Abstract
Moderate intensity exercise has been shown to enhance cognition in an adolescent population, yet the effect of high-intensity sprint-based exercise remains unknown and was therefore examined in the present study. Following ethical approval and familiarisation, 44 adolescents (12.6 ± 0.6 y) completed an exercise (E) and resting (R) trial in a counter-balanced, randomised crossover design. The exercise trial comprised of 10 × 10 s running sprints, interspersed by 50 s active recovery (walking). A battery of cognitive function tests (Stroop, Digit Symbol Substitution (DSST) and Corsi blocks tests) were completed 30 min pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and 45 min post-exercise. Data were analysed using mixed effect models with repeated measures. Response times on the simple level of the Stroop test were significantly quicker 45 min following sprint-based exercise (R: 818 ± 33 ms, E: 772 ± 26 ms; p = 0.027) and response times on the complex level of the Stroop test were quicker immediately following the sprint-based exercise (R: 1095 ± 36 ms, E: 1043 ± 37 ms; p = 0.038), while accuracy was maintained. Sprint-based exercise had no immediate or delayed effects on the number of items recalled on the Corsi blocks test (p = 0.289) or substitutions made during the DSST (p = 0.689). The effect of high intensity sprint-based exercise on adolescents' cognitive function was dependant on the component of cognitive function examined. Executive function was enhanced following exercise, demonstrated by improved response times on the Stroop test, whilst visuo-spatial memory and general psycho-motor speed were unaffected. These data support the inclusion of high-intensity sprint-based exercise for adolescents during the school day to enhance cognition.
Highlights
There is a substantial body of literature suggesting that exercise has beneficial effects upon cognitive function in adult populations (Chang et al, 2012; Lambourne and Tomporowski, 2010)
The main finding of the present study was that sprint-based exercise enhanced the speed of executive function both immediately post-exercise and following a 45 min delay, while accuracy was maintained
There was no effect of sprint-based exercise on visuo-spatial working memory or general psychomotor speed
Summary
There is a substantial body of literature suggesting that exercise has beneficial effects upon cognitive function in adult populations (Chang et al, 2012; Lambourne and Tomporowski, 2010). It has been suggested that 95% of young people's ‘bouts’ of physical activity are less than 15 s in duration (Bailey et al, 1995) and evidence has shown that young people's activity patterns are sporadic and very rarely consist of sustained moderate or vigorous intensity activity (Armstrong and Welsman, 2006) Despite this the studies examining the effect of exercise on young people's cognitive function have focussed upon more continuous exercise models such as walking (Hillman et al, 2009), running (Cooper et al, 2012b) and cycling (Ellemberg and St-Louis-Deschênes, 2010), with no studies to date examining the effects of high intensity intermittent exercise
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