Home › Research › Prevention trials
The Central Mechanisms of Resistance Training and Its Effects on Cognitive Function
Zi-Siong Chow, Ashleigh T Moreland, Helen Macpherson, Wei-Peng Teo. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2021-08-21
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Resistance exercise is used extensively in athletic and general populations to induce neuromuscular adaptations to increase muscle size and performance. Exercise parameters such as exercise frequency, intensity, duration and modality are carefully manipulated to induce specific adaptations to the neuromuscular system. While the benefits of resistance exercise on the neuromuscular system are well documented, there is growing evidence to suggest that resistance exercise, even when performed acutely, can lead to neuroplastic changes within the central nervous system (CNS) and improve cognitive functioning. As such, resistance exercise has been proposed as a novel adjuvant rehabilitation strategy in populations that suffer from neurological or neurocognitive impairments (i.e. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's dementia) or even to attenuate age-related declines in cognitive health. In this review, we present evidence for the neuroplastic effects and cognitive benefits of resistance exercise and propose some of the underlying mechanisms that drive neuroplasticity following resistance training. We will further discuss the effects of exercise parameters, in particular exercise frequency, intensity, duration and modality to improve cognitive health. Lastly, we will highlight some of the existing limitations in the literature surrounding the use of resistance exercise to improve cognitive function and propose considerations to improve future studies in this field. In summary, the current evidence supports the role of resistance exercise, as a stand alone or in combination with aerobic exercise, for benefiting cognitive health and that it should be considered as an adjuvant therapy to treat age- or disease-related cognitive declines.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Chow, Z.-S., Moreland, A. T., Macpherson, H., & Teo, W.-P. (2021). The Central Mechanisms of Resistance Training and Its Effects on Cognitive Function. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01535-5
Vancouver
Chow Z.-S, Moreland AT, Macpherson H, Teo W.-P. The Central Mechanisms of Resistance Training and Its Effects on Cognitive Function. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 2021. doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01535-5. PMID: 34417978.
BibTeX
@article{chow2021-34417978,
author = {Chow, Zi-Siong and Moreland, Ashleigh T and Macpherson, Helen and Teo, Wei-Peng},
title = {{The Central Mechanisms of Resistance Training and Its Effects on Cognitive Function}},
journal = {Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1007/s40279-021-01535-5},
pmid = {34417978},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01535-5}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- While the benefits of resistance exercise on the neuromuscular system are well documented, there is growing evidence to suggest that resistance exercise, even when performed acutely, can lead to neuroplastic changes within the central nervous system (CNS) and improve cognitive functioning.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Prevention →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multicenter collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 41 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34417978) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 23 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 41 out of 100. |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Related studies in Prevention trials
Also tagged “exercise-training”
125 studies in the library carry the topic tag “exercise-training”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 125 tagged studies.