Examining Cerebral Blood Flow as a Mechanism for the Effects of African Dance on Executive Function

摘要 非裔美国人几乎是白人的两倍（即，高加索人）经历阿尔茨海默氏症 疾病或其他痴呆症。对于65岁以上的人，认知障碍的患病率为8.8%， 白人和23.9%的非洲裔美国人。即使在55-64岁年龄段，非裔美国人也是4倍 比同龄的白色人更容易出现认知障碍。一个过程 据信造成这种差异的原因是与年龄有关的脑血流量减少， 对执行功能表现尤其有害。一个关键的公共卫生问题出现了这些 我们打算在本提案中解决的统计数据：是否有有效的方法减少或消除 认知和大脑健康方面的种族差异，以及这种方法是否通过增加大脑血液而起作用 流动？幸运的是，身体活动（PA）干预可能有效地改善神经认知功能 降低患痴呆症的风险。尽管有这些有希望的结果，PA可能改善的机制 神经认知功能仍然未知。此外，巴勒斯坦权力机构以前的干预措施很少有非洲人参加， 美国人很难按种族对结果进行分层，以确定非洲裔美国人是否对 以与白人相似的方式和程度。“身体活动”和“锻炼”这两个词经常被 被认为是不愉快的，痛苦的，疲劳的，这可能会对兴趣，入学率和长期- 长期坚持。增加PA而不使用术语PA的方法（例如，舞蹈）可以有效地 改善健康结果，同时对翻译和长期 坚持。在这里，我们提出了一个创新的和文化敏感的方法，增加PA在老年人（60- 80岁）非洲裔美国人。我们提出了一个随机干预，180名老年非裔美国人， 被分配到一个中等强度的非洲舞蹈组，每周3天（N=90）或一个非洲舞蹈组。 教育组90例，每周3天，共6个月。无论是在之前还是在完成时， 干预，我们将收集一个全面的神经心理电池和大脑健康的MRI指标 和功能，以阐明脑血管通路，PA影响神经认知健康， 非裔美国人。这项建议有可能利用社区活动， 改善老年非裔美国人的健康状况。此外，它可以建立一个平台（即，跳舞） * 今后针对少数群体采取干预措施，以减少健康差距。我们有三 主要目标：目标1。研究6个月的非洲舞蹈干预是否能改善执行功能 与教育控制组相比。目标2.检查非洲舞蹈是否增加大脑血液 前额叶皮层的血流目标3.检查前额叶皮层脑血流的变化是否介导 非洲舞蹈和执行功能改善之间的关系。

Abstract African Americans are almost two times more likely than whites (i.e., Caucasians) to experience Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. For those over the age of 65, the prevalence of cognitive impairment is 8.8% in whites and 23.9% in African Americans. Even in the age range of 55-64, African Americans are 4 times more likely to experience cognitive impairment than their age-matched white counterparts. One process that is believed to contribute to this disparity is age-related decreases in cerebral blood flow, which is particularly harmful for executive function performance. A critical public health question emerges from these statistics that we intend to address in this proposal: Is there an effective method for reducing or eliminating the race disparities in cognitive and brain health, and does this method work by augmenting cerebral blood flow? Fortunately, physical activity (PA) interventions may be effective at improving neurocognitive function and reducing risk for dementia. Despite these promising results, the mechanism by which PA may improve neurocognitive function remain unknown. Additionally, prior PA interventions have had few African Americans making it difficult to stratify results by race to determine whether African Americans respond to PA in a similar manner and magnitude as whites. The terms ‘physical activity’ and ‘exercise’ are often considered unpleasant, painful, and fatiguing, which can negatively influence interest, enrollment, and long- term adherence. Methods that increase PA without using the term PA (e.g., dancing) could be effective at improving health outcomes while simultaneously having a wider impact on translation and long- term adherence. Here we propose an innovative and culturally sensitive method of increasing PA in older (60- 80 yrs) African Americans. We propose a randomized intervention where 180 older African Americans are assigned to either a moderate intensity African Dance group 3 days per week (N=90) or to an African Education group 3 days per week (N=90) for 6-months. Both before and at the completion of the intervention, we will collect a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and MRI metrics of brain health and function to elucidate cerebrovascular pathways by which PA influences neurocognitive health in an African American population. This proposal has the potential to utilize community-based activities to improve health of older African Americans. In addition, it could establish a platform (i.e., dance) to implement future interventions targeting minority populations to reduce health disparities. We have three primary aims: Aim 1. Examine whether a 6- month African Dance intervention improves executive function compared to an educational control group. Aim 2. Examine whether African Dance increases cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex. Aim 3. Examine whether changes in prefrontal cortex cerebral blood flow mediates the relationship between African Dance and improvements in executive function.