Exercise, aging, and cognition: Effect and mechanisms

描述(申请人提供)：这项研究的目标是调查两组人群--年轻人和老年人--25-40岁和50-65岁的身体活动对认知的影响。绝大多数人类受控运动研究仅限于老年人，通常是65岁及以上的人。然而，更早的干预可能更有利于预防或减缓与年龄相关的变化。对老年人的运动研究表明，增强有氧能力对认知有好处，特别是对执行控制过程。然而，在年轻人和老年人中，受益的特定认知领域可能不同，因为老年人最敏感的领域是那些受衰老影响的领域。在拟议的为期6个月的随机干预研究中，260名在这两个年龄组中久坐但其他方面健康且认知完好的个人将被随机分成两个治疗组，有氧运动和拉伸/调理。锻炼对多个认知域的潜在影响将通过标准的认知评估和计算机化的认知任务来检验。此外，将在基线和6个月进行3个级别的神经成像研究：结构MRI(灰质密度)、静息CBF(动脉自旋标记)和认知激活功能MRI研究。我们假设：1)与拉伸/调理条件相比，有氧运动将提高认知能力的表现；2)认知能力的改善将不受年龄的影响，尽管在年龄较大的人群中会更明显；3)在有氧条件下的年轻和老年参与者中，与其他认知领域相比，利用执行控制过程的任务，如集合转换和工作记忆，改善将更加显著；4)任务绩效的改善将伴随着灰质密度的增加，以及在fMRI研究中测量的大脑网络效率的提高。建议的多层次运动效应分析将对运动有益效果背后的神经机制产生重要的见解。因为它可能有助于防止或延缓认知老化，运动改善年轻受试者认知的可能性对公共健康具有巨大的潜在意义。 公共卫生相关性：来自动物和人类研究的证据有力地表明，有氧运动对认知有好处，但对照研究仅限于老年人。这项拟议研究的目标是将有氧运动的有益影响的调查扩大到25-40岁和50-65岁的年轻人。早期干预可能更有利于预防与年龄相关的变化，而不是逆转。因此，运动改善年轻受试者认知的可能性对公共卫生具有巨大的潜在意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed study is to investigate the cognitive effects of physical activity in two groups - young and older adults - aged 25-40 and 50-65. The great majority of controlled exercise studies in humans have been restricted to elderly individuals, typically age 65 and up. However, earlier intervention may be more beneficial for preventing or slowing age-related changes. Exercise studies in older adults have indicated that enhancing aerobic capacity has a beneficial effect on cognition, particularly executive control processes. However, the specific cognitive domains that are benefited may differ in younger and older individuals, since the most responsive domains in elders are those affected by aging. In the proposed 6-month randomized intervention study, 260 sedentary but otherwise healthy and cognitively intact individuals in these two age groups will be randomized into two treatment arms, aerobic exercise and stretching / toning. The potential effect of exercise on multiple cognitive domains will be examined with standard cognitive evaluations and computerized cognitive tasks. In addition, 3 levels of neuroimaging studies: structural MRI (for gray matter density), resting CBF (arterial spin labeling) and cognitive activation fMRI studies will be conducted at baseline and 6 months. We hypothesize that: 1) in comparison to the stretching / toning condition, aerobic exercise will produce improved performance on measures of cognition; 2) cognitive improvement will be noted regardless of age, although it will be greater in the older group; 3) in both younger and older participants in the aerobic condition, improvement will be more notable for tasks that tap executive control processes, such as set switching and working memory, compared to other cognitive domains; 4) improved in task performance will be accompanied by increased gray matter density, and increased efficiency of brain networks measured in fMRI studies. The proposed analysis of exercise effects at multiple levels will yield important insights onto the neural mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of exercise. Because it may help prevent or delay cognitive aging, the possibility that exercise improves cognition in younger subjects has enormous potential significance for public health. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Evidence from animal and human studies strongly suggests that aerobic exercise has a beneficial effect on cognition, but controlled studies have been restricted to elderly individuals. The goal of the proposed study is to extend the investigation of the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise to younger individuals, aged 25-40 and 50-65. Earlier intervention may be more beneficial for preventing, as opposed to reversing, age related changes. Therefore, the possibility that exercise improves cognition in younger subjects has enormous potential significance for public health.