Effects Of Physical Exercise On Adolescents’ Cognitive Function In The Context Of Physical Function Training

In recent years, the effect of physical exercise on cognitive function has become a hot topic in the field of exercise psychology. A lot of research shows that physical exercise can improve cognitive ability. However, the proof of the effect of physical exercise on adolescents’ cognitive function still needs to be accumulated. Physical function training, as a new physical training method with its advanced concept and good effect, has raised a revolution in the field of physical training, and gradually been introduced into the practice to improve the fitness of adolescents. The study is to explore the effect of long-term physical exercise on cognitive function of adolescents in the context of physical function training.Objective: To investigate the effects of long-term physical exercise on cognitive function in adolescents. The cognitive function indexes include a general cognitive ability(fluid intelligence) and two specific cognitive abilities(executive control function and attention).Methods: A sample of 408 grade one junior middle school age adolescents were chosen from Shandong and Beijing Province as the subjects of the research. Using a random controlled pre and post test design, in this study, the experimental group accepts a body function training intervention while the control group receives no kind of intervention.The time of the experiment lasts nearly half of a year.Three cognitive abilities are measured in a month before and after the intervention, using the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices to evaluate fluid intelligence, the Adolescent Attention Test developed by Yin Hengchan(2003) to evaluate the attention level from four sides of attention including attention allocation, attention span, attention stability and attention switching, the Flanker tests to measure the executive control function. Statistical analysis of covariance was used to deal with the experimental data, and the differences between experimental group and control group in the post test cognitive ability were tested on the premise of balancing the pre cognitive function level.Results: According to the results of Analysis of covariance, there are significant group differences in the post test Raven reasoning and post attention allocation test scores between the experimental group and control group. The experimental group’s post Raven reasoning test scores and attention allocation achievement is significantly higher than that of the control group. However, there are no significant differences in the executive control,attention span, attention stability and attention switching scores between the two groups.That is, in these four sides, experimental group and the control group does not exist significant differences.Conclusion: Long term physical exercise based on physical function training can not only improve the specific cognitive function, but also promote the development of general cognitive ability. That is, physical exercise based on the physical function training promoted the development of adolescent’s fluid intelligence and the allocation of attention.In discussion, we think this is mainly due to that the amount and intensity of physical activity of the experimental group is significantly larger and higher than the control group.