Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Physical activity programs have been shown to have positive implications for children' s cognitive performance and brain structure and function. However, additional randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether daily physical activity influences executive control and its neural underpinnings. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:The randomized controlled trial, designed to meet daily physical activity recommendations, used behavioral and electrophysiological measures of brain function to demonstrate enhanced attentional inhibition and cognitive flexibility among prepubertal children. abstract OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of a physical activity (PA) intervention on brain and behavioral indices of executive control in preadolescent children. METHODS:Two hundred twenty-one children (7-9 years) were randomly assigned to a 9-month afterschool PA program or a wait-list control. In addition to changes in fitness (maximal oxygen consumption), electrical activity in the brain (P3-ERP) and behavioral measures (accuracy, reaction time) of executive control were collected by using tasks that modulated attentional inhibition and cognitive flexibility. RESULTS:Fitness improved more among intervention participants from pretest to posttest compared with the wait-list control (1.3 mL/kg per minute, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3 to 2.4; d = 0.34 for group difference in pre-to-post change score). Intervention participants exhibited greater improvements from pretest to posttest in inhibition (3.2%, 95% CI: 0.0 to 6.5; d = 0.27) and cognitive flexibility (4.8%, 95% CI: 1.1 to 8.4; d = 0.35 for group difference in pre-to-post change score) compared with control. Only the intervention group increased attentional resources from pretest to posttest during tasks requiring increased inhibition (1.4 mV, 95% CI: 0.3 to 2.6; d = 0.34) and cognitive flexibility (1.5 mV, 95% CI: 0.6 to 2.5; d = 0.43). Finally, improvements in brain function on the inhibition task (r = 0.22) and performance on the flexibility task correlated with intervention attendance (r = 0.24). CONCLUSIONS:The intervention enhanced cognitive performance and brain function during tasks requiring greater executive control. These findings demonstrate a causal effect of a PA program on executive control, and provide support for PA for improving childhood cognition and brain health. Pediatrics 2014;134:e1063-e1071

Physically Active Math and Language Lessons Improve Academic Achievement: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…One might be the effect of moderate to vigorous physical activity on the brain 12,13,16,17 and on academic engagement. 4,5,14 It is also possible that the innovative teaching method may be effective because brain and body work in conjunction and because our cognitive knowledge is rooted in bodily awareness.…”

“…12,16 A study with 7-to 9-year-old children found that functional changes to the brain occurred in children who participated in a 9-month afterschool physical activity program: the children showed improved brain indices of executive control. 17 Building on the results of the initial 1-year F&V pilot study, 10 we designed a 2-year clusterrandomized controlled trial to further investigate the effects of the F&V program on the reading, spelling, and math performance of children.…”

Physical Activity for Cognitive and Mental Health in Youth: A Systematic Review of Mechanisms

“…Existing studies have investigated different aspects of the brain by using a variety of methods (eg, MRI, fMRI, electroencephalography, eventrelated potential) and, consequently, the effect of any specific brain-related mechanism on improved cognitive function remains unclear. Hillman et al 7 found that a 9-month physical activity intervention aimed at improving cardiorespiratory fitness resulted in improved performance, as well as increased attentional resources on tasks requiring improved inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Furthermore, ChaddockHeyman et al 50 found decreased fMRI activation of the right anterior prefrontal cortex, mirroring a more mature or adult-like activation pattern in a subsample of children participating in a physical activity intervention.…”

“…52 It is important to note that the study conducted by Davis et al 22 involved overweight/obese children and used the anticascade task, whereas the participants in the study by Hillman et al 7 were of a healthy weight status and a flanker task was used. Of note, these tests tap into different aspects of inhibitory control (perceptual interference versus behavioral inhibition), and it is unclear that the 2 studies should corroborate one another.…”

Acute exercise enhances the consolidation of fear extinction memory and reduces conditioned fear relapse in a sex-dependent manner

“…Despite the well-established benefits of chronic exercise on cognition and learning processes (Cotman and Berchtold 2002;Hillman et al 2003Hillman et al , 2014Cassilhas et al 2015;Prakash et al 2015), the lingering changes in the brain produced by habitual exercise are not sufficient to enhance fear extinction (Greenwood et al 2009). Moreover, maintenance of chronic exercise is essential for use in a clinical setting, yet maintaining regular exercise is a constant challenge and long-term exercise adherence rates are low (Dishman 1982;Hogg et al 2012;Zuckoff 2012) even when initial motivation is high (Van Roie et al 2015).…”