Dose-Response Matters! - A Perspective on the Exercise Prescription in Exercise-Cognition Research

Overview

Journal Front Psychol

Date 2019 Nov 19

PMID 31736815

Citations 77

Authors

Fabian Herold

Patrick Muller

Thomas Gronwald

Notger G Muller

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In general, it is well recognized that both acute physical exercises and regular physical training influence brain plasticity and cognitive functions positively. However, growing evidence shows that the same physical exercises induce very heterogeneous outcomes across individuals. In an attempt to better understand this interindividual heterogeneity in response to acute and regular physical exercising, most research, so far, has focused on non-modifiable factors such as sex and different genotypes, while relatively little attention has been paid to exercise prescription as a modifiable factor. With an adapted exercise prescription, dosage can be made comparable across individuals, a procedure that is necessary to better understand the dose-response relationship in exercise-cognition research. This improved understanding of dose-response relationships could help to design more efficient physical training approaches against, for instance, cognitive decline.

Citing Articles

Predicting Heart Rate Slow Component Dynamics: A Model Across Exercise Intensities, Age, and Sex.

Teso M, Colosio A, Loi M, Boone J, Pogliaghi S Sports (Basel). 2025; 13(2).

PMID: 39997976 PMC: 11860534. DOI: 10.3390/sports13020045.

Circadian Rhythms, Regular Exercise, and Cognitive Performance in Morning-Trained Dancers.

Marchesano M, Carboni A, Tassino B, Silva A Clocks Sleep. 2025; 7(1).

PMID: 39982314 PMC: 11843932. DOI: 10.3390/clockssleep7010007.

Effects of home-based exercise with or without cognitive training on cognition and mobility in cardiac patients: A randomized clinical trial.

Besnier F, Dupuy E, Gagnon C, Vincent T, Vrinceanu T, Blanchette C Geroscience. 2025; .

PMID: 39899189 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-025-01530-y.

Evidence-based exercise recommendations to improve functional mobility in older adults - A study protocol for living systematic review and meta-analysis.

Wollesen B, Yellon T, Langeard A, Belkin V, Wunderlich A, Giannouli E Open Res Eur. 2025; 4:202.

PMID: 39871858 PMC: 11770255. DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.17823.2.

Global consensus on optimal exercise recommendations for enhancing healthy longevity in older adults (ICFSR).

Izquierdo M, De Souto Barreto P, Arai H, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Cadore E, Cesari M J Nutr Health Aging. 2025; 29(1):100401.

PMID: 39743381 PMC: 11812118. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnha.2024.100401.

References

Rooks C, Thom N, McCully K, Dishman R . Effects of incremental exercise on cerebral oxygenation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy: a systematic review. Prog Neurobiol. 2010; 92(2):134-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2010.06.002. View

de Bruijn R, Schrijvers E, de Groot K, Witteman J, Hofman A, Franco O . The association between physical activity and dementia in an elderly population: the Rotterdam Study. Eur J Epidemiol. 2013; 28(3):277-83. DOI: 10.1007/s10654-013-9773-3. View

Bugg J, Shah K, Villareal D, Head D . Cognitive and neural correlates of aerobic fitness in obese older adults. Exp Aging Res. 2012; 38(2):131-45. PMC: 3324124. DOI: 10.1080/0361073X.2012.659995. View

Dao E, Barha C, Best J, Hsiung G, Tam R, Liu-Ambrose T . The Effect of Aerobic Exercise on White Matter Hyperintensity Progression May Vary by Sex. Can J Aging. 2019; 38(2):236-244. DOI: 10.1017/S0714980818000582. View

Davidsen P, Gallagher I, Hartman J, Tarnopolsky M, Dela F, Helge J . High responders to resistance exercise training demonstrate differential regulation of skeletal muscle microRNA expression. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2010; 110(2):309-17. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00901.2010. View

Rovio S, Kareholt I, Helkala E, Viitanen M, Winblad B, Tuomilehto J . Leisure-time physical activity at midlife and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Lancet Neurol. 2005; 4(11):705-11. DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(05)70198-8. View

Kemppainen J, Aalto S, Fujimoto T, Kalliokoski K, Langsjo J, Oikonen V . High intensity exercise decreases global brain glucose uptake in humans. J Physiol. 2005; 568(Pt 1):323-32. PMC: 1474763. DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2005.091355. View

Voss M, Vivar C, Kramer A, van Praag H . Bridging animal and human models of exercise-induced brain plasticity. Trends Cogn Sci. 2013; 17(10):525-44. PMC: 4565723. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.08.001. View

Gronwald T, Schulze S, Ludyga S, Hottenrott K . [Not Available]. Praxis (Bern 1994). 2016; 105(18):1065-70. DOI: 10.1024/1661-8157/a002458. View

10.

Gass G, McLellan T, Gass E . Effects of prolonged exercise at a similar percentage of maximal oxygen consumption in trained and untrained subjects. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1991; 63(6):430-5. DOI: 10.1007/BF00868074. View

11.

Campbell K, Neil S, Winters-Stone K . Review of exercise studies in breast cancer survivors: attention to principles of exercise training. Br J Sports Med. 2012; 46(13):909-16. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2010-082719. View

12.

Scharhag-Rosenberger F, Meyer T, Gassler N, Faude O, Kindermann W . Exercise at given percentages of VO2max: heterogeneous metabolic responses between individuals. J Sci Med Sport. 2009; 13(1):74-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2008.12.626. View

13.

Santos-Concejero J, Billaut F, Grobler L, Olivan J, Noakes T, Tucker R . Maintained cerebral oxygenation during maximal self-paced exercise in elite Kenyan runners. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2014; 118(2):156-62. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00909.2014. View

14.

Barha C, Liu-Ambrose T . Exercise and the Aging Brain: Considerations for Sex Differences. Brain Plast. 2018; 4(1):53-63. PMC: 6296261. DOI: 10.3233/BPL-180067. View

15.

Sanders L, Hortobagyi T, la Bastide-van Gemert S, van der Zee E, van Heuvelen M . Dose-response relationship between exercise and cognitive function in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2019; 14(1):e0210036. PMC: 6328108. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210036. View

16.

Mann T, Lamberts R, Lambert M . High responders and low responders: factors associated with individual variation in response to standardized training. Sports Med. 2014; 44(8):1113-24. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-014-0197-3. View

17.

Taher M, Leen W, Wevers R, Willemsen M . Lactate and its many faces. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2015; 20(1):3-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2015.09.008. View

18.

Trajkovska V, Marcussen A, Vinberg M, Hartvig P, Aznar S, Knudsen G . Measurements of brain-derived neurotrophic factor: methodological aspects and demographical data. Brain Res Bull. 2007; 73(1-3):143-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2007.03.009. View

19.

Tsukamoto H, Suga T, Takenaka S, Tanaka D, Takeuchi T, Hamaoka T . Repeated high-intensity interval exercise shortens the positive effect on executive function during post-exercise recovery in healthy young males. Physiol Behav. 2016; 160:26-34. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.03.029. View

20.

Weltman A, Snead D, Seip R, Schurrer R, Weltman J, Rutt R . Percentages of maximal heart rate, heart rate reserve and VO2max for determining endurance training intensity in male runners. Int J Sports Med. 1990; 11(3):218-22. DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1024795. View