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Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Exercise types and working memory components during development
Sebastian Ludyga1, Markus Gerber1, Keita Kamijo2
1Department of Sport, Exercise & Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Working memory is crucial to learning and academic success. Exercise has been found to benefit working memory in late life, but its effects during cognitive development are less clear. Building on findings that working memory is supported by the motor system, we highlight the sensitivity of different working memory components to acute and long-term exercise in children and adolescents. We also consider how the specific skill demands of endurance and coordinative exercise influence this sensitivity. Distinct effects of these exercise types are further linked with neurocognitive and neuroendocrine pathways. Our review suggests long-term rather than acute benefits of exercise for children and adolescents' working memory, which are more pronounced and specific for exercise with high coordinative demands.
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