The Effectiveness of Physical Activity with a Cognitive-Motor Approach on Response Inhibition of Primary School Children 7 to 8 Years Old

Hossein Samadi¹ Mohammad Jalilvand² Moniralsadat Arvin³

1) Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
2) Assistant professor of motor behavior, Department of physical education and Sport Sciences, faculty of humanity, Kermanshah Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah, Iran
3) M.Sc in Physical Education and Sports Science

IOI Code : XCGG-EKKFK
Publication : Second International Conference and Fourth National Conference on Innovations Sport Sciences(umasport2020.ir)
Abstract :
    Introduction: Due to the close relationship between the development of brain substrates responsible for motor coordination and executive function, special attention has recently been paid to the effect of physical activity interventions on children s cognitive functions. Studies show that the rate of improvement in cognitive function through physical activity may be related to the motor characteristics of the activities performed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity with a cognitive-motor approach on response inhibition of second grade elementary school children. Method: The research was quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design. 32 children in second grade were selected by availability and randomly divided to control and experimental groups. The cognitive-motor intervention program was performed for 12 weeks and two sessions of 45 minutes per week. The type and form of exercises become more varied and difficult as children progress. Stroop test was used to measure response inhibition. Statistical analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Finding: The results showed a significant improvement in the response inhibition scores of the children in the experimental group after 12 weeks of training (p ≥ 0.001). Discussion: The results of the study showed the effectiveness of the combination of physical and cognitive activity on response inhibition of children. Neuroscientists attribute the major mechanism of the effects of physical activity on cognitive function to the structural and physiological adaptations of the CNS (1,2). In the present study, instead of emphasizing only motor activities, the combination of physical activities with cognitive tasks was used to increase the load of attention and thus improving executive function. Explaining these findings, it can be stated that cognitive-motor tasks with higher degrees of difficulty may enhance an individual s ability to respond to new demands and behavioral adaptations by stimulating processes that facilitate neural flexibility (3,4). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it is recommended that children participate in physical activities with cognitive-motor approach and high attention load to improve response inhibition. It is also suggested that teachers use motor cognitive exercises in the classroom to increase interventions bilaterally.

Keywords : executive function response inhibition physical activity cognitive motor