Aerobic Exercise and Human Visual Cortex Neuroplasticity: A Narrative Review

There is compelling evidence from animal models that physical exercise can enhance visual cortex neuroplasticity. In this narrative review, we explored whether exercise has the same effect in humans. We found that while some studies report evidence consistent with exercise-induced enhancement of human visual cortex neuroplasticity, others report no effect or even reduced neuroplasticity following exercise. Differences in study methodology may partially explain these varying results. Because the prospect of exercise increasing human visual cortex neuroplasticity has important implications for vision rehabilitation, additional research is required to resolve this discrepancy in the literature.