Physical activity in development of motor skills and cognitive processes in preschool children: consequences in school readiness.

A survey of the scientific literature shows that there is a large consensus in the scientific and education communities on the beneficial effects of physical activity on health; accordingly, recommendations on levels and types of activities to be performed by children and adults have been published by scientific associations and international organizations (WHO, NASPE, AAP, HAH). Good health is a fundamental right of children important for both well being and for school success; good health is also important for development of executive functions, which also contribute to well being and school readiness. Despite this correlation, the relationship between motor and cognitive development in children has not been extensively studied, also because the methodological difficulties occurring when the focus are rapidly developing human beings of age ranging from 3 to 6 years. Note that most of the studies addressing physical and cognitive competences in this population of children are based on parent's reports and interviews and that methods for objective and reliable quantitative and qualitative data acquisition have only recently been introduced. In addition, the classical view that children "mature by themselves" and that acquisition of skills depends on chronological age rather that experience, environment and cultural context is still very popular among parents and educators as well as among some components of the scientific community. On the other hand a new era on the science of development is approaching. Recent data from neuroscientific studies suggest a positive association between physical activity, physical fitness, executive functions and academic performance. In the international congress of Seattle (2013) on Child Development data were presented showing that the practice of physical activity can promote development of executive functions and school success in children; in line with these suggestions, new data were recently published (Verburgh, 2014) and more are now expected to appear. The ICSSPE (International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education) has organized a "by invitation only" symposium held in Berlin in September 2014 where a task of world experts of science, education, business and politics was asked to discuss on the scientific and practical aspects of promoting cognitive development with physical activity. In those two days of "brain storming", we concluded on the need of interdisciplinary approaches to promote both the growth of scientific knowledge and the identification and implementation of specific programs to develop school readiness in children. In that meeting some important different points of view by different cultural contexts also emerged, confirming that an ecological perspective is necessary to understand and promote motor and cognitive development. In this thesis I investigate the possible association between physical activity, physical fitness, executive functions and school achievement. In the first section I discuss the theoretical framework of development by reviewing past and recent theories of child development. In the second section I review the methodological aspects of my approach to the study of 3-6 years old children for acquiring both qualitative and quantitative information on their development. In the third section I present the data and the studies that I have performed during my PhD course addressing three basic questions: a) What is the role of the environment in developing physical activity in preschool children?” b) “How may we develop motor skills in children?” c) If and how may we develop cognitive processes by means of physical activity?". The last sections summarises and draws the conclusions of my studies that highlight the role of the environment (physical and cultural) in child physical development and proposes new approaches to physical education that may contribute to cognitive development and school readiness in preschool childre

Sprint-based exercise and cognitive function in adolescents.

Moderate intensity exercise has been shown to enhance cognition in an adolescent population, yet the effect of high-intensity sprint-based exercise remains unknown and was therefore examined in the present study. Following ethical approval and familiarisation, 44 adolescents (12.6 ± 0.6 y) completed an exercise (E) and resting (R) trial in a counter-balanced, randomised crossover design. The exercise trial comprised of 10 × 10 s running sprints, interspersed by 50 s active recovery (walking). A battery of cognitive function tests (Stroop, Digit Symbol Substitution (DSST) and Corsi blocks tests) were completed 30 min pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and 45 min post-exercise. Data were analysed using mixed effect models with repeated measures. Response times on the simple level of the Stroop test were significantly quicker 45 min following sprint-based exercise (R: 818 ± 33 ms, E: 772 ± 26 ms; p = 0.027) and response times on the complex level of the Stroop test were quicker immediately following the sprint-based exercise (R: 1095 ± 36 ms, E: 1043 ± 37 ms; p = 0.038), while accuracy was maintained. Sprint-based exercise had no immediate or delayed effects on the number of items recalled on the Corsi blocks test (p = 0.289) or substitutions made during the DSST (p = 0.689). The effect of high intensity sprint-based exercise on adolescents' cognitive function was dependant on the component of cognitive function examined. Executive function was enhanced following exercise, demonstrated by improved response times on the Stroop test, whilst visuo-spatial memory and general psycho-motor speed were unaffected. These data support the inclusion of high-intensity sprint-based exercise for adolescents during the school day to enhance cognition

Temperament in the Classroom

Variance in academic performance that persists when situational variables are held constant suggests that whether students fail or thrive depends not only on circumstance, but also on relatively stable individual differences in how children respond to circumstance. More academically talented children generally outperform their less able peers, but much less is known about how traits unrelated to general intelligence influence academic outcomes. This paper addresses several related questions: What insights can be gleaned from historical interest in the role of temperament in the classroom? What does recent empirical research say about the specific dimensions of temperament most important to successful academic performance? In particular, which aspects of temperament most strongly influence school readiness, academic achievement, and educational attainment? What factors mediate and moderate associations between temperament and academic outcomes? What progress has been made in deliberately cultivating aspects of temperament that matter most to success in school? And, finally, for researchers keenly interested in better understanding how and why temperament influences academic success, in which direction does future progress lie?

Effects of gestational age at birth on cognitive performance : a function of cognitive workload demands

Objective: Cognitive deficits have been inconsistently described for late or moderately preterm children but are consistently found in very preterm children. This study investigates the association between cognitive workload demands of tasks and cognitive performance in relation to gestational age at birth. Methods: Data were collected as part of a prospective geographically defined whole-population study of neonatal at-risk children in Southern Bavaria. At 8;5 years, n = 1326 children (gestation range: 23–41 weeks) were assessed with the K-ABC and a Mathematics Test. Results: Cognitive scores of preterm children decreased as cognitive workload demands of tasks increased. The relationship between gestation and task workload was curvilinear and more pronounced the higher the cognitive workload: GA2 (quadratic term) on low cognitive workload: R2 = .02, p<0.001; moderate cognitive workload: R2 = .09, p<0.001; and high cognitive workload tasks: R2 = .14, p<0.001. Specifically, disproportionally lower scores were found for very (<32 weeks gestation) and moderately (32–33 weeks gestation) preterm children the higher the cognitive workload of the tasks. Early biological factors such as gestation and neonatal complications explained more of the variance in high (12.5%) compared with moderate (8.1%) and low cognitive workload tasks (1.7%). Conclusions: The cognitive workload model may help to explain variations of findings on the relationship of gestational age with cognitive performance in the literature. The findings have implications for routine cognitive follow-up, educational intervention, and basic research into neuro-plasticity and brain reorganization after preterm birth

Developmental Delays in Executive Function from 3 to 5 Years of Age Predict Kindergarten Academic Readiness

Substantial evidence has established that individual differences in executive function (EF) in early childhood are uniquely predictive of children’s academic readiness at school entry. The current study tested whether growth trajectories of EF across the early childhood period could be used to identify a subset of children who were at pronounced risk for academic impairment in kindergarten. Using data that were collected at the age 3, 4, and 5 home assessments in the Family Life Project (N = 1,120), growth mixture models were used to identify 9% of children who exhibited impaired EF performance (i.e., persistently low levels of EF that did not show expected improvements across time). Compared to children who exhibited typical trajectories of EF, the delayed group exhibited substantial impairments in multiple indicators of academic readiness in kindergarten (Cohen’s ds = 0.9–2.7; odds ratios = 9.8–23.8). Although reduced in magnitude following control for a range of socioeconomic and cognitive (general intelligence screener, receptive vocabulary) covariates, moderate-sized group differences remained (Cohen’s ds = 0.2–2.4; odds ratios = 3.9–5.4). Results are discussed with respect to the use of repeated measures of EF as a method of early identification, as well as the resulting translational implications of doing so

Group cognitive intervention targeted to the strengthening of executive functions in children at social risk

El presente trabajo se propuso evaluar la efectividad de una intervencion cognitiva grupal destinada a promover las funciones ejecutivas en ninos en riesgo social. Se utilizo un diseño cuasi-experimental pretest–postest congrupo control. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 178 ninos argentinos (52% varones) de 6 a 10 anos de edad. Se empleo una batería de tests neuropsicologicos y una escala de funcionamiento ejecutivo versión docente. La intervencion incluyó 30 sesiones grupales, de dificultad creciente y se inserto dentro de la currícula escolar. Los niños entrenados evidenciaron un mejor desempeño en flexibilidad cognitiva, planificación, metacognición y control inhibitorio en comparacion con su desempeño basal y sus controles. Estos resultados aportan nueva evidencia sobre la efectividad de las intervenciones cognitivas infantiles y su capacidad para transferir las mejoras cognitivas a las actividades cotidianas de los ninos en el ámbito escolar.The present study set out to evaluate the effectiveness of a group cognitive intervention aimed at promoting executive functions in children at social risk. The quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design included a control group. The sample was made up of 178 children (52% boys), aged 6-10. The children were evaluated by means of a battery of neuropsychological EF tests and a teacher-rated behavioral EF scale. The intervention program included 30 group cognitive stimulation sessions that increased in difficulty and were embedded into school curricula. Trained children performed better in terms of cognitive flexibility, planning, metacognition and inhibitory control, as compared to their baseline values and to children in the control group. This study provides new evidence of the effectiveness of cognitive interventions for children and of children's capability to transfer cognitive improvements to daily school activities.Fil: Korzeniowski, Celina Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; Argentina. Universidad del Aconcagua; ArgentinaFil: Ison, Mirta Susana. Universidad del Aconcagua; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Difabio, Hilda Emilia. Centro de Investigaciones de Cuyo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Educational outcomes in extremely preterm children : neuropsychological correlates and predictors of attainment

This study assessed the impact of extremely preterm birth on academic attainment at 11 years of age, investigated neuropsychological antecedents of attainment in reading and mathematics, and examined early predictors of educational outcomes. Children born extremely preterm had significantly poorer academic attainment and a higher prevalence of learning difficulties than their term peers. General cognitive ability and specific deficits in visuospatial skills or phoneme deletion at 6 years were predictive of mathematics and reading attainment at 11 years in both extremely preterm and term children. Phonological processing, attention, and executive functions at 6 years were also associated with academic attainment in children born extremely preterm. Furthermore, social factors, neonatal factors (necrotizing enterocolitis, breech delivery, abnormal cerebral ultrasound, early breast milk provision), and developmental factors at 30 months (head circumference, cognitive development), were independent predictors of educational outcomes at 11 years. Neonatal complications combined with assessments of early cognitive function provide moderate prediction for educational outcomes in children born extremely preterm