Lion Tracks EEG Pilot: Understand Cognitive Responses to CrossFit in Mother-Child Dyads (Lion Tracks)
30 de junio de 2026 actualizado por: Janette Watkins, Penn State University
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.
Descripción general del estudio
Estado
Aún no reclutando
Condiciones
Intervención / Tratamiento
Descripción detallada
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.
Tipo de estudio
Intervencionista
Inscripción (Estimado)
20
Fase
- No aplica
Contactos y Ubicaciones
Esta sección proporciona los datos de contacto de quienes realizan el estudio e información sobre dónde se lleva a cabo este estudio.
Estudio Contacto
- Nombre: Janette Watkins Dr, PhD
- Número de teléfono: 502-321-9683
- Correo electrónico: jjw7102@psu.edu
Criterios de participación
Los investigadores buscan personas que se ajusten a una determinada descripción, denominada criterio de elegibilidad. Algunos ejemplos de estos criterios son el estado de salud general de una persona o tratamientos previos.
Criterio de elegibilidad
Edades elegibles para estudiar
- Niño
- Adulto
- Adulto Mayor
Acepta Voluntarios Saludables
Sí
Descripción
Inclusion Criteria
- Adult participant is a mother or female primary caregiver aged 18 years or older.
- Child participant is at least 3 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.
Plan de estudios
Esta sección proporciona detalles del plan de estudio, incluido cómo está diseñado el estudio y qué mide el estudio.
¿Cómo está diseñado el estudio?
Detalles de diseño
- Propósito principal: Ciencia básica
- Asignación: Aleatorizado
- Modelo Intervencionista: Asignación cruzada
- Enmascaramiento: Ninguno (etiqueta abierta)
Armas e Intervenciones
Grupo de participantes/brazo |
Intervención / Tratamiento |
|---|---|
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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.
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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.
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Comparador activo: 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.
|
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.
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¿Qué mide el estudio?
Medidas de resultado primarias
Medida de resultado |
Medida Descripción |
Periodo de tiempo |
|---|---|---|
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Feasibility of Community-Based EEG Assessment
Periodo de tiempo: Throughout study completion (approximately 2 study visits over 1-2 weeks)
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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.
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Throughout study completion (approximately 2 study visits over 1-2 weeks)
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Medidas de resultado secundarias
Medida de resultado |
Medida Descripción |
Periodo de tiempo |
|---|---|---|
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Cognitive Performance (Symbol Search Task)
Periodo de tiempo: Pre- and post-exercise during each study visit (approximately 60 minutes)
|
Processing speed and visual attention will be assessed using the M2C2 Symbol Search task.
Outcomes include response accuracy and reaction time.
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Pre- and post-exercise during each study visit (approximately 60 minutes)
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Positive and Negative Affect
Periodo de tiempo: Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)
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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.
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Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)
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Neurophysiological Activity
Periodo de tiempo: Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)
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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.
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Immediately before and after each exercise session (approximately 60 minutes)
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Parent-Child Connectedness
Periodo de tiempo: Immediately following each exercise condition
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Parent-child connectedness will be assessed using the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale, a validated single-item pictorial measure of perceived interpersonal closeness.
Mothers select one of seven increasingly overlapping pairs of circles representing the relationship between themselves and their child.
Scores range from 1 (least connected) to 7 (most connected), with higher scores indicating greater perceived parent-child connectedness.
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Immediately following each exercise condition
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Exercise Enjoyment
Periodo de tiempo: Immediately following each exercise condition
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Enjoyment of the exercise session will be assessed using the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES), a validated measure of enjoyment experienced during physical activity.
Scores range from 1 to 5, with the overall score calculated as the mean of all items.
Higher scores indicate greater enjoyment of the exercise session.
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Immediately following each exercise condition
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Colaboradores e Investigadores
Aquí es donde encontrará personas y organizaciones involucradas en este estudio.
Patrocinador
Investigadores
- Investigador principal: Janette Watkins, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University
Fechas de registro del estudio
Estas fechas rastrean el progreso del registro del estudio y los envíos de resultados resumidos a ClinicalTrials.gov. Los registros del estudio y los resultados informados son revisados por la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina (NLM) para asegurarse de que cumplan con los estándares de control de calidad específicos antes de publicarlos en el sitio web público.
Fechas importantes del estudio
Inicio del estudio (Estimado)
1 de enero de 2027
Finalización primaria (Estimado)
1 de diciembre de 2027
Finalización del estudio (Estimado)
1 de marzo de 2028
Fechas de registro del estudio
Enviado por primera vez
24 de junio de 2026
Primero enviado que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad
24 de junio de 2026
Publicado por primera vez (Actual)
30 de junio de 2026
Actualizaciones de registros de estudio
Última actualización publicada (Actual)
2 de julio de 2026
Última actualización enviada que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad
30 de junio de 2026
Última verificación
1 de junio de 2026
Más información
Términos relacionados con este estudio
Palabras clave
Otros números de identificación del estudio
- STUDY00029189
Plan de datos de participantes individuales (IPD)
¿Planea compartir datos de participantes individuales (IPD)?
NO
Descripción del plan IPD
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.
Información sobre medicamentos y dispositivos, documentos del estudio
Estudia un producto farmacéutico regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.
No
Estudia un producto de dispositivo regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.
No
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