Previous research has demonstrated that regular exercise modulates motor cortical plasticity and cognitive function, but the influence of short-term high-intensity interval training (HIIT) remains unclear. In the present study, the effect of short-term HIIT on neuroplasticity and executive function was assessed in 32 sedentary females. Half of the participants undertook 2 weeks of HIIT. Paired-pauses transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) was used to measure motor cortical plasticity via short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF). We further adapted the Stroop task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate executive function in the participants. The results indicated that, compared with the control group, the HIIT group exhibited decreased ICF. In the Stroop task, the HIIT group displayed greater activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) even though no significant difference in task performance was observed. These findings indicate that short-term HIIT may modulate motor cortical plasticity and executive function at the neural level.

中文翻译：

---

短期高强度间歇锻炼可促进久坐女性的运动皮层可塑性和执行功能

先前的研究表明，定期运动会调节运动皮层的可塑性和认知功能，但短期高强度间歇训练（HIIT）的影响仍不清楚。在本研究中，评估了32名久坐女性的短期HIIT对神经可塑性和执行功能的影响。一半的参与者进行了2周的HIIT。成对暂停经颅磁刺激（ppTMS）用于通过短暂的皮层内抑制（SICI）和皮层内促进（ICF）来测量运动皮层的可塑性。我们使用功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）进一步调整了Stroop任务，以评估参与者的执行功能。结果表明，与对照组相比，HIIT组的ICF降低。在Stroop任务中，HIIT组在左背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）和左眶额叶皮层（OFC）中显示出更大的激活作用，尽管在任务执行方面没有发现显着差异。这些发现表明，短期HIIT可能在神经水平上调节运动皮层的可塑性和执行功能。