Executive control processes are associated with individual fitness outcomes following regular exercise training: blood lactate profile curves and neuroimaging findings

Executive control processes are associated with individual fitness outcomes following regular exercise training: blood lactate profile curves and neuroimaging findings

Cardiovascular training has been associated with neuroimaging correlates of executive control functions (ECF) in seniors and children/adolescents, while complementary studies in middle-aged populations are lacking. Ascribing a prominent role to cardiorespiratory fitness improvements, most studies co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 4893 - 12
Main Authors: Pensel, M. C., Daamen, M., Scheef, L., Knigge, H. U., Rojas Vega, S., Martin, J. A., Schild, H. H., Strüder, H. K., Boecker, H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 20-03-2018
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
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Adaptation
Adolescents
Blood
Brain mapping
Cardiorespiratory fitness
Children
Executive function
Fitness training programs
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Humanities and Social Sciences
Immunoglobulins
Lactic acid
Medical imaging
Middle age
multidisciplinary
Neuroimaging
Oxygen uptake
Physical fitness
Physical training
Population studies
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Cardiovascular training has been associated with neuroimaging correlates of executive control functions (ECF) in seniors and children/adolescents, while complementary studies in middle-aged populations are lacking. Ascribing a prominent role to cardiorespiratory fitness improvements, most studies concentrated on training-induced gains in maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max), although other fitness indices may provide complementary information. Here, we investigated the impact of long-term sub-maximal exercise training on interference control, considering individual training-induced shifts in blood lactate profile curves (BLC) and VO 2 max. Twenty-three middle-aged sedentary males (M = 49 years) underwent a six-month exercise program (intervention group, IG). Additionally, 14 individuals without exercise training were recruited (control group, CG, M = 52 years). Interference control was assessed before and after the intervention, using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) flanker paradigm. Task performance and brain activations showed no significant group-by-time interactions. However, regression analyses in the IG revealed significant associations between individual fitness gains and brain activation changes in frontal regions, which were not evident for VO 2 max, but for BLC. In conclusion, training-induced plasticity of ECF-related brain activity can be observed in late middle adulthood, but depends on individual fitness gains. For moderate training intensities, BLC shifts may provide sensitive markers for training-induced adaptations linked to ECF-related brain function.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-23308-3