Effects of an Acute Bout of Aerobic Exercise on Motor Performance, Executive Function and ...

122 Pages·2013·1.38 MB·English

Effects of an Acute Bout of Aerobic Exercise on
Motor Performance, Executive Function and Intrinsic Motivation in
Adolescents and Young Adults with Down Syndrome

By

Chih-Chia, Chen

A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

Approved June 2013 by the
Graduate Supervisory Committee:

Shannon, D. R. Ringenbach, Chair
Debra Crews
Pamela Kulinna
Eric Amazeen

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

August 2013
ABSTRACT
The benefits of exercise have been recommended in typical and other special
populations. However, the evidence for persons with Down syndrome (DS) is still
limited. This study was aimed at investigating the impact of an acute bout of aerobic
exercise intervention on motor performance, executive function and intrinsic motivation
in adolescents and young adults with DS. Ten participants with DS were assigned to an
exercise group, who walked on a incremental treadmill protocol for 20 minutes. The
exercise intensity was achieved at 66% of their predicted maximum heart rate. Another
ten participants with DS were assigned to an attentional control group, who watched a
video for 20 minutes. Measures of fine manual dexterity (e.g., Purdue Pegboard test),
manual force production (e.g., grip strength test), processing speed (e.g., visual choice
reaction time test), verbal processing (e.g., verbal fluency test), attention shifting ability
(e.g., The Dimensional Card sorting test), and inhibitory control (e.g., Knock and Tap
test) were tested pre and post intervention. An intrinsic motivation scale (e.g., enjoyment
and effort) was conducted after the intervention. First, results showed participants
significantly improved their performance in manual force production and Knock and Tap
Test after the exercise intervention. While it has been proposed that exercise increases
arousal status, neurotransmitters, or cerebral vasculature, the exact mechanisms in
persons with DS are still unknown. However, our results showed that after treadmill
walking, motor and cognitive improvements can be found in individuals with DS, even in
a single exercise session. In addition, participants reported higher scores in enjoyment
after video viewing than exercise, which may a result from musical effect or too much
emphasis on external rewards in their early participation in exercise. These may imply
that participants had low intrinsic motivation to an active lifestyle. Further, scores in
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effort were significantly higher after exercise than video viewing, which indicated their
capabilities to perceive their physical exertion. However, other motivational regulations
(e.g., introjected and identified regulations) have shown the relationship with exercise
behavior in this population. Thus, further study should consider divergent motivational
factors in order to implement an effective exercise program.

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DEDICATION
I dedicate my dissertation work to my family, my loving parents, Chen-Feng, Chen and
Su-Yun, Wu and my elder brother, Chih-Kuang, Chen. I will always appreciate all they
have done, especially for their unwavering support and encouragement. I do not have
words to adequately describe my deep gratitude for all they have provided me, though I
hope to show them in the years to come.
I also dedicate this dissertation to parents and their children with Down syndrome in
Tempe Special Olympic programs, my many friends, Nancy Peterson, Kelley Quek,
Michelle Hixson, Mu Qiao, ISC and church families who have supported and prayed for
me throughout the process.
I dedicate this work and give special thanks to my wife, Ya-Hui, Kuo, for being there for
me throughout the entire doctorate program. You have never left my side and been my
best cheerleader.
This dissertation would not have been possible without the love, support, and
encouragement I received from them.

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ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
Over the past six years I have received support and encouragement from a great number
of individuals. I wish to thank my committee members who were more than generous
with their expertise and precious time. A special thanks to Dr. Shannon Ringenbach, my
advisor and committee chair for her countless hours of advising, reading, encouraging,
and most of all patience throughout the entire process. Thank you Dr. Pamela Kulinna,
Dr. Debbie Crews, and Dr. Eric Amazeen for agreeing to serve on my committee. I have
benefited greatly from your mentoring and comments. In addition, Dr. Samuel Green
and Dr. Philip Tomporoski provided lot of valuable statistical and research advice.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Jamie Edgin — a tremendous desire to learn
and understand, and a wonderful fascination with Down syndrome. I am truly indebted
to her for her assistance and advice during volunteering in her laboratory at University of
Arizona.
Finally, special thanks go Graduate Professional and Students Association and Special
Olympic International for financial supporting me to conduct my research. In addition, I
would also thank the undergraduate students who took part in this study. Their
excitement and willingness to share their time and ideas made the completion of this
research an enjoyable experience.

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TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………………………….viii
LIST OF FUGURES………………………………………………………………………………………………..xi
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………...1
Rational……………………………………………………………………………………………1
Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………………………….2
Definition…………………………………………………………………………………………3
2 LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………….5
Aerobic Exercise & Motor Performance……………………………………………….5
Exercise studies in special populations…………………………………………..5
Manual control in Down syndrome………………………………………………..6
Aerobic Exercise & Executive Function……………………………………………….8
Exercise studies in typical populations…………………………………………..8
Exercise studies in intellectual disabilities…………………………………….10
Executive function in Down syndrome………………………………………….11
Mechanisms…………………………………………………………………………………….12
Arousal………………………………………………………………………………………12
Neurotransmitters………………………………………………………………………13
Cerebral vasculature……………………………………………………………………13
Intrinsic Motivation to Exercise in Down syndrome…………………………….15
Exercise behavior in Down syndrome…………………………………………..16
Intrinsic motivation to exercise in Down syndrome……………………….16
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CHAPTERS
Summary………………………………………………………………………………………..18
3 METHOD……………………………………………………………………………………………..20
Participants…………………………………………………………………………………….20
Data Collection………………………………………………………………….……………20
Measures…………………………………………………………………………………..20
Procedure……………………………………………………………………………………….25
Day 1…………………………………………………………………………………………25
Day 2 Experimental session………………………………………………………..26
Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………….27
4 RESULTS……………………………………………………………………………………………29
Motor Performance Tests…………………………………………………………………31
Manual Force Production Test…………………………………………………….31
Purdue Pegboard Test…………………………………………………………………36
Executive Function Tests………………………………………………………………….46
Choice Reaction Time test…………………………………………………………..46
Verbal Fluency Test……………………………………………………………………48
Dimensional Change Card Sorting Test………………………………………..54
Knock and Tap Test……………………………………………………………………56
Intrinsic Motivation Scale………………………………………………………………..58
5 DISCUSSION……………………………………………………………………………………….60
Cognition, Motor & Exercise…………………………………………………………….60
Why Only Inhibitory Control and Manual Force Production Were
Evident?......................................................................................................62
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CHAPTERS
Benefits of the Attentional Control Group………………………………………….67
Intrinsic Motivation & Exercise in Persons with DS…………………………….70
Less Enjoyment from Exercise…………………………………………………….70
Perception Efforts from Exercise………………………………………………….73
6 CONSLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………76
Limitation……………………………………………………………………………………….77
Future Direction………………………………………………………………………………78
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………81
APPENDICES
A INSTITUTIONAL REVIWE BOARD/HUMAN SUBJECT APPROVAL FORMS
ON DATA COLLECTION…………………………………………………………………………98
B INTRINSIC MOTIVATION SCALE…………………………………………………………106
C THE MODIFIED FOUR-POINT RPE SCALE…………………………………………..108
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH…………………………………………………………………………………..110

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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Descriptive Statistics of Participants…………………………………………………………30
2. Mean and Standard Deviation for Manual Force Production Test on Dominant
Hand …………………………………………………………………………………………………….31
3. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Manual Force Production in
Dominant Hand by Group Condition and Pre- test…………………………………….32
4. Mean and Standard Deviation for Manual Force Production Test on Non-
Dominant Hand……………………………………………………………………………………..34
5. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Manual Force Production Non-
Dominant Hand by Group Condition and Pre- test…………………………………….35
6. Mean and Standard Deviation for Purdue Pegboard Test on Dominant Hand
Subtest………………………………………………………………………………………………….36
7. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Purdue Pegboard Dominant
Hand Subtest by Group Condition and Pre- test…………………………………………37
8. Mean and Standard Deviation for Purdue Pegboard Test on Non-Dominant
Hand Subtest………………………………………………………………………………………….38
9. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Purdue Pegboard Non-
Dominant Hand Subtest by Group Condition and Pre- test…………………………39
10. Mean and Standard Deviation for Purdue Pegboard Test on Bimanual Hand
Subtest…………………………………………………………………………………………………..40
11. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Purdue Pegboard Bimanual
Hand Subtest by Group Condition and Pre- test…………………………………………41
12. Mean and Standard Deviation for Purdue Pegboard Test on Total subtest….42
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13. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Purdue Pegboard Total
Subtest by Group Condition and Pre- test………………………………………………..43
14. Mean and Standard Deviation for Purdue Pegboard Test on Assembly
Subtest…………………………………………………………………………………………………44
15. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Purdue Pegboard Assembly
Subtest by Group Condition and Pre- test……………………………………………….45
16. Mean and Standard Deviation for Choice Reaction Time Test……………………46
17. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Choice Reaction Time by
Group Condition and Pre- test………………………………………………………………..47
18. Mean and Standard Deviation for Verbal Fluency on Semantic Fluency……..48
19. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Sematic Fluency Test by
Group Condition and Pre- test………………………………………………………………..49
20. Mean and Standard Deviation for Verbal Fluency on Phonetic Fluency……..50
21. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Phonetic Fluency Test by
Group Condition and Pre- test………………………………………………………………..51
22. Mean and Standard Deviation for Verbal Fluency on Total……………………….52
23. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Verbal Fluency Test by Group
Condition and Pre- test………………………………………………………………………….53
24. Mean and Standard Deviation for Dimensional Change Card Sorting Test….54
25. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Dimensional Change Card
Sorting Test by Group Condition and Pre- test………………………………………...55
26. Mean and Standard Deviation for Knock and Tap test………………………………56
27. ANCOVA Results and Descriptive Statistics for Knock and Tap by Group
Condition and Pre- test…………………………………………………………………………..57
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