Distinct Effects of Chronic Aerobic Exercise and Combined Whole-Body Vibration on Circulating Myokines and Neurocognitive Function in Postmenopausal Women

Introduction: Many women experience memory-related challenges during and after menopause, particularly in domains such as working memory (WM) and visuospatial processing. Evidence indicates that consistent engagement in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (AE) can enhance WM performance and elevate neuroprotective growth factors in older adults. Meanwhile, whole-body vibration (WBV) has emerged as an alternative, non-pharmacological approach for managing postmenopausal symptoms, showing potential to increase lean muscle mass and lower-limb strength, promote hormonal adaptations, and stimulate neural activity in cortical regions associated with sensorimotor and cognitive processing. Despite these findings, it remains uncertain whether AE alone or in combination with WBV (AE+WBV) produces more enduring neurocognitive and molecular benefits, and whether such molecular changes are mechanistically linked to cognitive outcomes. The present study therefore examined the effects of a 16-week AE or AE+WBV intervention on neurocognitive function [e.g., neuropsychological: accuracy rate (AR) and reaction time (RT), and neurophysiological: brain event-related potentials (ERPs)] and circulating myokine levels in postmenopausal women. It was hypothesized that both AE and AE+WBV would enhance neurocognitive indicators of WM, as well as increase specific myokine concentrations, with the combined protocol yielding greater neurocognitive improvements via distinct molecular pathways. Methods: Sixty-three postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of three groups: AE, AE+WBV, or control. Participants completed neuropsychological and neurophysiological (ERP P3 latency and amplitude) assessments during a visuospatial WM task. Blood samples were collected to quantify serum concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), irisin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) at baseline and following the 16-week intervention or control period. Results: RTs and P3 latencies did not significantly differ after training. However, AE led to improvements in AR for the 2-item condition (pre vs. post: 85.50 ± 6.76% vs. 87.14 ± 5.50%, p = .015) and increased P3 amplitudes in both the 2-item (1.16 ± 0.58 µV vs. 2.36 ± 0.69 µV, p < .001) and 4-item (1.26 ± 0.52 µV vs. 2.12 ± 0.93 µV, p = .002) conditions. In contrast, AE+WBV produced broader enhancements, significantly increasing both ARs and P3 amplitudes in the 2-item (AR: 85.31 ± 7.21% vs. 92.32 ± 3.94%, p < .001; P3: 1.22 ± 0.70 µV vs. 2.87 ± 1.16 µV, p < .001) and 4-item (AR: 66.78 ± 4.42% vs. 69.79 ± 4.29%, p = .005; P3: 1.23 ± 0.59 µV vs. 2.35 ± 0.91 µV, p < .001) conditions. Regarding molecular responses, AE significantly elevated BDNF (38350.79 ± 10774.21 pg/mL vs. 46153.33 ± 11725.06 pg/mL, p = .001) and irisin (696.59 ± 147.38 pg/mL vs. 790.04 ± 149.31 pg/mL, p < .001), whereas AE+WBV increased IGF-1 (22.25 ± 8.42 pg/mL vs. 31.53 ± 12.22 pg/mL, p < .001) and irisin (715.34 ± 154.62 pg/mL vs. 766.51 ± 149.08 pg/mL, p = .006). Conclusions: Both AE and AE+WBV interventions induced specific alterations in circulating myokines and partially enhanced neurocognitive performance in postmenopausal women. The AE+WBV protocol elicited stronger and more comprehensive improvements, suggesting synergistic effects mediated through distinct molecular signaling pathways. Funding Source: Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 111-2410-H-006-018-MY3). This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.