Functional brain anatomy of exercise regulation

Abstract

Knowledge about possible brain mechanisms involved in the regulation of exercise intensity has vastly grown over the last decade. The current review attempts to condense this knowledge currently published with a focus on brain imaging studies. A number of psychological manipulations known to influence exercise intensity are discussed with respect to their possibly underlying brain structures. Although far from forming a complete picture, current knowledge allows to speculate on various possible influences and their corresponding neural bases. Especially, the roles of the insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex structures are discussed. Interoceptive signals processed in the insular cortex can influence motor activity likely via anterior cingulate cortex with themselves being influenced by higher order prefrontal cortical regions (e.g., when mediating expectancy effects). Such higher order prefrontal regions can also modulate motivation and thus motor activity by influencing valuation processes in the midbrain and other structures.

Keywords: Anterior cingulate; Brain imaging; Effort; Fatigue; Functional neuroanatomy; Insular cortex; Motor vigor; Pacing; prefrontal cortex.