Effect of dancing and exercise training on the grey matter in the brain of healthy seniors

Müller, Markus; Rehfeld, Kathrin; Lüders, Angie; Schmicker, Marlen; Hökelmann, Anita; Kaufman, Jörn; Müller, Notger G.

doi:10.1007/s12662-016-0411-6

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The precise description of the interventions is published elsewhere ( Müller et al, 2016 ). In brief, the first period of training was provided for 6 months, twice a week for both groups.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two interventions were compared: a specially designed dance program, during which subjects constantly had to learn new choreographies, and a traditional fitness program with mainly repetitive exercises, such as cycling on an ergometer or Nordic walking. Whole-brain analyzes of the acquired data using voxel based morphometry had shown dance-associated volume increases mainly in the precentral and the parahippocampal gyrus ( Müller et al, 2016 ). Knowing that dancing/slacklining ( Hüfner et al, 2011 ) and endurance sport (e.g., Erickson et al, 2011 ) have different impact on anterior and posterior parts of the hippocampus in the present analysis we ran a region of interest analysis of this specific brain region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors

Rehfeld

Müller

Aye

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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141

113

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Age-related degenerations in brain structure are associated with balance disturbances and cognitive impairment. However, neuroplasticity is known to be preserved throughout lifespan and physical training studies with seniors could reveal volume increases in the hippocampus (HC), a region crucial for memory consolidation, learning and navigation in space, which were related to improvements in aerobic fitness. Moreover, a positive correlation between left HC volume and balance performance was observed. Dancing seems a promising intervention for both improving balance and brain structure in the elderly. It combines aerobic fitness, sensorimotor skills and cognitive demands while at the same time the risk of injuries is low. Hence, the present investigation compared the effects of an 18-month dancing intervention and traditional health fitness training on volumes of hippocampal subfields and balance abilities. Before and after intervention, balance was evaluated using the Sensory Organization Test and HC volumes were derived from magnetic resonance images (3T, MP-RAGE). Fourteen members of the dance (67.21 ± 3.78 years, seven females), and 12 members of the fitness group (68.67 ± 2.57 years, five females) completed the whole study. Both groups revealed hippocampal volume increases mainly in the left HC (CA1, CA2, subiculum). The dancers showed additional increases in the left dentate gyrus and the right subiculum. Moreover, only the dancers achieved a significant increase in the balance composite score. Hence, dancing constitutes a promising candidate in counteracting the age-related decline in physical and mental abilities.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors

Rehfeld

Müller

Aye

et al. 2017

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

Self Cite

141

113

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“…Although an increase in hippocampal volume was reported after both aerobic [24] and resistance training in older adults [130], few brain imaging studies are currently available that directly compare different types of physical training. For instance, it was observed that dancing conducted for several months led to a greater increase in cortical grey matter in frontal and temporal regions [298][299][300] and in hippocampal volumes [301] than a combination of resistance, endurance, and flexibility training. Hence, comparing different types of physical interventions (e.g., resistance training vs. aerobic training vs. dancing) with regard to their effectiveness in evoking structural and functional brain changes is an interesting topic for further studies.…”

Section: Structural Brain Changes and Cognition In Response To Resistmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional and/or structural brain changes in response to resistance exercises and resistance training lead to cognitive improvements – a systematic review

Herold

Törpel

Schega

et al. 2019

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

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152

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Background: During the aging process, physical capabilities (e.g., muscular strength) and cognitive functions (e.g., memory) gradually decrease. Regarding cognitive functions, substantial functional (e.g., compensatory brain activity) and structural changes (e.g., shrinking of the hippocampus) in the brain cause this decline. Notably, growing evidence points towards a relationship between cognition and measures of muscular strength and muscle mass. Based on this emerging evidence, resistance exercises and/or resistance training, which contributes to the preservation and augmentation of muscular strength and muscle mass, may trigger beneficial neurobiological processes and could be crucial for healthy aging that includes preservation of the brain and cognition. Compared with the multitude of studies that have investigated the influence of endurance exercises and/or endurance training on cognitive performance and brain structure, considerably less work has focused on the effects of resistance exercises and/or resistance training. While the available evidence regarding resistance exercise-induced changes in cognitive functions is pooled, the underlying neurobiological processes, such as functional and structural brain changes, have yet to be summarized. Hence, the purpose of this systematic review is to provide an overview of resistance exercise-induced functional and/or structural brain changes that are related to cognitive functions. Methods and results: A systematic literature search was conducted by two independent researchers across six electronic databases; 5957 records were returned, of which 18 were considered relevant and were analyzed. Short conclusion: Based on our analyses, resistance exercises and resistance training evoked substantial functional brain changes, especially in the frontal lobe, which were accompanied by improvements in executive functions. Furthermore, resistance training led to lower white matter atrophy and smaller white matter lesion volumes. However, based on the relatively small number of studies available, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Hence, future studies are required to investigate the underlying neurobiological mechanisms and to verify whether the positive findings can be confirmed and transferred to other needy cohorts, such as older adults with dementia, sarcopenia and/or dynapenia.

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“…Additionally, in Parkinson disease dancing led to higher improvements in physical and cognitive functions than aerobic exercise ( Hashimoto et al, 2015 ). Regular dancing has been associated with a lower risk of dementia ( Verghese et al, 2003 ) presumably because it induces a larger increase in gray matter volume in frontal regions ( Müller et al, 2016 , 2017 ) and the hippocampus ( Rehfeld et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Physical Activity and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking While Moving or Moving While Thinking – Concepts of Motor-Cognitive Training for Cognitive Performance Enhancement

Herold

Hamacher

Schega

et al. 2018

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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168

149

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The demographic change in industrial countries, with increasingly sedentary lifestyles, has a negative impact on mental health. Normal and pathological aging leads to cognitive deficits. This development poses major challenges on national health systems. Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient cognitive enhancement strategies. The combination of regular physical exercise with cognitive stimulation seems especially suited to increase an individual’s cognitive reserve, i.e., his/her resistance to degenerative processes of the brain. Here, we outline insufficiently explored fields in exercise-cognition research and provide a classification approach for different motor-cognitive training regimens. We suggest to classify motor-cognitive training in two categories, (I) sequential motor-cognitive training (the motor and cognitive training are conducted time separated) and (II) simultaneous motor-cognitive training (motor and cognitive training are conducted sequentially). In addition, simultaneous motor-cognitive training may be distinguished based on the specific characteristics of the cognitive task. If successfully solving the cognitive task is not a relevant prerequisite to complete the motor-cognitive task, we would consider this type of training as (IIa) motor-cognitive training with additional cognitive task. In contrast, in ecologically more valid (IIb) motor cognitive training with incorporated cognitive task, the cognitive tasks are a relevant prerequisite to solve the motor-cognitive task. We speculate that incorporating cognitive tasks into motor tasks, rather than separate training of mental and physical functions, is the most promising approach to efficiently enhance cognitive reserve. Further research investigating the influence of motor(-cognitive) exercises with different quantitative and qualitative characteristics on cognitive performance is urgently needed.

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Effect of dancing and exercise training on the grey matter in the brain of healthy seniors

Cited by 8 publications

References 45 publications

Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors

Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors

Functional and/or structural brain changes in response to resistance exercises and resistance training lead to cognitive improvements – a systematic review

Thinking While Moving or Moving While Thinking – Concepts of Motor-Cognitive Training for Cognitive Performance Enhancement

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