Exercise Effects on Cognition in School-Aged Children (FITKids)

July 23, 2014 updated by: Chuck Hillman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ERPs to Academics: Exercise Effects on Cognition in School-Aged Children

Recent trends have identified decreasing levels of physical activity, fitness, and health in preadolescent children. Examining factors, such as physical activity behavior and aerobic fitness that positively influence cognitive health of school-age children are important for improving school performance, maximizing health, and improving the overall functioning of individuals as they progress through the human lifespan. A sample of preadolescent children from the Urbana, Illinois elementary school system will be randomly assigned to a 9- month afterschool program that focuses on either aerobic exercise or wait-list control group to determine the effects of physical activity on basic and applied aspects of cognition. Changes in neuroimaging and behavioral indices of cognitive function and performance on standardized academic achievement tests of mathematics and reading will be examined as a function of participation in the intervention. Preliminary research supports that physical activity is positively associated with basic and applied aspects of cognition, with a stronger relationship for tasks requiring extensive amounts of executive control. However, previous research has mainly focused on older adults, and little research has examined the relationship between physical activity and executive control in children. These findings will provide lifestyle considerations for children to improve their cognitive health across the lifespan.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The aim of this proposal is to improve our understanding of factors related to brain health and cognition of school-aged children by examining the effects of a 9-month exercise intervention on basic and applied aspects of cognition in preadolescent children. From a basic measurement perspective, event-related brain potentials, MRI, fMRI, and behavioral indices of cognition will be studied during several tasks aimed at assessing various aspects of executive control. Preliminary research has observed faster and more efficient performance in high-fit, relative to low-fit, children and adults using neuroelectric measures that reflect attentional allocation to environmental stimuli and response monitoring processes, along with behavioral measures that reflect response speed and accuracy. These preliminary findings indicate greater top-down attentional control may be associated with increases in physical activity. From an applied measurement perspective, preliminary research has found that children with greater aerobic fitness perform better on standardized achievement tests of reading and mathematics, compared to children with lower aerobic fitness, suggesting that exercise may be related to academic performance in an applied school setting. To date, no causal evidence exists regarding the effects of physical activity on neuroelectric, behavioral, or applied school performance indices of cognition in children. Accordingly, this proposal investigates an aerobic activity training intervention on these measures of cognition using three tasks that require variable amounts of executive control, and on the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test using a randomized control design in which participants are assigned to an afterschool physical activity program or a wait-list control group. Given recent trends identifying decreased levels of physical activity and health status in preadolescents, the understanding of the potential benefits of physical activity on cognition is of great interest. It is imperative that factors positively influencing cognitive function of children be examined to maximize health and effective functioning of individuals as they progress through the lifespan.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

252

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801
        • University of Illinois

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

8 years to 9 years (CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Parental consent
  • 7.5-9.5 years
  • Capable of performing exercise
  • Absence of school-identified learning disability
  • IQ > 85
  • Tanner Scales score <= 2
  • ADHD Rating Scales score > 85%

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-consent of guardian
  • Above or Below age range
  • Any physical disability that prohibits exercise
  • School-identified learning disability
  • IQ < 85
  • Tanner Scales Score > 2
  • ADHD Rating Scale score < 85%

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
  • Allocation: RANDOMIZED
  • Interventional Model: PARALLEL
  • Masking: SINGLE

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Treatment Group
Participants randomized to the afterschool intervention
Behavioral: Physical Activity
9-month afterschool program designed to increase physical activity and aerobic fitness.
PLACEBO_COMPARATOR: Wait List Group
Participants in this group partake in their regular afterschool activities, without intervention from the study staff.
Behavioral: Physical Activity
9-month afterschool program designed to increase physical activity and aerobic fitness.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Event-related brain potentials
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measures of the neuroelectric system that occur in response to, or in preparation for, a discrete event.
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Task Performance
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measures of responses speed and accuracy
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Academic Achievement
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Scholastic achievement tests of reading comprehension and arithmetic.
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diet and Brain Function
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measure of correlation between diet and brain function
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measures of brain structure.
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
measures of brain function
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Eye Tracking
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measures of visual gaze.
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Virtual Reality
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks)
Measures of response speed and accuracy related to crosswalk behavior
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks)
Adiposity
Time Frame: Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks
Measure of change in adiposity
Change from baseline, 36-40 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Charles H Hillman, PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2008

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

June 1, 2012

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

June 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 8, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 11, 2011

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 13, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

July 25, 2014

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 23, 2014

Last Verified

July 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1R01HD055352-01A2 (NIH)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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