Charting Running Experience, Running Form, and Inhibitory Control: A Physiological and Cognitive Analysis of Autistic and non-Autistic Runners

Abstract

The present study sought to explore the interaction between running and inhibitory control in individuals both with and without autism spectrum disorder. Running experience is known to positively impact form and cognitive control, but to what degree? How do running form and inhibitory control interact? And do they interact similarly in individuals with autism? Participants from four groups were sought: experienced runners without autism (NE), inexperienced runners without autism (NI), experienced runners with autism (AE), and inexperienced runners with autism (AI). Each participant filled out a survey noting their exposure to physical activity, completed a flanker and go/no-go task, and ran 800 meters at an easy pace and 800 meters at a hard pace while wearing a Garmin wristwatch and torso-mounted accelerometer to track aspects of running form. The NE group demonstrated better form than the NI group, most notably as it pertained to stride length, ground contact time, and pace consistency. Both the NE and NI group performed near ceiling on the cognitive tasks, though the response time difference between congruent and incongruent conditions was significantly less for the NE group than the NI group. When correlating running form and inhibitory control performance, no notable overlaps were found, indicating that it may not be the act of running, but perhaps other aspects of training (weight lifting, core, etc.) that moderate inhibitory control performance. Unfortunately not enough participants with autism were recruited to perform statistical analyses, but an exploratory analysis suggested that running dynamics and performance on inhibitory control tasks vary greatly among individuals with autism. Continued research can help provide guidance for developing training programs and improving an individual’s cognitive control.