Walking, Running, Swimming: An Analysis of the Effects of Land and Water Aerobic Exercises on Cognitive Functions and Neural Substrates

Laura Serra, Laura Petrosini, Laura Mandolesi, Sabrina Bonarota, Francesca Balsamo, Marco Bozzali, Carlo Caltagirone and Francesca Gelfo ()
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Laura Serra: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Laura Petrosini: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Laura Mandolesi: Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
Sabrina Bonarota: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Francesca Balsamo: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Marco Bozzali: Department of Neuroscience ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’, University of Torino, 10126 Turin, Italy
Carlo Caltagirone: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
Francesca Gelfo: IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: In the brain and cognitive reserves framework, aerobic exercise is considered as a protective lifestyle factor able to induce positive effects on both brain structure and function. However, specific aspects of such a beneficial effect still need to be completely clarified. To this aim, the present narrative review focused on the potential brain/cognitive/neural reserve–construction mechanisms triggered by different aerobic exercise types (land activities; such as walking or running; vs. water activities; such as swimming), by considering human and animal studies on healthy subjects over the entire lifespan. The literature search was conducted in PubMed database. The studies analyzed here indicated that all the considered kinds of activities exert a beneficial effect on cognitive/behavioral functions and on the underlying brain neurobiological processes. In particular, the main effects observed involve the cognitive domains of memory and executive functions. These effects appear related to structural and functional changes mainly involving the fronto-hippocampal axis. The present review supports the requirement of further studies that investigate more specifically and systematically the effects of each type of aerobic activity, as a basis to plan more effective and personalized interventions on individuals as well as prevention and healthy promotion policies for the general population.

Keywords: physical activity; motor activity; health behaviour; brain/cognitive/neural reserve; humans; animal models; neuroplasticity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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