Aerobic Exercise and Neurocognitive Performance: a Meta-Analytic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

By Patrick J. Smith, J. Blumenthal, Benson M. Hoffman, H. Cooper, Timothy A Strauman, Kathleen Welsh-Bohmer, Jeffrey N. Browndyke, A. Sherwood. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2010

1,564 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Objectives: To assess the effects of aerobic exercise training on neurocognitive performance. Although the effects of exercise on neurocognition have been the subject of several previous reviews and meta-analyses, they have been hampered by methodological shortcomings and are now outdated as a result of the recent publication of several large-scale, randomized, controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review of RCTs examining the association between aerobic exercise training on neurocognitive performance between January 1966 and July 2009. Suitable studies were selected for inclusion according to the following criteria: randomized treatment allocation; mean age ≥18 years of age; duration of treatment >1 month; incorporated aerobic exercise components; supervised exercise training; the presence of a nonaerobic-exercise control group; and sufficient information to derive effect size data. Results: Twenty-nine studies met inclusion criteria and were included in our analyses, representing data from 2049 participants and 234 effect sizes. Individuals randomly assigned to receive aerobic exercise training demonstrated modest improvements in attention and processing speed (g = 0.158; 95% confidence interval [CI]; 0.055–0.260; p = .003), executive function (g = 0.123; 95% CI, 0.021–0.225; p = .018), and memory (g = 0.128; 95% CI, 0.015–0.241; p = .026). Conclusions: Aerobic exercise training is associated with modest improvements in attention and processing speed, executive function, and memory, although the effects of exercise on working memory are less consistent. Rigorous RCTs are needed with larger samples, appropriate controls, and longer follow-up periods. ITT = intention-to-treat; RCT = randomized controlled trial.

Subfields: Developmental and Educational Psychology, Epidemiology, Psychiatry and Mental health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/bc5d3edb1b8aba7f95419888d40bd6e269a37e6b

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Citations in the corpus

The strength model of self-control revisited: Linking acute and chronic effects of exercise on executive functions (2015, methodology): “We invite the reader to consult recent reviews and meta-analyses on this topic.(60,72,73) Globally, the size of the effect is small to moderate and can be influenced by several moderators such as the duration of the program (number of weeks), the frequency of physical activity sessions (number of se”
A Review of the Effects of Physical Activity and Exercise on Cognitive and Brain Functions in Older Adults (2013, background): “[31] examined 29 studies conducted between 1966 and 2009 (including more than 2,000 participants and 234 effect sizes).”
Muscle–Organ Crosstalk: The Emerging Roles of Myokines (2020, background): “Other studies have shown that an active lifestyle is associated with learning and memory (74), executive functions (75), language and reaction time (76), academic achievement in children, and intelligence in adolescents (77).”
A meta-analytic review of the effects of exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (2014, background): “P A A uthor M anuscript Introduction There is a wealth of evidence that exercise improves both cognition (Roig et al., 2013; Smith et al., 2010) and mood (Josefsson et al., 2014; Rethorst and Trivedi, 2013; Stathopoulou et al., 2006), with evidence suggesting that brain-derived neurotrophic factor…”
A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER): a randomised controlled trial. (2015, neutral): “Introduction Late-life cognitive impairment and dementia have become serious human, social, and economic burdens.(1) WHO(1) and the G8 Dementia Summit (2013)(2) emphasised prevention as a key element to counteract the dementia epidemic.”
The Influence of Exercise on Cognitive Abilities (2013, positive): “A second recent meta-analysis (162) corroborated Colcombe and Kramer’s (30 ﬁndings, in that smaller effects were observed in some studies included in meta-analyses.”
Exercise interventions for cognitive function in adults older than 50: a systematic review with meta-analysis (2017, background): “…reviews showed that the addition of resistance training to an aerobic intervention may have additional benefits to cognition compared with aerobic exercise alone, 6 24 this is the first review to specifically investigate the effect of multicomponent training on cognitive function in this age group.”
Physical activity and academic achievement in children: A historical perspective (2012, methodology): “If the author did not specify the cognitive construct, a categorization of neurocognitive domains from Smith et al. 26 was used to classify the construct.”
Summary of the evidence on modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia: A population‐based perspective (2015, neutral): “[75] Smith PJ, Blumenthal JA, Hoffman BM, Cooper H, Strauman TA, Welsh-Bohmer K, et al.”