Author(s): LIGEZA, T., AYDIN, S., ÇELIK, S., REMISZEWSKI, M., MACIEJCZYK, M., Institution: JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY, Country: POLAND, Abstract-ID: 564

Long-term aerobic exercise is increasingly recognized as a potent driver of training-induced brain plasticity, yet its impact on large-scale neural communication and network organization remains insufficiently understood. In particular, little is known about how sustained aerobic training shapes the directionality of information flow within resting-state brain networks. The present randomized controlled trial examined whether long-term aerobic exercise induces systematic reorganization of directed EEG connectivity in physically inactive young adults.

Participants were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise group (n = 44) or a passive control group (n = 32). The exercise group completed a 12-week cycling ergometer program consisting of 6 weeks of moderate-intensity continuous exercise followed by 6 weeks of moderate- to high-intensity interval exercise. Resting-state EEG (eyes open) was recorded at baseline, mid-intervention (6 weeks), and post-intervention (12 weeks) using a 64-channel system. Directed effective connectivity was estimated using the Directed Transfer Function and quantified with graph-theoretical metrics indexing global integration, local segregation, and network organization. Frequency-specific effects were assessed using linear mixed-effects models.

Following the intervention, aerobic exercise was associated with systematic reorganization of directed EEG network topology. Global efficiency decreased across delta, theta, beta, and gamma frequency bands, as well as in the broadband network, indicating reduced large-scale integrative coupling. In delta and broadband networks, this reduction was accompanied by decreased assortativity, suggesting weakened hub–hub coupling and a less centralized organization of slow-frequency connectivity. In contrast, gamma-band networks showed increased local efficiency, clustering, and rich-club organization, reflecting enhanced local segregation and strengthening of densely interconnected high-frequency subnetworks.

Together, these findings demonstrate that long-term aerobic exercise induces frequency-specific reconfiguration of directed brain networks, characterized by a shift from globally integrated toward more locally segregated network organization. This pattern may reflect adaptive neuroplastic changes supporting efficient local information processing following sustained aerobic training.