Effects of Acute Exercise on Executive Function in Chinese Undergraduate Students

Experimental data from a study of 44 Chinese undergraduate students examining the short-term effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity exercise on three components of executive function: inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. The dataset, created by Zhanshuang Bai and last updated in May 2026, includes cognitive task performance measured before and after exercise or rest interventions. Results indicate a significant Time × Group interaction for cognitive flexibility performance in exercise groups.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the differential impact of exercise intensity on cognitive flexibility based on the described experimental results.
• Comparing pre- and post-intervention performance on executive function tasks across control and exercise groups.
• Investigating potential selective associations between acute exercise and specific components of executive function, such as inhibitory control or working memory.

Strengths

• Experimental design with a control group and two distinct exercise intensity groups (HIIT and MIAE).
• Measures three specific components of executive function: inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.
• Data is shared under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license, allowing for reuse and redistribution.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for certain analyses.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The sample size of 44 undergraduate students may limit the generalizability of findings.

Provenance

Source

Zhanshuang Bai via figshare

Collection Method

Experimental study with 44 participants randomly assigned to HIIT, moderate-intensity exercise, or control groups.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 04:21:02; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Likely China, based on the participant description of Chinese undergraduate students.