Using multishell diffusion MRI and both tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tracking of specific tracts of interest, we evaluated the neural underpinnings of the impact of a six-month dance intervention (DI) on physical fitness and cognitive outcomes in nondemented seniors. The final cohort had 76 nondemented seniors, randomized into DI and control (life as usual) groups. Significant effects were observed between the DI and control groups in physical fitness measures and in attention. We detected associations between improved physical fitness and changes in diffusion tensor imagining (DTI) measures in the whole white matter (WM) skeleton and in the corticospinal tract and the superior longitudinal fascicle despite the fact that no significant differences in changes to the WM microstructure were found between the two groups.

1st Department of Neurology Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University and St Anne's University Hospital Pekařská 664 53 656 91 Brno Czech Republic

Applied Neuroscience Research Group Central European Institute of Technology Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Gymnastics and Combatives Faculty of Sports Studies Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Health Promotion Faculty of Sports Studies Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Kamenice 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Psychology Department Faculty of Arts Masaryk University Arne Nováka 1 602 00 Brno Czech Republic

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