Brain functional training: a perspective article.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Physical exercise (PE) positively impacts nervous system morphology and physiology, enhancing brain gray/white matter, cerebral blood flow, neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis.
• While PE benefits cognition, specific training modalities like perceptual-motor and visual-motor training emphasize chronic cognitive adaptations.
• Functional training, a multi-component approach for older adults, uses multi-joint, multi-planar exercises but underexplores cognitive adaptation emphasis for maximal benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore exercise approaches that emphasize cognitive adaptations.
• To propose Brain Functional Training (BFT) as a novel modality to enhance functionality in older adults.
• To detail how BFT can stimulate executive functions and their subdomains through increasing complexity.

Main Methods:

• This is a perspective article, not an empirical study.
• It involves a conceptual exploration of existing exercise science literature.
• It proposes a theoretical framework for Brain Functional Training.

Main Results:

• The article does not present empirical results but offers a conceptual proposal.
• Brain Functional Training is presented as a viable strategy to integrate motor and cognitive stimuli.
• The proposed training aims to enhance executive functions in older adults.

Conclusions:

• Brain Functional Training offers a novel approach to maximize benefits for older adults by combining motor and cognitive stimulation.
• This integrated approach has the potential to promote greater autonomy and overall health in the aging population.
• Further research is warranted to empirically validate the efficacy of Brain Functional Training.