PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Perakakis, Pandelis
AU  - Luque Casado, Antonio
AU  - Ciria, Luis
AU  - Ivanov, Plamen
AU  - Sanabria, Daniel
TI  - Neural Responses to Heartbeats of Physically Trained and Sedentary Young Adults
AID  - 10.1101/156802
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 156802
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/28/156802.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/06/28/156802.full
AB  - Regular physical exercise has a positive impact on brain function and cognitive performance. However, it is not yet clear whether the physiological and behavioral benefits associated to physical exercise are caused exclusively by changes in cardiovascular fitness. Here, we explore the relation between regular physical exercise and transient electroencephalographic responses to afferent cardiac signals. We find differences in the neural processing of heartbeats between individuals who exercise regularly and their sedentary counterparts. These differences, localised at two distinct spatio-temporal clusters, occur before the presentation of a target stimulus and correlate with behavioral performance only in the high-fit group. We hypothesise that the different neural processing of afferent cardiac activity by physically trained individuals reflects enhanced interoceptive sensitivity, which contributes to improved sustained attention. Our results are in line with recent research highlighting the role of neural monitoring of visceral signals in perceptual processing and even the generation of the sense of self.