The Central Governor Model Theory of Exercise Fatigue in Human Body:An fMRI Study

Objective: The “central governor model” theory suggests that the brain is the key regulator of exercise fatigue, with the cerebellum and basal ganglia as the two main regulating points. this hypothesis provided a new theoretical basis and research direction to explore the central mechanisms of exercise fatigue, but it was unable to be tested in humans due to the limitations of research methods. This study aimed to investigate the activation and functional connectivity of brain regions associated with exercise fatigue through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(f MRI), so as to verify the “central governor model” theory of exercise fatigue in humans. Methods: Twenty male athletes whose 800 m running result was less than 2 minutes 3 seconds were recruited in this study, after a maximal oxygen uptake test, 11 subjects with relative maximal oxygen uptake ≥55 ml/min were selected for further experiments. The participants completed a1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy(1H-MRS) and whole-brain blood oxygen level dependent-functional magnetic resonance imaging(BOLD-f MRI) scan at baseline and immediately after the aerobic circle ergometer test. Results:1H-MRS showed a significant decrease in Cho/Cr in the left basal ganglia(BG) after exercise fatigue(P<0.05); BOLD-f MRI showed a significant decrease of functional network connections between the cerebellum and primary motor areas(M1), cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex(SMC), cerebellum and hippocampus/parahippocampus(P<0.05). Conclusion: The metabolic substances in the basal ganglia is dreased after exercise fatigue, and the functional network connectivity between the cerebellum and other brain region is decreased as well. The basal ganglia and cerebellum could be important regions that contribute to exercise fatigue in humans, and the “central governor model” is preliminary verified in this study.