Microstructural organization of the corpus callosum in young endurance athletes: A global tractography study

Abstract

IntroductionAerobic exercise training has been shown to improve microstructural organization of the corpus callosum (CC); however, evidence of this topographic effect is limited.PurposeTo compare the CC microstructural organization between endurance athletes and sedentary adults using a white-matter fiber tractography approach.Materials and methodsDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and T1-weighted structural data were collected from 15 male young endurance athletes and 16 age- and sex-matched sedentary adults. DTI data were analyzed with a global probabilistic tractography method based on neighborhood anatomical information. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean, radial (RD), and axial diffusivities were measured in the eight CC tracts: rostrum, genu, splenium, and body’s prefrontal, premotor, central, parietal, and temporal tracts. Cortical thickness of the CC tract endpoints and the CC tract length and volume were also measured. Physical activity level was assessed by metabolic equivalents (METs).ResultsThe athlete group had an average VO2max of 69.5 ± 3.1 ml/kg/min, which is above 90%ile according to the American College of Sports Medicine guideline. Compared with the sedentary group, the athlete group had higher FA in the CC body’s premotor and parietal tracts and the CC splenium. These tracts showed lower RD in the athlete compared with sedentary group. The voxelwise analysis confirmed that the athlete group had higher FA in the CC and other white matter regions than the sedentary group, including the corona radiata, internal capsule, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. Cortical thickness of the CC tract endpoints and the CC tract lengths and volumes were similar between the two groups. Physical activity levels were positively correlated with FA in the CC body’s parietal (r = 0.486, p = 0.006) and temporal (r = 0.425, p = 0.017) tracts and the CC splenium (r = 0.408, p = 0.023).ConclusionYoung endurance athletes have higher microstructural organization of the CC tracts connected the sensorimotor and visual cortices than the age- and sex-matched sedentary adults.

Brains of endurance athletes differ in the association areas but not in the primary areas

“…Significance levels were set to p < 0.05. The sample size for this study was estimated based on the results from a previous study that investigated WM microstructural organization in young endurance athletes using tractography (Takashi Tarumi et al., 2022). Based on the results, we expected that a sample size of 21 in each group would achieve 95% power to detect differences between the athlete and sedentary groups, with the effect size of 0.9 (Cohen's d ) and an α ‐level of <.05 (two‐sided).…”

“…Both athletic groups showed significantly lower FA and marginally higher mean diffusivity values in internal globus pallidus when compared with healthy controls. The microstructural organization of the corpus callosum in young endurance athletes has been analyzed by Tarumi et al (2022). They reported higher FA and lower RD in the corpus callosum body's premotor and parietal tracts and the corpus callosum splenium in the athletes' group.…”

“…The microstructural organization of the corpus callosum in young endurance athletes has been analyzed by Tarumi et al. (2022). They reported higher FA and lower RD in the corpus callosum body's premotor and parietal tracts and the corpus callosum splenium in the athletes' group.…”

Uncovering the links between physical activity and prosocial behaviour: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning study on brain connectivity and synchrony

“…52 Some evidence suggests that inter-hemispheric connectivity is strongly associated with physical activity, cognitive control, and prosocial behaviour. [51][52][53][54] We evaluated inter-and intra-hemispheric connectivity separately. To assess inter-brain synchrony, which refers to the functional connectivity between two brains, we utilised the hyperscanning technique; this is an experimental approach that enables the simultaneous recording of brain activities of two individuals.…”