Exercise, brain, and cognition across the life span

Here we present the ‘Abstract‘ of the corresponding paper by Michelle W. Voss, Lindsay S. Nagamatsu, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, and Arthur F. Kramer.

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.

(Link for the paper: https://www.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/japplphysiol.00210.2011)