A new study reveals that 9- and 10-year-old children who are aerobically fit tend to have significantly thinner gray matter than their "low-fit" peers. Thinning of the outermost layer of brain cells in the cerebrum is associated with better mathematics performance, researchers report in the journal PLOS ONE.
The study suggests, but does not prove, that cardiorespiratory fitness contributes to gray matter thinning - a normal process of child brain development. The study also offers the first evidence that fitness enhances math skills by aiding the development of brain structures that contribute to mathematics achievement.
"Gray-matter loss during child development is part of healthy maturation," said University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Laura Chaddock-Heyman, who led the research with U.
