Background and aims: Acute physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on executive functions (EFs). However, the influence of social interaction (SoI) during PA has been largely overlooked. Since many PAs occur in a social context, understanding the role of SoI is crucial for designing ecologically valid interventions that maximize EFs benefits. Therefore, this study systematically examines the effects of acute PA and SoI on core EFs. Methods: A total of 48 participants (M = 20.31, SD = 1.53, 50 % female) completed a 2 x 2 within-subjects design with SoI and PA as factors. Using Zwift, participants either cycled or used a gas pedal, alone or in pairs, across four counterbalanced conditions. EFs were assessed post-intervention via the Stroop and Letter Memory Tasks. Results: Two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed a significant negative main effect of SoI on participants' shifting performance (eta 2p = 0.24). There were no significant interaction effects between SoI and PA on EFs (eta 2ps = 0.01-0.09). No significant effects were found for updating (eta 2ps = 0.01-0.03) or inhibition (eta 2ps = 0.01-0.04). Conclusion: These results indicate that SoI impaired shifting performance. No interaction effect between SoI and acute PA was found, challenging the assumption that their combination enhances cognitive performance. Further research should explore how social dynamics shape the cognitive outcomes of PA.

Although numerous reviews and meta-analyses have examined the effects of physical activity on cognition, no previous meta-analysis has comprehensively explored the role of contextual factors. In this systematic review, we examined the role of contextual moderators along with more commonly investigated individual (e.g., age) and physical activity-related moderators (e.g., intensity, type). A multilevel meta-analysis was applied to 171 chronic (654 effect sizes) and 68 acute studies (305 effect sizes) involving 48,625 participants from preschool to older adulthood. On average, small positive effects on cognition were found for participation in both chronic (g = 0.25, 95% CI [0.19, 0.31]) and acute physical activity (g = 0.21, 95% CI [0.12, 0.30]). Physical activity effects on cognition seem to be jointly moderated by contextual and physical activity-related factors. The largest effect sizes were depicted for chronic practice of outdoor physical activity of moderate-to-vigorous intensity (g = 0.63, 95% CI [0.41; 0.85]) and with high cognitive demand (g = 0.53, 95% CI [0.15, 0.91]), and for acute bouts of outdoor physical activity of moderate intensity (g = 0.71, 95% CI [0.42, 0.99]). These results may inform the design of future chronic and acute physical activity trials to foster a more comprehensive understanding of the intersection between multiple moderators. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

An increasing number of meta-analyses examining chronic and acute effects of physical activity on cognition-varying in aims, eligibility criteria, and statistical methods to reduce risk of bias-have contributed to inconsistent conclusions. To make evidence-based statements about the effects of physical activity on cognition that can reliably inform policy development in physical activity advocacy documents, we need a transparent open science approach and a balanced trade-off between risk of over- and underestimation of effects. Our reply to Román-Caballero's commentary on our meta-analysis (Mavilidi et al., 2025) addresses the need to balance conflicting interpretations of meta-analytical strategies, results, and conclusions. Rather than debating which methodological strategies for evidence synthesis are generally most appropriate, we focus on identifying those best suited to examine the still overlooked role of context in advancing our understanding of the effects of physical activity on cognition. Thus, we justify our methodological choices in a way that, considering the complex and multifaceted nature of the relation between physical activity and cognition, should avoid the risk of discarding meaningful cognitive benefits while attempting to correct for risk of bias (i.e., prevent "throwing out the baby with the bathwater"). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Introduction Young cancer patients (YCP) face high risks of acute and long-term physical and mental health effects resulting from their malignancy and its treatment (Benzing et al., 2022; Siegwart et al., 2020). Physical activity (PA) is increasingly recognized as a strategy to address physical, mental, cognitive, and social challenges faced by YCP and survivors (Braam et al., 2016). This systematic review aimed to summarize findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical control trials (CCTs) evaluating the impact of PA interventions on physical and mental health outcomes in YCP and survivors. Methods A systematic search was conducted in APA PsycINFO, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus. We examined RCTs and CCTs investigating PA interventions in children and adolescents with cancer, during or after treatment, that reported outcomes related to physical or mental health and/or quality of life. Two authors independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. Results Of 1,164 articles screened, 32 RCTs and CCTs met eligibility criteria, involving 1,315 participants aged 4–19 years. Studies included inpatients (18), survivors (11), or both (2). Chronic PA interventions, such as aerobic, resistance, or combined motor-cognitive training, were implemented. All studies reported physical health outcomes, primarily focusing on cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and fatigue, while 18 studies assessed psychological outcomes, including depression and quality of life. Four studies objectively evaluated cognitive functions. Benefits were most frequently observed (>50%) for strength, fatigue, and self-efficacy, with no negative effects reported. Discussion/Conclusion Despite variability in session durations and intervention lengths, this review highlights the broad benefits of PA for YCP and survivors, with no indication of negative effects. Most studies have focused on physical and mental health outcomes (Braam et al., 2016), with limited attention to cognitive performance and motor ability, despite the high risk of cognitive late effects in this population (Krull et al., 2018). High-quality RCTs are needed to better understand the role of PA in motor and cognitive development among YCP and survivors. References Benzing, V., Siegwart, V., Spitzhüttl, J., Schmid, J., Grotzer, M., Roebers, C. M., Steinlin, M., Leibundgut, K., Everts, R., & Schmidt, M. (2021). Motor ability, physical self‐concept and health‐related quality of life in pediatric cancer survivors. Cancer Medicine, 10, 1860–1871. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3750 Braam, K. I., van der Torre, P., Takken, T., Veening, M. A., van Dulmen‐den Broeder, E., & Kaspers, G. J. L. (2016). Physical exercise training interventions for children and young adults during and after treatment for childhood cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, CD008796. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008796.pub3 Krull, K. R., Hardy, K. K., Kahalley, L. S., Schuitema, I., & Kesler, S. R. (2018). Neurocognitive outcomes and interventions in long-term survivors of childhood cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 36(21), 2181-2189. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2017.76.4696 Siegwart, V., Benzing, V., Spitzhuettl, J., Schmidt, M., Grotzer, M., Steinlin, M., Leibundgut, K., Roebers, C., & Everts, R. (2020). Cognition, psychosocial functioning, and health-related quality of life among childhood cancer survivors. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 32 (6), 922–945. https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2020.1844243

Background and aim: Acute exercise can enhance children's cognition. Heterogeneous effect sizes necessitate investigating exercise task characteristics, contextual factors, and related affective states. The study aimed to test whether different feedback forms during acute cognitively challenging exercise affect children's executive control, alerting, and orienting performances, also considering the potential mediational role of affective states. Methods: In a within-subjects posttest only design, 100 children (M-age = 11.0, SDage = 0.8, 48% female) participated weekly in one of three exergames with different feedback: no feedback (NO-FB), standard acoustic environment (ST-FB), positive feedback (PO-FB). Acute bouts were designed to keep physical intensity (65% HRmax) and duration (15-min) constant and to have a high cognitive challenge. Valence, arousal, perceived physical exertion, cognitive engagement, and flow were assessed before, during and after exergaming. Each bout was followed by an Attention Network Test. Results: ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect of feedback on executive control (eta(2)(p) = 0.09) with faster reaction times after PO-FB compared to the other conditions (eta 2ps > 0.06) and on valence at post-test (eta(2)(p) = 0.11) with highest values in PO-FB (eta(2)(ps) > 0.08). In PO-FB, valence was associated with executive control (r = -0.23) but did not mediate feedback effects on executive control (95% CI [-5.25, 4.68]). Alerting and orienting performances were unaffected by feedback (eta 2ps < 0.08). Conclusion: Results suggest that positive feedback during acute cognitively challenging exergaming enhances children's executive control and positive affect, highlighting that exercise task characteristics and contextual factors are essential for cognitive benefits.

Background and aims: Research has shown that acute physical activity (PA) improves inhibition performance. However, further information is needed on potential moderators that may influence this effect. Since social interaction (SoI) was proposed as an important PA characteristic influencing the PA-inhibition relation, this study examines the effects of acute PA and SoI on inhibition. Methods: In a 2 x 2 within-subject design, 96 participants (17-26 years, M = 20.5; SD = 1.7, 50% female) underwent four experimental conditions, consisting of a cognitively challenging (exer-)game varying in PA (PA/ no PA) and SoI (SoI/no SoI). After each condition, inhibition performance was assessed using the Eriksen Flanker Task. Results: Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that acute PA enhanced inhibition, leading to faster reaction times (rl2p 2 p = 0.169) and higher accuracy rates (rl2p 2 p = 0.090). However, the results showed speed-accuracy trade-offs for SoI, with faster reaction times (rl2p 2 p = 0.041) and lower accuracy rates (rl2p 2 p = 0.140). No interaction effects for PA and SoI on inhibition were observed (rl2ps 2 p s = 0.005-0.036). Conclusion: Our findings confirm that an acute bout of cognitively challenging PA can enhance inhibition performance but has no joint effects with SoI, which facilitated performance speed but worsened accuracy. Likely, the physically and cognitively challenging nature of the exergaming bout may have limited room for further improvement by SoI. Future acute PA studies should jointly explore the role of SoI and cognitive engagement in acute PA to identify an optimal pattern of task and context factors for reaping executive functions (EFs) gains.

Introduction Acute bouts of physical activity (PA) have the potential to transiently enhance children’s cognition (Ludyga et al., 2016). Although these positive results seem to be relatively consistent, there is considerable heterogeneity in the magnitude of effects (Lubans et al., 2022). Cognitive benefits are largely influenced by the interaction of quantitative and qualitative PA task characteristics (Lubans et al., 2022; Pesce, 2012), as well as by individual differences in responsiveness to PA bouts (Herold et al., 2021). Understanding the individual and joint effects of moderators is of great practical importance in the educational setting (Schmidt et al., 2021). This information could help to design and individualize PA breaks to enhance cognitive functions that are essential for learning and academic achievement, such as executive functions (EFs; responsible for self-regulation and goal-directed behavior) and attention (responsible for allocation of resources). Among PA task characteristics, the level of cognitive challenge has attracted increasing interest; however, a low comparability of PA studies varying in both quantitative parameters and qualitative modality do not allow for definitive conclusions (Paschen et al., 2019; Schmidt et al., 2021). Moreover, preliminary evidence highlights that positive affect induced by the PA bout may mediate PA effects on cognition (Schmidt et al., 2016). Thus, the aim of the research program was threefold: (1) shed light on which cognitive challenge level in acute PA may affect children’s EFs and attention (“cognitive challenge” study); (2) investigate which bout duration of the identified optimal cognitive challenge level is necessary to reap largest benefits (“bout duration” study); and (3) manipulate positive affect through supportive feedback (and music) to elucidate its influence on cognitive performance (“positive affect” study). Methods Three studies with within-subjects experimental design were conducted with 5th-6th graders (N = 110, N = 114, N = 102; determined by a-priori power analyses). Each study used an exergame (i.e., active video game that involves gross-motor PA) as intervention, performed at 65% maximum heart rate (HR). For the studies, the following experimental conditions were used: “Cognitive challenge” study: three sessions (15-min) with different cognitive challenge levels (low, mid, high), continuously adapted to the individual ongoing performance by an ascending number of distracting stimuli and misleading cues. “Bout duration” study: four sessions with the same, individually adapted cognitive challenge level (chosen according to “cognitive challenge” study) and different PA durations (5-, 10-, 15-, 20-min). “Positive affect” study: three sessions with the same cognitive challenge level and duration of the PA bout (chosen according to “cognitive challenge” and “bout duration” studies) and different affect-inducing feedback (no feedback, music with sound effects, music with sound effects and verbal supportive feedback). Each exergame session was performed individually during school hours (once a week). Children wore motion-based trackers and a HR sensor, while playing a virtual game that required performing different movements (e.g., jumps, squats, punches). During each session (every 5 minutes), perceived physical and cognitive challenge, as well as affective states were assessed. After the exergame, executive control (flanker effect), attentional alerting and orienting, and their interactive functioning were assessed by a child-adapted attention network test (ANT-R; Fan et al., 2009). Repeated measures ANOVAs were calculated to analyze intervention effects on reaction times (RTs) and accuracy data, with subsequent post-hoc Bonferroni-adjusted comparisons. Results “Cognitive challenge” study. A significant interaction for RTs between cognitive challenge and flanker conditions emerged [F(2, 100) = 4.16, p = .018, ƞ2p = .07], with no effects for accuracy. Post-hoc analyses of RT difference data (incongruent – congruent, i.e., flanker effect) revealed best performance after the high-challenge condition (ps < .045; ƞ2ps > .01). Regarding differential effects, adding sex to the model showed that it moderated the effect of cognitive challenge on the interactive functioning of executive control and attentional orienting [F(6, 96) = 2.33, p = .038, ƞ2p = .12]. “Bout duration” study. A significant effect of duration on overall RTs emerged [F(3, 101) = 4.04, p = .009, ƞ2p = .11], with no effects on accuracy. Post-hoc comparisons revealed significantly faster RTs after the 15-min compared to the 10-min condition (p = .019, ƞ2p = .09). Regarding differential effects, adding habitual PA level to the model showed that it moderated the effect of duration on the interactive functioning of executive control and attentional orienting [F(3, 100) = 4.81, p = .004, ƞ2p = .13]. “Positive affect” study. Ongoing – results will be presented at the SGS-meeting. Discussion The high-challenging bout benefited children’s executive control the most (“cognitive challenge” study), supporting the hypothesis that PA designed to generate cognitive engagement may facilitate performance in subsequent EF tasks (i.e., cognitive stimulation hypothesis; Pesce, 2012). However, attentional alerting and orienting were unaffected in the current study, which is in line with the absence of effects found for aerobic PA bouts (van den Berg et al., 2018). The 15-min cognitively high-challenging bout benefited children’s overall information processing speed the most, with no duration-dependent differences for executive control, alerting or orienting (“bout duration” study). Results extend to acute cognitively challenging PA the duration-dependent effects that have been found for acute high-intensity or aerobic PA bouts on overall information processing, but neither on EFs (Hatch et al., 2021), nor on alerting and orienting (van den Berg et al., 2018). Interestingly, in both “cognitive challenge” and “bout duration” studies an intriguing interplay between individual and tasks characteristics on the interactive functioning of executive control and orienting networks emerged. Indeed, the high-challenging bout benefited – for males only – also the efficiency of executive control under disadvantageous spatial attention conditions, consistent with previous adult studies without PA (Li et al., 2021). Whereas, the 15-min duration benefited the same interactive functioning for more active children only, which is in line with evidence that cognitively challenging PA bouts benefit EF efficiency more in children who are physically and cognitively better equipped to capitalize on it (Jäger et al., 2015). The added value of the present studies within an inconsistent evidence base (Paschen et al., 2019; Schmidt et al., 2021) is threefold. The studies allowed to (1) disentangle cognitive from physical challenge effects, while individualizing cognitive challenge; (2) identify the optimal duration for learning contexts; and (3) further the understanding of the interplay between individual and task characteristics. The “positive affect” study will complement the investigation of individual- and task-level moderators with information on positive affect as potential mediator for the acute PA-cognition relation. Results of the research program may inform the design of acute and chronic PA studies implemented in the school context, to capitalize jointly on physical and cognitive benefits of PA. References Fan, J., Gu, X., Guise, K. G., Liu, X., Fossella, J., Wang, H., & Posner, M. I. (2009). Testing the behavioral interaction and integration of attentional networks. Brain and Cognition, 70(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2009.02.002 Hatch, L. M., Dring, K. J., Williams, R. A., Sunderland, C., Nevill, M. E., & Cooper, S. B. (2021). Effect of differing durations of high-intensity intermittent activity on cognitive function in adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), Article 11594. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111594 Herold, F., Törpel, A., Hamacher, D., Budde, H., Zou, L., Strobach, T., Müller, N. G., & Gronwald, T. (2021). Causes and consequences of interindividual response variability: A call to apply a more rigorous research design in acute exercise-cognition studies. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, Article 682891. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.682891 Jäger, K., Schmidt, M., Conzelmann, A., & Roebers, C. M. (2015). The effects of qualitatively different acute physical activity interventions in real-world settings on executive functions in preadolescent children. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 9, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2015.05.002 Li, Y., Wang, Y., Jin, X., Niu, D., Zhang, L., Jiang, S. Y., Ruan, H. D., & Ho, G. W. (2021). Sex differences in hemispheric lateralization of attentional networks. Psychological Research, 85(7), 2697–2709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01423-z Lubans, D. R., Leahy, A. A., Mavilidi, M. F., & Valkenborghs, S. R. (2022). Physical activity, fitness, and executive functions in youth: Effects, moderators, and mechanisms. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 53, 103–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2021_271 Ludyga, S., Gerber, M., Brand, S., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Pühse, U. (2016). Acute effects of moderate aerobic exercise on specific aspects of executive function in different age and fitness groups: A meta-analysis. Psychophysiology, 53(11), 1611–1626. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12736 Paschen, L., Lehmann, T., Kehne, M., & Baumeister, J. (2019). Effects of acute physical exercise with low and high cognitive demands on executive functions in children: A systematic review. Pediatric Exercise Science, 31(3), 267–281. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.2018-0215 Pesce, C. (2012). Shifting the focus from quantitative to qualitative exercise characteristics in exercise and cognition research. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34(6), 766–786. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.34.6.766 Schmidt, M., Benzing, V., & Kamer, M. (2016). Classroom-based physical activity breaks and children's attention: Cognitive engagement works! Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 1474. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01474 Schmidt, M., Egger, F., Anzeneder, S., & Benzing, V. (2021). Acute cognitively challenging physical activity to promote children’s cognition. In R. Bailey (Ed.), ICSSPE perspectives. Physical activity and sport during the first ten years of life: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 141–155). Routledge. van den Berg, V., Saliasi, E., Jolles, J., de Groot, R. H., Chinapaw, M. J. M., & Singh, A. S. (2018). Exercise of varying durations: No acute effects on cognitive performance in adolescents. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, Article 672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00672

Acute bouts of physical exercise have the potential to benefit children's cognition. Inconsistent evidence calls for systematic investigations of dose–response relations between quantitative (intensity and duration) and qualitative (modality) exercise characteristics. Thus, in this study the optimal duration of an acute cognitively challenging physical exercise to benefit children's cognition was investigated, also exploring the moderating role of individual characteristics. In a within‐subject experimental design, 104 children (Mage = 11.5, SD = 0.8, 51% female) participated weekly in one of four exergaming conditions of different durations (5, 10, 15, 20 min) followed by an Attention Network task (ANT‐R). Exergame sessions were designed to keep physical intensity constant (65% HRmax) and to have a high cognitive challenge level (adapted to the individual ongoing performance). Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed a significant effect of exercise duration on reaction times (RTs; p = 0.009, ƞ2p = 0.11), but not on response accuracy. Post hoc analyses showed faster information processing speed after 15 min of exercise compared to 10 min (p = 0.019, ƞ2p = 0.09). Executive control, alerting and orienting performances and interactions were unaffected by exercise duration (ps > 0.05). Among individual characteristics, habitual physical activity moderated duration effects on RTs. For more active children, exercise duration influenced the interaction between executive control and orienting (p = 0.034; ƞ2p = 0.17) with best performances after the 15 min duration. Results suggest that an acute 15 min cognitively high‐challenging bout of physical exercise enhances allocable resources, which in turn facilitate information processing, and—for more active children only—also executive processes. Results are interpreted according to the arousal theory and cognitive stimulation hypothesis.

Introduction Research has shown that acute physical activity (PA) enhances executive functions (EFs). However, it is still not fully understood, what underlying mechanism and associated PA characteristics are responsible for these effects. Derived from unsystematic investigations, social interaction (SI) is proposed as one factor that might positively influence these effects. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of PA, SI, and their combination on EFs. Methods A total of 96 sports students aged 17 to 26 years (M = 20.51, SD = 1.73; 50% female) underwent four conditions in a 2×2 within-subject design that varied in terms of PA (physically active exergame/non-physically active exergame) or SI (socially interactive exergame/non-socially interactive exergame). EFs were measured using the computer-based Flanker Task during the baseline assessment and immediately after the four intervention conditions. Results Two-way repeated measures ANOVAs showed that participants’ EFs benefited from PA in terms of faster response time (F(1,95) = 19.34, p < .001, ƞ2p = .169) and lower error rate (F(1,95) = 15.43, p < .001, ƞ2p = .140). Concerning SI, results showed that although participants responded faster (F(1,95) = 4.11, p = .045, ƞ2p = .041), they also made significantly more errors (F(1,95) = 15.43, p < .001, ƞ2p = .140) after socially interactive compared to non-socially interactive activities. No significant interaction effects could be demonstrated (p > .050) neither for reaction time (ƞ2p = .036) nor for error rate (ƞ2p = .005). Discussion This study confirmed previous evidence that PA leads to better EFs. Results are in line with the cognitive stimulation hypothesis, which assumes that PA preactivates specific brain areas relevant to higher-order cognitive processes. Concerning socially interactive activities, results show speed-accuracy trade-offs. Besides highlighting the importance of PA for enhancing EFs, this result indicates that SI during exergaming may lead to cognitive overload, resulting in lower performance. Further studies are needed on the effect and underlying mechanisms of different characteristics, such as SI, to promote EFs.

Acute bouts of exercise have the potential to benefit children's cognition. Inconsistent evidence on the role of qualitative exercise task characteristics calls for further investigation of the cognitive challenge level in exercise. Thus, the study aim was to investigate which "dose" of cognitive challenge in acute exercise benefits children's cognition, also exploring the moderating role of individual characteristics. In a within-subject experimental design, 103 children (Mage = 11.1, SD = 0.9, 48% female) participated weekly in one of three 15-min exergames followed by an Attention Network task. Exergame sessions were designed to keep physical intensity constant (65% HRmax) and to have different cognitive challenge levels (low, mid, high; adapted to the ongoing individual performance). ANOVAs performed on variables that reflect the individual functioning of attention networks revealed a significant effect of cognitive challenge on executive control efficiency (reaction time performances; p = .014, ƞ2p = .08), with better performances after the high-challenge condition compared to lower ones (ps < .015), whereas alerting and orienting were unaffected by cognitive challenge (ps > .05). ANOVAs performed on variables that reflect the interactive functioning of attention networks revealed that biological sex moderated cognitive challenge effects. For males only, the cognitive challenge level influenced the interactive functioning of executive control and orienting networks (p = .004; ƞ2p = .07). Results suggest that an individualized and adaptive cognitively high-challenging bout of exercise is more beneficial to children's executive control than less challenging ones. For males, the cognitive challenge in an acute bout seems beneficial to maintain executive control efficiency also when spatial attention resources cannot be validly allocated in advance. Results are interpreted referring to the cognitive stimulation hypothesis and arousal theory.

In the surging field of chronic physical activity (PA) and cognition research, problems arise that prevent us from ‘seeing the forest for the trees’. The first aim was to identify them and propose solutions. Moreover, inconsistencies in conclusions of a rising amount of systematic reviews render necessary ‘an umbrella for a rain of evidence’. The second aim was to obtain a differentiated picture of moderators that may explain inconsistencies using the wide-angle lens of a systematic meta-review. We especially addressed the role of the PA context in causation mechanisms, complementing the meta-review with a realist approach that is best suited to identify context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. Main review outcomes are: (1) inconsistent grading of methodological quality and low consideration of external validity; (2) role of multiple moderators at participant-, intervention-, study-level but relative neglect of context-level moderators; (3) explanatory potential of CMO configurations, in which specific conditions of the context may trigger different mechanisms that generate PA effects on cognition. The majority of the proposed mechanisms converge on the concept of enrichment. Conclusions highlight the need for future research, in which PA interventions and their contexts are designed to mobilize the different mechanisms underpinning their individual and joint effects on cognition.

Introduction: Pediatric Cancer Survivors (PCS) bear a high risk for late effects within motor abilities (MAs) and executive functions (EFs). In typically developing children, these domains are interrelated and predictors of academic performance. The current study investigated (i) whether MAs and EFs are also interrelated in PCS, and (ii) whether EFs mediate the relation between MAs and academic performance. Methods: 78 PCS (7-16 years; M = 11.23; SD = 2.49) participated in this study. Three MAs were assessed: coordination and strength (using the German Motor Test) and endurance (using a cycle ergometer test). EFs were assessed: inhibition and cognitive flexibility (Color-Word Interference Test) and working memory (Block Recall test); and academic performance by questionnaire asking for children's grade point average. Results: Pearson correlations revealed associations of coordination and strength with EFs and associations of all three MAs with academic performance. A multiple regression model revealed that among the three MAs, coordination was the only significant predictor of EFs (beta = 0.42, p = .001). Lastly, mediation analyses revealed that the association of MAs with academic performance was mediated by EFs (indirect effect: beta = 0.167, p = .003). Regarding individual motor abilities, this was only true for coordination and strength, but not for endurance. Conclusion: Results show that MAs and EFs are interrelated in PCS and that EFs mediate the relationship between coordination and strength with academic performance. This may be important for the design of future physical activity interventions to improve MAs, EFs and academic performance.

The central importance of movement for healthy child development is widely recognized in politics, science, and education. In principle, exercise and cognition research has the potential to provide some advice concerning the association between physical activity (PA) and cognition. The term PA is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles through energy expenditure. The term "cognition" can be defined as "any form of information processing, mental operation, or intellectual activity, such as thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, or learning". Generally speaking, cognition includes both bottom-up and top-down cognitive processes. Physical activities differ in many ways, ranging from more energetically determined activities, such as aerobic or strength exercises, to more information-oriented activities, such as coordinative or dual-task exercises. The umbrella term Executive functions (EFs) refers to a multi-component construct that consists of several distinct, yet interrelated, processes, encompassing the cognitive processes responsible for controlling and organizing goal-directed behaviour.

Macht sportliche Betätigung schlau?!Sofia Anzeneder and Valentin BenzingSofia AnzenederSearch for more papers by this author and Valentin BenzingSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:February 27, 2019https://doi.org/10.1026/1612-5010/a000252PDFView Full Text ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit SectionsMoreDiamond, A. & Ling, D. S.(2018). Aerobic-Exercise and resistance-training interventions have been among the least effective ways to improve executive functions of any method tried thus far. Advance online publication. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2018.05.001 Crossref, Google ScholarFiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 26Issue 1Januar 2019ISSN: 1612-5010eISSN: 2190-6300 InformationZeitschrift für Sportpsychologie (2019), 26, pp. 36-36 https://doi.org/10.1026/1612-5010/a000252.© 2019Hogrefe VerlagPDF download