Impact of Endurance Training on the Structure of Cerebral Fiber-Tract

Objective It is to explore the impact of endurance training on the cerebral white matter's (WM) microstructure. Method Automating Fiber-Tract Quantification (AFQ) was adopted to reconstruct the brain WM tracts. The differences in FA (fractional anisotropy), AD (axial diffusivity), and RD (radial diffusivity) were compared between the two groups of long-distance runners and university students (control group). Results The runners showed higher FA and lower RD compared to the control in the anterior-midline of forceps minor, while lower FA and higher RD in the anterior part of callosum forceps minor and right uncinate. Conclusion Endurance training like long-distance running/walking could alter the integrity of certain fiber-tract in the brain, which provides empirical evidences for the view that long-distance running/walking may be beneficial to the improvement of brain white matter integrity.