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Strength, Affect Regulation, and Subcortical Morphology in Military Pilots.
David Cárdenas1, Iker Madinabeitia1, Jesús Vera1
1Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, SPAIN.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|November 23, 2017
Summary
Elite pilots with better emotion regulation and higher bench-press power had larger amygdala/accumbens size. This suggests a link between physical fitness, emotional control, and brain structure in high-stress professions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Sports Science
Background:
- Previous research indicates connections between physical fitness, body composition, and brain structure.
- Emotional adjustment and well-being are also linked to these physiological factors.
- The specific role of emotion regulation success in linking fitness/body composition to emotion-related brain structures remains unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between body composition, physical fitness, and the size of emotion-related subcortical brain structures.
- To examine the mediating role of trait emotion-regulation success in these associations.
- To explore these links within a cohort of elite helicopter pilots.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-three elite helicopter pilots underwent assessments of body fat percentage, endurance capacity, and bench-press power output.
- Brain imaging (MRI) was used to measure the size of the amygdala/accumbens and thalamus.
- Structural equation modeling analyzed correlations between fitness/body composition, brain structure size, and negative urgency (emotion regulation failure).
Main Results:
- Fat mass percentage correlated with thalamus and amygdala/accumbens size.
- Negative urgency and bench-press power output predicted amygdala/accumbens size, explaining the effect of fat mass.
- Higher bench-press power output and greater emotion regulation success were associated with larger amygdala/accumbens volume.
Conclusions:
- Bench-press power output and successful emotion regulation are independently linked to larger amygdala/accumbens size.
- These findings highlight a potential neurobiological connection between physical capability, emotional control, and specific brain structures.
- Further research is needed to establish the causal direction of these observed associations.
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