A multifaceted investigation into the effects of acute exercise on indices of brain function

Participation in regular exercise is important for the maintenance and improvement of brain health across the lifespan. These beneficial effects are realized almost immediately, as a single bout of exercise transiently improves cognitive function after cessation from exercise. This postexercise time period represents an opportunity to strategically prescribe cognitively stimulating activities for enhancing brain plasticity and function. Mechanistically, acute exercise is proposed to upregulate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and increase regional activation and arousal of brain areas involved in cognitive control; however, the specific mechanisms underlying this facilitation are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to (i) investigate BDNF responses to small muscle mass exercise to probe a potential mechanism of BDNF release during exercise; (ii) create and validate an equipment-free exercise protocol for use in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, with the eventual g...