Physical Exercise and Spatial Training: A Longitudinal Study of Effects on Cognition, Growth Factors, and Hippocampal Plasticity

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Luise Woost - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Author)
  • Pierre Louis Bazin - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging (Author)
  • Marco Taubert - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS) (Author)
  • Robert Trampel - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Author)
  • Christine L. Tardif - , McGill University (Author)
  • Alexander Garthe - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) (Author)
  • Gerd Kempermann - , German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dresden site (Partner: DZNE of the Helmholtz Association), Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Chair of Genomics of Regeneration (Author)
  • Ulrich Renner - , Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Author)
  • Günter Stalla - , Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Author)
  • Derek V.M. Ott - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Epilepsy Center Berlin-Brandenburg (Author)
  • Viola Rjosk - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (Author)
  • Hellmuth Obrig - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Arno Villringer - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig University, Department of Dermatology, Allergy and Venereology (Author)
  • Elisabeth Roggenhofer - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Geneva (Author)
  • Tilmann A. Klein - , Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig University, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)

Abstract

Physical exercise has been suggested to improve cognitive performance through various neurobiological mechanisms, mediated by growth factors such as BDNF, IGF-I, and VEGF. Moreover, animal research has demonstrated that combined physical and cognitive stimulation leads to increased adult neurogenesis as compared to either experimental condition alone. In the present study, we therefore investigated whether a sequential combination of physical and spatial training in young, healthy adults elicits an additive effect on training and transfer gains. To this end, we compared the effects of (i) eight 20-minute sessions of cycling, (ii) sixteen 30-minute sessions of spatial training, (iii) a combination of both, and included (iv) a passive control cohort. We assessed longitudinal changes in cognitive performance, growth factor levels, and T1 relaxation of hippocampal subfields (acquired with 7 T MRI). While substantial physical and spatial training gains were elicited in all trained groups, longitudinal transfer changes did not differ between these groups. Notably, we found no evidence for an additive effect of sequential physical and spatial training. These results challenge the extrapolation from the findings reported in animals to young, healthy adults.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number4239
JournalScientific reports
Volume8
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 9 Mar 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 29523857
ORCID /0000-0002-5304-4061/work/142238816

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