Flora Koutsandréou1, Mirko Wegner, Claudia Niemann, Henning Budde. 1. 1Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Pedagogy, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, GERMANY; 2Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bern, SWITZERLAND; 3Institute of Human Movement Science and Health, TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz, GERMANY; 4Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, ICELAND; and 5Lithuanian Sport University, Kaunas, LITHUANIA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of different types of exercise exertion on primary school children's working memory (WM). METHODS:Participants (N = 71, 9.4 yr, 39 girls) were randomly assigned to a cardiovascular exercise (CE), a motor exercise (ME), or a control group (CON). They underwent a letter digit span task (WM) before and after an intervention period that involved 10 wk of an additional afterschool exercise regimen, which took place three times a week for 45 min. Students in the control group participated in assisted homework sessions. RESULTS:WM performance of the 9- to 10-yr-old children benefited from both the cardiovascular and the motor exercise programs, but not from the control condition. The increase in WM performance was significantly larger for children in the ME compared with the CE or CON. CONCLUSION: These findings add to the knowledge base relating different types of exercise and WM. Besides the efficiency of cardiovascular exercise training, a special motor-demanding intervention seems to be a beneficial strategy to improve WM in preadolescent children.
RCT Entities:
PURPOSE: The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of different types of exercise exertion on primary school children's working memory (WM). METHODS:Participants (N = 71, 9.4 yr, 39 girls) were randomly assigned to a cardiovascular exercise (CE), a motor exercise (ME), or a control group (CON). They underwent a letter digit span task (WM) before and after an intervention period that involved 10 wk of an additional afterschool exercise regimen, which took place three times a week for 45 min. Students in the control group participated in assisted homework sessions. RESULTS: WM performance of the 9- to 10-yr-old children benefited from both the cardiovascular and the motor exercise programs, but not from the control condition. The increase in WM performance was significantly larger for children in the ME compared with the CE or CON. CONCLUSION: These findings add to the knowledge base relating different types of exercise and WM. Besides the efficiency of cardiovascular exercise training, a special motor-demanding intervention seems to be a beneficial strategy to improve WM in preadolescent children.
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