Abstract
Children’s motor and cognitive functions develop rapidly during childhood. Physical activity and executive function are intricately linked during this important developmental period, with physical activity interventions consistently proving to benefit children’s executive function. However, it is less clear which type of physical activity shows the strongest associations with executive function in children. Therefore, this study compared executive function performance of children aged 8 to 12 that either participated in team sports or self-paced sports or were not involved in any kind of organized sports (non-athletes). Results demonstrate that children participating in team sports show superior executive function compared to children participating in self-paced sports and non-athletes. Importantly, children participating in self-paced sports do not outperform non-athletes when it comes to executive function. This study is the first to show that even at a very young age, team sports athletes outperform athletes from self-paced sports as well as non-athletes on a multifaceted and comprehensive test battery for executive function. Furthermore, our findings support the hypothesis that cognitively engaging physical activity, such as participation in team sports, might show stronger associations with executive functioning compared to other types of sports and physical activity.
Highlights
Accepted: 29 March 2021Childhood is a critical period for children’s motor and cognitive development
The prefrontal cortex is traditionally considered a crucial region for cognitive processing, whereas the cerebellum is heavily involved in motor control
An increasing number of studies have shown that motor training or physical activity interventions positively affect executive function [4,6], which represents a part of cognition and is defined as the control mechanism that is mainly involved in goal-directed behavior [7,8]
Summary
Childhood is a critical period for children’s motor and cognitive development They have been regarded as separate functions for a long time, there is compelling evidence for an intricate relationship between both [1,2,3]. In this respect, it has been shown that motor control and cognitive function engage overlapping brain regions, e.g., parts of the prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum [2,4,5]. The present study builds upon this evidence and explores executive function in a sample of young female athletes from different sports as well as non-athletes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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 callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
