Magnetic stimulation at acupoints relieves mental fatigue: An Event Related Potential (P300) study.

BACKGROUND: Mental fatigue caused by continuous cognitive tasks represents one of the most worrying modern health problems. Event Related Potential (ERP) P300 is thought to be associated with cognitive function.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at characterizing the neural activity correlated with the attentional processes and exploring a novelty method which combine the magnetic stimulation and acupoint to relieve mental fatigue caused by continuous cognitive tasks.

METHODS: P300 (P3a and P3b) were extracted at three points: when subjects felt relaxed, at the point of mental fatigue, and after the subjects were stimulated at acupoints. The amplitudes and latencies of P3a and P3b were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS: Among the four features (P3a amplitude, P3a latency, P3b amplitude, and P3b latency), only P3b amplitude was found to have a significant difference between the resting state and the mental fatigue state. And P3b amplitude significantly increased after magnetic stimulation at the acupoints.

CONCLUSIONS: Subjects experiencing mental fatigue demonstrated a significant decrease in P3b amplitude in the parietal region, suggesting attenuation of resource allocation for selective attention. P3b amplitude significantly increased after magnetic stimulation at acupoints indicating that this strategy can be used to improve selective attention and relieve mental fatigue.

KEYWORDS: Event Related Potential; Mental fatigue; P300; magnetic stimulation

PMID: 28582903 DOI: 10.3233/THC-171318