Brainwave Patterns and Metabolic Adaptations in Rowers Crossing the Atlantic: A Case Series Pilot Study
Bibliographic record
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: This pilot study was designed to test the hypothesis that quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) measurements reflect physiological adaptations for brain energy reallocation. The study focused on a team of three well-matched male rowers participating in a 30-day, 2,650-mile continuous transatlantic rowing competition, examining the effects of extreme, prolonged stress on brain function and metabolic adaptations. METHODS: Measurements at the start and finish lines included body weight, height, waist circumference, body fat, and a panel of hormones and biochemical markers. Post-race qEEG parameters were recorded under eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions. qEEG data were compared to a reference population (ages 6-90 years) and to an age-matched 27-year-old male medical student serving as a control subject. qEEG analysis evaluated voltage amplitudes, wave distribution patterns, theta-to-beta ratios (TBR), and coherence levels. Hormonal changes and oxidative stress markers were also assessed before and after race. RESULTS: Two rowers exhibited post-race dominance of high-frequency beta activity, while one displayed co-dominance of delta and beta waves. Compared to the control subject (TBR = 1.25), the rowers' low TBRs (< 0.2) indicated high vigilance and low relaxation during EC conditions. Cortisol levels increased in all rowers and were associated with beta coherence >1 SD above the reference mean. Testosterone decreased in two rowers but increased in one; the smallest cortisol increase corresponded with the largest testosterone decrement. Decreases in oxidative stress markers correlated with a shift from right- to left-sided alpha asymmetry, consistent with redistribution of alpha wave energy to the nondominant hemisphere. This pattern was also observed in the control subject. Increased testosterone in one rower was linked to a decrease in the percentage of sites exhibiting normal theta frequencies, indicating a potential role for testosterone in brain energy reallocation. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that qEEG measurements reflect physiological adaptations in response to extreme stress, supporting the hypothesis that metabolic energy is reallocated to optimize vigilance and performance. The observed correlations between hormonal changes, oxidative stress markers, and qEEG parameters provide preliminary evidence of mechanisms for brain energy reallocation. These insights highlight the potential for qEEG to identify biomarkers of stress adaptation and lay the groundwork for larger studies to further elucidate these mechanisms.
Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.
How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".