Assessment of Cerebellar Metabolites Levels in Athletes Compared to Non-Athlete by Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Adaptability to exercise training can increase the plasticity of the brain, and whether this can be due to a beneficial change in the neurometabolites, is uncertain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate basal metabolic concentrations of cerebellum, including N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and Cholin(Cho) in athletes and compare them with non-athlete subjects. In this quasi-experimental study, 10 young wrestlers (age,21.71±2.06 years; weight,71.31 ±5.59; BMI,23.9 ±1.04; VO2max,56.03 ±2.41) and a history of wrestling exercises of at least 4 years, from Available community as an athlete group and 9 people (age,21.16±1.94 years; BMI, 24.02±2.38; VO2max,41.25 ±2.45)They did not have a history of regular exercise as non-athletic groups, After conducting baseline assessments in the field of body composition  and aerobic fitness, both groups performed MRS test to determine the values of NAA and Cho. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests at significance level of p<0.05. In this study, the NAA/Cr levels of the athletes cerebellum (wrestlers) increased compared to the non-athlete group, and the results showed a significant difference between the two groups (0.047). However, the cerebellar Cho/ Cr levels of athletes and Non-athletes were not significantly different in spite of the increase (0.777). Based on the results of this study cerebellar neuro-metabolites in athletes showed higher levels compared to non-athlete groups.