Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33984626›Full record

ArticleNeurobiology of aging2021

Enriching activities during childhood are associated with variations in functional connectivity patterns later in life.

Timothy P Morris, Laura Chaddock-Heyman, Meishan Ai, Sheeba Arnold Anteraper, Alfonso Nieto Castañon, Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, Charles H Hillman, Edward McAuley, Arthur F Kramer

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurobiology of aging, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapie · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. A lifespan perspective on cognitive reserve and risk for dementia.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Timothy P MorrisDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: t.morris@northeastern.edu.
Laura Chaddock-HeymanDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
Meishan AiDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Sheeba Arnold AnteraperDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Alfonso Nieto CastañonDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Susan Whitfield-GabrieliDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Charles H HillmanDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Edward McAuleyBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA; Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
Arthur F KramerDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.

Funding

Influence of Fitness on Brain and CognitionR37AG025667 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN · PI KRAMER, ARTHUR F. · 2005 to 2014
$5.1M
NIA NIH HHS R37 AG025667
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Enriching early life experiences (e.g., sport, art, music, volunteering, language learning) during a critical period of brain development may promote structural and functional brain changes that are still present decades later (>60 years). We assessed whether a greater variety of enriching early life activities (EELA) before age 13 years were associated with individual differences in cortical and subcortical (hippocampus and amygdala) structure and function later in life (older adults aged 60-80 years). Results indicated no association between EELA and amygdala and hippocampus volumes, but higher functional connectivity between the amygdala and the insula was associated with more variety of EELA. EELA was not associated with cortical thickness controlling for sex, but sex-specific associations with the right pars opercularis were found. EELA was further associated with variations in functional connectivity patterns of the orbitofrontal cortex, driven by connecitivty to regions within the visual, somatosensory and limbic networks. Early life enriching activities appear to contribute to potential mechanisms of cognitive reserve (functional processes) more so than brain reserve (structure) later in life.

Indexed as

Life Change EventsAgedAge FactorsAgingAmygdalaBrainCognitive ReserveExecutive FunctionFemaleHumansInsular CortexMaleMiddle AgedPrefrontal CortexAgingEnrichmentFunctional connectivityMultivoxel pattern analysis

Identifiers

PMID33984626
PMCPMC8225585

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.