Malambo Chipo, Nová Aneta, Clark Cain, Musálek Martin
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University, 162 52 Prague, Czech Republic.
Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK.
Children (Basel). 2022 Jul 15;9(7):1059. doi: 10.3390/children9071059.
Previous empirical research and reviews have suggested that the level of fundamental movement skills (FMS), motor competence (MC), physical activity (PA), or physical fitness seem to directly influence the executive functions (EFs) in school aged children. However, there is no available comprehensive review of whether the exact links between motor constructs and EFs also exist in the preschool period, even though preschool age is the critical period for developing EFs. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review the evidence on the association between FMS, MC, PA, PF, and EFs. To conduct the systematic review, we utilized searches using Web of Science, PubMed, and EBSCO (including SPORTDiscus and Academic Search Premier). We included studies that examined associations between one or all of the four motor constructs with EFs among typically developing children aged 3-6 years, published between January 2010 and October 2021. A total of 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which four were randomized controlled trials, three were longitudinal studies, four were cohort studies, and four were cross-sectional studies. We found weak correlations or insufficient evidence for associations between FMS, PA, PF, and EFs. However, there was strong evidence for a moderately strong association between MC and working memory, a moderately weak association between MC and inhibition, and inadequate evidence for a weak to moderate association between MC and shifting. In addition, only half of the included studies were methodologically high-quality studies. Specifically, a questionable design selection of research samples might bias the strength of evaluated associations. We also found significant diversity in the diagnostic tools used for assessing and measuring motor and EFs domains. Our findings support the assumption that motor competencies level, which contains physical capacity and cognitive components, could be significantly linked to EF development from a preschool age. Therefore, we suggest that future studies focus more on clinical trial design, combining movement interventions with different levels of cognitive components, for the purposive development of EFs in preschool-aged children.
以往的实证研究和综述表明，基本运动技能（FMS）、运动能力（MC）、身体活动（PA）或身体素质水平似乎直接影响学龄儿童的执行功能（EFs）。然而，尽管学前阶段是执行功能发展的关键时期，但目前尚无关于运动结构与执行功能之间的确切联系在学前阶段是否也存在的全面综述。因此，本研究旨在系统回顾关于FMS、MC、PA、PF和EFs之间关联的证据。为进行系统综述，我们利用Web of Science、PubMed和EBSCO（包括SPORTDiscus和Academic Search Premier）进行检索。我们纳入了2010年1月至2021年10月期间发表的、研究3至6岁正常发育儿童中四种运动结构中的一种或全部与EFs之间关联的研究。共有15项研究符合纳入标准，其中四项是随机对照试验，三项是纵向研究，四项是队列研究，四项是横断面研究。我们发现FMS、PA、PF与EFs之间的关联存在弱相关性或证据不足。然而，有强有力的证据表明MC与工作记忆之间存在中度强关联，MC与抑制之间存在中度弱关联，而MC与转换之间存在弱至中度关联的证据不足。此外，纳入的研究中只有一半是方法学上的高质量研究。具体而言，研究样本的设计选择存在问题可能会使评估关联的强度产生偏差。我们还发现，用于评估和测量运动及EFs领域的诊断工具存在显著差异。我们的研究结果支持这样一种假设，即包含身体能力和认知成分的运动能力水平可能与学前儿童的EFs发展显著相关。因此，我们建议未来的研究更多地关注临床试验设计，将运动干预与不同水平的认知成分相结合，以有目的地促进学前儿童EFs的发展。
