Personalising exercise recommendations for brain health: considerations and future directions
- The relationship between exercise and cognition may be dependent on the type of exercise being employed. Broadly speaking, there exist two distinct types of exercise: (1) aerobic training eg, running, walking; and (2) resistance training eg, weight lifting.
- Evidence from studies supports the notion that Aerobic training elicits greater cognitive benefits in women than in men.
- It appears that aerobic training significantly increased hippocampal volume, whereas resistance training failed to do so in older women with probable mild cognitive impairment however, resistance training significantly changed functional regional blood flow of the brain during associate memory performance, while aerobic training had no effect. Taken together, the literature suggests that aerobic training and resistance training may promote brain function via divergent and common biological pathways. Thus, the type of exercise is an important factor to consider when prescribing exercise regimes to individuals.