The role of BMI on cognition following acute physical activity in preadolescent children

Acute effects of exercise on gaze fixation and affective response inhibition in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized cross-over study

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show impairments in response inhibition, especially in socio-emotional contexts. A single aerobic exercise session has the potential to temporarily reduce such impairments as findings from neurotypical children support acute benefits of this exercise type for inhibitory control and emotion recognition. In children with ASD, we therefore aimed to investigate the effects of an aerobic exercise bout on response inhibition in an emotional Go/NoGo task and gaze fixation as possible mechanism underlying changes in performance. Using a cross-over design, 29 patients completed a 20-min aerobic exercise bout at moderate intensity on a cycling ergometer and a control condition in a randomized order. An emotional Go/NoGo task was administered before and after both experimental conditions. Eye-tracking was performed during the cognitive task to assess the duration of gaze fixation of eyes and mouth parts of faces expressing happy or sad emotions. The results support no beneficial effect of exercise on performance on the emotional Go/NoGo task. Instead, patients showed a greater decrease in accuracy on Go trials displaying happy faces in the exercise compared to the control condition. This change was associated with a more pronounced decrease in the fixation duration of the eyes for faces expressing either happy or sad emotions. In conclusion, while a single session of moderately intense aerobic exercise does not affect response inhibition, it temporarily aggravates ASD-specific deficits in the processing of and response to facial emotions.

Effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on executive function in children with preterm birth: A randomized crossover study

BACKGROUND

Acute exercise appears to promote executive function (EF) in children. However, the effect of acute exercise on EF in children with preterm birth (PB) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether acute moderate-intensity exercise improves EF in children with PB.

METHODS

Twenty child participants with PB (age = 10.95 ± 1.19 years, birth age = 31.71 ± 3.64 weeks) completed exercise and control sessions in a randomized crossover design. In the exercise session, participants completed a 30-minute period of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. In the control session, participants watched a video for appropriately 30 min. Following each session immediately, inhibitory control, an aspect of EF, was assessed with the Numerical Stroop task.

RESULTS

Response time (RT) for the Stroop's incongruent condition was shorter after the exercise session than after the control session. However, no differences were observed in RT for the congruent condition. Accuracy rate (ACC) in both congruent and incongruent conditions did not differ between exercise and control session.

CONCLUSION

The findings support the beneficial effect of acute exercise on executive function (EF) in children with PB, particularly in terms of improving inhibitory control.

Physical activity and exercise alter cognitive abilities, and brain structure and activity in obese children

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing to such an extent that it has become a major global public health problem in the 21st century. Obesity alters children’s brain structure and activity and impairs their cognitive abilities. On the basis of these findings, it is necessary for educational and healthcare institutions to combat childhood obesity through preventive and therapeutic strategies. In general, exercise and physical activity are considered common but effective methods for improving physical, psychological, and brain health across the life span. Therefore, this review article mainly focuses on existing neuroimaging studies that have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)to assess children’s brain anatomy and neural activity. We intended to explore the roles of physical activity and exercise in modulating the associations among childhood obesity, cognitive abilities, and the structure and activity of the brain.

Short breaks at school: effects of a physical activity and a mindfulness intervention on children's attention, reading comprehension, and self-esteem

BACKGROUND

Although breaks are essential to restoring cognitive and psychological conditions for learning, short breaks within school lessons are not established and the specificity of effects has not often been investigated. Therefore, the effects of a physical activity (Study 1) and a mindfulness intervention (Study 2) were investigated.

PROCEDURE

By an intervention-control group design, the effects of daily 10-min physical activity (Study 1: N = 162, 4th grade) and mindfulness breaks (Study 2: N = 79, 5th grade) were implemented within regular school lessons over a 2-week time period to research the impact on attention, reading comprehension, and self-esteem.

RESULTS

In the physical activity intervention children's attention improved (attention-processing speed: p < .004, η_p² = .05, attention-performance: p < .025, η_p² = .03), and in the mindfulness intervention reading comprehension improved (p < .012, η_p² = .08) compared to the controls. Results further indicated that self-esteem moderated the relationship between groups and attention improvement in study 1.

CONCLUSION

Classroom-based short physical and mindfulness breaks could support attention and reading comprehension, which are known to support overall academic success.