Zhu Qiqi, Deng Jie, Yao Meixi, Xu Chong, Liu Demin, Guo Liya, Zhu Yu
College of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Physical Education College, Zhengzhou University, Henan, China.
Front Psychol. 2023 Feb 15;14:1103003. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1103003. eCollection 2023.
Physical activity interventions improve cognitive performance, especially visuospatial working memory (VSWM). However, evidence on the effects of these interventions in children, adolescents, and older adults remains scant. This meta-analysis aimed to identify the effects of physical activity on VSWM improvement in healthy individuals and the best exercise intervention program to improve VSWM capacity.
We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise interventions targeting VSWM in healthy individuals from Web of Science, MEDLINE, BIOSIS Previews, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data (Chinese) databases, from inception to August 20, 2022.
Among 21 articles (1,595 healthy participants), the heterogeneity test statistic was I2 = 32.3%, p = 0.053. The mean quality scores of the included articles were 6.9 points (reaction time [RT] studies) and 7.5 points (Score studies). Moreover, 28 RCTs were included (10 RT studies and 18 Score studies), and the subgroup analysis found significant effects for elderly participants, children, interventions involving a higher level of cognitive engagement, low and moderate exercise intensity, chronic exercise, exercise duration ≥60 min, and exercise period ≥90 days. Physical activity had a small but significant positive impact on VSWM in healthy individuals. Current evidence confirms the effects of physical activity on VSWM capacity only in children and seniors but not in young adults. Other age groups, including adolescents and middle-aged adults, have not been studied. Prescription of interventions involving high-level cognitive engagement, low and moderate exercise intensity, chronic exercise, exercise for >30 min per session, and exercise for more than 3 months is recommended for children and seniors.
Future RCTs would be to fill the gap in studies on adolescents and middle-aged adults, and report detailed exercise intervention programs about different age groups. PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022354737). INPLASY (https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2022.8.0053).
体育活动干预可改善认知表现，尤其是视觉空间工作记忆（VSWM）。然而，关于这些干预措施对儿童、青少年和老年人影响的证据仍然很少。本荟萃分析旨在确定体育活动对健康个体VSWM改善的影响以及改善VSWM能力的最佳运动干预方案。
我们从Web of Science、MEDLINE、BIOSIS Previews、PubMed、中国知网和万方数据（中文）数据库中检索了从建库至2022年8月20日针对健康个体中VSWM的运动干预随机对照试验（RCT）。
在21篇文章（1595名健康参与者）中，异质性检验统计量为I2 = 32.3%，p = 0.053。纳入文章的平均质量得分在反应时间（RT）研究中为6.9分，在得分研究中为7.5分。此外，纳入了28项RCT（10项RT研究和18项得分研究），亚组分析发现老年参与者、儿童、涉及更高认知参与水平的干预、低和中等运动强度、长期运动、运动持续时间≥60分钟以及运动周期≥90天有显著效果。体育活动对健康个体的VSWM有微小但显著的积极影响。目前的证据仅证实了体育活动对儿童和老年人VSWM能力的影响，而对年轻人没有影响。其他年龄组，包括青少年和中年成年人，尚未进行研究。建议对儿童和老年人采用涉及高水平认知参与、低和中等运动强度、长期运动、每次运动>30分钟以及运动超过3个月的干预方案。
未来的RCT将填补青少年和中年成年人研究的空白，并报告不同年龄组的详细运动干预方案。PROSPERO（https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022354737）。INPLASY（https://doi.org/10.37766/inplasy2022.8.0053）。
