Biology subjects

Tammelin, T. H.

Publications and source records attributed to Tammelin, T. H..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Spectral signatures of cross-modal attentional control in the adolescent brain and their link with physical activity and aerobic fitness levels

Top-down attentional control seems to increase and suppress the activity of sensory cortices for relevant stimuli and to suppress activity for irrelevant ones. Higher physical activity (PA) and aerobic fitness (AF) levels have been associated with improved attention, but most studies have focused on unimodal tasks (e.g., visual stimuli only). The impact of higher PA or AF levels on the ability of developing brains to focus on certain stimuli while ignoring distractions remains unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the neural processes in visual and auditory sensory cortices during a cross-modal attention-allocation task using magnetoencephalography in 13-16-year-old adolescents (n = 51). During continuous and simultaneous visual (15 Hz) and auditory (40 Hz) noise-tagging stimulation, participants attended to either visual or auditory targets appearing on their left or right sides. High and low PA groups were formed based on seven-day accelerometer measurements, and high and low AF groups were determined based on the 20-m shuttle-run test. Steady-state (evoked) responses to the visual stimulus were observed in all the adolescents in the primary visual cortex, but some did not show responses in the primary auditory cortices to the auditory stimulus. The adolescents with auditory-tag-driven signals in the left temporal cortex were older than those who did not show responses. Visual cortices showed enhanced visual-tag-related activity with attention, but there was no cross-modal effect, perhaps due to the developmental effect observed in the temporal areas. The visual-tag-related responses in the occipital cortex were enhanced in the higher-PA group, irrespective of task demands. In summary, sensory cortices are unequally involved in cross-modal attention in the adolescent brain. This involvement seems to be enhanced by attention. Higher PA seems to be associated with a specific visual engagement benefit in the adolescent brain. Highlights- Visual and auditory cortices engagement differs in cross-modal processing in adolescence. - Adolescents with responses in the left temporal cortex are older than those without responses. - Physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, is associated with visual engagement benefits in the adolescent brain.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Physical activity and aerobic fitness show different associations with brain processes underlying anticipatory selective visuospatial attention in adolescents

Underlying brain processes of exercise-related benefits on executive functions and the specific contribution of physical activity vs. aerobic fitness are poorly understood, especially during adolescence. We explored whether and how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with selective attention and the oscillatory dynamics induced by an anticipatory spatial cue. Further, we studied whether the link between physical exercise level and cognitive control in adolescents is mediated by the task-related oscillatory activity. Magnetoencephalographic alpha oscillations during a modified Posners cueing paradigm were measured in 59 adolescents (37 females and 22 males, 12 to 17 years). Accelerometer-measured physical activity and aerobic fitness (20-m shuttle run test) were used to divide the sample into higher and lower performing groups. The interhemispheric alpha asymmetry during selective attention was larger in the high than in the low physical activity group, but there was no difference between the high and low aerobic fitness groups. Exploratory mediation analysis suggested that anticipatory interhemispheric asymmetry mediates the association between physical activity status and drift rate in the selective attention task. Higher physical activity was related to increased cue-induced asymmetry, which in turn was associated with less efficient processing of information. Behaviorally, higher physically active males showed stronger dependence on the cue while higher fit females showed more efficient processing of information. Our findings suggest that physical activity may be associated with a neural marker of anticipatory attention in adolescents. These findings have implications for understanding the varying results on the association between physical activity and attention in adolescents. HIGHLIGHTSO_LIPhysical activity and aerobic fitness link differently with attention in adolescents. C_LIO_LIHigher physical activity relates with stronger cue-induced oscillatory asymmetry. C_LIO_LIBrain hemispheric interaction mediates the link between physical activity and attention. C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Physical activity is positively related to local functional connectivity in adolescents' brains

Adolescents have experienced decreased aerobic fitness levels and insufficient physical activity levels over the past decades. While both physical activity and aerobic fitness are related to physical and mental health, little is known concerning how they manifest in the brain during this stage of development, characterized by significant physical and psychosocial changes. Previous investigations have demonstrated associations of physical activity and aerobic fitness with the brains functional connectivity in both children and adults. However, it is difficult to generalize these results to adolescents because the development of functional connectivity has unique features during adolescence. Here, we examined how physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with local and interhemispheric functional connectivity of the adolescent brain, as measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Physical activity was measured by hip-worn accelerometers, and aerobic fitness by a maximal 20-m shuttle run test. We found that higher levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, were linked to increased local functional connectivity as measured by regional homogeneity in 13-16-year-old participants. However, we did not find evidence for significant associations between adolescents physical activity or aerobic fitness and interhemispheric connectivity, as indicated by homotopic connectivity. These results suggest that physical activity, but not aerobic fitness, is related to local functional connectivity in adolescents. Moreover, physical activity shows an association with a specific brain area involved in motor functions but did not display any widespread associations with other brain regions. These results can advance our understanding of the behavior-brain associations in adolescents.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Physical activity, aerobic fitness and brain white matter: their role for executive functions in adolescence

Physical activity and exercise beneficially link to brain properties and cognitive functions in older adults, but it is unclear how these results generalise to other age groups. During adolescence, the brain undergoes significant changes, which are especially pronounced in white matter. Existing studies provide contradictory evidence regarding the influence of physical activity or aerobic-exercise on executive functions in youth. Little is also known about the link between both aerobic fitness and physical activity with white matter during puberty. For this reason, we investigated the connection between both aerobic fitness (20-m shuttle run) and physical activity (moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity) with white matter in 59 adolescents (12.7-16.2 years). We further determined whether white matter interacts with the connection of fitness or physical activity with three core executive functions (sustained attention, spatial working memory and response inhibition). Our results showed that only the level of aerobic fitness, but not of physical activity was related to white matter properties. Furthermore, the white matter of specific tracts also moderated the links of aerobic fitness and physical activity with working memory. Our results suggest that aerobic fitness and physical activity have an unequal contribution to the properties of white matter in adolescent brains. We propose that the differences in white matter properties could underlie the variations in the relationship between either physical activity or aerobic fitness with working memory.\n\nHighlightsO_LIAerobic fitness level, but not physical activity, is associated with white matter properties in several white matter tracts in the brain.\nC_LIO_LIThe relationship between aerobic fitness and working memory was moderated by fractional anisotropy of the body of corpus callosum and in the right superior corona radiata.\nC_LIO_LIThe relationship between physical activity and working memory was moderated by fractional anisotropy of the body and genu of corpus callosum.\nC_LI

neuroscience↗