Table 1 Study description and estimated effect sizes

From: A systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis provide evidence for an effect of acute physical activity on cognition in young adults

Study	N	Experimental design	Exercise type	Exercise intensity	Duration (min)	Cognitive domain	Test time	N effects	g	89% HDI
Hogervorst et al., ¹²⁴	15	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	60	Inhibition	Pre-Post	1	0.03	−0.39, 0.47
McMorris & Graydon, 1996	20	Within	Cycling	Moderate vigorous	2	Executive function	During	6	0.11	−0.19, 0.45
Brisswalter et al., 1997	20	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	40	Information processing	Pre-Post	4	0	−0.36, 0.35
Arcelin & Delignieres, 1998	22	Within	Cycling	Moderate	10	Information processing	During	2	0.03	−0.35, 0.44
McMorris et al., 1999	9	Within	Cycling	Moderate vigorous	Task completion	Executive function	During	4	0.01	−0.34, 0.38
Collardeau et al., 2001	11	Within	Running	Vigorous	90	Perception	Pre-Post	2	−0.05	−0.47, 0.34
Deuster et al., 2002	13	Within	Running	Vigorous	Volitional Exhaustion	Attention Learning Executive function	Pre-Post	24	0.16	−0.05, 0.39
Hillman et al., 2003	19	Within	Running	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Post	2	−0.08	−0.44, 0.35
Pesce et al., ¹²⁵	16	Within	Cycling	Moderate	Task completion	Attention	During	2	0.25	−0.15, 0.70
Davranche et al., 2005a	7	Within	Cycling	Maximal	Volitional exhaustion	Perception	Pre-Post	2	0.08	−0.32, 0.49
Davranche & Pichon, 2005b	12	Within	Cycling	Maximal	Volitional exhaustion	Perception	During	1	0.06	−0.37, 0.49
Pesce et al., ¹²⁶	48	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	Task duration	Attention	During	2	0.14	−0.24, 0.57
Vickers & Williams, ¹²⁷	10	Within	Cycling	Moderate Vigorous	2	Motor Skills	Pre-Post	4	−0.05	−0.43, 0.29
Lo Bue-Estes et al., ¹²⁸	26	Between	Running	Vigorous	20	Executive function Memory	Pre-Post	8	0.01	−0.28, 0.32
Coles & Tomporowski, ¹²⁹	18	Within	Cycling	Moderate	40	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	0	−0.41, 0.44
Fontana et al., ¹³⁰	32	Within	Running	Light Moderate Vigorous	4	Executive function	During	6	0.07	−0.23, 0.40
Luft et al., ¹³¹	30	Within	Running	Vigorous	20	Attention information processing Memory	Pre-Post	10	−0.11	−0.39, 0.16
Pontifex et al., ¹³²	21	Within	Running Resistance	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	−0.31	−0.69, 0.05
Srygley et al., ¹³³	52	Within	Walking	Light	Task Completion	Executive function	During	2	0.03	−0.4, 0.39
Thomson et al., ¹³⁴	163	Within	Treadmill	Vigorous	27	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	0.1	−0.3, 0.49
Lambourne et al., ⁶	19	Within	Cycling	Moderate	40	Executive function	Pre, During, Post	4	−0.36	−0.76, 0
Norling et al., ¹³⁵	121	Between	Running	Light Moderate Vigorous	30	Attention	Pre-Post	3	0.08	−0.28, 0.46
Young et al., ¹³⁶	27	Within	Running	Moderate	7	Motor skills	Pre-Post	1	−0.02	−0.47, 0.39
Chang et al., ¹³⁷	42	Between	Cycling	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Pre-Post	3	−0.02	−0.37, 0.35
Green & Helton, ¹³⁸	12	Within	Climbing	Moderate	3	Memory	During	1	−0.2	−0.71, 0.20
Ohlinger et al., ¹³⁹	50	Within	Walking	Light	Task completion	Attention Executive function	During	3	−0.01	−0.38, 0.35
Hope et al., ¹⁴⁰	52	Between	Punching	Vigorous	Volitional exhaustion	Memory	Post	3	−0.42	−0.83, −0.02
Lambourne, ¹⁴¹	16	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	35	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	−0.01	−0.46, 0.39
Moore et al., ¹⁴²	30	Between	Cycling	Moderate	6–54	Perception Executive function Attention	Pre-Post	5	−0.12	−0.43, 0.23
Quelhas Martins et al., ⁹	24	Between	Cycling	Moderate	8	Executive function	During	1	0.1	−0.33, 0.53
Roberts & Cole, ¹⁴³	40	Within	Circuit	Light Moderate	1–5	Executive function	Pre-Post	8	−0.05	−0.34, 0.25
Bullock & Giesbrecht, ¹⁴⁴	26	Between	Cycling	Moderate	136	Perception	Pre, Post	8	−0.14	−0.44, 0.15
Byun et al., ¹⁴⁵	25	Within	Cycling	Light	10	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	0.17	−0.23, 0.58
Darling & Helton, ¹⁴⁶	12	Within	Climbing	Moderate	5	Memory	During	2	−0.1	−0.51, 0.29
Nibbeling et al., ¹⁴⁷	22	Between	Running	Vigorous	10	Motor Skills Executive function Memory Attention	Post	5	−0.08	−0.43, 0.24
Pontifex et al., ¹⁴⁸	34	Within	Running	Moderate	20	Attention	Pre-Post	2	0	−0.39, 0.4
Schmidt-Kassow et al., ¹⁴⁹	18; 31	Within	Walking	Light	30	Memory	During	2	0.05	−0.36, 0.43
Tsai et al., ¹⁵⁰	60	Between	Resistance	Moderate Vigorous	45	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.02	−0.33, 0.36
Bantoft et al., ¹⁵¹	45	Within	Walking	Light	<60	Executive function Attention Information processing	During	4	−0.1	−0.39, 0.17
Larson et al., ¹⁵²	69	Between	Walking	Light	60	Executive function	During	2	−0.03	−0.43, 0.35
Osgood, ¹⁵³	86	Between	Sport Activity	Light	2	Attention	Post	1	−0.06	−0.47, 0.37
Perciavalle et al., ¹⁵⁴	30	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	Volitional Exhaustion	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.22	−0.11, 0.61
Shia et al., ¹⁵⁵	17	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	45	Attention	Pre-Post	1	−0.11	−0.55, 0.3
Stevens et al., ¹⁵⁶	35; 34	Between	Cycling	Light Moderate	15	Learning	During	4	0.04	−0.31, 0.4
Weng et al., ¹⁵⁷	26	Within	Cycling	Moderate	30	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.29	−0.07, 0.67
Alloway et al., ¹⁵⁸	72	Within	Running	Light	8	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	−0.01	−0.43, 0.42
Ando et al., ¹⁵⁹	14	Within	Cycling	Moderate Vigorous	6	Perception	During	2	−0.08	−0.48, 0.31
Brush et al., ¹⁶⁰	28	Within	Resistance	Light Vigorous	45	Executive function	Post	60	−0.1	−0.26, 0.04
Connell et al., ¹⁶¹	24	Between	Cycling	Moderate	180	Attention	Pre-Post	4	−0.21	−0.6, 0.12
Hsieh et al., ¹⁶²	20	Within	Resistance	Moderate Vigorous	30	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	0.04	−0.39, 0.46
Hsieh et al., ¹⁶³	18	Within	Resistance	Moderate	30	Executive function	Post	1	0.03	−0.39, 0.47
Komiyama et al., ¹⁶	10	Within	Cycling	Moderate	30	Executive function	During	3	0.04	−0.33, 0.42
Lowe et al., ¹⁶⁴	51	Within	Walking	Light Moderate	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.01	−0.34, 0.35
Torbeyns et al., ¹⁶⁵	23	Within	Cycling	Light	30	Memory Executive function Attention	During	6	−0.1	−0.42, 0.22
Tsukamoto et al.,¹⁶⁶	12	Within	Cycling	Moderate Vigorous	40	Executive function	Pre-Post	16	−0.19	−0.45, 0.07
Zach & Shalom, ¹⁶⁷	20	Within	Running Volleyball Resistance	Vigorous	15; Game duration	Executive function	Pre-Post	6	0.37	0.02, 0.7
Chang et al., ¹⁶⁸	30	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Post	1	0.35	−0.07, 0.9
Crush & Loprinzi, ¹⁶⁹	352	Between	Running	Moderate	10; 20; 30; 45; 60	Executive function Attention	Post	75	−0.14	−0.28, 0.0
González Fernández et al., ¹⁷⁰	18	Within	Cycling	Light	45	Attention	During	1	0.02	−0.39, 0.45
Lindheimer et al.,¹⁷¹	60	Between	Cycling	Light	25	Executive function	Pre-Post	16	−0.12	−0.35, 0.12
Lowe et al., ¹⁷²	28	Within	Walking	Light Moderate	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	−0.31	−0.68, 0.06
Luu & Hall, ¹⁷³	31	Within	Yoga	Light	25	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	−0.19	−0.62, 0.19
Randolph & O’Connor, ¹⁷⁴	18	Within	Walking	Light	10	Attention Executive function Information processing	Pre-Post	28	−0.06	−0.25, 0.14
Slutsky et al., ¹⁷⁵	24	Between	Cycling	Light	15	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	7	−0.18	−0.47, 0.14
Sudo et al., ¹⁷⁶	32	Between	Cycling	Vigorous	Volitional exhaustion	Executive function	Pre-Post	3	0.28	−0.07, 0.7
Cuttler et al., ¹⁷⁷	120	Between	Resistance walking	Light moderate	30	Memory Attention	Pre-Post	6	−0.61	−0.98, −0.25
Daikoku et al.,¹⁷⁸	44	Between	Cycling	Light	3	Memory	During	1	−0.04	−0.5, 0.35
Elkana et al., ¹⁷⁹	69	Between	Cycling	Moderate	15	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	−0.03	−0.5, 0.35
Fenesi et al., ¹⁸⁰	77	Between	Calisthenics	Light	13	Learning Memory	Post	2	0.16	−0.24, 0.55
Kendall, ¹⁸¹	60	Between	HIIT	Vigorous	20	Information processing Learning Cognitive Control	Post	8	0.82	0.42, 1.16
Legrand et al., ¹⁸²	101	Between	Running	Moderate	15	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	2	0.05	−0.34, 0.44
Samani & Heath, ¹⁸³	14	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	10	Executive function	Pre-Post	1	0.08	−0.34, 0.52
Siddiqui & Loprinzi, ¹⁸⁴	20	Within	Walking	Moderate	20	Memory Executive function	Pre, During, Post	4	0.02	−0.31, 0.4
Sng et al., ¹⁸⁵	80	Between	Walking	Light	15	Memory	During, Post	4	−0.25	−0.62, 0.1
Wade & Loprinzi, ¹⁸⁶	34	Between	Walking	Moderate	15	Memory	Post	1	−0.13	−0.56, 0.3
Yamazaki et al.,¹⁸⁷	30	Within	Cycling	Light Moderate	10	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	16	0.07	−0.16, 0.32
Baker et al., ¹⁸⁸	19	Within	Cycling	Light	120	Attention Executive function	During	3	−0.06	−0.44, 0.31
Du Rietz et al., ¹⁸⁹	26	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	20	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	4	−0.06	−0.42, 0.28
Engeroff et al., ¹⁹⁰	26	Within	Resistance	Moderate Vigorous Maximal	60	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.1	−0.26, 0.45
Haynes et al., ¹⁹¹	24	Within	Walking	Light	15	Memory	During, Post	9	−0.04	−0.32, 0.24
Johnson & Loprinzi, ¹⁹²	40	Within	Walking	Moderate Vigorous	15	Memory	Post	2	−0.01	−0.04, 0.38
McGowan et al., ¹⁹³	58	Within	Running	Moderate	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	−0.02	−0.39, 0.39
Mehren et al., ¹⁰⁷	31; 32	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Post	8	0.15	−0.14, 0.45
Schmidt et al., ¹⁹⁴	15; 19	Within	Running	Vigorous	38	Attention	Pre-Post	6	−0.24	−0.57, 0.09
Stenling et al., ¹⁹⁵	32	Within	Walking	Moderate	3	Executive function Attention	Post	8	0	−0.29, 0.29
Wu et al., ¹⁹⁶	35	Within	Cycling Resistance	Light Vigorous	30	Executive function	Post	8	0.28	−0.03, 0.59
Zhou & Qin, ¹⁹⁷	72	Between	Cycling	Light	25	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	−0.05	−0.42, 0.37
Aly & Kojima, ¹⁹⁸	40	Between	Cycling	Light	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	0.07	−0.32, 0.47
Chacko et al., ¹⁹⁹	15	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	30	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	0.06	−0.32, 0.49
Kao et al., ⁸	23	Within	Walking	Light	20	Executive function	Post	4	0.24	−0.10, 0.63
Morris et al., ²⁰⁰	14	Within	Cycling	Moderate	30	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	6	−0.01	−0.33, 0.3
Walsh et al., ²⁰¹	15; 13	Within	Walking	Moderate	20	Executive function Attention	Pre-Post	8	0.01	−0.31, 0.29
Kao et al., ¹⁰⁸	36	Within	HIIT Walking	Moderate	16	Executive function	Post	2	0.32	−0.06, 0.78
Kim et al., ²⁰²	16	Within	Walking	Vigorous	10	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	−0.03	−0.38, 0.41
Klatt & Smeeton, ²⁰³	27	Within	Cycling	Vigorous	Task Completion	Memory	During	4	−0.15	−0.5, 0.21
Kuhne et al., ²⁰⁴	50	Between	Cycling	Moderate	40-55	Memory	Post	2	−0.09	−0.49, 0.29
Manocchio & Lowe, ²⁰⁵	22	Within	Walking	Light Moderate	20	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	8	−0.06	−0.34, 0.25
Miyashiro et al., ²⁰⁶	17	Within	Push-Ups	Vigorous	20	Executive function	Post	1	0	−0.45, 0.41
Trammell & Aguilar, ²⁰⁷	28	Within	Running	Vigorous	20	Memory Executive function	Pre-Post	5	−0.11	−0.47, 0.2
Zhu et al., ²⁰⁸	16	Within	Cycling Running	Moderate Vigorous	40	Executive function	Pre-Post	16	0.1	−0.14, 0.34
Aguirre-Loaiza et al., ²⁰⁹	19	Between	Cycling	Vigorous	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	−0.06	−0.41, 0.3
Drollette & Meadows, ²¹⁰	22	Within	HIIT	Vigorous	9	Executive function	Post	6	0.06	−0.24, 0.39
Engeroff et al., ²¹¹	26	Within	Resistance	Moderate Vigorous	60	Attention	Pre-Post	16	−0.17	−0.39, 0.08
Frith et al., ²¹²	45	Within	Running	Moderate	15	Executive function	During	1	0.06	−0.4, 0.46
Kao et al., ²¹³	27	Within	Running	Moderate	24	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	5	−0.04	−0.35, 0.31
LaCount et al., ²¹⁴	18	Within	HIIT	Vigorous	16	Attention Executive function Information processing	Post	3	−0.09	−0.46, 0.28
Loprinzi & Storm, ²¹⁵	180; 225; 158	Between	Treadmill	Moderate Vigorous	25	Memory	Post	6	−0.02	−0.33, 0.3
Shirzad et al., ²¹⁶	28	Within	Cycling	Light	26	Executive function	Pre-Post	2	−0.23	−0.64, 0.17
Zheng et al., ²¹⁷	27	Within	Cycling	Moderate	15	Executive function	During	2	0.27	−0.11, 0.72
Chueh et al., ²¹⁸	30	Within	Step Exercise	Vigorous	20	Attention Executive function	Pre-Post	8	0.15	−0.15, 0.44
Yamada et al., ²¹⁹	85	Within	Recumbent Bike	Vigorous	20	Executive function	Pre-Post	4	0.02	−0.31, 0.38
B. Zhang et al., ²²⁰	18	Within	Cycling	Moderate	25	Perception	Post	4	0.29	−0.09, 0.65
D. Zhang et al., ²²¹	76	Within	Cycling	Light	20	Attention	Pre-Post	4	0.03	−0.33, 0.36

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Table 1 Study description and estimated effect sizes

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