He Effect of Acute Treadmill Walking on Cognitive Ontrol and Academic Achievement in Preadolescent Hildren

bstract—The effect of an acute bout of moderate treadmill alking on behavioral and neuroelectric indexes of the cogitive control of attention and applied aspects of cognition nvolved in school-based academic performance were asessed. A within-subjects design included 20 preadolescent articipants (age 9.5 0.5 years; eight female) to assess exrcise-induced changes in performance during a modified anker task and the Wide Range Achievement Test 3. The esting session consisted of cognitive testing followed by a ardiorespiratory fitness assessment to determine aerobic tness. The exercise session consisted of 20 min of walking n a motor-driven treadmill at 60% of estimated maximum eart rate followed by cognitive testing once heart rate reurned to within 10% of pre-exercise levels. Results indicated n improvement in response accuracy, larger P3 amplitude, nd better performance on the academic achievement test ollowing aerobic exercise relative to the resting session. ollectively, these findings indicate that single, acute bouts f moderately-intense aerobic exercise (i.e. walking) may imrove the cognitive control of attention in preadolescent chilren, and further support the use of moderate acute exercise s a contributing factor for increasing attention and acaemic performance. These data suggest that single bouts of xercise affect specific underlying processes that support ognitive health and may be necessary for effective functionng across the lifespan. © 2009 IBRO. Published by Elsevier td. All rights reserved.