With the rapid aging of population worldwide, age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other dementias, are becoming an increasing challenge for public health. Previous studies show that these diseases may lead to a series of functional declines including cognitive impairment, motor dysfunction, emotional instability etc among the elderly, affecting their life quality and overloading social medical care system. As a low-cost, low-risk, scalable non-pharmaceutical intervention, physical exercise has drawn more and more attention from the research community in terms of its role in delaying or ameliorating these diseases. In spite of recent efforts, the underlying mechanisms of how exercise connects to age-related neurodegenerative diseases are yet to be fully understood.
Functional brain imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)/Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalogram (EEG), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRs) play an important role in medical imaging and neuroscience research. MRI/fMRI could provide anatomical or functional information on human brain with high spatial and/or temporal resolution by measuring functional signals. Insights from brain imaging approaches are frequently employed to expand knowledge on mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, and may also be adopted in prognosis and in predicting the effectiveness of interventions.
This Research Topic aims to explore the benefits of exercise interventions in age-related neurodegenerative diseases and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of how exercise impacts various levels of the brain and nervous system by applying imaging techniques such as MRI/fMRI, EEG, PET and fNIRs. The exercise interventions include aerobic exercise, e.g., running, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, traditional Chinese exercise and practices, as well as mindfulness exercise. Submissions are encouraged to measure outcomes from neuropsychological tests, e.g., cognitive function, daily living abilities, emotional symptoms, pain levels, motor function such as balance and postural control, and cardiorespiratory fitness of both healthy population and patients with neurodegenerative dysfunctions.
Topics of interests include but are not limited to:
• How excises affect cognitive functions of the brain of healthy people and patients
• Mechanisms of brain functional change due to excise, particularly at brain network level
• Brain imaging to reveal the mechanisms of exercise on the age-related neurodegenerative diseases (Systematic reviews or meta-analysis).
• Brain imaging studies on age-related neurodegenerative diseases (Systematic reviews or meta-analysis)
• Clinical trials with the use of brain imaging techniques to explore the modulation effects of exercise on cognitive function / motor function / chronic pain or other dysfunctions in age-related neurodegenerative diseases
• Mechanism research about age-related neurodegenerative disease with the use of brain imaging techniques
Original Research Articles, Clinical Trial, Systematic Reviews or Meta-analysis are particularly welcomed, so do Reviews and Mini Review.
With the rapid aging of population worldwide, age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other dementias, are becoming an increasing challenge for public health. Previous studies show that these diseases may lead to a series of functional declines including cognitive impairment, motor dysfunction, emotional instability etc among the elderly, affecting their life quality and overloading social medical care system. As a low-cost, low-risk, scalable non-pharmaceutical intervention, physical exercise has drawn more and more attention from the research community in terms of its role in delaying or ameliorating these diseases. In spite of recent efforts, the underlying mechanisms of how exercise connects to age-related neurodegenerative diseases are yet to be fully understood.
Functional brain imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)/Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalogram (EEG), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRs) play an important role in medical imaging and neuroscience research. MRI/fMRI could provide anatomical or functional information on human brain with high spatial and/or temporal resolution by measuring functional signals. Insights from brain imaging approaches are frequently employed to expand knowledge on mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, and may also be adopted in prognosis and in predicting the effectiveness of interventions.
This Research Topic aims to explore the benefits of exercise interventions in age-related neurodegenerative diseases and to investigate the underlying mechanisms of how exercise impacts various levels of the brain and nervous system by applying imaging techniques such as MRI/fMRI, EEG, PET and fNIRs. The exercise interventions include aerobic exercise, e.g., running, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, traditional Chinese exercise and practices, as well as mindfulness exercise. Submissions are encouraged to measure outcomes from neuropsychological tests, e.g., cognitive function, daily living abilities, emotional symptoms, pain levels, motor function such as balance and postural control, and cardiorespiratory fitness of both healthy population and patients with neurodegenerative dysfunctions.
Topics of interests include but are not limited to:
• How excises affect cognitive functions of the brain of healthy people and patients
• Mechanisms of brain functional change due to excise, particularly at brain network level
• Brain imaging to reveal the mechanisms of exercise on the age-related neurodegenerative diseases (Systematic reviews or meta-analysis).
• Brain imaging studies on age-related neurodegenerative diseases (Systematic reviews or meta-analysis)
• Clinical trials with the use of brain imaging techniques to explore the modulation effects of exercise on cognitive function / motor function / chronic pain or other dysfunctions in age-related neurodegenerative diseases
• Mechanism research about age-related neurodegenerative disease with the use of brain imaging techniques
Original Research Articles, Clinical Trial, Systematic Reviews or Meta-analysis are particularly welcomed, so do Reviews and Mini Review.
