Exercise Effects on Cognition in School-Aged Children

Cognition Clinical Trial

— FITKids  

Official title:

ERPs to Academics: Exercise Effects on Cognition in School-Aged Children

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01334359
• Other study ID #: 1R01HD055352-01A2
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 3
• First received: April 8, 2011
• Last updated: July 23, 2014
• Start date: July 2008
• Est. completion date: June 2012

Study information

• Verified date: July 2014
• Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Recent trends have identified decreasing levels of physical activity, fitness, and health in preadolescent children. Examining factors, such as physical activity behavior and aerobic fitness that positively influence cognitive health of school-age children are important for improving school performance, maximizing health, and improving the overall functioning of individuals as they progress through the human lifespan. A sample of preadolescent children from the Urbana, Illinois elementary school system will be randomly assigned to a 9- month afterschool program that focuses on either aerobic exercise or wait-list control group to determine the effects of physical activity on basic and applied aspects of cognition. Changes in neuroimaging and behavioral indices of cognitive function and performance on standardized academic achievement tests of mathematics and reading will be examined as a function of participation in the intervention. Preliminary research supports that physical activity is positively associated with basic and applied aspects of cognition, with a stronger relationship for tasks requiring extensive amounts of executive control. However, previous research has mainly focused on older adults, and little research has examined the relationship between physical activity and executive control in children. These findings will provide lifestyle considerations for children to improve their cognitive health across the lifespan.

Description:

The aim of this proposal is to improve our understanding of factors related to brain health and cognition of school-aged children by examining the effects of a 9-month exercise intervention on basic and applied aspects of cognition in preadolescent children. From a basic measurement perspective, event-related brain potentials, MRI, fMRI, and behavioral indices of cognition will be studied during several tasks aimed at assessing various aspects of executive control. Preliminary research has observed faster and more efficient performance in high-fit, relative to low-fit, children and adults using neuroelectric measures that reflect attentional allocation to environmental stimuli and response monitoring processes, along with behavioral measures that reflect response speed and accuracy. These preliminary findings indicate greater top-down attentional control may be associated with increases in physical activity. From an applied measurement perspective, preliminary research has found that children with greater aerobic fitness perform better on standardized achievement tests of reading and mathematics, compared to children with lower aerobic fitness, suggesting that exercise may be related to academic performance in an applied school setting. To date, no causal evidence exists regarding the effects of physical activity on neuroelectric, behavioral, or applied school performance indices of cognition in children. Accordingly, this proposal investigates an aerobic activity training intervention on these measures of cognition using three tasks that require variable amounts of executive control, and on the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test using a randomized control design in which participants are assigned to an afterschool physical activity program or a wait-list control group. Given recent trends identifying decreased levels of physical activity and health status in preadolescents, the understanding of the potential benefits of physical activity on cognition is of great interest. It is imperative that factors positively influencing cognitive function of children be examined to maximize health and effective functioning of individuals as they progress through the lifespan.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 252
• Est. completion date: June 2012
• Est. primary completion date: June 2012
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 8 Years to 9 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parental consent

• 7.5-9.5 years

• Capable of performing exercise

• Absence of school-identified learning disability

• IQ > 85

• Tanner Scales score <= 2

• ADHD Rating Scales score > 85%

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-consent of guardian

• Above or Below age range

• Any physical disability that prohibits exercise

• School-identified learning disability

• IQ < 85

• Tanner Scales Score > 2

• ADHD Rating Scale score < 85%

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Investigator), Primary Purpose: Basic Science

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Brain Health
• Cognition
• Scholastic Achievement

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Physical Activity
9-month afterschool program designed to increase physical activity and aerobic fitness.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Illinois	Urbana	Illinois

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Event-related brain potentials	Measures of the neuroelectric system that occur in response to, or in preparation for, a discrete event.	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	No
Primary	Task Performance	Measures of responses speed and accuracy	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	No
Primary	Academic Achievement	Scholastic achievement tests of reading comprehension and arithmetic.	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	No
Secondary	Magnetic Resonance Imaging	Measures of brain structure.	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	Yes
Secondary	functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging	measures of brain function	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	Yes
Secondary	Eye Tracking	Measures of visual gaze.	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	No
Secondary	Virtual Reality	Measures of response speed and accuracy related to crosswalk behavior	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks)	No
Secondary	Adiposity	Measure of change in adiposity	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	Yes
Secondary	Diet and Brain Function	Measure of correlation between diet and brain function	Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks	No