Exercise and Cognitive Function

从历史上看，对认知功能的研究和对身体功能的研究一直是分开的。然而，很明显，身体行为与认知资源密切相关。相反的情况似乎也是如此。越来越多的证据表明，体育行为--具体地说，体育锻炼--会对认知功能产生强烈和长期的影响。体育锻炼是增强和保持认知能力的一种有吸引力的方法，部分原因是它的好处远远超出了认知功能。我的研究计划的核心是这个问题：体育锻炼如何影响认知功能？一般的答案是，可能有几种补充机制--包括脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)、神经递质和应激激素--根据体育锻炼的性质(例如，强度、持续时间、方式、时间)和个人的特征(例如，年龄、健康)而受到不同的影响。目前的证据很难根据运动剂量来区分相对的认知益处，至少部分原因是研究中设计和个体特征的差异性。此外，影响单次运动训练的短期认知效果的变量是否可以用来预测运动训练的累积效果是一个关键的未知因素，这对于确定个人在短期和长期内增强认知功能的最佳运动训练是必要的。因此，这个为期5年的计划的目标是促进我们对特定运动和个人变量的理解，这些变量在一场比赛和一系列课程中影响运动的尖锐和累积的认知效果。在一系列调查中，将使用神经心理测试和脑电(事件相关电位)来表征年轻人和老年人对单一锻炼和重复锻炼的认知反应。将评估包括剂量、年龄和健康在内的运动和个人水平变量的影响。拟议的研究计划将提供关于特定于个人的最佳运动参数的基础知识，以增强和/或保持认知功能。考虑到与年龄相关的认知能力下降的预期成本，该研究项目具有巨大的潜在回报。

Historically, there has been a separation between research focused on cognitive function and physical function. However, it is clear that the physical behaviour is importantly coupled to cognitive resources. The reverse also seems to be true. There is accumulating evidence that physical behaviour—and, specific to this proposal, physical exercise—influences cognitive function both acutely and chronically. Physical exercise is an attractive approach to enhance and maintain cognitive capacity, in part because its benefits extend well beyond cognitive function. At the core of my research program is this question: how does physical exercise influence cognitive function? The general answer is that there are likely several complementary mechanisms—including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotransmitters, and stress hormones—that are differentially affected contingent on the properties of the physical exercise (e.g. intensity, duration, modality, timing) and the characteristics of the individual (e.g. age, fitness). Current evidence poorly differentiates the relative cognitive benefits by exercise dose, at least partly due to variability in design and individual characteristics across studies. Furthermore, whether the variables that influence the short-term cognitive effects of a single-exercise session can be used to predict the accumulated effects of exercise training is a critical unknown that is necessary to define the optimal exercise training by the individual to enhance cognitive function in the short- and long-term. As a result, the goal of this 5-year program is to advance our understanding of the specific exercise and individual variables that influence the acute and accumulated cognitive effects of exercise over a single bout and a series of sessions. In a series of inquiries, the cognitive response to a single exercise session and to repeated exercise sessions will be characterized among young and older adults using neuropsychological tests and electroencephalography (event-related potentials). The influence of exercise- and individual-level variables including dose, age, and fitness will be evaluated. The proposed research program will provide foundational knowledge regarding the optimal exercise parameters specific to the individual to enhance and/or preserve cognitive function. The research program has enormous potential payoff given the expected costs of age-related cognitive decline.