Benefits of Physical Activity and Fitness for Lifelong Cognitive and Motor Development-Brain and Behavior

The individual lifestyle factor physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive and motor skills across the lifespan. Physical activity further impacts processes in the brain and modulates corresponding brain structures. Respective research distinguishes between effects of acute bouts of exercise and of engagement in long-term physical activity. We summarize how different types of physical activity influence on the one hand, performance in cognitive tasks and, on the other hand, in tasks requiring motor skills.After an introduction to the topic, we review studies on the effects of acute bouts of exercise on cognitive performance, on a behavioral as well as on a neurophysiological level. Then, an overview regarding the influence of acute exercise on tasks requiring motor skills is given. In the next section, specific effects of different types of chronic physical activity (cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, motor coordinative exercise, and dancing) on cognition are reported.