The effects of single bouts of aerobic exercise, videogame play, and exergaming on cognitive control

Abstract

The effects of single bouts of aerobic exercise, action videogame playing, and exergaming on event-related brain potentials and task performance indices of cognitive control were studied. Thirty-six young adults performed a modified flanker task during four separate, counterbalanced sessions, using a within-subjects design. Participants were trained on the flanker and gaming tasks prior to completing the experimental conditions, and then completed a cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Each session consisted of 20 minutes of activity followed by cognitive testing once heart rate (HR) returned to within 10% of pre-exercise levels. The experimental activities consisted of seated rest, seated videogame play, treadmill-based aerobic exercise, and exergame-based aerobic exercise; the latter two conditions occurring at an intensity of 60% of maximum HR. Task performance indicated decreased reaction time interference following treadmill exercise relative to seated rest and videogame play. Further, P3 amplitude replicated previous research as it was larger following treadmill exercise compared to rest, suggesting an increased allocation of attentional resources during the cognitive control task. The seated videogame and exergame did not differ from any other condition. These findings indicate that single bouts of treadmill exercise may improve cognitive control through an increase in the allocation of attentional resources and greater interference control during cognitively demanding tasks. However, similar benefits may not occur following single sessions of aerobic exergaming or seated videogame participation