Cognitively engaging physical activity improves executive function in subthreshold ADHD children: dose-response relationship between cognitive engagement and exercise intensity

I. Data Generation Process and MethodsData Source: The data for this study originated from an experimental intervention conducted with 42 second-grade children with subthreshold ADHD. Participants were assigned to two consecutive within-subject design experiments (Experiment 1: n=23; Experiment 2: n=19).Generation Process: Data were obtained by measuring performance (reaction time, accuracy) on executive function tasks before and after the intervention, as well as by collecting physiological and behavioral indicators during the intervention process.Equipment and Tools Used:Executive Function Tasks: Psychology experiment programming software (i.e., PsychoPy) was used to present the 1-back, Go/No-Go, and Flanker (standard and rule-switch versions) tasks.    Physiological Monitoring: The Polar Team 2 Pro system (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland) was used to continuously record heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (RMSSD) during the intervention.    Subjective Reports: Paper-based versions of the Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale and the Ratings of Perceived Cognitive Engagement (RCE) Scale were used to collect subjective feelings.Data Processing Steps:    Raw reaction times and accuracy rates for executive function tasks were exported from the behavioral experiment software.    The interference inhibition index for the Flanker task was calculated as the difference in average reaction time between incongruent and congruent conditions.    The cognitive flexibility index for the rule-switch Flanker task was calculated as the difference between the interference inhibition (difference score) in the blue fish scenario and that in the orange fish scenario.    Heart rate data was exported as average heart rate using Polar software and converted to a percentage of estimated maximum heart rate (%HRmax) to calibrate exercise intensity.    All data were manually checked and then collated and analyzed using statistical software (i.e., SPSS). II. Data Content InformationTemporal Information: Data were collected during the semester of the 2022-2023 school year. Each intervention and data collection session was completed within a single physical education class period.Spatial Information: Data were collected in computer classrooms and indoor gymnasiums of elementary schools in a city in China.Temporal Resolution: The precision of reaction time data from the executive function tasks is milliseconds (ms). Heart rate data was recorded beat-to-beat and ultimately aggregated into average values for the intervention periods. III. Data Missingness and Error DescriptionMissing Data: Data collection for this study was complete. No data exclusion was reported in the manuscript, and the dataset contains no missing values.Data Error:    Behavioral reaction time data inherently contains within-subject variability, which is typical in psychological experiments. We mitigated random error by averaging across multiple trials.    The heart rate monitoring equipment is professional-grade medical/sports equipment with a minimal margin of error, which is within an acceptable range.    Subjective scale scores (RPE, RCE) might be influenced by children's comprehension abilities and momentary states, potentially introducing subjective error. This study employed objective physiological indicators (RMSSD) and behavioral indicators (accuracy rate) for cross-validation to compensate for potential subjective errors.