Exercise increases caudate dopamine release and ventral striatal activation in Parkinson's disease.

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of aerobic exercise on evoked dopamine release and activity of the ventral striatum using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Thirty-five participants were randomly allocated to a 36-session aerobic exercise or control intervention. Each participant underwent an functional magnetic resonance imaging scan while playing a reward task before and after the intervention to determine the effect of exercise on the activity of the ventral striatum in anticipation of reward.

Habitual exercisers versus sedentary subjects with Parkinson's Disease: Multimodal PET and fMRI study.

Background: The benefits of exercise in PD have been linked to enhanced dopamine (DA) transmission in the striatum.

Objective: To examine differences in DA release, reward signaling, and clinical features between habitual exercisers and sedentary subjects with PD.

Methods: Eight habitual exercisers and 9 sedentary subjects completed [ C]raclopride PET scans before and after stationary cycling to determine exercise-induced release of endogenous DA in the dorsal striatum.

The effects of exercise on cognition in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.

Cognitive impairments are highly prevalent in Parkinson's disease (PD) and can substantially affect a patient's quality of life. These impairments remain difficult to manage with current clinical therapies, but exercise has been identified as a possible treatment. The objective of this systematic review was to accumulate and analyze evidence for the effects of exercise on cognition in both animal models of PD and human disease.