Aerobic fitness in kids tied to cognitive skills in new fMRI study

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Stone Hearth News

Biol Psychol. 2012 Jan;89(1):260-8. Epub 2011 Nov 4.

A functional MRI investigation of the association between childhood aerobic fitness and neurocognitive control.

Chaddock L, Erickson KI, Prakash RS, Voss MW, VanPatter M, Pontifex MB, Hillman CH,Kramer AF.

Source

Department of Psychology & Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States. lchaddo2@illinois.edu

Abstract

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity of higher fit and lower fit children during early and late task blocks of a cognitive control flanker paradigm. For congruent trials, all children showed increased recruitment of frontal and parietal regions during the early block when the task was unfamiliar, followed by a decrease in activity in the later block. No within-group changes in congruent accuracy were reported across task blocks, despite a decline in performance across all participants, likely due to fatigue. During incongruent trials, only higher fit children maintained accuracy across blocks, coupled with increased prefrontal and parietal recruitment in the early task block and reduced activity in the later block. Lower fit children showed a decline in incongruent accuracy across blocks, and no changes in activation. We suggest that higher fit children are better at activating and adapting neural processes involved in cognitive control to meet and maintain task goals.

Published by Elsevier B.V.

PMID:

22061423

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]