Changes in fitness are associated with changes in hippocampal microstructure and hippocampal volume among older adults.
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This study investigates the effects of fitness changes on hippocampal microstructure and hippocampal volume. Fifty-two healthy participants aged 59-74years with a sedentary lifestyle were randomly assigned to either of two levels of exercise intensity. Training lasted for six months. Physical fitness, hippocampal volumes, and hippocampal microstructure were measured before and after training. Hippocampal microstructure was assessed by mean diffusivity, which inversely reflects tissue density; hence, mean diffusivity is lower for more densely packed tissue. Mean changes in fitness did not differ reliably across intensity levels of training, so data were collapsed across groups. Multivariate modeling of pretest-posttest differences using structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that individual differences in latent change were reliable for all three constructs. More positive changes in fitness were associated with more positive changes in tissue density (i.e., more negative changes in mean diffusivity), and more positive changes in tissue density were associated with more positive changes in volume. We conclude that fitness-related changes in hippocampal volume may be brought about by changes in tissue density. The relative contributions of angiogenesis, gliogenesis, and/or neurogenesis to changes in tissue density remain to be identified.
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Aerobic exercise is associated with increases in hippocampal microstructural integrity.
“There is a growing cohort of evidence to suggest that AE is associated with increases in hippocampal gray-matter volume in both healthy and non-healthy individuals (Hötting and Röder, 2013; Hamilton and Rhodes, 2015), and with increases in hippocampal microstructural integrity (Kleemeyer et al., 2015).”
From Aerobic Exercise as a Tool to Improve Hippocampal Plasticity and Function in Humans: Practical Implications for Mental Health Treatment (2016) · cites this paper as Kleemeyer et al., 2015
Changes in vasculature may stimulate other neuroplastic mechanisms like synaptogenesis or neurogenesis and promote hippocampal tissue growth.
“Changes in vasculature may indeed stimulate other neuroplastic mechanisms like synaptogenesis or neurogenesis and promote hippocampal tissue growth (Kleemeyer et al., 2015), but a greater investigation is required to outline the direct relationship between vascularization and enhancements in hippocampal functioning stimulated by AE (Davenport et al., 2012).”
From Aerobic Exercise as a Tool to Improve Hippocampal Plasticity and Function in Humans: Practical Implications for Mental Health Treatment (2016) · cites this paper as Kleemeyer et al., 2015
AE-induced hippocampal volume growth is correlated with improvements in the microstructural integrity of hippocampal gray-matter.
“Some studies have used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to demonstrate that the growth in hippocampal volume induced by AE is correlated with improvements in the microstructural integrity of hippocampal gray-matter, based on the assumption that a low mean diffusivity is indicative of an increased gray-matter tissue density (Kleemeyer et al., 2015).”
From Aerobic Exercise as a Tool to Improve Hippocampal Plasticity and Function in Humans: Practical Implications for Mental Health Treatment (2016) · cites this paper as Kleemeyer et al., 2015
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References 48 · Cited by 98
- Authors
- Kleemeyer, M. M., Kühn, S., Prindle, J., Bodammer, N. C., Brechtel, L., Garthe, A., Kempermann, G., Schaefer, S., & Lindenberger, U.
- Affiliations
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Kleemeyer, Maike Margarethe
- ORCID
- Venue
- NeuroImage
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-05
- Volume
- 131
- Pages
- 155-161
- ISSN
- 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2218226915
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 4
- FWCI
- 2.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Cadmus - EUI Research Repository (European University Institute) (submittedVersion)
- DZNE Pub (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- physical fitness, hippocampal volume, hippocampal microstructure, mean diffusivity, tissue density, exercise training, older adults, sedentary lifestyle, exercise intensity, neuroplasticity, angiogenesis, gliogenesis, neurogenesis
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aging, Brain Mapping, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Neuronal Plasticity, Organ Size, Physical Fitness, Exercise, Sedentary Behavior, Physical Conditioning, Human
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