A Systematic Review of MRI Studies Examining the Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Activity and the White Matter of the Ageing Brain

Overview

Journal Neuroimage

Specialty Radiology

Date 2015 Oct 20

PMID 26477656

Citations 124

Authors

Claire E Sexton

Jill F Betts

Naiara Demnitz

Helen Dawes

Klaus P Ebmeier

Heidi Johansen-Berg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Higher levels of physical fitness or activity (PFA) have been shown to have beneficial effects on cognitive function and grey matter volumes in older adults. However, the relationship between PFA and the brain's white matter (WM) is not yet well established. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive and systematic review of magnetic resonance imaging studies examining the effects of PFA on the WM of the ageing brain. Twenty-nine studies were included in the review: eleven examined WM volume, fourteen WM lesions, and nine WM microstructure. While many studies found that higher levels of PFA were associated with greater WM volumes, reduced volume or severity of WM lesions, or improved measures of WM microstructure, a number of negative findings have also been published. Meta-analyses of global measures of WM volume and WM lesion volume yielded significant, but small, effect sizes. Overall, we found evidence for cautious support of links between PFA and WM structure, and highlighted key areas for future research including the extent to which the relationship between PFA and WM structure is anatomically specific, the influence of possible confounding factors, and the relationship between PFA, WM and cognition.

Citing Articles

No long-term benefits from resistance training on brain grey matter volumes in active older adults at retirement age.

Bloch-Ibenfeldt M, Demnitz N, Gates A, Garde E, Siebner H, Kjaer M BMC Geriatr. 2025; 25(1):120.

PMID: 39984875 PMC: 11843964. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-025-05778-z.

Neural adaptations in short-term learning of sign language revealed by fMRI and DTI.

Alotaibi S, Alamri S, Alsaleh A, Meyer G Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):5345.

PMID: 39948087 PMC: 11825837. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-84468-z.

Higher skeletal muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity is associated with preserved brain structure up to over a decade.

Tian Q, Greig E, Davatzikos C, Landman B, Resnick S, Ferrucci L Nat Commun. 2024; 15(1):10786.

PMID: 39737971 PMC: 11686348. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55009-z.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Sleep, but not Physical Activity, are Associated with Functional Connectivity in Older Adults.

Wing D, Roelands B, Wetherell J, Nichols J, Meeusen R, Godino J Sports Med Open. 2024; 10(1):113.

PMID: 39425826 PMC: 11490599. DOI: 10.1186/s40798-024-00778-6.

Exercise and Language Performance in Healthy Aging, Stroke and Neurodegenerative Conditions: a Scoping Review.

Khalili R, Kehayia E, Roig M Can Geriatr J. 2024; 27(3):324-344.

PMID: 39234282 PMC: 11346622. DOI: 10.5770/cgj.27.707.

References

Gordon B, Rykhlevskaia E, Brumback C, Lee Y, Elavsky S, Konopack J . Neuroanatomical correlates of aging, cardiopulmonary fitness level, and education. Psychophysiology. 2008; 45(5):825-38. PMC: 5287394. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2008.00676.x. View

Borenstein M, Hedges L, Higgins J, Rothstein H . A basic introduction to fixed-effect and random-effects models for meta-analysis. Res Synth Methods. 2015; 1(2):97-111. DOI: 10.1002/jrsm.12. View

Pantoni L . Pathophysiology of age-related cerebral white matter changes. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2002; 13 Suppl 2:7-10. DOI: 10.1159/000049143. View

Marks B, Katz L, Styner M, Smith J . Aerobic fitness and obesity: relationship to cerebral white matter integrity in the brain of active and sedentary older adults. Br J Sports Med. 2010; 45(15):1208-15. DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.068114. View

McDonnell B, Maki-Petaja K, Munnery M, Yasmin , Wilkinson I, Cockcroft J . Habitual exercise and blood pressure: age dependency and underlying mechanisms. Am J Hypertens. 2013; 26(3):334-41. DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hps055. View

Zheng J, Delbaere K, Close J, Sachdev P, Wen W, Brodaty H . White matter hyperintensities are an independent predictor of physical decline in community-dwelling older people. Gerontology. 2012; 58(5):398-406. DOI: 10.1159/000337815. View

Bullitt E, Rahman F, Smith J, Kim E, Zeng D, Katz L . The effect of exercise on the cerebral vasculature of healthy aged subjects as visualized by MR angiography. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2009; 30(10):1857-63. PMC: 7051270. DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A1695. View

Smith P, Blumenthal J, Hoffman B, Cooper H, Strauman T, Welsh-Bohmer K . Aerobic exercise and neurocognitive performance: a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials. Psychosom Med. 2010; 72(3):239-52. PMC: 2897704. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181d14633. View

Begg C, Mazumdar M . Operating characteristics of a rank correlation test for publication bias. Biometrics. 1994; 50(4):1088-101. View

10.

Bugg J, Head D . Exercise moderates age-related atrophy of the medial temporal lobe. Neurobiol Aging. 2009; 32(3):506-14. PMC: 2891908. DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.03.008. View

11.

Weuve J, Kang J, Manson J, Breteler M, Ware J, Grodstein F . Physical activity, including walking, and cognitive function in older women. JAMA. 2004; 292(12):1454-61. DOI: 10.1001/jama.292.12.1454. View

12.

Tian Q, Erickson K, Simonsick E, Aizenstein H, Glynn N, Boudreau R . Physical activity predicts microstructural integrity in memory-related networks in very old adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014; 69(10):1284-90. PMC: 4172036. DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glt287. View

13.

Burns J, Cronk B, Anderson H, Donnelly J, Thomas G, Harsha A . Cardiorespiratory fitness and brain atrophy in early Alzheimer disease. Neurology. 2008; 71(3):210-6. PMC: 2657657. DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000317094.86209.cb. View

14.

Carmelli D, Swan G, Reed T, Wolf P, Miller B, DeCarli C . Midlife cardiovascular risk factors and brain morphology in identical older male twins. Neurology. 1999; 52(6):1119-24. DOI: 10.1212/wnl.52.6.1119. View

15.

Tseng B, Gundapuneedi T, Khan M, Diaz-Arrastia R, Levine B, Lu H . White matter integrity in physically fit older adults. Neuroimage. 2013; 82:510-6. PMC: 3759589. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.011. View

16.

Schuit A, Feskens E, Launer L, Kromhout D . Physical activity and cognitive decline, the role of the apolipoprotein e4 allele. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001; 33(5):772-7. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200105000-00015. View

17.

Colcombe S, Kramer A . Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: a meta-analytic study. Psychol Sci. 2003; 14(2):125-30. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9280.t01-1-01430. View

18.

Mamounas L, Altar C, Blue M, Kaplan D, Tessarollo L, LYONS W . BDNF promotes the regenerative sprouting, but not survival, of injured serotonergic axons in the adult rat brain. J Neurosci. 2000; 20(2):771-82. PMC: 6772430. View

19.

Schmidt R, Petrovic K, Ropele S, Enzinger C, Fazekas F . Progression of leukoaraiosis and cognition. Stroke. 2007; 38(9):2619-25. DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.489112. View

20.

Swain R, Harris A, Wiener E, Dutka M, MORRIS H, Theien B . Prolonged exercise induces angiogenesis and increases cerebral blood volume in primary motor cortex of the rat. Neuroscience. 2003; 117(4):1037-46. DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(02)00664-4. View