Table 2.
Summary of study characteristics and results of studies including chronic effects of long-term physical activity.
| Study | Sample | Design and assessment | Intervention | Mean Age | N (% male) | Duration (min.) | Outcome modality | Outcome measurements | Significant differences (>0.05) between physical activity and control sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaddock-Heyman et al. (2013) | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | -FITKIDS physical activity program -Wait-list control group |
8.9 8.9 |
14 (50 %)9 (66 %) |
600 p/w 36 weeks | Brain function (MRI) | - Active-state fMRI: Anterior PFC - Active-state fMRI: Anterior cingulate cortex - Inhibitory control RT (Flanker task) - Inhibitory control accuracy (Flanker task) |
> Decreased activation in PA condition* > ns* > Within PA condition improvement during incongruent and neutral trials > Within PA condition improvement during neutral trials |
| Chaddock-Heyman et al. (2018) | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - FITKIDS2 physical activity program -Wait-list control group |
8.7 8.7 |
76 (49 %)67 (49 %) |
600 p/w 36 weeks | Brain structure (DTI) | - WMI FA - WMI AD - WMI RD |
> Increased FA in the PA condition in: gCC* > ns* > Decreased RD in the PA condition in: gCC* |
| Davis et al. (2011) | Obese children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - Aerobic physical activity program - Control group |
9.6 9.6 |
10 (n/a) 9 (n/a) |
100 or 200 p/w 13 weeks |
Brain function (MRI) | - Active-state fMRI: FEF - Active-state fMRI: SEF - Active-state fMRI: PFC - Active-state fMRI: PPC - Inhibition (Antisaccade task) |
> ns > ns > Increased activation in bilateral PFC in PA condition* > Decreased activation in bilateral PPC in PA condition* > Not reported |
| Drollette et al. (2018)A | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - FITKIDS2 physical activity program -Wait-list control group |
8.7 8.8 |
139 (51 %)169 (51 %) |
600 p/w 36 weeks |
Brain function (EEG) | - CRN - ERN - Attention inhibition RT (Flanker task) - Attention inhibition accuracy (Flanker task) |
> ns > Increased ERN amplitudes in the control condition* > ns > ns |
| Hillman et al. (2014)A | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - FITTKIDS physical activity program -Wait-list control group |
8.8 8.8 |
109 (51 %) 112 (46 %) |
600 p/w 36 weeks |
Brain function (EEG) | - P3 amplitude (Flanker task) - P3 latency (Flanker task) - P3 amplitude (Switch task) - P3 latency (Switch task) - Attention inhibition RT (Flanker task) - Attention inhibition accuracy (Flanker task) - Cognitive flexibility RT (Switch task) - Cognitive flexibility accuracy (Switch task) |
> Greater P3 amplitudes in the PA condition for incongruent trials* > Shorter P3 latencies in the PA condition for incongruent trials* > Greater P3 amplitudes in the PA condition for heterogeneous trials* > ns* > ns > Greater improvement in PA condition > ns > Greater improvement in PA condition for the heterogeneous trials |
| Kamijo et al. (2011) | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - FITTKIDS physical activity program - Wait-list control |
8.9 9.1 |
12 (n/a) 14 (n/a) |
600 p/w 36 weeks |
Brain function (EEG) | - iCNV amplitude - tCNV amplitude - Working memory RT (Sternberg task) - Working memory accuracy (Sternberg task) |
> Greater P3 amplitudes in the PA condition* > ns* > ns > ns |
| Kim and So (2015) | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - Combined exercise training (CET) - Sedentary control group |
8.3 9.2 |
10 (40 %)10 (40 %) |
180 p/w 16 weeks |
Brain function (EEG) | - Alpha waves (Fp1, F3, F4, C4) - Selective attention (Stroop task) |
> Greater amplitudes in the PA condition* > Greater improvement in PA condition |
| Krafft, et al. (2014c)B | Obese children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - SMART physical activity program - Sedentary control group |
9.5 9.6 |
13 (23 %)9 (44 %) |
200 p/w 32 weeks | Brain function (resting state MRI) | - Resting-state fMRI: Salience network - Resting-state fMRI: Default mode network - Resting-state fMRI: Cognitive control network - Resting-state fMRI: Motor network - Cognition (CAS) |
> ns > Decreased synchrony in PA condition > Decreased synchrony in PA condition > Increased synchrony in PA condition > ns |
| Krafft, et al. (2014c)B | Obese children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - SMART physical activity program - Sedentary control group |
9.7 9.9 |
24 (29 %)19 (42 %) |
200 p/w 32 weeks | Brain function (MRI) | - Active-state fMRI (Antisaccade task) - Active-state fMRI (Flanker task) - Inhibition RT (Antisaccade task) - Inhibition accuracy (Antisaccade task) - Attention inhibition RT (Flanker task) - Attention inhibition accuracy (Flanker task) |
> Decreased activation in PA condition in: bilateral precentral gyrus, MFG, paracentral lobule, postcentral gyrus, SPL, IPL and ACC > Increased activation in PA condition in: bilateral SFG, MFG, MFG, cingulate gyrus, and ACC > ns > ns > ns > ns |
| Krafft, et al. (2014b)B | Obese children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - SMART physical activity program - Sedentary control group |
9.9 9.4 |
10 (50 %)8 (50 %) |
200 p/w 32 weeks | Brain structure WMI (MRI) | - WMI SLF FA - WMI SLF RD - Cognitive function (CAS) - Teacher ratings of executive function behaviors (BRIEF) |
> Only when attendance was considered, increased WMI was observed in PA condition* > Only when attendance was considered, decreased WMI was observed in PA condition* > ns > Only when attendance was considered, improved executive function was observed in PA condition |
| Lee et al. (2017) | ADHD | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - Combined exercise group - Non exercise control group |
8.8 8.8 |
6 (100 %)6 (100 %) |
180 p/w 12 weeks | Brain function (EEG) | - Beta waves eyes open - Beta waves eyes closed - Beta waves (Stroop task) - Selective attention (Stroop task) |
> ns* > ns* > Greater beta wave amplitudes in PA condition* > ns |
| Ludyga et al. (2019) | Healthy children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - Aerobic training group - Coordinative training group - Control group |
9.1 9.6 9.3 |
11 (n/a) 12 (n/a) 14 (n/a) |
135 p/w 10 weeks |
Brain function (EEG) | - P3 amplitude - P3 latency - Attention inhibition RT (Flanker task) - Attention inhibition accuracy (Flanker task) |
> ns > ns > ns > ns |
| Schaeffer et al. (2014)B | Obese children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - SMART physical activity program - Sedentary control group |
9.9 9.4 |
10 (n/a) 8 (n/a) |
200 p/w 32 weeks | Brain structure WMI (MRI) | - WMI uncinate fasciculus FA - WMI uncinate fasciculus RD |
> Increased FA in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus in the PA condition* > Decrease RD in the left uncinate fasciculus in the PA condition* |
| Xiong et al. (2018) | Deaf children | RCT + pre/post - intervention | - Aerobic exercise program - Control group |
10.2 11.5 |
10 (30 %)8 (50 %) |
180 p/w 11 weeks | Brain structure WMI (MRI) | - WMI FA - WMI MD - Inhibition RT (Flanker task) - Inhibition accuracy (Flanker task) - Working memory RT (2-back task) - Working memory accuracy (2-back task) - Shifting RT (odd task) - Shifting accuracy (odd task) |
> Decreased FA in the PA condition in: PCT, right HC, gCC, left SFOF, right ICP and left SCR* > Increased MD in the PA condition in: gCC, ALIC, IFOF, HC and decreased MD in: left ICP, left TAP* > Improved performance in PA condition > ns > Decreased performance in PA condition > ns > Improved performance in PA condition > ns |
Note. * Measures are included in meta-analysis. The measures without an asterisk were not included in the meta-analysis because these studies did not report sufficient information to allow meta-analysis; Italicized measures are behavioral measures; A, B Studies used overlapping samples; ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; ALIC, anterior limb of the internal capsule; CAS, cognitive assessment system; FA, fractional anisotropy; fMRI: functional magnetic resonance imaging; FEF, frontal eye field; gCC, genu of the corpus callosum; HC, hippocampus; ICP, inferior cerebellar peduncle; IFOF, inferior frontooccipital fasciculus; IPL, inferior parietal lobule; MD, mean diffusivity; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; n/a, not available; MFG, medial frontal gyrus; PA: Physical activity; PFC: prefrontal cortex; PCT, pontine crossing tract; PPC, posterior parietal cortex; RD, radial diffusivity; RT; reaction time; SCR, superior corona radiata; SEF, supplementary eye field; SFOF, superior frontooccipital fasciculus; SLF, superior longitudinal fasciculus; SFG, superior frontal gyrus; SPL, superior parietal lobule; TAP, tapetum; WMI, white matter integrity.