ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2021
The Central Mechanisms of Resistance Training and Its Effects on Cognitive Function.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 5 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
49 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of exercise on balance function in people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of multimodal prehabilitation and exercise prehabilitation on patients undergoing colorectal surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Journal of global health · 2024Pooled it
- Whether mindfulness-guided therapy can be a new direction for the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease: a network meta-analysis of non-pharmacological alternative motor-/sensory-based interventions.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Evidence of High-Intensity Exercise on Lower Limb Functional Outcomes and Safety in Acute and Subacute Stroke Population: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Exercise on Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Brain Imaging Studies.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- The effects of morning priming exercise on afternoon physical and cognitive performance in female field hockey players.PloS one · 2026Trial
- The effect of the Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity on cognitive function in older adults: a scoping review.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Article
- Optimizing frailty care: an analysis of dual exercise targets and cognitive function among frail older adults.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Enhanced Brain Connectivity Following Six Weeks of Upper Extremity Offset Loading in Neurotypical Adults-A Preliminary Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effects of different training characteristics in combined resistance and cognitive training on motor and cognitive performance in older adults: A systematic review.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2026Review
- Acute effects of different resistance training intensities on creative thinking in university students.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Exercise for Non-Motor Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease: An Evidence-Based Review of Clinical Trials, Dosing Considerations, and Mechanistic Insights.Neural plasticity · 2026Review
- Stroboscopic visual training and the brain: a narrative review of neural mechanisms underlying perceptual-cognitive adaptation in interceptive sports.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Combining exercise and hypoxia for brain health: from elite athlete altitude training camps to clinical applications.AIMS neuroscience · 2026Review
- Impact of Exercise Modalities on Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Value of Robotics: Comparison of Three Different High-Intensity Training Programs for Rehabilitation After Stroke.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Enhancing cognitive function through blood flow restriction: An effective resistance exercise modality for middle-aged women.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- An Association Between Possible Sarcopenia as an Early Marker and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- An Integrative Neuromuscular Training Program in Physical Education Classes Improves Strength and Speed Performance.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Impact and Molecular Mechanisms of Exercise in Cancer Therapy.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Resistance exercise is used extensively in athletic and general populations to induce neuromuscular adaptations to increase muscle size and performance. Exercise parameters such as exercise frequency, intensity, duration and modality are carefully manipulated to induce specific adaptations to the neuromuscular system. While the benefits of resistance exercise on the neuromuscular system are well documented, there is growing evidence to suggest that resistance exercise, even when performed acutely, can lead to neuroplastic changes within the central nervous system (CNS) and improve cognitive functioning. As such, resistance exercise has been proposed as a novel adjuvant rehabilitation strategy in populations that suffer from neurological or neurocognitive impairments (i.e. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's dementia) or even to attenuate age-related declines in cognitive health. In this review, we present evidence for the neuroplastic effects and cognitive benefits of resistance exercise and propose some of the underlying mechanisms that drive neuroplasticity following resistance training. We will further discuss the effects of exercise parameters, in particular exercise frequency, intensity, duration and modality to improve cognitive health. Lastly, we will highlight some of the existing limitations in the literature surrounding the use of resistance exercise to improve cognitive function and propose considerations to improve future studies in this field. In summary, the current evidence supports the role of resistance exercise, as a stand alone or in combination with aerobic exercise, for benefiting cognitive health and that it should be considered as an adjuvant therapy to treat age- or disease-related cognitive declines.
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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.