Cognitive task during fatiguing exercise increases the sensory-motor performance in professional dancers

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible role of the cognitive task during fatiguing exercise on sensory-motor coordination in professional dancers. METHODS: Seven men and seven women dancers participated in this study. Subjects have visited the laboratory on three occasions. At the first visit, visual, auditory and random reaction time, kinesthetic balance and hand-eye coordination duration and error scores as sensory-motor coordination parameters, and oxygen consumption were obtained at rest. All parameters were repeated following a single, or the dual-task at the second, and third visits, respectively. The dancers were subjected to Bruce test protocol by using a motor-driven treadmill as a single-tasking condition. The additional cognitive task was applied by using a perceptual subitizing during Bruce test. RESULTS: Oxygen consumption of all participants was found to be increased at the second and third visit. Cognitive error scores were unaltered in men but were increased in women dancers during exercise. Hand-eye coordination duration was found to be decreased following dual-task in all subjects. Auditory reaction time was shortened and kinesthetic balance values were found to be higher in men following simultaneously applied cognitive task with fatiguing exercise. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our results suggest that concurrent cognitive task during fatiguing exercise improves the sensory-motor coordination in dancers, and women and men dancers exhibit different patterns of sensory-motor processing following cognitive task under fatiguing exercise.