Aerobic fitness group differences in cortical thickness are regionally specific, absent in middle frontal, middle temporal, and parietal areas¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Some brain areas did not show aerobic fitness group differences in thickness, including anterior frontal, middle frontal, middle temporal, inferior temporal, superior parietal, and inferior parietal cortex. → Chaddock-Heyman L 2015

Evidence¶

Chaddock-Heyman L 2015¶

Chaddock-Heyman L, Erickson KI, Kienzler C, King M, Pontifex MB, Raine LB, Hillman CH, Kramer AF. (2015). The Role of Aerobic Fitness in Cortical Thickness and Mathematics Achievement in Preadolescent Children. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0134115. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134115

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Follow-up univariate ANOVAs after the significant MANOVA tested each region of interest. The study reports "specificity to the aerobic fitness differences", with null results in anterior/middle frontal, temporal, and parietal regions (all p > 0.12).

"There was also specificity to the aerobic fitness differences, with some brain areas not showing aerobic fitness group differences in thickness, including the anterior frontal cortex (F (1, 46) = 2.33, p = 0.13), middle frontal cortex (F (1, 46) = 1.98, p = 0.17), middle temporal cortex F (1, 46) = 0.54, p = 0.47), inferior temporal cortex (F (1, 46) = 2.46, p = 0.12), superior parietal cortex (F (1, 46) = 1.21, p = 0.28), and inferior parietal areas (F (1, 46) = 0.63, p = 0.43)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Physical Well-Being — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• The authors propose aerobic fitness as a possible predictor of developmental cortical thinning and a pathway to enhanced cognition and scholastic performance — related
• Higher fit preadolescent children show decreased cortical thickness in superior frontal, superior temporal, and lateral occipital cortex relative to lower fit children — related
• The brain regions showing fitness-related thinning overlap with regions undergoing typical developmental cortical thinning between ages 5 and 11 — related
• Cortical thinning in anterior and superior frontal cortex is associated with better arithmetic achievement across all children — related
• The authors hypothesize that brain-reading cortical thickness correlations are positive in early reading acquisition and negative at later, consolidated stages — related