NCT07295912Completed
Cycling Interventions on Cognition in Children With Autism
Why Does Learning to Ride a Bike Improve Executive Functions in Children With ASD?
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 22 Dec 2025
Brief summary (registry, in English)
The goal of this clinical trial was to determine if a specific type of cycling exercise improved executive functions in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (both boys and girls, aged 8-10 years, no healthy volunteers). The main questions it addressed were: 1. . Did learning to ride a real bicycle improve planning, flexibility, working memory, and inhibition more than stationary cycling? 2. .Was the benefit driven by (A) dynamic balance, (B) spatial updating, or both? Researchers compared four arms to identify if dynamic balance and/or spatial updating were the active components using three interventions groups, namely learning to bicycle (LTB), bicycle treadmill (BT), cycling with training wheels (TW)-and one active control group (stationary cycling, SC). Participants: 1. . Provided a small urine sample three times for BDNF brain-marker testing. 2. . Played four short tablet games (10 minutes each) at 1st intervention session , 4th intervention session and 8th intervention session to assess their Executive Functions. 3. . Attended four 45-minute cycling sessions per week for 2 weeks at their respective school. 4. .Continued all usual therapies; no medicine was administered The trial was completed on 31 December 2024 (RGC Ref 18616522, HREC 2021-2022-0397).
- Status (registry)
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 62 (actual)
- First submitted
- 4 Dec 2025
- Start date
- 1 Jan 2023
- Primary completion date
- 30 Jun 2024
- Lead sponsor
- Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Diseases
- Autism
- NCT number
- NCT07295912
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Participants enrolled: 62
- From 1 Jan 2023 to the primary completion date, 30 Jun 2024
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- on current or recent use of antidepressants and other psychotropic medications known to alter peripheral BDNF levels;
Other illness
- history of other medical conditions that limit physical exercise capacities (e.g., asthma, seizure, cardiac disease);
- history of brain injury including concussions, other complex neurologic disorders (e.g., epilepsy, phenylketonuria, fragile X syndrome);
- medical conditions of the bladder;
Age
- obesity (i.e. \>95th percentile of age-gender specific BMI cutoff).
Other
- color blindness reported by parents;
Criteria the registry did not label
- Potential participants were recruited from the local special schools for intellectual disabilities. They werescreened with the following inclusion and exclusion criteria.
- The inclusion criteria are:
- age 8 - 10 years;
- mild to moderate ASD diagnosis from physicians or psychologists based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, (DSM-5)and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2);
- non-verbal IQ over 70 using a brief version of Wechsler intelligence scale for children (Chinese revised);
- able to follow instructions with the assistance of research staff;
- able to perform the requested physical activity intervention and executive function measures with the assistance of research staff;
- no additional regular participation in physical activity other than school physical education classes for at least 3 months prior to the study;
- (6) novice at riding a two-wheel bicycle (i.e., cannot ride the bicycle alone for more than 10 consecutive seconds).
Age in the registry: 8 years to 10 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese University of Hong Kong Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Hong Kong | Hong Kong SAR China | Unknown status |
Related publications
- Cycling Interventions Enhance Executive Function in Children with Autism via Heart Rate Variability Mediation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Sports Med Open · 2026 · PMID 41963669
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.