Examining the Impact of Exercise-Cognition Interactions on Neural Plasticity in Humans

检查运动认知相互作用对人类神经可塑性的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2022-05298
• 负责人: Heisz, Jennifer
• 金额: $ 2.84万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=757744
• 关键词: Examining; Impact; Exercise; Cognition; Interactions

Exercise is a powerful stimulus for physiological adaptations that improve physical function. However, the impact of those physiological adaptions on human cognition is not well understood. A recent discovery made by my lab and others is that the impact of exercise on cognition is domain specific - targeting functions of memory and executive functions. Although researchers have been unable to explain this domain specificity, my recent NSERC-funded research offers new insights by identifying vigorous exercise as a potent stimulus for neural plasticity over lighter modes of exercise. What is so special about vigorous exercise? During vigorous exercise, the muscles require oxygen faster than can be delivered. Anaerobic metabolism kicks in to cover the shortfall and this causes excess L-lactate. Although lactate was historically regarded as an inert metabolic by-product, new research from animal models suggests that lactate may promote neural plasticity. This has yet to be fully tested in humans and will be an important contribution of the proposed research. Furthermore, exercise-induced plasticity may be augmented by cognitive training. Although cognitive training is not physically challenging (and does not increase lactate), it is mentally challenging and thus, adds to the total stress burden that is registered by the brain. The proposed research will use orienteering-based training, which is the closest evolutionary surrogate for hunter-gatherer activities, to combine spatial navigation with high-intensity exercise to determine how the physiological adaptations from exercise interact with those from cognitive training to alter the human brain. OBJECTIVES: Using the neurobiology of stress as a model, my research aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the domain-specific effects of exercise on the human brain. The proposed research will focus on the following short-term objectives: 1) Establish targets for investigating how acute exercise promotes domain-specific cognitive effects by manipulating the exercise-stress response and evaluating potential sex differences related to exercise-induced lactate effects. 2) Bridge the gap in acute-to-chronic exercise effects using a novel intervention model to determine how exercise-induced adaptations in neural plasticity change with training and whether those adaptions persist following detraining. 3) Combine exercise and cognitive training to identify how they interact to alter the human brain. Impact: This integrative and multidisciplinary research that tests the mechanistic underpinnings revealed in animal models is needed to advance the field. The findings will uncover novel areas of inquiry for researchers studying brain plasticity and inform the development of new intervention models for cognitive enhancement. Ultimately, this fundamental work will inform the creation of novel pharmaceuticals to prevent dementia, which will be transformative for people who cannot exercise vigorously.

锻炼是提高身体机能的生理适应的有力刺激。然而，这些生理适应对人类认知的影响尚不清楚。我的实验室和其他人最近发现，运动对认知的影响是特定领域的——针对记忆和执行功能的功能。虽然研究人员还无法解释这个区域的特殊性，但我最近在nserc资助下的研究提供了新的见解，通过确定剧烈运动比较轻的运动模式更能有效地刺激神经可塑性。剧烈运动有什么特别之处？在剧烈运动中，肌肉需要的氧气比输送的快。无氧代谢开始弥补不足，这导致过量的l -乳酸。尽管乳酸一直被认为是一种惰性代谢副产物，但动物模型的新研究表明，乳酸可能促进神经可塑性。这还需要在人体中进行充分的测试，这将是拟议研究的一个重要贡献。此外，运动诱导的可塑性可以通过认知训练来增强。虽然认知训练对身体没有挑战（也不会增加乳酸），但它对精神有挑战，因此增加了大脑记录的总压力负担。这项拟议中的研究将利用以定向运动为基础的训练，这是与狩猎采集活动最接近的进化替代品，将空间导航与高强度运动结合起来，以确定运动产生的生理适应与认知训练产生的生理适应如何相互作用，从而改变人类的大脑。目的：利用压力的神经生物学作为模型，我的研究旨在了解运动对人类大脑的特定领域影响的机制。本研究将集中于以下短期目标：1)建立目标，研究急性运动如何通过操纵运动应激反应促进特定领域的认知效应，并评估与运动诱导的乳酸效应相关的潜在性别差异。2)利用一种新的干预模型弥合急性到慢性运动效应的差距，以确定运动诱导的神经可塑性适应如何随着训练而变化，以及这些适应是否在去训练后持续存在。3)将运动和认知训练结合起来，确定它们是如何相互作用来改变人类大脑的。影响：这项综合和多学科的研究，测试了动物模型中揭示的机制基础，是推动该领域发展的必要条件。这些发现将为研究大脑可塑性的研究人员开辟新的研究领域，并为认知增强的新干预模式的发展提供信息。最终，这项基础性工作将为预防痴呆症的新型药物的发明提供信息，这将对那些不能剧烈运动的人产生革命性的影响。