Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 20 pp 20888—20914

Figure 2. Cerebellar cortex gray matter volume (cm³) and cardiovascular fitness (mL/min/Kg) at age 45. (A) In addition to its well-known role in motor coordination and balance, the cerebellar cortex (highlighted in blue) and particularly the cerebellar cortex contribute to higher-order functions including learning and memory as well as executive control [44, 45] (B) Graph showing the correlation between average cerebellar cortex volume (cm³, y-axis) and VO₂Max (mL/min/kg; x-axis). Study members with higher cardiovascular fitness at age 45 had greater gray matter volume of the cerebellar cortex (β= 0.17, 95% CI = 0.1 to 0.25, p<0.001). Results pictured are adjusted for sex. cm = centimeters; mL/min/kg = milliliters per minute per kilogram; VO₂Max = volume of maximum oxygen uptake; β = standardized coefficient; CI = confidence interval.