Multisensory Perception, Verbal, Visuo-spatial and Motor Working Memory Modulation After a Single Open- or Closed-Skill Exercise Session in Children

Physical activity presents clear benefits for children’s cognition. This study examined the effect of a single session of open- and closed-skill exercise on multisensory perception, i.e. the ability to appropriately merge inputs from different sensory modalities, and on working memory (verbal, visuo-spatial and motor working memory) in 51 children (aged 6–8 years). Using a semi-randomised pre-post design, participants completed a range of cognitive tasks immediately before and after an exercise session or a classroom sedentary activity. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups (open-skill, n = 16; closed-skill, n = 16; classroom activity, n = 19). Exercise, but not usual classroom activity, improved children’s multisensory perception, with no difference between exercise types. Results also revealed that a single open-skill session produced verbal working memory (digit span) benefits; a closed-skill exercise session benefitted motor working memory. While the relatively small number of participants should be acknowledged as a limitation, these findings contribute to the emerging evidence for selective cognitive benefits of exercise and show, for the first time in children, that multisensory processing sensitivity is improved by exercise.