Mini-Review of Studies Testing the Cardiorespiratory Hypothesis With Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS): Overview and Perspectives

Abstract

The cardiorespiratory hypothesis (CH) is one of the hypotheses used by researchers to explain the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive performance during executive functions. Despite the indubitable beneficial effect of training on brain blood flow and function that may explain the link between physical fitness and cognition and the recognition of the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a reliable tool for measuring brain oxygenation, few studies investigated the CH with NIRS. It is still not well understood whether an increase in brain flow by training is translated into an increase in cerebral oxygenation. Thus, the objective of this mini-review was to summarize main results of studies that investigated the CH using the NIRS and to propose future research directions.

Effects of Chronic Physical Exercise or Multicomponent Exercise Programs on the Mental Health and Cognition of Older Adults Living in a Nursing Home: A Systematic Review of Studies From the Past 10 Years

“…Another physiological mechanism that may explain the improvement in cognitive vitality is the release of the vascular endothelial growth factor which is a precursor to angiogenesis. Angiogenesis induces an increase in cerebral blood flow which, in turn, ensures a better oxygen supply to the neuronal networks involved in cognitive functions so that they can function better (Albinet et al, 2014;Dupuy et al, 2015;Agbangla et al, 2021). Moreover, these interventions are also capable of reducing oxidative stress (Umegaki et al, 2021) and inflammation (Fedewa et al, 2017;Huang et al, 2021) which can reduce neuronal death and consequently maintain the cognitive functions.…”

Effect of the Level of Physical Activity on Prefrontal Cortex Hemodynamics in Older Adults During Single- and Dual-Task Walking

“…In particular, it was shown that high-fit older adults display higher PFC oxygenation during a cognitive task than low-fit older adults (Albinet et al, 2014;Dupuy et al, 2015), particularly under the highest cognitive load, that is, when the task is very demanding (Agbangla et al, 2019). This higher cerebral oxygenation could be partly linked to a higher O 2 delivery to the brain in high-fit older adults as a high cardiorespiratory fitness can be associated with angiogenesis, enhanced vascular plasticity, and vascular health (Agbangla et al, 2021).…”

Effects of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Cerebral Oxygenation in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review

“…In a meta-analysis, Rooks et al (2010) examined the impact of training status on cerebral oxygenation during incremental tests without considering how CRF and training status were measured (i.e., VO 2max or physical activity level). More recently, Agbangla et al (2021) reviewed the impact of CRF on cerebral oxygenation during cognitive tasks. This review examined the effects of CRF level, as determined by direct or estimated measures, on cerebral oxygenation during exercise and cognitive task performance.…”

“…For these reasons, fNIRS publications have grown exponentially with many studies focusing on exercise and cognition (Yan et al, 2020). However, few reviews focus on the role of CRF on cerebral oxygenation during cognitive or physical activity and to our knowledge none have examined this systematically (Agbangla et al, 2021).…”