| Objective:To investigate the effects of a 12-week mini-basketball program on executive function and cerebral cortex thickness in preschool children with autism,to reveal the possible neural mechanisms of the mini-basketball program to improve executive function in preschool children with autism,and to provide a new effective motor rehabilitation program for sports to improve preschool children with autism.Methods:In this study,preschool children with autism were recruited from two special education institutions,the Eagle Child Development Center and the Starssailor Potential Development Center in Yangzhou City.33 preschool children with autism were finally screened and randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group as a whole.The children with preschool autism in the control group received only regular behavioral rehabilitation in the institutions,while the children with preschool autism in the experimental group received 12 weeks of small basketball instruction in addition to regular behavioral rehabilitation in the institutions.The executive function of the preschool children with autism was assessed before and after the instruction using the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory(CHEXI),based on structural magnetic resonance imaging(sMRI)technique.Brain images were collected and changes in cortical thickness were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry(VBM)before and after the implementation of the study.Results:(1)The differences in executive functions of preschool children with autism before and after the implementation of the 12-week mini-basketball instructional program were statistically significant,specifically:the interaction effect of behavioral performance of working memory over time × group was[F(1,31)=4.448,P=0.043<0.05,partial η2=0.125],which was significantly different;the interaction effect of inhibitory and regulatory abilities The interaction effects of behavioral performance on time × group were not significantly different;(2)the interaction effects of cortical thickness on time × group were significantly different in preschool children with autism before and after the 12-week mini-basketball instructional program,specifically in the right caudal anterior cingulate gyrus[F(1,31)=6.180,P=0.018<0.053 partial η2=0.166],the left peri calcarine gyrus[F(1,31)=4.190,P=0.049<0.05,partial η2=0.119],the right rostral middle frontal gyrus[F(1,31)=5.510,P=0.025<0.05,partialη2=0.151],and the right frontal pole[F(1,31)=9.580,P=0.004<0.05,partial η2=0.236].Conclusions:(1)a 12-week mini-basketball program improved working memory performance in preschool-aged children with autism.The 12-week mini-basketball program can be an effective method to improve executive function in preschool children with autism;(2)the 12-week mini-basketball program can change the cortical thickness of the right anterior cingulate gyrus,left parabasal gyrus,right middle frontal gyrus,and right frontal pole in preschool children with autism,and it is hypothesized that the neural mechanism of the 12week mini-basketball program to improve executive function in preschool children with autism may involve changes in cortical thickness.The changes in cortical thickness were hypothesized. |
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