(PS6-87) Physical Activity, Executive Functioning, and Frontal Lobe Lateralization in Early Adolescence

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Adolescents with ADHD often exhibit impaired executive functioning (EF) which impacts school performance (Becker, 2018; Cantin et al., 2016; Poon, 2018; Schmidt et al., 2017).  Physical activity (PA) shows promise in alleviating ADHD symptoms and enhancing EF (Buck et al., 2008; Hoza et al., 2016). Studies examining the relationship of exercise and neural activity in populations with ADHD found improvements in neural functioning due to increased circulation of neurochemicals to the brain and alteration of functional activation patterns (Kirkland & Holton, 2019).

Current research points to the complexity of physical activity as a primary driver of improvements in executive functioning (Ludyga et al., 2022; Becker, 2018). Meta-analytical data (Sun et al., 2022) provides evidence for the effects of physical activity in improving EF performance in children having ADHD. EF has been described as having three primary components (Diamond, 2013; Miyake et al., 2000): updating, inhibition, and shifting. Prior research suggests coordinative (open-skilled) sports are related to higher switching and inhibition (Ludyga et al., 2022). Lower switching costs were found for students with a higher engagement in open-skill sports compared to those with low engagement in open-skill sports and those engaged in closed-skill sports.

Students, ages 11-14, will be recruited from a charter Lab Middle School. They will complete the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task an EF tasks designed to measure cognitive flexibility and inhibition. The Physical Activity Questionnaire will be used to collect self-reported frequency and type of sports (open/closed skill) engagement in the past month. Students will also participate in a Shuttle Run test as a fitness performance index (Leger, 1988; Schmidt et al., 2017). Neural activity will be measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG). Additionally, we will measure EEG power during the card sort task

The purpose of this study is to better understand the neural mechanisms involved in the relationship between physical activity and EF, specifically updating, switching, and inhibition. We predict that physical activity will be associated with performance on the card sort. We predict that higher levels of participation in complex sports is related to higher task performance and higher power in baseline-to-task-related changes. An increased understanding of the relationship between physical activity and EF will inform interventions that can be applied across middle school programs as cost-effective preventative treatment.