Physical activity, aerobic fitness, and brain white matter : Their role for executive functions in adolescence

Highlights • Aerobic fitness level, but not physical activity, is related to white matter properties in the brain. • The relation between physical activity and working memory is moderated by fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corpus callosum. • The FA of the corpus callosum and superior corona radiata moderates the relation between aerobic fitness and working memory.

The effect of paired associative stimulation-induced long-term potentiation-like plasticity on visuomotor learning

Aivojen hermostollisissa rakenteissa ja toiminnassa tapahtuu adaptaatiota motorisen oppimisen seurauksena. Eräs ehdotetuista malleista, johon muutokset voivat perustua on hermoliitoksen voimakkuuden pitkäaikainen tehostuminen eli pitkäkestoinen potentiaa-tio (LTP). Keinotekoisesti LTP:n kaltainen vaikutus voidaan tuottaa parillisella as-sosiatiivisella stimulaatiolla (PAS). Lisäksi tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että PAS voi parantaa tietyn tyyppistä motorista oppimista. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on sel-vittää miten PAS:n tuottama LTP:n kaltainen plastisuus vaikuttaa visuomotorisen oppi-misen alkuvaiheeseen. Visuomotorinen oppimistehtävä suoritettiin kolme kertaa PAS:n jälkeen. Oppimist…

Physiological adaptations to resistance training in rats selectively bred for low and high response to aerobic exercise training

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Can phenotypic traits associated with low response to one mode of training be extrapolated to other exercise-inducible phenotypes? The present study investigated whether rats that are low responders to endurance training are also low responders to resistance training. What is the main finding and its importance? After resistance training, rats that are high responders to aerobic exercise training improved more in maximal strength compared with low-responder rats. However, the greater gain in strength in high-responder rats was not accompanied by muscle hypertrophy, suggesting that the responses observed could be mainly neural in orig…

Physical activity is positively related to local functional connectivity in adolescents’ brains

AbstractAdolescents have experienced decreased aerobic fitness levels and insufficient physical activity levels over the past decades. While both physical activity and aerobic fitness are related to physical and mental health, little is known concerning how they manifest in the brain during this stage of development, characterized by significant physical and psychosocial changes. Previous investigations have demonstrated associations of physical activity and aerobic fitness with the brain’s functional connectivity in both children and adults. However, it is difficult to generalize these results to adolescents because the development of functional connectivity has unique features during adol…

Changes in corticospinal excitability during an acute bout of resistance exercise in the elbow flexors

Purpose Hypertrophic resistance exercise (HRE) induces central and peripheral fatigue. However, more detailed information about changes in corticospinal excitability remains to be elucidated. Methods Eleven volunteers participated in the upper arm HRE which included one repetition maximum (1 RM) control contractions and three sets of 13 RM (SET1–3). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied during maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MVC) at the end of each set and during control contractions to study changes in corticospinal excitability. Electrical stimulation was used in order to measure peripheral changes. Results MVC decreased after each set when compared to control contr…

Corrigendum to “Increased cross-education of muscle strength and reduced corticospinal inhibition following eccentric strength training” [Neuroscience 300 (2015) 566–575]

Aerobic fitness, but not physical activity, is associated with grey matter volume in adolescents.

Higher levels of aerobic fitness and physical activity are linked to beneficial effects on brain health, especially in older adults. The generalizability of these earlier results to young individuals is not straightforward, because physiological responses (such as cardiovascular responses) to exercise may depend on age. Earlier studies have mostly focused on the effects of either physical activity or aerobic fitness on the brain. Yet, while physical activity indicates the amount of activity, aerobic fitness is an adaptive state or attribute that an individual has or achieves. Here, by measuring both physical activity and aerobic fitness in the same study, we aimed to differentiate the assoc…

Physical activity and aerobic fitness show different associations with brain processes underlying anticipatory selective visuospatial attention in adolescents

ABSTRACTUnderlying brain processes of exercise-related benefits on executive functions and the specific contribution of physical activity vs. aerobic fitness are poorly understood, especially during adolescence. We explored whether and how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with selective attention and the oscillatory dynamics induced by an anticipatory spatial cue. Further, we studied whether the link between physical exercise level and cognitive control in adolescents is mediated by the task-related oscillatory activity. Magnetoencephalographic alpha oscillations during a modified Posner’s cueing paradigm were measured in 59 adolescents (37 females and 22 males, 12 to 17…

Increased cross-education of muscle strength and reduced corticospinal inhibition following eccentric strength training.

Aim: Strength training of one limb results in a substantial increase in the strength of the untrained limb, however, it remains unknown what the corticospinal responses are following either eccentric or concentric strength training and how this relates to the cross-education of strength. The aim of this study was to determine if eccentric or concentric unilateral strength training differentially modulates corticospinal excitability, inhibition and the cross-transfer of strength. Methods: Changes in contralateral (left limb) concentric strength, eccentric strength, motor-evoked potentials, short-interval intracortical inhibition and silent period durations were analyzed in groups of young ad…

Physical activity and aerobic fitness in relation to local and interhemispheric functional connectivity in adolescents' brains

Abstract Introduction Adolescents have experienced decreased aerobic fitness levels and insufficient physical activity levels over the past decades. While both physical activity and aerobic fitness are related to physical and mental health, little is known concerning how they manifest in the brain during this stage of development, characterized by significant physical and psychosocial changes. The aim of the study is to examine the associations between both physical activity and aerobic fitness with brains’ functional connectivity. Methods Here, we examined how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with local and interhemispheric functional connectivity of the adolescent brai…

Training and periodization for snowboard cross, parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom

Snowboarding is a popular recreational sport, but it is also an elite sport. Snowboarding has been an Olympic sport since 1998. There will be five different snowboarding disciplines competed in Winter Olympics in Sochi 2014 (half-pipe, parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, snowboard cross and slopestyle). Most of the snowboard cross and parallel event competitions are organized by International Ski Federation (FIS). FIS also organizes the World Cup and every second year Snowboard World Championships. Snowboarding environment is challenging. Riders are frequently exposed to training in cold environments and at high altitudes. Because snowboarding is a technical sport snowboarders spend ext…

Spectral signatures of cross-modal attentional control in the adolescent brain and their link with physical activity and aerobic fitness levels

AbstractTop–down attentional control seems to increase and suppress the activity of sensory cortices for relevant stimuli and to suppress activity for irrelevant ones. Higher physical activity (PA) and aerobic fitness (AF) levels have been associated with improved attention, but most studies have focused on unimodal tasks (e.g., visual stimuli only). The impact of higher PA or AF levels on the ability of developing brains to focus on certain stimuli while ignoring distractions remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the neural processes in visual and auditory sensory cortices during a cross-modal attention–allocation task using magnetoencephalography in 13–16-year-old adolesce…