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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Aug;51(8):728-33.
doi: 10.1111/psyp.12227. Epub 2014 May 5.

An 8-month exercise intervention alters frontotemporal white matter integrity in overweight children

David J Schaeffer  1 , Cynthia E Krafft, Nicolette F Schwarz, Lingxi Chi, Amanda L Rodrigue, Jordan E Pierce, Jerry D Allison, Nathan E Yanasak, Tianming Liu, Catherine L Davis, Jennifer E McDowell
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

An 8-month exercise intervention alters frontotemporal white matter integrity in overweight children

David J Schaeffer et al. Psychophysiology. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

In childhood, excess adiposity and low fitness are linked to poor academic performance, lower cognitive function, and differences in brain structure. Identifying ways to mitigate obesity-related alterations is of current clinical importance. This study examined the effects of an 8-month exercise intervention on the uncinate fasciculus, a white matter fiber tract connecting frontal and temporal lobes. Participants consisted of 18 unfit, overweight 8- to 11-year-old children (94% Black) who were randomly assigned to either an aerobic exercise (n = 10) or a sedentary control group (n = 8). Before and after the intervention, all subjects participated in a diffusion tensor MRI scan. Tractography was conducted to isolate the uncinate fasciculus. The exercise group showed improved white matter integrity as compared to the control group. These findings are consistent with an emerging literature suggesting beneficial effects of exercise on white matter integrity.

Keywords: Children; Diffusion tensor imaging; Exercise; Obesity; Uncinate fasciculus.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Regions of interest for the uncinate fasciculus overlaid on a representative subject’s fractional anisotropy map. The colors of the map represent the principal direction of diffusion (red = left-right, green = anterior-posterior, blue = inferior-superior). The left panel (a) shows the locations of the regions of interest (1, temporal lobe; 2, frontal lobe) drawn on a coronal slice as per Wakana et al. (Wakana et al., 2007). The right panel (b) shows the resultant fibers of the uncinate fasciculus (yellow) traversing the regions of interest against a sagittal slice.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diffusivity values of uncinate fasciculus at baseline and post-test. The bar graphs show mean diffusivity values for each group (gray and dark gray bars) and standard error bars with individual data points (black dots) overlaid. The left panel shows that the two groups did not significantly differ in left or right uncinate fasciculus white matter integrity (FA and RD) at baseline. The right panel illustrates the increase from baseline to post-test in white matter integrity (increased FA and decreased RD) in the exercise group as compared to the control group. The black brackets with asterisks indicate a significant t test at alpha = .05 (controlled for race and gender).
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