Fitness, aging and neurocognitive function

Article (PDF Available)inNeurobiology of Aging 26 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):124-7 · January 2006with237 Reads
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.09.009 · Source: PubMed
Abstract
In this manuscript we provide a brief review of the recent literature that has examined the relationship among fitness training, cognition and brain. We began with a discussion of the non-human animal literature that has examined the relationship among these factors. Next we discuss recent epidemiological studies of the relationship between physical activity and fitness and cognition and age-related disease such as Alzheimer's dementia. We then discuss the results of randomized clinical trials of fitness training on human cognition. Finally, we conclude with a review of the nascent literature that has begun to employ neuroimaging techniques to examine fitness training effects on human brain. In general, the results are promising and suggest that fitness may serve a neuroprotective function for aging humans.
Neurobiology of Aging 26S (2005) S124–S127
Fitness, aging and neurocognitive function
Arthur F. Kramer
, Stanley J. Colcombe, Edward McAuley,
Paige E. Scalf, Kirk I. Erickson
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, 405 N. Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Received 21 August 2005; accepted 5 September 2005
Abstract
In this manuscript we provide a brief review of the recent literature that has examined the relationship among fitness training, cognition
and brain. We began with a discussion of the non-human animal literature that has examined the relationship among these factors. Next we
discuss recent epidemiological studies of the relationship between physical activity and fitness and cognition and age-related disease such as
Alzheimer’s dementia. We then discuss the results of randomized clinical trials of fitness training on human cognition. Finally, we conclude
with a review of the nascent literature that has begun to employ neuroimaging techniques to examine fitness training effects on human brain.
In general, the results are promising and suggest that fitness may serve a neuroprotective function for aging humans.
© 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Aging; Fitness; Cognitive plasticity; Brain plasticity
1. Introduction
The SPARK workshop focused on the relationship among
obesity, diabetes, mood and cognition. Cleary, one important
factorthatrelatestoeach of these constructsisphysical activ-
ityandexercise.Lackofphysicalactivityhasbeenimplicated
in various health conditions including diabetes, cardiovascu-
lar disease, cancer, and osteoarthritis [14]. Increased physi-
cal activity reduces the risk associated with these diseases.
Although less well-known, there is also an emerging body
of literature that has found moderate to strong associations
between physical activity and cognition, mood and human
brain function, particularly in a group of individuals vulner-
able to the loss of independence and cognitive decline, that
is, older adults.
In the present paper we focus on the literature that has
examinedtherelationshipbetweenphysicalactivityandexer-
cise on human cognition, brain structure and brain func-
tion. Specifically, we will examine the question of whether
exercise can reduce age-related decline in cognition and
decrease the risk for age-associated neurological disorders
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 217 244 1933.
E-mail address: akramer@s.psych.uiuc.edu (A.F. Kramer).
such as Alzheimer’s disease. Rather than providing a thor-
ough historical overview of this rapidly expanding literature
we will concentrate on the expansion in our knowledge of
the relationship among exercise, cognition and brain that
has taken place over the past decade or so. To this end we
will review both prospective and retrospective epidemiolog-
ical studies as well as randomized clinical trials of exer-
cise effects on human cognition, brain structure and brain
function.
However, before focusing on the human literature we
believe that it is important to provide a context for these
studies, which largely derives from experiments with non-
human animals. The examination of exercise effects in ani-
mals represents an expansion of a research program that has
focused on the influence of complex environments on the
brains of rodents. Given that living in complex environments
entails increased physical as well as cognitive challenges,
researchers began to decompose the influence of different
aspects of these environments on brain structure and func-
tion. For example, Black et al. [5] compared the influence of
wheelrunningwithmotorskills trainingon thebrain function
of older rats. Interestingly, the wheel running group devel-
oped a higher density of capillaries in the cerebellum than
the animals trained on motor skills or a group of inactive
0197-4580/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.09.009
A.F. Kramer et al. / Neurobiology of Aging 26S (2005) S124–S127 S125
controls. On the other hand, the animals in the motor skill
group showed a larger increase in synapses in the cerebellum
than the other two groups. Other studies have shown similar
effects of treadmill exercise on the vasculature in the motor
cortex of middle aged monkeys [19].
Exercise training in aging animals has also been shown to
increase levels of key neurochemicals that improve plasticity
and neuronal survival, such as brain-derived neurotrophin
factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1),
serotonin, as well as reduced corticosteroid levels [4,6,12].
There have also been a number of recent demonstrations of
enhanced learning and memory and neurogenesis with exer-
cise training [21,22]. Finally, voluntary exercise has been
found to decrease amyloid load in a transgenic mouse model
of Alzheimer’s disease [2]. Such data provide a promising
context in which to examine the influence of fitness training
on human cognition, brain structure and function.
2. Epidemiological studies of fitness effects on human
cognition
A number of recent prospective studies with fairly large
numbers of older participants have examined the relation-
ship between measures of physical activity and cognition.
For example, Yaffe et al. [23] reported a study of 5925 high
functioning community dwelling women (>65 years of age),
who were characterized in terms of the number of blocks
that they walked per week. The central question was whether
higher levels of activity, particularly the number of blocks
walked per week, would serve a protective function for cog-
nition 6–8 years in the future. Indeed, women with greater
physical activity levels at baseline were less likely to expe-
rience cognitive decline, as assessed with the mini-mental
status exam (MMSE) during 6–8 years of follow-up. This
effectremainedevenafteradjustingfor age,education,health
status, depression, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, smoking,
andestrogenuse. A similar study [3] with 349 participants 55
yearsof ageandolder attimeone, alsofound that fitnesslevel
at baseline predicted higher levels of cognitive performance
six years later. This study was noteworthy in that it used both
measures of aerobic fitness and self-report measures of 22
different physical activities and also assessed a wider variety
ofcognitiveprocesses.Indeed,higherlevelsofaerobicfitness
at baseline, as measured via VO
2
peak, predicted better per-
formance on a number of different measures of attention and
executive function. Interestingly, the self report measures of
physical activity obtained at baseline were not predictive of
cognition six years later. These data suggest that either VO
2
peak is a more sensitive measure of activity level or perhaps
that moderate aerobic exercise is required in order to reap
cognitive benefits.
Other studies have also found that physical activity can
have protective effects on the cognition of middle aged indi-
viduals. Richards et al. [20] found that self reported physical
activitylevelat 36years ofagewaspredictiveofhigher levels
of verbal memory, in a sample of 1919 participants, from 43
to 53 years of age. Interestingly, spare time activities such as
game playing, attending religious services or playing a musi-
cal instrument were not predictive of memory performance.
Dik et al. [13] found that higher levels of activity early in
life, from 15 to 25 years of age, were associated with faster
information processing speed between 62 and 85 years of
age.
Finally, Laurin et al. [17] reported that physical activity
level at baseline was associated with lower risks of cogni-
tive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia of any
type five years after assessment. All participants in this study
(4615 individuals) were high functioning 65+ year olds at
the baseline assessment. Similarly, Abbot et al. [1] found
a monotonic relationship between distance walked per day
at the initial assessment and the probability of developing
Alzheimer’s disease up to eight years later in a group of 2257
71 to 93 year old men.
The results of the studies reported above suggest that
modest levels of physical activity and exercise can have
beneficial effects on several cognitive processes of middle
aged and older individuals. Studies also suggest a reduced
risk of Alzheimer’s disease with physical activity. Although
these studies are valuable in establishing a reliable associ-
ation between exercise and cognition, conclusions must be
tempered by the limits of prospective observational designs
(e.g. self selection into exercise levels, limited cognitive and
fitness assessments, etc.). In an effort to address these lim-
itations we turn now to an examination of the relationship
between fitness and human cognition and brain function in
randomized clinical trials.
3. Fitness training effects on cognition and brain
Human fitness training studies conducted over the past
several decades have produced a varied pattern of results.
Some studies find a positive relationship between fitness
training and cognition while other studies fail to observe
such a relationship. There are a multitude of potential rea-
sons for this mixed pattern of results including the use of
different physical training and assessment protocols, differ-
ent cognitive assessments, and generally small sample sizes.
To increase the power to detect a relationship between aero-
bic fitness training and cognition and also to examine the
influence of potential moderating factors we conducted a
meta-analysis of physical activity intervention studies pub-
lished between 1966 and 2001 with adults greater than 55
years of age [10]. Several interesting results were obtained in
the meta-analysis. First, a clear and significant effect of aer-
obic exercise training was found. When aggregating across
studies exercise training does indeed have positive effects
on the cognitive function of older humans. Second, although
exercise effects were observed across a wide variety of tasks
and cognitive processes, the effects were largest for those
tasks that involved executivecontrol processes (i.e. planning,
S126 A.F. Kramer et al. / Neurobiology of Aging 26S (2005) S124–S127
scheduling,workingmemory,interference control,task coor-
dination). Executive control processes have been found to
decline substantially as a function of aging as have the brain
regions that support them [18]. Therefore, the results of the
meta-analysis suggest that even processes that are quite sus-
ceptible to aging appear to be amenable to intervention.
The meta-analysis also revealed that several other mod-
erator variables influenced the relationship between exercise
training and cognition. For example, aerobic exercise train-
ing programs combined with strength and flexibility training
regimenshad a greater positive effecton cognition than aero-
bic components alone. This effect may result from increases
in insulin-like growth factor 1, which is known to increase
in response to strength training. IGF-1 is a neuroprotective
factor involved in neuronal growth and differentiation [6].
Exercise training programs also had a larger impact on cog-
nition if the study samples included more than 50% females.
This effect may be due, in part, to the positive influence of
estrogen (in the present case estrogen replacement therapy)
onbothbrain-derivedneurotrophinfactorandincreasedexer-
cise participation [12]. Similar to aerobic exercise estrogen
has been found to up-regulate BDNF. And both estrogen and
BDNF are important for synaptogenesis and neurogenesis,
especially in the hippocampus [4,15].
Despite the large and ever expanding animal literature
that has examined the influence of fitness training on brain
structure and function, few human studies have addressed
this relationship. In one such study [7] a technique called
voxel based morphometry (VBM) was used to examine both
age-related differences and age× fitness interactions on the
cortical volume assessed via MRI. In a cross-sectional exam-
inationof55olderadultstheyfound,consistentwithprevious
studies, age-related volume losses in grey and white matter
tended to be greatest in the frontal, prefrontal and temporal
regions [18]. Moreover, older adults who were more aer-
obically fit also tended to lose less tissue in the frontal,
parietal and temporal cortices as a function of age. Sub-
sequent analyses, factoring out other potential moderating
factors such as hypertension, caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol
consumption, confirmed that none of these other variables
moderated the effect of aerobic fitness. A follow-up study
[9] examined the influence of a six month aerobic fitness
training program on the brain structure of older healthy but
sedentary adults. MRIs were obtained from thirty subjects
in an aerobic exercise training group (i.e. walking) and from
another thirty control subjects in a stretching andtoning con-
trol group. Increases in the volume of anterior white matter
andseveralgraymatterregions(i.e.anteriorcingulate,middle
frontal gyrus, and superior temporal lobe) were observed in
theaerobicbutnotinthenon-aerobiccontrolgroup.Although
littleisknownabout therelationship betweencorticalvolume
changes as indexed by VBM and cellular changes as indexed
via histological examination, the non-human animal litera-
ture reviewed above suggests that the changes observed are
likely the result of some combination of changes in synaptic
interconnections, axonal integrity and capillary bed growth.
In addition to structural changes in the human brain,
other fitness training studies have observed changes in the
neural networks that underlie specific cognitive processes.
Colcombe et al. [8] examined the influence of a six month
program of aerobic exercise training as compared to a con-
trol group of older adults trained in stretching and toning on
brain function and cognition. Participants in the randomized
intervention performed a flanker task, in which they were
asked to identify the orientation of a central arrow presented
among an array of distracting stimuli, while brain function
was recorded using event-related fMRI. On 50% of the trials,
the orientation of the distracting stimuli were congruent with
the central cue while on the other 50% the distracting stim-
uli were incongruent with the central cue. On incongruent
trials, participants were required to suppress the information
provided by the flanking stimuli in order to make a correct
response.This paradigm haspreviouslybeen foundto be sen-
sitive to age-related decrements in attentional control as well
as to increments in aerobic fitness [16].
After six months of aerobic exercise training the older
adults showed improved performance, particularly in terms
of reducing their response times to the incongruent tri-
als while the participants in the non-aerobic stretching and
toning group did not. Furthermore, the older aerobically
trained participants showed increased activation in the supe-
rior parietal cortex and middle frontal gyrus, brain regions
responsible for assisting in the focus of spatial attention
and maintaining task goals in working memory, respectively.
On the other hand, individuals in the non-aerobic group
showed increased activation in the anterior cingulate cor-
tex, a brain region that assists in resolving response con-
flicts. One interpretation of this pattern of results is that
higher levels of aerobic fitness lead to more efficient pre-
frontal control of extrastriate and parietal regions of cortex
that are responsible for the selective processing of stimulus
attributes.
A more recent study [11] found that a six month aero-
bic exercise intervention with older adults resulted in both
fasterand more accurate performanceinaSternbergmemory
search task and a change in the pattern of fMRI activation in
prefrontal cortex which mimicked that observed for younger
adults. These changes were not observed for older adults in a
stretching and toning control group. Thus, these results sug-
gest that exercise participation leading to improved aerobic
fitness may provide a remediative effect to the functional
integrity of the older adult brain and cognition.
4. Conclusions and future directions
The human behavioral and brain data discussed above
suggest that fitness training holds great promise as a neuro-
protectiveinterventionduringthe courseofthe adultlifespan.
The human data also are compatible with non-human animal
studies of fitness training effects on performance, brain func-
tion, and brain structure.
A.F. Kramer et al. / Neurobiology of Aging 26S (2005) S124–S127 S127
However,thereclearlyareimportantquestionsthatremain
to be answered. For example, it is still unclear as to the
dose response relationship among mode, duration and inten-
sity of exercise training and changes in cognition and brain.
Given the potential interaction among these factors, as well
as the moderating effects of age, large randomized interven-
tion trials may be necessary to examine these relationships.
Second, the observation in the Colcombe and Kramer [10]
meta-analysis that studies with greater than 50% women par-
ticipants showed larger benefits of exercise on cognition is
intriguing. Indeed, recent reports of a synergistic relation-
ship between estrogen and exercise on BDNF [4,12] suggest
that a randomized clinical trial that manipulates both fitness
training and hormone replacement therapy with a group of
menopausal women might be prudent. Third, although it has
become clear that older adults can benefit from cognitive
training and dietary interventions little is known about the
similarities of mechanisms which underlie these factors or
how they may jointly influence cognition, brain function and
structure over the adult lifespan. Clearly, although the study
of the relationship between fitness, cognition and brain has
yielded interesting and potentially important results, much
remainsto be learnedconcerningthe factorsand mechanisms
of successful aging. We look forward to reading and con-
tributing to this literature in the future.
Conflict of interest
None of the authors have any conflict of interest to report.
The study was conducted consistent with ethical principles.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the National Institute on Aging
(AG25667 and AG25032) and the Institute for the Study of
Aging for their support of our research.
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    • "However, in keeping with the child literature, older adults perform better in different ways in different studies. Some studies report general differences, such as faster RT or greater accuracy across all conditions (Hillman et al., 2006; Voelcker-Rehage et al., 2011), whereas others note selective differences, such as smaller Flanker effects or greater accuracy only on incongruent conditions (Colcombe et al., 2004; Colcombe & Kramer, 2003; Kramer et al., 1999; Kramer et al., 2001; Kramer, Colcombe, McAuley, Scalf, & Erickson, 2005; Prakash et al., 2011; Voelcker-Rehage et al., 2010; Weinstein et al., 2012 ). Neurophysiological differences associated with fitness and/or regular PA in older adults when completing the Flanker task were also apparent, with decreased ACC activation and variable differences in task-related brain activity (Colcombe et al., 2004, Voelcker-Rehage, Godde, & Staudinger, 2010 Voelcker-Rehage, Godde, & Staudinger, 2010 ). "
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    Full-text · Thesis · Aug 2016 · Frontiers in Psychology
    • "Multimodal neuroimaging studies, including both structural and functional MRI, have helped elucidate the brain's complex neurobiological response to exercise. These exercise-induced effects include cytoarchitectonic modifications (Erickson et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2014; ten Brinke et al., 2015); altered patterns of neural activity (Smith et al., 2013); and improved performance across the cognitive domains (Tomporowski, 2003; Kramer et al., 2005; Davranche and McMorris, 2009; Chapman et al., 2013). The hippocampus, a subcortical brain structure well known for its role in learning and memory, has shown neurotrophic effects as the result of exercise training in humans and animal models (van Praag et al., 1999; Pereira et al., 2007; Erickson et al., 2009). "
    [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: While endurance exercise training improves cerebrovascular health and has neurotrophic effects within the hippocampus, the effects of stopping this exercise on the brain remain unclear. Our aim was to measure the effects of 10 days of detraining on resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in gray matter and the hippocampus in healthy and physically fit older adults. We hypothesized that rCBF would decrease in the hippocampus after a 10-day cessation of exercise training. Twelve master athletes, defined as older adults (age ≥ 50 years) with long-term endurance training histories (≥15 years), were recruited from local running clubs. After screening, eligible participants were asked to cease all training and vigorous physical activity for 10 consecutive days. Before and immediately after the exercise cessation period, rCBF was measured with perfusion-weighted MRI. A voxel-wise analysis was used in gray matter, and the hippocampus was selected a priori as a structurally defined region of interest (ROI), to detect rCBF changes over time. Resting CBF significantly decreased in eight gray matter brain regions. These regions included: (L) inferior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, (R) cerebellar tonsil, lingual gyrus, precuneus, and bilateral cerebellum (FWE p < 0.05). Additionally, rCBF within the left and right hippocampus significantly decreased after 10 days of no exercise training. These findings suggest that the cerebrovascular system, including the regulation of resting hippocampal blood flow, is responsive to short-term decreases in exercise training among master athletes. Cessation of exercise training among physically fit individuals may provide a novel method to assess the effects of acute exercise and exercise training on brain function in older adults.
    Full-text · Article · Aug 2016
    • "Higher cardiorespiratory fitness has been found to protect against such functional impairments in older populations (Angevaren et al., 2008; Boucard et al., 2012). Specifically, older adults with higher cardiorespiratory fitness have demonstrated better behavioral performances in terms of multiple cognitive tasks than those with lower fitness (Kramer et al., 2005; Prakash et al., 2011). The linkage between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive performance may involve a causal association, with enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness following exercise interventions having been found to lead to a variety of physiological structural changes that are related to cognitive functioning in late-middle-aged adults, suggesting that cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with enhanced cerebrovascular reserves for cognitive functioning (Angevaren et al., 2008; Erickson et al., 2008; Voss et al., 2013). "
    [Show abstract] [Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: The present study sought to determine whether cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with cognitive function in late-middle-aged adults from event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) perspectives. Late-middle-aged adults were categorized into either the high-fitness group or the low-fitness group based on their estimated cardiorespiratory fitness values. The participants completed the Stroop Test, which is comprised of incongruent and neutral conditions, while the brain activities were recoded. The alpha ERD and ERS values based on the equation proposed by Pfurtscheller (1977) were further calculated. The results revealed that the adults with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness demonstrated superior Stroop performance, regardless of Stroop congruency. While these high-fitness adults had less positive upper alpha ERD values in the later epoch window compared to their lower-fitness counterparts, they had greater lower alpha ERD values in the early epoch window. Additionally, in the late epoch window, the high-fitness adults showed less positive lower alpha ERD values on neutral, but not incongruent condition, relative to their low-fitness counterparts. These findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness of the late-middle-aged adults is positively associated with cognitive functioning, especially the cognitive processes related to the inhibition of task-irrelevant information and those processes required the devotion of greater amounts of attentional resources to a given task.
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