ReviewBirth defects research2017
Exercise, cognition, and the adolescent brain.
Review in Birth defects research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 citations in OpenAlex.
- Acute exercise for anxiety reduction in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis of developmental, contextual, and modality-specific effects.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Aerobic exercise strategies for anxiety and depression among children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- A critical evaluation of systematic reviews assessing the effect of chronic physical activity on academic achievement, cognition and the brain in children and adolescents: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Pooled it
- Nonpharmacological treatment of dyscognition in schizophrenia: effects of aerobic exercise .Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Active Commuting to and from School, Cognitive Performance, and Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Individualized online exercise therapy aids recovery in pediatric long-COVID-findings from an exploratory randomized controlled trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Trial
- The effects of sports activity on cognition in nine- and ten-year-old children.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2026Article
- Developmental trajectories of vocabulary and logical thinking skills across adolescence: a person-centered longitudinal study in China.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Physical exercise and adolescent negative emotions: indirect associations via stress perception and emotional sensitivity.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Genome-Wide by Lifetime Environment Interaction Studies of Brain Imaging Phenotypes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Associations of Sleep, Screen Time, and Extracurricular Activities With Cognitive Development: A Longitudinal Study.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- The Impact of Nutrition, Genetics, Environment, and Common Issues on Adolescent Growth and Development.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Effects of endurance training on spirometric parameters in male long-distance runners.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic Analysis of High-Intensity Interval Training in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Spontaneous Hypertensive Rats' Brains.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Complex Motor Schemes and Executive Functions: A School-Based Dual-Challenge Intervention to Enhance Cognitive Performance and Academic Success in Early Adolescence.Journal of Intelligence · 2025Article
- Effects of physical exercise on negative emotions in adolescents: Sequential mediation through psychological benefits and social self-efficacy.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Can the Components of Physical Fitness Be Linked to Creative Thinking and Fluid Intelligence in Spanish Schoolchildren?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Physical activity and cognitive function among community-dwelling older adults: a mediating role of functional fitness.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Health literacy disparities in Thai university students: exploring differences between health science and non-health science disciplines.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Association between 24-hour movement guidelines and working memory in early Chinese adolescents.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFew adolescents engage in the recommended levels of physical activity, and daily exercise levels tend to drastically decrease throughout adolescence. Beyond physical health benefits, regular exercise may also have important implications for the teenage brain and cognitive and academic capabilities.
methodsThis narrative review examines how physical activity and aerobic exercise relate to school performance, cognition, and brain structure and function.
resultsA number of studies have found that habitual exercise and physical activity are associated with academic performance, cognitive function, brain structure, and brain activity in adolescents. We also discuss how additional intervention studies that examine a wide range of neurological and cognitive outcomes are necessary, as well as characterizing the type, frequency, and dose of exercise and identifying individual differences that contribute to how exercise may benefit the teen brain.
conclusionsRoutine exercise relates to adolescent brain structure and function as well as cognitive performance. Together, these studies suggest that physical activity and aerobic exercise may be important factors for optimal adolescent brain development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.