Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
    • Supplements
    • Publish Supplement
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function

Charles H. Hillman, Matthew B. Pontifex, Darla M. Castelli, Naiman A. Khan, Lauren B. Raine, Mark R. Scudder, Eric S. Drollette, Robert D. Moore, Chien-Ting Wu and Keita Kamijo
Pediatrics September 2014, peds.2013-3219; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3219
Charles H. Hillman
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Matthew B. Pontifex
bDepartment of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Darla M. Castelli
cDepartment of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Naiman A. Khan
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Lauren B. Raine
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mark R. Scudder
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Eric S. Drollette
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Robert D. Moore
aDepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Chien-Ting Wu
dDepartment of Exercise Science, Schreiner College, Kerrville, Texas; and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Keita Kamijo
eSchool of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading
Download PDF

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of a physical activity (PA) intervention on brain and behavioral indices of executive control in preadolescent children.

METHODS: Two hundred twenty-one children (7–9 years) were randomly assigned to a 9-month afterschool PA program or a wait-list control. In addition to changes in fitness (maximal oxygen consumption), electrical activity in the brain (P3-ERP) and behavioral measures (accuracy, reaction time) of executive control were collected by using tasks that modulated attentional inhibition and cognitive flexibility.

RESULTS: Fitness improved more among intervention participants from pretest to posttest compared with the wait-list control (1.3 mL/kg per minute, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3 to 2.4; d = 0.34 for group difference in pre-to-post change score). Intervention participants exhibited greater improvements from pretest to posttest in inhibition (3.2%, 95% CI: 0.0 to 6.5; d = 0.27) and cognitive flexibility (4.8%, 95% CI: 1.1 to 8.4; d = 0.35 for group difference in pre-to-post change score) compared with control. Only the intervention group increased attentional resources from pretest to posttest during tasks requiring increased inhibition (1.4 µV, 95% CI: 0.3 to 2.6; d = 0.34) and cognitive flexibility (1.5 µV, 95% CI: 0.6 to 2.5; d = 0.43). Finally, improvements in brain function on the inhibition task (r = 0.22) and performance on the flexibility task correlated with intervention attendance (r = 0.24).

CONCLUSIONS: The intervention enhanced cognitive performance and brain function during tasks requiring greater executive control. These findings demonstrate a causal effect of a PA program on executive control, and provide support for PA for improving childhood cognition and brain health.

  • cognition
  • physical activity
  • aerobic fitness
  • randomized controlled trial
  • Accepted July 25, 2014.
  • Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
Next
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 147, Issue 4
1 Apr 2021
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Next
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function
Charles H. Hillman, Matthew B. Pontifex, Darla M. Castelli, Naiman A. Khan, Lauren B. Raine, Mark R. Scudder, Eric S. Drollette, Robert D. Moore, Chien-Ting Wu, Keita Kamijo
Pediatrics Sep 2014, peds.2013-3219; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-3219

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Effects of the FITKids Randomized Controlled Trial on Executive Control and Brain Function
Charles H. Hillman, Matthew B. Pontifex, Darla M. Castelli, Naiman A. Khan, Lauren B. Raine, Mark R. Scudder, Eric S. Drollette, Robert D. Moore, Chien-Ting Wu, Keita Kamijo
Pediatrics Sep 2014, peds.2013-3219; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-3219
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Download PDF
Insight Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Effects of chronic exercise interventions on executive function among children and adolescents: a systematic review with meta-analysis
  • Physical activity, aerobic fitness and brain white matter: their role for executive functions in adolescence
  • Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents: a novel combination of a systematic review and recommendations from an expert panel
  • The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children
  • Partly randomised, controlled study in children aged 6-10 years to investigate motor and cognitive effects of a 9-week coordination training intervention with concurrent mental tasks
  • Academic Achievement and Physical Activity: A Meta-analysis
  • Acute exercise enhances the consolidation of fear extinction memory and reduces conditioned fear relapse in a sex-dependent manner
  • Physical Activity for Cognitive and Mental Health in Youth: A Systematic Review of Mechanisms
  • Association of physical activity with cognition, metacognition and academic performance in children and adolescents: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis
  • Physically Active Math and Language Lessons Improve Academic Achievement: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Physical activity may improve measures of cognition in children
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Breastfeeding Mothers
  • Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Studies Funded Under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act
  • Clinical Impact of a Diagnostic Gastrointestinal Panel in Children
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Neurology
    • Neurology
  • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics
    • Cognition/Language/Learning Disorders

Keywords

  • cognition
  • physical activity
  • aerobic fitness
  • randomized controlled trial
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics