The effects of aerobic activity on brain structure

Abstract

Aerobic activity is a powerful stimulus for improving mental health and for generating structural changes in the brain. We review the literature documenting these structural changes and explore exactly where in the brain these changes occur as well as the underlying substrates of the changes including neural, glial, and vasculature components. Aerobic activity has been shown to produce different types of changes in the brain. The presence of novel experiences or learning is an especially important component in how these changes are manifest. We also discuss the distinct time courses of structural brain changes with both aerobic activity and learning as well as how these effects might differ in diseased and elderly groups.

Keywords: aging; angiogenesis; environmental enrichment; exercise; hippocampus; learning; neurogenesis; plasticity.

Figure 1

Illustration of different spatial scales provided by different techniques (Pictures reproduced with permission. Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Arnold and Rioux, ; Chen et al., 2011).

Figure 2

Approximate percentage of the components of cerebral gray matter by volume, based on estimates from several histological studies. The three green wedges are all components of the neuropil (Cherniak, ; Syková, ; Braitenberg and Schüz, ; Chklovskii et al., ; Kleim et al., 2007).

Figure 3

A schematic summary of the time courses of the different components of structural change associated with exercise and environmental enrichment, based on several studies discussed in this review (Black et al., ; Kleim et al., ; Van der Borght et al., ; Kempermann et al., 2010).