Latest Articles

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  Section: Health & Movement Sciences ; Topics: Physiology, Psychological and cognitive sciences

  Mental fatigue impairs cycling endurance performance and perception of effort, but not muscle activation

  Souron, Robin;   Sarcher, Aurélie;   Lacourpaille, Lilian;   Boulaouche, Inès; Richier, Calvin; Mangin, Thomas;   Gruet, Mathieu;   Doron, Julie;   Jubeau, Marc;   Pageaux, Benjamin  

  10.24072/pcjournal.760 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e72

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  Mental fatigue is induced by prolonged engagement in cognitively demanding tasks and impairs endurance performance. The neuropsychophysiological mechanisms underlying this decreased performance remain unclear, with suggestion that mental fatigue may disrupt motor command and consequently muscle activation. We aimed to test this hypothesis in a repeated cross-over design study in which 18 participants completed two experimental sessions involving a time-to-task failure cycling test at 80% of peak power output. Each cycling task was preceded by 1h of a prolonged Stroop task (Stroop condition) or a neutral control task (Control condition). Mental fatigue was assessed using a visual analog scale anchored with "not fatigued at all" and "extremely fatigued. Perception of effort and surface electromyography from ten lower-limb muscles of the right leg were recorded at regular intervals during cycling. Mental fatigue was higher in the Stroop compared to the Control condition (p = .002). Endurance cycling time was shorter in the Stroop than in the Control condition (887 ± 284 s vs. 999 ± 379 s, respectively; −111 ± 160 s, p = .009). No significant differences in electromyography parameters were observed between Stroop and Control conditions, for any muscle (p > .05). Perception of effort was higher in the Stroop condition from the onset of the cycling task (p = .006), and the rate of increase in perception of effort was significantly higher in the Stroop than Control condition (p = .031). Our findings do not support the hypothesis that mental fatigue alters motor control or increases central motor command, as no changes in muscle activation were detected. Conversely, our results reinforce the notion that prolonged cognitive engagement impairs endurance performance primarily through an increased perception of effort. Future research should consider combining surface electromyography with more sensitive neurophysiological techniques to investigate potential subtle changes in motor drive during dynamic, whole-body tasks under mental fatigue.

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  Section: Nutrition ; Topics: Psychological and cognitive sciences, Neuroscience, Physiology

  Associations of food choices and eating behaviors with mechanical and nervous gastric functions in obesity and metabolic and bariatric surgery: a scoping review

  Ritsch, Nina;   Bourque, Camille; Bergeron, Frédéric; Nazare, Julie-Anne;   Dougkas, Anestis;   Iceta, Sylvain  

  10.24072/pcjournal.737 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e71

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  Objective: This scoping review aimed to explore the associations of mechanical and nervous gastric functions (i.e., gastric capacity and accommodation, gastric tone, gastric motility and postprandial electrical activity, gastric emptying, satiation), with food choices, food reward, gustation, olfaction, and eating behavior in people with obesity, with or without metabolic and bariatric surgery. Methods: Using PRISMA-ScR guidelines and an artificial-intelligence assistant tool (AS Review), we performed a scoping review for studies that concomitantly observed mechanical or nervous gastric outcomes and food choices, food reward, gustation, olfaction, or disordered eating. Results: Fifteen studies were selected from 8029 abstracts initially screened, with only one study in the metabolic and bariatric surgery population. In patients with obesity, greater gastric capacity and higher food consumption to achieve satiation were associated with higher consumption of carbohydrates and overeating behaviors (e.g., binge eating), while higher gastric emptying speed was associated with overeating behaviors. There were no studies concerning sensory functions. Interventions to increase gastric electrical activity seemed to reduce overeating behaviors. The effect of metabolic and bariatric surgery on these possible associations remains largely unknown. Conclusion: Potential associations of altered gastric functions with food choices and components of eating behaviors in the context of obesity should be further explored.

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  Section: Health & Movement Sciences ; Topics: Health sciences, Psychological and cognitive sciences

  Towards a Behavioural Systems Map of the University System in Relation to Student Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: An Exploratory Study

  Wood, Hannah Clare;   Gardner, Benjamin;   Duncan, Myanna;   Dommett, Eleanor  

  10.24072/pcjournal.754 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e70

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  University students often exhibit high levels of sedentary behaviour (SB) and low levels of physical activity (PA). Previous efforts to increase students’ movement have focused on leisure-time PA or overlooked the university environment and the education system. Embedding PA into university education offers one potentially fruitful avenue for increasing student movement, yet understanding is needed of how and why the university education system influences students’ movement before effective interventions can be developed. This study used a novel behavioural systems mapping method to explore the perceived behaviours, actors, and influences affecting students’ PA and SB during university education. The aim of this exploratory study was to develop a preliminary behavioural systems map based on a combined dataset of interviews with 20 university students and 38 staff in a variety of roles. Data were qualitatively analysed to construct a map of the perceived actors, behaviours, and influences affecting students’ movement behaviours, as well as perceived causal links between them. Influences were further analysed using the capability, opportunity, and motivation model of behaviour (COM-B). The resulting map would need further data input and corroboration to be considered a comprehensive map, yet the results presented in this study provide a useful starting point in this regard. The final map had over 100 elements and connections in total, with 31 different behaviours performed by various actors identified, demonstrating the system complexity as described by participants. Three clusters of behaviours and influences were identified: student movement in classes, student movement in private study time, and wider system influences and behaviours. Across all clusters, a key behaviour perceived as influential by participants was policy makers prioritising student movement in decision making, suggesting policy-level change is essential for long-term impact. Many identified barriers were related to physical or social opportunities, suggesting environmental restructuring may be key to embedding PA into university education. Many reflective motivation influences that may need addressing in future intervention research were also identified, such as believing that PA is worthwhile to implement. Overall, while policy-level change is needed to catalyse some of the environmental changes needed, this study suggests opportunities may exist to support students to increase movement during private study time, where fewest barriers were identified.

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  Section: Archaeology ; Topics: Computer sciences, Anthropology ; Conference: CAA2025

  Bridging Interdisciplinary Research Data Management and Data Science through Modular Research Processes

  Strohm, Steffen;   thor Straten, Mattis;   Göhring, Andrea;   Buenning, Hartwig;   Kröger, Peer;   Nakoinz, Oliver;   Renz, Matthias;   Rinne, Christoph  

  10.24072/pcjournal.755 - Peer Community Journal, Volume 6 (2026), article no. e69

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  Transparent and reproducible research in large interdisciplinary projects, such as the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, depends on combining two perspectives that are usually considered separately: the stewardship concerns of Research Data Management (RDM) and the analytical concerns of Data Science. This paper introduces Modular Research Processes (MRP), a framework representing a research endeavour as distinct, referable products and procedures described at several layers of granularity, expressing resolution rather than a hierarchy of authority. MRP provides a shared representation in which RDM and Data Science converge, focusing on the point where (materialised) products are FAIR-ready, while their procedural counterparts are not (yet) – a discrepancy that motivates the development of systematic descriptions and, where applicable, recommendations. We organise the framework’s value into three application fields: illustration and communication; documentation and organisation; as well as comparison and recommendation. Our examinations and activities are based on the Data Management and Data Science Platform (DMDSP), which is an organisational component of the ROOTS project. We present the DMDSP as an example of how such a bridge can be shaped, aligned with an existing ecosystem, filled with collaborative method development, and sustained through training. Beyond the platform, it is MRP that is the transferable contribution, with a claim to cross-disciplinary and cross-project application. We report on two archaeological analyses that have been reconstructed as first proofs of concept, techniques for early empirical feedback on the conditions for adoption of an MRP-related tool, and a research roadmap anchored in this beginning.