TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the included intervention studies.
| Study (Authors, Publication years, Methodological quality, Location) | N | OSE | CSE | Control group | Intervention duration/Session length | Cognitive tasks | Cognitive functions | Results |
| (1) Gender | (1) Gender | (1) Gender | ||||||
| (2) Age (years) | (2) Age (years) | (2) Age (years) | ||||||
| (3) Exercise | (3) Exercise | (3) Exercise | ||||||
| (4) Education (years) | (4) Education (years) | (4) Education (years) | ||||||
| Children and adolescents (6–17 years old) | ||||||||
|
Crova et al., 2014 7/11 Italy |
70 | (1) 20M/37 (2) 9.6 ± 0.5 (3) Enhanced PE (including curricular PE classes and additional skill-based and tennis-specific training) |
(1) 15M/33 (2) 9.6 ± 0.5 (3) Curricular PE |
None | 6 months | RNG task | Inhibitory control; Working memory |
OSE led to greater improvements in inhibitory control compared with the CSE. |
|
Schmidt et al., 2015 7/11 Switzerland |
181 | (1) 26M/69 (2) 11.3 ± 0.6 (3) Team games |
(1) 28M/57 (2) 11.3 ± 0.6 (3) Aerobic exercise |
(1) 28M/55 (2) 11.4 ± 0.6 (3) PE program with low physical exertion and cognitive engagement |
6 weeks | N-back task; Flanker task |
Inhibitory control; Cognitive flexibility; Working memory |
OSE resulted in improvement on cognitive flexibility. CSE did not change cognitive function. |
| Young adults (18–35 years old) | ||||||||
|
Hung et al., 2018 6/11 China (Taiwan) |
20 | (1) 20M/20 (2) 23.2 ± 2.5 (3) Badminton |
(1) 20M/20 (2) 23.2 ± 2.5 (3) Running |
None | 40 min: 5 min (warm up) 30 min (exercise) 5 min (cool down) |
Task-switching paradigm | Cognitive flexibility | One-bout OSE resulted in significantly higher serum BDNF and near significant smaller global switch costs compared with CSE. |
| Older adults (≥ 56 years old) | ||||||||
|
O’Brien et al., 2017 5/11 Ireland |
58 | (1) 1M/18 (2) 69.2 ± 5.1 (3) Tennis, aerobics classes or dance classes |
(1) 12M/19 (2) 69.2 ± 4.8 (3) Swimming or gym circuits, etc. |
(1) 8M/21 (2) 70.5 ± 6.9 (3) Active retired group meeting or card games |
OSE group: 80 ± 20 min; CSE group: 70 ± 20 min; Control group: 60 min |
SiFI task; Forward Digit Span task |
Memory (immediate memory); Multisensory perception |
The immediate memory was improved in both exercise groups. Only OSE led to improvement in sensitivity in audio-visual perception. |
|
Tsai et al., 2017 8/11 China (Taiwan) |
64 | (1) 22M/22 (2) 66.9 ± 4.7 (3) Table tennis (4) 12.5 ± 4.1 |
(1) 21M/21 (2) 66.2 ± 4.9 (3) Bike riding or brisk walking/jogging (4)12.6 ± 3.0 |
(1) 21M/21 (2) 65.7 ± 3.5 (3) A balance and stretching program (4) 10.6 ± 3.2 |
6 months | Task-switching paradigm; N-back task |
Cognitive flexibility; Working memory |
OSE and CSE differently influenced executive function. OSE led to improvement on cognitive flexibility. CSE led to greater improvement on working memory compared with the OSE. |
BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; CSE, closed skill exercise; M, male; OSE, open skill exercise; PE, physical education; RNG, random number generation; SiFI, sound induced flash illusion.