Exercise and Cognition (Week 5)

Question 1

use 3 points to explain what it is meant by the key term - ‘cognitive psychology’

Answer 1

1) the study of internal mental processes that govern complex behaviour
2) how knowledge is chosen, acquired, stored and used (computer analogy)
3) how do these processes develop and impact our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs

Question 2

explain what it is meant by the key term - ‘basic cognitive functioning’ (3 points)

(Biddle & Mutrie., 2015)

Answer 2

• basic cognitive functioning helps us control and manage our behaviours
• attention, cognitive flexibility and inhibition , inhibitory control, reaction time, working memory
• work-together to goal-oriented and more complex functions

Question 3

what it is meant by: 1) cognitive flexibility; 2) cognitive inhibition; and 3) inhibitory control

Answer 3

1) cognitive flexibility - the ability to focus on a range of stimuli (multi-tasking)
2) cognitive inhibition - the ability to block out irrelevant stimuli

3) inhibitory control - instincts
(develop after adolescents as emotions take over during that stage of development –> develop at a much faster rate)

Question 4

explain what it is meant by the key term - ‘executive cognitive functioning’ (3 points)

(Biddle & Mutrie., 2015)

Answer 4

• higher order executive processes that rely on basic cognitive processes
• fluid and crystallised intelligence, planning, meta-cognition
• help us to perform complex and social tasks, manage time, analyse sensory information, regulate emotions

Question 5

explain the difference between fluid and crystallised intelligence

Answer 5

fluid = reasoning, problem solving

crystallised = knowledge

Question 6

what is meta-cognition ?

Answer 6

our own insight into what our cognitive strengths and weaknesses are

Question 7

make 2 points to why cognition is so important

Answer 7

1) enables successful functioning in life, educational, vocational, and social domains
2) decline in executive and basic functioning with older age, dementia and Alzheimer’s

Question 8

state 3 factors that can potentially have an adverse affect our cognition

Answer 8

1) neglect
2) trauma
3) injury
4) addiction
5) ADHD
6) autism
7) poor diet
8) poor physical health

Question 9

state 2 considerations of the following review paper:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 9

• heterogeneity in types of exercise prescribed between the studies - what’s best ?
• papers applying a meta-analysis approach found only small links that exercise improves cognition in the youth

Question 10

what was the purpose of the following review article?

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 10

to analyse papers giving both quantitative and qualitative focuses on the link between exercise and cognition

Question 11

explain the methods to the following review paper:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 11

• studies characterised into quantitative and qualitative groups

1) quantitative - measured in cardio-respiratory function
2) qualitative - measured with observed and self-reported measures

• studies restricted to healthy, pre-adolescent children

Question 12

what were the main 4 ‘quantitive’ results to the following review paper:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 12

• studies found that 20-30 minutes a day below VT to improve mood states and/or cog performance in lab and field based studies
• improvements in cardio-respiratory system shown to aid O2 delivery to the brain
• acute exercise increases children’s attention and processing speed
• chronic exercise improves children’s executive function

Question 13

what was the difference between quantitative and qualitative studies in the following review paper:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 13

quantitative:

• minimal skill, repeated movements
• e.g. cycling

qualitative:

• high cognitive efforts, skill learning
• e.g. martial arts

Question 14

what were the main ‘qualitative’ results to the following review paper:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 14

1) chronic improvements in memory (solo and group exercise)
2) greater and more precise recall from chronic exercise

3) shown to improve areas of meta-cognition (e.g. - technical creativity skills)
- more studies needed due to small number of un-replicated evidence on this point

Question 15

what recommendations did the following review paper make for future research on ‘exercise and cognition in youths’:

‘PA and cognitive functioning in youth’ (Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 15

• have homogeneity of cognitive definitions
• development of a suitable model
• generalisability to settings outside of sport
• are the chronic efforts enduring (i.e. - if you stop exercise vs if you carry on)
• further research on meta-cognition and exercise !!!

Question 16

state 3 points about exercise and its effect on cognition in the youth by (Tomporowski., 2003; Tomporowski et al., 2015)

Answer 16

1) facilitates decision making, response time and accuracy, inhibitory control, and working memory
2) effects are more noticeable for complex motor activities
3) exercise to dehydration compromises acute information processing and memory

Question 17

explain findings from (Raspberry et al., 2011) on chronic exercise and cognition in the youth

Answer 17

1) exercise studies improved intelligence, cognition, and academic outcomes (Raspberry et al., 2011)
2) small groups, aerobic activity, and 3 times a week most effective (Raspberry et al., 2011)
3) research designs were weak, inconsistent and open to bias

Question 18

why did (Raspberry et al., 2011) state that small groups were best for cognition effects

Answer 18

shy children in large groups can easily hard and pretend to be doing the work so miss out on cognitive benefits. by being in a small group, they’d get found out so have to do the activity now

Question 19

explain the study design to the following study:

cognitive benefits of exercise in overweight/obese youths (Davis, Tomporowski et al., 2011)

Answer 19

• 170 overweight children aged 7-11 years
• assigned to 1/3 groups

1) wait list
2) 20 min activity, 20 minute ‘play time’
3) 20 minute activity, rest, 20 minutes more activity

• looked at the different effects this had on cognitive performance longitudinally over 13 weeks across the 3 groups

Question 20

what was the main finding to the following study:

cognitive benefits of exercise in overweight/obese youths (Davis, Tomporowski et al., 2011)

Answer 20

1) brilliant evidence that exercise benefits executive function and math ability in the youth population
- however, this study showed no benefit in reading ability

Question 21

explain the study design to the following study:

exercise for youths with neurological conditions –> ADHD (Neudecker et al., 2019)

Answer 21

a review article of 13 exercise and ADHD research papers

Question 22

what were the 2 main findings to the following study:

exercise for youths with neurological conditions –> ADHD (Neudecker et al., 2019)

Answer 22

1) acute and chronic exercise aids cognitive function, reduces emotional/behavioural problems
2) found that physically taxing, non-competitive and repeated movements were most effective for those suffering from ADHD (had a soothing effect)

Question 23

what 2 recommendations did the following study make when it comes to prescribing exercise to children who suffer from ADHD:

exercise for youths with neurological conditions –> ADHD (Neudecker et al., 2019)

Answer 23

1) must adapt the activity to the needs of each individual child as their psychological capacity is low

2) do the sessions 1 to 1 to begin with to ensure that the child is coping ok
- allow for exercise in groups once mental capacity increases

Question 24

what was the purpose of the following study:

‘implementing active learning in schools’ (Daly-Smith et al., 2020)

Answer 24

to identify multi-stakeholder perspectives that are important for successful widespread physical activity learning (PAL) adoption and implementation

Question 25

what was the method to the following study:

‘implementing active learning in schools’ (Daly-Smith et al., 2020)

Answer 25

• 35 stakeholders were split 4 groups and were challenged with the question of how to integrate PAL into uk schools

1) policy makers (n = 9)
2) commercial education sector (n = 8)
3) teachers (n = 3)
4) researchers (n = 15)

Question 26

what were the findings to the following study:

‘implementing active learning in schools’ (Daly-Smith et al., 2020)

Answer 26

1) classroom:
- enhance teacher competence and confidence of delivering PAL
- provide resources to teachers

2) schools:
- embed PAL in school mission statement and vision
- support from leadership, governors, and parents

3) national
- integration within educational health policies, curriculum, and teacher training

Question 27

what is ‘udeskole’ ? (3 points)

Daly-Smith et al., 2020

Answer 27

1) a Norwegian programme
2) it involves education outside of the classroom
3) lessons and curriculum are delivered in a natural or cultural environment

Question 28

from the case study done by (Daly-Smith et al., 2020) on ‘Udeskole’ in Norway, what were the main benefits found ?

Answer 28

improved activity, resilience, confidence, well-being, social/cognitive competence, reduced stress for teachers

Question 29

state a fact about the UK and ‘Udeskole’

Answer 29

‘Udeskole’ has started to have some uptake in the UK, but is still in the starting stages (Maynard., 2007)

Question 30

what is ‘The Daily Mile’ (Elaine Wyllie., 2012)

2 points

Answer 30

1) 15 mins self-paced walking/jogging a day in Uk schools

2) improves fitness, BMI, activity, mood, verbal memory

Question 31

evaluate the effectiveness of ‘The Daily Mile’ (Elaine Wyllie., 2012)

(2 points)

Answer 31

1) (Morris et al., 2019) found that the daily mile had no benefit on math function or executive function

2) not as engaging as forest school has been shown to be –> link to Tomporowski., 2015
- good first step in the right direction, but can improve

Question 32

what was the purpose of the following review article:

‘PA and cognition in adults’ (Tomporowski., 2013)

Answer 32

a review paper limited to exercise studies that involved activation of the entire body and produce systematic changes in physiological function, and that assessed the acute effects on cognitive function

Question 33

what was found in the review on ‘PA and Cognition in adults’ (Tomporowski., 2013) on the following area:

‘the effects of intense exercise on cognitive function’ (3 points)

Answer 33

1) (Fleury et al., 1981) failed to link anaerobic exercise to acute decline in cognitive function
2) little evidence that chronic anaerobic exercise can lead to improvements in chronic cognitive functioning (Tomporowski., 2003)

3) an individual’s fitness level probably plays a role in the effect of anaerobic exercise effect on cognitive level (Gutin & DiGennaro., 1968a)
- ‘unfit’ individuals showed no improvement on pre and post anaerobic exercise mental tests
- ‘fit’ individuals saw an improvement

Question 34

what was found in the review on ‘PA and Cognition in adults’ (Tomporowski., 2013) on the following area:

‘exercise induced arousal and cognitive performance’

Answer 34

1) lab studies have shown mixed support to the ‘inverted U effect’ (Dodsen & Yerkes) of arousal and cognitive performance
- some studies have shown a benefit, but others have shown no effect (depends upon the study design)
- theory is that, at ‘optimal arousal’ of the ‘inverted U theory’ you have an optimal field of attention meaning you can selectively attend to relevant cues, therefore allowing your acute cognitive ability to go up (Salmela & Ndoye., 1986)

Question 35

what was found in the review on ‘PA and Cognition in adults’ (Tomporowski., 2013) on the following area:

‘steady state exercise and cognitive performance’

Answer 35

1) 11 studies showed improvements in acute cognitive function following steady-state aerobic exercise (Tomporowski., 2003)
2) sub-max bouts do not appear to reduce acute cognitive function in the general population (Adam., 1991)
3) aerobic bouts shown to facilitate response preparation, and preparation for motor movement (Fleury et al., 1981)

Question 36

what was the purpose of the following study:

‘exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 36

to determine if exercise is effective at improving cognitive function in this population

Question 37

what was the study design to the following study:

‘exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 37

a systematic review with multi-level meta-analysis

Question 38

what was the eligibility criteria for the following study:

‘exercise interventions fo cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 38

RCT’s of PA interventions looking at the effect of exercise on cognitive performance in those aged > 50

Question 39

what were the results to the following study:

‘exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 39

• PA interventions significantly improved cognitive performance in people aged > 50, regardless of their original cognitive status
• benefits shown in studies using aerobic, anaerobic, a combination of both, and Tai Chi
• best effect was seen when regular exercise was done for about 45 minutes

Question 40

why is it that (Northey et al., 2018) saw such a benefit on cognitive performance from Tai Chi (3 points)

Answer 40

• takes a lot of mental focus to perform
• improves balance, co-ordination and core strength
• helps with fall reduction (Verhagen et al., 2004)

Question 41

what was a strength of the following study:

‘exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 41

it is an up to date review of all credible RCT’s on the topic matter

Question 42

state 3 limitations to the following study:

‘exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults > 50’ (Northey et al., 2018)

Answer 42

1) search strategy limited to english written papers
2) only used studies when exercise was the sole intervention
3) selection strategy limited papers to fully supervised exercise

Question 43

explain the study design done in the Swedish National Service Study (Aberg et al., 2009)

Answer 43

• 1 million males from national service completed fitness tests (all aspects of fitness) and cognitive tests
• same tests that were done in schools so could compare individual’s scores longitudinally
• could also do twin studies as had-to many participants –> enables you to see if benefits are driven by genetic or environmental factors

Question 44

what were the main findings form the Swedish National Service Study (Aberg et al., 2009)

Answer 44

1) CV fitness (not strength) was associated with global and domain specific intelligence
2) twin studies suggest that effects were environmental and NOT genetic
3) gains in fitness from 15-18 year olds predicted higher scores of intelligence assessments

Question 45

how muuch is the UK national Dementia treatment costing the UK ?

Answer 45

approx. £38 million a year

Question 46

explain what was said by (Biddle & Mutrie., 2015) about age related decline in cognition (2 points)

Answer 46

1) basic and executive cognitive functions naturally decline with age

2) > 800,000 in the UK have dementia (98% > 65)
- Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia (protein plaques/tangles destroying neurones)

Question 47

state 3 points about ‘vascular dementia’ (Biddle & Mutrie., 2015)

Answer 47

1) most common type of dementia resulting from reduced cerebral blood flow (est. 150,000 in the UK)
2) narrowing/blockage of blood vessels in the brain., high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, poor sleep, poor diet are all causes
3) lifestyle behaviours carry a far greater risk than genetic factors

Question 48

what were the main 3 findings from the following study:

‘can PA prevent dementia’ (Dishman et al., 2013)

Answer 48

1) lower PA levels predict greater rick of future onset of dementia
- higher PA reduces risk of Alzheimer’s by approx. 45%

2) limited evidence that increasing your fitness levels further will further reduce your risk
3) potential mechanisms are increased cerebral blood flow, enhanced neural connections, plasticity, survivability

Question 49

what was the study design to the following study:

‘exercise for adults with dementia’ (Forbes et al., 2015)

Answer 49

a review of 17 RCT’s of the effects of exercise on dementia treatment (> 1000 adults with dementia)

Question 50

what were the 4 main findings to the following study:

‘exercise for adults with dementia’ (Forbes et al., 2015)

Answer 50

1) exercise did not significantly benefit cognition, but tended towards more positive outcomes

2) exercise aided performance of daily living (ES 0.68)
- e.g. showering, using the toilet
- important doe both the individual and the carer

3) found to reduce the speed of cognitive decline, but was not shown to prevent the decline
4) more research is needed in the field

Question 51

(Kennedy et al., 2017) identified 4 main mechanisms which reduce the rate of cognitive decline. what are they?

Answer 51

1) cardiovascular
- central arterial stiffness
- endothelial dysfunction

2) stress
3) inflammation

4) insulin regulation
- insulin sensitivity
- neuromodulator ability

Question 52

briefly explain how ‘central arterial stiffness’ can cause cognitive decline with age (Kennedy et al., 2017)

Answer 52

1) lose elasticity over time
- increases destruction of arterioles in the brain due to increased pulse pressure with increased age
- causes micro-bleeding and stiffness
- leads to the loss of neurones

2) some studies have shown that high intensity training at older ages can actually increase arterial stiffness (Steward., 2006)
- unclear to whether this is a chronic effect or an acute adaptation to intense exercise

Question 53

briefly explain how ‘endothelial dysfunction’ can lead to cognitive decline with age (Kennedy et al., 2017)

Answer 53

1) endothelial reactivity is a measure of CV function
- endothelial produce vaso-active factors (e.g. - NO)
- NO dilates vessels and inc^ cerebral blood flow
- dysfunction = reduced NO release = reduced cerebral blood flow

2) endothelium also releases factors that reduce the accumulation and adhesion of plaques and macrophages in the blood vessels
- dysfunction = reduced cerebral blood flow due to narrowing of the vessels endothelium

Question 54

briefly explain, using 3 points, how stress can lead to cognitive decline with age (Kennedy et al., 2017)

Answer 54

1) chronic stress impairs fluid cognitive performance (especially in the prefrontal cortex)
2) chronic stress = reduced neurogenesis, shortening of dendrites, loss of synapses
3) the neurodegenerative process of stress can potentially be reversed via medical treatment (Beavers et al., 2010)

Question 55

briefly explain how inflammation can lead to cognitive decline with age (Kennedy et al., 2017)

Answer 55

1) neurogenesis has been shown to be impaired by neuroinflammation, leading to poorer cognitive function (Nolan., 2016)
2) higher blood CRP levels in mid-life is associated with a greater risk of dementia within 20 years later (Schmidt., 2002)

Question 56

briefly explain how insulin regulation can lead to a drop in cognitive decline with age (Kennedy et al., 2017)

Answer 56

1) insulin = uptake of amino acids and glucose
- reducing insulin sensitivity can cause ‘diabetes of the brain’ (Wickelgren et al., 1998)
- however, majority of brain glucose is attained via insulin-insensitive glucose transporters (Zhao et al., 2004)

2) insulin is also an important neuromodulator affecting pre and post synaptic activity (Zhao + Townsend., 2009)
- these receptors play an important role in learning and plasticity