Exercise and Children's Intelligence, Cognition, and Academic Achievement.
Studies that examine the effects of exercise on children's intelligence, cognition, or academic achievement were reviewed and results were discussed in light of (a) contemporary cognitive theory development directed toward exercise, (b) recent research demonstrating the salutary effects of exercise on adults' cognitive functioning, and (c) studies conducted with animals that have linked physical activity to changes in neurological development and behavior. Similar to adults, exercise facilitates children's executive function (i.e., processes required to select, organize, and properly initiate goal-directed actions). Exercise may prove to be a simple, yet important, method of enhancing those aspects of children's mental functioning central to cognitive development.
P. D. Tomporowski · P. H. Miller; Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, 330 River Road 115 Ramsey, Athens, GA 30602, USA e-mail: ptomporo@uga.edu.
Phillip D
PD
Tomporowski
Catherine L
CL
Davis
Patricia H
PH
Miller
Jack A
JA
Naglieri