Effects of Coordinative Exercise on Sustained Attention and Perceptual Discrimination in Elementary School Physical Education

A multimodal approach integrating cognitive and motor demands into physical activity for optimal mental health: Methodological issues and future directions

Physical activity is known for its positive effects on cognition and affect, with existing literature suggesting that these mental health benefits may be optimally experienced by incorporating cognitive and motor demands during physical activity (PA). However, the existing body of literature lacks a comprehensive guideline for designing the qualitative characteristics of a PA program. Accordingly, this narrative review aimed to (1) provide a working two-dimension model that operationally defines the cognitive and motor demands involved in PA and the rationale for systematically studying these qualitative aspects of PA, (2) identify methods to assess the cognitive and motor demands of PA and address associated methodological issues, and (3) offer potential future directions for research on the cognitive and motor aspects of PA in support of the development of PA programs designed to maximize PA-induced cognitive and affective benefits. We anticipate this article to inform the need for future research and development on this topic, aiming to create clear, evidence-based guidelines for designing innovative and effective PA interventions.

Cognitively engaging movement games improve interference control and academic performance in overweight children: A randomized control trial

The purpose of this study was to determine the (a) dose-response effects of cognitively engaging movement games (CEMGs) designed to improve aerobic capacity, interference control (IC), and academic performance, (b) relationship between intervention-induced improvements in aerobic capacity, IC, and academic performance, and (c) moderation effect of IC on the relationship between aerobic capacity and academic performance in overweight children. Seventy-five overweight children (aged 11.23 ± 0.60 years; 48% males) participated in this study conducted in Taipei during the 2018/2019 academic year and were randomly assigned to the low-dose (20-min) intervention, high-dose (40-min) intervention, and control groups and completed a Stroop test, half-mile run, and language and mathematics tests before and after a 10-week afterschool program. Both intervention groups showed similar improvements in outcomes of aerobic capacity (ds > 0.80), IC (ds > 0.76), and academic performance (ds > 0.90) from the pretest to posttest, whereas these outcomes were unchanged for the control group. Furthermore, improved IC moderated the association between improvements in aerobic capacity and academic performance. Our findings suggest that CEMG with varying doses is feasible and effective for improving aerobic capacity, IC, and academic performance in overweight children and that the association between improvements in aerobic capacity and academic performance depends on the intervention effects on IC.

Protective effect of aerobic fitness on the detrimental influence of exhaustive exercise on information processing capacity

Although aerobic fitness has been thought to protect against the detrimental cognitive effects following exhaustive exercise, available evidence from studies using traditional mean behavioral measures remain somewhat equivocal.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to reconcile this discrepancy by using a novel theory-driven diagnostic tool, the Systems Factorial Technology (SFT).

METHODS

Sixty-six healthy young adults aged from 18 to 30 years old with different levels of aerobic fitness (n = 33 for the higher-fit and lower-fit groups) completed a go/nogo version of redundant-target task before and after a graded exercise test (GXT) until exhaustion. SFT was used to calculate the resilience capacity, which reflects the information processing capacity underlying inhibitory control.

RESULTS

Following the GXT, both higher-fit and lower-fit groups showed faster responses while leaving accuracy unchanged as compared to the performance at the pretest. On the other hand, the resilience capacity decreased for the lower-fit group but was maintained for the higher-fit group.

CONCLUSION

The present findings suggest that aerobic fitness may modulate the individual difference in decisional mechanism following exhaustive exercise. In sum, this study offers an alternative mechanistic explanation regarding cognitive individual differences in response to exhaustive exercise and provides novel insights into the significance of maintaining a state of high physical fitness for those who need to perform cognitively challenging tasks under physically stressful conditions (e.g., elite athletes).