The Effect Of Physical Exercise Intervention On Brain Development In Adolescent: A Systematic Review And Meta-analysis

Abstract

The relationship between physical activity (PA) and exercise with brain development in adolescents has seen a growing interest during the past two decades. Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have shown the effectiveness of PA interventions on improving adolescents’ brain cognition. PURPOSE: The study aimed to assess the effect of physical activity (PA) interventions and adolescents’ brain development. METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Pubmed database from their inception to June 30th, 2019.Intervention studies aimed at examining the exercise-brain interaction at a developmental age were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled effect size (ES) values and their corresponding 95% CIs. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the effect of participants’ and PA programs’ characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 25 studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Pooled ES estimations were as follows: working memory 0.45 (95% CI = 0.28-0.61), inhibition 0.08 (95% CI = 0.02-0.14), attention 0.61 (95% CI = 0.44-0.78) and brain psychological functions 1.05 (95% CI = 0.67-1.43). CONCLUSIONS: PA benefits several domains of working memory, inhibition, attention and brain neurophysiology functions in youth. Physical activity interventions and programs designed to increase the number of PA per day after school seems to be the most effective. (The last author as the corresponding author; This study was supported by the NPOPSS Grant 15CTY011)