Journal of neurosurgical anesthesiology
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J Neurosurg Anesthesiol · Oct 2016
Meta AnalysisPhysical Activity and Cognitive Development: A Meta-Analysis.
Is there an association between regular exercise, defined as a structured program of increased physical activity at least 1 month in duration, and improvements in measures of executive functions compared with children who engage in their normal daily activities? ⋯ Increased regular physical activity is associated with a small and measurable, improvement in neuropsychological tests of executive functions, specifically inhibitory control. Executive functions play an important role in complex behavior, and may contribute to academic and career achievement as well as success in social interaction. This finding provides support for the important interaction between exercise and cognitive functioning.