Effects Of Aerobic Fitness Training On Inhibitory Control And White Matter Integrity In Freshmen

Background:Inhibitory control refers to the process of inhibiting the dominant and dominant responses of individuals in the cognitive process.It is the core component of brain executive function,including attention and inhibition,planning,task management and supervision.Based on the plasticity hypothesis of the brain,it shows that the development of inhibitory control is affected by the acquired environment.Specific exercise intervention or aerobic fitness training can improve inhibitory control and human brain ability.Therefore,to seek scientific,effective,simple and feasible aerobic fitness training method has been widely concerned by scholars at home and abroad.The current evidence suggests that the differences in activation patterns between individuals reflect different white matter integrity,suggesting that changes in white matter structure may be a potential cause of inhibitory control changes.At present,some studies have found that exercise intervention and aerobic fitness level can produce positive benefits on the white matter integrity.However,the relationship between aerobic fitness,inhibitory control and white matter integrity caused by exercise intervention in early adulthood has not been clearly revealed.Objective:This study intends to take college students aged between 18 and 20 years as the research object,and to explore the effects of exercise intervention on aerobic fitness,white matter integrity and inhibitory control in early adulthood with the entry point of improving aerobic fitness.We also fitted and tested a mediating model of white matter integrity in which aerobic fitness improves inhibitory control in order to reveal the possible neural mechanisms by which aerobic fitness improves inhibitory control in early adulthood.Methods:59 freshmen were recruited from a university in Yangzhou.They were randomly divided into control group(n=24)and experimental group(n=35).The experimental group received aerobic fitness training for 9 weeks,while the control group received routine daily life.The changes of aerobic fitness and performance in inhibitory control before and after exercise intervention were evaluated by a stress-test stationary bicycle(Elmed EGT 1000)and measurement tool of inhibitory control developed by Ai-guo Chen.The changes of white matter integrity of college students before and after exercise intervention were investigated by diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)and atlas analysis based on whole brain.Results:(1)9-week aerobic fitness training significantly improved aerobic fitness(F1,56=37.20,p<0.05,partial η2=0.571)and response time in the incongruent condition of the inhibitory control task(F1,56=25.63,p<0.05,partial η2=0.314)in early adulthood.(2)9-week aerobic fitness training significantly increased the FA value of the right corticospinal tract(F1,56=4..033,p<0.05,partial η2=0.067)and decreased the FA value of the left superior fronto-occipital tract(F1,56=5.682,p<0.05,partial η2=0.092)in early adulthood.(3)After 9-week aerobic fitness training,there was a significant negative correlation between aerobic fitness and FA value of left superior fronto occipital tract(r=-0.26,p<0.05),and there was a significant negative correlation between aerobic fitness and response time in the incongruent condition of the inhibitory control task(r=-0.45,p<0.05).Causal step regression analysis was used to test whether white matter integrity(FA)mediated aerobic fitness to affect inhibitory control,and the multiple regression coefficient was not significant(r=-0.024,p>0.05).Conclusions:(1)9-week aerobic fitness training could improve aerobic fitness and inhibitory control in early adulthood.(2)9-week aerobic fitness training could reshape white matter integrity in early adulthood.(3)After 9-week aerobic fitness training,it was not found that white matter integrity could mediate the effect of aerobic fitness on inhibitory control.