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Childhood obesity is a global health concern, with340 million youth considered overweight or obese. In addition to contributing greatly to health care costs, excess adiposity associated with obesity is considered a major risk factor for premature mortality from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and is also negatively associated with cognitive and brain health. A complementary line of research highlights the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness, a by-product of engaging in physical activity, on an abundance of health factors, including cognitive and brain health.This study investigated the relationship among excess adiposity (visceral adipose tissue [VAT], subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue), total abdominal adipose tissue, whole-body percent fat [WB%FAT], body mass index (BMI), and fat-free cardiorespiratory fitness (FF-V̇O 2max ) on resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in 121 ( f = 68) children (7-11 yr) using a data-driven whole-brain multivoxel pattern analysis.Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed brain regions that were significantly associated with VAT, BMI, WB%FAT, and FF-V̇O 2 measures. Yeo's (2011) RSFC-based seven-network cerebral cortical parcellation was used for labeling the results . Post hoc seed-to-voxel analyses found robust negative correlations of VAT and BMI with areas involved in the visual, somatosensory, dorsal attention, ventral attention, limbic, frontoparietal, and default mode networks. Further, positive correlations of FF-V̇O 2 were observed with areas involved in the ventral attention and frontoparietal networks. These novel findings indicate that negative health factors in childhood may be selectively and negatively associated with the 7 Yeo-defined functional networks, yet positive health factors (FF-V̇O 2 ) may be positively associated with these networks.These novel results extend the current literature to suggest that BMI and adiposity are negatively associated with, and cardiorespiratory fitness (corrected for fat-free mass) is positively associated with, RSFC networks in children.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease, is characterized by decreased memory and cognition, which are linked to degenerative changes in the brain. To assess whether white matter (WM) integrity is compromised in MCI, we collected diffusion-weighted images from 60 healthy older adults (OA) (69.16±0.7) and 20 older adults with amnestic MCI (72.45±1.9). WM integrity differences were examined using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS). We hypothesized that those with MCI would have diminished WM integrity relative to OA. In a whole-brain comparison, those with MCI showed higher axial diffusivity in the splenium (SCC) and body of the corpus callosum (BCC), superior corona radiata (SCR), and the retro-lenticular part of the internal capsule (RLIC) (p’s

Introduction The social and behavioral effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the health and physiology of most people, including those never diagnosed with COVID-19. While the impact of the pandemic has been felt across the lifespan, its effects on cardiorespiratory fitness (commonly considered a reflection of total body health) of older adults and children may be particularly profound due to social distancing and stay-at-home advisories, as well as the closure of sport facilities and non-essential businesses. The objective of this investigation was to leverage baseline data from two ongoing clinical trials to determine if cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index were different during COVID-19 relative to before COVID-19 in older adults and children.Methods Healthy older individuals (N = 593; 65-80 years) and 200 typically developing children (8-10 years) completed a graded maximal exercise test and had their height and weight measured.Results Results revealed that older adults and children tested during COVID-19 had significantly lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels than those tested before COVID-19 shutdowns (older adults: 30% lower; children: 53% lower; p's & LE; 0.001). In addition, older adults and children tested during COVID-19 had significantly higher BMI (older adults: 31.34 +/- 0.57 kg/m(2), p = 0.004; children: 19.27 +/- 0.44 kg/m(2), p = 0.05) than those tested before COVID-19 shutdowns (older adults: 29.51 +/- 0.26 kg/m(2), children: 18.13 +/- 0.35 kg/m(2)). However, these differences in BMI did not remain significant when controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness.Discussion Results from this investigation indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic, and behavior changes taken to reduce potential exposure, may have led to lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels in older adults and children, as well as higher body mass index. These findings provide relevant public health information as lower cardiorespiratory fitness levels and higher body mass indexes recorded during the pandemic could have far-reaching and protracted health consequences. Public health guidance is needed to encourage physical activity to maintain cardiorespiratory fitness and healthy body composition., United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA) R01AG053952 United States Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA, NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) R01HD094054

There is an increasing prevalence of poor health behaviors during childhood, particularly in terms of physical activity and nutrition. This trend has occurred alongside a growing body of evidence linking these behaviors to cognitive function. B-vitamins are thought to be particularly important in the neural development that occurs during pregnancy, as well as in healthy cognitive aging. However, much less is known regarding the role of B-vitamins during childhood. Given that preadolescent childhood is a critical period for cognitive development, this study investigated the relationship between specific aspects of nutrition, particularly B-vitamins, and related health factors (e.g., body mass, fitness) on selective attention in children. Children (n = 85; 8–11 years) completed a selective attention task to assess inhibition. Participant’s dietary intake was collected using the Automated Self-Administered 24-h dietary assessment tool. Correlations between specific nutrients, BMI, fitness, and task performance were investigated. After accounting for demographic variables and total caloric intake, increased B-vitamin intake (i.e., thiamin and folic acid) was associated with shorter reaction times (p’s < 0.05), fitness was associated with greater response accuracy (p < 0.05), and increased BMI was related to increased variability in reaction times (p < 0.05). Together, these findings suggest that aspects of health may have unique contributions on cognitive performance. Proper physical health and nutrition are imperative for effective cognitive functioning in preadolescent children. Targeted efforts aimed at health education amongst this population could ensure proper cognitive development during school-age years, providing a strong foundation throughout life.

Background High macular pigment optical density (MPOD) has been associated with improved eye health and better cognitive functions. Genetic variations have been associated with MPOD in adults. However, these associations between genetic variations and MPOD have not been studied in children. Objectives This was a secondary analysis of the FK2 (Fitness Improves Thinking in Kids 2) trial (n = 134, 41% male). The aim was to determine differences in MPOD among children (aged 7-9 y) based on genetic variants that either are biologically relevant to lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) accumulation or have been associated with MPOD in adults. Methods MPOD was measured using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry via a macular densitometer. DXA was used to assess whole-body and visceral adiposity. DNA was extracted from saliva samples and was genotyped for 26 hypothesis-driven single nucleotide polymorphisms and 75 ancestry-informative markers (AIMs). Habitual diet history was obtained via 3-d food logs completed by parents (n = 88). General linear models were used to compare MPOD between different genotypes. Principal component analysis was performed for the AIMs to account for ethnic heterogeneity. Results Children carrying ≥1 minor allele on β-carotene-15,15'-monooxygenase (BCO1)-rs7501331 (T allele) (P = 0.045), cluster of differentiation 36(CD36)-rs1527483 (T allele) (P = 0.038), or CD36-rs3173798 (C allele) (P = 0.001) had significantly lower MPOD (range: 14.1%-26.4%) than those who were homozygotes for the major alleles. MPOD differences based on CD36-rs3173798 genotypes persisted after adjustment for dietary L and Z intake. Conclusions The findings indicate that genetic variations of CD36 and BCO1 contribute to MPOD in children. The influence of genetic variation in CD36-rs3173798 persisted after adjusting for variation in dietary intake.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01619826.

Lutein and zeaxanthin (L + Z) are carotenoids that accumulate in neural tissue and potentially confer benefits to cognition. Whereas cross-sectional studies have revealed positive associations between macular carotenoids (MC) and cognition, no studies have investigated whether L + Z supplementation impacts MC and cognition in childhood. Accordingly, the Integrated Childhood Ocular Nutrition Study aims to investigate the impact of L + Z supplementation over 9-months on academic abilities, attentional control, memory, and MC among preadolescent children. Children 8–10 years (N = 288) will enroll in a 9-month double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. The study is registered and approved as a clinical trial on the U.S. National Library of Medicine http://ClinicalTrials.gov registry (NCT05177679). Participants will be randomized into an active (10 mg lutein+2 mg zeaxanthin) or waitlist placebo-controlled group. Primary outcomes include hippocampal-dependent memory, attentional inhibition, and academic achievement using a spatial reconstruction task, an Eriksen flanker task, and the Kaufman Test of Academic and Educational Achievement 3rd edition, respectively. Secondary outcomes include event-related brain potentials of attentional resource allocation and information processing speed (i.e., P3/P300 amplitude and latency) recorded during the flanker task. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) will be assessed using heterochromatic flicker photometry. Cognitive assessments will be completed prior to and after completion of the supplementation period. MPOD will be quantified prior to, at the mid-point of (4–5 months), and after (9 months) the supplementation period. It is hypothesized that L + Z supplementation will improve cognition and academic achievement. Further, benefits for cognition and achievement are anticipated to be mediated by increases in MC among treatment group participants.

Highlights • Brief vigorous physical activity bouts benefited cognitive processing speed. • Bouted physical activity was specifically related to neurofunctional measures. • The number of associations increased with physical activity intensity. • Observed associations largely did not vary with accelerometer epoch length., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract, Background Structured vigorous physical activity (VPA) can improve cognitive control in children, but studies relating daily physical activity (PA) to cognitive control have yielded conflicting findings. While objectively measured daily PA summarizes all occurrences of PA within a registered period, a minimum duration of continuous PA is required for registration of a PA bout. Because brief bouts of high-intensity PA can account for a large proportion of children's daily activity-related energy expenditure, this study assessed whether daily and bouted VPA were selectively related to cognitive control in preadolescents relative to other PA intensities. Methods A total of 75 children between the ages of 8 and 10 years (49% girls) wore an ActiGraph wGT3X+ on the hip for 7 days. The acceleration signal from the vertical axis was summarized over 1 s, 5 s, and 15 s epochs. Daily and bouted moderate PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, and VPA were measured. PA bouts were expressed as the frequency and time spent in 2 different continuous PA bouts, one lasting ≥10 s and the other lasting ≥30 s at a given intensity. Inhibitory control was assessed using behavioral responses to a modified flanker task (mean reaction time (RTmean) and accuracy). Attentional resource allocation and cognitive processing speed were measured using the amplitude and latency of the P3 component of event-related brain potentials, respectively. Associations between PA, behavioral indices of inhibitory control, P3 amplitude, and latency were assessed using hierarchical regression models. Results Daily VPA was not related to RTmean or accuracy on either congruent or incongruent trials. In contrast, more time spent in VPA bouts lasting ≥30 s predicted shorter P3 latency across epochs and flanker congruencies (all β ≤ –0.24, all p ≤ 0.04). The associations between shorter P3 latency and the time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA bouts lasting ≥30 s were less consistent and largely limited to congruent trials (congruent: β (–0.31, –0.34)). No significant associations were observed upon correction for false discovery rate. Conclusion The pattern of uncorrected associations aligns with the dose–response literature and suggests that brief VPA bouts may yield the greatest benefits to cognitive processing speed in preadolescents. Future studies using measures of brain structure and function are needed to understand the mechanisms linking bouted VPA to neurocognitive function during childhood.

Background Cesarean delivery (CS) is an increasingly common mode of delivery comprising over 30% of all deliveries in the U.S. The long-term impact of this delivery mode on child development remains unclear. Aims We investigated the relationship between mode of delivery (vaginal vs. CS) and timing of developmental milestones and adiposity in preadolescence, as well as additional milestones beyond motor/language development including toilet training, dressing, and feeding self. Study design This study utilized a retrospective survey given to a parent/guardian and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in preadolescence, respectively. A composite z-score was calculated based on nine questions pertaining to developmental milestones i.e., parent-reported age for supporting head by self, rolling over, sitting up, standing, walking, talking, toilet-training, dressing, and feeding self. Subjects 7–10-year-old (N = 104) children in East-Central Illinois. Outcome measures Composite z-score for timing of attainment of developmental milestones, mode of delivery, and preadolescent adiposity. Results Vaginally-born children had a lower composite z-score, signifying earlier attainment of developmental milestones, relative to both emergency and planned CS-born children. Further, elective CS-born children had greater adiposity in preadolescence, relative to vaginal and emergency cesarean-section born children. Conclusions These findings suggest relationships between delivery mode, developmental milestones, and obesity in preadolescence. Additionally, they provide novel insights into the differential impact of elective versus emergency CS.

Individual differences in brain network modularity at baseline can predict improvements in cognitive performance after cognitive and physical interventions. The present study is the first to explore whether brain network modularity predicts changes in cortical brain structure in 8- to 9-year-old children involved in an after-school physical activity intervention (N=62), relative to children randomized to a wait-list control group (N=53). For children involved in the physical activity intervention, brain network modularity at baseline predicted greater decreases in cortical thickness in the anterior frontal cortex and parahippocampus. Further, for children involved in the physical activity intervention, greater decrease in cortical thickness was associated with improvements in cognitive efficiency. The relationships among baseline modularity, changes in cortical thickness, and changes in cognitive performance were not present in the wait-list control group. Our exploratory study has promising implications for the understanding of brain network modularity as a biomarker of intervention-related improvements with physical activity.

Background There is an increasing prevalence of physical inactivity during childhood, which is associated with a variety of health problems. However, the mechanisms by which acute exercise benefits cognition in childhood remains unknown. Here we describe the protocol for a randomized crossover trial called SNEACY (Sympathetic Nervous System & Exercise Affects Cognition in Youth), a study designed to better understand mechanisms linking acute exercise and cognition in 9–10-year-old healthy, cognitively normal children. Methods Children from the Greater Boston, MA region will be recruited to participate in this single center study. A randomized crossover design will be utilized, such that participants will act as their own controls, through initial randomization to condition assignment and condition counterbalancing across participants. One hundred three children will participate in three randomized acute interventions: moderate intensity treadmill exercise (20 min, 70–75% of their maximal heart rate), seated rest (20 min), and a Trier Social Stress Test for Children (14 min). These visits will occur on 3 three separate days, approximately 5–8 days apart. Before and after each intervention, children complete a variety of cognitive tasks measuring attentional inhibition while their neuroelectric activity is recorded. Variables of interest include EEG data, accuracy and reaction time, academic achievement, and salivary alpha amylase. Academic achievement is also assessed following interventions. In addition, children provide passive drool samples throughout the interventions to measure various biomarkers that may explain the acute exercise benefit on cognition. Discussion The results from this study could influence educational and public health recommendations to enhance cognition and learning in pre-adolescent children. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03592238. Registered on 19 July 2018

Shu-Shih Hsieh was supported by the Postdoctoral Research Abroad Program from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan (reference number: 109-2917-I-564-034). Francisco B. Ortega's research activity was supported by funds from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Reference number: DEP2016-79512-R and DEP2017-91544-EXP) and the Andalusian Operational Programme supported with European Regional Development Funds (ERDF in English, FEDER in Spanish, project ref: B-CTS-355-UGR18)., Childhood obesity and its negative relation with children's brain health has become a growing health concern. Over the last decade, literature has indicated that physical activity attenuates cognitive impairment associated with obesity and excess adiposity in children. However, there is no comprehensive review that considers the extent to which these factors affect different domains of cognition. This narrative review comprehensively summarizes behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuroelectric findings associated with chronic physical activity and fitness on brain and cognition in childhood obesity. Based on the literature reviewed, increased adiposity has a demonstrated relationship with neurocognitive health via mechanisms triggered by central inflammation and insulin resistance, with the most pronounced decrements observed for cognitive domains that are prefrontal- and hippocampal-dependent. Fortunately, physical activity, especially interventions enhancing aerobic fitness and motor coordination, have demonstrated efficacy for attenuating the negative effects of obesity across different subdomains of structural and functional brain imaging, cognition, and multiple academic outcomes in children with overweight or obesity. Such mitigating effects may be accounted for by attenuated central inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity, and increased expression of neurotrophic factors. Lastly, individual differences appear to play a role in this relationship, as the manipulation of physical activity characteristics, the employment of a wide array of cognitive and academic measures, the inclusion of different adiposity measures that are sensitive to neurocognitive function, and the utilization of an inter-disciplinary approach have been found to influence the relationship between physical activity and excess adiposity on brain and cognition., Competitiveness DEP2016-79512-R DEP2017-91544-EXP, Andalusian Operational Programme, European Commission B-CTS-355-UGR18 B-CTS-355-UGR18

Background There is an increasing prevalence of physical inactivity during childhood, concurrent with a rise in obesity rates, which is associated with a variety of health problems. However, the extent to which increased body mass index (BMI) influences acute physical activity (PA) benefits on cognition in childhood remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine whether BMI influences the effects of acute PA on inhibitory control task performance. Methods In a sample of 116 children pooled from four prior studies (ages 8-11; 51 females), demographic measures of age, sex, IQ, socioeconomic status, and aerobic fitness were considered along with BMI. Children participated in a counterbalanced, randomized crossover study, whereby they completed two different interventions; 20 minutes of treadmill walking (60-70% heart rate max) and restful reading (non-exercise control). Following each intervention, children performed a modified flanker task that manipulates inhibitory control demands. Correlations were conducted to determine the influence of demographic variables, fitness, and BMI on inhibitory control following each intervention. Subsequent hierarchical regression analyses were performed with significant demographic factors in the first step, aerobic fitness in the second step when significant, and BMI in the final step. Results Analyses indicated that children exhibited improved task performance (p's ≤ 0.001) and decreased interference (p = 0.04) following the walking intervention compared to the restful reading control condition, indicating greater benefits following acute PA across task condition, with selectively greater benefits for the task condition requiring greater inhibitory control. Regression analyses revealed that greater BMI was related to decreased performance following acute PA (p = 0.001); an association not observed following restful reading (p's ≥ 0.11). These results suggest that BMI negatively influences the effect of acute exercise on performance. Conclusion Confirming previous studies, these findings indicate beneficial effects of acute PA on a flanker task that modulates inhibitory control requirements, but the effects are significantly greater for task conditions requiring greater amounts of inhibitory control. Further, these beneficial effects of PA appear to be blunted in children with higher BMI. These findings suggest that the acute benefits of PA on cognition may not be fully realized in children with higher BMI.

The aim of the current study was to examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and electroencephalogram-based neural oscillations, using midfrontal theta, during an inhibitory control task in children. One-hundred seventy-one school-aged children (mean age = 8.9 ± 0.6 years; 46% girls) were recruited. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a test of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2peak ) while inhibitory control performance was measured via a modified flanker task with an electroencephalogram. Behavioral findings demonstrated that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with higher response accuracy regardless of task difficulty as well as lower response variability during trials with lower cognitive demand. Neuroelectric outcomes revealed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness was correlated with smaller modulation of theta (4-7 Hz) oscillatory power regardless of task difficulty. Collectively, the current findings indicate that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better performance on a task that modulates inhibitory control, signified by higher, and more stable, task performance. More importantly, higher childhood cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better top-down control and cortical communication, as reflected by midfrontal theta. Such findings support the critical role of cardiorespiratory fitness in brain health during childhood.

Introduction: Brain network modularity is a principle that quantifies the degree to which functional brain networks are divided into subnetworks. Higher modularity reflects a greater number of within-module connections and fewer connections between modules, and a highly modular brain is often interpreted as a brain that contains highly specialized brain networks with less integration between networks. Recent work in younger and older adults has demonstrated that individual differences in brain network modularity at baseline can predict improvements in performance after cognitive and physical interventions. The use of brain network modularity as a predictor of training outcomes has not yet been examined in children. Method: In the present study, we examined the relationship between baseline brain network modularity and changes (post-intervention performance minus pre-intervention performance) in cognitive and academic performance in 8- to 9-year-old children who participated in an after-school physical activity intervention for 9 months (N = 78) as well as in children in a wait-list control group (N = 72). Results: In children involved in the after-school physical activity intervention, higher modularity of brain networks at baseline predicted greater improvements in cognitive performance for tasks of executive function, cognitive efficiency, and mathematics achievement. There were no associations between baseline brain network modularity and performance changes in the wait-list control group. Discussion: Our study has implications for biomarkers of cognitive plasticity in children. Understanding predictors of cognitive performance and academic progress during child development may facilitate the effectiveness of interventions aimed to improve cognitive and brain health.

Background Physical activity (PA) is beneficial for cognitive and brain health during preadolescence. Given that childhood obesity (OB) is a public health concern, investigating this effect in children with OB is an important societal consideration. Objectives To identify the effects of weight status and PA on neuroelectric indices of executive function in preadolescence. Methods Children were randomly assigned to a PA intervention or a wait-list control group and completed a task that manipulated inhibitory control, while task performance and neuroelectric (P3 component) outcomes were assessed. About 103 children with OB were matched to a sample of 103 normal weight (NW) children based on treatment allocation and demographic variables. Results Children with OB in the control group demonstrated reduced P3 amplitude from pre- to post-test, meanwhile those with OB in the PA intervention maintained P3 amplitude at post-test compared to pre-test. Additionally, NW children in the PA intervention group showed that decreased visceral adipose tissue corresponded with faster task performance, a relationship not observed in children with OB. Conclusions These results suggest that a 9-month PA intervention may be particularly beneficial to the cognitive and brain health of children with OB. These results are important to consider given the public health concerns associated with childhood OB.

BackgroundMulti-country studies examining trends in sedentary behaviors among adolescents have mainly focused on high-income or Western countries, and almost no data exists for the rest of the world. Thus, this study aims to examine temporal trends in adolescents’ leisure time sedentary behavior (LTSB) employing nationally representative datasets from 26 countries from five WHO-defined geographical regions.MethodsData from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003–2017 were analyzed in 17,734 adolescents [mean (SD) age: 13.7 (1.0) years; 49.0% boys]. LTSB was self-reported and included all types of sedentary behaviors, excluding time spent at school or doing homework. The prevalence and 95%CI of high LTSB (i.e., ≥3 h/day) was calculated for the overall sample and by sex for each survey. Crude linear trends in high LTSB were assessed by linear regression models. Interaction analyses were conducted to examine differing trends among boys and girls.ResultsTemporal variations in LTSB substantially diverged across countries, with results showing increasing (6/26 countries), decreasing (4/26) and stable trends. The sharpest increases in LTSB occurred in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Thailand. Some countries did not show an increase in LTSB prevalence over time but had very high levels of LTSB (i.e., > 40%) across multiple years. Most countries showed no differences in LTSB trends between boys and girls.ConclusionsData from our study may serve as an important platform for policymakers, as well as local and national stakeholders, to establish country-specific and tailored strategies for reducing LTSB.

Experimental research suggests that sport-related concussion can lead to persistent alterations in children's neurophysiology and cognition. However, the search for neuropsychological tests with a similar ability to detect long-term deficits continues.The current study assessed whether a target battery of neuropsychological measures of higher cognition and academic achievement would detect lingering deficits in children 2 years after injury.Cross-sectional.A total of 32 pre-adolescent children (16 concussion history, 16 control) completed a targeted battery of neuropsychological and academic tests.Children with a history of concussion exhibited selective deficits during the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Comprehensive Trail-Making Test, and the mathematics sub-section of the WRAT-3. Deficit magnitude was significantly related to age at injury, but not time since injury.The current results suggest that neuropsychological measures of higher cognition and academic achievement may be sensitive to lingering deficits, and that children injured earlier in life may exhibit worse neuropsychological and academic performance.

The aim of this study was to reanalyze several datasets to investigate the relation of childhood aerobic fitness on cognition via a number of task performance outcomes and the P3 event-related brain potential component during a modified flanker task, which modulates inhibitory control demands. In a sample of 702 preadolescent children (ages 8–11; 342 females), demographic measures of age, sex, IQ, socioeconomic status, and pubertal status were considered along with aerobic fitness (i.e., VO2peak%). Correlational analyses were conducted to determine the influence of the demographic variables and aerobic fitness on inhibitory control outcomes of response accuracy, reaction time (RT), response variability, interference control, cognitive strategies, P3 amplitude, and P3 latency. Subsequent hierarchical regression analyses were performed with significant demographic factors in the first step and aerobic fitness in the final step. Results indicated that after accounting for significant demographic variables specific to each dependent outcome, aerobic fitness was positively related to response accuracy, with no such relations observed for response speed (RT) for congruent and incongruent conditions of the flanker task. However, greater aerobic fitness was associated with less RT variability and lower accuracy interference. In terms of cognitive strategies, greater fitness was also associated with better discrimination accuracy as well as faster and better quality of information uptake. Across a 15-site region of interest around the topographic maximum, findings indicated that aerobic fitness was positively associated with larger P3 amplitude during incongruent trials. No such relation was observed for P3 latency. Relying on a large aggregated dataset, we demonstrated that aerobic fitness may be particularly beneficial to the allocation of attentional resources, as indexed by P3 amplitude as well as response accuracy and intraindividual variability. These findings, while generalized across inhibitory control demands, were especially related to trials that required greater amounts of inhibition. Thus, aerobic fitness may benefit brain and behavioral outcomes during childhood and has public health implications for the role of childhood physical activity on aspects of cognition that underlie scholastic performance and lifelong effective functioning.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between adiposity and cognition by using mean accuracy, mean reaction time, and intraindividual variability (IIV) among preadolescents. METHODS Children 7 to 9 years old (N = 233, 133 females) underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and a maximal oxygen consumption test to assess whole-body adiposity and aerobic fitness relative to fat-free mass (VO2 FF), respectively. Attentional inhibition was assessed by using a modified flanker task. IIV was assessed as standard deviation of reaction time and as a coefficient of variation of reaction time (CVRT). Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between adiposity and cognitive measures following the adjustment of significant demographic factors, intelligence quotient, and VO2 FF. RESULTS Whole-body adiposity was negatively related to congruent trial mean accuracy and reaction time and to CVRT in both the congruent and incongruent trials. Differences in cognitive function across weight status were selectively evident for measures of IIV, such that children with overweight/obesity (≥ 85th BMI-for-age percentile) exhibited higher CVRT for both the congruent and incongruent trials. CONCLUSIONS This work provides additional evidence linking childhood obesity to poorer cognitive function and includes novel data extending the negative influence of adiposity to measures of intraindividual response variability in cognitive control, even after accounting for intellectual abilities, aerobic fitness, and demographic factors.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are plant pigments known to preferentially accumulate in neural tissue. Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD), a non-invasive measure of retinal carotenoids and surrogate measure of brain carotenoid concentration, has been associated with disease prevention and cognitive health. Superior MPOD status in later adulthood has been shown to provide neuroprotective effects on cognition. Given that childhood signifies a critical period for carotenoid accumulation in brain, it is likely that the beneficial impact would be evident during development, though this relationship has not been directly investigated. The present study investigated the relationship between MPOD and the behavioral and neuroelectric indices elicited during a cognitive control task in preadolescent children. 49 participants completed a modified flanker task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to assess the P3 component of the ERP waveform. MPOD was associated with both behavioral performance and P3 amplitude such that children with higher MPOD had more accurate performance and lower P3 amplitudes. These relationships were more pronounced for trials requiring greater amounts of cognitive control. These results indicate that children with higher MPOD may respond to cognitive tasks more efficiently, maintaining high performance while displaying neural indices indicative of lower cognitive load. These findings provide novel support for the neuroprotective influence of retinal carotenoids during preadolescence.

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy provides measures of brain chemistry that are sensitive to cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition. The concentration of N-acetyl aspartic acid (NAA) is of interest because it is a marker of neuronal integrity. The ratio of NAA to creatine, a standard reference metabolite, has been shown to correlate with measures of both cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition. However, previous studies have explored these effects in isolation, making it impossible to know which of these highly correlated measures drive the correlations with NAA/Cr. As a result, the mechanisms underlying their association remain to be established. We therefore conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the relative contributions of cardiorespiratory fitness and percent body fat in predicting NAA/Cr. We demonstrate that NAA/Cr in white matter is correlated with percent body fat, and that this relationship largely subsumes the correlation of NAA/Cr with cardiorespiratory fitness. These results underscore the association of body composition with axonal integrity and suggests that this relationship drives the association of NAA/Cr with physical fitness in young adults.

PURPOSE Obesity during adolescence has multisystem health consequences. The objective of this work was to determine whether preadolescent overweight/obese children's bones respond to a 9-month physical activity intervention by increasing bone density similar to healthy weight children. METHODS Participants included overweight/obese (BMI > 85%) and healthy weight (15% < BMI < 85%) preadolescents (8-9 yr old). Participants in the physical activity group participated in a 9-month physical activity curriculum every day after school. The wait list control group received no intervention. Both groups had overweight/obese children and healthy weight controls. Whole-body bone mineral content, area, and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) were assessed using dual x-ray absorptiometry) at the beginning and end of the 9-month trial in the physical activity and control group. RESULTS Overweight/obese preadolescent children had higher BMAD than healthy weight children (P < 0.001 for spine, leg, and whole body). However, the density/weight (BMAD/lean mass) was lower in overweight/obese children than that in healthy weight children, indicating that the density of bones in overweight/obese children may not compensate sufficiently for the excessive load due to weight. The change in BMAD over 9 months was greater in healthy weight children than overweight/obese children in the whole body and leg, but not the lumbar spine. Physical activity caused a site-specific increase in bone density, affecting the legs more than the lumbar spine, but there was no significant difference in the effect of exercise between the healthy weight and the overweight/obese group. CONCLUSIONS The smaller change in BMAD over the 9 months and lower BMAD per unit lean mass in overweight/obese compared with healthy weight children may indicate a slower rate of bone mass accrual, which may have implications for bone health during skeletal growth in obese/overweight children.

OBJECTIVES: Xanthophyll carotenoids in the retina have been linked to visual and cognitive health. While genetic variations in genes related to carotenoid cleavage (e.g., beta-carotene-15,15′-monooxygenase [BCO1/BCMO1]) and xanthophyll transport (e.g., Cluster Determinant 36 [CD36]) proteins have been shown to influence MPOD in adults, it is unknown whether these relationships are evident in childhood. We examined the influence of genetic variation (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) in BCO1 and CD36 on MPOD in 7–10 year-olds (N = 134). METHODS: Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) was assessed using heterochromatic flicker photometry. DNA was extracted from saliva samples and genotyped for six tag-selected SNPs, identified by previous work among adults. Ancestry informative markers (AIMs) were genotyped to account for ethnic heterogeneity. Dietary lutein and zeaxanthin (L + Z) was assessed using 3d food records among a subsample (N = 82). RESULTS: Minor allele frequencies of BCO1-rs7501331 (T), CD36-rs1527483 (T), CD36-rs3173798 (C) were 0.194, 0.090 and 0.213, respectively. In the partially adjusted (AIMs, age, sex, BMI %tile) models, three of the six SNPs were associated with MPOD. Carriers of the BCO1-rs7501331 T allele had significantly lower (∼18%) MPOD than the CC homozygotes (P = 0.042). Minor allele (T) carriers of CD36-rs1527483 exhibited lower MPOD (∼23%) than CC homozygotes (P = 0.043). CD36-rs3173798 C allele carriers had ∼32% lower MPOD than those with the TT genotype (P

Objectives: The aims of this study were (i) to examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and white matter volume and test whether those associations differ between normal-weight and overweight/obese children (ii) to analyze the association between other physical fitness components (i.e., motor and muscular) and white matter volume, and (iii) to examine whether the fitness-related associations in white matter volume were related to academic performance.Methods: Data came from two independent projects: ActiveBrains project (n = 100; 10.0 ± 1.1 years; 100% overweight/obese; Spain) and FITKids2 project (n = 242; 8.6 ± 0.5 years; 36% overweight/obese, United States). Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed in both projects, and motor and muscular fitness were assessed in the ActiveBrains project. T1-weighted images were acquired with a 3.0 T S Magnetom Tim Trio system. Academic performance was assessed by standardized tests.Results: Cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with greater white matter volume in the ActiveBrain project (P < 0.001, k = 177; inferior fronto-opercular gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus) and in the FITKids project (P < 0.001, k = 117; inferior temporal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, middle occipital gyrus and fusiform gyrus) among overweight/obese children. However, no associations were found among normal-weight children in the FITKids project. In the ActiveBrains project, motor fitness was related to greater white matter volume (P < 0.001, k = 173) in six regions, specifically, insular cortex, caudate, bilateral superior temporal gyrus and bilateral supramarginal gyrus; muscular fitness was associated with greater white matter volumes (P < 0.001, k = 191) in two regions, particularly, the bilateral caudate and bilateral cerebellum IX. The white matter volume of six of these regions were related to academic performance, but after correcting for multiple comparisons, only the insular cortex remained significantly related to math calculations skills (β = 0.258; P < 0.005). In both projects, no brain regions showed a statistically significant negative association between any physical fitness component and white matter volume.Conclusion: Cardiorespiratory fitness may positively relate to white matter volume in overweight/obese children, and in turn, academic performance. In addition, motor and muscular fitness may also influence white matter volume coupled with better academic performance. From a public health perspective, implementing exercise interventions that combine aerobic, motor and muscular training to enhance physical fitness may benefit brain development and academic success.

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity to treat and prevent metabolic diseases, such as diabetes (T2D) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), most individuals with metabolic disease do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. PA is a complex behavior requiring substantial motivational and cognitive resources. The purpose of this study was to examine social cognitive and neuropsychological determinants of PA behavior in older adults with T2D and MetS. The hypothesized model theorized that baseline self-regulatory strategy use and cognitive function would indirectly influence PA through self-efficacy.Older adults with T2D or MetS (MThe data partially supported the hypothesized model (χFindings partially support the hypothesized model and indicate that select cognitive functions (i.e., working memory, inhibition, attention, and task-switching) predicted PA behavior 6 months later. Future research warrants the development of interventions targeting cognitive function, self-regulatory skill development, and self-efficacy enhancement.The trial was registered with the clinical trial number NCT01790724.

Recent evidence has indicated that overweight/obese children may experience cognitive and immune dysfunction, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for the association between overweight/obesity, immune dysfunction, and cognition have yet to be established. The present study aimed to identify a novel link between obesity-induced immune system dysregulation and cognition in preadolescent children. A total of 27 male children (age: 8–10 years) were recruited and separated by body mass index (BMI) into healthy weight (HW: 5th–84.9th percentile, n = 16) and overweight/obese (OW: P85th percentile, n = 11) groups. Adiposity was assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and aspects of executive function were assessed using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities. Monocyte populations (CD14(+)CD16(−), CD14(+)CD16(+)) with and without expression of chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2), and circulating progenitor cells (CPCs: CD34(+)CD45(dim)), in peripheral blood were quantified by flow cytometry. CPCs were isolated by flow sorting and cultured for 24 h for collection of conditioned media (CM) that was applied to SH-SY5Y neuroblastomas to examine the paracrine effects of CPCs on neurogenesis. OW had significantly higher quantities of both populations of monocytes (CD14(+)CD16(−): 57% increase; CD14(+)CD16(+): 95% increase, both p < 0.01), monocytes expressing CCR2 (CD14(+)CD16(−)CCR2(+): 66% increase; CD14(+)CD16(+)CCR2(+): 168% increase, both p < 0.01), and CPCs (47% increase, p < 0.05) than HW. CPCs were positively correlated with abdominal adiposity in OW, and negatively correlated in HW with a significant difference between correlations (p < 0.05). CPC content was positively correlated with executive processes in OW, and negatively correlated in HW with a significant difference in the strength of the correlations between groups (p < 0.05 for correlation between OW and HW). Finally, CPC-CM from OW trended to increase neuroblast viability in vitro relative to HW (1.79 fold, p = 0.07). These novel findings indicate that increased content of CPCs among OW children may play a role in preventing decrements in cognitive function via paracrine mechanisms.

Musical training has been associated with advantages in cognitive measures of IQ and verbal ability, as well as neural measures including white matter microstructural properties in the corpus callosum (CC) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). We hypothesized that children who have musical training will have different microstructural properties in the SLF and CC. One hundred children aged 7.9 to 9.9 years (mean age 8.7) were surveyed for their musical activities, completed neuropsychological testing for general cognitive abilities, and underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as part of a larger study. Children who play a musical instrument for more than 0.5 hours per week (n = 34) had higher scores on verbal ability and intellectual ability (standardized scores from the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities), as well as higher axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF than those who did not play a musical instrument (n = 66). Furthermore, the intensity of musical practice, quantified as the number of hours of music practice per week, was correlated with axial diffusivity (AD) in the left SLF. Results are not explained by age, sex, socio-economic status, or physical fitness of the participants. Results suggest that the relationship between musical practice and intellectual ability is related to the maturation of white matter pathways in the auditory-motor system. The findings suggest that musical training may be a means of improving cognitive and brain health during development.

Objective Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) have been utilized to study the cognitive implications of health-related behaviors, although many questions remain regarding the neural correlates underlying the cognition and adiposity relationship in childhood. Specifically, it is unknown whether excess fat mass is associated with the neural correlates of motor preparation and activation. The present work examined interrelationships between adiposity and ERPs that index inhibition, stimulus evaluation, and motor planning. Method To further elucidate the neural components of inhibitory control that are sensitive to adiposity, N2, P3, and response- and stimulus-locked Lateralized Readiness Potential (LRPs) were measured while preadolescent children completed an attentional inhibition task. Whole body percent adiposity was measured via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results Adiposity was related to the response-locked LRP amplitudes and marginally to P3 amplitude during the incongruent trials, such that participants with less adiposity elicited larger LRP and P3 components. Furthermore, P3 was strongly related to participant reaction times, suggesting that while LRP is strongly associated with adiposity, P3 has a more direct relationship to behavioral task performance. Conclusions The results suggest that while different cognitive functions may be affected by health-related characteristics, stimulus evaluation and motor activation may be particularly sensitive to excess adiposity in children. These findings extend previous work implicating adiposity in cognitive health in the pediatric population. Study importance 1. What is already known about this subject? a. Excess adiposity is inversely associated with cognitive function in children. b. Adiposity has been associated with several event-related brain potentials, such that smaller P3 components, which index stimulus evaluation, and N2 components, which index attentional inhibition, are related to greater adiposity in children. c. The neural correlates underlying the cognition-adiposity relationship are under specified, and additional ERP components should be studied; one such component is the LRP, which underlies motor planning and activation. 2. What does your study add? a. Our results show that adiposity was related to the P3 and the response-locked LRP components such that children with less adiposity showed larger P3 and LRP waveforms. b. These findings suggest that two separable, though related, processes may be affected by adiposity in childhood: One involving the evaluation of a stimulus, represented by the P3, and one involving the activation of motor control, represented by the response-locked LRP. Clinical Registry Number: NCT02630667 at https://clinicaltrials.gov .

Children are becoming increasingly inactive, unfit, and overweight, yet there is relatively little causal evidence regarding the effects of physical activity on brain health during childhood. The present study examined the effects of an after-school physical activity program (FITKids2) on the microstructure of white matter tracts in 7- to 9-year-old children. We measured the microstructural properties of white matter via diffusion tensor imaging in one hundred and forty-three children before and after random assignment to either a 9-month after-school physical activity program (N=76, mean age = 8.7 years) or a wait list control group (N=67, mean age = 8.7 years). Our results demonstrate that children who participated in the physical activity program showed increased white matter microstructure in the genu of the corpus callosum, with no changes in white matter microstructure in the wait list control group which reflects typical development. Specifically, children in the physical activity program showed increases in fractional anisotropy (FA) and decreases in radial diffusivity (RD) in the genu from pre- to post-test, thereby suggesting more tightly bundled and structurally compact fibers (FA) and increased myelination (RD), with no changes in estimates of axonal fiber diameter (axial diffusivity, AD). The corpus callosum integrates cognitive, motor, and sensory information between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and the white matter tract plays a role in cognition and behavior. Our findings reinforce the importance of physical activity for brain health during child development.

Although obesity has been related to measures of academic achievement and cognition in children, the influence of fat distribution, specifically visceral adiposity, on select aspects of achievement and cognitive function remains poorly characterized among preadolescent children. Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of adiposity, particularly visceral adipose tissue (VAT), on achievement and cognitive function among children. Methods Children with obesity (ages 8-9 yr old, N = 55, 35 females) completed cognitive and academic tests. Normal weight children (N = 55, 35 females) were matched to this group on demographic characteristics and aerobic fitness. Covariate analyses included age, Brief Intellectual Ability, socioeconomic status, and fat-free V˙O2 (V˙O2 peak adjusted for lean mass; mL·kg lean·min). Adiposity (i.e., whole body percent fat, subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue, and VAT) was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Results The results of this study revealed that, relative to their normal weight counterparts, children with obesity had significantly lower performance on tests of reading and math. Analyses revealed that among children with obesity, %Fat and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue were not related to cognitive abilities. However, higher VAT was associated with poorer intellectual abilities (Ps ≤ 0.04) and cognitive performance (i.e., thinking ability and cognitive efficiency, Ps ≤ 0.04). However, among normal weight children, VAT was positively associated with intellectual abilities and cognitive efficiency. Conclusion In conclusion, the results suggest that VAT was selectively and negatively related with cognition among children with obesity. Along with the dangerous metabolic nature of VAT, its detrimental relationship with obese children's intellectual and cognitive functioning is concerning.

The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of pediatric sport-related concussion on brain and cognitive function. To do so, we used a between-participants design, measures of executive control, and event-related potentials (ERPs). The findings demonstrate that children with a history of concussion exhibit behavioral deficits in attention, working memory and impulse control, as well as neuroelectric alterations in ERP indices of visual attention (N1), conflict resolution (N2) and attentional resource allocation (P3). Furthermore, the age at injury related to the magnitude of several concussion-related deficits. Accordingly, a single sports-related concussive incident during childhood (m = 2.1 years prior to testing) may lead to subtle, yet pervasive alterations in the behavioral and neural indices of attention and executive control, and age at injury may moderate injury outcomes.

Identification of health behaviors and markers of physiological health associated with childhood cognitive function has important implications for public health policy targeted toward cognitive health throughout the life span. Although previous studies have shown that aerobic fitness and obesity exert contrasting effects on cognitive flexibility among prepubertal children, the extent to which diet plays a role in cognitive flexibility has received little attention. Accordingly, this study examined associations between saturated fats and cholesterol intake and cognitive flexibility, assessed using a task switching paradigm, among prepubertal children between 7 and 10 years (N = 150). Following adjustment of confounding variables (age, sex, socioeconomic status, IQ, VO2max, and BMI), children consuming diets higher in saturated fats exhibited longer reaction time during the task condition requiring greater amounts of cognitive flexibility. Further, increasing saturated fat intake and dietary cholesterol were correlated with greater switch costs, reflecting impaired ability to maintain multiple task sets in working memory and poorer efficiency of cognitive control processes involved in task switching. These data are among the first to indicate that children consuming diets higher in saturated fats and cholesterol exhibit compromised ability to flexibly modulate their cognitive operations, particularly when faced with greater cognitive challenge. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are necessary to comprehensively characterize the interrelationships between diet, aerobic fitness, obesity, and children's cognitive abilities.

This study investigated the influence of concussion history on children's neurocognitive processing. Thirty-two children ages 8–10 years (16 with a concussion history, 16 controls) completed compatible and incompatible conditions of a flanker task while behavioral and neuroelectric data were collected. Relative to controls, children with a concussion history exhibited alterations in the sequential congruency effect, committed more omission errors, and exhibited decreased post-error accuracy. Children with a concussion history exhibited longer N2 latency across task conditions, increased N2 amplitude during the incompatible condition of the task, and decreased P3b amplitude across task conditions. Children with a history of concussion also exhibited decreased ERN and Pe amplitudes, with group difference increasing for the incompatible condition of the task. The current results indicate that pediatric concussion may lead to subtle, but pervasive deficits in attention and cognitive control. These results serve to inform a poorly understood but significant public health concern.

One of the keys to understanding scholastic success is to determine the neural processes involved in school performance. The present study is the first to use a whole-brain connectivity approach to explore whether functional connectivity of resting state brain networks is associated with scholastic performance in seventy-four 7- to 9-year-old children. We demonstrate that children with higher scholastic performance across reading, math and language have more integrated and interconnected resting state networks, specifically the default mode network, salience network, and frontoparietal network. To add specificity, core regions of the dorsal attention and visual networks did not relate to scholastic performance. The results extend the cognitive role of brain networks in children as well as suggest the importance of network connectivity in scholastic success.

The importance of breakfast consumption for ideal cognitive performance has received much attention in recent years, although research on the topic has yielded mixed results. The present study utilized event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited during a modified flanker task to investigate the neuroelectric implications of receiving different mixed macronutrient beverages after an overnight fast. A repeated measures design was employed whereby preadolescent participants (9–10 years of age) completed cognitive testing while ERPs were collected during two non-consecutive testing sessions, one in which they received one of three treatment beverages consisting of mixed-macronutrient formulations (either Carbohydrate Blend, Sucrose, Maltodextrin) and the other in which they received a placebo drink containing Sucralose. Performance indices, ERPs, and blood glucose were recorded at three time points before the testing session and after the ingestion of each drink. While the behavioral performance indices and N2 results showed some evidence of glucose facilitation, the effects were small and selective. Participants who received the Maltodextrin treatment showed faster reaction times and more stable N2 amplitudes after ingesting the treatment beverage. The most robust effects were seen in the P3 amplitude measurement. Across the three drink groups, participants showed a marked amplitude increase over time after the placebo drink was ingested, although P3 amplitudes remained stable when a carbohydrate treatment drink was ingested. These effects were eliminated when changes in blood glucose were accounted for, suggesting that the neurolectric effects were directly related to glycemic change. These findings suggest that ingestion of carbohydrates after an overnight fast results in changes to the P3 amplitude of the ERP waveform elicited during an attentional inhibition task.

The present study investigated the effect of a nine-month physical activity (PA) intervention on children’s cardiorespiratory fitness levels and neuroelectric indices of conflict monitoring (i.e., error-related negativity [ERN]). Four hundred twenty-eight preadolescent children (8–9 years old) were randomized into a PA intervention or wait-list control group, and completed a fitness and cognitive control assessment (i.e., modified flanker task) at pre- and post-test. Following exclusion criterion, three hundred eight children were included in the analyses (PA intervention: n = 139; wait-list control: n = 169). Children in the intervention displayed greater improvements in fitness and response accuracy, which were accompanied by stability of ERN amplitude from pre- to post-test. In contrast, the control group revealed increased ERN amplitude at post-test compared to pre-test, despite no change in fitness or task performance. These findings demonstrate the efficacy of daily PA for promoting children’s fitness and underlying neural processes associated with effective conflict monitoring. Such findings have significant implications for promoting organized PA programs intended to foster overall physical and brain health in school age children.