Sympathetic Nervous System Mediation of Acute Exercise Effects on Childhood Brain and Cognition

Exercise Clinical Trial

Official title:

Sympathetic Nervous System Mediation of Acute Exercise Effects on Childhood Brain and Cognition

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03592238
• Other study ID #: 1R01HD094054-01
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 10, 2019
• Est. completion date: October 2024

Study information

• Verified date: November 2023
• Source: Northeastern University
• Contact: Charles Hillman
• Phone: 617-373-8342
• Email: c.hillman[@]northeastern.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Today's children have become increasingly inactive and unfit, with >50% of children not meeting the recommended 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Previous research has suggested that acute aerobic exercise of moderate intensity was associated with improved cognition manifested by improved performance and increased P3 amplitude, a neuroelectric indicator that reflects the amount of attentional allocation, in tasks requiring cognitive control. While minimal evidence exists to support potential mechanisms underlying the transient effects of exercise on brain and cognition, research suggests that phasic changes in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) (as measured by salivary alpha amylase (sAA)) system are a potential mechanism for explaining the acute effect of exercise on brain and cognition. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine the mechanisms linking acute aerobic exercise to improved cognitive control as well as the underlying neuroelectrical activities in children, using electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs). We hope to gain a better understanding of the role of acute exercise and cognitive and brain health. The results from this study will help identify mechanisms linking acute exercise to enhanced cognitive performance in children.

Our hypothesis is that exercise-induced phasic increases in sympathetic nervous system activity will mediate the effect of a single bout of exercise on brain function, cognition, and standardized achievement test performance.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 240
• Est. completion date: October 2024
• Est. primary completion date: July 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 9 Years to 10 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parental/guardian consent (non-consent of guardian).

• Participants must have had no prior diagnosis of cognitive or physical disability, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (severe asthma, epilepsy, chronic kidney disease, and dependence upon a wheelchair/walking aid).

• Participants must be free of any type of anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety medication, as well as those medications used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (use of any anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications).

• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision based on the minimal 20/20 standard in order to complete the cognitive task (below 20/20 vision).

• Participants must have not yet reached, or be in the earliest stages, of puberty, as measured by a modified test of the Tanner Staging System (onset of puberty as determined by Tanner).

• English speaking.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants with an intelligence quotient below 85 will be excluded.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cognition
• Exercise

Intervention

Other:
• Aerobic Exercise Intervention
The protocol will include a 25-min bout of exercise at an intensity of 75% HRmax, such that participants will engage in a 1-min warm up and a 1-min cool down, with the majority of time (i.e., 23-min) spent exercising at 75% of HRmax.
• Trier Social Stress Test for Children
Participants will be asked to imagine that they are in a new class with 20 other students, and that their teacher has asked them to stand in front of the class and introduce themselves. The mental arithmetic task will entail asking children to serially subtract the number 5 from a larger number as quickly as possible.
• Seated Rest
Children will be asked to sit quietly or read a book of their choosing.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Northeastern University	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Northeastern University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Neuroelectric outcome	P3 - ERP	baseline
Primary	Neuroelectric outcome	P3 - ERP	~1 hr after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	inhibitory control	accuracy	baseline
Primary	inhibitory control	reaction time	baseline
Primary	working memory	accuracy	baseline
Primary	working memory	reaction time	baseline
Primary	inhibitory control	accuracy	~1 hr after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	inhibitory control	reaction time	~1 hr after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	working memory	accuracy	~1 hr after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	working memory	reaction time	~1 hr after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	Academic Achievement outcome	WRAT3 (Wide Range, Inc., Wilmington, DE) Reading Accuracy	~1.5 hrs after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	Academic Achievement outcome	WRAT3 (Wide Range, Inc., Wilmington, DE) Spelling Accuracy	~1.5 hrs after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition
Primary	Academic Achievement outcome	WRAT3 (Wide Range, Inc., Wilmington, DE) Math Accuracy	~1.5 hrs after arriving at lab, after completing the experimental condition