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

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

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03391505
Enrollment
81
Registered
2018-01-05
Start date
2018-02-05
Completion date
2018-04-30
Last updated
2024-05-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental Health Wellness 1

Keywords

Cognition, Physical activity, Memory, Health

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.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALSmall-sided soccer game

The 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.

BEHAVIORALWalking soccer game

The 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.

BEHAVIORALRest group watching soccer

The rest group watching soccer consists of watching a soccer game on a laptop (two times ten minutes) interspersed with a five minutes break.

Sponsors

University of Copenhagen
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Southern Denmark
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
10 Years to 14 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

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.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Event-related brain potentials (P300)1 dayElectroencephalographic measures (mV) of the neuroelectric system that occur in response to, or in or in preparation for, a discrete event.
Cognitive Response Speed Performance1 dayMeasures of response speed (ms) during the computer-based Flanker task
Cognitive Response Accuracy Performance1 dayMeasures of response accuracy (%) during the computer-based Flanker task
Long-term Memory Accuracy Performance7 daysMeasures of response accuracy (%) during a tablet-based visual memory task

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Fitness Status1 dayMeasures of distance covered during an maximal exercise test
Maximal Heart Rate1 dayMeasures of maximal heart rate with heart rate monitors during an maximal exercise test
Flow1 dayMeasures of flow with a danish translation og the flow questionnaire (Rheinberg et al., 2003) during the intervention
Height1 dayMeasures of height (cm) with a Tanita Leicester portable altimeter
Enjoyment1 dayMeasures of self-perceived enjoyment with the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) (Kendzierski et al., 1991) questionnaire after the intervention
Intervention intensity1 dayMeasures of heart rate with heart rate monitors during the intervention
Motivation1 dayMeasures of motivation with the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) questionnaire (McAuley et al., 1987) after the intervention
Weight1 dayMeasures weight (kg) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition analyser
Fat Percentage1 dayMeasures fat percentage (%) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition
Lean Body Mass1 dayMeasures of lean body mass (kg) with an InBody 230 multifrequency body composition

Countries

Denmark

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026