal Cortical Activity. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:292. [PMID: 38667087 PMCID: PMC11047718 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The motivation-direction model has served as the primary framework for understanding frontal cortical activity. However, research on the link between approach/avoidance motivation and left/right frontal cortical activity has produced inconsistent findings. Recent studies suggest that regulatory systems may offer a more accurate explanation than the motivational direction model. Despite being regulatory systems, the relationship between regulatory focus and frontal cortical activity has received limited attention. Only one experimental study has explored this connection through correlational analysis, yet it lacks causal evidence. The present study aimed to address this gap by manipulating regulatory focus and measuring frontal cortical activity in 36 college students. Our results revealed that induced promotion focus led to increased left frontal cortical activity, whereas induced prevention focus led to increased right frontal cortical activity. These findings enhance our physiological understanding of regulatory focus and offer a deeper explanation of how regulatory focus influences alterations in psychology and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaomin Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
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Frontal Asymmetry as a Neural Correlate of Motivational Conflict. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14030507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Motivational systems of approach, avoidance, and inhibition are fundamental to human behavior. While past research has linked approach motivation with greater relative left frontal asymmetry, many attempts to link avoidance motivation with greater relative right frontal asymmetry have been mixed. These mixed effects could be due to coactivation of the avoidance and behavioral inhibition system (BIS). Much recent evidence indicates that the behavioral inhibition system may be associated with greater relative right frontal activation. The current review examines evidence linking traits associated with the behavioral inhibition system with resting right frontal asymmetry. Other research links individual differences associated with the behavioral inhibition system with state changes in relative right frontal asymmetry. Moreover, activation of the behavioral inhibition system, but not activation of withdrawal motivation, increases greater relative right frontal asymmetry. Together, this work highlights the role of relative frontal asymmetry as a neural correlate in motivational conflict and helps to disentangle behavioral inhibition from avoidance motivation.
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