Executive function includes the core components of response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Interestingly, an accumulating evidence has reported that inhibitory control and working memory improve following a single bout of exercise. It is, however, largely unclear whether cognitive flexibility elicits a similar post-exercise benefit. Accordingly, Chapter Two of my thesis examined whether 20-min of aerobic exercise provides an immediate post-exercise ‘boost’ to cognitive flexibility. Chapter Three examined for how long a putative post-exercise benefit persists. Cognitive flexibility was examined via an AABB task-switching paradigm wherein participants alternated between a well-practiced and a novel oculomotor task pre- and post-exercise. Chapter Two showed an immediate post-exercise benefit to cognitive flexibility and Chapter Three demonstrated that the benefit persists for up to 47-min post exercise. As such, my thesis provides convergent evidence that a single bout of exercise benefits each core component of executive function
