Background:Attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder(ADHD)isacommonchildhooddisorderthataffectsapproximately11%ofchildrenintheUnitedStates.Researchsupportsthatasinglesessionofexercisebenefitscognitiveperformancebychildren,andalimitednumberofstudieshavedemonstratedthattheseeffectscanalsoberealizedbychildrenwithADHD.ThepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetheeffectofacuteexerciseoncognitiveperformancebychildrenwithandwithoutADHD.Methods:ChildrenwithandwithoutADHDwereaskedtoperformcognitivetaskson2daysfollowingtreatmentconditionsthatwereassignedinarandom,counterbalancedorder.Thetreatmentconditionsconsistedofa30-mincontrolconditionon1dayandamoderateintensityexerciseconditionontheotherday.Results:ExercisesignificantlybenefitedperformanceonallthreeconditionsoftheStroopTask,butdidnotsignificantlyaffectperformanceontheTowerofLondonortheTrailMakingTest.Conclusion:childrenwithandwithoutADHDrealizebenefitsinspeedofprocessingandinhibitorycontrolinresponsetoasessionofacuteexercise,butdonotexperiencebenefitsinplanningorsetshifting.
