Self-reported free-living physical activity and executive control in young adults

Ho, Simon; Gooderham, G. Kyle; Handy, Todd C.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209616

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(143 reference statements)

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“…Hillman et al (2006) reported a faster reaction time associated with PA in subjects between 15 and 71; this result was independent of age. On the other hand, a recent study, carried out in university students, of a similar age range as our population, that evaluated the relationship between PA, reported by the IPAQ (long version), and executive function, found no association (Ho et al, 2018). Despite a similar design and target population, there are several methodological differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…First, the instrument used to evaluate the executive function differed between studies. Ho et al (2018) used the flanker task-a task related to attention and inhibition that has been shown to activate similar brain regions in functional MRI as the Stroop test, such as the anterior cingular cortex (APP) and left prefrontal cortex (lPFC; Fan et al, 2003). Despite the similarity of the two neurocognitive tests, a study reported that the time needed to resolve the response conflict in Stroop's task did not predict the time needed to resolve the response conflict in the flanker task, and therefore, the interference scores between the two tasks were not correlated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical Activity Is Associated With Better Executive Function in University Students

Salas-Gómez

Fernández-Gorgojo

Pozueta

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Introduction: In recent years, the study of the benefits that physical exercise has on brain health has acquired special relevance. In order to implement exercise as an intervention to protect the brain, it is important to have a more clear idea of its effect in the young population. However, few studies have been carried out on these ages. Objective: The main objective of our study was to evaluate the association between physical activity (PA) with memory and executive function, in university students, analyzing the modulatory effect of sex. Methodology: We collected socio-demographic and life habit information, as well as data on the PA that was carried out during the previous week using the international PA questionnaire short version (IPAQ-SF) questionnaire in 206 university students (mean age 19.55 ± 2.39; 67.5% women). Memory and executive function were assessed using a comprehensive battery of validate cognitive tests. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to correlate PA with cognitive tests scores and to evaluate the potential synergistic role of sex. Results: The main finding was that the total amount of PA correlated positively with several tests that evaluated aspects of executive function, specifically Stroop Colors (Pearson's r = 0.17; p = 0.01) and the Stroop Test Color-Word (Pearson's r = 0.15. p = 0.03). These results were adjusted by a large number of possible confounders and modifying variables in a multivariate analysis, like age, sex, academic record, day of the week, and time at which the test was performed. Additionally, we found out that sex had a synergistic effect with PA on the executive test Trail making test-A (TMTA), and in women, this association was stronger than in men. The more PA women reported, the better they performed, that is to say that they took less time to finalize the TMT-A (interaction term between PA and sex: b = −0.0009; p = 0.014). Conclusion: Our study adds evidence of the benefit of PA in cognition in the young population, specifically in the executive inhibitory control, and more significantly in women.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity Is Associated With Better Executive Function in University Students

Salas-Gómez

Fernández-Gorgojo

Pozueta

et al. 2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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“…Original analysis of these data sets found no evidence to support that PA over the previous 7 days impacts basic RT on executive control tasks (Ho et al, 2018).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…This article utilizes a dataset previously analyzed and reported (Ho et al, 2018). For further information regarding the purpose of the studies, their findings, and the implications consult Ho et al (2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, given the positive relationship between individuals categorized as either active vs. sedentary according to the American College of Sports Medicine and cognitive control (Kamijo and Takeda, 2013), we expect that active rather than inactive participants will have smaller IIV. In order to test these hypotheses, we analyzed three data sets that were used to assess the relationship between PA and executive control in young adults (Ho et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability in Executive Control Performance Is Predicted by Physical Activity

Gooderham

Handy

2020

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Physical activity (PA) promotes neurogenesis and has neuroprotective effects on the brain, bolstering the structural and functional resources necessary for improved cognitive functioning. Intraindividual variability (IIV) in cognitive performance is linked to neuropsychological structure and functional ability. Despite evidence of the neurogenerative and neuroprotective effects of PA, limited investigation into the link between PA and IIV has been conducted. Across three studies we investigate the effect of PA on IIV in reaction time (RT) on three modified Flanker Tasks. The International PA Questionnaire was used to evaluate PA while the Attention Network Test (ANT) and two additional modified Flanker Tasks were used to assess executive control and attentional performance. RT coefficients of variation (RTCV) were calculated for each participant by dividing the standard deviation by the mean RT for each stimuli condition. Analysis revealed that basic RT was not associated with PA nor was PA predictive of IIV on the modified Flanker Tasks. However, three consistent findings emerged from analysis of the ANT. First, RTCV and moderate PA were positively related, such that more self-reported moderate PA was associated with greater IIV. Conversely, RTCV and vigorous PA were negatively related. Finally, when controlling for the effects of PA on IIV in young adults, variability decreases as age increases. In sum, PA is predictive of IIV on attentional and executive control tasks in young adults, though only at particular intensities and on certain tasks, indicating that task type and cognitive load are important determinants of the relationship between PA and cognitive performance. These findings are consistent with prior literature that suggests that the role of PA in young adults is reliant on specific interventions and measures in order to detect effects more readily found in adolescent and aging populations.

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Physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and cortical thickness in young adulthood.

Best¹

2020

Developmental Psychology

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The association between physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and brain structure has been studied fairly extensively during development and aging, yet comparatively less in young adulthood. The current study examined 1195 young adults aged 22 to 36 (54% female; 67% Caucasian) to better understand associations between physical fitness-grip strength and submaximal cardiovascular endurance-and agerelated differences in executive function (EF), memory, and average cortical thickness. EF, memory, and cortical thickness were negatively associated with age, and higher endurance was positively associated with EF and memory. Neither physical fitness measure associated with cortical thinning. To follow-up on these analyses, data from monozygotic (n=149 pairs) and dizygotic (n=93 pairs) twins were used to estimate the degree to which heritability versus environment might contribute to the observed associations between cognition and endurance. Environmental effects shared by monozygotic and dizygotic twins alike were estimated to account for roughly 50% of the correlation between endurance and cognition (EF and memory). Heritability and non-shared environmental effects were inconsistent across EF and memory. Overall, these findings suggest an association between cardiovascular endurance and age-related differences in cognition in young adulthood and that these associations may be independent of cortical thinning. Whereas there was consistent evidence for a moderate contribution of the shared environment, there was limited and inconsistent evidence for a role of heritability.

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Self-reported free-living physical activity and executive control in young adults

Cited by 8 publications

References 87 publications

Physical Activity Is Associated With Better Executive Function in University Students

Physical Activity Is Associated With Better Executive Function in University Students

Variability in Executive Control Performance Is Predicted by Physical Activity

Physical fitness and age-related differences in cognition and cortical thickness in young adulthood.

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