Randomized controlled trial.
The study compared the effects of acute aerobic dance exercise on cognitive performance using two 40-min aerobic dance programs. Thirty-four elderly participants, aged 65-75 years, were randomly assigned into either free (N聽=聽17) or combination (N聽=聽17) style workout groups. The free style (FR) workout consisted of several patterns of movement, while the combination style (CB) workout consisted of similar patterns of movement to FR, but the patterns were joined to form a long choreographic routine. Both dance programs were controlled to be the same in exercise intensity, approximately 40%heart rate reserve. Reaction time and correct rates were measured using a task-switching reaction time test to evaluate executive cognitive performance immediately before and after the 40-min dance exercise.
A two-way (dance program聽脳聽pre-post dance exercise) repeated-measures analysis of variance for switch reaction time increase (switch cost) demonstrated a significant interaction (p聽=聽.006), showing that the switch cost in the CB group became smaller after the dance exercise than before (p聽=聽.009).
The results suggest that the executive cognitive network was facilitated in a CB dance workout that has a dual-task nature and induces movement (task) interference with unexpected movement changes.