Sarah E. Polk

External LIFE Fellow from 2019 to 2022, MPI for Human Development, Berlin

Dr. rer. nat.

Dissertation completed in October 2022

Aerobic Exercise for the Promotion of Healthy Aging: Changes in Brain Structure Assessed With New Methods

(Advisors: Sandra Düzel & Ulman Lindenberger)

Selected Publications

Polk, S. E., Fandakova, Y., Berron, D., Düzel, S., Brandmaier, A. M., Kühn, S., Lindenberger, U., & Wenger, E. (2026). Beneficial effects of foreign language learning and aerobic exercise on dentate gyrus volume and mnemonic discrimination in healthy older adults: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Imaging Neuroscience. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1162/IMAG.a.1306

Polk, S. E., Kleemeyer, M. M., Bodammer, N. C., Misgeld, C., Porst, J., Wolfarth, B., Kühn, S., Lindenberger, U., Düzel, S., & Wenger, E. (2023). Aerobic exercise is associated with region-specific changes in volumetric, tensor-based, and fixel-based measures of white matter integrity in healthy older adults. Neuroimage: Reports, 3(1), Article 100155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynirp.2022.100155

Polk, S. E., Kleemeyer, M. M., Köhncke, Y., Brandmaier, A. M., Bodammer, N. C., Misgeld, C., Porst, J., Wolfarth, B., Kühn, S., Lindenberger, U., Wenger, E., & Düzel, S. (2022). Change in latent gray matter structural integrity is associated with change in cardiovascular fitness in older adults who engage in at-home aerobic exercise. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 16, Article 852737. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2022.85273