Measuring Associations Between Physical Activity, Cognitive Ability, and AD‐Vulnerable Brain Networks in Periadolescent Children

As our population ages, and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related pathologies become more prevalent, the need for preventative interventions continues to increase. Physical activity has been investigated as a mechanism to improve memory and other cognitive processes in both healthy and pathological aging. In adults, there is evidence that exercise increases hippocampal volume and strengthens connectivity within functional brain networks such as the Default Mode Network (DMN), Frontoparietal Network (FPN), and Dorsal Attention Network (DAN). These networks support cognitive functions such as spatial working memory (SWM) which involves maintenance and manipulation of visuospatial information; notably, SWM declines as AD progresses. Underlying connectivity in functional brain networks and SWM ability are both influenced by exercise in adults. However, this effect has not been replicated in younger cohorts. The effects of exercise on brain structure and function during periadolsecence, a neurodevelopmental period characterized by expansive changes to functional networks that support cognition, remains unclear. The current study tested associations between resting‐state functional connectivity (rs‐FC) in brain networks, SWM ability, and self‐reported physical activity in a group of periadolescents.