Aerobic exercise can deliver cognitive improvements in brain injury survivors who live with significant memory loss, a first-of-its-kind study has revealed.
The pilot study provides proof of concept data on the potential benefits of exercise through cycling in cognitive function in people living with traumatic brain injury.
The Kessler Foundation research has showed that 12 weeks of supervised moderate aerobic cycling may improve memory and processing speed in individuals with disabling cognitive deficits caused by traumatic brain injury.
“Our results support the need to explore the relationships between exercise training, cognition, and functional and structural changes in the brain, which may establish the path toward optimal protocols for clinical implementation,” says Dr Brian Sandroff, senior research scientist in the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation.
The study, the first of its kind among people living with brain injury, saw participants enrolled in a single-blind randomised control trial, which included five physically inactive individuals with a ten-year history of traumatic brain injury and significant memory impairment.
They were randomised to 12-weeks of supervised moderate aerobic cycling exercise (intervention), or 12 weeks of stretching and toning exercise (control).
All participants underwent neuropsychological tests of memory and processing speed and structural neuroimaging studies of the brain before and after their 12-weeks of exercise.
“Compared with controls, the exercise group demonstrated substantially greater improvements in auditory verbal learning and processing speed, and larger increases in volumes of their left hippocampus, left cerebellar cortex, and right cerebellar cortex,” reported lead author Dr Carly Wender, postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation.
“We also found that large intervention effects favoured the exercise group, which showed gains in processing speed and volume of the right thalamus.”
Although this study is small and data are preliminary, it is the first to look at cognitive function and morphological changes in the brain in response to exercise in people with traumatic brain injury related memory impairment.
Global cognitive impairments, as seen after traumatic brain injury, present major treatment challenges for clinicians, says Dr Sandroff.
“Because of their effects on multiple cognitive domains, exercise interventions, which are low cost, noninvasive, and readily available, are an attractive option to explore in this population,” he added.
