Effect of Vigorous Physical Activity on Executive Control in Middle-School Students

Effect of Vigorous Physical Activity on Executive Control in Middle-School Students

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the acute effect of vigorous physical activity on executive control in eighth grade students from the U.S. Participants were eighth grade students ( = 68; 26 girls, 42 boys) recruited from one middle school located in the Mountain West region of the U.S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2019-10, Vol.16 (20), p.3949
Main Authors: Phillips, David S, Hannon, James C, Gregory, Bradley B, Burns, Ryan D
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anaerobic threshold
Child
Curricula
Data collection
Executive Function
Exercise
Female
Heart rate
Humans
Learning
Male
Mountains
Older people
Pediatrics
Physical activity
Physical education
Physical fitness
Pilot Projects
Researchers
Schools
Sedentary Behavior
Students
Studies
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Summary:The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the acute effect of vigorous physical activity on executive control in eighth grade students from the U.S. Participants were eighth grade students ( = 68; 26 girls, 42 boys) recruited from one middle school located in the Mountain West region of the U.S. Two groups of participants were assigned to receive either a vigorous physical activity or a sedentary condition within a counter-balanced cross-over design using a 2-week washout. Both groups were administered Trails Making Tests A (TMT-A) and B (TMT-B) at 20- and 25-min post-treatment, respectively. Mixed design ANOVA tests with repeated measures examined differences between treatments on TMT-A and TMT-B performance and the modifying effect of sex. Students who completed the physical activity condition displayed a faster time to completion on the TMT-B compared to students who completed the sedentary condition (Mean difference = -6.5 s, = 0.026, d = 0.42). There were no differences between treatment groups on TMT-A and no sex × treatment interactions ( > 0.05). This pilot study suggests that vigorous physical activity may improve executive control in middle-school students and adds to the existent literature that continues to examine the emerging link between physical activity and cognition in school-based settings.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601