Determining Whether Tennis Benefits the Updating Function in Young Children: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

This study aimed at investigating the behavioral and neuro-electrical impacts of a coordinative exercise intervention on the updating function of the working memory (WM) in young children. Children in the experimental group was tested on the 1-back working memory task before and after a coordinative exercise program that involved a 60 min session twice per week for eight weeks (totally 16 sessions), while the control group underwent routine classroom activities with the same WM tests. The results showed that the hit rates of performing the 1-back task increased significantly in the experimental group compared with that of the control group. The experimental group demonstrated a larger decrease in both reaction time and false alarm rates from pre-test to post-test than the control group. Physical fitness improved after exercise intervention in the experimental group. Neural adaptations due to the exercise training were evaluated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and the results indicated that the experimental group experienced a greater cortical oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) increase in the prefrontal area after the intervention than the control group. These results suggest that coordinative exercises are beneficial for improving WM as well as reaction time and physical fitness in young children.

Coordinated and Aerobic Exercise do not Improve Attention in Graduate Students

Acute coordinative exercise, represented by various sports skills requiring bilateral use of hands or feet, has been shown to improve attention in school age children in a classroom setting. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if acute aerobic and coordinative exercise improves attention in graduate students in the same setting. Twentyeight students (19 Women, 9 men; Age=24±1 years; BMI=22.9±0.6) enrolled in a graduate education program completed 3 sessions, each separated by 7 d. Immediately before a 1 h classroom lecture, subjects completed either 15 m of quiet sitting, aerobic exercise (walking), or coordinative exercise. Coordinative exercise consisted of a sequence of bilateral activities requiring gross and fine motor movement using balls of various sizes and types. Prior to and immediately after the lecture, subjects completed the d2 Test of attention. Subjects did not exercise or drink caffeine prior to participation. Heart rate was similar during aerobic and coordinative exercise. The total number of items processed (TN) and concentration performance (CP) increased from immediately post exercise to post-lecture in all conditions. The number of errors following coordinative exercise before the lecture was greater than the other conditions. The results of this investigation suggest that aerobic and coordinative exercise do not influence attention in graduate students.