Human dopaminergic system in the exercise-cognition link

Meijun Hou; Fabian Herold; Zhihao Zhang; Soichi Ando; Boris Cheval; Sebastian Ludyga; Kirk I Erickson; Charles H Hillman; Qian Yu; Teresa Liu-Ambrose; Jin Kuang; Arthur F Kramer; Yanxia Chen; Joseph T Costello; Chong Chen; Olivier Dupuy; Dominika M Pindus; Terry McMorris; Lars Stiernman; Liye Zou

doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2024.04.011

Human dopaminergic system in the exercise-cognition link

Trends Mol Med. 2024 Aug;30(8):708-712. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.04.011. Epub 2024 May 7.

Authors

Meijun Hou¹, Fabian Herold², Zhihao Zhang¹, Soichi Ando³, Boris Cheval⁴, Sebastian Ludyga⁵, Kirk I Erickson⁶, Charles H Hillman⁷, Qian Yu⁸, Teresa Liu-Ambrose⁹, Jin Kuang¹, Arthur F Kramer¹⁰, Yanxia Chen¹, Joseph T Costello¹¹, Chong Chen¹², Olivier Dupuy¹³, Dominika M Pindus¹⁴, Terry McMorris¹⁵, Lars Stiernman¹⁶, Liye Zou¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
² Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; Research Group Degenerative and Chronic Diseases, Movement, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam, Potsdam 14476, Germany.
³ Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan; Nuclear Medicine Laboratory, Research Center for Accelerator and Radioisotope Science, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan.
⁴ Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Ecole Normale Supérieure Rennes, Bruz, France; Laboratory VIPS2, University of Rennes, Rennes, France.
⁵ Department of Sport, Exercise, and Health, University of Basel, Basel 4052, Switzerland.
⁶ AdventHealth Research Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Advent Health, Orlando, FL, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁷ Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁸ Faculty of Education, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
⁹ Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Health Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Aging SMART at Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
¹⁰ Center for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹¹ Extreme Environments Laboratory, School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK.
¹² Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.
¹³ Laboratory MOVE (UR 20296), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France; School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Science (EKAPS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
¹⁴ Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA.
¹⁵ Institue of Sport, Nursing and Allied Health, University of Chichester, College Lane, Chichester PO19 6PE, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Medical and Translational Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
¹⁷ Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China. Electronic address: liyezou123@gmail.com.

PMID: 38719712
DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2024.04.011

Abstract

While the dopaminergic system is important for cognitive processes, it is also sensitive to the influence of physical activity (PA). We summarize current evidence on whether PA-related changes in the human dopaminergic system are associated with alterations in cognitive performance, discuss recent advances, and highlight challenges and opportunities for future research.

Keywords: brain health; catecholamines; cognition; exercise; fitness; neurotransmitter.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Cognition* / physiology
Dopamine* / metabolism
Exercise* / physiology
Humans

Substances

Dopamine