Exercise Priming: The Use of Physical Exercise to Support Motor and Cognitive Function

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Background

Exercise “priming” is a novel concept that uses the neural stimulating effects of physical exercise to assist with learning, memory, and skill retention of a task. Practical implications of this concept include the potential of prescribing bouts of exercise before or after therapeutic treatment to support a lasting therapeutic response. Exercise priming has been explored in partnership with motor skill training and cognitive learning tasks. For example, a brief bout of aerobic exercise performed prior to physical therapy improved retention of motor skill among stroke patients. Similarly, exercise partnered with cognitive training improved mental performance among schizophrenic patients. Priming related effects can be assessed with cognitive and behavioral tests, and measures obtained from transcranial magnetic stimulation. In summary, exercise stimulates areas in the brain that control motor function and cognitive processes, and when performed in proximity to therapeutic treatment it may augment improvements in functional outcomes (both motor and cognitive).

Cognitive or motor function improvements induced by exercise may “prime” an individual to more fully engage in and benefit from therapeutic tasks. However, limited data exists regarding the benefit of partnering exercise with clinical treatments or skill training on functional outcome measures. Researchers have commonly focused on comparing therapy to exercise alone. Exercise cannot replace treatments, but may play a role in enhancing the benefits of therapy. For example, exercise combined with behavioral therapy was more effective in improving symptoms of depression than behavioral therapy alone. Further, the mechanisms that explain the exercise priming effect are lacking, and have been mostly examined in young healthy adults. Neural plasticity, changes in cerebral hemodynamics and corticomotor excitability, and induction of neurotrophins have all been explored, but linkages among clinical populations is needed. In addition, the type (e.g., aerobic, resistance, mind-body exercise) and dose (e.g., acute or chronic exercise) of exercise that yields benefits should be further evaluated. Therefore, the goals of this research topic are to advance the understanding of exercise partnered with therapeutic or skill practice tasks on functional outcomes among both clinical and healthy populations; and, to assist in explaining mechanistic underpinnings of exercise priming.

The Research Topic aims to explore, but is not limited to, the following themes:
• The effects of exercise combined with therapeutic treatment on functional outcomes among clinical populations such as neurological disease patients, individuals with mood and behavioral disorders, cardiovascular disease patients, and those with substance use disorders.
• The role of exercise in improving motor control and retention of changes in motor function among healthy populations, including young adults, children, and elderly.
• The role of exercise in improving cognitive function among healthy populations, including young adults, children, and elderly.
• Mechanisms that explain the role of exercise, including measures of cerebral blood flow and regulation, neural plasticity, corticomotor excitability, neurotrophins, and neural endocrine responses.

Exercise may be defined as any acute or chronic (i.e., exercise training) form of physical activity, including aerobic and resistance exercise, walking, yoga, Tai Chi, and others.

Keywords: Priming, neuroplasticity, cognition, movement

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