A study on brain functional plasticity after aerobic exercise based on the dynamic low-frequency amplitude ZHAO Hai-jun，LI Zhen，ZHAN Wen-feng
(1.School of Physical Education，South China Normal University，Guangzhou 510006，China； 2.Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation，South China Normal University，Guangzhou 510631，China； 3.Radiology of Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital，Guangzhou，510310，China)
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to provide objective imaging evidence for the study of the neural mechanism of the effect of exercise on brain functional (structural) plasticity. Based on resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and structural magnetic resonance imaging, dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) and voxel-based morphological (VBM) measurements were used to analyze the changes of brain functional activity and gray matter volume after moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Both rs-fMRI and structural MRI data were collected for 20 healthy adult volunteers before and after 6 months of aerobic exercise. The data were separately used for dALFF and VBM analyses to identify regions showing aerobic exercise training related changes. Results show that compared with pre-exercise, 6-month aerobic exercise training induced significantly increased dALFF in the right middle temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right postcentral gyrus and right precuneus, and decreased dALFF in the left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus and right angular gyrus. The conclusion reveals moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can cause changes in the brain functional plasticity in some regions of executive control network and frontoparietal network.
Keywords: sports physiology；aerobic exercise；dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation；brain plasticity； resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging；gray matter volume