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This study investigated the effects of short-term LPA on prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Thirty-three children aged 10 to 14 years completed seated, light-intensity exercises involving coordination and balance. Hemodynamic changes in oxygenated hemoglobin were recorded in three subregions of the PFC. A significant increase was observed during complex tasks, with mean Z-score changes of 0.68 in the middle PFC and 0.87 in the left PFC (p &lt; 0.05). No significant differences were found between 10- and 20-s durations, suggesting that movement complexity - rather than duration - determines neural activation. These findings indicate that short, structured light-intensity motor tasks elicit measurable prefrontal cortex activation in children. Incorporating brief bouts of light-intensity physical activity into the school day may promote neural engagement of prefrontal regions, although future studies are needed to directly link these neural responses to cognitive performance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00315125261485790","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]],"date-time":"2026-09-08T08:25:03Z","timestamp":1788855903000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Functional Brain Responses to Short-Duration Light Physical Activity in Children: Insights From Near-Infrared Spectroscopy"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5023-3812","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tanja","family":"Petru\u0161i\u010d","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Ljubljana"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brigita","family":"Mieziene","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lithuanian Sports University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dario","family":"Novak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Zagreb"},{"name":"Lithuanian Sports University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_8_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.brainres.2024.148884"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1155\/2015\/596367"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms25052724"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.12800\/ccd.v15i43.1400"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci14090902"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnins.2024.1511783"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/biology13050323"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2024.1466549"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2024.1500470"},{"key":"e_1_3_8_11_1","article-title":"Can they touch? 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