title: Effects of Moderate Exercise on Cortical Resilience: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study Targeting the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex.
abstract: The beneficial effects of exercise on the brain regions that support cognitive control and memory are well documented. However, examination of the capacity of acute exercise to promote cortical resilience-the ability to recover from temporary pertubation-has been largely unexplored. The present study sought to determine whether single session of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can accelerate recovery of inhibitory control centers in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex after transient perturbation via continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS).
  
  
  
  In a within-participants experimental design, 28 female participants aged 18 to 26 years (mean [standard deviation] = 20.32 [1.79] years) completed a session each of moderate-intensity and very light-intensity exercise, in a randomized order. Before each exercise session, participants received active cTBS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A Stroop task was used to quantify both the initial perturbation and subsequent recovery effects on inhibitory control.
  
  
  
  Results revealed a significant exercise condition (moderate-intensity exercise, very light-intensity exercise) by time (prestimulation, poststimulation, postexercise) interaction (F(2,52) = 5.93, p = .005, d = 0.38). Specifically, the proportion of the cTBS-induced decrement in inhibition restored at 40 minutes postexercise was significantly higher after a bout of moderate-intensity exercise (101.26%) compared with very light-intensity exercise (18.36%; t(27) = -2.17, p = .039, d = -.57, 95% confidence interval = -161.40 to -4.40).
  
  
  
  These findings support the hypothesis that exercise promotes cortical resilience, specifically in relation to the brain regions that support inhibitory control. The resilience-promoting effects of exercise have empirical and theoretical implications for how we conceptualize the neuroprotective effects of exercise.
authors.affiliation: From the School of Public Health and Health Systems (Lowe, Hall) and Department of Kinesiology (Staines, Hall), University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Cassandra J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Staines
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult