MRI texture changes in young adults undergoing a moderate-intensity running training program
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29384/rbfm.2026.v20.19849001894Palavras-chave:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Texture analysis, Image processing, Gray-level co-occurrence matrixResumo
Several studies have shown structural brain changes resulting from physical exercise. White and gray matter volumes have been reported to increase as a result of physical training in healthy individuals, and a reduction in brain structure atrophy has also been associated with physical activity. However, the assessment of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) texture changes related to physical exercise has not been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate texture-based structural brain changes in initially sedentary young (< 30 years) participants who completed a moderate-intensity running training program. Structural MR images were obtained before and after the program. Texture features were extracted using the Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and compared between time points to verify changes due to aerobic physical activity. The correlation parameter significantly increased for the left globus pallidus after the intervention. Non-significant trends toward increased correlation were also observed for the right globus pallidus, left hippocampus, right cerebellum, and left precentral gyrus, whereas a decreasing trend was observed for the right inferior frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that texture analysis may be a useful approach for detecting subtle changes in brain MRI associated with cardiovascular exercise in young adults and support further investigation of exercise-related neuroplastic adaptations.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mateus Santos Bonadia, Rafael Vinícius da Silveira, Gabriela Castellano
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