Abstract
Different types of physical activity are thought to differentially affect children’s brain activation, via physiological mechanisms, or by activating similar brain areas during physical and cognitive tasks. Despite many behavioral studies relying on these mechanisms, they have been rarely studied. This study looks at both mechanisms simultaneously, by examining effects of two physical activity interventions (aerobic vs. cognitively-engaging) on children’s brain activation. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data of 62 children (48.4% boys, mean age 9.2 years) was analyzed. Children’s visuospatial working memory related brain activity patterns were tested using a Spatial Span Task before and after the 14-week interventions consisting of four physical education lessons per week. The control group followed their regular program of two lessons per week. Analyses of activation patterns in SPM 12.0 revealed no activation changes between pretest and posttest (p > .05), and no differences between the three conditions in pretest–posttest changes in brain activation (p > .05). Large inter-individual differences were found, suggesting that not every child benefited from the interventions in the same way. To get more insight into the assumed mechanisms, further research is needed to understand whether, when, for whom, and how physical activity results in changed brain activation patterns.
Highlights
The positive effects of physical activity on children’s cognition and academic achievement are often explained by referring to changes in underlying brain structure and functioning (e.g. Best, 2010; Donnelly et al, 2016; Gunnell et al, 2019; Tomporowski & Pesce, 2019)
Our results suggest that physical activity, at least the type and amount that we used, does not necessarily bring about changes in children’s brain activation patterns
Different types of physical activity are needed to bring about effects, or the same types of physical activity require more time to create notice able changes in brain activation
Summary
The positive effects of physical activity on children’s cognition and academic achievement are often explained by referring to changes in underlying brain structure and functioning (e.g. Best, 2010; Donnelly et al, 2016; Gunnell et al, 2019; Tomporowski & Pesce, 2019). The positive effects of physical activity on children’s cognition and academic achievement are often explained by referring to changes in underlying brain structure and functioning Most studies examining effects of physical activity on children’s brains have focused on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, despite the fact that different types of physical activity are expected to result in different adaptations in the brain because of different underlying mechanisms (Tomporowski & Pesce, 2019). Most studies examining the effects of physical activity on children’s cognition and brain activation have provided evidence for beneficial effects of aerobic physical activity (see García-Hermoso et al, 2021; De Greeff et al, 2018; Donnelly et al, 2016; Valkenborghs et al, 2019). More frequent participation in physical activity results in structural and functional brain adaptations due to, amongst others, angiogenesis and neurogenesis in brain areas supporting cognitive performance (Best, 2010)
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