Effects of Acute Physical Exercise With Low and High Cognitive Demands on Executive Functions in Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: Whereas many studies addressed the relation between acute physical exercise and executive functions (EF) in children, the effects of various modalities of acute exercise on EF still remain unclear. This systematic review investigated the effects of exercise with low and high cognitive demands on speed of processing and accuracy of performance in tasks examining inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility in children. Method: A systematic literature research in electronic databases was performed. Controlled trials assessing the effects of acute exercise on EF in a pre–post design were included. Results: Ten studies involving a total of 890 participants revealed positive effects in working memory performance in speed of processing after acute exercises with low cognitive demands compared with seated rest, mixed results for inhibition after exercises with low and high cognitive demands, and mixed results for cognitive flexibility with low cognitive demands. Concerning accuracy, only mixed results were found for inhibition after exercises with low and high cognitive demands. Conclusion: The differentiated effects of acute exercises with low and high cognitive demands led to more positive effects in speed of processing compared with accuracy of performance. Further investigations including assessment of neurophysiological parameters of EF are needed.

Efeito agudo da prática esportiva com engajamento cognitivo nas funções executivas em crianças

“…Estes achados são corroborados por outros estudos que apontam que a AF aguda pode influenciar de maneira positiva o cérebro infantil 21,22 , especificamente a memória 23 . Estes resultados são importantes e indicam que mais estudos devem explorar o efeito da prática aguda de esportes na memória de crianças, uma vez que a literatura científica sugere que a memória de trabalho seria menos sensível à AF aguda que outras funções cognitivas, como atenção seletiva 24 . Cabe ressaltar que, do ponto de vista do desenvolvimento humano, a memória de trabalho se desenvolve totalmente mais tarde em relação ao controle inibitório em crianças 2 .…”

“…Os autores ainda sugerem que a secreção de cortisol pós-AF aguda exerce influência e pode explicar o efeito positivo para o controle inibitório 27 . Interessantemente, uma sessão de AF com intensidade moderada pode beneficiar escolares que apresentam baixo controle inibitório quando comparados a seus pares com controle inibitório mais elevados 24 .…”

Dose–response relation between the duration of a cognitively challenging bout of physical exercise and children's cognition

“…9 Concerning immediate after-effects of an acute cognitively challenging physical exercise, however, results are inconsistent. 10,11 It is still unclear which duration of cognitively challenging bouts of physical exercise benefits cognition the most. This is of great practical importance in the educational setting for designing active breaks to enhance cognitive functions essential for learning and academic achievement, such as attention and executive functions (EFs).…”

“…6 Therefore, increasing research investigated qualitative exercise characteristics such as the cognitive challenge level. 10,11 However, no acute cognitively challenging exercise studies manipulated bout duration. In children and adolescents, acute cognitively challenging exercise studies showed a mixed pattern of results.…”

“…In children and adolescents, acute cognitively challenging exercise studies showed a mixed pattern of results. 10,11 In the duration range most frequently used (10-20 min), acute cognitively challenging bouts of physical exercise at moderate to vigorous intensity resulted in facilitation, [23][24][25][26][27] no effects, [28][29][30][31] or even detrimental effects on cognition. 32 Conversely, longer exercise durations (40 and 50 min) elicited either no effects or detrimental effects, respectively.…”