A study shows that aerobic exercise with feedback and musical rhythm enhances executive function in college students, suggesting tailored approaches may optimize performance.
This study investigated the impact of combining different types of feedback and musical rhythm stimulation during aerobic exercise on the enhancement of executive function in college students. A total of 135 participants were randomly divided into four groups: 34 in the Group 1 (immediate feedback-fast musical rhythm), 33 in the Group 2 (immediate feedback -slow musical rhythm), 33 in the Group 3 (delayed feedback-fast musical rhythm), and 35 in the Group 4 (delayed feedback -slow musical rhythm). Executive function was measured at three different times: baseline (time 1), after 4 weeks of training (time 2), and after 8 weeks of training (time 3). All four groups showed improvements in executive function, suggesting that aerobic exercise positively affects it. Further analysis demonstrated that feedback was effective only in influencing the interference effect size concerning inhibitory control, with immediate feedback proving more beneficial than delayed feedback. Musical rhythm impacted only the accuracy and reaction time related to cognitive flexibility, with fast musical rhythms proving more effective than slow musical rhythms. Immediate feedback enhances the interference effect size associated with inhibitory control in college students, while fast musical rhythms improve cognitive flexibility. This study highlights the distinct strategies that can be employed to enhance executive function in college students.
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Ji et al. (2025) studied this question.