The frontal association area: exercise-induced brain plasticity in children and adolescents and implications for cognitive intervention practice

source extracted confidence: high 2026-04-09

The frontal association area: exercise-induced brain plasticity in children and adolescents and implications for cognitive intervention practice

Zhang et al., 2024 | Front Hum Neurosci | Systematic Review

Citation

Zhang Ziyun, Shi Peng, ... Feng Xiaosu. The frontal association area: exercise-induced brain plasticity in children and adolescents and implications for cognitive intervention practice. Front Hum Neurosci. 2024;18:1418803. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2024.1418803

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Explore the plasticity of the frontal associative areas in children and adolescents induced by exercise and potential moderating variables. METHODS: Computer searches of CNKI, WOS, PubMed and EBSCO databases were conducted, and statistical analyses were performed based on SPSS 25.0, Stata 12.0 and Ginger ALE 2.3 software after literature screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers. RESULTS: A total of 13 articles, including 425 participants aged 8.9∼16.8 years, were included. Frequency analysis revealed that exercise induced enhanced activation in frontal, parietal, occipital, limbic system and cerebellum (P < 0.01). Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analysis revealed that exercise altered the activation status of the frontal association (medial frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and precentral gyrus), cuneus, lingual gyrus, cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, caudate nucleus and cerebellar apex, with the volume of activation in the frontal association accounting for 61.81% of the total activation cluster volume and an enhanced activation effect. Additionally, the study design, age, gender, nationality, cognitive tasks, as well as exercise intensity, intervention time, and type of exercise may be potential moderating variables. Particularly, sustained exercise induced a decrease in activation in the left parahippocampal gyrus, culmen, and lingual gyrus, while variable exercise induced an increase in activation in the left middle frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION: Exercise-induced activation increase in the frontal associative areas of children and adolescents is dominant, especially longer periods of moderate-intensity variable exercise can induce more brain region activation. However, some of the included studies are cross-sectional, and the accuracy of the results still requires further verification. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier PROSPERO, CRD42022348781.

Key Findings

A total of 13 articles, including 425 participants aged 8.9∼16.8 years, were included. Frequency analysis revealed that exercise induced enhanced activation in frontal, parietal, occipital, limbic system and cerebellum (P < 0.01). Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) meta-analysis revealed that exercise altered the activation status of the frontal association (medial frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and precentral gyrus), cuneus, lingual gyrus, cingulate gyrus, parah

Outcomes Measured

  • Requires manual extraction

Population

Field Value
Population See abstract
Sample Size 425
Age Range See abstract
Condition cognitive

MeSH Terms

  • No MeSH terms indexed

Evidence Classification

  • Level: Systematic Review
  • Publication Types: Journal Article, Systematic Review
  • Vertical: ginger

Provenance

Source extracted via PubMed E-utilities API on 2026-04-09