Effects of acute and chronic, multimodal and unimodal, physical exercise on brain of elderly people: A systematic review

Age-related cognitive decline is a growing health concern. The lack of adequate pharmacological treatments to reduce or prevent the loss of cognitive abilities associated with aging, has contributed to a growing interest in integrated interventions useful for promoting the proper functioning of cognitive abilities. Among these, physical exercise seems to be an effective strategy. This study aims to systematically review studies examining the relationship between acute/chronic, multimodal/unimodal exercises and cognitive functions in elderly people, in order to clarify which type of exercise may be most appropriate for delaying or preventing cognitive decline. For this purpose, a bibliographic search was carried out on two main database search, PubMed and Scopus. Studies from 2016 to 2020 were selected. The research strategy focused on three main categories: exercise, cognition and population. After applying the eligibility criteria, 15 studies were included in the review. 4 studies describe a multimodal approach, 11 describe the unimodal approach, 3 studies describe the effects of acute exercise and 12 focused on the effects of chronic exercise on cognitive functions. The evidence included in the study shows that exercise, whether unimodal or multimodal, has positive effects on cognitive function and is able to delay or prevent age-related decline. Acute and chronic exercise also induce beneficial effects, however, chronic exercise should be preferred so that the effects can be sustained.