The past two decades have uncovered the beneficial relation of physical activity and other health behaviors on brain and cognition, with the majority of data emerging from older adult populations. More recently, a similar research thread has emerged in school-aged children, which offers insight into the relation of physical activity to scholastic performance, providing a real-world application of the benefits observed in the laboratory. Technological advances have similarly furthered our understanding of physical activity effects on cognitive and brain health. Given this emerging body of work, this manuscript reviews the basic findings within the field, but more importantly suggests triggers or signals from the emerging literature that will shape the field in the near future. The overall goal of this body of research is to increase cognitive and brain health to promote effective functioning of individuals across the lifespan.
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Charles H. Hillman, Kirk I. Erickson, and Bradley D. Hatfield
Charles H. Hillman and John R. Biggan
This manuscript, which arose from the inaugural Tom Rowland Lecture Series at the 2016 North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine conference, provides a brief descriptive review of what is known (i.e., the state of the science) regarding the relation of childhood physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) to brain health, cognition, and academic outcomes. Gaps in the knowledgebase are identified, including characteristics of the PA stimulus that promotes changes in brain and cognition, whether critical periods in development exist in which PA/CRF may have a disproportionately large influence, the understanding of individual difference factors, and the influence upon learning. Lastly, several possible directions for future research are proposed. Although the field of childhood PA, CRF, brain, and cognition is rapidly expanding, there is considerable room for future growth. This manuscript may be helpful in shaping that future growth, with the goal of improving lifelong health and effective functioning.
Romain Meeusen and Lieselot Decroix
Thinking about food can modulate neural activity in specific brain areas known to be involved in the cognitive controls of appetitive behaviors. This leads to saliva production, gastric acid, and insulin secretion ( Berthoud, 2007 ). When food is encountered, smell and taste act as additional
Michael Gay and Semyon Slobounov
Sports-related concussion (SRC) research has a long and storied past in the brain sciences that has evolved over the course of a century of investigations, the culmination of which leaves us at our present-day understanding of sports-related concussion as a complex pathophysiological process caused
Vinícius Muller Reis Weber, Jose Castro‐Piñero, Julio Cesar da Costa, Daniel Zanardini Fernandes, Marcelo Romanzini, and Enio Ricardo Vaz Ronque
formation, and brain activation during childhood ( 11 , 21 ). These morphological changes in the brain are related to academic performance, since higher activation of the prefrontal cortex region result in better performance, especially in math and spelling ( 21 ). In addition, individuals classified in the
Brice T. Cleland and Sheila Schindler-Ivens
There are many examples of altered movement-related brain activation in individuals with poststroke hemiparesis. Changes in the extent, intensity, and location of brain activation have been observed during upper and lower limb movements, in acute and chronic stroke survivors, and before and after
Bhanu Sharma and Brian W. Timmons
The recent increase in scientific activity related to traumatic brain injury (TBI)—and in particular, mild TBI and concussion—parallels the growth of public interest in the field. As the international scientific community aligns itself to better diagnose, treat, and manage this injury ( 79 ), which
Karlee Burns, Leah Sanford, Ryan Tierney, and Jane McDevitt
Key Points ▸ Adolescents and young adults with sport-related mild traumatic brain injury (i.e., 9 days to 12 months postinjury) performed worse on memory tests than healthy controls. ▸ There is low-level evidence suggesting structural changes (e.g., cortical thinning) are occurring following sport
Gabriella M. Milef, Logan E. Miller, Daniella M. DiGuglielmo, Tanner D. Payne, Tanner M. Filben, Jillian E. Urban, and Joel D. Stitzel
can cause changes in the brain after a single season. 3 , 4 As adolescence is a time of brain growth and development, understanding head impact exposure (HIE) is of utmost importance to mitigate adverse effects of head impacts in youth football. To understand subconcussive HIE in youth football
Ina M. Tarkka, Pekka Hautasaari, Heidi Pesonen, Eini Niskanen, Mirva Rottensteiner, Jaakko Kaprio, Andrej M. Savić, and Urho M. Kujala
The human brain undergoes many plastic changes during an individual’s lifetime, and both the structural and functional plastic changes are known to be modulated by experience. 1 – 3 It has been shown with animals, 4 , 5 and also with humans, that physical activity (PA) promotes morphological
