Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in Children With and Without ADHD: The Break4Brain Project
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 60
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Academic achievement
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Advancement in teaching methods, together with the frenetic change in the lifestyles of the school population, provides a unique opportunity to advance scientific knowledge. The current project, called "The Break4Brain Project", aims to examine the acute (transient) effects of physical activity on brain function, cognition, and academic performance in children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Specifically, a total of 60 children between 10 and 12 years old will be included with (n=30) and without (n=30) ADHD. The study will use an intra-subject design of isolated conditions with four measurement moments where the children will perform three different experimental conditions lasting 10 minutes, which will be randomized in a counterbalanced manner. These experimental conditions will be based on physical activity engaging cognitively, physical activity without engaging cognitively, and cognitively engaging control condition. This project could have a significant impact in the educational field, since, if brain function, cognition, and academic performance prove to be favorably stimulated, acutely, by physical activity through active breaks, these could be prescribed as an effective teaching strategy for children with and without ADHD in the school setting.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Crossover
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 10 Years to 12 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Children aged 10-12 years diagnosed with ADHD by a recognized diagnostic procedure.
- •Children aged 10-12 years without any neurodevelopmental impairment.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Children who have serious physical or mental disorders.
Arms & Interventions
Physical activity with engaging cognitively
This experimental condition involves engaging in physical activity interspersed with rest periods based on cognitive tasks.
Intervention: Physical activity with engaging cognitively (Behavioral)
Physical activity without engaging cognitively
This experimental condition involves engaging in physical activity interspersed with rest periods (without cognitive tasks).
Intervention: Physical activity without engaging cognitively (Behavioral)
Cognitively engaging control conditions
In this condition, participants will be suggested to watch a video while seating/resting for 10 minutes.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Academic achievement
Time Frame: 4 times (during 4 weeks)
In this research, only the general academic fluency index was administered, consisting of the reading, mathematics, and writing fluency subtests. Reading fluency assessed the participant's capacity to read simple sentences rapidly, mathematical fluency gauged the ability to quickly solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication problems, and writing fluency measured the skill to formulate and write sentences promptly.
Inhibition
Time Frame: 4 times (during 4 weeks)
Flanker Test: Assessed inhibitory control of irrelevant stimuli. Congruent stimuli facilitated processing, while incongruent ones hindered it.
Working memory
Time Frame: 4 times (during 4 weeks)
n-back Test: Evaluated working memory's information updating. Participants matched stimuli to the one 'n' items ago, with increasing difficulty.
Sustained attention
Time Frame: 4 times (during 4 weeks)
Conners CPT-3 Attention Test: Examined sustained attention with 360 trials, 18 blocks, and varying intervals. 90% featured non-X target stimuli. Assessment included scaled scores for attentional capacity (d'), error categorization, and reaction metrics.
Brain function
Time Frame: 4 times (during 4 weeks)
Event-related brain potentials (ERPs), acquired from the electroencephalogram, served as a metric for brain response to discrete events. Neuroelectric activity was captured from 14 scalp electrode sites, arranged using the EMOTIV EPOC X and its corresponding software. Selected components of event-related brain potentials were assessed, with a focus on analyzing the amplitude and latency of P3 (also referred to as P300). A higher P3 amplitude was considered indicative of an enhanced ability to enlist attentional resources, while a lower P3 latency was considered indicative of heightened cognitive processing speed. In study I, ERPs were concurrently recorded during cognitive function (not CPT-3).
Secondary Outcomes
- Physical fitness and body composition(baseline)
- Motor proficiency(baseline)
- Physical activity levels and sleep(baseline)
- Biological maturation(baseline)
- Self-reported sedentary patterns(baseline)
- ADHD symptoms(baseline)
- IQ(baseline)
- Socioeconomic levels(baseline)
- Educational levels(baseline)
Investigators
Josep1
Senior Lecturer
University of the Balearic Islands