Gentile Ambra, Boca Stefano, Şahin Fatma Neşe, Güler Özkan, Pajaujiene Simona, Indriuniene Vinga, Demetriou Yolanda, Sturm David, Gómez-López Manuel, Bianco Antonino, Alesi Marianna
Ph.D. Program in Health Promotion and Cognitive Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences and Human Movement, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Front Psychol. 2020 Apr 28;11:657. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00657. eCollection 2020.
The effects of physical exercise on executive functions (EFs) are well-documented. EFs are involved in daily activities, and their development determines the quality of people's future life, both in terms of mental health and quality of life. The purpose of the current paper is to evaluate the effects of a physical education program, elaborated within the Enriched Sports Activity Program (ESA Program), an Erasmus + Project, on EFs, namely, visuospatial working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and task switching.
Data were collected on November 2017 (t) and May 2018 (t). At t, a sample of 357 children from four European countries (Italy, Germany, Lithuania, and Turkey) performed a cognitive test battery made up of Digit Span Forward/Backward, Stroop Task, and Trail Making Test (TMT), whose order was randomized. From November until May, classrooms from the experimental group followed the ESA Program, while classrooms from the control continued with the ordinary physical education class. At t, children from both experimental and control groups performed again the cognitive battery.
The repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of the ESA Program on the TMT B and on Digit Span Backward, but no significant effects were found on Digit Span Forward and Stroop Task.
The introduction of a sport program enriched with cognitive stimuli has beneficial effects for children working memory and cognitive flexibility.
体育锻炼对执行功能（EFs）的影响已有充分记录。执行功能参与日常活动，其发展决定着人们未来生活在心理健康和生活质量方面的质量。本文的目的是评估在伊拉斯谟+项目“丰富体育活动计划”（ESA计划）中精心设计的体育教育计划对执行功能的影响，即视觉空间工作记忆、抑制控制、认知灵活性和任务切换能力。
数据于2017年11月（t）和2018年5月（t）收集。在t时，来自四个欧洲国家（意大利、德国、立陶宛和土耳其）的357名儿童样本进行了一组认知测试，包括顺背/倒背数字广度测试、斯特鲁普任务和连线测验（TMT），测试顺序随机。从11月到5月，实验组的班级遵循ESA计划，而对照组的班级继续上普通体育课。在t时，实验组和对照组的儿童再次进行认知测试。
重复测量方差分析显示，ESA计划对TMT B和倒背数字广度有显著影响，但对顺背数字广度和斯特鲁普任务没有显著影响。
引入富含认知刺激的体育项目对儿童的工作记忆和认知灵活性有有益影响。
