A group from Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute and Kobe University has clarified the function of the brain involved in the relationship that "high physical function and high cognitive function".
Previous studies have shown that people with high physical function also have high cognitive function, and that the improvement in physical function associated with exercise enhances cognitive function.But what abilities of physical function are associated with cognitive function?What kind of brain function does a person with high physical function improve cognitive function?I wasn't quite sure about that.
Therefore, in this study, we analyze the relationship between multiple physical functions (aerobic endurance, walking speed, finger dexterity, muscle strength) and working memory, which is a cognitive function related to short-term memory, and the background of the relationship. We attempted to identify the function of a certain brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Using the data of 1033 people registered in the database of the Human Connectome Project in the United States, we analyzed the relationship between each physical function and the performance of the working memory task and the brain activity at the time of the task. In terms of performance, it was shown that those with excellent aerobic endurance and finger dexterity also had excellent working memory performance.As for the brain activity that mediates this, the activity of some frontal-parietal networks was commonly increased, and in those with high endurance, the activity of the broader frontal-parietal network was increased. ..
On the other hand, those with high finger dexterity were found to improve the performance of working memory tasks by reducing the activity of default mode networks and coordinating the relationships between these networks.
These results suggest that exercise that enhances aerobic endurance and finger dexterity may work effectively on cognitive function.It can be said that this is a result that is expected to contribute to the construction of effective exercise prescriptions for maintaining and improving cognitive function.
