PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were used to comprehensively and systematically search the literature for articles published prior to December 2021, with no limit on the earliest date. According to the PICO policy, keywords including [“whole-body vibration” or “vibration training” (Title/Abstract)] AND [“cognitive function” or “cognitive control” or “cognitive ability” or “cognition” (Title/Abstract)] were used. The search was limited to full original articles that focused on human subjects without restrictions in the language of publication. The manuscript adheres to the PRISMA guidelines for reporting systematic reviews (Page et al., 2021).

Articles that met the following criteria were selected: meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or experimental research related to WBV training, at least one outcome of the study was related to cognitive function.

Articles were excluded if any of the following exclusion criteria applied: WBV training studies not in a sports or medical field, such as agriculture, construction, transportation, and mechanics; studies focused on the detrimental effects of mechanical vibration in the work environment, for example, when operating tools (e.g., sledgehammers or forming machines) or while riding vehicles (e.g., trucks, helicopters, or tanks); an abstract or conference paper; studies in which WBV was not utilized; participants were not human, for example, animal studies.

To assess the effects of WBV training on cognitive function and record the principal characteristics of each study, a standardized data extraction and evaluation form developed by the authors was used to record relevant data. Characteristics of the studies included first author, publication year, target population, number of participants, intervention and control groups, outcomes, and WBV specifications. In accordance with the guidelines of van Heuvelen et al. (2021), the WBV specifications included the type of vibration, frequency, amplitude of WBV, duration, and posture. Details of the data extraction process are displayed in Table 1.

For quantitative analysis, it was found that different studies used different methods to evaluate the data. Four articles used the MMSE scale to measure the main results, whereas six articles used the Stroop Test. The MMSE scale and the Stroop Test are suitable for the use of Review Manager version 5.4 for quantitative analysis. Figure 1 shows forest map of the effect estimation and comparison of the MMSE scale. Figure 2 shows forest map of the effect estimation and comparison of the Stroop Test.

The methodological quality of the included articles was assessed by two independent raters using the standardized and validated Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale for quality. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the scientific rigor of the selected clinical trials (9–10 = excellent, 6–8 = good, 4–5 = fair, and ≤4 = poor) (Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy, 2015). The PEDro scale is an 11-item scale that has previously been used in systematic reviews (Cashin and McAuley, 2020). The results of the assessment of the PEDro scale are presented in Table 2.

The risk of bias was assessed by collaboration of the two reviewers, and disagreements were resolved by discussion. To evaluate the methodological quality, the criteria of the Cochrane risk of bias tool were used.

Systematic review was performed using the preferred reporting items for the PRISMA checklist. This review was registered in the PROSPERO database (Registration Number: CRD42022376821).

After searching the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, CNKI, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science, 340 potential relevant studies were identified. After removing duplicates, 147 articles remained. In accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 204 articles were excluded, mostly because the focus was on vibration in agriculture, construction, transportation, and machinery, rather than WBV training related to the sports or medical field. After reading the abstracts, followed by the full text of the articles, 18 studies ultimately satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. The process for literature screening is displayed in Figure 3. The results of the Pedro scale are presented in Table 2. Articles were managed using Endnote software.

All 18 articles were thoroughly analyzed and approved by two reviewers using the PEDro scale. Figure 4 shows the risk of bias for each of the included studies. Only one study used a randomized tool for sealing envelopes, and 10 studies mentioned random sequence generation, but did not include information regarding blindness of assessors.

The GRADE was used to assess the certainty of evidence. After completion of the classification of evidence, a summary of evidence and results is presented in Table 3.

Cognition refers to the process of acquisition, coding, operation, extraction, and the use of sensory input information, a psychological process between input and output, including perception, attention, memory, and thinking. The cognitive level in different social groups differs. Therefore, studies have been conducted on healthy individuals or those with sub-optimal health but with normal cognition, such as healthy children, elderly women, and women with lumbar hyper-lordosis.

To ascertain the effects of WBV therapy on cognitive functioning in healthy young individuals, in Regterschot et al. (2014) recruited 133 healthy youths (112 females, 21 males) with a mean age of 20.5 ± 2.2 years to undergo WBV treatment at 30 Hz with an amplitude of approximately 0.5 mm for 2 min, 6 times. The results indicated that Stroop Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT) scores improved, but Digit Span Backward task (DSBT) scores remained unchanged. Finally, it was concluded that 2 min of passive WBV training had a positive short-term effect on executive function (attention and inhibition) in young adults. Subsequently, den Heijer et al. (2015) found showed that 3 min of WBV training at 30 Hz with an amplitude of 0.44–0.6 mm improved the inhibitory function of healthy children, with a therapeutic effect related to intelligence and age, but not to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the same year, Amonette et al. (2015) recruited 12 healthy subjects for WBV exercise at 30 Hz with a 4-mm amplitude (2 min each, 5 times) to determine whether WBV exercise reduced neuro-cognition in healthy subjects. The results indicated that WBV training with knee flexion at a 45° angle did not affect visual or verbal memory, reaction time, or impulse control measured using the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT), although motor processing speed may increase following vertical vibration. It is worth noting that the study performed by Amonette et al. (2015) emphasized body posture during WBV, with static squats using a squatting angle of 45°. The present review demonstrated an association between slow psychomotor reaction time and lower back pain, with a correlation between lumbar hyper-lordosis and lower back pain. In neurocognitive tests, the choice of reaction time represents an important reference index. In Fereydounnia and Shadmehr (2020) conducted passive WBV training (frequency = 30 Hz, amplitude = 5 mm, duration = 5 min) training on 15 women with normal lumbar lordosis and 15 women with hyper-lordosis of the lumbar spine. The data demonstrated that WBV training had an immediate positive effect on reaction time in both groups, but a negative effect on anticipatory skills with high speed in women with normal lumbar lordosis.

As age increases, physiological functioning in humans gradually declines, and is combined with changes in cognitive functioning. Brain imaging studies have suggested that brain volume changes faster in adults over the age of 50, with an annual decline of 0.35% compared with 0.12% in young individuals. Brain volume has been confirmed to positively correlate with cognitive function (Cabeza et al., 2004; Dennis et al., 2008). In de Bruin et al. (2020) randomly divided 17 elderly individuals into two groups: an intervention group (n = 9) and a sham operation group (n = 8). The intervention group received 4 weeks of WBV training (1 min each, 5 times, 3 days/week). From weeks 5 to 8, a passive trampoline program of 5 min was introduced following the vibration sessions. The results indicated that the 8-week training program, consisting of a combination of stochastic resonance WBV and exergame-dance training, was beneficial to both physical and cognitive performance in older care home-dwelling adults. In the same year, to clarify the effect of Sonic Wave Vibration (SWV) on cognitive function and autonomic nervous function, Choi and Mizukami (2020) randomly divided 24 elderly patients into a SWV group and a control group. The SWV group received SWV for 10 min a day, 5 days a week for a total of 2 months. Compared with the control group, the MMSE score in the SWV group improved. In addition, the results of brain NIRS showed that the concentration of oxidized hemoglobin and total hemoglobin increased significantly, thereby suggesting that activation of frontal lobe function may be improved. Similarly, in Rosado et al. (2021) conducted a randomized controlled trial on 51 subjects with a mean age of 75.4 ± 5.6 years. Fifty-one participants were allocated into two experimental groups and a control group: EG1 was enrolled in a psychomotor intervention program, EG2 was enrolled in a combined exercise program (psychomotor intervention program and whole-body vibration program), and the control group maintained their usual daily activities. The vibration amplitude (mm) was always 3 and the frequency (Hz) increased from 12.6 to 15. Rosado et al. (2021) indicated that psychomotor intervention combined with WBV training was effective in preventing falls, cognitive function and physical function decline. However, Santin-Medeiros et al. (2017) did not concluded this. A total of 37 elderly women, with a mean age of 82.4 ± 5.7 years was randomly divided into two groups: vibration (n = 19) and control (n = 18) groups. WBV training for 8 months at 20 Hz with a 2-mm amplitude (30–35 min each, twice per week) did not improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores, life satisfaction, cognitive status, or fall risk in elderly women. Inconsistencies in related research studies may be due to differences in the evaluation and testing methods. Santin-Medeiros et al. (2017) examined cognitive capability using intelligence tests. Both Santin-Medeiros and Zhu concluded that WBV training did not improve cognitive function, but there were multiple differences between the two subject types (male patients with myasthenia and elderly women). Few studies that focused on the relationship between WBV and cognition have been published, the results of which are contradictory. The majority of studies have demonstrated that WBV training improved cognitive performance, with only a small number concluding that it does not.

Cognitive impairment generally refers to problems with memory, attention, the learning of new information, planning, organization, and decision making. The degree of injury closely relates to the type of disease and its duration. Cognitive rehabilitation is a type of therapy that principally aims to improve attention, memory, and executive function (Chung et al., 2013).

The use of WBV training to ameliorate cognitive impairment was first proposed in 2014 when Fuermaier et al. (2014a) studied a 25-year-old patient with ADHD and 6 healthy college students with a mean age of 22.8 ± 2.4 years. It was found that 10 days of WBV treatment at 30 Hz with an amplitude of 0.44–0.66 mm improved attention, memory, and divergent thinking in both ADHD patients and healthy individuals. In the same year, Fuermaier et al. (2014b) continued to conduct in-depth research and verified these results using an increased sample size. A total of 83 healthy individuals aged 18–31 and 17 ADHD patients aged 21–28 underwent acute WBV training at 30 Hz with a 0.44–0.66 mm amplitude. The data showed that 2 min of WBV training improved attention in both healthy individuals and ADHD patients. Executive function refers to a group of cognitive processes involving attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, essential for higher-order mental functioning (Logue and Gould, 2014; Regterschot et al., 2014). Subsequently, to determine the effect of 8-weeks of WBV training on the extent of disabilities in patients with MS, Yang et al. (2016) exposed 25 MS patients with a mean age of 50.3 ± 14.1 years to 20 Hz vibrations with a 1.3-mm amplitude (1-min exposure to vibration in each group, 5 groups per day, 3 days per week, with a 1-min rest between groups). Patients were evaluated using a Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT-3), a commonly used scale of cognitive scores, that included processing speed when evaluating auditory information, computing ability, continuous attention, and distraction. Yang et al. (2016) demonstrated significant changes in cognitive ability in MS patients. Finally, it was concluded that 8 weeks of controlled WBV training reduced the extent of disability in MS patients. PASAT-3 scores used by Yang et al. were not used in other studies to test the relationship between WBV training and cognition. Instead, a Stroop Test and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) have been widely used in other studies. In Kim and Lee (2018) studied women with senile dementia aged 65 or above, and randomly divided them into vibration (n = 9) and control groups (n = 9) for 8 weeks of WBV training at 20–40 Hz. Finally, the data indicated that WBV training activated the cerebral cortex, which had a positive impact on cognitive functioning. In terms of cognitive assessment methods, Kim et al. used electroencephalograms (EEG). Uhm and Yang (2018) also observed the effects of 8 weeks of WBV training combined with computerized postural control training on the cognitive ability of 30 stroke patients within 3 months of diagnosis using EEG. The results showed that this mixed training method improved muscle and cerebral cortex activity in stroke patients. The studies performed by Kim et al. and Uhm et al. are the only two studies that used EEG to analyze cognitive function following WBV exercise intervention. To compare the effects of treadmill training (TT) and WBV training on attention, the severity of ADHD symptoms in patients, impairment of executive function behavior, and the quality of life in children with ADHD, Durgut et al. (2020) randomly allocated 30 children with ADHD into two groups: a “TT” group and “WBVT + TT” group. Both groups received TT for 8 weeks (3 days/week), and the “WBVT + TT” group received an additional 8 weeks of WBV training at 50 Hz at a 0–5 mm amplitude. The results demonstrated that TT + WBWT training improved the Stroop Test TBAG (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) (STP-TBAG) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) scores. In recent study, Odano et al. (2022) conducted WBV training (frequency = 35–40 Hz, duration = 20 min) on 16 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The results demonstrated that WBV exercise and training increased rCBF in aMCI patients. Moreover, WBV training enhanced cognitive function and may increase cognitive reserve.

Although the majority of studies demonstrated that WBV training improved the cognitive ability of patients with cognitive impairment, after collation and extraction of data from relevant manuscripts, a small number of studies showed conflicted findings. In Lam et al. (2018) published results that were the converse of these conclusions. They studied the effects of WBV combined with a routine activity program on lower limb strength, balance, and mobility in community-dwelling individuals with mild or moderate dementia (Lam et al., 2018). They also used the Cantonese Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE) scale to evaluate the effect of WBV on the cognitive performance of 54 elderly patients with mild to moderate dementia (40 of whom were women). No significant differences in CMMSE scores or changes in outcomes were identified post-training or at the 3-month follow-up. In addition, myasthenia may be an important risk factor for cognitive impairment, since a clear correlation was found between them (Liu et al., 2020). In a clinical randomized controlled study of tai chi and WBV therapy in the elderly published by Zhu (2016), 90 male patients with myasthenia were randomly divided into WBV, tai chi, and control groups (Yaqiong, 2016). The WBV group underwent 12–16 Hz WBV training for 8 weeks (1 min for each group, 5 groups per day, 5 days per week). An MMSE was used to evaluate the cognitive ability of subjects before and after the experiment. The results indicated no significant changes in cognitive ability in the three groups after the experiment. Thus, WBV training did not affect cognitive function in male patients with myasthenia. The results of that study were quite different from the results of other studies, possibly due to differences in amplitude, frequency, and training posture. Therefore, it has been suggested that an in-depth study of amplitude and other factors should be conducted. The differences may also be related to monitoring and evaluation indicators and methods. As science and technology continuously progress, methods of evaluation and studying cognitive function constantly improve. Future studies should combine a variety of methods that perform evaluation not only using scales of intelligence, language, memory, and attention but also using objective methods, such as EEG, functional magnetic resonance imaging, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and transcranial Doppler ultrasound.