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Published on: June 20, 2020
Relationships Among Activity, Motor Skill Performance and Executive Function in Preschool Children: Observational
Alyssa M Button1,2, Ethan Abbenante1, Robbie Beyl1
1Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Insights
Motor skills and executive functions are linked in preschoolers. Developing motor skills may support cognitive development in early childhood.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Executive functions are crucial for goal-directed behavior and daily functioning.
- While links between executive functions and motor skills are known in older children, data for preschoolers is limited.
- This study investigates associations between physical activity, motor skills, and executive functions in 3-4-year-olds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between physical activity, motor skill performance, and executive functions in preschool-aged children.
- To determine if motor skills and physical activity are associated with executive functions like inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory.
- To provide evidence supporting the importance of motor development in early childhood cognition.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-three 3-4-year-old children participated.
- Activity levels were monitored for 7 days using Actigraph GT3X+.
- Motor skills (balance, dexterity, agility, strength, coordination) and executive functions (inhibitory control, visual-spatial working memory) were assessed using standardized tasks.
Main Results:
- Significant positive correlations were found between inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory with standing long jump, one-legged balance, and grip strength (p < 0.001).
- Faster timed single-task up-and-go (STUG) performance was negatively correlated with inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory (p < 0.001).
- These findings indicate a strong association between motor competence and executive functions in this age group.
Conclusions:
- Bidirectional associations between motor competence and executive function are evident in early development.
- Cognitive functions are necessary for coordinated and controlled movements.
- This developmental period is critical for fostering learning through ample opportunities for motor skill development.
Background:
Executive functions are important for navigating daily demands and engaging in goal-driven behaviour. While these functions are associated with motor skills and activity in mid-to-late childhood, there is a paucity of available data among preschool ages. We hypothesized that child activity, motor skills and executive function would be associated among preschool-aged children.
Methods:
Children aged 3-4 years wore an Actigraph GT3X+ for 7 days to assess activity levels. Product-oriented motor skills were assessed that measure balance, manual dexterity, agility, strength and coordination. The Early Years Toolbox was used to measure visual-spatial working memory via the Mr. Ant Task and inhibitory control using the Go/No-Go task. Pearson correlations evaluated associations among both physical activity and motor skill performance with executive function. N = 83 children provided data for the analytic sample.
Results:
Positive relationships (p < 0.001) were observed among inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory and standing long jump (r = 0.46, r = 0.28), one-legged balance (r = 0.36, r = 0.40) and grip strength (r = 0.41, r = 0.44). A negative relationship (p < 0.001) was observed between quicker STUG times and inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory (r = -0.47, r = -0.48).
Conclusions:
The bidirectional associations of motor competence and executive function are evident during this rapid time of development. Cognitive functions are required for concerted movement and inhibiting nongoal-directed movements, indicating that this is an important period to provide ample opportunities for learning.
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