The Impact of Exercise on Cognition and Neural Activity Under Varying Cognitive Demands in Children Treated for Brain Tumours
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Children treated with cranial radiation for brain tumours exhibit substantial deficits in information processing (IP) over time. Slower IP speed appears to underlie the inability to recruit cognitive resources required to meet greater task demands and is related to aberrant brain function. Exercise has been shown to improve IP speed and enhance neural activity. We assessed the influence of exercise on IP speed and the underlying functional mechanisms during increasingly demanding conditions by examining visual-motor reaction-time (RT) and regional neural activation during varying task loads using MEG. Immediate and longer-term changes in RT and local neural activity in 4 frequency bands was investigated. After exercise, patients demonstrated stable visual-motor RT under varying task demands and decreased high gamma (60-100Hz) power when task load was minimal. Our findings suggest exercise mitigates declines in IP speed and enhances underlying functional mechanisms under varying cognitive demands in children treated for brain tumours.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Elizabeth Cox
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3152975039