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NCT Number: NCT06270589

Acute Effects of High-intensity Interval Training With Mindfulness-based Recovery on Executive Function in Children

The goal of this randomized cross-over trial is to learn about the effect of a single bout of 20-min mindfulness-based high-intensity interval training (MF-HIIT), MF-only, and HIIT-only in relative to sitting rest on executive function (EF) in 10-12 years old children. The main question it aims to answer are:

Question 1: Whether a single bout of 20-min MF-HIIT has larger beneficial effect on EF performance than that following a 20-min session of MF-only and HIIT-only in relative to the sitting rest

Question 2: Whether a single bout of 20-min MF-HIIT has a larger beneficial effect on brain functioning, as measured by the N2 and P3 components of event-related potential (ER) during EF performance than that following a 20-min session of MF-only and HIIT-only in relative to the sitting rest

Participants will visit the laboratory on 5 separate days (> 2-day washout between days) in which they have not previously participated in structured physical activities.

Participants will complete the testing and/or receive treatments below:

Day 1:

* Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT) to assess intelligence quotient * Treadmill-based exercise test to measure cardiorespiratory fitness (maximum oxygen consumption)

Days 2-5

* Each day, participants will complete each of the four intervention conditions (MF-HIIT, MF-only, HIIT-only, sitting) * Participants' heart rate and self-reported affect and rating of physical exertion will be measured * Participants will complete a modified flanker task and a task-switching task to assess inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility * Participants will wear an EEG cap to measure the N2 and P3 components of the event-related potential during the inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility performance

Researcher will compare the cognitive outcome measures following the MF-HIIT, MF-only, and HIIT-only conditions with the sitting condition to see if MF and HIIT has beneficial effects on children's EF.

Further, researcher will compare the cognitive outcome measures following the MF-HIIT compared with MF-only and HIIT-only conditions to see if combining MF with HIIT has greater beneficial effects on children's EF than MF and HIIT alone.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Volunteers

Age range

10 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Lambert, 800 West Stadium Avenue

West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Shih-Chun Kao, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

765-496-2213

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 10-12 years old
  • Intelligence Quotient ≥ 85
  • Capable of performing exercise based on pre-participation health screening
  • No formal diagnosis of cognitive disorders (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and neurological diseases (e.g., epilepsy)

Exclusion criteria

  • Age outside of the range of 10-12 years old
  • Intelligence Quotient < 85
  • No capable of performing exercise based on pre-participation health screening
  • Has formal diagnosis of cognitive disorders (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and neurological diseases (e.g., epilepsy)

Treatment and study plan

MF-HIIT

Behavioral

A single bout of 20-min MF-HIIT protocol delivered through a motor-driven treadmill. The protocol will start with a 1.5-min warm-up, then a 16.5-min main exercise (6 x 90s exercise intervals separated by 5 x 90s mindful intervals), and finally a 2-min cool-down.

MF-only

Behavioral

A single bout of 20-min intervention mindfulness intervention that includes 5 x 90s mindful intervals separated by sitting rest

HIIT-only

Behavioral

A single bout of 20-min HIIT protocol delivered through a motor-driven treadmill. The protocol will start with a 1.5-min warm-up, then a 16.5-min main exercise (6 x 90s exercise intervals separated by 5 x 90s rest intervals), and finally a 2-min cool-down.

Sitting rest

Behavioral

Participants will sit in a comfortable chair, placed on the treadmill, while watching a HIIT video without mindfulness instructions for 20 minutes.

Primary outcomes

  1. Inhibition speed

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    Inhibition speed will be assessed by the response time (ms) during a child-friendly flanker task.

  2. Inhibition accuracy

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    Inhibition accuracy will be assessed by the response accuracy (%) during a child-friendly flanker task.

  3. Shifting speed

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    The shifting speed will be assessed by the response time (ms) during a child-friendly switching task.

  4. Shifting accuracy

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    The shifting accuracy will be assessed by the response accuracy (%) during a child-friendly switching task.

  5. N2-ERP

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    The N2 component of event-related brain potentials is a neuroelectric index of conflict processing. Increased amplitude of N2 reflects increased neural activation to detect and resolve conflicts.

  6. P3-ERP

    Time frame: At the baseline before and about 10-min after the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    The P3 component of event-related brain potentials is a neuroelectric index of attention. Increased amplitude of P3 reflects greater allocation of attentional resources and the decreased latency of P3 reflects the faster information processing speed.

Secondary outcomes

  1. State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (SMSPA)

    Time frame: Immediately after completing the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    A developmentally-appropriate and validated 12-item, 5-point Likert scaled (0-4), instrument to measure self-reported mindfulness state in children aged above 10 years old. This measure will serve as a manipulation check on mindfulness induction during each of the 4 intervention conditions.

  2. Rating of perceived exertion

    Time frame: Measure at 0 second, 90 seconds, 180 seconds, 270 seconds, 360 seconds, 450 seconds, 540 seconds, 630 seconds, 720 seconds, 810 seconds, 900 seconds, 990 seconds, 1080 seconds and 1200 seconds of the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    The 10-point Children's OMNI rating of perceived exertion will be used as a manipulation check on the intensity of prescribed exercise for the school-based programs as well as the laboratory-based acute interventions.

  3. Heart Rate

    Time frame: Heart rate will be measured at every minute (minutes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...., 18, 19, 20) during the 20-min intervention on Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

    Heart rate will serve as a manipulation check on the intensity of prescribed exercise.

Other outcomes

  1. Dispositional mindfulness

    Time frame: At baseline on Day 1 before receiving any intervention

    Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM) provides a validated and reliable measure of dispositional mindfulness in children using 10 items and 5-point Likert scale (0-4), with a higher total score indicating the participant is more mindful. This measure will be used as the secondary outcome measure to to check the intervention manipulation.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Shih-Chun Kao, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

765-496-2213

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Purdue University

Other

Collaborators

  • University of Oregon

Registry information

Official study title

Supporting High-intensity Interval Training With Mindfulness for Enhancing Childhood Executive Function

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Feb 21, 2024
Registry last updated
Jun 29, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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