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Effects of resistance training in gray matter density of elderly

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Abstract

Introduction

Aging has been shown to be associated with decreases in brain and muscle tissues, accompanied by dysfunction in cognition and functionality, respectively. Resistance training (RT) has been widely recommended to mitigate muscle loss but its effects on brain tissue are still unclear.

Purpose

This study verified the effects of 12 weeks of RT on gray matter density in elderly.

Methods

Seven participants (four men and three women; 61.3 ± 2.8 years; 68.7 ± 16.5 kg; 161 ± 12 cm) had the brain anatomy and thigh cross sectional area obtained through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after RT. Gray matter density was then separated and compared between pre and post exercise intervention.

Results

Data showed that RT promoted increases in gray matter density in the posterior and anterior lobe of cerebellum, superior frontal gyrus in the frontal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex in the limbic lobe (p < 0.001). Additionally, RT also increased thigh cross-sectional area and muscle strength (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our study indicates that resistance training may be an alternative intervention to improve neuronal density in brain regions related to motor control and cognition in the elderly.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Campinas, Rua Vital Brasil, 251. Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Campinas, PO. Box 6111, São Paulo, Zip Code 13083-888, Brazil

    Eduardo Bodnariuc Fontes, Alexandre Hideki Okano & Li Min Li

  2. Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    Eduardo Bodnariuc Fontes & Alexandre Hideki Okano

  3. Laboratory of Neuromuscular Adaptations to Resistance Training, Department of Physical Education, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil

    Cleiton Augusto Libardi

  4. Institute of Physics Gleb Wataghin, University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Gabriela Castellano

  5. Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology (CEPID-BRAINN), University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Gabriela Castellano & Li Min Li

  6. Faculty of Physical Education, University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paula Teixeira Fernandes, Mara Patricia Chacon-Mikahil & Claudia Regina Cavaglieri

  7. School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Carlos Ugrinowitsch

Authors
  1. Eduardo Bodnariuc Fontes
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  2. Cleiton Augusto Libardi
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  3. Gabriela Castellano
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  4. Alexandre Hideki Okano
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  7. Carlos Ugrinowitsch
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  8. Claudia Regina Cavaglieri
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  9. Li Min Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eduardo Bodnariuc Fontes.

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Funding

The study was funded by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development- CNPq/Brazil: 476107/2011-3. EBF received a scholarship from FAPESP # 2011/01466-8; AHO received a scholarship from FAPESP # 13/10187-0. CU was supported by CNPq (304205/2011-7, 500388/2012-1) and FAPESP (2012/22817-6).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

Statement of human rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

 Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Fontes, E.B., Libardi, C.A., Castellano, G. et al. Effects of resistance training in gray matter density of elderly. Sport Sci Health 13, 233–238 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-016-0298-5

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