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Study design
The authors pooled coordinate data from 11 task-based fMRI studies, including six longitudinal exercise interventions and five cross-sectional comparisons, representing 403 participants. They ran separate activation-likelihood estimation analyses for changes following interventions and differences between long-term exercisers and controls.
Findings
The longitudinal analyses identified increased activation in posterior cerebellar regions and decreased activation in the right thalamus. Cross-sectional comparisons instead found greater left middle temporal activation and lower activation in right cingulate and left caudate regions among long-term exercisers. These patterns did not spatially overlap.
Limits and context
The synthesis relies on only 11 studies and combines interventions of varied duration with observational comparisons. Cross-sectional differences cannot establish effects of exercise, and the authors describe the findings as exploratory; the analysis does not show that exercise improves an individual’s memory.
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