title: The sexual dimorphic association of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in children.
abstract: The present investigation examined the sexual dimorphic patterns of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in preadolescent children (age range: 7.7-10.9). Data were collected in three separate studies (Study 1: n = 97, 42 females; Study 2: n = 95, 45 females; Study 3: n = 84, 37 females). All participants completed a cardiorespiratory fitness assessment in addition to a specific measure of working memory (i.e. the operation span task, the n-back task, or the Sternberg task). Results from all three samples revealed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels were associated with better working memory performance only for males with no such relation observed for females. In addition, the sexually dimorphic pattern was selective for the most challenging working memory conditions in each task. Together, these findings reveal new evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness is selectively related to better working memory performance for male children. This investigation provides additional insight into how interventions aimed at improving fitness may influence cognitive development differentially among preadolescent children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
authors.forename: Eric S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Drollette
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Scudder
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
authors.forename: Lauren B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Davis Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Pontifex
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, USA.|The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, USA.
authors.forename: Kirk I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hillman
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D012737:Sex Factors