ArticleFrontiers in psychology2022
Effect of cognitively engaging physical activity on executive functions in children.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled 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 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 cognitively engaging physical activity on executive function, mental health, and physical fitness in school-age children: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Mastery-oriented motor competence intervention improves behavioral but not cognitive self-regulation in head start preschoolers: Randomized controlled trial results.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2023Trial
- Associations between objectively measured physical activity intensities and executive function in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Advancing movement and physical literacy earlier (AMPLE) program for promoting physical literacy and executive function among young children: study protocol of a cluster randomized crossover trial.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Enhancing Visuospatial Working Memory and Motor Skills Through School-Based Coordination Training.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Activity participation on executive functions and well- being of hearing impaired children.BMC public health · 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Physical activity (PA) has been shown to enhance executive functions (EFs) in children, and PA involving a cognitive component may confer additional benefit. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cognitively engaging PA impacts EF, and whether affect and fitness act as either mediators or moderators of this relationship. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was utilized to assess changes in EFs between a 20-min Dual Task (intervention condition), a PA Task (control condition), and a Cognitive Task (control condition). Children were scheduled for two visits in the INfant and Child Health (INCH) Lab at the University of Toronto. Physical fitness was assessed using the 20 m shuttle run, standing long jump, and grip strength tests. EFs were assessed using the Stroop Task, Trail Making Task (TMT), and Forward Working Memory Task (FWMT). Results: 38 children (M Conclusion: Possible explanations for these findings include inadequate cognitive engagement, lack of EF transfer, and statistical power. Results suggest any of these interventions may be beneficial for improving inhibition and positive affect in children.
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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.