Executive function
Do preschool motor skills travel with executive function?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 394 four-year-olds, TGMD-2 motor scores correlated with NIH Toolbox executive function (r = 0.33); locomotor skills predicted inhibition, working memory, and flexibility, while object control predicted only inhibition.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — Preschool FMS (TGMD-2) and EF (NIH Toolbox) with OLS regressions controlling age, sex, BMI, and setting
- N
- N=394 · 394 healthy preschoolers; 182 girls (46.2%) and 212 boys (53.8%); mean age 4.07 ± 0.76 years
- Population
- Preschool children assessed in kindergarten settings (Beijing-area authoring team)
- Outcome
- Total and subscale FMS (locomotor, object control) and EF (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility)
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Total FMS moderately related to total EF (r = 0.33, p < 0.001) and predicted EF (β = 0.37). Locomotor skills predicted inhibition (β = 0.21), working memory (β = 0.18), and cognitive flexibility (β = 0.24); object control predicted only inhibition (β = 0.17).
Methodology
Tested 394 kindergarten children (4.07 ± 0.76 years; 212 boys) with TGMD-2 (FMS) and the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (EF). Used correlations and OLS models controlling age, sex, BMI, and setting.
Limitations
A cross-sectional kindergarten sample cannot prove that motor training raises EF, only that the two domains co-occur after covariate control.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
Not yet placed on a claim. This paper has study layers, but no concept page yet cites it as support, challenge, or qualifier.
Related papers in this topic
Same topic cluster — not a recommendation engine.