The Effects of Physical Exercise on Functional Outcomes in the Treatment of ADHD: A Meta-Analysis.

Objective: An increasing number of studies suggest possible beneficial effects of exercise in alleviating ADHD functional outcomes. The current study provides a quantitative meta-analysis of the available studies investigating this relationship. Method: Studies reporting on the effects of physical exercise on motor skills and executive functions in children with ADHD were identified through Cochrane, PsycInfo, PubMed, Web of Science databases. Ten publications were selected. Random-effects model was used to calculate effect sizes. Results: There was a significant effect of exercise on ADHD functional outcomes (g = 0.627). Longer exercise intervention duration was consistently associated with larger effect sizes. Effect sizes were not related to exercise intensity, mean age of participants, or gender distribution. Conclusion: Results suggest that exercise has a modest positive impact on ADHD functional outcomes, such as executive functions and motor skills, with longer interventions yielding better results.

Do Elite and Amateur Soccer Players Outperform Non-Athletes on Neurocognitive Functioning? A Study Among 8-12 Year Old Children.

AIM: Research suggested a positive association between physical fitness and neurocognitive functioning in children. Aim of the present study is to investigate possible dose-response relationships between diverse daily physical activities and a broad range of neurocognitive functions in preadolescent children. Furthermore, the relationship between several sedentary behaviours, including TV-watching, gaming and computer time, and neurocognitive functioning will be investigated in this group of children. METHODS: A total of 168 preadolescent boys, aged 8 to 12 years, were recruited from various locations, including primary schools, an amateur soccer club, and a professional soccer club, to increase variability in the amount of participation in sports. All children performed neurocognitive tasks measuring inhibition, short term memory, working memory, attention and information processing speed. Regression analyses examined the predictive power of a broad range of physical activities, including sports, active transport to school, physical education (PE), outdoor play, and sedentary behaviour such as TV-watching and gaming, for neurocognitive functioning. RESULTS: Time spent in sports significantly accounted for the variance in inhibition, short term memory, working memory and lapses of attention, where more time spent in sports was associated with better performance. Outdoor play was also positively associated with working memory. In contrast, time spent on the computer was negatively associated with inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the current study suggest a positive relationship between participation in sports and several important neurocognitive functions. Interventions are recommended to increase sports participation and to reduce sedentary behaviour in preadolescent children.

Social Hostility in Soccer and Beyond.

Social hostility is seldom expressed overtly. More often than not, individuals try to get their hostile message across without risking violent altercations. However, subtle and relatively covert hostility is not easy to research. We suggest a novel way with the SoMi paradigm, a social decision making task that offers participants the opportunity to be socially mindful or socially hostile by leaving or limiting choice to others. Sampling a general population we find that, relative to friends and strangers, foes are indeed met with greater social hostility (Study 1). Focusing on the highly competitive environment of youth soccer, we find that rival team members elicit social hostility, whereas teammates elicit social mindfulness (Study 2). We conclude that social mindfulness and social hostility play a subtle role in the dynamics of interpersonal and/or intergroup relationships, in which leaving or limiting choice is one of the subtle ways to express benevolent versus hostile intentions; the SoMi paradigm may thus be helpful in identifying which way the ball rolls.

Cognitive Functions in Elite and Sub-Elite Youth Soccer Players Aged 13 to 17 Years.

Soccer players are required to anticipate and react continuously in a changing, relatively unpredictable situation in the field. Cognitive functions might be important to be successful in soccer. The current study investigated the relationship between cognitive functions and performance level in elite and sub-elite youth soccer players aged 13-17 years. A total of 47 elite youth soccer players (mean age 15.5 years, SD = 0.9) and 41 sub-elite youth soccer players (mean age 15.2 years, SD = 1.2) performed tasks for "higher-level" cognitive functions measuring working memory (i.e., Visual Memory Span), inhibitory control (i.e., Stop-Signal Task), cognitive flexibility (i.e., Trail Making Test), and metacognition (i.e., Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Design Fluency Test). "Lower-level" cognitive processes, i.e., reaction time and visuo-perceptual abilities, were also measured with the previous tasks. ANOVA's showed that elite players outscored sub-elite players at the "higher-level" cognitive tasks only, especially on metacognition (p < .05). Using stepwise discriminant analysis, 62.5% of subjects was correctly assigned to one of the groups based on their metacognition, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility performance. Controlling for training hours and academic level, MANCOVA's showed differences in favor of the elite youth soccer players on inhibitory control (p = .001), and cognitive flexibility (p = .042), but not on metacognition (p = .27). No differences were found concerning working memory nor the "lower-level" cognitive processes (p > .05). In conclusion, elite youth soccer players have better inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and especially metacognition than their sub-elite counterparts. However, when training hours are taken into account, differences between elite and sub-elite youth soccer players remain apparent on inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in contrast to metacognition. This highlights the need for longitudinal studies to further investigate the importance of "higher-level" cognitive functions for talent identification, talent development and performance in soccer.

Executive functioning in highly talented soccer players.

Executive functions might be important for successful performance in sports, particularly in team sports requiring quick anticipation and adaptation to continuously changing situations in the field. The executive functions motor inhibition, attention and visuospatial working memory were examined in highly talented soccer players. Eighty-four highly talented youth soccer players (mean age 11.9), and forty-two age-matched amateur soccer players (mean age 11.8) in the age range 8 to 16 years performed a Stop Signal task (motor inhibition), the Attention Network Test (alerting, orienting, and executive attention) and a visuospatial working memory task. The highly talented soccer players followed the talent development program of the youth academy of a professional soccer club and played at the highest national soccer competition for their age. The amateur soccer players played at a regular soccer club in the same geographical region as the highly talented soccer players and play in a regular regional soccer competition. Group differences were tested using analyses of variance. The highly talented group showed superior motor inhibition as measured by stop signal reaction time (SSRT) on the Stop Signal task and a larger alerting effect on the Attention Network Test, indicating an enhanced ability to attain and maintain an alert state. No group differences were found for orienting and executive attention and visuospatial working memory. A logistic regression model with group (highly talented or amateur) as dependent variable and executive function measures that significantly distinguished between groups as predictors showed that these measures differentiated highly talented soccer players from amateur soccer players with 89% accuracy. Highly talented youth soccer players outperform youth amateur players on suppressing ongoing motor responses and on the ability to attain and maintain an alert state; both may be essential for success in soccer.

Executive functions of sedentary elderly may benefit from walking: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present meta-analysis was to address studies that examined the relationship between walking as one of the most prevalent types of leisure-time activity and executive function being a higher-order cognitive function essential for independent functioning. METHODS: The following data sources were used: English-language publications in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cinahl, and Cochrane; the last search took place in January 2012. From these data sources, only randomized controlled trials including older people with (N = 3) and without (N = 5) cognitive impairment were selected. RESULTS: Walking has been shown to improve set-shifting and inhibition in sedentary older persons without cognitive impairment (d = 0.36; 95% confidence interval: 0.16-0.55; z = 3.56; p <0.0001). In older persons with cognitive impairment, walking did not show improvements in executive functioning (d = 0.14; 95% confidence interval: -0.36-0.64; z = 0.35; p = 0.56). CONCLUSION: This finding is clinically relevant because participation in a walking program may prevent or postpone a (further) decline in executive function in those who are sedentary.

Physical exercise and executive functions in preadolescent children, adolescents and young adults: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The goal of this meta-analysis was to aggregate available empirical studies on the effects of physical exercise on executive functions in preadolescent children (6-12 years of age), adolescents (13-17 years of age) and young adults (18-35 years of age). METHOD: The electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE and SPORTDiscus were searched for relevant studies reporting on the effects of physical exercise on executive functions. Nineteen studies were selected. RESULTS: There was a significant overall effect of acute physical exercise on executive functions (d=0.52, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.76, p<0.001). There were no significant differences between the three age groups (Q (2)=0.13, p=0.94). Furthermore, no significant overall effect of chronic physical exercise (d=0.14, 95%CI -0.04 to 0.32, p=0.19) on executive functions (Q (1)=5.08, p<0.05) was found. Meta-analytic effect sizes were calculated for the effects of acute physical exercise on the domain's inhibition/interference control (d=0.46, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.60, p<0.001) and working memory (d=0.05, 95% CI -0.51 to 0.61, p=0.86) as well as for the effects of chronic physical exercise on planning (d=0.16, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.89, p=0.18). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that acute physical exercise enhances executive functioning. The number of studies on chronic physical exercise is limited and it should be investigated whether chronic physical exercise shows effects on executive functions comparable to acute physical exercise. This is highly relevant in preadolescent children and adolescents, given the importance of well-developed executive functions for daily life functioning and the current increase in sedentary behaviour in these age groups.