The effects of an exercise intervention on neuroelectric activity and executive function in children with overweight/obesity: The <scp>ActiveBrains</scp> randomized controlled trial
José Mora-González, Irene Esteban‐Cornejo, Patricio Solis‐Urra, María Rodríguez‐Ayllón, Cristina Cadenas‐Sánchez, Charles H. Hillman, Arthur F. Kramer, Andrés Catena, Francisco B. Ortega
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether a 20-week aerobic and resistance exercise program induces changes in brain current density underlying working memory and inhibitory control in children with overweight/obesity. METHODS: ) was estimated using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) during a working memory task (Delayed non-matched-to-sample task, DNMS) and inhibitory control task (Modified flanker task, MFT). In DNMS, participants had to memorize four stimuli (Pokemons) and then select between two of them, one of which had not been previously shown. In MFT, participants had to indicate whether the centered cow (i.e., target) of five faced the right or left. RESULTS: The exercise group had significantly greater increases in brain activation in comparison with the control group during the encoding phase of DNMS, particularly during retention of second stimuli in temporal and frontal areas (peak t = from 3.4 to 3.8, cluster size [k] = from 11 to 39), during the retention of the third stimuli in frontal areas (peak t = from 3.7 to 3.9, k = from 15 to 26), and during the retention of the fourth stimuli in temporal and occipital areas (peak t = from 2.7 to 4.3, k = from 13 to 101). In MFT, the exercise group presented a lower current density change in the middle frontal gyrus (peak t = -4.1, k = 5). No significant change was observed between groups for behavioral performance (p ≥ 0.05). CONCLUSION: A 20-week exercise program modulates brain activity which might provide a positive influence on working memory and inhibitory control in children with overweight/obesity.