Physical Activity and Early Functional Brain Changes in Alzheimer’s Disease

Can physical activity reveal early functional brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease? In the Dementia-MOVE randomized controlled trial, 46 individuals with early Alzheimer’s disease underwent structural MRI and resting-state fMRI before and after a 6-month intervention. Physical activity was associated with selective strengthening of hippocampal–amygdala functional connectivity, while structural atrophy progressed similarly across groups. Brain changes were linked to fitness, physical activity, sleep, attention, and executive function. These findings suggest that functional connectivity may be a sensitive marker of intervention-related brain plasticity and brain–behaviour coupling in early Alzheimer’s disease.