Abstract
Previous cross-sectional studies have related aerobic fitness to inhibitory control and white matter (WM) microstructure in young adults, but there is no longitudinal study to confirm whether these relationships exist. We carried out a longitudinal study comparing aerobic fitness, inhibitory control, and WM integrity across time points, before versus after completing an exercise intervention in young adults (18–20 years old) relative to a control group. The exercise group (n = 35) participated in a 9-week exercise protocol, while the control group (n = 24) did not receive any regular exercise training. Behavioral data and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data were collected prior to and following the intervention. After the exercise intervention, aerobic fitness and inhibitory control performance were significantly improved for the exercise group, but not for the control group. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) of the DTI data demonstrated significantly increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the right corticospinal tract and significantly decreased FA in the left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus in the exercise group after the intervention versus before. The enhanced aerobic fitness induced by exercise was associated with better inhibitory control performance in the incongruent condition and lower FA in the Left superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (SFOF). Regression analysis of a mediation model did not support Left SFOF FA as a mediator of the relationship between improvements in aerobic fitness and inhibitory control. The present data provide new evidence of the relationship between exercise-induced changes in aerobic fitness, WM integrity, and inhibitory control in early adulthood. Longer-duration intervention studies with larger study cohorts are needed to confirm and further explore the findings obtained in this study.
Highlights
Extensive research involving subjects across various age groups has demonstrated that aerobic fitness can benefit several aspects of cognitive function [1,2,3], including attention [4], inhibitory control [5], memory [6], and executive function [7]
A cross-sectional study employing white matter (WM) tractography based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data demonstrated a positive correlation between fitness level and fractional anisotropy (FA) in a cohort of 9- and 10-year-old children [10]
The aim of this study was to examine the influence of aerobic fitness on WM integrity and inhibitory control in young adults, addressing this knowledge gap, and to attempt to explore the interaction between the three variables caused by exercise interventions
Summary
Extensive research involving subjects across various age groups has demonstrated that aerobic fitness can benefit several aspects of cognitive function [1,2,3], including attention [4], inhibitory control [5], memory [6], and executive function [7]. A cross-sectional study involving elderly subjects related fitness to spatial working memory performance, and obtained data suggesting that FA may play a mediating role between aerobic fitness and cognition [11]. Herting et al found no relationship between aerobic fitness and FA in male adolescents [12] These inconsistent results suggest that the relationship between aerobic fitness, WM integrity, and cognition may vary across different stages of life
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