Abstract
Relationships between gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness with visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in children are hypothesized to be mediated by underlying functional brain mechanisms. Because there is little experimental evidence to support this mechanism, the present study was designed to investigate the relationships of gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness with VSWM-related brain activation in 8- to 10-year-old children. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data obtained during a VSWM-task were analyzed for 80 children from grades 3 (47.5%) and 4 of 21 primary schools in the Netherlands (51.3% girls). Gross motor skills (Korper Koordinationstest für Kinder and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - 2nd Edition) and cardiovascular fitness (20-meter Shuttle Run Test) were assessed. VSWM-related brain activation was found in a network involving the angular gyrus, the superior parietal cortex, and the thalamus; deactivation was found in the inferior and middle temporal gyri. Although behavioral results showed significant relations of gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness with VSWM performance, gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness were not related to VSWM-related brain activation. Therefore, we could not confirm the hypothesis that brain activation underlies the relationship of gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness with VSWM performance. Our results suggest that either the effects of physical activity on cognition do not necessarily go via changes in gross motor skills and/or cardiovascular fitness, or that brain activation patterns as measured with the blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal may not be the mechanism underlying the relationships of gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness with VSWM.
Highlights
Gross motor skills represent the involvement of large body muscles in balance, limb, and trunk movements (Corbin, Pangrazi, & Franks, 2000)
Regions in the parietal and temporal cortices and the thalamus were found to be important for visuospatial working memory (VSWM) performance in 8- to 10-year-old children
Gross motor skills and cardiovascular fitness were both related to VSWM performance, they were not related to VSWMrelated brain activation
Summary
Gross motor skills represent the involvement of large body muscles in balance, limb, and trunk movements (Corbin, Pangrazi, & Franks, 2000). Gross motor skills that children acquire during childhood enable further development of complex movement and sport-specific skills (Clark & Metcalfe, 2002). Well-developed gross motor skills go hand in hand with higher levels of physical activity, which are important for developing higher levels of cardiovascular fitness (Clark & Metcalfe, 2002). Cardiovascular fitness refers to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity (Corbin et al, 2000). Low cardiovascular fitness levels have shown to be related to cardiovascular disease risk factors, increased body fatness, and hypertension in children and adolescents (Ortega, Ruiz, Castillo, & Sjöström, 2008). Physical fitness is an important aspects for children’s physical
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