Enhancing Children's Cognitive and Brain Health Through Physical Activity Training (FITKids2)

The long term objective of this project is to develop an understanding of lifestyle factors
that influence the cognitive and brain health of children while also reducing the sedentary
nature of today's youth. Previous research has found that physical activity interventions
can enhance both a variety of aspects of cognition and brain structure and function of
children, older adults, and individuals with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's
disease and multiple sclerosis. More specifically, in previous research with children the
researchers have found that higher fit children possess larger hippocampi which in turn are
related to better relational memory than their lower fit counterparts. The researchers have
also observed that higher fit children exhibit more efficient executive control as indicated
by performance measures and event-related brain potentials. While intriguing, these
cross-sectional data do not enable us to establish causality between physical activity and
cognition. In the current study the researchers substantially extend this previous research
by examining the influence of a 9 month randomized controlled afterschool physical activity
program on cognition and brain health. Cognition will be assessed with a battery of tasks
and standardized achievement tests both before and after the 9 month intervention in the
activity group and a wait list control (who will receive the intervention the following
year). Children will also participate in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions both
before and after the intervention (and at comparable times for the wait list control). In
these sessions the researchers will measure both structural aspects of the brain including
regional volumes of gray matter and the integrity of the white matter tracts (through
diffusion tensor imaging) and functional aspects of brain function using fMRI activity
recorded as the children perform a series of executive control and memory tasks. The
researchers anticipate, based on our cross-sectional studies with children and our previous
longitudinal studies with older adults, that the children in the physical activity program
will show both larger regional brain volumes, particularly in brain regions that subserve
executive control and relational memory, and more efficient brain function, as indexed by
task-related and resting state fMRI. Furthermore, the researchers anticipate that these
changes will be accompanied by improvements in memory and executive control processes. 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.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Parental/guardian consent

- 8 - 9 years old

- Capable of performing exercise

- Absence of school-identified learning disability

- IQ >= 85

- Tanner Scales score <= 2

- ADHD Rating Scales score >= 85%

- Right hand dominant

- Absence of metal implants

- Not claustrophobic

Exclusion Criteria:

- Non-consent of guardian

- Above or below 8 - 9 years old

- Any physical disability that prohibits exercise

- School-identified learning disability

- IQ < 85

- Tanner Scales score > 2

- ADHD Rating Scale score < 85%

- Left hand dominant

- Presence of metal implants

- Claustrophobic