The Brain-Boosting Power of Exercise: Improving Cerebrovascular and Cognitive Health
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 March 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editors
Interests: respiratory physiology; cognition; cerebrovascular function; exercise training
2. Centre for Health Research, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: cognition; cerebrovascular function; exercise training; chronic diseases; clinical biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The current worldwide incidence of dementia is more than 57 million, with nearly 10 million new cases every year. Dementia is associated with adverse changes in cerebrovascular structure and function, which contribute to a decline in cognition. There are various modifiable risk factors that lead to impaired vascular function, contributing to dementia, including physical inactivity. There is increasing evidence that exercise training may help to maintain optimal cerebrovascular function and thereby prevent or slow the development of cognitive impairment. Adaptations to cerebrovascular function following exercise training may include enhanced cerebral blood flow, cerebrovascular reactivity, endothelial function, vascular changes, and neurovascular coupling, which may protect against cognitive decline and dementia. This may occur through reduced neuroinflammation and increases in neurotransmitters, neurotrophic and growth factors, and neurogenesis. Investigations researching the adaptations to cerebrovascular and cognitive function with exercise training in health and disease would support the rationale for the use of exercise as medicine to reduce the risk of dementia. These may include adaptations to aerobic, resistance, or multimodal exercise training. Therefore, the purpose of this Special Issue is to examine the impact of exercise training on cerebrovascular and cognitive function in health and disease mitigation. We welcome manuscripts and expressions of interest that have investigated this novel and emerging area of research.
Dr. Dean E. Mills
Dr. Edward Bliss
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- exercise
- training
- cerebrovascular
- cognition
- aerobic
- resistance
- multimodal
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
