Sympathetic Nervous System Mediation of Acute Exercise Effects on Childhood Brain and Cognition

Sympathetic Nervous System Mediation of Acute Exercise Effects on Childhood Brain and Cognition

Today's children have become increasingly inactive and unfit, with >50% of children not meeting the recommended 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Previous research has suggested that acute aerobic exercise of moderate intensity was associated with improved cognition manifested by improved performance and increased P3 amplitude, a neuroelectric indicator that reflects the amount of attentional allocation, in tasks requiring cognitive control. While minimal evidence exists to support potential mechanisms underlying the transient effects of exercise on brain and cognition, research suggests that phasic changes in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) (as measured by salivary alpha amylase (sAA)) system are a potential mechanism for explaining the acute effect of exercise on brain and cognition. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine the mechanisms linking acute aerobic exercise to improved cognitive control as well as the underlying neuroelectrical activities in children, using electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERPs). We hope to gain a better understanding of the role of acute exercise and cognitive and brain health. The results from this study will help identify mechanisms linking acute exercise to enhanced cognitive performance in children.

Our hypothesis is that exercise-induced phasic increases in sympathetic nervous system activity will mediate the effect of a single bout of exercise on brain function, cognition, and standardized achievement test performance.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parental/guardian consent (non-consent of guardian).
• Participants must have had no prior diagnosis of cognitive or physical disability, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (severe asthma, epilepsy, chronic kidney disease, and dependence upon a wheelchair/walking aid).
• Participants must be free of any type of anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety medication, as well as those medications used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (use of any anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications).
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision based on the minimal 20/20 standard in order to complete the cognitive task (below 20/20 vision).
• Participants must have not yet reached, or be in the earliest stages, of puberty, as measured by a modified test of the Tanner Staging System (onset of puberty as determined by Tanner).
• English speaking.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants with an intelligence quotient below 85 will be excluded.