Aerobic fitness is associated with greater white matter integrity in children

Laura Chaddock-Heyman; Kirk I Erickson; Joseph L Holtrop; Michelle W Voss; Matthew B Pontifex; Lauren B Raine; Charles H Hillman; Arthur F Kramer

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00584

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Aerobic fitness is associated with greater white matter integrity in children

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Aerobic fitness is associated with greater white matter integrity in children

Laura Chaddock-Heyman, Kirk I Erickson, Joseph L Holtrop, Michelle W Voss, Matthew B Pontifex, Lauren B Raine, Charles H Hillman and Arthur F Kramer

Frontiers in human neuroscience, Vol.8, pp.584-584

08/19/2014

DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00584

PMCID: PMC4137385

PMID: 25191243

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Abstract

Aerobic fitness has been found to play a positive role in brain and cognitive health of children. Yet, many of the neural biomarkers related to aerobic fitness remain unknown. Here, using diffusion tensor imaging, we demonstrated that higher aerobic fitness was related to greater estimates of white matter microstructure in children. Higher fit 9- and 10-year-old children showed greater fractional anisotropy (FA) in sections of the corpus callosum, corona radiata, and superior longitudinal fasciculus, compared to lower fit children. The FA effects were primarily characterized by aerobic fitness differences in radial diffusivity, thereby raising the possibility that estimates of myelination may vary as a function of individual differences in fitness during childhood. White matter structure may be another potential neural mechanism of aerobic fitness that assists in efficient communication between gray matter regions as well as the integration of regions into networks.

diffusion tensor imaging

Neuroscience

development

cardiorespiratory fitness

microstructure

fiber tracts

Details

Title: Subtitle: Aerobic fitness is associated with greater white matter integrity in children
Creators: Laura Chaddock-Heyman - Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kirk I Erickson - Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
Joseph L Holtrop - Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michelle W Voss - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa
Matthew B Pontifex - Department of Kinesiology, Michigan State University
Lauren B Raine - Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Charles H Hillman - Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Arthur F Kramer - Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Frontiers in human neuroscience, Vol.8, pp.584-584
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00584
PMID: 25191243
PMCID: PMC4137385
NLM abbreviation: Front Hum Neurosci
ISSN: 1662-5161
eISSN: 1662-5161
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A
Language: English
Date published: 08/19/2014
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984002472202771

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