The Effects of Physical Exercise and Cognitive Training on Memory and Neurotrophic Factors

Abstract

This study examined the combined effect of physical exercise and cognitive training on memory and neurotrophic factors in healthy, young adults. Ninety-five participants completed 6 weeks of exercise training, combined exercise and cognitive training, or no training (control). Both the exercise and combined training groups improved performance on a high-interference memory task, whereas the control group did not. In contrast, neither training group improved on general recognition performance, suggesting that exercise training selectively increases high-interference memory that may be linked to hippocampal function. Individuals who experienced greater fitness improvements from the exercise training (i.e., high responders to exercise) also had greater increases in the serum neurotrophic factors brain-derived neurotrophic factor and insulin-like growth factor-1. These high responders to exercise also had better high-interference memory performance as a result of the combined exercise and cognitive training compared with exercise alone, suggesting that potential synergistic effects might depend on the availability of neurotrophic factors. These findings are especially important, as memory benefits accrued from a relatively short intervention in high-functioning young adults.

No changes in corticospinal excitability, biochemical markers, and working memory after six weeks of high‐intensity interval training in sedentary males

“…; Heisz et al. ). Handedness was determined using a modified Edinburgh inventory questionnaire, which provides a laterality quotient (LQ) (Oldfield ).…”

“…Lastly, Heisz et al. () reported that, although no group differences in serum BDNF were found following 6 weeks of high‐intensity interval training in young adults, participants with greater fitness improvements had higher serum BDNF levels than their counterparts with lower fitness gains. One of the goals of the present study was to investigate whether serum BDNF was enhanced after 6 weeks of high‐intensity interval training in sedentary males.…”

“…; Heisz et al. ), we also examined whether serum levels of BDNF, IGF‐1, and cathepsin B, a myokine that has been associated with CRF and memory (Moon et al. ), were elevated after the HIIT protocol.…”

Acute Aerobic Exercise Based Cognitive and Motor Priming: Practical Applications and Mechanisms

“…The plasticity mechanism may be through exercise-induced release of neurotrophins (McDonnell et al, 2013). For the purpose of this review we have decided to focus on two neurotrophins, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), both of which have been shown to be upregulated after various types of physical exercise (Maass et al, 2016;Heisz et al, 2017).…”

The effect of physical exercise on the memory of elderly - an intervention study

“…Given this situation, the literature has proposed several therapies to delay changes related to the loss of cognitive function in the elderly. Among these, physical exercise is a low cost and effective non-pharmacological alternative for memory prevention / rehabilitation, acting positively on cerebral angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] .…”