Summary: Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging
Stanley J. Colcombe*
, Arthur F. Kramer*§
, Kirk I. Erickson*§
, Paige Scalf*§
, Edward McAuley¶
, Neal J. Cohen*§
,
Andrew Webb* , Gerry J. Jerome¶
, David X. Marquez¶
, and Steriani Elavsky¶
*The Beckman Institute, Neuroscience Program, and Departments of §Psychology, ¶Kinesiology, and Electrical and Chemical Engineering, University of
Illinois at Urbana­Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801
Communicated by William T. Greenough, University of Illinois at Urbana­Champaign, Urbana, IL, January 13, 2004 (received for review June 6, 2003)
Cardiovascular fitness is thought to offset declines in cognitive
performance, but little is known about the cortical mechanisms
that underlie these changes in humans. Research using animal
models shows that aerobic training increases cortical capillary
supplies, the number of synaptic connections, and the develop-
ment of new neurons. The end result is a brain that is more

Source: Andrews, Anne M. - Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University

Collections: Biology and Medicine