Our group has heavily influenced areas such as the mental fatigue literature. We have a continuing interest in factors that impact the effect of mental fatigue, recovery strategies, the mechanisms that underpin and its role in occupational settings.

Key papers in the area from the ActiveBrain group include:

• Proost et al (2022). How to tackle mental fatigue: A systematic review on potential countermeasures. Sports Medicine.
• Martin et al (2019). Are individuals who engage in more frequent self-regulation less susceptible to mental fatigue? Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. 41(5): 289–297. DOI: 10.1123/jsep.2018-0222
• Martin et al (2018). Mental fatigue impairs endurance performance: A physiological explanation. Sports Medicine. 48(9): 2041–2051. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-018-0946-9
• Martin et al (2016). Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists. PLoS ONE. 11(7): e0159907. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159907.

ActiveBrain research has contributed significantly to understanding the impact of physical activity on brain health, particularly the dose characteristics of physical activity that are most important for combatting neurocognitive decline.

We continue to do work looking at the impact of physical activity dose characteristics, including concurrent physical and cognitive training on brain health, as well as cerebral blood flow and related neurotrophic factors that support healthy ageing.

Our work extends to several chronic disease settings including the impact of cancers and their treatment as well as mental health settings. We take on behavioural and mechanistic measures to better understand brain health, and determine strategies to improve it.

Key papers in the area from the ActiveBrain group include:

• Northey et al (2020). Objectively measured physical activity is associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex volume in older adults. NeuroImage. 221: 117150. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117150.
• Walsh et al (2020). Towards an understanding of the physical activity-BDNF-cognition triumvirate: a review of associations and dosage. Ageing Research Reviews. 60: 101044. DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101044
• Northey et al (2018). Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than fifty: a systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 52(3): 154-160. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096587
• Northey et al (2019). Cognition in breast cancer survivors: a pilot study of interval and continuous exercise. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 22(5): 580-585. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2018.11.026

Working within elite sporting, military and occupational settings, we regularly engage with high performance, looking to see how physical activity, cognition and other factors combine to impact performance.

Key papers in the area from the ActiveBrain group include:

• Martin et al (2022). The impact of cognitive, physical and psychological challenges on subsequent cognitive performance. Human Factors.
• Guevara et al (2022). Stakeholder insights into athlete attrition in the high-performance pathway. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2022.05.011
• Astokorki et al (2021). Images depicting human pain increase exercise-induced pain and impair endurance cycling performance. Journal of Sports Sciences. 39(2): 138-146. DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1809162.
• Keegan et al (2021). Development and initial validation of an Acute Readiness Monitoring Scale (ARMS). Frontiers in Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.738609
• Filipas et al (2020). A 4-week endurance training program improves tolerance to mental exertion in untrained individuals. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 23(12): 1215-1219. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.04.020.
• Keegan et al (2020). Psychological Support for the Talent Pathway: Qualitative Process Evaluation of a State Sport Academy’s Psychology Service. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 34(3), 665–690. DOI: 10.1080/10413200.2020.1833378
• Martin et al (2018). Physiological factors which influence cognitive performance in military personnel. Human Factors.

Motivation reflects ‘why we do what we do’ and is characterised as the energisation and direction of effort: it underpins all aspects of human performance, exercise behaviours and healthy lifestyles. Our researchers in motivation primarily focus on the ways that people around the performer influence motivation: through their actions, words and culture. We also ensure that motivation is well-recognised in our lab-based physiology, for example in tests of fatigue, pacing and maximal efforts.

Key papers in the area from the ActiveBrain group include:

• McCann et al (2021). A Retrospective Investigation of the Perceived Influence of Coaches, Parents and Peers on Talented Football Players’ Motivation during Development. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/10413200.2021.19630
• Lacerda et al (2021). Motivational Climate Measures in Sport: A Narrative and Systematic Review of the State of Art. The Spanish Journal of Psychology. 24, e27, 1–10. DOI: 10.1017/SJP.2021.13
• Skorski et al (2017). A monetary reward alters pacing but not performance in competitive cyclists. Frontiers in Physiology, 8: 741. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00741
• Harwood et al (2015). A Systematic Review of the Intrapersonal Correlates of Motivational Climate Perceptions in Sport and Physical Activity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 18, 9-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.11.005
• Keegan et al (2014). A Qualitative Synthesis of Research into Social Motivational Influences across the Athletic Career Span. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 6 (4), pp. 537-567. DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2013.857710

We have an ongoing interest in the application of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques including transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Our recent research has considered the efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation in the enhancement of endurance exercise performance and motor learning. We also investigate the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation as a treatment for chronic pain conditions.

Key papers in the area from the ActiveBrain group include:

• Quinlan et al (2021). A Short-Term Intervention of High-Intensity Exercise and Anodal-tDCS on Motor Learning in Middle-Aged Adults: An RCT. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 661079
• Byrne & Flood (2019). The influence of transcranial direct current stimulation on pain affect and endurance exercise. Psychology of Sport and Exercise.54: 101554. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.101554
• Flood et al. (2016). High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Enhances Conditioned Pain Modulation in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomised Trial. The Journal of Pain. 17. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2016.01.472