Table 1.
Overview of the selected population characteristics and main findings of the reviewed studies.
| First Author (year) | Sample Characteristics and Study Design (1.) Health Status (2.) Cardiorespiratory Fitness Level (mean ± SD in ml/kg/min) (3.) Number of Participants (gender) (4.) Age (mean ± SD or range in years) (5.) (i) Body Height (mean ± SD or range in cm)/ (ii) Body Mass (mean ± SD or range in kg)/ (iii) BMI (mean ± SD) |
Main Findings (1.) Behavioral Level (2.) Functional Level |
|---|---|---|
| Bothe et al. (2013) [99] | (1.) Young healthy trained and inactive adults (2.) HT (T) 56.0 ± 5.2; HT (P) 55.1 ± 6.2/ PIA (T) 48.4 ± 6.8; PIA (P) 50.2 ± 2.9 (3.) HT (T) N = 9 (9 m); HT (P) N = 10 (10 m)/ PIA (T) N = 11; PIA (P) N = 13 (13 m) (4.) HT (T) 24.0 ± 4.0; HT (P) 26.1 ± 3.4/ PIA (T) 25.1 ± 3.0; PIA (P) 23.9 ± 2.7 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) HT (T) 22.8 ± 2.0; HT (P) 23.0 ± 1.9, PIA (T) 22.4 ± 1.5; PIA (P) 21.6 ± 1.5 |
Treadmill running vs. placebo (stretching): (1.) - no significant differences (2.) ↓ lt. caudate nucleus in gain anticipation ↓ rt. caudate nucleus in gain feedback |
| Chen et al. (2016) [71] | (1.) Healthy children (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 9 (4 f/ 5 m) (4.) 10.0 ± 0.0 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) N.A. |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) ↓ mean RT in the 2-back condition (2.) ↑ lt. superior/inferior parietal gyrus, rt. superior parietal gyrus, lt. hippocampus, lt. cerebellum, rt. cerebellum |
| Chen et al. (2017) [73] | (1.) Healthy children (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 9 (4 f/ 5 m) (4.) 10.0 ± 0.0 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) N.A. |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) ↓ mean RT in Eriksen flanker task (2.) ↑ resting-state functional connectivity in the lt. cerebellum-rt. inferior gyrus is significantly negatively correlated with better performance (e.g., shorter reaction time) in an Eriksen flanker task |
| Li et al. (2014) [39] | (1.) Healthy younger adults (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 15 (15 f) (4.) 19-22 (5.) (i) 161.6 ± 3.1/ (ii) 50.8 ± 3.4/ (iii) 19.5 ± 1.4 |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) - no significant differences (2.) ↑ rt. middle frontal gyrus, rt. lingual gyrus, lt. fusiform gyrus/↓ anterior cingulate gyrus, rt. paracentral lobule, and lt. inferior frontal gyrus in the 2-back condition |
| Li et al. (2019) [106] | (1.) Healthy high-fit and low-fit younger adults (2.) HF 26.5 ± 1.9/ LF 19.9 ± 1.0 (3.) HF N = 12 (12 f)/ LF N = 12 (12 f) (4.) HF 25.5 ± 0.7/ LF 25.8 ± 0.6 (5.) (i) HF 164.8 ± 5.9; LF 161.1 ± 4.9/ (ii) HF 55.7 ± 5.1; LF 52.0 ± 5.0/ (iii) HF 20.5 ± 1.1; LF 20.0 ± 1.5 |
After cycling vs. prior cycling: (1.) ↑ accuracy in LF in 0-back ↓ accuracy in HF in 1-back (2.) ↓ rt. cerebellum in HF in 0-back and 1-back ↑ rt. cerebellum in LF in 0-back and 1-back ↑ lt. and rt. cerebellum, rt. paracentral lobule, and rt. medial temporal pole in HF and LF in 1-back ↑ lt. anterior cingulate gyrus and in lt. pallidum in HF in 2-back ↓ lt. anterior cingulate cortex in LF in 2-back HF vs. LF: (1.) ↑ accuracy in 1-back and 2-back (before cycling) (2.) ↑ rt. cerebellum in 0-back (before cycling) ↓ rt. cerebellum in 0-back and 1-back (after cycling) ↑ lt. inferior parietal lobule in 0-back and 1-back ↓ lt. anterior cingulate gyrus and in lt. globus pallidus in 2-back (before cycling) ↑ lt. anterior cingulate gyrus and in lt. globus pallidus in 2-back (after cycling) ↑ rt. superior frontal gyrus in 2-back |
| MacIntosh et al. (2014) [72] | (1.) Healthy younger adults (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 16 (10 f/ 6 m) (4.) 26.7 ± 4.1 (20-35) (5.) (i) 171.0 ± 10.5/ (ii) 67.9 ± 13.9/ (iii) N.A. |
After vs. prior cycling: (1.) - no significant change (2.) ↓ lt. parietal operculum |
| Mehren et al. (2019) [100] | (1.) Younger adults with and without ADHD (2.) ADHD 36.6 ± 7.5/ HC 42.0 ± 7.3 (3.) ADHD N = 23 (3 f/ 20 m)/ HC N = 23 (4 f/ 20 m) (4.) ADHD 31.4 ± 9.6/HC 29.5 ± 7.0 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) ADHD 25.6 ± 4.3; HC 24.1 ± 2.6 |
Cycling vs. rest (watching movie): (1.) – no significant differences (2.) ↑ lt. middle occipital gyrus, rt. middle occipital gyrus, rt. supramarginal gyrus, and lt. inferior parietal gyrus during correct inhibitions in Go/No-Go task in ADHD - negative correlation between exercise-related changes in brain activation in lt. insula, lt. precentral gyrus, and rt. postcentral gyrus during correct inhibitions in Go/No-Go task and task performance in the control condition in ADHD ADHD vs. HC (1.) – no significant differences (2.) ↑ lt. superior occipital gyrus, rt. precuneus, and lt. supramarginal gyrus |
| Mehren et al. (2019) [101] | (1.) Younger healthy adults (2.) MIE 39.6 ± 7.1/ HIE 37.0 ± 8.3 (3.) MIE N = 32 (16 f/ 16 m)/ HIE N = 31 (16 f/ 15 m) (4.) MIE 29.3 ± 8.5/ HIE 28.6 ± 7.7 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) MIE 23.8 ± 2.3; HIE 24.5 ± 4.8 |
Cycling vs. rest (watching movie): (1.) ↓ reaction times in a congruent and incongruent condition (Flanker task) in HIIE ↑ sensitivity index (Go/No-Go task) in MICE (2.) ↑ lt. superior frontal gyrus, rt. precentral gyrus and the triangular part of the lt. inferior frontal gyrus in Go/No-Go task (contrast “hits”) in MICE ↓ lt. anterior cingulate gyrus in a visual task in MICE ↑ lt. lingual gyrus and precuneus in a visual task in HIIE ↑ rt. precentral gyrus in Go/No-Go task (contrast “hits”) in MICE (males vs. females) MICE vs. HIIE: (1.) - no significant differences (2.) ↑ lt. superior frontal gyrus and rt. insula in Go/No-Go task (contrast “hits”) ↓ lt. lingual gyrus, rt. precuneus, and lt. anterior cingulate gyrus in a visual task Associations between brain activation and CRF: - positive association between activation of rt. insula and VO2 peak in MICE (Flanker task contrast “incongruent – congruent”) - negative association between activation of rt. postcentral gyrus VO2 peak in HIIE (Go/No-Go task – contrast “hits”) - positive association between activation of lt. rolandic operculum VO2 peak in MICE (Go/No-Go task – contrast “correct inhibitions - hits”) |
| Mehren et al. (2019) [102] | (1.) Younger adults with and without ADHD (2.) ADHD 37.1 ± 7.2/ HC 41.5 ± 7.3 (3.) ADHD N = 20 (4 f/ 16 m)/ HC N = 20 (5 f/ 15 m) (4.) ADHD 29.9 ± 9.5/ HC 29.0 ± 7.4 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) ADHD 25.0 ± 3.8; HC 24.3 ± 2.7 |
Cycling vs. rest (watching movie): (1.) ↓ interference score (incongruent-congruent) in HC ↓ mean RT in a congruent and incongruent condition in ADHD ↓ RT variability in a congruent condition in ADHD - significant positive correlation between RT differences (i.e., differences between exercise and control condition) in incongruent trials and VO2 peak in ADHD (2.) ↓ rt. precentral gyrus and rt. middle temporal gyrus in a congruent condition in ADHD ↓ rt. superior frontal gyrus, rt. middle frontal gyrus and paracentral lobule in incongruent condition in ADHD ↓ rt. superior frontal gyrus and rt. middle frontal gyrus in a visual task in ADHD |
| Metcalfe et al. (2016) [105] | (1.) Adolescents with and without BD (2.) N.A. (3.) BD N = 30 (17 f/13 m)/ HC N = 20 (11 f/9 m) (4.) BD 16.8 ± 1.4/ HC 16.1 ± 1.4 (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) N.A. |
BD vs. HC: (1.) – no significant differences (2.) ↓ orbital part of the lt. inferior frontal gyrus, rt. frontal pole extending to temporal pole, rt. and lt. hippocampus and rt. amygdala in Go trials |
| Suwabe et al. (2018) [38] | (1.) Healthy younger adults (2.) 37.9 ± 8.2 (3.) N = 16 (12 f/4 m) (4.) 21.1 ± 2.0 (5.) (i) 164.2 ± 9.1/ (ii) 55.4 ± 7.7/ (iii) 20.5 ± 1.6 |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) ↑ better performance in mnemonic discrimination task (in high- and medium-similarity lures) (2.) - significant positive associations between dentate gyrus/CA3 subfield bilaterally and lt. angular gyrus, lt. fusiform gyrus, lt. parahippocampal cortex, and lt. primary visual cortex - significant negative association between dentate gyrus/CA3 subfield bilaterally and lt. temporal pole - significant association between the whole hippocampus (CA1, subiculum and dentate gyrus/CA3) and bilateral parahippocampal cortex - higher correlations between dentate gyrus/CA3 and angular gyrus, fusiform gyrus as well as parahippocampal cortex predicted improvements in cognitive performance |
| Voss et al. (2019) [107] | (1.) Healthy older adults (2.) 20.1 ± 5.0 (3.) N = 34 (20 f/ 14 m) (4.) 67.1 ± 4.3 (60-80) (5.) (i) N.A./ (ii) N.A./ (iii) 29.1 ± 5.3 |
After vs. prior cycling: (1.) ↑ accuracy in 1-back and 2-back condition in LIE and MIE and ↑ accuracy in 1-back and 2-back condition in MIE vs. LIE - acute improvements in working memory performance predict long-term improvements in working memory performance (after 12-weeks of training) (2.) - acute changes in the following connections predict long-term changes in the same connections: (i) lt. middle occipital lobule and rt. angular gyrus, (ii) lt. superior frontal gyrus and lt. inferior temporal gyrus, (iii) lt. superior frontal gyrus and rt. inferior parietal gyrus, (iv) rt inferior parietal gyrus and rt. triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus, (v) rt. inferior parietal gyrus and opercular part of the lt. inferior frontal gyrus, (vi) lt. lingual gyrus and rt. fusiform gyrus, (vii) rt. superior frontal gyrus and rt. middle temporal gyrus, (viii) rt. middle temporal gyrus and rt. inferior parietal gyrus, (ix) lt. and rt. precuneus, (x) lt. superior frontal gyrus and lt. medial superior frontal gyrus, (xi) rt. middle temporal gyrus and opercular part of the lt. inferior frontal gyrus, and (xii) rt. superior frontal gyrus and rt. inferior parietal gyrus - acute and long-term changes in (i) connections between rt. middle temporal gyrus and rt. superior frontal gyrus, and (ii) connections between rt. inferior parietal gyrus and opercular part of the rt. inferior frontal gyrus are associated with performance in the 2-back condition |
| Won et al. (2019) [103] | (1.) Healthy older adults (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 32 (24 f/ 8 m) (4.) 66.2 ± 7.3 (55-85) (5.) (i) 166.6 ± 9.0/ (ii) 71.3 ± 14.2/ (iii) 25.5 ± 4.1 |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) ↑ accuracy in a congruent and incongruent condition (2.) ↑ orbital part of the lt. inferior frontal gyrus and lt. inferior parietal gyrus in incongruent and incongruent-congruent condition ↓ rt. cingulate gyrus in incongruent and incongruent-congruent condition |
| Won et al. (2019) [104] | (1.) Healthy older adults (2.) N.A. (3.) N = 26 (20 f/ 6 m) (4.) 65.9 ± 7.2 (55-85) (5.) (i) 166.5 ± 8.5/ (ii) 73.6 ± 14.1/ (iii) 26.1 ± 4.3 |
Cycling vs. seated rest: (1.) - no significant differences (2.) ↑ orbital part of lt. inferior frontal gyrus, lt. inferior temporal gyrus, rt. middle temporal gyrus, lt. fusiform gyrus, and rt. and lt. hippocampus |
ADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; BD: bipolar disorder; BMI: body mass index; cm: centimeter; f: female; HC: healthy controls; HF: high-fit group; HIIE: high-intensity interval exercise group; HT: highly trained individuals; kg: kilogram; LF: low-fit group; lt.: left; m: male; MICE: moderate-intensity continuous exercise group; min: minutes; N: number; N.A.: not applicable; P: placebo exercise (stretching and gymnastic tasks); PIA: physically inactive individuals; rt.: right; RT: reaction time; SD: standard deviation; T: treadmill exercise; VO2 max: highest value of maximal oxygen uptake attainable by a subject [109,110,111]; during cardiorespiratory fitness test; VO2 peak: highest “system-limited” oxygen uptake attained during the cardiorespiratory fitness test [109,110,111]; vs.: versus; ↑: significant increase; ↓: significant decrease.