Mental FatigueMF-CMJ-EEGNCT07754604
Effects of Mental Fatigue Duration on Cortical Activity and Jump Performance
A study testing 10-Minute Stroop Task, 15-Minute Stroop Task and 30-Minute Stroop Task in people with Mental Fatigue and Athletic Performance, run by Inonu University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
"This study investigates whether the length of time spent on a mentally demanding task affects brain activity and jumping performance in physically active young men. Twelve healthy male university students, all regularly engaged in sport, completed four separate testing sessions on different days, each at least 72… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 30 years, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Mental Fatigue, Athletic Performance, Cognitive-Motor Interaction
- What is being tested?
- 10-Minute Stroop Task, 15-Minute Stroop Task and 30-Minute Stroop Task
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 12 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 1 May 2026to 1 Aug 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 30 years
- Men only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Healthy male volunteers aged 18-30 years
- Enrolled in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at İnönü University
- Engaged in structured exercise at least three days per week
- Free of any neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
- Physically capable of completing the experimental protocol safely
Who cannot join
- Diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Lower-limb injury within the preceding 6 months
- Use of medication known to affect central nervous system function
- Prior diagnosis of a sleep disorder
- Uncorrectable visual impairment or any disturbance of color perception
- Cognitive or sensory limitation likely to interfere with performance of the Stroop task
- Failure to complete a session in full, non-compliance with investigator instructions during testing, inability to produce an EEG recording of analyzable quality for technical reasons, or discontinuation of the experimental procedure for any reason
- Non-compliance with pre-session restrictions (vigorous physical exercise or alcohol consumption within 24 hours before each session; caffeine, energy drinks, or other stimulant substances within 12 hours before each session)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
İnönü University, Faculty of Sport Sciences
Malatya, 44280
About this study
Official title: Duration-Dependent Effects of Mental Fatigue on Cortical Activation Patterns and Lower-Limb Explosive Performance
"This study investigates whether the length of time spent on a mentally demanding task affects brain activity and jumping performance in physically active young men. Twelve healthy male university students, all regularly engaged in sport, completed four separate testing sessions on different days, each at least 72 hours apart. In one session (the control condition), participants watched a calm nature documentary. In the other three sessions, mental fatigue was induced by having participants perform a demanding attention task (the Stroop color-word test) continuously for 10, 15, or 30 minutes. Before and after each session, brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG), a painless method that measures electrical activity through sensors placed on the scalp. Immediately afterward, participants performed a countermovement jump test, a standard measure of explosive leg power used in sports science. The study examines whether longer periods of mental fatigue produce progressively larger changes in brain activity and jump performance, and whether changes in brain activity are related to changes in jumping ability. The findings may help athletes, coaches, and students better understand how mentally tiring activities, such as studying or exams, could affect physical performance shortly afterward."
Read the detailed description
"Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state induced by prolonged demanding cognitive activity, characterized by subjective tiredness and measurable decrements in sustained attention and executive control. While mental fatigue has been linked to impairments in endurance, strength, and anaerobic performance, evidence regarding explosive, single-effort tasks such as the countermovement jump (CMJ) remains sparse and inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether the cortical and behavioral consequences of mental fatigue scale with the duration of the inducing cognitive task.
This study used a single-group, repeated-measures crossover design in which the same twelve participants completed a non-fatiguing control condition and three graded mental-fatigue protocols (10, 15, and 30 minutes of continuous Stroop-task performance), with session order counterbalanced across participants and a minimum 72-hour washout between sessions. All sessions were conducted in the same laboratory within a consistent daily time window (10:00 ± 1 hour) to minimize circadian confounds.
Resting-state EEG (spectral power in delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands; theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios; spectral and sample entropy; frontal theta and posterior alpha) and subjective fatigue (0-10 visual analogue scale) were assessed immediately before and after each condition. Countermovement-jump height and its kinetic/kinematic correlates were then measured to evaluate explosive lower-limb power, the study's primary outcome; EEG parameters were treated as secondary, mechanistic outcomes.
Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, Holm-Bonferroni-corrected Friedman/Wilcoxon tests where appropriate, and repeated-measures correlation to examine the relationship between post-intervention EEG parameters and CMJ performance. The study tested the hypothesis that increasing Stroop-task duration would produce progressively larger shifts in EEG-derived cortical activation and parallel reductions in CMJ performance, and that these neurophysiological and performance changes would be significantly associated with one another."
- Being tested
- Nature Documentary (Control), 10-Minute Stroop Task, 15-Minute Stroop Task, 30-Minute Stroop Task
- Keywords
- Mental Fatigue, Countermovement Jump, Electroencephalography, Cognitive-Motor Interaction, Dose-Response, Stroop Task
- Medical subject headings
- Mental Fatigue
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Nature Documentary (Control)Behavioural
Viewing of a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary matched in duration to the mental-fatigue protocols, serving as a non-fatiguing control condition.
10-Minute Stroop TaskBehavioural
Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
15-Minute Stroop TaskBehavioural
Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
30-Minute Stroop TaskBehavioural
Continuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Sham comparator | Participants viewed a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary for a duration matched to the mental-fatigue protocols, without performing the Stroop task. Receives: Behavioral: Nature Documentary (Control) |
| MF10 (10-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue. Receives: Behavioral: 10-Minute Stroop Task |
| MF15 (15-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue. Receives: Behavioral: 15-Minute Stroop Task |
| MF30 (30-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Participants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue. Receives: Behavioral: 30-Minute Stroop Task |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height
Countermovement jump (CMJ) height was assessed using the My Jump Lab application (version 5.2; C. Balsalobre-Fernández, Madrid, Spain) via video recorded at 240 frames/s on an iPad Air 11-inch (M3), positioned on a tripod approximately 2 m from the participant. Take-off and landing frames were identified manually by the same investigator using the application's frame-by-frame function, and jump height was calculated from flight time using the equation h = (g·t²)/8. Two jump attempts were performed in each experimental session, with 60 seconds of rest between trials, and the better performance was retained for analysis.
Measured: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); sessions were separated by a minimum 72-hour washout period.
Secondary outcomes (8)
Countermovement Jump-Derived Mechanical and Kinematic Parameters
Countermovement jump (CMJ)-derived mechanical and kinematic parameters were obtained using the My Jump Lab application from the CMJ assessment performed at the end of each experimental protocol. Average velocity (m/s), take-off velocity (m/s), and impulse (N·s) were provided automatically by the application as derived sub-parameters, computed from jump height and body mass using the biomechanical model incorporated in My Jump Lab. Flight time (ms) was calculated from the same video recording using the application's frame-by-frame analysis. These parameters were analyzed as complementary derived measures of CMJ performance.
Measured: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol.
EEG Absolute Band Power (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta)
Resting-state EEG was recorded using a 10-electrode montage (Fp1, Fp2, Fz, FC1, FC2, Cz, Pz, O1, Oz, O2) following the international 10-20 system, via a wireless EEG system (Emotiv EPOC Flex) sampling at 256 Hz. Following preprocessing (0.5-45 Hz band-pass filtering, ICA-based artifact removal, and amplitude normalization), power spectral density was computed for each channel using Welch's method, and absolute power was calculated within the delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), and beta (13-30 Hz) frequency bands, expressed in normalized (dimensionless) units.
Measured: Recorded immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); each recording lasted 3 minutes with eyes closed.
EEG Theta/Beta Ratio
The theta-to-beta power ratio was calculated from resting-state EEG recordings (10-electrode montage, international 10-20 system) by dividing theta-band power by beta-band power for each channel. The outcome was expressed as a unitless ratio.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
EEG Spectral Entropy
Spectral entropy was computed from the resting-state EEG power spectrum of each channel as a measure of signal complexity, used to characterize the transition from an alert to a fatigued cortical state.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
EEG Sample Entropy
Sample entropy was computed from the resting-state EEG time series of each channel as a nonlinear measure of signal irregularity and complexity.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Frontal Theta Power
Frontal theta power was extracted from frontal electrode sites (Fp1, Fp2, Fz) as a regional marker of cognitive-control demand and effortful attentional monitoring.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Posterior Alpha Power
Posterior alpha power was extracted from occipital electrode sites (O1, Oz, O2) as a regional marker of cortical inhibition and fatigue-related attentional state.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Subjective Mental Fatigue (VAS Score)
Subjective mental fatigue was rated using a paper-based 0-10 visual analogue scale, anchored at 0 ("not mentally fatigued at all") and 10 ("the highest possible level of mental fatigue"), in response to the question "How mentally fatigued do you feel right now?" Prior ratings were not visible when a new rating was provided.
Measured: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted10 Aug 2026
- Study start1 May 2026
- Primary completion1 Jul 2026
- Study completion1 Aug 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Mental FatigueStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Inonu UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Model description
- Single-group, repeated-measures crossover design; all participants completed all four conditions (control, MF10, MF15, MF30) in a randomized, counterbalanced order across session positions, with a minimum 72-hour washout between sessions.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Inonu University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Oğuzhan Bozkurt, Inonu University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07754604
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- INU-2025-8104-MFCMJ
- Other IDs
- 2025/8104
- Acronym
- MF-CMJ-EEG
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 4 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 10 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual participant data will not be shared because the study includes a small sample size, and no data-sharing plan was included in the approved study protocol or informed consent. Aggregate study results will be reported in scientific publications.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 10 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Duration-Dependent Effects of Mental Fatigue on Cortical Activation Patterns and Lower-Limb Explosive Performance
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07754604
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MF-CMJ-EEG / INU-2025-8104-MFCMJ
- Keywords
- Mental Fatigue, Countermovement Jump, Electroencephalography, Cognitive-Motor Interaction, Dose-Response, Stroop Task
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 12 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Inonu UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 May 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Aug 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 10 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
"This study investigates whether the length of time spent on a mentally demanding task affects brain activity and jumping performance in physically active young men. Twelve healthy male university students, all regularly engaged in sport, completed four separate testing sessions on different days, each at least 72 hours apart. In one session (the control condition), participants watched a calm nature documentary. In the other three sessions, mental fatigue was induced by having participants perform a demanding attention task (the Stroop color-word test) continuously for 10, 15, or 30 minutes. Before and after each session, brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG), a painless method that measures electrical activity through sensors placed on the scalp. Immediately afterward, participants performed a countermovement jump test, a standard measure of explosive leg power used in sports science. The study examines whether longer periods of mental fatigue produce progressively larger changes in brain activity and jump performance, and whether changes in brain activity are related to changes in jumping ability. The findings may help athletes, coaches, and students better understand how mentally tiring activities, such as studying or exams, could affect physical performance shortly afterward."
Detailed description
"Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state induced by prolonged demanding cognitive activity, characterized by subjective tiredness and measurable decrements in sustained attention and executive control. While mental fatigue has been linked to impairments in endurance, strength, and anaerobic performance, evidence regarding explosive, single-effort tasks such as the countermovement jump (CMJ) remains sparse and inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether the cortical and behavioral consequences of mental fatigue scale with the duration of the inducing cognitive task.
This study used a single-group, repeated-measures crossover design in which the same twelve participants completed a non-fatiguing control condition and three graded mental-fatigue protocols (10, 15, and 30 minutes of continuous Stroop-task performance), with session order counterbalanced across participants and a minimum 72-hour washout between sessions. All sessions were conducted in the same laboratory within a consistent daily time window (10:00 ± 1 hour) to minimize circadian confounds.
Resting-state EEG (spectral power in delta, theta, alpha, and beta bands; theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios; spectral and sample entropy; frontal theta and posterior alpha) and subjective fatigue (0-10 visual analogue scale) were assessed immediately before and after each condition. Countermovement-jump height and its kinetic/kinematic correlates were then measured to evaluate explosive lower-limb power, the study's primary outcome; EEG parameters were treated as secondary, mechanistic outcomes.
Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, Holm-Bonferroni-corrected Friedman/Wilcoxon tests where appropriate, and repeated-measures correlation to examine the relationship between post-intervention EEG parameters and CMJ performance. The study tested the hypothesis that increasing Stroop-task duration would produce progressively larger shifts in EEG-derived cortical activation and parallel reductions in CMJ performance, and that these neurophysiological and performance changes would be significantly associated with one another."
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- Single-group, repeated-measures crossover design; all participants completed all four conditions (control, MF10, MF15, MF30) in a randomized, counterbalanced order across session positions, with a minimum 72-hour washout between sessions.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control | Sham comparator | Behavioral: Nature Documentary (Control)Participants viewed a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary for a duration matched to the mental-fatigue protocols, without performing the Stroop task. |
| MF10 (10-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Behavioral: 10-Minute Stroop TaskParticipants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue. |
| MF15 (15-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Behavioral: 15-Minute Stroop TaskParticipants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue. |
| MF30 (30-min Mental Fatigue) | Experimental | Behavioral: 30-Minute Stroop TaskParticipants performed the Stroop color-word task continuously for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 30 years
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Healthy male volunteers aged 18-30 years
- Enrolled in the Faculty of Sport Sciences at İnönü University
- Engaged in structured exercise at least three days per week
- Free of any neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- Diagnosed neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular, or musculoskeletal disorder
- Lower-limb injury within the preceding 6 months
- Use of medication known to affect central nervous system function
- Prior diagnosis of a sleep disorder
- Uncorrectable visual impairment or any disturbance of color perception
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Nature Documentary (Control)Viewing of a neutral, cognitively undemanding nature documentary matched in duration to the mental-fatigue protocols, serving as a non-fatiguing control condition. | Behavioural | Control |
| 10-Minute Stroop TaskContinuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 10 minutes to induce mental fatigue. | Behavioural | MF10 (10-min Mental Fatigue) |
| 15-Minute Stroop TaskContinuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 15 minutes to induce mental fatigue. | Behavioural | MF15 (15-min Mental Fatigue) |
| 30-Minute Stroop TaskContinuous performance of the Stroop color-word interference task for 30 minutes to induce mental fatigue. | Behavioural | MF30 (30-min Mental Fatigue) |
Primary outcome
Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height
Time frame: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); sessions were separated by a minimum 72-hour washout period.
Countermovement jump (CMJ) height was assessed using the My Jump Lab application (version 5.2; C. Balsalobre-Fernández, Madrid, Spain) via video recorded at 240 frames/s on an iPad Air 11-inch (M3), positioned on a tripod approximately 2 m from the participant. Take-off and landing frames were identified manually by the same investigator using the application's frame-by-frame function, and jump height was calculated from flight time using the equation h = (g·t²)/8. Two jump attempts were performed in each experimental session, with 60 seconds of rest between trials, and the better performance was retained for analysis.
8 secondary outcomes
Countermovement Jump-Derived Mechanical and Kinematic Parameters
Time frame: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol.
EEG Absolute Band Power (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta)
Time frame: Recorded immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); each recording lasted 3 minutes with eyes closed.
EEG Theta/Beta Ratio
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
EEG Spectral Entropy
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
EEG Sample Entropy
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Frontal Theta Power
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Posterior Alpha Power
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Subjective Mental Fatigue (VAS Score)
Time frame: Immediately before and immediately after each experimental protocol.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 10 Aug 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual participant data will not be shared because the study includes a small sample size, and no data-sharing plan was included in the approved study protocol or informed consent. Aggregate study results will be reported in scientific publications.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing 10-Minute Stroop Task, 15-Minute Stroop Task and 30-Minute Stroop Task in people with Mental Fatigue and Athletic Performance, run by Inonu University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Countermovement Jump (CMJ) Height (time frame: Immediately after completion of each experimental protocol (control, and 10-, 15-, and 30-minute Stroop-task mental fatigue conditions); sessions were separated by a minimum 72-hour washout period.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Aug 2026.