The FMRI Study of Acute Moderate Exercise on Children’s Executive Function

Objective:To investigate the effect of acute moderate exercise on brain activation pattern of children's executive function(EF),and further explore the brain mechanism of acute moderate exercise on children's EF.Methods:Before and after a single 30-min acute moderate aerobic exercise,nine right handed healthy volunteers aged at 10 were scanned with a Siemens MAGNETOM Trio 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner during performing the Flanker task.Results: 1) The beneficial effect of acute moderate exercise on children's EF was significant.2) The effects of acute moderate exercise on brain activation pattern of children's EF were significant.The findings were as followings:acute moderate exercise increased the level of activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus),and parietal lobule(superior parietal lobules and inferior parietal lobules),meanwhile,significantly reduced the level of activity in the anterior cingulate cortex.Conclusion:The beneficial effect of a single 30-min acute moderate exercise on children's EF was significant,moreover,brain mechanisms of the improved Flanker performance is was the change of children's brain activation pattern elicited by it.