Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Adapted Resistance Training Improves Strength in Eight Weeks in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: January 29, 2016
Acute Aerobic Walking Exercise Induces Changes in Thalamic Resting-State Connectivity in Persons with Multiple
Brian M Sandroff1,2, Robert W Motl3, Haley Nauman1
1Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ.
Introduction:
Examining the effects of acute or single bouts of exercise on brain networks can identify underlying mechanisms for improving cognition in multiple sclerosis (MS). This paradigm informs the design and delivery of chronic exercise training, particularly aerobic walking exercise training, as a mechanistic approach for treating cognitive impairment in MS.
Objectives/Aims:
The current within-subjects, repeated-measures design compared the acute effects of 20 min of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic treadmill walking exercise (TM) with 20 min of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic overground walking exercise (OG) on thalamic resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in 24 persons with MS.
Methods:
Participants completed two experimental conditions (20 min of moderate-to-vigorous TM and 20 min of moderate-to-vigorous OG) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Thalamic RSFC was measured immediately before (pre-) and after (post-) each condition using 3T MRI. The primary analyses involved a seed-based approach to examine between-condition differences in pre-to-post thalamic RSFC changes.
Results:
Between-condition differences in pre-to-post thalamic RSFC changes were observed in 19 brain regions. OG significantly increased RSFC between the thalamus and regions associated with higher-order cognitive functioning relative to TM (e.g., middle frontal gyrus, cingulate cortex, and superior medial gyrus; d > 0.72). TM significantly increased RSFC between the thalamus and regions associated with visuo-perceptual processing relative to OG (e.g., precuneus, insula, and angular gyrus; d > 0.75).
Conclusions:
This study provides the first empirical evidence that single bouts of aerobic walking exercise induce changes in thalamic RSFC across several regions that are important for cognition in MS, and this differed based on multisensory input associated with OG versus TM. Such evidence provides important insight into potential mechanisms for why aerobic walking exercise might improve cognition in persons with MS.
