Aerobic exercise improves cognitive functions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), while dance, combining music and synchronized movement, offers additional cognitive benefits. Despite music's potential role in enhancing cognitive outcomes, most research on aerobic exercise has not considered the impact of accompanying music. This review compared the effectiveness of aerobic exercise with music, aerobic exercise without music, and dance on cognitive function in adults with MCI. A total of 38 papers from 25 randomized controlled trials (N = 2048) were synthesized. The multilevel meta-analyses showed that compared to the control group, global cognition was improved by aerobic exercise with music (g = 1.2 [0.47, 1.94]), aerobic exercise without music (g = 0.48 [0.18, 0.79]), and dance (g = 0.55 [0.13, 0.96]). Dance also enhanced short-term memory (g = 0.41 [0.24, 0.59]), learning efficiency (g = 0.39 [0.14, 0.65]), and retrieval fluency (g = 0.7 [0.19, 1.22]). Bayesian network meta-analyses indicated that aerobic exercise with music had the highest probability of being the most effective for improving global cognition, executive function, and processing speed. Dance was likely to be the most beneficial for enhancing short-term memory, learning efficiency, and retrieval fluency. This study supports that incorporating music in exercise amplifies the cognitive benefits beyond exercise alone for individuals with MCI. The "Music Exercise Synergy Model" is proposed to explain the cognitive benefits of combining music with exercise. Dance strategically uses music for coordination, offering psychological, social, cognitive, and neurobiological benefits and contributing to the observed enhancements in memory functions.

Keywords: Aerobic exercise; Cognitive function; Dance; Meta-analysis; Mild cognitive impairment; Music.

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

有氧运动可以改善轻度认知障碍（MCI）老年人的认知功能，而舞蹈结合音乐和同步动作则提供了额外的认知益处。尽管音乐可能在提升认知结果方面具有潜在作用，但大多数关于有氧运动的研究并未考虑伴奏音乐的影响。这项综述比较了伴有音乐的有氧运动、无音乐的有氧运动以及舞蹈对MCI成年人认知功能的有效性。总共综合分析了来自25项随机对照试验（N = 2048）的38篇论文。多层次元分析显示，与对照组相比，伴有音乐的有氧运动（g = 1.2 [0.47, 1.94]）、无音乐的有氧运动（g = 0.48 [0.18, 0.79]）和舞蹈（g = 0.55 [0.13, 0.96]）均改善了全球认知功能。舞蹈还增强了短期记忆（g = 0.41 [0.24, 0.59]）、学习效率（g = 0.39 [0.14, 0.65]）和提取流畅性（g = 0.7 [0.19, 1.22]）。贝叶斯网络元分析表明，伴有音乐的有氧运动最有可能是最有效的改善全球认知功能、执行功能和处理速度的方法。舞蹈可能对增强短期记忆、学习效率和提取流畅性最为有益。“音乐锻炼协同模型”被提出以解释将音乐与锻炼结合所带来的认知益处。舞蹈策略性地使用音乐进行协调，提供了心理、社交、认知和神经生物学方面的益处，并有助于观察到的记忆功能的改善。

关键词： 有氧运动；认知功能；舞蹈；元分析；轻度认知障碍；音乐。