Chang |
2012 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
40 (3 female, 37 male) |
10.43+/-0.90 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
30 minutes on treadmill (5 min warmup, 5 minute cooldown, 20 minute run) |
Stroop Test, Wisonsin Card sorting Test (WCST) |
Stroop Test: response Inhibition; WCST: attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in non perseverative errors of WCST and Stroop Color-Word Test in exercise group compared to controls |
Pritchard |
2018 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
Not reported |
30 (14 boys, 16 girls) |
10.2 (+/- 0.4 years) |
FASD |
Mixed (fast club intervention program) |
Unreported |
8 week duration (two 1.5 hr sessions per week) |
Children's Color Trails Test (CCTT) |
CCTT 1: attention/set shifting; CCTT 2: response inhibition |
Greater improvement in exercise group post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Chang |
2014 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
Yes |
27 (23 male, 4 female) |
age 5-10 |
ADHD |
Aquatic exercise |
Moderate-high intensity |
8 week duration (two 1.5 hr sessions per week) |
Go/No go Task |
Response inhibition |
Greater improvement in accuracy on No/go task scores in exercise group compared to controls |
Hill |
2011 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
Not reported |
552 (295 male, 257 female) |
age 8-12 |
ADHD |
Mixed (jogging and jumping) |
Moderate-high intensity |
I:exercise intervention for week 1; C: no exercise for week 1. Exercise was 10-15 minutes daily |
Paced Serial Addition, Size Ordering, Listening Span, Visual Coding, Digit Span |
Paced Serial Addition, Size Ordering, Listening Span, Visual Coding: attention/set shifting; Digit Span: working memory |
Exercise group outperformed non exercise group by week 2 |
Kang |
2011 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
28 |
ages 7-9 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
6 week duration (2 1.5 hr sessions per week) |
Digit Symbol Test and Trail Making Test Part B |
Digit Symbol Test: working memory; and Trail Making Test: attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in Digit Symbol Test, and TMT-Part B scores in exercise group compared to controls |
Pontifex |
2012 |
Crossover |
No |
20 (14 male, 6 female) |
ages 8-10 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
20 minute session |
Eriksen Flanker Test |
Attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in response accuracy and improvement in post-error slowing in exercise group compared to controls |
Verret |
2012 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
21 (19 male, 2 female) |
9.1 (+/- 1.1) |
ADHD |
Mixed (basketball, soccer) |
Moderate-high intensity |
10 week duration (3 45 minute sessions per week) |
Test of Everyday Attention for children |
Attention /set shifting |
Improvements in attention and informational processing in exercise group compared to controls |
Medina |
2010 |
Single group |
Yes |
25 (all males) |
9.33 +/-2.87 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
30 minute session |
Conner's Continuous Performance Test-II |
Attention/set shifting |
Improvement in attention measures in exercise group compared to controls |
Mahon |
2013 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
43 (30 male,13 female) |
age 8-14 |
ADHD |
Cycling |
Moderate-high intensity |
10 minute session |
Conner's Continuous Performance Test-II (CCPT II) |
Attention/set shifting |
No significant improvement in CCPT II scores in either ADHD or healthy control group following exercise |
Craft |
1983 |
Single group |
No |
31 (all males) |
ages 7-10 |
ADHD |
Cycling |
Unreported |
10 minute session |
Digit Span, visual sequential memory |
Working memory |
No improvement in working memory post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Anderson-Hanley |
2011 |
Single group |
Not reported |
12 (8 boys, 4 girls) |
14.8 +/-2.7 |
ASD |
Other (dance) |
Unreported |
20 minute session |
Digit Span, Color Trails Test, Stroop Task |
Digit span: working memory; Color Trails Test: inhibition and attention/set shifting; Stroop Task: response inhibition |
Improvement in 1 measure of digit span (digit backwards)post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Anderson-Hanley |
2011 |
Single group |
Not reported |
10 (all males) |
13.2 +/- 3.8 |
ASD |
Cycling |
Unreported |
20 minute session |
Digit Span, Color Trails Test, Stroop Task |
Digit span: working memory; Color Trails Test: inhibition and attention/set shifting; Stroop Task: response inhibition |
Improvement in 1 measure of digit span (digit backwards)post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Choi |
2014 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
30 (all males) |
15.9 +/-1.2 |
ADHD |
Mixed (running, jumping, basketball) |
Moderate-high intensity |
6 week duration (3 90 minute sessions per week) |
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) |
Attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in perseverative errors of WCST in exercise group compared to controls |
Gawrilow |
2016 |
Single group |
Yes |
47 (all males) |
14.37+/-1.88 |
ADHD |
Other (trampoline) |
Unreported |
5 minutes |
Go no task |
Response inhibition |
Improvement in response inhibition in exercise group compared to controls |
Ziereis |
2014 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
No |
43 |
9.45 +/-1.43 |
ADHD |
Mixed (acrobatics, balance training, coordinative exercises, etc) |
Unreported |
12 week duration (60 minute sessions) |
Digit span, letter number sequencing task of HAWIK-IV, Corsi blocking tapping test |
Working memory |
ignificant improvement in all working memory measures seen after 12 weeks in exercise groups, though no effects were seen after one week in either group |
Chou |
2017 |
Parallel group |
No |
49 (38 males, 11 females) |
age 8-12 |
ADHD |
Other (yoga) |
Moderate-high intensity |
8 week duration (2 40 min sessions per week) |
Visual pursuit test of the vienna test system |
Visual pursuit test: attention/set shifting determination test: response inhibition |
Improvements seen in both EF measures in yoga group compared to controls |
Memarmoghaddam |
2016 |
Parallel group |
No |
40 (all males) |
8.31+/-1.29 |
ADHD |
Mixed (table tennis, football, basketball, etc) |
Moderate-high intensity |
8 week duration (3 90 min sessions per week) |
Go/no Go Task, Stroop Task |
Response inhibition |
Significant improvement seen in exercise group post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Hung |
2016 |
Single group |
No |
34 (33 males, 1 female) |
10.24+/-1.78 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
30 minute session |
Task switching paradigm (Dai et al 2013) |
Attention/set shifting |
Improvement in task switching in exercise group compare to controls |
Gelade |
2017 |
Parallel group |
No |
37 (28 male, 9 female) |
9.8 +/-1.96 |
ADHD |
Other (not mentioned) |
Moderate-high intensity |
10-12 week duration (3 sessions per week) |
auditory oddball task, SST, visual spatial working memory task |
AOT:attention/set shifting; SST: response inhibition; visual spatial WM task: working memory |
Improvement found for working memory in exercise group compared to controls |
Pan |
2017 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
Not reported |
22 (all boys) |
age 6-12 |
ASD |
Other (table tennis) |
Unreported |
12 week duration (2 70 min sessions per week) |
Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) |
Attention/set shifting |
Significant improvement in total correct, perseverative response, and conceptual -level response subscores of WCST post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Pan |
2016 |
Crossover study |
Yes |
32 (all males) |
8.93+/-1.49 |
ADHD |
Other (racket sport) |
Moderate-high intensity |
12 week duration (2 70 min sessions per week) |
Stroop Test |
Response inhibition |
Significant improvements seen in response inhibition post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Bustamente |
2016 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
19 |
age 6-12 |
ADHD |
Mixed (modified sports, jumprope, etc) |
Unreported |
10 week duration (5 60 min sessions per week) |
STOPIT task, and automated working memory assessment (AWMA-S) |
STOPIT: response inhibition; AWMA: working memory |
Improvement in working memory but not in response inhibition post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Shema-Shiratzky |
2018 |
Single group- pilot study |
No |
14 (11 male, 3 female) |
9.3+/-1.2 |
ADHD |
Other (walking) |
Low |
6 week duration (3 sessions ranging from 30 min- 1 hr per week) |
Stroop Test, Go-NoGO Task, color trails test |
Stroop and: response inhibition; CTT: attention/set shifting and response inhibition |
Improvement in attention /set shifting and response inhibition post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Ringenbach |
2015 |
Crossover study |
Not reported |
10 |
12.3+/-2.2 |
ASD |
Cycling |
Low |
20 minute session |
Stroop Task, Trail Making Test |
ST: Inhibition; TMT: attention/set shifting |
All three improved significantly post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Ludyga |
2017 |
Crossover study |
Yes |
16 (11 male, 5 female) |
12.8+/-1.8 |
ADHD |
Cycling |
Moderate-high intensity |
20 min session |
Flanker Test |
Attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in reaction time not accuracy in exercise group compared to control group |
Lee |
2017 |
Parallel group |
No |
12 (all males) |
8.83 +/-0.98 |
ADHD |
Mixed (jumprope, jogging, etc) |
Moderate-high intensity |
12 week duration (3 60 minute sessions per week) |
Stroop Color and word test |
Response inhibition |
Improvement in inhibition in exercise group post-intervention vs pre-intervention |
Piepmeier |
2015 |
Parallel group |
Yes |
14 (five females, 9 males) |
10.14+/-1.96 |
ADHD |
Cycling |
Moderate-high intensity |
20 minute session |
Trail Making Test, Stroop |
TMT: attention/set shifting; Stroop: response inhibition |
Improvement in inhibition, not in attention/set shifting in exercise group compared to controls. |
Chuang |
2015 |
Crossover study |
No |
19 (16 males, 3 females) |
9.42+/-1.38 |
ADHD |
Running |
Moderate-high intensity |
30 minute session |
Go/No go Task |
Response inhibition |
Greater improvement in attention/set shifting and response inhibition in exercise group compared to controls |
Pan |
2017 |
Crossover wait-list control study |
Not reported |
22 (all males) |
age 6-12 |
ASD |
Other (table tennis) |
Unreported |
12 week duration (2 70 min sessions per week) |
Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) |
Attention/set shifting |
Greater improvement in total correct, perseverative response, and conceptual -level response subscores of WCST after exercise |
Ringenbach |
2015 |
Crossover study |
Not reported |
10 (5 male, 5 female) |
12.3+/-2.2 |
ASD |
Cycling |
Low |
20 minute session |
Stroop Task, Trail Making Test |
ST: Inhibition; TMT: attention/set shifting |
Greater improvements in exercise group compared to controls |