ArticleNeuropsychologia2023
Physical fitness, cognition, and structural network efficiency of brain connections across the lifespan.
Article in Neuropsychologia, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interaction of physical activity and gut-brain axis: relevance for obesity.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- The association between motor coordination, physical fitness, and cognitive function in preschool children: physical fitness as a key bridge between motor coordination and executive function.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The Functional Connectome Mediates Associations Between Fitness and Cognition Across the Adult Lifespan.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- Tau PET Burden Is Associated With Hippocampal Microstructure and Episodic Memory in Amyloid Positive Older Adults.Hippocampus · 2025Article
- Percentile curve of balance development and network analysis with body shape and physical fitness in preschool children.BMC pediatrics · 2025Observational
- The role of age and physical fitness on the relationship between physical activity and executive function.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2025Article
- White matter microstructure statistically mediates associations between circadian rest/activity rhythms and cognition in older adults.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2025Article
- A group based network analysis for Alzheimer's disease fMRI data.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Exercise and Protection from Age-Related Cognitive Decline.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Inadequate levels of exercise is one of the most potent modifiable risk factors for preventing cognitive decline and dementia as we age. Meanwhile, network science-based measures of structural brain network global and local efficiency show promise as robust biomarkers of aging, cognitive decline, and pathological disease progression. Despite this, little to no work has established how maintaining physical activity (PA) and physical fitness might relate to cognition and network efficiency measures across the lifespan. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between (1) PA and fitness and cognition, (2) fitness and network efficiency, and (3) how network efficiency measures relate to cognition. To accomplish this, we analyzed a large cross-sectional data set (n = 720; 36-100 years) from the aging human connectome project, which included the Trail Making Task (TMT) A and B, a measure of fitness (2-min walk test), physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and high-resolution diffusion imaging data. Our analysis consisted of employing multiple linear regression while controlling for age, sex, and education. Age was associated with lower global and local brain network efficiency and poorer Trail A & B performance. Meanwhile, fitness, but not physical activity, was related to better Trail A and B performance and fitness, and was positively associated with local and global brain efficiency. Finally, local efficiency was related to better TMT B performance and partially mediated the relationship between fitness and TMT B performance. These results indicate aging may be associated with a shift towards less efficient local and global neural networks and that maintaining physical fitness might protect against age-related cognitive performance deterioration by bolstering structural network efficiency.
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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.