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

Author

Listed:
  • David S. Phillips

    (Secondary and Physical Education Department, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801, USA)

  • James C. Hannon

    (College of Education, Health and Human Services, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA)

  • Bradley B. Gregory

    (Department of Psychology, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, USA)

  • Ryan D. Burns

    (Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA)

Abstract

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 ( N = 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, p = 0.026, d = 0.42). There were no differences between treatment groups on TMT-A and no sex × treatment interactions ( p > 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.

Suggested Citation

  • David S. Phillips & James C. Hannon & Bradley B. Gregory & Ryan D. Burns, 2019. "Effect of Vigorous Physical Activity on Executive Control in Middle-School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-10, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:3949-:d:277387
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ilona Bidzan-Bluma, 2021. "Twin-To-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Donor and Recipient and Their Subsequent Cognitive Functioning in Late Childhood as Juvenile Athletes—A Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-10, March.
    2. Sarah Schnitker & Jennifer Shubert & Benjamin Houltberg & Nathaniel Fernandez, 2020. "Bidirectional Associations across Time between Entitativity, Positive Affect, Generosity, and Religiousness in Adolescents Training with a Religiously Affiliated Charity Marathon Team," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Ryan D. Burns & Yang Bai & You Fu & Christopher D. Pfledderer & Timothy A. Brusseau, 2019. "Parent Engagement and Support, Physical Activity, and Academic Performance (PESPAAP): A Proposed Theoretical Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-14, November.

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