ReviewBrain sciences2022
Play Smart, Be Smart? Effect of Cognitively Engaging Physical Activity Interventions on Executive Function among Children 4~12 Years Old: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Brain sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 7 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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A Systematic Review and Evidence Gap Map Evaluation of Rhythmic and/or Complex Movement Interventions and Child Cognitive Outcomes.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of movement behaviors on preschoolers' cognition: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the dose-response relationship between aerobic exercise and executive function in children.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of open-skill exercise on executive functions in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 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 aerobic exercise on executive function among overweight and obese children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of open and closed skill exercise interventions on executive function in typical children: a meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The Effect of the Brain Breaks Physical Activity Program on Task Focus, Attentional Control, and Academic Achievement in 4th Grade Elementary School Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Changes in verbal fluency, anthropometric parameters, physical activity, and physical fitness following an after-school basketball program in children: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Open-skill vs. closed-skill sports and executive function in children and adolescents: a mini review of mechanisms and moderating factors.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- The correlation between exercise types and adolescents' executive function and mobile phone dependence: a cross-sectional study from the perspective of motor skill classification.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of a 12-week mini-basketball exercise intervention on executive function in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Smart exercise in pediatric oncology: enhancing executive functions through cognitively challenging physical activity- a non-randomized controlled trial.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- The Influence of Nonlinear Pedagogy Physical Education Intervention on Cognitive Abilities in Primary School Children: A Preliminary Study.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Physical Activity and Its Effects on Executive Functions and Brain Outcomes in Children: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- The Impact of the Interactive Floor Device and Aerobic Training on Executive Functions in Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Advances in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience: Ten Highly Cited Articles Published inBrain sciences · 2024Article
- The Effect of a Single Bout of Chinese Archery on Core Executive Functions in Preadolescent Children in Shanghai.International journal of environmental research and public health · 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
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This paper aims to collect a compendium of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the effects of cognitively engaging physical activity (PA) interventions (basketball and floorball) on various domain-specific executive functions (EFs) in children aged 4 to 12. Following the PRISMA principle, 11 articles (total sample size: 2053) were analyzed for effect size and moderating impact with Stata 13.0 software. Overall EFs (SMD = 0.21, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.32, p < 0.05), updating (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.30, p < 0.05) and shifting (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.61, p < 0.05) were enhanced by cognitively engaging PA interventions. Age and BMI were found to have no effect on overall EFs performance in Meta regression. Overall EFs performance was improved by interventions with a session length (≥35 min) (SMD = 0.30, 95 % CI 0.10 to 0.49, p = 0.033). The review suggests that despite the moderate effect sizes, cognitively engaging PA may be an effective approach to improving EFs in children aged 4 to 12, especially updating and shifting.
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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.