Exercise Intervention on the Brain Structure and Function of Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Systematic Review Based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies

Overview

Journal Front Psychiatry

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2024 Dec 18

PMID 39691788

Authors

Jing Xu

Jiangsheng Yu

Gai Li

Yanqiu Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review evaluates the impact of exercise intervention in MCI patients and discusses the potential neural mechanisms.

Methods: A systematic search and screening of relevant literature was conducted in English and Chinese databases. Based on predefined keywords and criteria, 24 articles were assessed and analyzed.

Results: Structurally, a significant increase was observed in the hippocampal and gray matter volumes of MCI patients following exercise intervention, with a trend of improvement in cortical thickness and white matter integrity. Functionally, after the exercise intervention, there were significant changes in the local spontaneous brain activity levels, cerebral blood flow, and functional connectivity during rest and memory encoding and retrieval tasks in MCI patients.

Conclusion: Exercise may contribute to delaying neurodegenerative changes in brain structure and function in patients with MCI. However, the underlying neural mechanisms require further research.

Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023482419.

References

Tardif C, Steele C, Lampe L, Bazin P, Ragert P, Villringer A . Investigation of the confounding effects of vasculature and metabolism on computational anatomy studies. Neuroimage. 2017; 149:233-243. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.01.025. View

Wilckens K, Stillman C, Waiwood A, Kang C, Leckie R, Peven J . Exercise interventions preserve hippocampal volume: A meta-analysis. Hippocampus. 2020; 31(3):335-347. PMC: 11497212. DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23292. View

Sheline Y, Raichle M . Resting state functional connectivity in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Biol Psychiatry. 2013; 74(5):340-7. PMC: 3537262. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.11.028. View

Park D, Reuter-Lorenz P . The adaptive brain: aging and neurocognitive scaffolding. Annu Rev Psychol. 2008; 60:173-96. PMC: 3359129. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093656. View

Teixeira C, de Rezende T, Weiler M, Magalhaes T, Carletti-Cassani A, Silva T . Cognitive and structural cerebral changes in amnestic mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease after multicomponent training. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2018; 4:473-480. PMC: 6153377. DOI: 10.1016/j.trci.2018.02.003. View

Guyatt G, Sackett D, Cook D . Users' guides to the medical literature. II. How to use an article about therapy or prevention. B. What were the results and will they help me in caring for my patients? Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. JAMA. 1994; 271(1):59-63. DOI: 10.1001/jama.271.1.59. View

Chowdhary N, Barbui C, Anstey K, Kivipelto M, Barbera M, Peters R . Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: WHO Recommendations. Front Neurol. 2022; 12:765584. PMC: 8784726. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.765584. View

Chirles T, Reiter K, Weiss L, Alfini A, Nielson K, Smith J . Exercise Training and Functional Connectivity Changes in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Elders. J Alzheimers Dis. 2017; 57(3):845-856. PMC: 6472271. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-161151. View

Gauthier S, Reisberg B, Zaudig M, Petersen R, Ritchie K, Broich K . Mild cognitive impairment. Lancet. 2006; 367(9518):1262-70. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68542-5. View

10.

Ibrahim B, Suppiah S, Ibrahim N, Mohamad M, Hassan H, Syed Nasser N . Diagnostic power of resting-state fMRI for detection of network connectivity in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Hum Brain Mapp. 2021; 42(9):2941-2968. PMC: 8127155. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25369. View

11.

Frederiksen K, Larsen C, Hasselbalch S, Christensen A, Hogh P, Wermuth L . A 16-Week Aerobic Exercise Intervention Does Not Affect Hippocampal Volume and Cortical Thickness in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci. 2018; 10:293. PMC: 6167961. DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00293. View

12.

Lebel C, Deoni S . The development of brain white matter microstructure. Neuroimage. 2018; 182:207-218. PMC: 6030512. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.12.097. View

13.

Guyatt G, Sackett D, Cook D . Users' guides to the medical literature. II. How to use an article about therapy or prevention. A. Are the results of the study valid? Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. JAMA. 1993; 270(21):2598-601. DOI: 10.1001/jama.270.21.2598. View

14.

Pitkala K, Savikko N, Poysti M, Strandberg T, Laakkonen M . Efficacy of physical exercise intervention on mobility and physical functioning in older people with dementia: a systematic review. Exp Gerontol. 2012; 48(1):85-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2012.08.008. View

15.

Soshi T, Andersson M, Kawagoe T, Nishiguchi S, Yamada M, Otsuka Y . Prefrontal Plasticity after a 3-Month Exercise Intervention in Older Adults Relates to Enhanced Cognitive Performance. Cereb Cortex. 2021; 31(10):4501-4517. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab102. View

16.

Qi M, Zhu Y, Zhang L, Wu T, Wang J . The effect of aerobic dance intervention on brain spontaneous activity in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A resting-state functional MRI study. Exp Ther Med. 2019; 17(1):715-722. PMC: 6307442. DOI: 10.3892/etm.2018.7006. View

17.

Xu Y, Chen K, Zhao Q, Li F, Guo Q . Short-term delayed recall of auditory verbal learning test provides equivalent value to long-term delayed recall in predicting MCI clinical outcomes: A longitudinal follow-up study. Appl Neuropsychol Adult. 2018; 27(1):73-81. DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2018.1481067. View

18.

Liberati A, Altman D, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gotzsche P, Ioannidis J . The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate health care interventions: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2009; 6(7):e1000100. PMC: 2707010. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000100. View

19.

Suo C, Fiatarone Singh M, Gates N, Wen W, Sachdev P, Brodaty H . Therapeutically relevant structural and functional mechanisms triggered by physical and cognitive exercise. Mol Psychiatry. 2016; 21(11):1633-1642. PMC: 5078857. DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.19. View

20.

Pitarque A, Melendez J, Sales A, Mayordomo T, Satorres E, Escudero J . The effects of healthy aging, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease on recollection, familiarity and false recognition, estimated by an associative process-dissociation recognition procedure. Neuropsychologia. 2016; 91:29-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.07.010. View