Abstract
Acute physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity has been shown to improve cognitive functions in children. However, the empirical evidence associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children is still limited, in particular regarding which specific cognitive functions benefit. This study investigated the effects of an acute bout of physical activity on multiple aspects of executive functions (inhibition, switching, and visual working memory) in children with ADHD. Forty-six children (8–12 years old; 82.6% boys) were randomly assigned to either 15 minutes of acute exergaming (physical activity of moderate intensity) or to a control condition (sedentary). Executive function performance in inhibition, switching and visual working memory were assessed before and after each condition, using a modified version of both the Flanker and the Color Span Backwards Task. The results revealed that participants in the exergaming group performed significantly faster than those in the control group in terms of both inhibition and switching, but there was no significant difference in the accuracy of the two tasks nor in visual working memory performance. These findings suggest that acute physical activity utilizing exergaming has the potential to improve specific aspects of executive functions (reaction times in inhibition and switching) in children with ADHD.
Highlights
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is recognized as a highly prevalent disorder (3–7%) in childhood and adolescence[1,2]
The association between acute exercise, functional connectivity, and catecholamines may be relevant for children with ADHD, since these effects appear to be localized in brain regions that are involved in the pathophysiology of the disorder
The results revealed that completing an acute exergaming intervention of a moderate to vigorous intensity for at least 14 min had significant beneficial effects on reaction times in inhibition and switching, but not on accuracy or visual working memory performance
Summary
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is recognized as a highly prevalent disorder (3–7%) in childhood and adolescence[1,2]. Further evidence can be found in the fact that acute exercise seems to lead to modulated event-related potentials (ERPs) These modulations include increased P3 amplitudes and shorter latencies, which, alongside producing benefits for cognitive performance, can be interpreted as an increase in attentional resources[27,28]. It has recently been shown in adults that acute exercise can increase functional connectivity in a variety of large-scale networks which are thought to be related to EFs and attention, such as the frontoparietal and the ventral attentional network[29]. The association between acute exercise, functional connectivity, and catecholamines may be relevant for children with ADHD, since these effects appear to be localized in brain regions that are involved in the pathophysiology of the disorder
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
