Examining the Effects of Acute Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity on Cognition in Children

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Chloe Bedard¹  Emily Bremer²  Jeffrey D. Graham²  Daniele Chirico²  John Cairney³ 

[1] Department of Health Research Methods, McMaster University;INfant and Child Health (INCH) Lab, Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University;Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto

关键词: affect;    exercise;    executive function;    cognitive engagement;    motivation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653133

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Cognitively engaging physical activity (PA) has been suggested to have superior effects on cognition compared to PA with low cognitive demands; however, there have been few studies directly comparing these different types of activities. The aim of this study is to compare the cognitive effects of a combined physically and cognitively engaging bout of PA to a physical or cognitive activity alone in children. Children were randomized in pairs to one of three 20-min conditions: (1) a cognitive sedentary activity; (2) a non-cognitively engaging PA; and a (3) cognitively engaging PA. Executive function (EF) was assessed using a modified Eriksen flanker task immediately before and 10–15 min following the experimental condition. Children ages 6–8 years ( n = 48, Mage = 7.04, SD = 1.37; 40% girls) were included in the study. A repeated measures ANOVA found no significant difference between groups with respect to scores on the flanker task. The results do not support the hypotheses that a cognitively engaging bout of PA enhances cognitive performance over non-cognitively engaging PA or sedentary activities. Possible explanations for our findings include overexertion during the acute bout of PA and depletion of positive affect prior to performing the post-intervention EF tasks.

【 授权许可】

CC BY