NCT07379879

Acute Neurochemical and Cognitive Changes After HIIT vs MICT/LICT

Acute Neurochemical and Cognitive Responses to High Intensity Interval Training vs. Moderate- and Low-Intensity Continuous Training in Young Adult Males

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 12 (actual)
• Sponsor: Aksaray University Training and Research Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: Male
• Age: 18 Years – 25 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study examines whether the intensity of a single running session changes a blood marker related to brain health (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF), blood lactate, and performance on a short thinking task that measures attention and self-control (the Stroop test) in healthy young adult men. Twelve healthy males (18-25 years) will complete four separate sessions in a randomized, counterbalanced order, with at least 7 days between sessions. Each session includes an 8-minute warm-up followed by 24 minutes of one of the following conditions: low-intensity continuous running, moderate-intensity continuous running, high-intensity interval running (repeated 15-second fast runs with 15-second passive rest, organized into sets), or a seated rest control session. Running pace will be individualized based on a prior fitness test. A small venous blood sample (about 8 mL) will be collected immediately before and within 1 minute after each session. After each session, participants will complete the Stroop test. The main outcomes are the before-to-after changes in serum BDNF, blood lactate, and Stroop test performance across the four conditions.

Conditions

• BDNF
• Cognitive Performance
• Lactate
• Exercise Intensity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Low Intensity Exercise	Participants ran continuously for 24 minutes at 50-60% of their MAS without rest
BEHAVIORAL	Moderate-Intensity Continuous Exercise	Participants completed a continuous 24-min running bout at 70-80% of their MAS. The exercise was performed at a steady, uninterrupted pace throughout the session, with no planned rest periods. Participants were instructed to maintain the prescribed pace for the entire duration
BEHAVIORAL	High-Intensity Interval Training	Participants performed 15-s running bouts at 110-120% of MAS, with the target distance for each bout pre-calculated from individual MAS (speed × time). Running was conducted shuttle-style between two cones. At the whistle, participants ran from one cone to the other for 15 s and then remained standing still for a 15-s passive rest at that cone. At the next whistle, they ran back in the opposite direction, followed by another 15-s stationary recovery. This 15-s run/15-s recovery cycle continued for 3 min, constituting one set (6 runs and 6 recovery intervals per set). Four sets were completed, separated by 3-min passive inter-set rest, resulting in a total session duration of 24 min

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-08-01
• Primary completion: 2025-09-20
• Completion: 2025-09-25
• First posted: 2026-02-02
• Last updated: 2026-02-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)