General physical activity levels influence positive and negative priming effects in young adults

Objective: To investigate the relationship between general physical activity level and the cognitive functions of executive control in young adults using behavioral measures and event-related brain potentials. Methods: Forty young adults (mean age = 21.1 yrs; 19 females) were differentiated on the basis of their regular physical activity level into two groups: active and sedentary. They performed a spatial priming task consisting of three conditions: control, positive, and negative priming. Spatial priming effects, which are related to executive control and occur automatically, were assessed as indicators of cognitive functioning. Results: Negative priming effects on reaction time and P3 latency in the active group were larger than in the sedentary group. By contrast, positive priming effects were only observed in the sedentary group. Conclusions: The cognitive effects of regular physical activity could be observed using a relatively simple paradigm. The results indicate that regular physical activity has a beneficial effect on the cognitive processes on executive control in young adults. Significance: The present study provides additional evidence of the beneficial effects of regular physical activity on cognitive functioning in young adults.