ArticlePloS one2016
Acute Cognitively Engaging Exergame-Based Physical Activity Enhances Executive Functions in Adolescents.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 135 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for developing selective and sustained attention in adolescent athletes: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Six Types of Exercise Interventions on Inhibitory Control, Executive Function, and Gross Motor Skills in Children With ADHD: A Network Meta-Analysis of 26 Randomized Controlled Trials.Brain and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- The effects of physical exercise on cognitive function in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of complex whole-body movements on EEG activity: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Exergaming on executive function and motor ability in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of cognitively engaging physical activity interventions on executive function in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Acute and Chronic Exercises on Executive Function in Children and Adolescents: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Pooled it
- Therapeutic and Preventive Use of Video Games in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of a School-Based Physical Activity and Multi-Micronutrient Supplementation Intervention on Cognitive Function and Academic Achievement Among Schoolchildren in Tanzania: Secondary Outcome from the KaziAfya Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Trial
- Effects of Cognitive Training and Exergaming in Pediatric Cancer Survivors-A Randomized Clinical Trial.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2020Trial
- Effects of an Acute Physical Activity Break on Test Anxiety and Math Test Performance.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- The Brainfit study: efficacy of cognitive training and exergaming in pediatric cancer survivors - a randomized controlled trial.BMC cancer · 2018Trial
- Cognitively and physically demanding exergaming to improve executive functions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomised clinical trial.BMC pediatrics · 2017Trial
- Microfluidic Precision Engineered Artificial GARP Presenting Cells for Regulatory T-Cell Induction.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Acute Cognitive Effects of Brief Physical Activity Breaks After Lecture-Based Academic Activity in Undergraduate University Students: A Randomized Crossover Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Transfer Effects of Integrated Adaptive Working Memory Training in School-Age Children: Improvements in Inhibitory Control and Asymmetric Gains in Mathematical Abilities.Journal of Intelligence · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of Adding Self-Control Tasks to the Daily Mile on Subsequent Cognition and Enjoyment in Children.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Effects of Dance-Based Exergaming on Mental Rotation, General Motor Coordination, and Math Achievement in Adolescent Students: Nonrandomized Controlled Pilot Study.JMIR serious games · 2026Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The study aimed to elucidate the influence of cognitive engagement comprised in an acute bout of exergame-based physical activity on executive functions (inhibition, cognitive flexibility) in adolescents. Therefore, the level of cognitive engagement and the intensity of physical activity were systematically varied across three experimental conditions. Sixty-five healthy male adolescents (13-16 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) physical activity with high levels of cognitive engagement during active video gaming, (b) physical activity with low levels of cognitive engagement during active video gaming, (c) sedentary with low levels of cognitive engagement during passive video watching. Manipulation checks, including subjective and objective operationalizations of cognitive engagement, were applied. Executive functions were assessed before and after each condition using the D-KEFS design fluency test. Results showed that cognitive engagement, operationalized by subjects' ratings and heart rate variability, differed between conditions. The physical activity condition with a high level of cognitive engagement resulted in significantly better performance in cognitive flexibility compared to conditions with low levels of cognitive engagement. Regarding benefits for executive functions in male adolescents, the results indicate that acute physical activity with high cognitive engagement could be more efficient than physical activity of the same intensity with low cognitive engagement. Even though further evidence is needed, these results extend previous research and suggest a methodological approach for measuring cognitive engagement.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.