Childhood aerobic fitness predicts cognitive performance one year later (original) (raw)
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Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function in Healthy Preadolescent Children
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2005
HILLMAN, C. H., D. M. CASTELLI, and S. M. BUCK. . Purpose: We investigated the relationship between age, aerobic fitness, and cognitive function by comparing high-and low-fit preadolescent children and adults. Method: Twenty-four children (mean age ϭ 9.6 yr) and 27 adults (mean age ϭ 19.3 yr) were grouped according to their fitness (high, low) such that four approximately equal groups were compared. Fitness was assessed using the Fitnessgram test, and cognitive function was measured by neuroelectric and behavioral responses to a stimulus discrimination task. Results: Adults exhibited greater P3 amplitude at Cz and Pz sites, and decreased amplitude at the Oz site compared with children. High-fit children had greater P3 amplitude compared with low-fit children and high-and low-fit adults. Further, adults had faster P3 latency compared with children, and high-fit participants had faster P3 latency compared with low-fit participants at the Oz site. Adults exhibited faster reaction time than children; however, fitness interacted with age such that high-fit children had faster reaction time than low-fit children. Conclusion: These findings suggest that fitness was positively associated with neuroelectric indices of attention and working memory and response speed in children. Fitness was also associated with cognitive processing speed, but these findings were not age-specific. These data indicate that fitness may be related to better cognitive functioning in preadolescents and have implications for increasing cognitive health in children and adults.
Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 2014
In this chapter, we review literature that examines the association among physical activity, aerobic fitness, cognition, and the brain in elementary school children (ages 7-10 years). Specifically, physical activity and higher levels of aerobic fitness in children have been found to benefit brain structure, brain function, cognition, and school achievement. For example, higher fit children have larger brain volumes in the basal ganglia and hippocampus, which relate to superior performance on tasks of cognitive control and memory, respectively, when compared to their lower fit peers. Higher fit children also show superior brain function during tasks of cognitive control, better scores on tests of academic achievement, and higher performance on a real-world street crossing task, compared to lower fit and less active children. The cross-sectional findings are strengthened by a few randomized, controlled trials, which demonstrate that children randomly assigned to a physical activity in...
A growing number of schools have increasingly de-emphasized the importance of providing physical activity opportunities during the school day, despite emerging research that illustrates the deleterious relationship between low levels of aerobic fitness and neurocognition in children. Accordingly, a brief review of studies that link fitness-related differences in brain structure and brain function to cognitive abilities is provided herein. Overall, the extant literature suggests that childhood aerobic fitness is associated with higher levels of cognition and differences in regional brain structure and function. Indeed, it has recently been found that aerobic fitness level even predicts cognition over time. Given the paucity of work in this area, several avenues for future investigations are also highlighted. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1-11)
Physical activity, brain, and cognition
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 2015
In this brief review we summarize the promising effects of physical activity and fitness on brain and cognition in children and older adults. Research in children finds that higher fit and more active preadolescent children show greater hippocampal and basal ganglia volume, greater white matter integrity, elevated and more efficient patterns of brain activity, and superior cognitive performance and scholastic achievement. Higher fit and more physically active older adults show greater hippocampal, prefrontal cortex, and basal ganglia volume, greater functional brain connectivity, greater white matter integrity, more efficient brain activity, and superior executive and memory function. Despite these promising results, more randomized trials are needed to understand heterogeneity in response to physical activity, mechanisms, and translation to public policy.
Physical Activity throughout Adolescence and Cognitive Performance at 18 Years of Age
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2015
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the prospective associations of physical activity at 11, 15, and 18 yr of age with cognitive performance in young adulthood in a large birth cohort study from Brazil. Methods: Participants were part of a large birth cohort study in Pelotas, Brazil (n = 3235 participants). Physical activity was self-reported at 11, 15, and 18 yr and was also objectively measured at 18 yr. Cognitive performance was assessed using an adapted Brazilian version of the short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale at 18 yr. Results: At 11 yr, participants in the middle tertile of self-reported physical activity presented a significantly higher cognitive performance score as compared with the lowest tertile. Physical activity at 15 yr of age was unrelated to cognitive performance at 18 yr. Self-reported physical activity was cross-sectionally positively associated with cognitive performance at 18 yr (P G 0.001). Data from objectively measured physical activity at 18 yr showed that those in the highest moderate-to-vigorous physical activity tertile presented lower cognitive performance scores at 18 yr as compared with those in the lowest tertile (j2.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), j3.41 to j1.48). Analyses on changes in tertiles of physical activity showed that maintaining an intermediate physical activity level from 11 to 18 yr and from 15 to 18 yr was associated with a higher cognitive performance score of 2.31 (95% CI, 0.71-3.91) and 1.84 score (95% CI, 0.25-3.42), respectively. Conclusions: Physical activity throughout adolescence is associated with cognitive performance before adulthood. Adolescents who are active at moderate levels, specifically those who maintain these levels of physical activity, tend to show higher cognitive performance. However, high levels of physical activity might impair cognitive performance.
The effects of physical activity on the brain and cognition during childhood
2013
Abstract: This dissertation investigates the influence of physical activity on the cognitive and brain health of children. It is motivated by experimental studies in rodents and older adults that demonstrate a positive influence of physical activity and aerobic exercise on cognition, brain structure, and brain function. Furthermore, a growing number of cross-sectional studies suggest that physical activity and higher levels of aerobic fitness in children are positively associated with brain structure, brain function, cognition, and school achievement.
Childhood cognitive ability and physical activity in young adulthood
Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2017
Childhood cognitive ability is associated with lifestyle in adulthood, including self-reported physical activity (PA). We examined whether childhood cognitive ability is associated with objectively measured PA and sedentary time (ST) in young adulthood. Participants of the Arvo Ylppö Longitudinal Study (n = 500) underwent tests of general reasoning, visuomotor integration, verbal competence, and language comprehension at the age of 56 months yielding a general intelligence factor score; at the age of 25 years they wore omnidirectional accelerometers for 9 days (range = 4-10 days) measuring overall daily PA (counts per minute, cpm), ST, and light and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (minutes), and completed a questionnaire on occupational, commuting, leisure-time conditioning and nonconditioning PA. After adjustment for sex, age, BMI-for-age SD score at 56 months. and mean of valid minutes of measurement period for PA, per each 1 SD increase in the childhood general intelligence factor...
The Influence of Childhood Aerobic Fitness on Learning and Memory
PLoS ONE, 2013
Introduction: There is a growing trend of inactivity among children, which may not only result in poorer physical health, but also poorer cognitive health. Previous research has shown that lower fitness has been related to decreased cognitive function for tasks requiring perception, memory, and cognitive control as well as lower academic achievement.