Abstract
The evidence for the benefits of physical activity on cognitive functioning has increased in recent years. Although the relationship between these variables has been analyzed for decades, the development of evaluation techniques has resolved several issues and advanced this area of knowledge. Moreover, several authors have pointed out the association between the cognitive functioning of athletes and their performance in competition. These recent studies suggest that some specific cognitive abilities of athletes could help them become more effective and improve their chances of success. The objective of this paper was to identify the most relevant advances in these areas of study and to highlight more promising lines of research for the next few years. We have discussed findings from the application of different physical activity programs as well as the most significant cognitive performance variables for sports practice. The limitations of the findings were also discussed.
Highlights
The evidence for the benefits of physical activity on cognitive functioning has increased in recent years
Scientists studying physical activity and sports have integrated this knowledge of brain functioning, using it to explain the contribution of physical exercise and how cognitive performance may increase performance in certain facets of sport (Fink et al, 2018; Hsu et al, 2018)
Techniques such as electroencephalography (Cheron et al, 2016; Gutmann et al, 2018), functional magnetic resonance imaging (Chaddock-Heyman et al, 2013; Fontes et al, 2015; Chen et al, 2016), positron emission tomography (Boecker and Drzezga, 2016), single photon emission tomography (Shih et al, 2019), or magnetoencephalography (Huang et al, 2016) have all improved the visualization and understanding of cognitive processes generated and developed in physical activity and sport contexts. The core of their contribution is the observation of brain changes during exercise, the impact of various tasks, and improvements in physical condition, which reflects this phenomenon (Becker et al, 2016; Jonasson et al, 2017; Schwarb et al, 2017)
Summary
Analysis of the benefits of physical activity on people is especially relevant in childhood and adolescence. Among the manifestations of physical fitness, aerobic capacity best explains the association between physical exercise and cognitive development in children and adolescents, as several authors have highlighted (Pontifex et al, 2011; Herting et al, 2014). Studies using neuroimaging techniques to explore these relationships have linked structural changes in the brain to exercise and the physical condition of children and adolescents. Authors such as Chaddock et al (2010) have observed a higher volume in the hippocampus and the striated dorsal body with higher levels of aerobic fitness in children. In a group of obese children, Esteban-Cornejo et al (2017) observed a relationship between cardiorespiratory capacity and speed/agility with the volume of gray matter in frontal, temporal, and subcortical regions, such as the premotor and supplementary motor cortex, the hippocampus, the caudate nucleus, as well as the inferior, superior, and parahippocampal temporal rotation
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