Cited by 190Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPhysical Activity and HealthNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Not only cardiovascular, but also coordinative exercise increases hippocampal volume in older adults.

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Niemann, Claudia, Godde, Ben, Voelcker-Rehage, Claudia·2014·Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Abstract

Cardiovascular activity has been shown to be positively associated with gray and white matter volume of, amongst others, frontal and temporal brain regions in older adults. This is particularly true for the hippocampus, a brain structure that plays an important role in learning and memory, and whose decline has been related to the development of Alzheimer's disease. In the current study, we were interested in whether not only cardiovascular activity but also other types of physical activity, i.e., coordination training, were also positively associated with the volume of the hippocampus in older adults. For this purpose we first collected cross-sectional data on "metabolic fitness" (cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength) and "motor fitness" (e.g., balance, movement speed, fine coordination). Second, we performed a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Results revealed that motor fitness but not metabolic fitness was associated with hippocampal volume. After the 12-month intervention period, both, cardiovascular and coordination training led to increases in hippocampal volume. Our findings suggest that a high motor fitness level as well as different types of physical activity were beneficial to diminish age-related hippocampal volume shrinkage or even increase hippocampal volume.

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  • Randomized controlled trials in healthy samples have demonstrated that aerobic exercise interventions were associated with increases in hippocampal volume in older adults.

    “RCTs in healthy samples have demonstrated that AE interventions were associated with increases in hippocampal volume in young and middle aged (Thomas et al., 2016) and older adults (Colcombe et al., 2006; Erickson et al., 2011; Niemann et al., 2014; Kleemeyer et al., 2015; Maass et al., 2015; Sexton et al., 2015a).”
  • Discrepancies in aerobic exercise effects on hippocampal volume may be caused by a lack of consistency in aerobic exercise protocols used or in methods of calculating hippocampal volume.

    “While some RCTs have found that AE did not have an impact on hippocampal volume (Ruscheweyh et al., 2011; Scheewe et al., 2013; Krogh et al., 2014; Rosenbaum et al., 2015; Malchow et al., 2016), it is possible that such discrepancies are caused by a lack of consistency in AE protocols used (Prakash et al., 2015) or in the methods of calculating hippocampal volume (Niemann et al., 2014).”

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Authors
Niemann, C., Godde, B., & Voelcker-Rehage, C.
Affiliations
Constructor University (DE)
Venue
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Published
2014-08-04
Volume
6
Pages
170-170
ISSN
1663-4365 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2153307757
Cited by
190
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 13
FWCI
13.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Robert Bosch Stiftung (12.5.1366.0005.0)
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
hippocampal volume, older adults, coordination training, cardiorespiratory fitness, motor fitness, physical activity, brain aging, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive aging, balance, muscle strength

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