Diurnal variation of cognitive performance and perceived difficulty in dart-throwing performance in 9–10-year-old boys

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate variations in cognitive performance and difficulty perception in 9-10-year-old boys. Fifteen healthy boys (Age = 9.8 ± 0.4 years; Height = 146 ± 5.2 cm; Body mass = 34.2 ± 2.9 kg) performed three cognitive tasks, the reaction time (RT), the trail-making test, TMT (to evaluate flexibility), and the barrage tests (to evaluate selective attention [SA]). The tests were performed at 07:00 and 17:00 h. The results demonstrated that oral temperature, RT, and flexibility were significantly higher at 17:00 h than at 07:00 h. A significant main effect of diurnal variation was found for RT (t = 3.075, p = 0.008), SA (t = 2.43, p = 0.029), and executive function (TMT, Parts A and B) (t = 5.86, p < 0.001; t = 4.85, p < 0.001, respectively). However, these rhythms of cognitive performance were not correlated with the rhythm of core temperature at 07:00 h. In conclusion perceived difficulty was correlated with executive function in situations with higher level of difficulties.

The effect of matinal active walking on cognitive, fine motor coordination task performances and perceived difficulty in 12-13 young school boys

“…Participants then participated in three experimental trials in a randomized manner at the same time of day (07:00 h), separated at least by five days. The three trials consisted of a no-walking session (no-WS: Control session (CS)) (Subjects performed a dart-throwing test and cognitive tasks) 15 and two 15-min walking sessions (WS), with each WS trial performed at a different intensity as reported by 4 . After each WS subjects performed a dart-throwing test in two experimental sessions and cognitive tasks.…”

“…The first distance was 2 m (SD); the second was at the regular distance of 2.37 m (LD). The two distances were marked by a line on the floor 15 . After each session, a questionnaire to asses PD (DP-15) was completed by the subjects.…”

“…This score could range from 0 to 10, a low number of zeros indicating high accuracy. The third measure of performance was the coefficients of variation of the score: [SD scores] ⁄ [mean score], a lower coefficient indicating a higher consistency 15 .…”

“…When the target appeared, the subject was required to press a button as soon as possible, and the computer calculated the RT. The time between presenting each form was 300 ms and each subject had 20 targets presented 15 . Scores were expressed in seconds; higher scores reflect poorer performance.…”

“…Furthermore, the results show a significant correlation between perceived difficulty (PD) and EF in situations which higher levels of difficulty. Higher EF performance approves the ability to manage better the level of task difficulty 15 . Li and Belkin 16 define task difficulty as a subjective perception assessed by task doers.…”