Ilona Ruotsalainen1, Enrico Glerean2,3, Juha Karvanen4, Tetiana Gorbach5,6,7, Ville Renvall2,8, Heidi J Syväoja9, Tuija H Tammelin9, Tiina Parviainen1. 1. Department of Psychology, Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. 2. Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland. 3. International Laboratory of Social Neurobiology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia. 4. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. 5. Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. 6. Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. 7. Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. 8. AMI Centre, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo, Finland. 9. LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Adolescents have experienced decreased aerobic fitness levels and insufficient physical activity levels over the past decades. While both physical activity and aerobic fitness are related to physical and mental health, little is known concerning how they manifest in the brain during this stage of development, characterized by significant physical and psychosocial changes. The aim of the study is to examine the associations between both physical activity and aerobic fitness with brains' functional connectivity. METHODS: Here, we examined how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with local and interhemispheric functional connectivity of the adolescent brain (n = 59), as measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Physical activity was measured by hip-worn accelerometers, and aerobic fitness by a maximal 20-m shuttle run test. RESULTS: We found that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, were linked to increased local functional connectivity as measured by regional homogeneity in 13-16-year-old participants. However, we did not find evidence for significant associations between adolescents' physical activity or aerobic fitness and interhemispheric connectivity, as indicated by homotopic connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, is related to local functional connectivity in adolescents. Moreover, physical activity shows an association with a specific brain area involved in motor functions but did not display any widespread associations with other brain regions. These results can advance our understanding of the behavior-brain associations in adolescents.
INTRODUCTION: Adolescents have experienced decreased aerobic fitness levels and insufficient physical activity levels over the past decades. While both physical activity and aerobic fitness are related to physical and mental health, little is known concerning how they manifest in the brain during this stage of development, characterized by significant physical and psychosocial changes. The aim of the study is to examine the associations between both physical activity and aerobic fitness with brains' functional connectivity. METHODS: Here, we examined how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with local and interhemispheric functional connectivity of the adolescent brain (n = 59), as measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Physical activity was measured by hip-worn accelerometers, and aerobic fitness by a maximal 20-m shuttle run test. RESULTS: We found that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, were linked to increased local functional connectivity as measured by regional homogeneity in 13-16-year-old participants. However, we did not find evidence for significant associations between adolescents' physical activity or aerobic fitness and interhemispheric connectivity, as indicated by homotopic connectivity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, is related to local functional connectivity in adolescents. Moreover, physical activity shows an association with a specific brain area involved in motor functions but did not display any widespread associations with other brain regions. These results can advance our understanding of the behavior-brain associations in adolescents.
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