Effects of exercise on tests measuring attention and executive function in younger and older adults

Abstract

Researchers have studied the effects of physical activity and measures of attention and executive function (EF) in adults across the lifespan. EF is a broad term that encompasses various complex cognitive processes used to analyze and assign meaning to incoming information, and these processes are often responsible for behaviors such as initiating, planning, organizing, sequencing, switching, inhibiting, and problem solving [1-7]. Having adequate EF allows individuals to competently function in daily life by assessing new incoming information, use prior knowledge from past experiences to anaPurpose: This study investigated whether or not performance differed between Young and Older Exercisers and between Young and Older Non-exercisers on the Attention Processing Training-Test (APT-Test), Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), and Functional Assessment of Verbal Reasoning and Executive Strategies (FAVRES).