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Greater childhood cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better top‐down cognitive control: A midfrontal theta oscillation study
Author(s) -
Hsieh ShuShih,
Chueh TingYu,
Morris Timothy P.,
Kao ShihChun,
Westfall Daniel R.,
Raine Lauren B.,
Hopman Rachel J.,
Pontifex Matthew B.,
Castelli Darla M.,
Kramer Arthur F.,
Hillman Charles H.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.13678
Subject(s) - cardiorespiratory fitness , psychology , task (project management) , cognition , inhibitory control , electroencephalography , audiology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , physical therapy , medicine , management , economics
The aim of the current study was to examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and electroencephalogram‐based neural oscillations, using midfrontal theta, during an inhibitory control task in children. One‐hundred seventy‐one school‐aged children (mean age = 8.9 ± 0.6 years; 46% girls) were recruited. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a test of maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2peak ) while inhibitory control performance was measured via a modified flanker task with an electroencephalogram. Behavioral findings demonstrated that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with higher response accuracy regardless of task difficulty as well as lower response variability during trials with lower cognitive demand. Neuroelectric outcomes revealed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was correlated with smaller modulation of theta (4–7 Hz) oscillatory power regardless of task difficulty. Collectively, the current findings indicate that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better performance on a task that modulates inhibitory control, signified by higher, and more stable, task performance. More importantly, higher childhood cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better top‐down control and cortical communication, as reflected by midfrontal theta. Such findings support the critical role of cardiorespiratory fitness in brain health during childhood.