Short tennis boosts inhibitory control more than walking

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Acute physical activity has consistently been shown to improve executive functions. Regarding a qualitative aspect of physical activity, the effects of open-skill exercise appear to be more pronounced than those from closed-skill exercise. However, the mechanisms underlying these benefits remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study focused on visuomotor coordination and social interaction, which are included in most open-skill exercises, and examined their contributions to inhibitory control. Twenty-four men completed three interventions: wall-hitting in short tennis, rally in short tennis, and walking (control) for 10 min each. A Stroop task composed of neutral and incongruent conditions was administered before and after each intervention. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy system recorded hemodynamics in the prefrontal cortex during the Stroop task. Exercise intensities during three interventions were identical. Wall-hitting significantly improved performance on the Stroop neutral and incongruent conditions, whereas the control did not. Rally produced selective improvement in the incongruent condition. There was no difference in the prefrontal cortex hemodynamics. These findings suggest that the benefits of acute open-skill exercise may be attributed to visuomotor coordination and social interaction without requiring greater prefrontal activation during task performance, highlighting goal-directed social interaction as an important component of the acute cognitive benefits of open-skill exercise.</p>