Sympathetic Nervous System and Exercise Affects Cognition in Youth (SNEACY): study protocol for a randomized crossover trial

Abstract

Background There is an increasing prevalence of physical inactivity during childhood, which is associated with a variety of health problems. However, the mechanisms by which acute exercise benefits cognition in childhood remains unknown. Here we describe the protocol for a randomized crossover trial called SNEACY (Sympathetic Nervous System & Exercise Affects Cognition in Youth), a study designed to better understand mechanisms linking acute exercise and cognition in 9–10-year-old healthy, cognitively normal children. Methods Children from the Greater Boston, MA region will be recruited to participate in this single center study. A randomized crossover design will be utilized, such that participants will act as their own controls, through initial randomization to condition assignment and condition counterbalancing across participants. One hundred three children will participate in three randomized acute interventions: moderate intensity treadmill exercise (20 min, 70–75% of their maximal heart rate), seated rest (20 min), and a Trier Social Stress Test for Children (14 min). These visits will occur on 3 three separate days, approximately 5–8 days apart. Before and after each intervention, children complete a variety of cognitive tasks measuring attentional inhibition while their neuroelectric activity is recorded. Variables of interest include EEG data, accuracy and reaction time, academic achievement, and salivary alpha amylase. Academic achievement is also assessed following interventions. In addition, children provide passive drool samples throughout the interventions to measure various biomarkers that may explain the acute exercise benefit on cognition. Discussion The results from this study could influence educational and public health recommendations to enhance cognition and learning in pre-adolescent children. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03592238. Registered on 19 July 2018

Cardiorespiratory fitness levels and body mass index of pre-adolescent children and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The two trials include relatively healthy older individuals (65–80 years, 23% non-white) from three different geographical sites in the U.S. (Pittsburgh, PA; Boston, MA; Kansas City, KS), and typically developing children (8–10-years, 42% non-white) from Boston, MA, see Table 1 for participant demographics. Recruitment strategies, eligibility, testing protocols, BMI measurements, and CRF protocols were published before the start of the pandemic ( 36 , 37 ) and did not change over the course of the pandemic. All participants provided written informed consent (or assent in the case of children) in accordance with the Institutional Review Board at their testing site.…”

Cross-sectional analysis reveals COVID-19 pandemic community lockdown was linked to dysregulated cortisol and salivary alpha amylase in children

“…This cross-sectional investigation was a secondary analysis of a larger clinical trial ( ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03592238). The inclusion criteria for participants included: parental/guardian consent and participant assent, between the 9–10 years of age, capable of performing exercise, normal/average intelligence quotient (IQ) or above (i.e., >85), classified as pre-pubescent or in the earliest stages of puberty ( 37 ), no prior diagnosis of cognitive or physical disability, not taking any anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, or attention deficit disorder (ADD)/ attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications, normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and able to speak and read English ( 38 ). The detailed methodology is provided in a recent publication ( 38 ).…”

Replication and extension of acute exercise effect on frontoparietal and default mode network functional connectivity in children

“…Twenty-one healthy children aged 9 to 13 years old (mean age 11.5 ± 1.1 years, 9 female) were recruited from an ongoing randomized crossover trial (Raine et al, 2021). Participants came from the Greater Boston area and included racial and ethnic diversity.…”

“…In addition, they completed the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2 (KBIT-2) to assess IQ. Exclusion criteria included non-consent from guardian or non-assent from participant, being unable to exercise due to physical disability, an IQ less than 85, diagnosis of physical or cognitive disability, use of psychiatric medication, poor vision, and not being fluent in English (Raine et al, 2021). Participant demographics are depicted in Table 1.…”

“…Collecting VO2 max functioned Age (years) 11.5 ± 1.1 BMI (kg m -2 ) 18.4 ± 2.7 IQ 110.8 ± 11.4 VO2 max (mL/kg/min) 44 ± 6.5 VO2 maximal HR (bpm) 192.7 ± 9.2 Note: data presented as mean value ± standard deviation to control for individual differences in cardiovascular fitness and reactivity to exercise, and participant data is presented on Table 1. VO2 max values were collected according to the above protocol while participants were initially enrolled in the parent study (Raine et al, 2021).…”