Motor learning and executive function in children and adolescents: a systematic review
Creators: name: Immink, Maarten
name: Richter, Madison
name: Brown, James
Publisher: name: OSF Registries
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Kinesiology
subject: Cognitive Neuroscience
subject: Psychology of Movement
subject: Developmental Psychology
subject: Life Sciences
subject: Neuroscience and Neurobiology
subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
subject: Psychology
subject: FOS: Psychology
subject: executive function
subject: motor learning
subject: systematic review

description: Executive function is our use of self-directed action to select and enact behaviour across time toward our chosen goals. It includes elements of attentional control, inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and regulation of our emotions and motivations (Barkley, 2012). Due to this, evidence suggested it is important for regulating the self, achieving goals, controlling our behaviour and solving problems (Barkley, 2012; Cristofori et al., 2019; Diamond, 2013). Because of its role in self-regulation and cognition, executive function has often been linked with academic outcomes, social functioning, and overall quality of life (Cortés Pascual et al., 2019; Davis et al., 2010; Rinsky &amp; Hinshaw, 2011). The importance of executive function for a variety of outcomes highlights the need for improving executive function performance, especially in developing populations such as children and adolescents (Diamond, 2012). Therefore, the need for identifying strategies to encourage the use of executive function and increase executive function performance is important. 

Motor skills (sometimes referred to as actions) are voluntary, goal-directed activities that require controlled movement of the body. They are often classified in relation to the primary musculature required to perform the movement (fine vs. gross), specification of where the action begins and ends (continuous vs. discrete) and the stability of the environmental context (open vs. closed). Motor learning refers to the process of acquiring, enhancing or reacquiring motor skills, often requiring high levels of conscious motor coordination (i.e., our ability to coordinate pattens of movement relative to current task or environmental demands; Magill, 2021). This process typically occurs through practice or experience and results in a relatively permanent change in movement performance (R. A. Schmidt, 2019). Initial stages of motor learning is often suggested to draw heavily upon cognitive aspects of learning and problem solving (Fitts &amp; Posner, 1967) and due to this, has often been linked with executive function (Best, 2010; Clark et al., 2015; Levin et al., 2015). Behavioural interventions that encourage motor learning draw upon elements of executive function such as problem solving, inhibition, working memory and attentional control. As such, motor learning is a promising strategy to encourage the use of executive function and even improve executive function outcomes (Ghadamgahi Sani et al., 2022; Kouhbanani et al., 2020; Tse et al., 2021).

Up to now, current reviews have focussed heavily on the benefits of physical activity and exercise more generally (Álvarez-Bueno et al., 2017; Bidzan-Bluma &amp; Lipowska, 2018; Contreras-Osorio et al., 2021; Liang et al., 2021; Montalva-Valenzuela et al., 2022; Neudecker et al., 2019; Suarez-Manzano et al., 2018; Wollesen et al., 2020). For example, reviews by Álvarez-Bueno et al., (2017) and Bidzan-Bluma &amp; Lipowska, (2018) explored how physical activity, including sports programs, affect cognition (e.g., attention, language, memory) and executive function in children. More specifically, Contreras-Osorio et al., (2021) conducted a meta-analysis on the impact of specific sports interventions (e.g., soccer or athletics) on executive functions in children and adolescents. Other reviews have focussed heavily on specific clinical populations, such as ADHD (Liang et al., 2021; Neudecker et al., 2019; Suarez-Manzano et al., 2018) or different age groups, such as older adults (Wollesen et al., 2020). However, to our knowledge, there has been no systematic review on the use of motor learning approaches to enhance executive function in children and adolescents, highlighting a need for a comprehensive overview of the link between motor learning and executive functioning. 

Thus, this raises some questions regarding motor learning paradigms and executive function:
1. What types of motor skill learning programs or interventions have contributed to acute or long-term executive function changes in children and adolescents?
2. What are the characteristics (e.g., motor skill type, motor skill training design, training volume) of motor skill learning programs or interventions that optimise executive function augmentation in children and adolescents?

Therefore, the aim of the current review is:
1. To identify motor learning approaches that have been used to improve or demonstrated utility in producing changes in executive function outcomes in children and adolescents.
2. To delineate specific design characteristics (e.g., motor skill type, practice design, training volume) of each motor learning approach that leads to greater or lesser improvements in executive function.

Therefore, this registration contains the protocol and rationale documents for the proposed systematic review that will fulfil the above aims.