# Influence of Physical Activity on Daily Positive Affect & Affective Neural Activity in Preschoolers

> **NIH NIH K23** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $164,938

## Abstract

Project Summary: Understanding how relations between physical activity and positive affect may alter
affective neurocircuitry early in development holds enormous promise for unlocking the development, etiology,
and treatment of mental illnesses, particularly mood disorders. Both childhood mood disorders and lack of
physical activity are two major public health problems, the latter with increasing prevalence and associated
with substantial morbidity across the lifespan1,2. Despite research implicating a strong role of physical activity in
the amelioration of mood symptoms, research accounting for these developmental relationships relevant to the
onset of mood disorders is greatly lacking. Novel, early interventions focusing on the benefits of physical
activity for the prevention of childhood mood disorders may hold great promise. With this framework in mind,
the purpose of this K23 proposal is to enable the candidate to develop a research program investigating the
impact of physical activity on affective neural activity and risk for childhood mood disorders. To help achieve
the goal, the training plan in this application addresses the applicant's need for training in: 1) physical activity
and event related potentials (ERP) assessment methods [and protocols] in young children; 2) research
assessments of emotion development and preschool psychopathology; and 3) longitudinal study design and
advanced data analysis techniques. A rich training environment and a multidisciplinary team of mentors in
each of these areas is detailed. The research proposal tests the hypothesis that positive affectivity (measured
in terms of brain, behavior, and ecological momentary assessment) mediates the association between physical
activity and later dimensional mood symptoms early in development. Thus, we hypothesize that low daily (and
weekly) physical activity leads to lower daily (and weekly) positive affect and significantly contributes to the
development of mood symptoms, even after accounting for key covariates such as family history of mood
disorder and psychosocial risk and protective factors. To test these hypotheses, preschoolers (ages 3-5) high
and low on positive affect will be recruited using a screening checklist and assessed twice, 18 months apart
using ERP methods, one week of objectively collected physical activity data, one week of ecological
momentary assessment data, and behavioral methods in a prospective design. Data from this study will be
used to inform development for a more definitive R01 project that charts the trajectories of physical activity,
neural markers, and mood symptoms in at-risk young children and results are anticipated to have prevention
and treatment implications, by determining whether and how positive affectivity (measured behaviorally and
neutrally) links physical activity to elevated mood symptoms early in development. Further, the proposed
training plan will enable Dr. Whalen to become an independent scientist investigating ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998046
- **Project number:** 5K23MH118426-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Diana J Whalen
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $164,938
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-17 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998046

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998046, Influence of Physical Activity on Daily Positive Affect & Affective Neural Activity in Preschoolers (5K23MH118426-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998046. Licensed CC0.

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