Barenberg, J. , Berse, T. , Hilboll, D. & Dutke, S.
University of Muenster
As executive functions play an essential role in many complex cognitive tasks, approaches capable of enhancing executive functioning are of particular interest to cognitive research. Recently, in sports and neurosciences, the hypothesis has been advanced that executive functioning, more than other cognitive functions, may benefit from neurobiological processes induced by physical activity. There is a growing body of research examining executive functions and physical activity but, up to date, it is still unclear which executive functions do benefit from physical activity and to which extent beneficial effects are limited to executive task components. To explore these questions, a series of experiments is being conducted. The first experiment with N=48 young adults was designed to test the effect of physical activity on inhibition and updating functions in a cross-over design. Inhibition and updating tasks were applied immediately after a short period of intense ergometer cycling or resting. The order of intervention type and executive task was counterbalanced. Physical activity enhanced inhibition performance to a greater extent than updating performance. However, performance in non-executive control tasks did not differ after physical activity and resting, respectively.