summary: A new study has found a link between physical fitness in childhood and cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescents.
The study, part of the FitBrain study, shows that young people with better neuromuscular fitness have larger volumes of CRS I gray matter, which is important for cognition and learning. However, the study also found that improved cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with a decrease in overall cerebellum volume, with differences by gender.
These findings highlight the complex relationship between physical fitness and brain development and call for more nuanced research in this area.
Important facts:
- The study involved 40 participants aged approximately 17.9 years from the 8-year PANIC study follow-up.
- Neuromuscular fitness in childhood was associated with increased cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescence, and improved cardiorespiratory fitness was correlated with decreased total cerebellar volume.
- This study highlights the need for further detailed research to understand the causality and details of these associations.
sauce: University of Eastern Finland
Physical fitness from early childhood is associated with cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescents.
According to a recent study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Eastern Finland, people who are stronger, faster and more agile – in other words, those who had better neuromuscular fitness from childhood – have higher CRS in adolescence. I gray matter volume was larger.
Despite the importance of cerebellar development in cognition and learning, the association between physical fitness and cerebellar volume in adolescents remains unclear.
In this study, we investigated the associations between cerebellar lobular gray matter volume and physical fitness in relation to cognition in adolescence, and whether these associations differ between women and men.
Young people with better neuromuscular health from childhood had larger Crus I gray matter volumes. However, adolescents with better cardiorespiratory fitness had smaller total cerebellar gray matter volume.
Additionally, men with better neuromuscular health from childhood had smaller Crus II gray matter volumes.
“Our study highlights the importance of physical activity throughout childhood and adolescence, as it may be related to cerebellar volume, which is associated with cognition and learning, leading to improved physical fitness.
“However, the associations we observed are partially contradictory,” says Petri Jaranko, a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä.
“This study reveals a link between physical fitness and the cerebellum. To better understand the association and causal relationship between physical fitness and cerebellar volume in adolescents, direct cardiopulmonary function measurements and new brain imaging techniques are needed. “Randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate larger populations and men and women separately.”
The findings come from the FitBrain study, which included 40 participants from the eight-year follow-up of the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children (PANIC) study. There were 22 women and 18 men among the participants, with an average age of 17.9 years.
Cardio-respiratory fitness was assessed by the cycle ergometer’s maximum ramp test, muscle strength with the standing long jump, speed agility with the 10 x 5 m shuttle run test, coordination with the box-and-block test, and neuromuscular fitness as the sum of prolonged standing. It was evaluated. Z-scores for jump, box and block tests, and shuttle run tests. Cerebellar volume was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging.
About this fitness and neurodevelopment research news
author: Maji Voore
sauce: University of Eastern Finland
contact: Maji Vuore – University of Eastern Finland
image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access.
“Association between physical fitness and cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescents” written by Eero Haapala et al. Scandinavian Journal of Medical Sciences in Sports
abstract
Association between physical fitness and cerebellar gray matter volume in adolescents
Despite the importance of cerebellar development in cognition, the association between physical fitness and cerebellar volume in adolescents remains unclear.
We investigated the relationship between gray matter (GM) volume and physical fitness in cerebellar lobules VI, VIIb, and Crus I and II, which are cerebellar lobules related to cognition, in 40 adolescents (22 females, 17.9 ± 0.8 years old). investigated. Associations were gender specific. P
Each oxygen intake (V̇O2)peak) and power were assessed by maximum ramp test on a cycle ergometer, muscle strength with the standing long jump (SLJ), speed agility with the shuttle run test (SRT), coordination with the box and block test (BBT), and neuromuscular performance. Ta. Index (NPI) as the sum of Z-scores of SLJ, BBT, and SRT. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Cerebellar volume was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. V̇O2peak When compared with lean body mass, it was inversely associated with cerebellar GM volume (standardized regression coefficient (β) = −0.038, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.075 to 0.001, p= 0.044). Cumulative NPI was positively correlated with GM amount of Crus I (β= 0.362, 95% CI 0.045 to 0.679, p= 0.027).
In women, improved performance in SRT was associated with increased GM content in Crus I (β= −0.373, 95% CI −0.760 to −0.028, p= 0.036). In men, cumulative NPI was inversely correlated with Crus II GM content (β= −0.793, 95% CI −1.579 to −0.008 p= 0.048).
No other associations were significant. In conclusion, cardiorespiratory fitness, neuromuscular performance, and speed agility were associated with cerebellar GM volume, and the strength and direction of the association varied by gender.
