title: Effect of acute exercise on executive function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Pilot Physical Activity Intervention Reduces Severity of ADHD Symptoms in Young Children The impact of resistance exercise on the cognitive function of the elderly. Endurance training effects on neurotransmitter release in rat striatum: an in vivo microdialysis study. Exercise impact on sustained attention of ADHD children, methylphenidate effects
abstract: This study was conducted to determine the effect of acute aerobic exercise on executive function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) . Forty children with ADHD were r and omly assigned into exercise or control groups . Participants in the exercise group performed a moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 30 min , whereas the control group watched a running/exercise-related video .  Neuropsychological tasks , the Stroop Test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ( WCST ) , were assessed before and after each treatment . The results indicated that acute exercise facilitated performance in the Stroop Test , particularly in the Stroop Color-Word condition . Additionally , children in the exercise group demonstrated improvement in specific WCST performances in Non-perseverative Errors and Categories Completed , whereas no influences were found in those performances in the control group . Tentative explanations for the exercise effect postulate that exercise allocates attention re sources , influences the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , and is implicated in exercise-induced dopamine release . These findings are promising and additional investigations to explore the efficacy of exercise on executive function in children with ADHD are encouraged Objective : Physical activity associates with mental health and neurocognitive function , showing potential for addressing ADHD symptoms . As a preliminary assessment of this potential , the authors piloted a before-school physical activity intervention for young children . Method : Seventeen children ( Grade s K-3 ) exhibiting four or more hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms on the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale ( Pelham , 2002 ) completed about 26 min of continuous moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily over eight school weeks . The authors administered cognitive , motor , social , and behavioral functioning measures at pre- and postprogram , assessed response inhibition weekly , and coded negative behaviors daily . Results : Several measures showed significant or marginally significant change over time ( effect size = 0.35 - 0.96 ) with additional measures showing meaningful effect size values ( ≥ 0.20 ) . Response inhibition effects were most consistent . Most participants ( 64 % to 71 % ) exhibited overall improvement according to postprogram parent , teacher , and program staff ratings . Conclusion : Physical activity shows promise for addressing ADHD symptoms in young children PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of 24 wk of resistance training at two different intensities on cognitive functions in the elderly . METHODS Sixty-two elderly individuals were r and omly assigned to three groups : CONTROL ( N = 23 ) , experimental moderate ( EMODERATE ; N = 19 ) , and experimental high ( EHIGH ; N = 20 ) . The volunteers were assessed on physical , hemodynamic , cognitive , and mood parameters before and after the program . RESULTS On the 1 RM test ( P < 0.001 ) , the two experimental groups performed better than the CONTROL group , but they did not show differences between themselves . The EHIGH group gained more lean mass ( P = 0.05 ) than the CONTROL group and performed better on the following tests : digit span forward ( P < 0.001 ) , Corsi 's block-tapping task backward ( P = 0.001 ) , similarities ( P = 0.03 ) , Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall ( P = 0.02 ) , Toulouse-Pieron concentration test errors ( P = 0.01 ) , SF-36 ( general health ) ( P = 0.04 ) , POMS ( tension-anxiety , P = 0.04 ; depression-dejection , P = 0.03 ; and total mood disorder , P = 0.03 ) . The EMODERATE group scored higher means than the CONTROL group on digit span forward ( P < 0.001 ) , Corsi 's block-tapping task backward ( P = 0.01 ) , similarities ( P = 0.02 ) , Rey-Osterrieth complex figure immediate recall ( P = 0.02 ) , SF-36 ( general health , P = 0.005 ; vitality , P = 0.006 ) , POMS ( tension-anxiety , P = 0.001 ; depression-dejection , P = 0.006 ; anger-hostility , P = 0.006 ; fatigue-inertia , P = 0.02 ; confusion-bewilderment , P = 0.02 ; and total mood disorder , P = 0.001 ) . We also found that IGF-1 serum levels were higher in the experimental groups ( EMODERATE , P = 0.02 ; EHIGH , P < 0.001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Moderate- and high-intensity resistance exercise programs had equally beneficial effects on cognitive functioning In the present study we use the in vivo microdialysis sampling technique to register extracellular levels of neurotransmitters in the striatum of trained and untrained rats . We further evaluate the influence of 1 h of exercise on the striatal release of dopamine ( DA ) , noradrenaline ( NA ) , glutamate ( GLU ) and gamma-aminobutyric acid ( GABA ) in trained and untrained rats . Male Wistars were r and omly assigned to a training or control group . The exercise training consisted of running on a treadmill for 6 weeks , 5 days week-1 , with running time and speed gradually increased from 30 min at 19 m min-1 during the first week to 80 min at 26 m min-1 during the final training week . The animals of the control group were placed on the treadmill twice a week , and received a total of four ' adaptation sessions ' , in which they exercised 15 - 45 min at 26 m min-1 . Brain dialysates were analysed with microbore liquid chromatography ( LC ) , with electrochemical detection ( monoamines and GABA ) and fluorescence detection ( GLU ) . Soleus citrate synthase and basal striatal concentrations of DA , NA and GLU were significantly different between the trained and control animals . Sixty minutes of exercise significantly increased extracellular DA , NA and GLU levels in both groups , but there was no statistically significant difference in the exercise-induced increase between trained and control animals . There was no statistical difference in basal or exercise-induced GABA levels between trained and control animals . The results indicate that exercise training appears to result in diminished basal activity of striatal neurotransmitters , while maintaining the necessary sensitivity for responses to acute exercise Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) is related to a deficiency of central catecholamines ( CA ) in cognitive , biochemical , and physical tests , and pharmaceutical intervention may have no effect if it is not accompanied by changes in the environment . The objective of our study was to test the hypothesis that central CA are responsible for the increase in speed reaction seen after physical activity ( PA ) and to measure the impact of high intensity PA on the sustained attention of 25 children diagnosed with ADHD consistent with the Disease Statistical Mental-IV ( DSM-IV ) criteria . It is possible that practicing sports assists in the management of the disorder . The children were divided between users ( US ) and non-users ( NUS ) of methylpheni date ( MTP ) , and the groups were compared to evaluate the effect of the drug on cognition after PA . Post-exercise performance on Conner ’s Continuous Performance Test-II ( CPT ) was not affected by MTP , we observed significant improvements in response time , and we saw normalization in the impulsivity and vigilance measures . These results suggest that the improvements in cognition after physical effort are not CA dependent . Additionally , our results suggest that  children ’s attention deficits can be minimized through PA irrespective of treatment with MTP . Additional studies are necessary to confirm that exercise mitigates the harmful symptoms of ADHD
target: Based on these 3 articles , we concluded that 30 min of physical exercise reportedly improved the executive functions of children with ADHD .
background: OBJECTIVE Studies have suggested that even a single session of physical exercise enhances executive functions .
  ADHD is among the most common developmental disorders in childhood , but little is known about alternative treatments for this disorder .
  Therefore , we performed a systematic review of the literature to analyze articles that evaluated the executive functions of children with ADHD after an acute exercise session .