Aerobic Fitness and Neurocognitive Function in Healthy Preadolescent Children

TLDR

The study examined how age and aerobic fitness relate to cognitive function by comparing high‑ and low‑fit preadolescent children and adults. Twenty‑four children and 27 adults were grouped by fitness level, with fitness measured by the Fitnessgram test and cognition assessed via neuroelectric and behavioral responses to a stimulus discrimination task. High‑fit children exhibited larger P3 amplitudes and faster P3 latencies and reaction times than low‑fit children, whereas adults had higher P3 amplitudes at Cz and Pz, lower at Oz, and faster reaction times, indicating that fitness is positively associated with neuroelectric indices of attention, working memory, and processing speed across ages.

Abstract

Purpose: We investigated the relationship between age, aerobic fitness, and cognitive function by comparing high- and low-fit preadolescent children and adults. Method: Twenty-four children (mean age = 9.6 yr) and 27 adults (mean age = 19.3 yr) were grouped according to their fitness (high, low) such that four approximately equal groups were compared. Fitness was assessed using the Fitnessgram test, and cognitive function was measured by neuroelectric and behavioral responses to a stimulus discrimination task. Results: Adults exhibited greater P3 amplitude at Cz and Pz sites, and decreased amplitude at the Oz site compared with children. High-fit children had greater P3 amplitude compared with low-fit children and high- and low-fit adults. Further, adults had faster P3 latency compared with children, and high-fit participants had faster P3 latency compared with low-fit participants at the Oz site. Adults exhibited faster reaction time than children; however, fitness interacted with age such that high-fit children had faster reaction time than low-fit children. Conclusion: These findings suggest that fitness was positively associated with neuroelectric indices of attention and working memory, and response speed in children. Fitness was also associated with cognitive processing speed, but these findings were not age-specific. These data indicate that fitness may be related to better cognitive functioning in preadolescents and have implications for increasing cognitive health in children and adults.