Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children?
Executive functions emerge throughout childhood and shape multiple cognitive and behavioral outcomes across the lifespan. Given the importance of these functions, there is considerable interest in understanding the role of environmental enrichment to support their development. The past 20 years have...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Sport and Health Science |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254624001753 |
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| author | Joseph M. Northey Lauren B. Raine Charles H. Hillman |
| author_facet | Joseph M. Northey Lauren B. Raine Charles H. Hillman |
| author_sort | Joseph M. Northey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Executive functions emerge throughout childhood and shape multiple cognitive and behavioral outcomes across the lifespan. Given the importance of these functions, there is considerable interest in understanding the role of environmental enrichment to support their development. The past 20 years have seen the emergence of a body of evidence around the beneficial effects of engaging in physical activity for executive functioning in children. Despite this, there are still unanswered questions, particularly about the confounding effects of the timing and dose of exercise-based interventions. During development, sensitive periods with heightened neural plasticity and sensitivity to environmental influences can offer an optimal time to introduce enrichment interventions. As such, sensitive periods for executive function could indicate an ideal time to introduce physical activity or be a potential confounder to study results if not considered. This narrative review discusses the potential presence of sensitive periods in preadolescent development where physical activity has greater benefits for executive function. Initially, we briefly review the largely parallel fields investigating the presence of sensitive periods for executive function and the effects of physical activity on executive function outcomes. We then bring together these 2 concepts to discuss the theoretical basis for developmentally sensitive periods during which children may be particularly amenable to physical activity-based interventions and offer potential ways forward to investigate this phenomenon. We hope this review will attract researchers to collaborate in the area and extend our current understanding of the development of executive functions as well as interventions like physical activity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8dcc14cf0a8c4bf7a943865150a28272 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2095-2546 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Sport and Health Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-8dcc14cf0a8c4bf7a943865150a282722025-01-19T06:24:55ZengElsevierJournal of Sport and Health Science2095-25462025-12-0114101015Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children?Joseph M. Northey0Lauren B. Raine1Charles H. Hillman2UC Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Bruce 2617, Australia; Discipline of Sport and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Bruce 2617, Australia; Corresponding author.Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Medical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USACenter for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USAExecutive functions emerge throughout childhood and shape multiple cognitive and behavioral outcomes across the lifespan. Given the importance of these functions, there is considerable interest in understanding the role of environmental enrichment to support their development. The past 20 years have seen the emergence of a body of evidence around the beneficial effects of engaging in physical activity for executive functioning in children. Despite this, there are still unanswered questions, particularly about the confounding effects of the timing and dose of exercise-based interventions. During development, sensitive periods with heightened neural plasticity and sensitivity to environmental influences can offer an optimal time to introduce enrichment interventions. As such, sensitive periods for executive function could indicate an ideal time to introduce physical activity or be a potential confounder to study results if not considered. This narrative review discusses the potential presence of sensitive periods in preadolescent development where physical activity has greater benefits for executive function. Initially, we briefly review the largely parallel fields investigating the presence of sensitive periods for executive function and the effects of physical activity on executive function outcomes. We then bring together these 2 concepts to discuss the theoretical basis for developmentally sensitive periods during which children may be particularly amenable to physical activity-based interventions and offer potential ways forward to investigate this phenomenon. We hope this review will attract researchers to collaborate in the area and extend our current understanding of the development of executive functions as well as interventions like physical activity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254624001753ExerciseWorking memoryCognitive flexibilityInhibitionCritical periods |
| spellingShingle | Joseph M. Northey Lauren B. Raine Charles H. Hillman Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? Journal of Sport and Health Science Exercise Working memory Cognitive flexibility Inhibition Critical periods |
| title | Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? |
| title_full | Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? |
| title_fullStr | Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? |
| title_short | Are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children? |
| title_sort | are there sensitive periods for physical activity to influence the development of executive function in children |
| topic | Exercise Working memory Cognitive flexibility Inhibition Critical periods |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254624001753 |
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