Aerobic Exercise Intervention, Cognitive Performance, and Brain Structure: Results from the Physical Influences on Brain in Aging (PHIBRA) Study (original) (raw)
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Aerobic exercise effects on cognitive and neural plasticity in older adults NIH Public Access
Older adults frequently experience cognitive deficits accompanied by deterioration of brain tissue and function in a number of cortical and sub-cortical regions. Because of this common finding and the increasing ageing population in many countries throughout the world, there is an increasing interest in assessing the possibility that partaking in or changing certain lifestyles could prevent or reverse cognitive and neural decay in older adults. In this review we critically evaluate and summarise the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that assess the impact of aerobic exercise and fitness on cognitive performance, brain volume, and brain function in older adults with and without dementia. We argue that 6 months of moderate levels of aerobic activity are sufficient to produce significant improvements in cognitive function with the most dramatic effects occurring on measures of executive control. These improvements are accompanied by altered brain activity measures and increases in prefrontal and temporal grey matter volume that translate into a more efficient and effective neural system. Brain deterioration and cognitive decline are considered common characteristics of ageing. However, it is clear that not everyone experiences senescence at the same rate or to the same degree. Individual differences in the quality of cognitive and brain function in old age suggest that deterioration and decay are neither ubiquitous nor inevitable characteristics of ageing. This begs the following question: what are the factors that explain some of the individual differences in old age, allowing some people to retain cognitive and brain function, while pushing others into a trajectory of decline and decay? In addition to determining individual difference factors, recent interventions demonstrate that cognitive and brain deterioration is not unalterable and that the older adult brain retains some plasticity that can be taken advantage of in order to reverse deterioration and decay that may already be manifest. In this review we summarise research on the effect of aerobic exercise on preventing and reversing cognitive and brain decay in old age and provide practical recommendations for utilising exercise to take advantage of the brain's natural capacity for plasticity. COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL RESEARCH Ageing is often characterised by deterioration of both white matter and grey matter tissue in the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices with relative sparing of tissue in other regions such as primary motor and visual cortex. 1 Tissue deterioration is often accompanied by decline in cognitive function, with the greatest deficits occurring on measures of executive control
Accelerated trajectories of cognitive decline in older adults may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Physical activity has potential modifying effects on these changes that could prevent and/or delay ADRD. This review explores the hypothesis that multiple, mutually complimentary and interacting factors explain the positive association between exercise and the optimization of cognition in older adults.
Brain health and exercise in older adults
Current sports medicine reports
Identifying feasible and effective interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of cognitive decline in older adults is currently a high priority for researchers, clinicians, and policy makers. Evidence suggests that exercise and cognitive training benefit cognitive health in older adults; however, a preferred modality has to be endorsed yet by the scientific community. The purpose of this review is to discuss and critically examine the current state of knowledge concerning the effects of aerobic, resistance, cognitive, and novel dual-task exercise training interventions for the preservation or improvement of cognitive health in older adults. A review of the literature suggests that the potential exists for multiple exercise modalities to improve cognitive functioning in older adults. Nonetheless current limitations within the field need to be addressed prior to providing definitive recommendations concerning which exercise modality is most effective at improving or maintaining cog...
International Journal of Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 2023
Regular exercise is proven to improve cognitive function. However, the effect of acute exercise on cognitive function in young adults has not been established, especially exercise intensity that provides the most benefit for cognitive performance. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of a single bout of low and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on cognitive function in young adults. Thirty volunteers (aged 21.08±0.41 years) were randomized into a control (n=10), low (n=10), or moderate (n=10) intensity aerobic exercise group. Stroop color and word test, digit span forward (DSF), and digit span backward test (DSB) were used to determine cognitive function at baseline and after exercise for both exercise groups, or after watching the video of aerobic exercise for the control group. After the intervention, all 3 parts of the Stoop color and word test were significantly improved from baseline in all 3 groups (p < 0.05) while only the moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group had significant improvement in DSF (p <0.05). In addition, part 1 and part 3 of the Stoop color and word test, and DSF were significantly improved in the moderate-intensity aerobic exercise group when compared with the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, a single bout of exercise can improve cognitive function in young adults. In addition, the moderate-intensity aerobic exercise had greater improvement in cognitive function which was evaluated by Stroop color and word test, and DSF compared to the low-intensity exercise.
Effects of aerobic physical exercise on cognition
2015
The increasing prevalence of cognitive impairment in older adults is a major concern nowadays. Interventions able to change the natural history of the most common cause of cognitive impairment in older adults, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are needed. Physical inactivity is considered one of the most important modifiable risk factors for AD. Objective: To review recent evidence on the role of physical exercise (PE) in the older adults cognition. Method:The authors reviewed recent papers about PE and cognition in older adults. Conclusion: Current data indicate that PE is a promising intervention to decrease the risk of cognitive impairment in cognitively normal older subjects and in those with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Controversy still remains about the effect of PE in demented patients, but more recent data is pointing towards a positive effect.