scholarly journals Physical fitness and shapes of subcortical brain structures in children

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (s1) ◽  
pp. S49-S58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco B. Ortega ◽  
Daniel Campos ◽  
Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez ◽  
Signe Altmäe ◽  
Cristina Martínez-Zaldívar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Fitness Components ◽  
Brain Nuclei ◽  
Life Project ◽  
Subcortical Brain ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Subcortical Brain Structures ◽  
Randomised Controlled

AbstractA few studies have recently reported that higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with higher volumes of subcortical brain structures in children. It is, however, unknown how different fitness measures relate to shapes of subcortical brain nuclei. We aimed to examine the association of the main health-related physical fitness components with shapes of subcortical brain structures in a sample of forty-four Spanish children aged 9·7 (sd 0·2) years from the NUtraceuticals for a HEALthier life project. Cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and speed agility were assessed using valid and reliable tests (ALPHA-fitness test battery). Shape of the subcortical brain structures was assessed by MRI, and its relationship with fitness was examined after controlling for a set of potential confounders using a partial correlation permutation approach. Our results showed that all physical fitness components studied were significantly related to the shapes of subcortical brain nuclei. These associations were both positive and negative, indicating that a higher level of fitness in childhood is related to both expansions and contractions in certain regions of the accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, pallidum, putamen and thalamus. Cardiorespiratory fitness was mainly associated with expansions, whereas handgrip was mostly associated with contractions in the structures studied. Future randomised-controlled trials will confirm or contrast our findings, demonstrating whether changes in fitness modify the shapes of brain structures and the extent to which those changes influence cognitive function.

scholarly journals Alterations of Subcortical Brain Structures in Paradoxical and Psychophysiological Insomnia Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farnoosh Emamian ◽  
Mostafa Mahdipour ◽  
Khadijeh Noori ◽  
Masoumeh Rostampour ◽  
S. Bentolhoda Mousavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Caudate Putamen ◽  
Subcortical Brain ◽  
Insomnia Disorder ◽  
Sleep Parameters ◽  
Subcortical Brain Structures ◽  
Psychophysiological Insomnia ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Insomnia disorder (ID) is a common illness associated with mood and cognitive impairments. Subtyping ID is an ongoing debate in sleep medicine, but the underlying mechanisms of each subtype is poorly understood. Growing evidence suggests that subcortical brain structures play the key roles in pathophysiology of ID and its subtypes. Here, we aimed to investigate structural alteration of subcortical regions in patients with two common ID subtypes i.e., paradoxical and psychophysiological insomnia. Fifty-five patients and 49 healthy controls were recruited for this study and T1-weighted images and subjective and objective sleep parameters (i.e., Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and polysomnography) were collected from participants. Subcortical structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, nucleus accumbens, and thalamus were automatically segmented in FSL. Volume and shape (using surface vertices) of each structure were compared between the groups, controlled for covariates, and corrected for multiple comparisons. In addition, correlations of sleep parameters and surface vertices or volumes were calculated. The caudate's volume was smaller in patients than controls. Compared with controls, we found regional shrinkage in the caudate, nucleus accumbens, posterior putamen, hippocampus, thalamus, and amygdala in paradoxical insomnia and shrinkage in the amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, and putamen in psychophysiological insomnia. Interestingly, comparing two patients groups, shape alteration in the caudate, putamen, and nucleus accumbens in paradoxical insomnia and shrinkage in the thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus in psychophysiological insomnia were observed. Both subjective and objective sleep parameters were associated with these regional shape alterations in patients. Our results support the differential role of subcortical brain structures in pathophysiology of paradoxical and psychophysiological insomnia.

High Levels of Physical Fitness Are Associated With Better Health-Related Quality of Life in Women With Fibromyalgia: The al-Ándalus Project

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (11) ◽  
pp. 1481-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada C Álvarez-Gallardo ◽  
Alberto Soriano-Maldonado ◽  
Víctor Segura-Jiménez ◽  
Fernando Estévez-López ◽  
Daniel Camiletti-Moirón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Strength ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Cardiorespiratory Fitness ◽  
Composite Score ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sf 36 ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Abstract Background Physical fitness is a marker of health and is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Identifying which components of physical fitness are associated with HRQoL in people with fibromyalgia may contribute to the development of more specific therapeutic strategies. Objective The 2 aims of this study were to examine the association of different components of physical fitness (ie, flexibility, muscle strength, speed and agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness) with HRQoL and to determine the extent to which any association between the components of physical fitness and HRQoL were of clinical relevance to women with fibromyalgia. Design A cross-sectional design was used. Methods This study included 466 women with fibromyalgia from southern Spain (Andalusia). The Senior Fitness Test battery and the handgrip test were used to assess physical fitness, and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess HRQoL. Tender points, cognitive impairment, anthropometric measurements, and medication usage were also measured. First, multivariate linear regression was used to assess the individual relationship of each physical fitness test with the 8 dimensions of the SF-36. Second, a standardized composite score was computed for each component of physical fitness (flexibility, muscle strength, speed and agility, and cardiorespiratory fitness). A 1-way analysis of covariance to assess the differences in each of the 8 dimensions of the SF-36 across each physical fitness composite score was conducted. Forward stepwise regression was performed to analyze which components of physical fitness were independently associated with the SF-36 physical and mental component scales. Results Overall, higher levels of physical fitness were associated with higher levels of HRQoL (regardless of the SF-36 subscale evaluated). The effect sizes for HRQoL between participants with the lowest and the highest physical fitness levels ranged from moderate to large (Cohen d = 0.53–0.90). The muscle strength composite score was independently associated with the SF-36 physical component scale, whereas the flexibility composite score and cardiorespiratory fitness were independently associated with the SF-36 mental component scale. Limitations A limitation was that the cross-sectional design precluded the establishment of causality. Additionally, only women were included in the study, because fibromyalgia predominantly affects women. Conclusions High levels of physical fitness were consistently associated with better HRQoL in women with fibromyalgia; clinically relevant differences were demonstrated between those at extreme physical fitness levels. Muscle strength, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness were independent indicators of HRQoL. These results warrant further prospective research on the potential of fitness to predict HRQoL in this population.

scholarly journals Common genetic variants influence human subcortical brain structures

Nature ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 520 (7546) ◽  
pp. 224-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrek P. Hibar ◽  
◽  
Jason L. Stein ◽  
Miguel E. Renteria ◽  
Alejandro Arias-Vasquez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Subcortical Brain ◽  
Common Genetic Variants ◽  
Subcortical Brain Structures

scholarly journals Lack of Association Between Shape and Volume of Subcortical Brain Structures and Restless Legs Syndrome

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Hermesdorf ◽  
Benedikt Sundermann ◽  
Rajesh Rawal ◽  
András Szentkirályi ◽  
Udo Dannlowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Restless Legs Syndrome ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Restless Legs ◽  
Subcortical Brain ◽  
Subcortical Brain Structures

scholarly journals Relationship Between Verbal Fluency Performance, Fight Exposure, and Subcortical Region Brain Volumes in Professional Fighters

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 735-735
Author(s):  
L Bennett ◽  
C Bernick ◽  
S Banks
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Brain Volumes ◽  
Subcortical Brain ◽  
Subcortical Region ◽  
Subcortical Brain Structures

Abstract Purpose Verbal fluency performance has been shown to be sensitive to preclinical cognitive changes in neurodegenerative diseases and may detect early, trauma-related cognitive and volumetric changes amongst professional fighters. Baseline verbal fluency performance and volumes of relevant subcortical brain structures were expected to decline as number of professional fights (NoPF) increased, while controlling for education. Methods Baseline letter and semantic fluency performance, NoPF, and structural brain imaging from 548 active and retired fighters who participated in the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study were considered. ANCOVAs were conducted to assess differences in verbal fluency performance by NOPF, while controlling for years of education. Number of professional fights were stratified into low (0-20 fights), medium (21-40 fights), and high (41 or more fights). Results Semantic fluency performance differed across the three levels of NoPF (F(2, 542)=4.56; p<.02). In addition, significant positive correlations between semantic fluency performance and volumes in the following regions were observed: left thalamus, left putamen, left pallidum, bilateral caudates, bilateral amygdalae, bilateral hippocampi, and bilateral accumbens (all p’s<.05). In contrast, letter fluency performance was not significantly associated with NoPF or volumes of relevant subcortical brain structures (all p’s>.05). Conclusion Semantic fluency may be low-cost, easy-to-administer harbinger of emerging cognitive dysfunction and lower volumes in related subcortical brain regions. Additional assessment of clinical utility is necessary.

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