Trial reportTranslational psychiatry2017
Effects of aerobic exercise on brain metabolism and grey matter volume in older adults: results of the randomised controlled SMART trial.
Trial report in Translational psychiatry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 8 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
54 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Transdiagnostic reduction in cortical choline-containing compounds in anxiety disorders: aMolecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of three aerobic exercise modalities (walking, running, and cycling) on circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Aerobic exercise training effects on hippocampal volume in healthy older individuals: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.GeroScience · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of physical exercise on circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy subjects: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Brain and behavior · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of different physical activities on brain-derived neurotrophic factor: A systematic review and bayesian network meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- The Impact of Different Types of Exercise Training on Peripheral Blood Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Concentrations in Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2019Pooled it
- Cerebral changes improved by physical activity during cognitive decline: A systematic review on MRI studies.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2019Pooled it
- Physical Activity Throughout the Adult Life Span and Domain-Specific Cognitive Function in Old Age: A Systematic Review of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2018Pooled it
- Long-Term Effects of a 5-Year Randomized Controlled Exercise Trial on Brain Volumes and Cognitive Function in Older Adults: A 4-Year Post-Intervention Follow-Up Study.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Trial
- Brain-Derived neurotrophic factor and inflammatory biomarkers are unaffected by acute and chronic intermittent hypoxic-hyperoxic exposure in geriatric patients: a randomized controlled trial.Annals of medicine · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Strength gains after 12 weeks of resistance training correlate with neurochemical markers of brain health in older adults: a randomized controlGeroScience · 2023Trial
- Hippocampal neurochemicals are associated with exercise group and intensity, psychological health, and general cognition in older adults.GeroScience · 2023Trial
- Effects of a physical activity intervention on brain atrophy in older adults at risk of dementia: a randomized controlled trial.Brain imaging and behavior · 2021Trial
- Effect of 5 Years of Exercise Intervention at Different Intensities on Brain Structure in Older Adults from the General Population: A Generation 100 Substudy.Clinical interventions in aging · 2021Trial
- Physical activity and the aging brain: A narrative review.Journal of health psychology · 2026Review
- Integrative regulation of cerebral blood flow in response to exercise and environmental extremes.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- The Association Between Physical Activity and Domain-Specific Cognitive Function in the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study and Genetic Analysis.Brain and behavior · 2026Review
- The impact of exercise on brain mitochondrial health and its relevance to Alzheimer's disease.Brain and environment · 2026Article
- Subcortical gray matter aging and attentional control in amateur musicians and nonmusicians.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is mounting evidence that aerobic exercise has a positive effect on cognitive functions in older adults. To date, little is known about the neurometabolic and molecular mechanisms underlying this positive effect. The present study used magnetic resonance spectroscopy and quantitative MRI to systematically explore the effects of physical activity on human brain metabolism and grey matter (GM) volume in healthy aging. This is a randomised controlled assessor-blinded two-armed trial (n=53) to explore exercise-induced neuroprotective and metabolic effects on the brain in cognitively healthy older adults. Participants (age >65) were allocated to a 12-week individualised aerobic exercise programme intervention (n=29) or a 12-week waiting control group (n=24). The main outcomes were the change in cerebral metabolism and its association to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels as well as changes in GM volume. We found that cerebral choline concentrations remained stable after 12 weeks of aerobic exercise in the intervention group, whereas they increased in the waiting control group. No effect of training was seen on cerebral N-acetyl-aspartate concentrations, nor on markers of neuronal energy reserve or BDNF levels. Further, we observed no change in cortical GM volume in response to aerobic exercise. The finding of stable choline concentrations in the intervention group over the 3 month period might indicate a neuroprotective effect of aerobic exercise. Choline might constitute a valid marker for an effect of aerobic exercise on cerebral metabolism in healthy aging.
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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.