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Acute Effects of Physical Activity On Memory, Cognitive Performance and Brain Activity

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Mental Health Wellness 1
Interventions
Behavioral: Walking soccer game
Behavioral: Small-sided soccer game
Behavioral: Rest group watching soccer
Registration Number
NCT03391505
Lead Sponsor
University of Southern Denmark
Brief Summary

The overall aim of the study is to investigate the effects of an acute bout of physical activity on cognitive performance and long-term memory in elementary school children. Elaborating, the study seeks to investigate the effect of the intensity of the physical activity on cognitive performance and long-term memory in preadolescent children.

Detailed Description

Based on a power analysis a total population of 100 children (four school classes) will be invited to participate in a 10-day protocol. The children will be randomly allocated, within their cluster (classes) and stratified for gender and soccer level, to one of 3 intervention groups. The groups consist of: A small-sides soccer game group (SSG), a walking soccer group (WSG) and a rest group watching soccer on TV (RES). At day 1 the children will complete a screening of their physical characteristics (height, weight, fat percentages, lean muscle mass and fitness status). On day 2 the children will complete a screening and a familiarization to the cognitive tasks used (cognitive performance and long-term memory) and the brain activity measuring devices (transportable EEG systems). On day 3 the children will complete the interventions, which first consist a long-term memory task, where the children will be asked to remember forty different pictures. Immediately after exposure to the forty pictures, the children will participate in 2 x 10 minutes of their respective interventions with 5 minutes break in between. During the break, the children will complete a short questionnaire to address their flow. Furthermore, during the intervention they will be equipped with heart rate monitors to quantify the physical demands of the intervention. Immediately after completing the 2 x 10 minutes interventions the children will be equipped with a transportable EEG system, and undergo a cognitive test (the Flanker task) to address their cognitive performance. The EEG recordings are used to measure the P3 amplitude and latency, biomarkers for cognitive performance. While equipping the children with the EEG system, the children will complete questionnaires about their participation. At day 10 the children will try to remember as many pictures of the forty pictures as possible to address the effect of the interventions on their long-term memory.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
81
Inclusion Criteria
  • Informed consent from the childrens´ legal guardians.
  • Physical, linguistic and mental competencies to complete the intervention and testing.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Use of prescription-only drugs that kan affect learning ability.
  • Smoking.
  • Neurological diseases inclusive damages to the spinal cord.
  • Children who is not evaluated to being cable of completing the protocol among these psychological diseases or psychological unstable children.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Treatment Group 2Walking soccer gameThe walking soccer game consists of a single bout (two times ten minutes) of small-sided walking soccer game (3v3) interspersed with a five minutes break.
Treatment Group 1Small-sided soccer gameThe small-sided soccer game consists of a single bout (two times ten minutes) of small-sided soccer game (3v3) interspersed with a five minutes break.
Control GroupRest group watching soccerThe rest group watching soccer consists of watching a soccer game on a laptop (two times ten minutes) interspersed with a five minutes break.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Long-term Memory Accuracy Performance7 days

Measures of response accuracy (%) during a tablet-based visual memory task

Cognitive Response Speed Performance1 day

Measures of response speed (ms) during the computer-based Flanker task

Cognitive Response Accuracy Performance1 day

Measures of response accuracy (%) during the computer-based Flanker task

Event-related brain potentials (P300)1 day

Electroencephalographic measures (mV) of the neuroelectric system that occur in response to, or in or in preparation for, a discrete event.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Height1 day

Measures of height (cm) with a Tanita Leicester portable altimeter

Fitness Status1 day

Measures of distance covered during an maximal exercise test

Flow1 day

Measures of flow with a danish translation og the flow questionnaire (Rheinberg et al., 2003) during the intervention

Fat Percentage1 day

Measures fat percentage (%) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition

Maximal Heart Rate1 day

Measures of maximal heart rate with heart rate monitors during an maximal exercise test

Weight1 day

Measures weight (kg) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition analyser

Lean Body Mass1 day

Measures of lean body mass (kg) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition

Enjoyment1 day

Measures of self-perceived enjoyment with the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) (Kendzierski et al., 1991) questionnaire after the intervention

Intervention intensity1 day

Measures of heart rate with heart rate monitors during the intervention

Motivation1 day

Measures of motivation with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire (McAuley et al., 1987) after the intervention

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Southern Denmark

🇩🇰

Odense, Denmark

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