ReviewInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Walking, Running, Swimming: An Analysis of the Effects of Land and Water Aerobic Exercises on Cognitive Functions and Neural Substrates.
Review in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of swimming on cognitive and health outcomes in older adults and insights into participation facilitators and barriers: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different physical activity interventions on executive function in older adults with dementia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Multiscale Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Neuroplasticity: From Molecular Pathways to Network Dynamics and Behavioral Adaptation.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Targeting neuroplasticity in old brain: restoring synapse with cognitive strategies.Biogerontology · 2026Review
- Beyond Adversity: Definitions, Retrospective Assessment, and Experimental Manipulation of Positive Early-Life Experiences.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Neural Efficiency and Sensorimotor Adaptations in Swimming Athletes: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging and Cognitive-Behavioral Evidence for Performance and Wellbeing.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Shaping the cognitive reserve: the role of lifelong enrichment and education in the Alzheimer's disease continuum.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2026Article
- Return to intensive sport activities following awake functional-guided surgical resection of IDH-mutated low-grade glioma.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2025Article
- The Benefits of Practicing Physical Activity in the Aquatic Environment on Health and Quality of Life.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Can an active lifestyle maintain cognitive efficiency in older adults? A pilot study of the relationship between physical activity and graphic fluency.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Exercises and Brain Stimulation to Preserve Function in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2025Article
- Targeting Ferroptosis/Nrf2 Pathway Ameliorates AlClInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Aerobic exercise, an effective intervention for cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Review
- Effects of open-skill and closed-skill sports on the development of executive function: protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study in elite youth athletes.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2025Article
- Cognitive performance, sleep quality and physical activity as predictors of functional mobility in older adults.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2025Article
- Effects of three exercise interventions on inhibitory control in college students with internet addiction: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Comparison of spring ankle braces versus splints and casts in treating ankle sprains in patients diagnosed with ankle sprains.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Comparative effectiveness of open and closed skill exercises on cognitive function in young adults: a fNIRS study.Scientific reports · 2024Observational
- TAF15 downregulation contributes to the benefits of physical training on dendritic spines and working memory in aged mice.Aging cell · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
In the brain and cognitive reserves framework, aerobic exercise is considered as a protective lifestyle factor able to induce positive effects on both brain structure and function. However, specific aspects of such a beneficial effect still need to be completely clarified. To this aim, the present narrative review focused on the potential brain/cognitive/neural reserve-construction mechanisms triggered by different aerobic exercise types (land activities; such as walking or running; vs. water activities; such as swimming), by considering human and animal studies on healthy subjects over the entire lifespan. The literature search was conducted in PubMed database. The studies analyzed here indicated that all the considered kinds of activities exert a beneficial effect on cognitive/behavioral functions and on the underlying brain neurobiological processes. In particular, the main effects observed involve the cognitive domains of memory and executive functions. These effects appear related to structural and functional changes mainly involving the fronto-hippocampal axis. The present review supports the requirement of further studies that investigate more specifically and systematically the effects of each type of aerobic activity, as a basis to plan more effective and personalized interventions on individuals as well as prevention and healthy promotion policies for the general population.
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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.