Elevation in cerebral blood flow velocity with aerobic fitness throughout healthy human ageing
Open accessAbstract
It is known that cerebral blood flow declines with age in sedentary adults, although previous studies have involved small sample sizes, making the exact estimate of decline imprecise and the effects of possible moderator variables unknown. Animal studies indicate that aerobic exercise can elevate cerebral blood flow; however, this possibility has not been examined in humans. We examined how regular aerobic exercise affects the age‐related decline in blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCAv) in healthy humans. Maximal oxygen consumption, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and MCAv were measured in healthy sedentary (n= 153) and endurance‐trained (n= 154) men aged between 18 and 79 years. The relationships between age, training status, BMI and MCAv were examined using analysis of covariance methods. Mean ±s.e.m. estimates of regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. The age‐related decline in MCAv was −0.76 ± 0.04 cm s−1 year−1 (95% CI =−0.69 to −0.83, r2= 0.66, P < 0.0005) and was independent of training status (P= 0.65). Nevertheless, MCAv was consistently elevated by 9.1 ± 3.3 cm s−1 (CI = 2.7–15.6, P= 0.006) in endurance‐trained men throughout the age range. This ∼17% difference between trained and sedentary men amounted to an approximate 10 year reduction in MCAv ‘age’ and was robust to between‐group differences in BMI and blood pressure. Regular aerobic‐endurance exercise is associated with higher MCAv in men aged 18–79 years. The persistence of this finding in older endurance‐trained men may therefore help explain why there is a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease in this population.
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Well-trained individuals demonstrate improved cerebral blood flow velocity and regulation, allowing them to maintain brain perfusion even with fluctuations in blood pressure under physical exertion or heat stress, a mechanism that is less efficient in untrained individuals.
“For instance, well-trained individuals demonstrate improved cerebral blood flow velocity25 and regulation,26 allowing them to maintain brain perfusion even with fluctuations in blood pressure under physical exertion or heat stress, a mechanism that is less efficient in untrained individuals.”
From Influence of habitual physical activity on cognitive performance of healthy young adults after passive heat exposure (2026) · cites this paper as [25]
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Aerobic Exercise Training Increases Brain Volume in Aging Humans
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Aerobic fitness reduces brain tissue loss in aging humans.
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“Engagement in regular aerobic-endurance exercise is associated with enhanced systemic arterial endothelial function, reduced large elastic artery stiffness, and a reduced risk of arterial atherosclerotic clinical disease in middle-aged and older adults (Clarkson et al. 1999; DeSouza et al. 2000; Taddei et al. 2000).”
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- Authors
- Ainslie, P. N., Cotter, J. D., George, K. P., Lucas, S., Murrell, C., Shave, R., Thomas, K. N., Williams, M. J. A., & Atkinson, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Otago (NZ)
- Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
- Brunel University of London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ainslie, Philip N.
- ORCID
- Venue
- The Journal of Physiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-08-15
- Volume
- 586
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 4005-4010
- ISSN
- 0022-3751 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7793
- PMC
- PMC2538930
- OpenAlex
- W1583917628
- Cited by
- 444
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 26.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Journal of Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Teesside University Research Portal (Teesside University) (publishedVersion)
- Brunel University Research Archive (BURA) (Brunel University London) (submittedVersion)
- TeesRep (Teesside University) (submittedVersion)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Cardiff Metropolitan Research Repository (Cardiff Metropolitan University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Otago
- Health Research Council of New Zealand
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
- Keywords
- cerebral blood flow velocity, aerobic exercise, endurance training, healthy aging, middle cerebral artery, age-related decline, sedentary lifestyle, VO2max, body mass index, blood pressure, cerebrovascular risk
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aging, Blood Flow Velocity, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oxygen, Physical Fitness, Exercise
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