CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 90Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPhysical Activity and HealthNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Preventive effects of regular physical exercise against cognitive decline and the risk of dementia with age advancement

Open access
Paillard, Thierry·2015·Sports Medicine - Open
DOI 10.1186/s40798-015-0016-xPMC PMC5005681
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

With age advancement, cognitive function is impaired and the risk of dementia is increased under the influence of normal or pathological cortical and subcortical neuronal alterations. Significant researches has been undertaken to analyze the preventive effects of exercise against the decline of cognitive function and the risk of dementia (e.g., Alzheimer's disease), particularly during the past 10 years. The aim of this short review is to report the scientific knowledge, relating to these effects, that has been obtained during the past 10 years. Acute physical exercise raises the cardiac output in response to increased needs for oxygen and energetic substrates compared to the state of rest, which increases the cerebral blood flow. The increased cerebral blood flow triggers various neurobiological mechanisms in the brain tissue. Repeated and regular physiological modifications related to exercise facilitate the synthesis of cerebral tissue. Regular physical exercise (rPE) may thus increase angiogenesis, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and the synthesis of neurotransmitters in different cerebral structures involved in cognition due to an increase in the liberation of neurotrophic factors and the production of enzymatic antioxidants. There is an inversely proportional relationship between the amount of physical activity undertaken and the risk of cognitive decline and/or the development of neurodegenerative disease. The synthesis of cerebral tissue under the influence of aerobic rPE may increase the volume of the gray and white matters of the prefrontal and temporal cortical areas as well as the volume of the hippocampus. Moreover, coordination exercise stimulates cognitive function, thereby inducing positive adaptations of cerebral function when regularly practiced. The possible effects of other types of exercise that weakly stimulate the cardiovascular system or cognitive function, such as stretching and strength training, are also beneficial but their mechanistic explanations require further exploration.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1186/s40798-015-0016-x

Cites

9 of 9 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Participation in regular physical activity is beneficial for cognition, with an inverse relationship between level of physical activity and likelihood of cognitive decline and dementia.

    “Participation in regular physical activity is known to be beneficial for cognition where an inverse relationship exists between the level of physical activity and the likelihood of cognitive decline and dementia.14,15”

    From Influence of habitual physical activity on cognitive performance of healthy young adults after passive heat exposure (2026) · cites this paper as [14]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 54

  1. [2]Bonaconsa M Colavito V Pifferi F Aujard F Schenker E Dix S Cell clocks and neuronal networks: neuron ticking and synchronization in aging and aging - related neurodegenerative disease Curr Alzheimer Res 2013 10 597 608 10.2174/15672050113109990004 23627753 · DOI
  2. [3]Dartigues JF Foubert-Samier A Helmer C Relationship between educational level and dementia: social factor and age-related chronic disease Rev Epidemiol Sante Publique 2013 61 Suppl 3 195 198 10.1016/j.respe.2013.04.004 23835147 · DOI
  3. [4]Paulson HL Igo I Genetics of dementia Semin Neurol 2011 31 449 460 10.1055/s-0031-1299784 22266883 PMC3545709 · DOI
  4. [5]Gao HM Hong JS Gene-environment interactions: key to unraveling the mystery of Parkinson's disease Prog Neurobiol 2011 94 1 19 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2011.03.005 21439347 PMC3098527 · DOI
  5. [6]Zawia NH Basha MR Environmental risk factors and the developmental basis for Alzheimer’s disease Rev Neurosci 2005 16 325 337 10.1515/REVNEURO.2005.16.4.325 16519009 · DOI
  6. [7]Logroscino G The role of early life environmental risk factors in Parkinson disease: what is the evidence? Environ Health Perspect 2005 113 1234 1238 10.1289/ehp.7573 16140634 PMC1280408 · DOI
  7. [9]Zeki Al Hazzouri A Haan MN Kalbfleisch JD Galea S Lisabeth LD Aiello AE Life-course socioeconomic position and incidence of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia in older Mexican americans: results from the Sacramento area Latino study on aging Am J Epidemiol 2011 173 1148 1158 10.1093/aje/kwq483 21430188 PMC3121319 · DOI
  8. [10]Plassman BL Williams JW Jr Burke JR Holsinger T Benjamin S Systematic review: factors associated with risk for and possible prevention of cognitive decline in later life Ann Intern Med 2010 153 182 193 10.7326/0003-4819-153-3-201008030-00258 20547887 · DOI · Paper page
  9. [11]Osler M Avlund K Mortensen EL Socio-economic position early in life, cognitive development and cognitive change from young adulthood to middle age Eur J Public Health 2013 23 974 980 10.1093/eurpub/cks140 23093718 · DOI
  10. [12]De Luca d'Alessandro E Bonacci S Giraldi G Aging populations: the health and quality of life of the elderly Clin Ter 2011 162 e13 8 21448536
  11. [15]Gligoroska JP Manchevska S The effect of physical activity on cognition - physiological mechanisms Mater Sociomed 2012 24 198 202 10.5455/msm.2012.24.198-202 23678325 PMC3633396 · DOI
  12. [16]Archer T Physical exercise alleviates debilities of normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease Acta Neurol Scand 2011 123 221 238 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2010.01412.x 20880302 · DOI
  13. [17]Voelcker-Rehage C Niemann C Structural and functional brain changes related to different types of physical activity across the life span Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013 37 2268 2295 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.01.028 23399048 · DOI
  14. [18]Abe K Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults Neurology 2012 79 1071 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826bd5cf 22946116 · DOI
  15. [19]Buchman AS Boyle PA Yu L Shah RC Wilson RS Bennett DA Total daily physical activity and the risk of AD and cognitive decline in older adults Neurology 2012 24 1323 1329 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182535d35 22517108 PMC3335448 · DOI · Paper page
  16. [20]Bergado JA Almaguer W Aging and synaptic plasticity: a review Neural Plast 2002 9 217 232 10.1155/NP.2002.217 12959152 PMC2565407 · DOI
  17. [21]Kelly KM Nadon NL Morrison JH Thibault O Barnes CA Blalock EM The neurobiology of aging Epilepsy Res 2006 68 Suppl 1 5 20 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2005.07.015 16386406 · DOI
  18. [22]Moeller JR Ishikawa T Dhawan V Spetsieris P Mandel F Alexander GE The metabolic topography of normal aging J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 1996 16 385 398 10.1097/00004647-199605000-00005 8621743 · DOI · Paper page
  19. [23]Martin AJ Friston KJ Colebatch JG Frackowiak RS Decreases in regional cerebral blood flow with normal aging J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 1991 11 684 689 10.1038/jcbfm.1991.121 2050757 · DOI · Paper page
  20. [24]Rutten BP Korr H Steinbusch HW Schmitz C The aging brain: less neurons could be better Mech Ageing Dev 2003 124 349 355 10.1016/S0047-6374(03)00002-2 12663133 · DOI
  21. [25]Saver JL Time is brain-quantified Stroke 2006 37 263 266 10.1161/01.STR.0000196957.55928.ab 16339467 · DOI
  22. [26]Mazner L Nyengaard JR Tang Y Pakkenberg B Marked loss of myelinated nerve fibers in the human brain with age J Comp Neurol 2003 462 144 152 10.1002/cne.10714 12794739 · DOI
  23. [27]Peters A The effects of normal aging on myelin and nerve fibers: a review J Neurocytol 2002 31 581 593 10.1023/A:1025731309829 14501200 · DOI · Paper page
  24. [28]Qin S Hermans EJ van Marle HJ Fernández G Understanding low reliability of memories for neutral information encoded under stress: alterations in memory-related activation in the hippocampus and midbrain J Neurosci 2012 32 4032 4041 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3101-11.2012 22442069 PMC6621211 · DOI
  25. [29]Hasan KM Rahman MS Arif KM Sobhani ME Psychological stress and aging: role of glucocorticoids (GCs) Age (Dordr) 2012 34 1421 1433 10.1007/s11357-011-9319-0 21971999 PMC3528378 · DOI
  26. [30]Erixon-Lindroth N Farde L Wahlin TB Sovago J Halldin C Bäckman L The role of the striatal dopamine transporter in cognitive aging Psychiatry Res 2005 138 1 12 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2004.09.005 15708296 · DOI
  27. [31]Van Gelder BM Tijhuis MA Kalmijn S Giampaoli S Nissinen A Kromhout D Physical activity in relation to cognitive decline in elderly men: the FINE Study Neurology 2004 63 2316 2321 10.1212/01.WNL.0000147474.29994.35 15623693 · DOI · Paper page
  28. [32]Schuit AJ Feskens EJ Launer LJ Kromhout D Physical activity and cognitive decline, the role of the apolipoprotein e4 allele Med Sci Sports Exerc 2001 33 772 777 10.1097/00005768-200105000-00015 11323547 · DOI · Paper page
  29. [34]Yaffe K Barnes D Nevitt M Lui LY Covinsky K A prospective study of physical activity and cognitive decline in elderly women: women who walk Arch Intern Med 2001 161 1703 1708 10.1001/archinte.161.14.1703 11485502 · DOI · Paper page
  30. [36]Colcombe S Kramer AF Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: a meta- analytic study Psychol Sci 2003 14 125 130 10.1111/1467-9280.t01-1-01430 12661673 · DOI · Paper page
  31. [37]Wenk GL Neuropathologic changes in Alzheimer’s disease J Clin Psychiatry 2003 64 Suppl 9 7 10 12934968
  32. [38]Lange-Asschenfeldt C Kojda G Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular dysfunction and the benefits of exercise: from vessels to neurons Exp Gerontol 2008 43 499 504 10.1016/j.exger.2008.04.002 18474414 · DOI
  33. [39]Larson EB Wang L Bowen JD McCormick WC Teri L Crane P Exercise is associated with reduced risk for incident dementia among persons 65 years of age and older Ann Intern Med 2006 144 73 81 10.7326/0003-4819-144-2-200601170-00004 16418406 · DOI · Paper page
  34. [40]Nelson R Exercise could prevent cerebral changes associated with AD Lancet Neurol 2005 4 275 10.1016/S1474-4422(05)70064-8 15861556 · DOI
  35. [41]de Bruijn RF Schrijvers EM de Groot KA Witteman JC Hofman A Franco OH The association between physical activity and dementia in an elderly population: the Rotterdam study Eur J Epidemiol 2013 28 277 283 10.1007/s10654-013-9773-3 23385659 · DOI
  36. [42]Karceski S Preventing Alzheimer disease with exercise? Neurology 2012 78 110 112 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318255e0c9 22529211 · DOI
  37. [43]Deslandes A Moraes H Ferreira C Veiga H Silveira H Mouta R Exercise and mental health: many reasons to move Neuropsychobiology 2009 59 191 198 10.1159/000223730 19521110 · DOI · Paper page
  38. [44]Lista I Sorrentino G Biological mechanisms of physical activity in preventing cognitive decline Cell Mol Neurobiol 2010 30 493 503 10.1007/s10571-009-9488-x 20041290 PMC11498799 · DOI
  39. [45]Eggermont L Swaab D Luiten P Scherder E Exercise, cognition and Alzheimer’s disease: more is not necessarily better Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2006 30 562 575 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2005.10.004 16359729 · DOI
  40. [46]Radak Z Hart N Sarga L Koltai E Atalay M Ohno H Exercise plays a preventive role against Alzheimer’s disease J Alzheimer’s Dis 2010 20 777 783 20182027
  41. [47]Vaynman S Ying Z Gomez-Pinilla F Hippocampal BDNF mediates the efficacy of exercise on synaptic plasticity and cognition Eur J Neurosci 2004 20 2580 2590 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2004.03720.x 15548201 · DOI · Paper page
  42. [48]Van Praag H Christie BR Sejnowski TJ Gage FH Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1999 96 13427 13431 10.1073/pnas.96.23.13427 10557337 PMC23964 · DOI · Paper page
  43. [49]Larsen JO Skalicky M Viidik A Does long-term physical exercise counteract age-related Purkinje cell loss? A stereological study of rat cerebellum J Comp Neurol 2000 428 213 222 10.1002/1096-9861(20001211)428:2<213::AID-CNE2>3.0.CO;2-Q 11064362 · DOI · Paper page
  44. [50]Angevaren M Aufdemkampe G Verhaar HJ Aleman A Vanhees L Physical activity and enhanced fitness to improve cognitive function in older people without known cognitive impairment Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008 16 2 CD005381 18425918
  45. [53]Kramer AF Colcombe S Erickson K Belopolsky A McAuley E Cohen NJ Effects of aerobic fitness training on human cortical function: a proposal J Mol Neurosci 2002 19 227 231 10.1007/s12031-002-0038-y 12212786 · DOI
  46. [55]Erickson KI Raji CA Lopez OL Becker JT Rosano C Newman AB Physical activity predicts gray matter volume in late adulthood: the Cardiovascular Health Study Neurology 2010 75 1415 1422 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181f88359 20944075 PMC3039208 · DOI · Paper page
  47. [56]Erickson KI Voss MW Prakash RS Basak C Szabo A Chaddock L Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011 108 3017 3022 10.1073/pnas.1015950108 21282661 PMC3041121 · DOI · Paper page
  48. [58]Voelcker-Rehage C Godde B Staudinger UM Cardiovascular and coordination training differentially improve cognitive performance and neural processing in older adults Front Hum Neurosci 2011 5 26 10.3389/fnhum.2011.00026 21441997 PMC3062100 · DOI
  49. [59]Voss MW, Prakash RS, Erickson KI, Basak C, Chaddock L, Kim JS, et al. Plasticity of brain networks in a randomized intervention trial of exercise training in older adults. Front Aging Neurosci. 2010. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2010.00032. PMC2947936 20890449 · DOI · Paper page
  50. [61]Nguyen MH Kruse A A randomized controlled trial of Tai chi for balance, sleep quality and cognitive performance in elderly Vietnamese Clin Interv Aging 2012 7 185 190 10.2147/CIA.S32600 22807627 PMC3396052 · DOI
  51. [62]Chang YK Nien YH Tsai CL Etnier JL Physical activity and cognition in older adults: the potential of Tai Chi Chuan J Aging Phys Act 2010 18 451 472 20956845
  52. [63]Taylor-Piliae RE Newell KA Cherin R Lee MJ King AC Haskell WL Effects of Tai Chi and Western exercise on physical and cognitive functioning in healthy community-dwelling older adults J Aging Phys Act 2010 18 261 279 20651414 PMC4699673
  53. [64]Blake H Hawley H Effects of Tai Chi exercise on physical and psychological health of older people Curr Aging Sci 2012 5 19 27 10.2174/1874609811205010019 21762093 · DOI
  54. [65]Audiffren M, André N, Albinet C. Effets positifs de l’exercice physique chronique sur les fonctions cognitives des seniors: bilan et perspectives. Rev Neuropsychol. 2011;3:207–25.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Paillard, T.
Affiliations
Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (FR)
Corresponding author
Paillard, Thierry
ORCID
Paillard, Thierry
Venue
Sports Medicine - Open
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-04-17
Volume
1
Issue
1
Pages
20-20
ISSN
  • 2198-9761 (ISSN-L)
  • 2199-1170
DOI
10.1186/s40798-015-0016-x
PMC
PMC5005681
OpenAlex
W2146964533
Cited by
90
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 1
FWCI
1.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sports Medicine - Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Keywords
physical activity, cognitive decline, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, aging, cerebral blood flow, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, neurotrophic factors, antioxidant enzymes, hippocampus, gray and white matter volume, coordination exercises, aerobic exercise, resistance training, stretching, neurodegeneration

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review