Brain-wide information flow dynamics during novel visual processing in humans.

Optimal cognitive functioning, including attention, working memory, and learning, plays a central role in today’s ever-changing, uncertain, and complex everyday life (). Cognitive functions develop during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, when behavior and experiences shape the structural and functional organization of the brain (). The brain is also shaped by aging, and multiple cognitive processes begin to decline in mid-to-late adulthood (,). This decline can start years before clinically noticeable symptoms appear (). It is crucial to identify factors that may mitigate decline in cognitive functions during midlife and support a long-term quality of life. Enriched environments may delay cognitive decline, with physical activity (PA) as a potential environmental factor promoting brain plasticity and cognitive functions throughout life (,). Current research on the effects of PA indicates that among children and adolescents (under 18 yr of age), PA may have both short- and long-term positive effects on cognitive functions (). Evidence for young adulthood (18- to 30-yr-olds) shows similar results, though the phenomenon is less studied and findings are more inconsistent (). Furthermore, there is also quite solid evidence that PA enhances cognitive functions throughout adulthood (18–64 yr) and especially in older adults (aged 65 yr and older) (,), and despite the limited and highly heterogeneous evidence base, PA may benefit cognitive functions among persons with dementia (). Less is known about the associations between life-course PA and cognitive functions across the lifespan. Retrospective studies have shown a positive link between lifelong PA and cognitive functions in older age (aged 65 yr and older) (–). In addition, longitudinal prospective studies have shown that cumulative exposure to PA from childhood to adulthood is associated with better cognitive functions in midlife (aged 34 and older) (,), and that higher levels of PA are linked to a reduced risk of negative cognitive change among middle-aged and older adults (aged 35 and older) (–). However, the small number of studies and their methodological heterogeneity, together with diverging follow-up durations (1–25 yr), limit conclusions about lifelong benefits. It remains unclear how the accumulation of PA from childhood to midlife is associated with cognitive changes in midlife or whether cumulative PA from childhood to early adulthood or from early adulthood to midlife has an independent effect on mitigating negative cognitive change appearing with aging. Furthermore, while changes in cognition may be modulated by sex (,), influenced by biological and sociocultural factors (,), the effects of PA on cognition may likewise be sex-dependent, though less frequently studied (,). Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) provide inconsistent evidence on sex differences, with Barha et al. () reporting larger effects in women () and Ludyga et al. () reporting greater benefits in men ().