ArticleJournal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI2013
Life-long aerobic exercise preserved baseline cerebral blood flow but reduced vascular reactivity to CO2.
Article in Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of high intensity interval exercise on cerebrovascular function: A systematic review.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Variability of physiological brain perfusion in healthy subjects - A systematic review of modifiers. Considerations for multi-center ASL studies.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2018Pooled it
- Association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cerebrovascular reactivity to a breath-hold stimulus in older adults: influence of aerobic exercise training.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2022Trial
- Higher VOScientific reports · 2021Trial
- A methodology for an acute exercise clinical trial called dementia risk and dynamic response to exercise.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Investigating resting brain perfusion abnormalities and disease target-engagement by intranasal oxytocin in women with bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder and healthy controls.Translational psychiatry · 2020Trial
- Brain Perfusion Change in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment After 12 Months of Aerobic Exercise Training.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2020Trial
- Changes in Cortical Activation Patterns in Language Areas following an Aerobic Exercise Intervention in Older Adults.Neural plasticity · 2017Trial
- Neuroplastic effects of combined computerized physical and cognitive training in elderly individuals at risk for dementia: an eLORETA controlled study on resting states.Neural plasticity · 2015Trial
- Cardiopulmonary fitness correlates with regional cerebral grey matter perfusion and density in men with coronary artery disease.PloS one · 2014Trial
- Article
- Cerebrovascular reactivity delay measured by blood oxygen level dependent magnetic resonance imaging and gas challenges: A systematic review.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2026Review
- Changes in physical performance with aging in master athletes and in the general population: an update.European journal of translational myology · 2026Article
- Uncovering the impact of the cardiovascular system on cerebrovascular health using MRI.Experimental physiology · 2025Review
- Functional MRI signatures of autonomic physiology in aging.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Classifying athletes and non-athletes by differences in spontaneous brain activity: a machine learning and fMRI study.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- fMRI-based data-driven brain parcellation using independent component analysis.Journal of neuroscience methods · 2025Article
- One-year exercise improves cognition and fitness and decreases vascular stiffness and reactivity to CO2 in amnestic mild cognitive impairment.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2025Article
- Functional MRI Signatures of Autonomic Physiology in Aging.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Reduced removal of waste products from energy metabolism takes center stage in human brain aging.Scientific reports · 2025Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo examine the potential benefits of life-long aerobic exercise on brain health, in particular cerebrovascular function. MATERIALS AND
methodsTen Masters athletes (MA) (seven males, three females; 74.5 ± 5.8 years) and 10 sedentary elderly individuals (SE) (eight males, two females; 75.4 ± 5.6 years) were recruited and baseline cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral vascular reactivity (CVR) to CO2 were measured on a 3T MRI scanner. Nine sedentary young subjects were also recruited to serve as a control group to verify the age effect.
resultsWhen compared to the SE group, MA showed higher CBF in posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, which are key regions of the default-mode-network and are known to be highly sensitive to age and dementia. CVR in the MA brains were paradoxically lower than that in SE. This effect was present throughout the brain. Within the MA group, individuals with higher VO2max had an even lower CVR, suggesting a dose-response relationship.
conclusionLife-long aerobic exercise preserved blood supply in the brain's default-mode-network against age-related degradation. On the other hand, its impact on the cerebral vascular system seems to be characterized by a dampening of CO2 reactivity, possibly because of desensitization effects due to a higher lifetime exposure.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.