Lion Tracks EEG Pilot: Understand Cognitive Responses to CrossFit in Mother-Child Dyads (Lion Tracks)

Lion Tracks EEG Pilot

The purpose of this study is to examine how participating in exercise together versus separately influences brain function, cognitive performance, mood, and parent-child connection in mother-child dyads. Mothers and their children will complete two fitness class visits at a participating community fitness facility/CrossFit affiliate. During one visit, mothers and children will exercise in separate age-appropriate classes, and during the other visit they will exercise together in a shared class. Before and after each exercise session, participants will complete brief assessments of cognition, mood, and brain activity using a portable electroencephalography (EEG) device. Findings from this pilot study will help determine the feasibility of conducting community-based neuroscience research and may inform future family-centered physical activity programs designed to support brain, emotional, and social health.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Cognition
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Family-Based Functional Fitness Exercise; Behavioral: Independent Functional Fitness Exercise

Detailed Description

Physical activity is associated with improvements in cognitive function, emotional well-being, and overall health across the lifespan. Emerging evidence suggests that social and relational contexts may influence the benefits derived from physical activity, yet little research has examined how exercising together versus separately affects parent-child dyads. Understanding these effects may inform the development of family-centered physical activity interventions that promote both physical and psychological health.

The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting community-based neurocognitive research within fitness settings and to explore acute changes in cognitive, emotional, and neurophysiological outcomes following exercise. Mother-child dyads will participate in two exercise conditions: a shared exercise session in which mothers and children participate together, and a separate exercise session in which mothers and children participate in age-appropriate classes independently. A within-subjects design will allow each dyad to experience both conditions.

Cognitive performance, mood, and brain activity will be assessed before and after exercise using brief computerized assessments and portable electroencephalography (EEG). Feasibility outcomes will include recruitment, retention, adherence, participant acceptability, and data quality. Exploratory analyses will examine whether exercise context (shared versus separate participation) is associated with differences in cognitive, emotional, and neurophysiological responses.

Findings from this study will provide preliminary data to support future investigations of family-based physical activity interventions and their potential effects on brain health, emotional well-being, and parent-child relationships.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Janette Watkins Dr, PhD; Phone Number: 502-321-9683; Email: jjw7102@psu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria

• Adult participant is a mother or female primary caregiver aged 18 years or older.
• Child participant is between 4 and 12 years of age.
• Mother and child are willing to participate together as a dyad.
• Mother and child are able to understand and speak English.
• Mother and child are willing to attend two study visits at a participating community fitness facility.
• Mother and child are able to safely participate in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity as determined by health screening procedures.
• Mother is willing to provide informed consent and child is willing to provide assent when appropriate.

Exclusion Criteria *Mother*

• Pregnancy at the time of participation.
• Any cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, neurological, musculoskeletal, or other medical condition that would make exercise unsafe.
• Current injury or physical limitation preventing participation in exercise.
• History of seizure disorder or other condition that may interfere with EEG assessment.
• Inability to complete study procedures or wear EEG equipment. *Child*
• Medical condition, injury, or physical limitation that would make participation in exercise unsafe.
• Neurological condition or developmental disorder that would prevent completion of study procedures, as determined by the parent and study team.
• History of seizure disorder or other condition that may interfere with EEG assessment.
• Inability to tolerate wearing the EEG headset or complete study procedures. *Dyad*
• Either the mother or child is unable or unwilling to complete both study visits.
• Either participant has a contraindication to exercise identified during screening.
• Either participant has a condition that, in the opinion of the investigators, would make participation unsafe or compromise data quality.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Shared Exercise Session; Participants assigned to this condition will complete a mother-child exercise session together at a participating community fitness facility/CrossFit affiliate. The session will consist of approximately 60 minutes of instructor-led functional fitness activities, including a warm-up, skill or strength-based exercises, conditioning activities, and cool-down. Mothers and children will participate alongside one another throughout the session. Cognitive performance, mood, and brain activity will be assessed immediately before and after the exercise session using brief computerized tasks, questionnaires, and portable electroencephalography (EEG). Participants will complete this condition once during the study.	Behavioral: Family-Based Functional Fitness Exercise; A supervised mother-child functional fitness exercise session conducted in a community fitness setting. Mothers and children participate together in approximately 60 minutes of age-appropriate exercise activities.
Active Comparator: Separate Exercise Session; Participants assigned to this condition will complete exercise sessions in separate age-appropriate classes at a participating community fitness facility/CrossFit affiliate. Mothers will participate in an adult functional fitness class, while children will participate in a youth fitness class occurring concurrently. Sessions will last approximately 60 minutes and will include instructor-led warm-up, skill or strength-based exercises, conditioning activities, and cool-down. Mothers and children will exercise independently and will not participate in the same class activities during this condition. Cognitive performance, mood, and brain activity will be assessed immediately before and after the exercise session using brief computerized tasks, questionnaires, and portable electroencephalography (EEG). Participants will complete this condition once during the study.	Behavioral: Independent Functional Fitness Exercise; Participants will complete an approximately 60-minute functional fitness exercise session in a community fitness setting. Mothers will participate in an instructor-led adult fitness class while children simultaneously participate in an age-appropriate youth fitness class. Sessions may include warm-up activities, movement skill instruction, strength or conditioning exercises, games, and cool-down activities. Mothers and children will exercise separately throughout the session and will not participate in the same class activities. This condition is designed to examine the effects of exercise performed independently compared with exercise performed together as a mother-child dyad.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility of Community-Based EEG Assessment	Feasibility will be evaluated through recruitment, retention, session completion, questionnaire completion, cognitive task completion, and acquisition of usable EEG recordings using the EMOTIV EPOC X portable electroencephalography system. Data quality will be assessed by the proportion of participants providing analyzable EEG and cognitive data.	Throughout study completion (approximately 2 study visits over 1-2 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cognitive Performance (Symbol Search Task)	Processing speed and visual attention will be assessed using the M2C2 Symbol Search task. Outcomes include response accuracy and reaction time.	Pre- and post-exercise during each study visit (approximately 60 minutes)
Positive and Negative Affect	Mood will be assessed using the 10-item International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form (I-PANAS-SF). Scores for positive affect and negative affect will be calculated according to published scoring procedures.	Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)
Parent-Child Connectedness	Parent-child connectedness will be assessed using the Inclusion of Other in Self (IOS) Scale, a validated single-item pictorial measure of interpersonal closeness.	Immediately following each exercise condition
Exercise Enjoyment	Enjoyment of the exercise session will be measured using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES).	Immediately following each exercise condition
Neurophysiological Activity	Brain activity will be assessed using the EMOTIV EPOC X wireless electroencephalography (EEG) system. Outcomes may include resting-state spectral power within delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands, as well as frontal alpha asymmetry and other exploratory EEG-derived markers of cognitive engagement and neural activation.	Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Penn State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Janette Watkins, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 24, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 30, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: CrossFit; Brain Health; Mother-Child Dyads; Family-Based Physical Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00029189

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data will not be made publicly available because the study involves a small sample size and includes potentially identifiable cognitive, physiological, and neurophysiological data from mother-child dyads. Data will be reported in aggregate form to protect participant confidentiality and privacy.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No