Neuroplasticity of Brain Networks Through Exercise: A Narrative Review About Effect of Types, Intensities, and Durations.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing 25 exercise interventions
PubMed 40863789 · doi:10.3390/sports13080280
What was done
This narrative review analyzed 25 intervention studies assessing structural and functional brain network changes in healthy adults aged 18–80 years. Interventions were categorized by exercise modality (cardiovascular, strength, or mixed training), intensity level (light-to-moderate vs. vigorous), and duration (short-term vs. long-term).
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, effect sizes, or statistical metrics. Qualitatively, it reports that exercise type, intensity, and duration modulate neuroplastic responses, inducing functional and structural modifications across key brain networks, including the default mode network, salience network, central executive network, visuospatial network, sensorimotor network, and language/auditory networks.
Why it matters
The review categorizes how distinct exercise parameters (type, intensity, and duration) relate to neuroplastic adaptations across specific functional and resting-state brain networks in adults.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative metrics or effect sizes. As a narrative review rather than a systematic review or meta-analysis, study quality assessments and risk-of-bias controls are not reported. Findings are limited to healthy populations aged 18–80 and cannot be generalized to clinical or cognitively impaired groups.
Cited by
- supports Neuroplasticity continues throughout the entire human lifespan.