title: Cardiovascular Fitness and Cognitive Spatial Learning in Rodents and in Humans.
abstract: The association between cardiovascular fitness and cognitive functions in both animals and humans is intensely studied. Research in rodents shows that a higher cardiovascular fitness has beneficial effects on hippocampus-dependent spatial abilities, and the underlying mechanisms were largely teased out. Research into the impact of cardiovascular fitness on spatial learning in humans, however, is more limited, and involves mostly behavioral and imaging studies. Herein, we point out the state of the art in the field of spatial learning and cardiovascular fitness. The differences between the methodologies utilized to study spatial learning in humans and rodents are emphasized along with the neuronal basis of these tasks. Critical gaps in the study of spatial learning in the context of cardiovascular fitness between the two species are discussed.
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Boaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barak
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
authors.forename: Noa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. eitan.okun@biu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Okun
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Cardiovascular fitness; Exercise; Hippocampus; Navigation; Spatial learning