***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Background R and omized controlled trials ( RCT ) are required to test relationships between physical activity and cognition in children , but these must be informed by exploratory studies . This study aim ed to inform future RCT by : conducting practical utility and reliability studies to identify appropriate cognitive outcome measures ; piloting an RCT of a 10 week physical education ( PE ) intervention which involved 2 hours per week of aerobically intense PE compared to 2 hours of st and ard PE ( control ) . Methods 64 healthy children ( mean age 6.2 yrs SD 0.3 ; 33 boys ) recruited from 6 primary schools . Outcome measures were the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery ( CANTAB ) , the Attention Network Test ( ANT ) , the Cognitive Assessment System ( CAS ) and the short form of the Connor 's Parent Rating Scale ( CPRS : S ) . Physical activity was measured habitually and during PE sessions using the Actigraph accelerometer . Results Test- retest intraclass correlations from CANTAB Spatial Span ( r 0.51 ) and Spatial Working Memory Errors ( 0.59 ) and ANT Reaction Time ( 0.37 ) and ANT Accuracy ( 0.60 ) were significant , but low . Physical activity was significantly higher during intervention vs. control PE sessions ( p < 0.0001 ) . There were no significant differences between intervention and control group changes in CAS scores . Differences between intervention and control groups favoring the intervention were observed for CANTAB Spatial Span , CANTAB Spatial Working Memory Errors , and ANT Accuracy . Conclusions The present study has identified practical and age-appropriate cognitive and behavioral outcome measures for future RCT , and identified that schools are willing to increase PE time . Trial registration numberIS RCT N70853932 ( http://www.controlled-trials.com Research supports the positive effects of exercise on cognitive performance by children . However , a limited number of studies have explored the effects specifically on memory . The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of an acute bout of exercise on learning , short-term memory , and long-term memory in a sample of children . Children were r and omly assigned to an exercise condition or to a no-treatment control condition and then performed repeated trials on an auditory verbal learning task . In the exercise condition , participants performed the PACER task , an aerobic fitness assessment , in their physical education class before performing the memory task . In the control condition , participants performed the memory task at the beginning of their physical education class . Results showed that participants in the exercise condition demonstrated significantly better learning of the word lists and significantly better recall of the words after a brief delay . There were not significant differences in recognition of the words after an approximately 24-hr delay . These results provide evidence in a school setting that an acute bout of exercise provides benefits for verbal learning and long-term memory . Future research should be design ed to identify the extent to which these findings translate to academic measures It is widely accepted that aerobic exercise enhances hippocampal plasticity . Often , this plasticity co-occurs with gains in hippocampal-dependent memory . Cross-sectional work investigating this relationship in preadolescent children has found behavioral differences in higher versus lower aerobically fit participants for tasks measuring relational memory , which is known to be critically tied to hippocampal structure and function . The present study tested whether similar differences would arise in a clinical intervention setting where a group of preadolescent children were r and omly assigned to a 9-month after school aerobic exercise intervention versus a wait-list control group .  Performance measures included eye-movements as a measure of memory , based on recent work linking eye-movement indices of relational memory to the hippocampus . Results indicated that only children in the intervention increased their aerobic fitness . Compared to the control group , those who entered the aerobic exercise program displayed eye-movement patterns indicative of superior memory for face-scene relations , with no differences observed in memory for individual faces . The results of this intervention study provide clear support for the proposed linkage among the hippocampus , relational memory , and aerobic fitness , as well as illustrating the sensitivity of eye-movement measures as a means of assessing memory AIM to investigate whether increased physical exercise during the school day influenced subsequent cognitive performance in the classroom . METHOD a r and omized , crossover- design trial ( two weeks in duration ) was conducted in six mainstream primary schools ( 1224 children aged 8 - 11y ) . No data on sex was available . Children received a teacher-directed , classroom-based programme of physical exercise , delivered approximately 30 minutes after lunch for 15 minutes during one week and no exercise programme during the other ( order counterbalanced across participants ) . At the end of each school day , they completed one of five psychometric tests ( paced serial addition , size ordering , listening span , digit-span backwards , and digit-symbol encoding ) , so that each test was delivered once after exercise and once after no exercise . RESULTS general linear modelling analysis demonstrated a significant interaction between intervention and counterbalance group ( p<0.001 ) , showing that exercise  benefitted cognitive performance . Post-hoc analysis revealed that benefits occurred in participants who received the exercise intervention in the second but not the first week of the experiment and were also moderated by type of test and age group . INTERPRETATION physical exercise benefits cognitive performance within the classroom . The degree of benefit depends on the context of testing and participants ' characteristics . This has implication s for the role that is attributed to physical exercise within the school curriculum The appropriateness of recess in the elementary program continues to be question ed although generally it is believed to be useful by elementary principals despite a dearth of supportive data . This study was a developmental study of the effects of physical activity on concentration . Comparison of passive and directed physical education activities on the concentration of second- , third- , and fourth- grade children was made . The Woodcock-Johnson Test of Concentration showed better performance by the fourth grade rs and within Grade 4 in favor of the physical activity group . A structured physical activity or a classroom activity immediately prior to a concentration task was not detrimental to children in Grade s 2 and 3 . Fourth- grade children performed significantly better on a test of concentration after engaging in a physical activity Abstract This study tested the association between aerobic fitness and executive function and the impact of enhanced , cognitively challenging physical activity on executive function in overweight and lean children . Seventy children aged 9–10 years were assigned to either a 6-month enhanced physical education programme including cognitively dem and ing ( open skill ) activities or curricular physical education only . Pre- and post-intervention tests assessed aerobic capacity ( Leger test ) and two components of executive function : inhibition and working memory updating ( r and om number generation task ) . Indices of inhibition and memory updating were compared in higher- and lower-fit children and intervention effects were evaluated as a function of physical activity programme ( enhanced vs. curricular ) and weight status ( lean vs. overweight ) . Results showed better inhibition in higher- than lower-fit children , extending the existing evidence of the association between aerobic fitness and executive function to new aspects of children ’s inhibitory ability . Overweight children had more pronounced pre- to post-intervention improvements in inhibition than lean children only if involved in enhanced physical education . Such intervention effects were not mediated by aerobic fitness gains . Therefore , the cognitive and social interaction challenges inherent in open skill tasks , even though embedded in a low-dose physical activity programme , may represent an effective means to promote cognitive efficiency , especially in overweight children BACKGROUND The present study examined whether aerobic fitness training of older humans can increase brain volume in regions associated with age-related decline in both brain structure and cognition . METHODS Fifty-nine healthy but sedentary community-dwelling volunteers , aged 60 - 79 years , participated in the 6-month r and omized clinical trial . Half of the older adults served in the aerobic training group , the other half of the older adults participated in the toning and stretching control group .  Twenty young adults served as controls for the magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) , and did not participate in the exercise intervention . High spatial resolution estimates of gray and white matter volume , derived from 3D spoiled gradient recalled acquisition MRI images , were collected before and after the 6-month fitness intervention . Estimates of maximal oxygen uptake ( VO2 ) were also obtained . RESULTS Significant increases in brain volume , in both gray and white matter regions , were found as a function of fitness training for the older adults who participated in the aerobic fitness training but not for the older adults who participated in the stretching and toning ( nonaerobic ) control group . As predicted , no significant changes in either gray or white matter volume were detected for our younger participants . CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that cardiovascular fitness is associated with the sparing of brain tissue in aging humans . Furthermore , these results suggest a strong biological basis for the role of aerobic fitness in maintaining and enhancing central nervous system health and cognitive functioning in older adults OBJECTIVE : To assess the effect of a physical activity ( PA ) intervention on brain and behavioral indices of executive control in preadolescent children . METHODS : Two hundred twenty-one children ( 7–9 years ) were r and omly assigned to a 9-month  afterschool PA program or a wait-list control . In addition to changes in fitness ( maximal oxygen consumption ) , electrical activity in the brain ( P3-ERP ) and behavioral measures ( accuracy , reaction time ) of executive control were collected by using tasks that modulated attentional inhibition and cognitive flexibility . RESULTS : Fitness improved more among intervention participants from pretest to posttest compared with the wait-list control ( 1.3 mL/kg per minute , 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] : 0.3 to 2.4 ; d = 0.34 for group difference in pre-to-post change score ) . Intervention participants exhibited greater improvements from pretest to posttest in inhibition ( 3.2 % , 95 % CI : 0.0 to 6.5 ; d = 0.27 ) and cognitive flexibility ( 4.8 % , 95 % CI : 1.1 to 8.4 ; d = 0.35 for group difference in pre-to-post change score ) compared with control . Only the intervention group increased attentional re sources from pretest to posttest during tasks requiring increased inhibition ( 1.4 µV , 95 % CI : 0.3 to 2.6 ; d = 0.34 ) and cognitive flexibility ( 1.5 µV , 95 % CI : 0.6 to 2.5 ; d = 0.43 ) . Finally , improvements in brain function on the inhibition task ( r = 0.22 ) and performance on the flexibility task correlated with intervention attendance ( r = 0.24 ) . CONCLUSIONS : The intervention enhanced cognitive performance and brain function during tasks requiring greater executive control . These findings demonstrate a causal effect of a PA program on executive control , and provide support for PA for improving childhood cognition and brain health PURPOSE This study was conducted to determine the effect of physical education class enrollment and physical activity on academic achievement in middle school children . METHODS Participants were 214 sixth- grade students r and omly assigned to physical education during either first or second semesters .  Moderate and vigorous physical activity ( MVPA ) ( number of 30-min time blocks ) outside of school was assessed using the 3-d physical activity recall ( 3DPAR ) . The 3DPAR time blocks were converted to ordinal data with scores of 1 ( no activity ) , 2 ( some activity ) , or 3 ( activity meeting Healthy People 2010 guidelines ) . Academic achievement was assessed using grade s from four core academic classes and st and ardized test scores ( Terra Nova percentiles ) . RESULTS Grade s were similar regardless of whether students were enrolled in physical education during first or second semesters . Physical education classes averaged only 19 min of MVPA . Students who either performed some or met Healthy People 2010 guidelines for vigorous activity had significantly higher grade s ( P < 0.05 ) than students who performed no vigorous activity in both semesters . Moderate physical activity did not affect grade s. St and ardized test scores were not significantly related to physical education class enrollment or physical activity levels . CONCLUSION Although academic achievement was not significantly related to physical education enrollment , higher grade s were associated with vigorous physical activity , particularly activity meeting recommended Healthy People 2010 levels This individual differences study examined the separability of three often postulated executive functions-mental set shifting ( " Shifting " ) , information updating and monitoring ( " Updating " ) , and inhibition of prepotent responses ("Inhibition")- and their roles in complex " frontal lobe " or " executive " tasks . One hundred thirty-seven college students performed a set of relatively simple experimental tasks that are considered to predominantly tap each target executive function as well as a set of frequently used executive tasks : the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ( WCST ) , Tower of Hanoi ( TOH ) , r and om number generation ( RNG ) , operation span , and dual tasking .  Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the three target executive functions are moderately correlated with one another , but are clearly separable . Moreover , structural equation modeling suggested that the three functions contribute differentially to performance on complex executive tasks . Specifically , WCST performance was related most strongly to Shifting , TOH to Inhibition , RNG to Inhibition and Updating , and operation span to Updating . Dual task performance was not related to any of the three target functions . These results suggest that it is important to recognize both the unity and diversity of executive functions and that latent variable analysis is a useful approach to study ing the organization and roles of executive functions Children with low aerobic fitness have altered brain function compared to higher-fit children . This study examined the effect of an 8-month exercise intervention on resting state synchrony . Twenty-two sedentary , overweight ( body mass index ≥85th percentile ) children 8 - 11 years old were r and omly assigned to one of two after-school programs : aerobic exercise ( n=13 ) or sedentary attention control ( n=9 ) . Before and after the 8-month programs , all subjects participated in resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans . Independent components analysis identified several networks , with four chosen for between-group analysis : salience 
    Output:
    
RESULTS A majority of the research supports the view that physical fitness , single bouts of PA , and PA interventions benefit children 's cognitive functioning .
Evidence indicates that PA has a relationship to areas of the brain that support complex cognitive processes during laboratory tasks .
The present systematic review found evidence to suggest that there are positive associations among PA , fitness , cognition , and academic achievement .
Regardless , the literature suggests no indication that increases in PA negatively affect cognition or academic achievement and PA is important for growth and development and general health .
Therefore , the evidence category rating is B. The literature suggests that PA and PE have a neutral effect on academic achievement .