The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Motor Neuroscience
Volume 18 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1503094
Brain structure and function Differences Across Varying Levels of Endurance Training: A Cross-Sectional Study
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Physical Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
- 2 Division of Sports Sience and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Haidian, Beijing, China
- 3 Department of Physical Education, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- 4 Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Sports, Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, Beijing, China
Background: Although previous studies have shown that athletes engaged in endurance sports exhibit unique characteristics of brain plasticity, there has been no systematic investigation into the structural and functional brain characteristics of endurance athletes with varying training levels.Methods: Utilizing the "expert-novice paradigm" design, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to obtain images of brain structure and functional activity. We compared differences in gray matter volume (GMV), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and degree centrality (DC) among high-level endurance athletes, moderate-level endurance athletes, and non-athlete controls.(1) High-level endurance athletes exhibited significantly greater GMV in the left parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral thalamus, right temporal lobe, and bilateral cerebellum compared to both moderate-level endurance athletes and controls. The GMV in these regions showed an increasing trend with more years of endurance training and higher endurance capacity. Additionally, these athletes had significantly higher fALFF in the left superior medial frontal gyrus and right precuneus, as well as higher DC in the right lateral occipital lobe compared to moderate-level endurance athletes. They also had significantly higher DC in the right precuneus and cerebellum compared to the control group. (2) Moderate-level endurance athletes demonstrated significantly greater GMV in the right prefrontal cortex, bilateral medial frontal lobe, right temporal pole, right striatum, and bilateral insula compared to high-level endurance athletes. They also had significantly higher fALFF in the left posterior cingulate gyrus compared to high-level endurance athletes. (3) Control Group showed significantly greater GMV in the right amygdala, higher fALFF in the left medial frontal lobe, and greater DC in the left lateral occipital lobe compared to moderate-level endurance athletes.Adaptive benefits exhibit different characteristics across different endurance levels. High-level endurance athletes exhibit pronounced enhancements in gray matter volume and functional activity in regions associated with memory, motor control, and sensory processing. While moderate-level athletes demonstrate distinct functional reorganization in the default mode network and cerebellum.
Keywords: Endurance training, brain plasticity, gray matter, functional magnetic resonance imaging, Functional reorganization
Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Nov 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Cao, Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Dong Zhang, Institute of Artificial Intelligence in Sports, Capital Institute of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, 100088, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.