Motor Skills & Executive Function Research

Research / Motor Skills & Executive Function

Motor Skills & Executive Function

How gross and fine motor development supports cognitive abilities including inhibition, working memory, planning, and emotional regulation.

On this page: Motor-Executive Connection Locomotor Skills & Working Memory Motor Skills & Emotion Regulation Fine Motor & Executive Function Gross-Fine Motor Connection

The Motor-Executive Connection: Why Physical Skills Support Thinking

Primary Study: Association between fundamental motor skills and executive function in preschool children: A cross-sectional study. Han X, Zhao M, Kong Z, Xie J. 2022.
Key Finding: Total motor skills significantly predicted total executive function (β = 0.37, p < 0.001), with moderate positive correlation (r = 0.33, p < 0.001). Motor skill practice strengthens executive function through overlapping neural networks and working memory demands.

Study Design

Sample of 394 preschool children aged 4.07 ± 0.76 years

  • Motor skills assessed using Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2)
  • Locomotor subset: run, gallop, hop, leap, horizontal jump, slide
  • Object control subset: strike, dribble, catch, kick, overhand throw, underhand roll
  • Executive function evaluated using NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery

Brain Regions Activated by Motor Skills

Both gross motor skill types activate overlapping networks with executive function areas:

  • Prefrontal cortex: Planning and sequencing
  • Cerebellum: Timing and coordination
  • Motor cortex: Movement execution
  • Basal ganglia: Movement initiation and control
  • Parietal cortex: Spatial processing

What This Means for Development

Children don’t have a “body brain” and a “thinking brain” – they have one integrated system where physical skills and mental skills develop together. Motor skill practice isn’t taking time away from cognitive development – it IS cognitive development.

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Locomotor Skills & Working Memory: The Bilateral Coordination Connection

Study: The Relationship between Executive Functions and Gross Motor Skills in Rural Children Aged 8–10 Years. Fathirezaie Z, Matos S, Khodadadeh E, et al. 2022.
Key Finding: Locomotor skills requiring bilateral coordination (skipping, galloping) predicted working memory due to coordination demands. Object control skills predicted inhibition and planning. Different motor skills support different executive function components.

Specific Relationships Found

Locomotor Skills Predicted:

  • Working Memory (holding and manipulating information)

Object Control Skills Predicted:

  • Inhibition (stopping inappropriate responses)
  • Planning/Organizing (thinking ahead)
  • Organization of Materials (keeping track of belongings)

Why Locomotor Skills Strengthen Working Memory

Researchers note that locomotor skills requiring bilateral coordination place significant demands on working memory. Children must:

  • Remember the movement sequence
  • Coordinate timing between body parts
  • Maintain balance while executing complex patterns
  • Track spatial position during movement
Practical Application: Activities requiring complex locomotor skills (dance, gymnastics, martial arts) may provide broader executive function benefits than simple object control activities. For working memory development specifically, prioritize bilateral coordination activities like skipping, galloping, swimming, and dance.
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Motor Skills & Emotion Understanding: The Mediation Pathway

Study: The Impact of Gross Motor Skills on the Development of Emotion Understanding in Children Aged 3–6 Years: The Mediation Role of Executive Functions. Li Q, Wang Q, Xin Z, Gu H. 2022.
Key Finding: Gross motor skills enhanced emotional understanding by improving executive function, with mediation effect of 31.25%. Motor skills don’t directly improve emotional abilities, but they strengthen executive function, which then enhances emotional understanding and regulation.

Study Design

Sample of 662 children aged 3-6 years assessed for:

  • Gross motor skills (TGMD-2)
  • Executive function (Stroop task, Card Sort, Working memory tasks)
  • Emotion understanding (recognition and comprehension tasks)

The Mediation Pathway

  1. Gross motor activities strengthen executive function (inhibition, flexibility, working memory)
  2. Stronger executive function enables better emotional processing:
    • Inhibition helps children regulate emotional responses
    • Cognitive flexibility helps understand others’ perspectives
    • Working memory helps integrate emotional and situational information
  3. Result: Better emotional understanding and regulation

Statistical Evidence

  • Gross motor skills significantly correlated with executive function (r = 0.37, p < 0.01)
  • Executive function significantly correlated with emotion understanding (r = 0.36, p < 0.01)
  • Executive function accounted for 31.25% of the total effect
Clinical Implication: Physical activities that challenge coordination and motor skills don’t just build physical abilities – they support emotional regulation, social understanding, behavioral control, and academic learning. Parents seeking to help children with emotional regulation should consider motor skill development as part of the intervention.
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Fine Motor Skills & Executive Function: The Hand-Brain Connection

Study: Mediation of executive functions in the relationship between motor skills and psychosocial health in preschool children. 2025. Sample: 452 preschool children (mean age 6.14 years).
Key Finding: Fine motor skills strengthened inhibition, shifting, and working memory, which mediated improvements in social skills and behavior. The pathway is: Fine Motor Practice → Executive Function → Social/Behavioral Benefits.

Findings for Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills were positively associated with:

  • Inhibition
  • Shifting (cognitive flexibility)
  • Working memory

However, fine motor skills were NOT directly related to social skills or problem behaviors. Instead:

  • Inhibition mediated the relationship between fine motor and social skills
  • Both inhibition and shifting mediated the relationship between fine motor and problem behaviors

Why Fine Motor Skills Build Executive Function

Fine motor activities require:

  • Sustained attention to small, precise movements
  • Inhibition of large, impulsive movements
  • Planning of movement sequences
  • Self-monitoring to check accuracy
  • Working memory to remember steps and desired outcome
  • Frustration tolerance when coordination is challenging

These cognitive demands strengthen executive function through practice.

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Gross Motor Skills Support Fine Motor Skills: The Developmental Sequence

Developmental Principle: Motor control develops from the center of the body outward (proximal to distal): Core stability → Shoulder stability → Elbow and wrist control → Hand and finger control.
Key Understanding: Children with poor handwriting often have underlying gross motor weaknesses: weak core strength leads to poor sitting posture and fatigue during writing; poor shoulder stability causes compensatory movements and inefficient pencil control; limited bilateral coordination creates difficulty stabilizing paper while writing.

Why This Matters for Handwriting

Multiple studies show that children with handwriting difficulties often have:

  • Lower scores on gross motor assessments
  • Reduced core strength
  • Poor bilateral coordination
  • Limited crossing midline abilities

Supporting Activities

Before focusing on handwriting practice, consider building:

Core Strengthening: Climbing, gymnastics, planks, animal walks

Shoulder Stability: Wall pushes, crawling, wheelbarrow walking, swimming

Bilateral Coordination: Jumping jacks, swimming, drumming, dance

Crossing Midline: Reaching across body, dance movements, martial arts

Research Support: Addressing foundational gross motor skills often improves fine motor performance more effectively than isolated handwriting practice. Build the foundation before expecting the detail work.
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