The effects of aerobic fitness and athletic participation on executive control functioning and motor response selection
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2006
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Thesis
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
The present study was conducted to analyze the effects of overall levels of physical fitness on executive control functioning, measured by accuracy and reaction time on an Erikson flankers task as well as EEG measures such as the P300. Lateralized readiness potentials were also studied to see if training in motor reactivity for athletic teams or physical fitness played any role in their onset or strength. Participants were found to be more accurate on trials where the target stimulus and flanking stimulus were congruent. These trials also elicited faster response times, shorter P300 latencies and shorter stimulus-locked LRP latencies. Athletic participation did not have a main effect on any measures of interest in this study, but participants’ aerobic fitness levels (measured by their VO2 max) were found to be correlated with response times on congruent and incongruent trials. Greater interaction effects between electrode site and task congruency also emerged in lower-fit control subjects, but were not apparent in athletic populations. Although the aerobic fitness levels were shown to be statistically higher for athletes as opposed to non-athletes in this study, the overall homogeneity of this sample based on age and mental capacity may have dampened effects.