Resistance Training and Cognitive Function: Data from the 2025 Network Meta-Analysis

Why is the link between resistance training and the brain non-obvious?

When people talk about the brain benefits of exercise, the first association is aerobic activity: running, cycling, swimming. It was in the context of aerobics that increases in BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and hippocampal volume were first described. Resistance training was traditionally seen as a tool for developing muscles and strength — but not neuroprotection.

This distinction began to blur over the past decade as randomized trials accumulated. By 2025, there were enough of them for a full network meta-analysis — a method that allows comparing multiple interventions simultaneously even in the absence of direct head-to-head trials.

2025 Network Meta-Analysis: resistance training in first place

Han, Zhang, and colleagues (Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2025) conducted a network meta-analysis of 58 RCTs with 4,349 healthy older adults, comparing six types of exercise for their effects on cognitive function. This is the most large-scale comparative study in this field to date.

Intervention rankings by SUCRA (probability of ranking first) for overall cognition:

• Resistance training: SMD = 0.55 (95% CI: 0.21–0.89); SUCRA = 83.3% — first place
• Aerobic training: SMD = 0.49; SUCRA = 68.5% — second place
• Resistance training also ranked first for inhibitory control: SUCRA = 82.1%
• Aerobic training outperformed resistance training for memory: SMD = 0.42 vs. 0.35

All comparisons were based on 95% confidence intervals. An SMD of 0.55 for cognition is a moderate effect, comparable to what is expected from pharmacological interventions for mild cognitive decline.

Which specific functions improve from resistance training?

Wu and Huang (Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2025) conducted a separate systematic review and meta-analysis focused exclusively on resistance training in older adults (17 RCTs, 739 participants). This allows us to detail exactly which cognitive domains respond to the training:

• Overall cognitive function: SMD = 0.40 (p<0.05)
• Working memory: SMD = 0.44 (p<0.001)
• Verbal learning and memory: MD = 3.01 (p<0.001)
• Spatial memory: SMD = 0.63 (p=0.0009) — the largest effect
• Processing speed and executive functions: not statistically significant

These data are important for understanding the limitations: resistance training most convincingly improves memory (working and spatial), while its effect on processing speed and general executive functions is less pronounced.

Mechanism: IGF-1, not BDNF

This is where resistance training fundamentally differs from aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise acts through BDNF — a neurotrophin that stimulates neurogenesis in the hippocampus. This mechanism is well documented for running and aerobic activities.

Rodriguez-Gutierrez and colleagues (Aging and Disease, 2023) analyzed 30 RCTs (1,247 participants aged 45–92) for neuroprotective biomarkers after resistance training:

• IGF-1: SMD = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.27–0.69) — statistically significant increase
• At a frequency of 3 times per week the effect is stronger: SMD = 0.55 (95% CI: 0.31–0.79)
• BDNF: SMD = 0.33 (95% CI: -0.29 to 0.94) — not statistically significant

IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) is a systemic factor produced during muscle contraction. It crosses the blood-brain barrier and activates intracellular pathways of neuroprotection, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity. This is a fundamentally different pathway compared to the BDNF-mediated effect of running.

Cerebral blood flow: an additional mechanism

Allison and Al-Khazraji (American Journal of Physiology — Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 2024) summarized data on the effects of chronic resistance training on cerebral hemodynamics in older adults. With age, cerebral blood flow declines; this decline precedes neurodegenerative changes. The authors showed that regular resistance training is associated with improved cerebral perfusion and brain structure. Contrary to concerns about acute blood pressure spikes during heavy lifting, no long-term negative vascular effects were found in older adults.