Relationship between sports experience and executive function in 6–12‐year‐old children: independence from physical fitness and moderation by gender

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between sports experience (i.e., tennis experience) and executive function in children while controlling for physical activity and physical fitness. Sixty-eight participants (6-12 years old, 34 males and 34 females) were enrolled in regular tennis lessons (mean = 2.4 years, range = 0.1-7.3 years) prior to the study. Executive functions, including inhibitory control (the Stroop Color-Word Test), working memory (the 2-back Task), and cognitive flexibility (the Local-global Task) were evaluated. Participants' levels of daily physical activity, ranging from moderate to vigorous, were evaluated using triaxial accelerometers. The total score for physical fitness was assessed using the Tennis Field Test. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed interaction effects between gender and tennis experience on participants' reaction time (RT) on the switch cost of the Local-global Task after controlling for age, BMI, gender, physical activity, physical fitness, and tennis experience. Longer tennis experience was associated with shorter switch cost in males but not in females. Higher scores on physical fitness were positively associated with lower interference scores on the Stroop Color-Word Test, RT on the 2-back Task, and RT in the switching condition of the Local-global Task, after controlling for age, BMI, gender, and physical activity. In conclusion, all three foundational components of executive function (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) were more strongly related to physical fitness than to physical activity in males and females, whereas greater cognitive flexibility was related to tennis experience only in the males.

Relationship of tennis play to executive function in children and adolescents

“…Especially, frequency of tennis play was positively correlated with inhibitory control and working memory. Our findings are in accord with those of previous studies that demonstrated the positive relationship of sports participation to multiple aspects of executive functions in children (Crova et al, 2014;Ishihara et al, 2017a). Previous study had reported that tennis experience (just once a week) was not related to inhibitory control and working memory .…”

“…The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between the frequency of attending tennis lessons and the development of components of executive functions (i.e., inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) and their gender specificity. Given that dose-response relationships between exercise and cognition occur in children (Davis et al, 2011;Hillman et al, 2014), and a relationship that favors males has been reported (Booth et al, 2013;Drollette et al, 2016;Ishihara et al, 2017a), a higher TENNIS PLAY & COGNITION IN YOUTH 6 6 frequency of participation in tennis lessons is expected to be positively associated with improved executive functions, and the relationship is expected to be stronger in males than in females in the present study.…”

“…The relationships between physical activity/fitness and brain health might vary by gender (Booth et al, 2013;Drollette et al, 2016;Ishihara et al, 2017a;Morita et al, 2016).…”

Assessing Individual Performance in Team Sports: A New Method Developed in Youth Volleyball

“…This is particularly true for youth sport when the athletes are less specialized and, therefore, scouting only certain fundamentals (e.g., in volleyball, the attack percentage) would only provide a partial image of the athletes' abilities. Despite being relatively small, the research field that takes a developmental psychological approach to the study of sport performance in developing athletes [17][18][19][20] underlines the importance of understanding cognitive functioning and other individual differences in their development, in order to identify actual predictors of sport performance. Indeed, testing developing athletes can provide insights into the relation of individual differences and motor learning or sports performance.…”

The Effect of Physical Activity on Social Physique Anxiety and Academic Achievement in the 8th Grade Secondary School Students

“…Developments in the brain functions and cognition of children in relation to physical activity are seen as cornerstones in their academic achievements [23]. It is noted that regular physical activity is thought to effect cognitive development through cerebral blood flow, improve nerve-hormone balance, regulate nutritional habits, and increase neural transmittance [24,25,43]. Under the light of these findings of literature, it can be said that an increase in the participation of children and adolescents in physical activities will positively affect their academic achievement.…”