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he largest and most detailed study
of its type concludes that there are links between physical fitness and
improved cognitive performance. The researchers also show that this boost in
mental powers is associated with white matter integrity.
A new study tests the theory that a fit body goes with a fit mind.
Over
recent years, there has been a great deal of research into how bodily fitness
might influence the mind.
For
instance, studies have concluded that physical fitness can reduce the
risk of dementia, relieve depressive
symptoms, and more.
There
is also evidence that physical activity boosts the cognitive performance of
healthy individuals, people of different ages,
and participants with cognitive impairments.
Similarly,
some studies have shown positive links between physical fitness and changes in
brain structure.
The
authors of the latest study in this field, who published their findings
in Scientific
Reports, note that previous studies had certain limitations.
In
some cases, for instance, they did not account for variables that could play an
important role.
As
an example, researchers could associate low levels of physical fitness with
higher blood pressure. If a study
finds that high physical fitness has links with cognitive abilities, scientists
could argue that in fact, it is lower blood pressure that boosts cognitive
power.
The
same could apply for several factors that have links with fitness, such as body
mass index (BMI), blood glucose levels, and education
status.
Also,
most studies concentrate on only one marker of mental performance at a time,
such as memory.
As the authors of the current study explain,
"studies investigating associations between [physical fitness], white
matter integrity, and multiple differential cognitive domains simultaneously
are rare."
A fresh look at fitness and the brain
The
latest experiment, carried out by scientists from University Hospital Muenster
in Germany, attempts to fill in some of the gaps. Using a large sample of
healthy people, the scientists retested the links between physical fitness,
brain structure, and a wide range of cognitive domains.
They
also wanted to ensure that they accounted for as many confounding variables as
possible. Additionally, the scientists wanted to understand whether the link
between cognitive ability and physical fitness was associated with white matter
integrity.
White matter in the brain relays messages between
disparate parts of the brain and coordinates communication throughout the
organ.
To
investigate, the researchers took data from the Human Connectome Project, which
includes MRI brain scans from 1,206 adults
with an average age of 28.8.
Some
of these participants also underwent further tests. In total, 1,204
participants completed a walking test in which they walked as quickly as they
could for 2 minutes. The researchers noted the distance.
A
total of 1,187 participants also completed cognitive tests. In these, the
scientists assessed the volunteers' memory, reasoning, sharpness, and judgment,
among other parameters.
'Surprising' results
Overall,
the researchers showed that individuals who performed better in the 2-minute
walking test also performed significantly better in all but one of the
cognitive tasks.
Importantly,
this relationship was significant even after controlling for a range of
factors, including BMI, blood pressure, age, education level, and sex.
The
researchers also associated this cognitive improvement with higher levels of
fitness with improvements in the structural integrity of white matter. The
authors conclude:
"With the present work, we
provide evidence for a positive relationship between [physical fitness] and
both white matter microstructure as well as cognitive performance in a large
sample of healthy young adults."
"It
surprised us to see that even in a young population cognitive performance
decreases as fitness levels drop," says lead researcher Dr. Jonathan
Repple.
Dr.
Repple continues, "We knew how this might be important in an elderly
population, which does not necessarily have good health, but to see this
happening in 30-year-olds is surprising."
"This leads us to believe that a basic level of
fitness seems to be a preventable risk factor for brain health."
More questions
The
current study has many strengths, not least the extensive database of MRIs. Dr.
Repple explains that "normally when you are dealing with MRI work, a
sample of 30 is pretty good, but the existence of this large MRI database
allowed us to eliminate possibly misleading factors and strengthened the
analysis considerably."
However,
because researchers carried out the tests at one point in time, it is not
possible to see how fitness and cognitive ability changes over time. It is also
not possible to say that becoming fitter causes a boost in cognitive ability.
Future
studies will need to ask whether increasing an individual's level of fitness
also increases cognitive ability.
Also,
by design, the current study only investigated healthy young people. How this
interaction might be different in older populations or people with mental health conditions will require
further work.
Taking
previous studies into account, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are
strong links between physical fitness and mental agility.
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