TY - JOUR
T1 - Aerobic exercise promotes executive functions and impacts functional neural activity among older adults with vascular cognitive impairment
AU - Hsu, Chun Liang
AU - Best, John R.
AU - Davis, Jennifer C.
AU - Nagamatsu, Lindsay S.
AU - Wang, Shirley
AU - Boyd, Lara A.
AU - Hsiung, Gy Robin
AU - Voss, Michelle W.
AU - Eng, Janice Jennifer
AU - Liu-Ambrose, Teresa
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding CLH is an Alzheimer Society Research Program Doctoral trainee. JRB is a Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Michael Smith Foundation of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellow. TLA is a Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Physical Activity, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience. JJE is a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Neurological Rehabilitation. This work was supported by Canadian Stroke Network and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada to TLA and the Jack Brown and Family Alzheimer Research Foundation Society to TLA.
Publisher Copyright:
© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - Background Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) results from cerebrovascular disease, and worldwide, it is the second most common type of cognitive dysfunction. While targeted aerobic training is a promising approach to delay the progression of VCI by reducing cardiometabolic risk factors, few randomised controlled trials to date have specifically assessed the efficacy of aerobic training on cognitive and brain outcomes in this group at risk for functional decline. Aim To examine the effect of moderate-intensity aerobic training on executive functions and functional neural activity among older adults with mild subcortical ischaemic VCI (SIVCI). Methods Older adults with mild SIVCI were randomly assigned to: (1) 6-month, 3×/week aerobic training (n=10) or (2) usual care (control; n=11). Participants completed functional MRI (fMRI) at baseline and trial completion. During the fMRI sessions, behavioural performance on the Eriksen flanker task and task-evoked neural activity were assessed. Results At trial completion, after adjusting for baseline general cognition, total white matter lesion volume and flanker performance, compared with the control group, the aerobic training group significantly improved flanker task reaction time. Moreover, compared with the controls, the aerobic training group demonstrated reduced activation in the left lateral occipital cortex and right superior temporal gyrus. Reduced activity in these brain regions was significantly associated with improved (ie, faster) flanker task performance at trial completion. Summary Aerobic training among older adults with mild SIVCI can improve executive functions and neural efficiency of associated brain areas. Future studies with greater sample size should be completed to replicate and extend these findings.
AB - Background Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) results from cerebrovascular disease, and worldwide, it is the second most common type of cognitive dysfunction. While targeted aerobic training is a promising approach to delay the progression of VCI by reducing cardiometabolic risk factors, few randomised controlled trials to date have specifically assessed the efficacy of aerobic training on cognitive and brain outcomes in this group at risk for functional decline. Aim To examine the effect of moderate-intensity aerobic training on executive functions and functional neural activity among older adults with mild subcortical ischaemic VCI (SIVCI). Methods Older adults with mild SIVCI were randomly assigned to: (1) 6-month, 3×/week aerobic training (n=10) or (2) usual care (control; n=11). Participants completed functional MRI (fMRI) at baseline and trial completion. During the fMRI sessions, behavioural performance on the Eriksen flanker task and task-evoked neural activity were assessed. Results At trial completion, after adjusting for baseline general cognition, total white matter lesion volume and flanker performance, compared with the control group, the aerobic training group significantly improved flanker task reaction time. Moreover, compared with the controls, the aerobic training group demonstrated reduced activation in the left lateral occipital cortex and right superior temporal gyrus. Reduced activity in these brain regions was significantly associated with improved (ie, faster) flanker task performance at trial completion. Summary Aerobic training among older adults with mild SIVCI can improve executive functions and neural efficiency of associated brain areas. Future studies with greater sample size should be completed to replicate and extend these findings.
KW - Exercise
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041836192&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096846
DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096846
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28432077
AN - SCOPUS:85041836192
SN - 0306-3674
VL - 52
SP - 184
EP - 191
JO - British Journal of Sports Medicine
JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine
IS - 3
ER -