PhD, Associate Professor V.S. Merenkova¹
Dr. Biol., Professor E.I. Nikolaeva^{1, 2
1}Bunin Yelets State University, YelSU, Yelets
²The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg

Objective of the study was to conduct a theoretical analysis of the role of physical activity in shaping cognitive functions in children at different stages of ontogenesis: from birth to adolescence.
Methods and structure of the study. A theoretical analysis of the Russian and foreign literary sources was carried out.
Results of the study and conclusions. When studying the internal picture of health of the children and their parents, particular attention is drawn to the fact that in their efforts to improve the children's physical activity, the parents often do not have the opportunity to go to the gym for various reasons. This, on the one hand, contributes to the development in children of early intelligence, however, it does not develop the habit to plan physical loads in adulthood.
The analysis of the data on the role of vestibular system of the 4-6 year-old children in terms of kindergarten shows that daily physical activities for a year improve the quality of sensorimotor integration and inhibitory processes as part of executive functions, as well as increase the level of intelligence assessed by the J. Raven's test. Theoretical data are given to explain the relationship between the level of physical activity and the level of development of higher mental functions. It is shown that the formation of human as the species Homo Sapiens has been associated with a lifestyle that requires high physical loads daily.
Physical activity as a component of sensorimotor integration is particularly important at the early stages of ontogenesis, when a navigation system is formed and a child’s perception of objective reality is constructed. 
Consequently, it is important to use such team games as football and volleyball, which contribute to the development of schoolchildren's vestibular system and sensorimotor integration.

Keywords: children, physical activity, cognitive functions, intelligence, sensorimotor integration, vestibular system.

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