Clinical Trial

. 2020 May 26;94(21):e2245-e2257.

doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009478. Epub 2020 May 13.

Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., G.A.E., M.J.P.), Hotchkiss Brain Institute (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., R.S.L., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Division of Geriatric Medicine (D.B.H.), Department of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta (T.J.A., M.J.P.), O'Brien Institute for Public Health (V.G., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Department of Cardiac Sciences (T.J.A.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences (M.D.H.), Cumming School of Medicine, Faculty of Kinesiology (M.J.P.), and Department of Psychology (R.S.L.), University of Calgary; Psychology Service (R.S.L.), Alberta Health Service, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary; Department of Psychiatry (G.A.E.), Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (G.A.E.), Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory (M.H.D.), Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
² From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., G.A.E., M.J.P.), Hotchkiss Brain Institute (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., R.S.L., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Division of Geriatric Medicine (D.B.H.), Department of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta (T.J.A., M.J.P.), O'Brien Institute for Public Health (V.G., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Department of Cardiac Sciences (T.J.A.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences (M.D.H.), Cumming School of Medicine, Faculty of Kinesiology (M.J.P.), and Department of Psychology (R.S.L.), University of Calgary; Psychology Service (R.S.L.), Alberta Health Service, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary; Department of Psychiatry (G.A.E.), Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (G.A.E.), Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory (M.H.D.), Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. poulin@ucalgary.ca.

PMID: 32404355
PMCID: PMC7357295
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009478

Clinical Trial

Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults

Veronica Guadagni et al. Neurology. 2020.

. 2020 May 26;94(21):e2245-e2257.

doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009478. Epub 2020 May 13.

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., G.A.E., M.J.P.), Hotchkiss Brain Institute (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., R.S.L., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Division of Geriatric Medicine (D.B.H.), Department of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta (T.J.A., M.J.P.), O'Brien Institute for Public Health (V.G., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Department of Cardiac Sciences (T.J.A.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences (M.D.H.), Cumming School of Medicine, Faculty of Kinesiology (M.J.P.), and Department of Psychology (R.S.L.), University of Calgary; Psychology Service (R.S.L.), Alberta Health Service, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary; Department of Psychiatry (G.A.E.), Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (G.A.E.), Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory (M.H.D.), Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
² From the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., G.A.E., M.J.P.), Hotchkiss Brain Institute (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., R.S.L., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Division of Geriatric Medicine (D.B.H.), Department of Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurosciences (V.G., L.L.D., A.V.T., M.D.H., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta (T.J.A., M.J.P.), O'Brien Institute for Public Health (V.G., D.B.H., M.J.P.), Department of Cardiac Sciences (T.J.A.), Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, and Department of Community Health Sciences (M.D.H.), Cumming School of Medicine, Faculty of Kinesiology (M.J.P.), and Department of Psychology (R.S.L.), University of Calgary; Psychology Service (R.S.L.), Alberta Health Service, Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary; Department of Psychiatry (G.A.E.), Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Psychology and Neuroscience (G.A.E.), Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Program for Pregnancy and Postpartum Health, Physical Activity and Diabetes Laboratory (M.H.D.), Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, Women and Children's Health Research Institute, Alberta Diabetes Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. poulin@ucalgary.ca.

PMID: 32404355
PMCID: PMC7357295
DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000009478

Erratum in

Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults.
[No authors listed] [No authors listed] Neurology. 2020 Nov 10;95(19):890. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010637. Epub 2020 Aug 11. Neurology. 2020. PMID: 32788246 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that aerobic exercise is associated with improvements in cognition and cerebrovascular regulation, we enrolled 206 healthy low-active middle-aged and older adults (mean ± SD age 65.9 ± 6.4 years) in a supervised 6-month aerobic exercise intervention and assessed them before and after the intervention.

Methods: The study is a quasi-experimental single group pre/postintervention study. Neuropsychological tests were used to assess cognition before and after the intervention. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to measure cerebral blood flow velocity. Cerebrovascular regulation was assessed at rest, during euoxic hypercapnia, and in response to submaximal exercise. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between changes in cognition and changes in cerebrovascular function.

Results: The intervention was associated with improvements in some cognitive domains, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cerebrovascular regulation. Changes in executive functions were negatively associated with changes in cerebrovascular resistance index (CVRi) during submaximal exercise (β = -0.205, p = 0.013), while fluency improvements were positively associated with changes in CVRi during hypercapnia (β = 0.106, p = 0.03).

Conclusion: The 6-month aerobic exercise intervention was associated with improvements in some cognitive domains and cerebrovascular regulation. Secondary analyses showed a novel association between changes in cognition and changes in cerebrovascular regulation during euoxic hypercapnia and in response to submaximal exercise.

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Figures

**Figure 1. Flowchart of Brain in Motion study participants**

**Figure 2. Boxplots of changes before and after 6 months of aerobic exercise intervention in executive functions/concept formation and fluency, V̇o₂max, and resting baseline CBF outcomes**
CBF = cerebral blood flow; CVC = cerebrovascular conductance; CVR = cerebrovascular resistance. ****p < 0.0001, ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults

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Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults

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Erratum in

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