Trial reportScientific reports2020
Functional high-intensity exercise is more effective in acutely increasing working memory than aerobic walking: an exploratory randomized, controlled trial.
Trial report in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 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
34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Solving the High-Intensity Multimodal Training Prescription Puzzle: A Systematic Mapping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of physical activity on visuospatial working memory in healthy individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The Effect of Acute High-Intensity Interval Training on Executive Function: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of a high-intensity functional exercise program on menopausal symptoms, physical performance, and dual-task performance in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2026Trial
- High-intensity interval training modulates neural oscillations and inter-regional connectivity in college students.BMC neuroscience · 2026Trial
- Exercise intensity improves performance on a spatial memory task.Experimental brain research · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Targeting dyspnoea through exercise intensity: insights from pulmonary rehabilitation and beyond, a narrative review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Review
- The relationship between involvement in group extreme conditioning program training and PERMA: the mediating role of social capital.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Effects of 8-Week High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention Regulating the SIRT1/PGC1α Pathway on Hippocampal Neuron Injury and Cognitive Impairment in Obese Rats.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Inhibitory Control and Working Memory in Healthy Young Adults.Journal of human kinetics · 2025Article
- Discussion on the validity of commonly used reliability indices in sports medicine and exercise science: a critical review with data simulations.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Exploring the Impact of High-Intensity Interval Training on Cognitive Functions-Muscle and Brain Interaction.Advances in neurobiology · 2025Review
- Effects of acute and chronic exercise on working memory in healthy adults. An experimental investigation.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The Effects of CrossFitInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Stress, Resilience, Burnout and Study Hours in Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers-An Explanatory Model about Gender.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Investigating Ecological Momentary Assessed Physical Activity and Core Executive Functions in 18- to 24-Year-Old Undergraduate Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Effects of Acute Long- versus Short-Interval High-Intensity Interval Training on Attention and Psychological States in a Sample of Male and Female Adolescents: A Pilot Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Measuring the Immediate Effects of High-Intensity Functional Training on Motor, Cognitive and Physiological Parameters in Well-Trained Adults.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Aerobic and resistance exercise acutely increase cognitive performance (CP). High-intensity functional training (HIFT) combines the characteristics of both regimes but its effect on CP is unclear. Thirty-five healthy individuals (26.7 ± 3.6 years, 18 females) were randomly allocated to three groups. The first (HIFT) performed a functional whole-body workout at maximal effort and in circuit format, while a second walked at 60% of the heart rate reserve (WALK). The third group remained physically inactive reading a book (CON). Before and after the 15-min intervention period, CP was assessed with the Stroop Test, Trail Making Test and Digit Span Test. Repeated-measures ANOVAs and post-hoc 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were used to detect time/group differences. A significant group*time interaction was found for the backwards condition of the Digit Span Test (p = 0.04) and according to the 95% CI, HIFT was superior to WALK and CON. Analysis of the sum score of the Digit Span Test and the incongruent condition of the Stroop Test, furthermore, revealed main effects for time (p < 0.05) with HIFT being the only intervention improving CP. No differences were found for the Trail Making Test (p > 0.05). In conclusion, HIFT represents an appropriate method to acutely improve working memory, potentially being superior to moderate aerobic-type exercise.
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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.