Effects of Brain Breaks on Educational Achievement in Laboratory Settings: The Break4Brain Project

Not Applicable

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: ADHD

• Registration Number: NCT06303674
• Lead Sponsor: University of the Balearic Islands

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-02-27
• Study First Submitted: 2024-02-01
• Status Verified: 2024-03
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-03-04
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-03-04
• Study First Posted: 2024-03-12
• Last Update Posted: 2024-03-12
• Primary Completion: 2024-07
• Study Completion: 2025-09

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

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.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: CROSSOVER

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Academic achievement	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	4 times (during 4 weeks)	Flanker Test: Assessed inhibitory control of irrelevant stimuli. Congruent stimuli facilitated processing, while incongruent ones hindered it.
Working memory	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	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	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 Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physical fitness and body composition	baseline	Were measured using the ALPHA Physical Fitness Test Battery.
Motor proficiency	baseline	Was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency.
Physical activity levels and sleep	baseline	Were assessed using Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers, which participants carried throughout their four-week involvement in the project. Additionally, sedentary lifestyle levels were gauged using the Youth Activity Profile (YAP).
Biological maturation	baseline	Was measured using maximum height velocity (PHV), an indicator reflecting the peak velocity of height growth during childhood. Weight, height, and sitting height were utilized to calculate VPM based on Moore's equations.
Self-reported sedentary patterns	baseline	Sedentary lifestyle levels were also gauged using the Youth Activity Profile (YAP).
ADHD symptoms	baseline	Was evaluated utilizing the Conners Scales 3-Parent Version.
IQ	baseline	Was assessed using the Kaufmann Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT).
Socioeconomic levels	baseline	The parents' socioeconomic status was determined using the Family Affluence Scale-II.
Educational levels	baseline	The parents' educational level was determined using a custom questionnaire.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of the Balearic Islands; 🇪🇸 Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain