Exercise Regulation of Cognitive Function and Neuroplasticity in the Healthy and Diseased Brain

Hamilton, Gillian F.; Rhodes, Justin S.

doi:10.1016/bs.pmbts.2015.07.004

Cited by 65 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 109 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Therefore, while BDNF and IGF-1 are two molecular pathways affected by exercise, there are likely many others involved. Nonetheless, the heavy theoretical focus on these two molecular pathways has spurred research into other possible cellular mechanisms underlying effects of exercise on neurocognition, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various neurotransmitters (e.g., serotonin) (Fabel et al, 2003; Cotman et al, 2007; Hamilton and Rhodes, 2015). …”

Section: Level 1: Molecular and Cellular Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediators of Physical Activity on Neurocognitive Function: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis

Stillman

Cohen

Lehman

et al. 2016

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

228

221

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Physical activity (PA) is known to maintain and improve neurocognitive health. However, there is still a poor understanding of the mechanisms by which PA exerts its effects on the brain and cognition in humans. Many of the most widely discussed mechanisms of PA are molecular and cellular and arise from animal models. While information about basic cellular and molecular mechanisms is an important foundation from which to build our understanding of how PA promotes cognitive health in humans, there are other pathways that could play a role in this relationship. For example, PA-induced changes to cellular and molecular pathways likely initiate changes to macroscopic properties of the brain and/or to behavior that in turn influence cognition. The present review uses a more macroscopic lens to identify potential brain and behavioral/socioemotional mediators of the association between PA and cognitive function. We first summarize what is known regarding cellular and molecular mechanisms, and then devote the remainder of the review to discussing evidence for brain systems and behavioral/socioemotional pathways by which PA influences cognition. It is our hope that discussing mechanisms at multiple levels of analysis will stimulate the field to examine both brain and behavioral mediators. Doing so is important, as it could lead to a more complete characterization of the processes by which PA influences neurocognitive function, as well as a greater variety of targets for modifying neurocognitive function in clinical contexts.

show abstract

Section: Level 1: Molecular and Cellular Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mediators of Physical Activity on Neurocognitive Function: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis

Stillman

Cohen

Lehman

et al. 2016

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

228

221

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Both micro-and macro-scale brain changes have been observed after aerobic exercise, indicating that exercise improves cognitive functions in domains dependent on the hippocampus, such as spatial or relational learning and memory, by modulating the neuroplasticity of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (for a review, see Stillman et al 2016). More specifically, the enhancement of neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, angiogenesis (particularly vascular endothelial growth factor), synaptic plasticity and the release of neurotrophins, including growth factors such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and insulin-like growth factor-1, have been identified as neural mechanisms mediating the beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognition, which are also paralleled by increases in grey matter volume, global white matter integrity and hippocampal changes (Ahlskog, 2011;Alkadhi, 2017;Cassilhas et al, 2015;Chieffi et al, 2017;Hamilton and Rhodes, 2015;Hotting and Roder, 2013).…”

Section: Evidence For Neuroplasticity From Animal Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventional programmes to improve cognition during healthy and pathological ageing: Cortical modulations and evidence for brain plasticity

Cespón

Miniussi

Pellicciari

2018

Ageing Research Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A growing body of evidence suggests that healthy elderly individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease retain an important potential for neuroplasticity. This review summarizes studies investigating the modulation of neural activity and structural brain integrity in response to interventions involving cognitive training, physical exercise and non-invasive brain stimulation in healthy elderly and cognitively impaired subjects (including patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease). Moreover, given the clinical relevance of neuroplasticity, we discuss how evidence for neuroplasticity can be inferred from the functional and structural brain changes observed after implementing these interventions. We emphasize that multimodal programmes, which combine several types of interventions, improve cognitive function to a greater extent than programmes that use a single interventional approach. We suggest specific methods for weighting the relative importance of cognitive training, physical exercise and non-invasive brain stimulation according to the functional and structural state of the brain of the targeted subject to maximize the cognitive improvements induced by multimodal programmes.

show abstract

“…Exercise is one factor that has profound effects on hippocampal structure and function. Exercise is associated with increased hippocampal volume, cellular plasticity, molecular signaling changes, and memory improvements in both humans and rodents (Hamilton and Rhodes, ; Voss, Vivar, Kramer, & van Praag, ). Moreover, while exercise is associated with increased dorsal striatal volume in adolescent humans (Chaddock et al, ) its effects in adults are limited to the hippocampus (Erickson et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Running promotes spatial bias independently of adult neurogenesis

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Different memory systems offer distinct advantages to navigational behavior. The hippocampus forms complex associations between environmental stimuli, enabling flexible navigation through space. In contrast, the dorsal striatum associates discrete cues and favorable behavioral responses, enabling habit-like, automated navigation. While these two systems often complement one another, there are instances where striatal-dependent responses (e.g. approach a cue) conflict with hippocampal representations of spatial goals. In conflict situations, preference for spatial vs. response strategies varies across individuals and depends on previous experience, plasticity and the integrity of these two memory systems. Here, we investigated the role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and exercise on mouse search strategies in a water maze task that can be solved with either a hippocampal-dependent place strategy or a striatal-dependent cue-response strategy. We predicted that inhibiting adult neurogenesis would impair hippocampal function and shift behavior towards striatal-dependent cue responses. However, blocking neurogenesis in a transgenic nestin-TK mouse did not affect strategy choice. We then investigated whether a pro-neurogenic stimulus, running, would bias mice towards hippocampal-dependent spatial strategies. While running indeed promoted spatial strategies, it did so even when neurogenesis was inhibited in nestin-TK mice. These findings indicate that exercise-induced increases in neurogenesis are not always required for enhanced cognitive function. Furthermore, our data identify exercise as a potentially useful strategy for promoting flexible, cognitive forms of memory in habit-related disorders that are characterized by excessive responding to discrete cues.

show abstract

Exercise Regulation of Cognitive Function and Neuroplasticity in the Healthy and Diseased Brain

Cited by 65 publications

References 109 publications

Mediators of Physical Activity on Neurocognitive Function: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis

Mediators of Physical Activity on Neurocognitive Function: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis

Interventional programmes to improve cognition during healthy and pathological ageing: Cortical modulations and evidence for brain plasticity

Running promotes spatial bias independently of adult neurogenesis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About