Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The human brain gradually loses tissue from the third decade of life onward, with concomitant declines in cognitive performance. Given the projected rapid growth in aged populations, and the staggering costs associated with geriatric care, identifying mechanisms that may reduce or reverse cerebral deterioration is rapidly emerging as an important public health goal. Previous research has demonstrated that aerobic fitness training improves cognitive function in older adults and can improve brain health in aging laboratory animals, suggesting that aerobic fitness may provide a mechanism to improve cerebral health in aging humans. We examined the relationship between aerobic fitness and in vivo brain tissue density in an older adult population, using voxel-based morphometric techniques. METHODS: We acquired high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans from 55 older adults. These images were segmented into gray and white matter maps, registered into stereotaxic space, and examined for systematic variation in tissue density as a function of age, aerobic fitness, and a number of other health markers. RESULTS: Consistent with previous studies of aging and brain volume, we found robust declines in tissue densities as a function of age in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices. More importantly, we found that losses in these areas were substantially reduced as a function of cardiovascular fitness, even when we statistically controlled for other moderator variables. CONCLUSIONS: These findings extend the scope of beneficial effects of aerobic exercise beyond cardiovascular health, and they suggest a strong solid biological basis for the benefits of exercise on the brain health of older adults.
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A higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with favorable structural brain changes in older adults and individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
“(iii) favorable structural brain changes in older adults (Colcombe et al., 2003; Erickson et al., 2009; Szabo et al., 2011; Bugg et al., 2012) and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (Burns et al., 2008; Honea et al., 2009; Vidoni et al., 2012).”
From Dose-Response Matters! - A Perspective on the Exercise Prescription in Exercise-Cognition Research (2019) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al., 2003
Aerobic exercise in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation (Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Clinical benefits of aerobic exercise on preventing brain tissue loss have been reported in older adults via cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
“The clinical benefits of aerobic exercise on preventing brain tissue loss have been reported in older adults via crosssectional and longitudinal studies (Colcombe et al, 2003;Colcombe et al, 2006).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Aerobic exercise in humans is associated with enhanced neurogenesis.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Aerobic exercise in humans is associated with improved learning and memory.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Aerobic exercise in humans is associated with increased hippocampal BDNF.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Aerobic exercise in humans is associated with dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Voluntary running in rodents is associated with improved learning and memory.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Voluntary running in rodents is associated with increased hippocampal BDNF.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
Voluntary running in rodents is associated with dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation.
“Clinical and animal reports show that aerobic exercise (right) in humans and voluntary running in rodents is associated with enhanced neurogenesis, improved learning and memory, increased hippocampal BDNF, and dampened inflammatory response to immune challenge and microglia proliferation(Barrientos et al, 2011;Colcombe et al, 2003;Gebara et al, 2013).”
From Microglia Priming with Aging and Stress (2017) · cites this paper as Colcombe et al, 2003
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- Authors
- Colcombe, S. J., Erickson, K. I., Raz, N., Webb, A. G., Cohen, N. J., McAuley, E., & Kramer, A. F.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Wayne State University (US)
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2003-02-01
- Volume
- 58
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- M176-M180
- ISSN
- 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-535X
- OpenAlex
- W2145870733
- Cited by
- 1,017
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 63 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 54 · 2015: 58 · 2014: 57 · 2013: 53 · 2012: 72
- FWCI
- 15.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- cardiorespiratory fitness, brain tissue density, brain aging, gray matter loss, white matter, older adults, aerobic exercise, cognitive decline
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Brain, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Life Style, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Periaqueductal Gray, Physical Fitness, Probability, Cohort Studies, Geriatric Assessment, Neuroaxonal Dystrophies
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