Exercise, brain, and cognition across the life span

Abstract

This is a brief review of current evidence for the relationships between physical activity and exercise and the brain and cognition throughout the life span in non-pathological populations. We focus on the effects of both aerobic and resistance training and provide a brief overview of potential neurobiological mechanisms derived from non-human animal models. Whereas research has focused primarily on the benefits of aerobic exercise in youth and young adult populations, there is growing evidence that both aerobic and resistance training are important for maintaining cognitive and brain health in old age. Finally, in these contexts, we point out gaps in the literature and future directions that will help advance the field of exercise neuroscience, including more studies that explicitly examine the effect of exercise type and intensity on cognition, the brain, and clinically significant outcomes. There is also a need for human neuroimaging studies to adopt a more unified multi-modal framework and for greater interaction between human and animal models of exercise effects on brain and cognition across the life span.

Multiple roads lead to Rome: combined high-intensity aerobic and strength training vs. gross motor activities leads to equivalent improvement in executive functions in a cohort of healthy older adults

“…Intervention (Kramer et al 1999;Renaud et al 2010b;Langlois et al 2012) as well as cross sectional (Renaud et al 2010a;Boucard et al 2012;Berryman et al 2013) and longitudinal (Yaffe et al 2001;Barnes et al 2003;Larson et al 2006) studies suggest that higher physical fitness levels are associated with better cognitive functions. Different review articles and meta-analyses of intervention studies also support these results, which tend to confirm the beneficial effects of physical activity on cognitive functions and mental health in older adults (Smith et al 2010;Colcombe and Kramer 2003;Hillman et al 2008;Voss et al 2011;Angevaren et al 2008;Matta Mello Portugal et al 2013). Moreover, it seems that physical fitness has a selective enhancing effect on executive functions (Kramer et al 1999;Colcombe and Kramer 2003;Smiley-Oyen et al 2008).…”

Forced Aerobic Exercise Enhances Motor Recovery After Stroke: A Case Report

“…Although the exact mechanism for cortical reorganization is not known, neurotrophins are thought to play a major role by enabling neuronal survival, potentiation, and differentiation; promoting dendritic growth and remodeling; and promoting synaptic plasticity (Lin & Kuo, 2013;Voss, Nagamatsu, Liu-Ambrose, & Kramer, 2011).…”

Survival of the Fittest: Ev idence-b ased Interventions for Physical Inactivity amongst Student Populations

“…Clinical and epidemiological evidence corroborates the existence of a relationship between physical inactivity and mental health conditions (for an overview see Voss et al, 2011). For example, evidence supporting the anti-depressive effect of physical activity has been mounting, with recent meta-analyses of random controlled trials finding strong evidence of a link between physical exercise and a decrease in depression (Josefsson, Lindwall, & Archer, 2014;Schuch et al, 2016;Stubbs et al, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, biochemical experiments and brain imaging trials support an anti-depressive effect of physical activity; explanatory mechanisms include neuroplasticity and neurotropic factors (Dishman et al, 2006) and augmentation of the kynurenine and serotonin metabolism (Agudelo et al, 2014). In addition, animal studies and human trials have shown improved cognitive function with increased physical activity, and the benefits of exercise for cognitive functions are observable across the whole lifespan from early childhood to old age (Voss et al, 2011), including all age-segments represented amongst students.…”