Abstract
Aerobic fitness has been found to play a positive role in brain and cognitive health of children. Yet, many of the neural biomarkers related to aerobic fitness remain unknown. Here, using diffusion tensor imaging, we demonstrated that higher aerobic fitness was related to greater estimates of white matter microstructure in children. Higher fit 9- and 10-year-old children showed greater fractional anisotropy (FA) in sections of the corpus callosum, corona radiata, and superior longitudinal fasciculus, compared to lower fit children. The FA effects were primarily characterized by aerobic fitness differences in radial diffusivity, thereby raising the possibility that estimates of myelination may vary as a function of individual differences in fitness during childhood. White matter structure may be another potential neural mechanism of aerobic fitness that assists in efficient communication between gray matter regions as well as the integration of regions into networks.
Highlights
Strategies to optimize cognitive and brain development, including physical activity, computerized training games, martial arts, yoga, mindfulness, and school curricula, are in the spotlight (Diamond and Lee, 2011)
[F(1,22) = 2.09, p = 0.16], anterior corona radiata [F(1,22) = 0.34, p = 0.57], posterior corona radiata [F(1,22) = 2.37, p = 0.08], posterior thalamic radiation [F(1,22) = 1.11, p = 0.30] or cerebral peduncle [F (1,22) = 0.23, p = 0.64; Table 2]. Secondary analyses on these significant regions showed that group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the body of the corpus callosum were not driven by significant differences in radial diffusivity (RD) or axial diffusivity (AD) (F’s < 2.3, p’s > 0.1)
Aerobic fitness differences in the superior longitudinal fasciculus were characterized by group differences in RD [F(1,22) = 6.61, p = 0.017]
Summary
Strategies to optimize cognitive and brain development, including physical activity, computerized training games, martial arts, yoga, mindfulness, and school curricula, are in the spotlight (Diamond and Lee, 2011). Given that the size and function of several different gray matter regions differ between higher fit and lower fit children (Hillman et al, 2009; Chaddock et al, 2010a,b; Davis et al, 2011; Pontifex et al, 2011; Voss et al, 2011; Chaddock et al, 2012a), it is possible that white matter microstructure that connects gray matter areas differs as a function of aerobic fitness In support of such a hypothesis, higher aerobic fitness levels and participation in physical activity are positively associated with white matter structure in older adults (Colcombe et al, 2006; Marks et al, 2007; Johnson et al, 2012; Voss et al, 2012)
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