Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2023, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (17): 2729-2737.doi: 10.12307/2023.402

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Exercise intervention improves hippocampal cognitive function by regulating insulin-like growth factor 1

Peng Zifu, Guo Xiangying, Fang Hongbo, He Yimin, Jiang Ning   

  1. Institute of Sports and Health, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China
  • Received:2022-05-21 Accepted:2022-06-29 Online:2023-06-18 Published:2022-10-25
  • Contact: Jiang Ning, PhD, Associate professor, Institute of Sports and Health, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China
  • About author:Peng Zifu, Master candidate, Institute of Sports and Health, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine, Tianjin University of Sport, Tianjin 301617, China
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), No. 31370021 (to JN)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: In neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, hippocampal cognitive impairment is often accompanied, which will seriously impact the quality of life of patients. A large number of studies have confirmed that exercise can benefit neural plasticity and cognitive function. In these processes, insulin-like growth factor-1 plays an important role. However, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive understanding on the improvement of hippocampal cognitive function by exercise regulating insulin-like growth factor-1.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the process in which exercise improves hippocampal cognitive function by regulating insulin-like growth factor-1 and to explore the relevant mechanism.
METHODS: The first author searched the Elsevier, Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang databases with “exercise, physical exercise, IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor-1, hippocampal cognitive function, cognitive neuroscience, apoptosis, synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, cerebral inflammation” as English and Chinese keywords. The search time was up to May 2022. Relevant studies on exercise intervention and regulation of insulin-like growth factor-1 to improve hippocampal cognitive function were retrieved and 76 articles were finally included for review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Exercise can improve hippocampal cognitive function by regulating the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1. The related mechanisms include: (1) Exercise inhibits apoptosis of hippocampal neurons, improves hippocampal synaptic plasticity, increases hippocampal neurogenesis,  inhibit the occurrence and development of brain inflammation, and  improves hippocampal cognitive function  by regulating insulin-like growth factor-1. (2) Both aerobic and resistance exercises have certainly regulatory effects on the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1. However, their regulatory effects are disturbed by various factors, such as exercise intensity, exercise time, and sex of subjects. (3) For aerobic exercise, short-term moderate-intensity exercise or acute high-intensity exercise can significantly change the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1. For resistance exercise, only short-term moderate-intensity resistance exercise or high-intensity resistance exercise can significantly influence the expression of insulin-like growth factor-1. (5) Considering that neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment mostly occur in the elderly who are more difficult to carry out resistance exercise and prone to sports injury, aerobic exercise is preferred to improve their hippocampal cognitive function. (6) Most studies on the mechanism by which exercise regulates insulin-like growth factor-1 expression to improve hippocampal cognitive function are animal experiments and there are relatively few clinical studies and a lack of exact methods to formulate exercise programs. Therefore, the research on this aspect still needs to be further studied, which will provide more theoretical basis for exercise to improve the cognitive function of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. 

Key words: exercise, insulin-like growth factor 1, hippocampus, learning ability, cognitive function, neurotrophic factor, memory function, review

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