Interactions between energetical and cognitive process: Theoretical and methodological approaches.

In many sports, performance depends olt the subject's capacity to optimise both physical and cognitive processes. Thus, many research have been carried out in order to analyse the effects of physiological solicitation on cognitive process. These research have provided inconsistent results that can be classified in four categories: those finding a beneficial relationship, those finding a detrimental relationship, those finding both a beneficial and a detrimental relationship and those funding no relationship. The diversity of responses seems to be due to the failure of researchers to use a coherent methodology as well for the physical task considering without distinction aerobic and anaerobic process, trained or untrained subjects..., than for the nature of the cognitive task measuring different mental process (perceptive discrimination, memorisation, mental calculation, problem solving, coincidence anticipation...). Moreover, the interpretations and the variables advanced to explain (often it posteriori) these results are quite diverse. Classical interpretation proposed a linked effect of activation during physical exercise with mt inverted U curve between exercise intensity and cognitive lark performance. Recently, some researchers have challenged this model considering the limits of an unidimensionnal conception of activation. Several non exclusive hypothesis have been therefore proposed. Firstly, some authors suggest that during exercise subjects could adopt risky strategies favouring speed rather than accuracy. This model predict an improvement ira mean performance bur an increase in error. Secondly, others have considered that results can be analysed taking ill account the amount of resource allocated by subjects in the cognitive larks. From this standing point this model predict an improvement of performance. Finally results have been interpreted using a dual task paradigm. During most of these experiments subjects simultaneously perform a physical task and a cognitive task, leading them to give priority to one of these task. According to the dual task models this last model would predict an impairment of performance. Thus in order to clarify the diversity of responses observed, future research should consider several points. First it is necessary to identified for each subject the nature of physiological solicitation. Second they have to consider that the cognitive tasks carl differ widely in their demands and some of thew, measuring intellectual process, may be influenced by several factors such as experience, knowledge or learning...