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`Aerobically fit` kids have more compact brain white-matter

A new study has revealed that kids who are more aerobically fit have more fibrous and compact white-matter tracts in the brain than their peers who are less fit.

Washington: A new study has revealed that kids who are more aerobically fit have more fibrous and compact white-matter tracts in the brain than their peers who are less fit.

According to the study, significant fitness-related differences in the integrity of several white-matter tracts in the brain: the corpus callosum, which connects the brain's left and right hemispheres; the superior longitudinal fasciculus, a pair of structures that connect the frontal and parietal lobes; and the superior corona radiata, which connect the cerebral cortex to the brain stem.

Laura Chaddock-Heyman from University of Illinois said that previous studies suggest that children with higher levels of aerobic fitness show greater brain volumes in gray-matter brain regions important for memory and learning.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.