Fabienne Egger

Cognitively Engaging Chronic Physical Activity, But Not Aerobic Exercise, Affects Executive Functions in Primary School Children: A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial

Although the positive effects of different kinds of physical activity (PA) on cognitive functioning have already been demonstrated in a variety of studies, the role of cognitive engagement in promoting childrens executive functions is still unclear. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the effects of two qualitatively different chronic PA interventions on executive functions in primary school children. Children (N = 181) aged between 10 and 12 years were assigned to either a 6-week physical education program with a high level of physical exertion and high cognitive engagement (team games), a physical education program with high physical exertion but low cognitive engagement (aerobic exercise), or to a physical education program with both low physical exertion and low cognitive engagement (control condition). Executive functions (updating, inhibition, shifting) and aerobic fitness (multistage 20-m shuttle run test) were measured before and after the respective condition. Results revealed that both interventions (team games and aerobic exercise) have a positive impact on childrens aerobic fitness (4-5% increase in estimated VO2max). Importantly, an improvement in shifting performance was found only in the team games and not in the aerobic exercise or control condition. Thus, the inclusion of cognitive engagement in PA seems to be the most promising type of chronic intervention to enhance executive functions in children, providing further evidence for the importance of the qualitative aspects of PA.

Disentangling the relationship between children’s motor ability, executive function and academic achievement

Even though positive relations between children’s motor ability and their academic achievement are frequently reported, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Executive function has indeed been proposed, but hardly tested as a potential mediator. The aim of the present study was therefore to examine the mediating role of executive function in the relationship between motor ability and academic achievement, also investigating the individual contribution of specific motor abilities to the hypothesized mediated linkage to academic achievement. At intervals of ten weeks, 236 children aged between 10 and 12 years were tested in terms of their motor ability (t1: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, motor coordination), core executive functions (t2: updating, inhibition, shifting), and academic achievement (t3: mathematics, reading, spelling). Structural equation modelling revealed executive function to be a mediator in the relation between motor ability and academic achievement, represented by a significant indirect effect. In separate analyses, each of the three motor abilities were positively related to children’s academic achievement. However, only in the case of children’s motor coordination, the mediation by executive function accounted for a significance percentage of variance of academic achievement data. The results provide evidence in support of models that conceive executive function as a mechanism explaining the relationship that links children’s physical activity-related outcomes to academic achievement and strengthen the advocacy for quality physical activity not merely focused on health-related physical fitness outcomes, but also on motor skill development and learning.

Delayed Positive Effects of an Acute Bout of Coordinative Exercise on Children's Attention

Since attention is an important prerequisite for learning, it is particularly worthwhile to promote it in schools, through specific interventions. The present study examined the effects of an acute bout of coordinative exercise in physical education on the attention of primary school children. A total of 90 fifth grade primary school children (41 boys, 49 girls; M = 11.0 yr., SD = 0.6) participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group received a cognitively demanding physical education lesson consisting of different coordinative exercises; the control group attended a normal sedentary school lesson. Before, immediately after, and 90 min. after each experimental condition, the childrens attentional performance was tested using the revised version of the d2 Test of Attention (d2–R). Results of the repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that childrens attentional performance increased through the specifically designed physical education lesson, not immediately but 90 min. after cessation. The results are discussed in terms of mechanisms explaining the relationship between acute physical exercise, and immediate and delayed effects on attention.

The effect of acute cognitively engaging physical activity breaks on children’s executive functions: Too much of a good thing?

Objectives: Acute bouts of physical activity may have an impact on childrens executive functions. However, the role played by cognitive engagement (CE) during physical activity remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of the study was to disentangle the separate and/or combined effects of physical exertion (PE) and CE, induced by classroom‐based physical activity, on childrens executive functions. Design: In a 2 × 2 between‐subjects experimental design, 216 children (Mage = 7.94, SD = 0.44, 49.1% girls) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions consisting of a classroom‐based physical activity intervention varying in both physical exertion (high PE vs. low PE) and cognitive engagement (high CE vs. low CE). Methods: Executive functions (updating, inhibition, shifting) were measured before and immediately after a 20‐min intervention. To test whether a potential change in childrens executive functions was due to the main effect of PE or CE or an interaction of both, three separate ANCOVAs were conducted. Results: Contrary to the hypotheses, there was a significant, negative effect for the CE factor in shifting. No effects were found in either updating or inhibition. No significant effects were found for either the PE factor or the interaction of PE and CE in any of the executive functions. Conclusions: The results indicate that an acute bout of CE in classroom‐based physical activity may deteriorate childrens cognitive performance. These surprising results are discussed in the light of theories predicting both facilitating and deteriorating effects of cognitively engaging physical activity. HighlightsThe role played by cognitive engagement during acute PA remains unclear.Four different types of classroom‐based PA breaks were systematically compared.A negative effect for the factor cognitive engagement was found.The duration, depending on the specific PA type, should be adapted in terms of age.

Effects of an acute classroom-based physical activity intervention on executive functions of primary school children

Recent studies indicate the positive impact of physical activities in school settings not only to enhance physical health (Bailey, 2006), but also cognitive performance (Tomporowski, McCullick, Pendleton & Pesce, 2015). The most effective way to enhance executive functions immediately through classroom-based physical activities however is still unanswered. Whereas quantitative physical activity characteristics, such as intensity and duration (Chang, Labban, Gapin & Etnier, 2012), are well explored, the qualitative characteristics, such as modality of physical activity, are less frequent investigated (Pesce, 2012). In terms of qualitative characteristics, studies showed that cognitively engaging physical activity enhances executive functions largely than low engaging physical activity (e.g. Best, 2012; Schmidt, Benzing & Kamer, 2016).