A systematic review of the evidence that brain structure is related to muscle structure and their relationship to brain and muscle function in humans over the lifecourse.

Alixe Hm Kilgour,Oliver M Todd,John M Starr

doi:10.1186/1471-2318-14-85

Abstract

BackgroundAn association between cognition and physical function has been shown to exist but the roles of muscle and brain structure in this relationship are not fully understood. A greater understanding of these relationships may lead to identification of the underlying mechanisms in this important area of research. This systematic review examines the evidence for whether: a) brain structure is related to muscle structure; b) brain structure is related to muscle function; and c) brain function is related to muscle structure in healthy children and adults.MethodsMedline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO were searched on March 6th 2014. A grey literature search was performed using Google and Google Scholar. Hand searching through citations and references of relevant articles was also undertaken.Results53 articles were included in the review; mean age of the subjects ranged from 8.8 to 85.5 years old. There is evidence of a positive association between both whole brain volume and white matter (WM) volume and muscle size. Total grey matter (GM) volume was not associated with muscle size but some areas of regional GM volume were associated with muscle size (right temporal pole and bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex). No evidence was found of a relationship between grip strength and whole brain volume however there was some evidence of a positive association with WM volume. Conversely, there is evidence that gait speed is positively associated with whole brain volume; this relationship may be driven by total WM volume or regional GM volumes, specifically the hippocampus. Markers of brain ageing, that is brain atrophy and greater accumulation of white matter hyperintensities (WMH), were associated with grip strength and gait speed. The location of WMH is important for gait speed; periventricular hyperintensities and brainstem WMH are associated with gait speed but subcortical WMH play less of a role. Cognitive function does not appear to be associated with muscle size.ConclusionThere is evidence that brain structure is associated with muscle structure and function. Future studies need to follow these interactions longitudinally to understand potential causal relationships.

Highlights

An association between cognition and physical function has been shown to exist but the roles of muscle and brain structure in this relationship are not fully understood
This systematic review looked at the evidence for whether: a) brain structure is related to muscle structure, b) brain structure is related to muscle function and c) brain function is related to muscle structure in healthy humans over the life course
Muscle size and Trail Making Test (TMT)-b hLeg Lean mass (LM) was associated with muscle size but not total LM or arm LM in this study [66]. iIn an multiple linear regression (MLR) there was no association between Mini mental state examination (MMSE) and Fat free mass (FFM) but when comparing subjects with normal Relative appendicular skeletal mass (RASM) and those within the lowest 20% of RASM this study found a significant difference [75]. jDigit span forwards unadjusted and adjusted was not associated with thigh muscle CSA, but adjusted backwards digit span was negatively associated with thigh muscle CSA in this study [76]

Summary

Introduction

An association between cognition and physical function has been shown to exist but the roles of muscle and brain structure in this relationship are not fully understood. A greater understanding of this role will help to improve current knowledge of the mechanisms linking brain and muscle function over the lifecourse. Several theories have been proposed as to why relationships between brain and muscle structure and function may exist. Environmental factors impact on how tissues change across the lifecourse and another theory by Mitnitski et al proposes that the number of environmental stressors experienced (e.g. disease, smoking) and the ability to recover from them, vary the level of deficit accumulation experienced in multiple organ systems, and how tissues like brain and muscle change with age [12]. Potential underlying mechanisms include: pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. TNF-alpha and IL-6); the role of glucocorticoids and their intracellular amplifier 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 [13,14,15]; the role of vitamin D [16,17]; exercise as a way to improve cardiovascular fitness in addition to its beneficial effect through hormones and cytokines [18,19,20]; and cellular senescence (e.g. through oxidative stress) [21,22]

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