Brain serotonergic and dopaminergic modulators, perceptual responses and endurance exercise performance following caffeine co-ingested with a high fat meal in trained humans

Marios P. Hadjicharalambous, Liam P. Kilduff, Yannis Pitsiladis

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Abstract

BACKGROUND - The present study examined putative modulators and indices of brain serotonergic and dopaminergic function, perceptual responses, and endurance exercise performance following caffeine co-ingested with a high fat meal. METHODS - Trained humans (n = 10) performed three constant-load cycling tests at 73% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) until exhaustion at 10 degrees C remove space throughout. Prior to the first test, subjects consumed a 90% carbohydrate meal (Control trial) and for the remaining two tests, a 90% fat meal with (FC trial) and without (F trial) caffeine. RESULTS - Time to exhaustion was not different between the F and FC trials (P > 0.05); [Control trial: 116(88-145) min; F trial: 122(96-144) min; FC trial: 127(107-176) min]. However, leg muscular discomfort during exercise was significantly lower on the FC relative to F trial (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences between F and FC trials in key modulators and indices of brain serotonergic (5-HT) and dopaminergic (DA) function [(i.e. plasma free and total tryptophan (Trp), tyrosine (Tyr), large neutral amino acids (LNAA), Trp:LNAA ratio, free-Trp:Tyr ratio, total Trp:Tyr ratio, and plasma prolactin] (P > 0.05) with the exception of plasma free-Trp:LNAA ratio which was higher at 90 min and at exhaustion during the FC trial (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS - Neither brain 5-HT nor DA systems would appear to be implicated in the fatigue process when exercise is performed without significant thermoregulatory stress, thus indicating fatigue development during exercise in relatively cold temperatures to occur predominantly due to glycogen depletion.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
Volume7
Issue number22
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Dec 2010

Bibliographical note

© 2010 Hadjicharalambous et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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