Influence of heat stress and exercise intensity on vastus lateralis muscle and prefrontal cortex oxygenation

This study examined whether a rise in thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise to exhaustion in the heat at different intensities is associated with compromised muscle and cerebral oxygenation. Using near-infrared spectroscopy, oxygenation changes in the vastus lateralis and prefrontal cortex of ten subjects cycling to exhaustion in 40 °C conditions at 60 % (H60%) and 75 % (H75%) maximal oxygen uptake (\( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2\max } \)) and for 60 min in 18 °C conditions at 60 % \( \dot{V}{\text{O}}_{2\max } \) (C60%) were examined. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular responses were also monitored. Rectal temperature reached 38.1 °C in the C60% trial, 39.7 °C (~60 min) and 39.0 °C (~27 min) in the H60% and H75% trials, respectively (P < 0.001). The core-to-skin temperature gradient was similarly narrow (~0.9 °C) at exhaustion in the heat, occurring >97 % of maximum heart rate and accompanied by significant declines in stroke volume, cardiac output and mean arterial pressure (P < 0.01). Vastus lateralis oxygen saturation (SmO₂) declined at the onset of exercise in all conditions, remaining similarly depressed at exhaustion in the heat. Prefrontal cortex oxygen saturation (ScO₂) was ~10 % lower at exhaustion in the H60% and H75% trials compared with C60% (P < 0.01), which remained above baseline from 15 min onward. These findings indicate that changes in SmO₂ and ScO₂ are associated with the development of thermal and cardiovascular strain during exercise to exhaustion in the heat, which is accelerated by exercise intensity. In locomotor muscles, a potential reduction in oxygen delivery may develop, whereas in the brain, the progressive reduction in ScO₂ may induce mental fatigue.