Effects of an Acute Bout of Exercise on Cognitive Function in Adolescent Athletes

Abstract

Exercise is associated with physical, psychological, and cognitive health. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a single bout of exercise performed in the morning on cognitive function in adolescent athletes. Participants (N=14) were competitive swimmers aged 12-17 years. CogState Research software was used to assess various aspects of cognitive function. The Two Back (TB) Task measures attention and working memory; the Groton Maze Learning (GML) Test measures executive function and spatial problem solving; and the Continuous Paired Associate Learning (CPAL) Task measures visual learning and memory. All tests were administered before and after two experimental conditions on separate days within the same week. The exercise condition consisted of a vigorous swim practice for 60 minutes. The sedentary comparison condition consisted of watching an instructional swimming video for 60 minutes. TB results indicated a borderline significant time x condition interaction (p=.06). No change from pre- to posttest was seen in the swim condition (ES=0.05); a medium improvement from pre- to posttest was seen in the sedentary condition (ES=0.49). GML results indicated a borderline significant interaction (p=.07). A small decrease from pre- to posttest was seen in the swim condition (ES=-0.16), while a small to medium improvement was seen in the sedentary condition (ES=0.39). CPAL results indicated no significant interaction (p = .30). A small decrease from pre- to posttest was seen in the swim condition (ES=-0.22), while a small to medium improvement was seen in the sedentary condition (ES=0.34). Watching an instructional video for 60 minutes resulted in small to medium improvements in several aspects of cognitive function, while no changes in cognitive function were seen after 60 minutes of swim practice. The cognitive demands of swim practice may fatigue participants so that no improvements in cognitive function result consequent to physical activity.