What is it about?
This publication examines why evidence syntheses on the effects of physical activity on cognitive functioning have reached mixed and sometimes conflicting conclusions. It highlights that the field has entered a debate phase and discusses how future research can better account for the complex relationship between physical activity and cognition, without overlooking meaningful cognitive benefits while addressing potential bias.
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Why is it important?
Clear and reliable evidence is essential for informed decisions about promoting physical activity for cognitive health. Rather than debating whether effects exist in general, we focus on identifying the circumstances in which they occur and on using research approaches that consider context, helping produce more balanced and trustworthy messages for the public, practitioners, and policymakers.
Perspectives
In the ongoing debate with apparently conflicting positions about physical activity and cognitive health, this paper does not aim to decide who is right. Rather, it seeks to prevent the debate from giving the impression that evidence is fragile when more rigorous analyses are applied. In other words, it aims to avoid ‘throwing out the baby with the bathwater’ and to show how research can consider the context to better understand for whom, how and under what circumstances physical activity can benefit brain and cognition.
Pesce Caterina
Michigan State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Risk of undermining the cognitive benefits of physical activity by overcorrecting for risk of bias: Reply to Román-Caballero (2025)., Psychological Bulletin, November 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000505.
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