REVIEW article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain-aging
Volume 17 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1579208
The interplay between physical exercise and autophagy signaling in brain health, neurodegenerative diseases and aging
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea
- 2Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China
- 3Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 4Pukyong National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
- 5Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 6Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
- 7Kyungpook National University, Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Republic of Korea
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Brain health is increasingly recognized as a critical component of overall well-being, particularly concerning neurodegenerative diseases, which are characterized by the progressive degeneration of the nervous system. Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease, together with less common disorders, resembling Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington's disease (HD), significantly impact cognitive and physical health, affecting over 50 million individuals worldwide. This review explores the multifaceted relationship between brain health and neurodegeneration, emphasizing the roles of biological, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Notably, physical activity has been identified as a potent intervention that enhances neuroplasticity and metabolic resilience while mitigating the effects of neurodegeneration.Research indicates that exercise activates autophagy, which is crucial for clearing neurotoxic aggregates like amyloid-beta and α-synuclein, thereby promoting neuronal health. Additionally, exercise stimulates the production of neurotrophic factors such as BDNF and GDNF, which are essential for neuronal survival and function. Despite the promising findings regarding exercise as a preventive and therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases, further investigation into the underlying mechanisms is necessary to optimize these interventions. This review aims to elucidate the complex interactions between exercise, autophagy, and brain health to provide insights into effective strategies for combating neurodegeneration.
Keywords: Exercise, Autophagy, Brain, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Health
Received: 18 Feb 2025; Accepted: 08 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Gao, Wang, Gong, Zhu, Liu and Yuan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Haitao Wang, Department of Biomedical Science, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.