A 10-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise improves Stroop inhibitory control with increased left dorsolateral prefrontal activation in young adults¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · reviewr2–r3·q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Compared to resting control, acute moderate exercise significantly increased inhibitory control on the Stroop Task, accompanied by increased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation. → Basso Julia C. 2017
q2 i? In older adults, acute exercise enhanced Stroop performance and increased task-related right frontal polar activity, consistent with an increased HAROLD compensatory effect. → Basso Julia C. 2017 (2)
Evidence¶
Basso Julia C. 2017¶
Basso Julia C., Suzuki Wendy A. (2017). The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plasticity. https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-160040
q2 · i? · review · r3
fNIRS study (Yanagisawa and colleagues) in healthy young adults measured during the Stroop Task before and 15 minutes after a 10-minute moderate-intensity bout at 50% VO2 peak or rest. Quotes the fragment "significantly increased inhibitory control as measured by the interference component of the Stroop Task".
"Compared to the resting control condition, acute moderate exercise significantly increased inhibitory control as measured by the interference component of the Stroop Task (incongruent minus neutral), and this effect was accompanied by increased activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex"
Basso Julia C. 2017 (2)¶
Basso Julia C., Suzuki Wendy A. (2017). The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plasticity. https://doi.org/10.3233/BPL-160040
q2 · i? · review · r2
fNIRS repetition of the young-adult study in older individuals, showing bilateral prefrontal activation during Stroop interference consistent with the HAROLD effect. Quotes the fragment "increased the HAROLD effect or the older brain's ability for compensatory brain activation".
"Acute exercise enhanced performance on the Stroop task and increased task-related activity in the right frontal polar area, indicating that exercise increased the HAROLD effect or the older brain's ability for compensatory brain activation"
Discussion¶
Learner Variables¶
- Executive Function — outcome: instruction changes it
- Physical Well-Being — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
Related Claims¶
- Acute exercise produces an overall small positive effect on cognition, with executive functions benefiting most and effects lasting up to two hours post-exercise — a broader claim this one bears on
- Exercise intensity differentially moderates acute exercise cognitive benefits, with moderate intensity favoring executive functions and high intensity favoring information processing — a broader claim this one bears on
- Duration and intensity of PA bouts may moderate attention effects, consistent with an inverted-U hypothesis — a broader claim this one bears on
- Small pilot studies provide preliminary evidence that exercise interventions improve behavioral symptoms and neuropsychological functioning in children with ADHD — related
- Adults with ADHD who frequently engage in physical exercise report healthier psychological well-being than those who do not — related
- In the one longitudinal fMRI study, dorsolateral prefrontal engagement reached adult levels by adolescence while dorsal anterior cingulate engagement continued increasing and mediated behavioral improvement — related
- The reward effect on inhibitory control is significant across all six IC task types, but task type significantly moderates the effect, with the largest effect in Stroop tasks — related
- The Stroop condition elicits significantly more left DLPFC activation than the NonStroop condition in preschoolers — related
- Process-tracing measures should accompany outcome measures because process changes may not be immediately reflected in outcomes — a broader claim this one bears on
- Brief pre-class exercise selectively enhanced mathematics-specific inhibitory control while domain-general interference control (Flanker) showed no reliable change, per Zhang et al. (2026) — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
moderate-exercise-stroop-dlpfc-activation |
title |
A 10-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise improves Stroop inhibitory control with increased left dorsolateral prefrontal activation in young adults |
description |
A 10-minute bout of moderate-intensity exercise improves Stroop inhibitory control with increased left dorsolateral prefrontal activation in young adults |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2017 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — basso-julia-c-2017, basso-julia-c-2017-2 |
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