Exercise for the heart may also protect the mind

Date: Aug-26-2014 It would appear that aerobic exercise may do more than just preserve our cardiovascular

health - it may also keep our minds sharp as we age. This was the conclusion of a new study from

Canada that found links between aerobic fitness and brain function in older adults.

The researchers, including first author Dr. Claudine Gauthier and others from the University

of Montreal, report their findings in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

Dr. Gauthier, now a post-doctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and

Brain Sciences in Germany, explains:

"Our body's arteries stiffen with age, and the vessel hardening is believed to begin in the

aorta, the main vessel coming out of the heart, before reaching the brain. Indeed, the hardening

may contribute to cognitive changes that occur during a similar time frame."

Older adults with more elastic aortas performed better on mental tests

She and her fellow researchers studied a group of older adults and found the ones whose aortas

were in better condition and who were aerobically fitter did better on a cognitive test:

A group of older adults who were aerobically fitter performed better on a cognitive test, researchers say.

"We therefore think that the preservation of vessel elasticity may be one of the mechanisms

that enables exercise to slow cognitive aging," she adds.

They studied two groups of physically and mentally healthy participants: 31 younger people

aged 18-30 and 54 older adults aged 55-75.

They were interested in comparing not only the younger to the older group, but also to make

comparisons within each age group.

All participants underwent physical and mental tests. For the physical tests, they worked hard

on workout machines while the researchers measured their maximum oxygen intake over 30-second

periods. And for the mental test, they performed a Stroop effect task - a scientifically validated

test researchers often use to measure cognitive ability.

In the Stroop effect test, the participant is shown the names of different colors, such as RED,

YELLOW, BLUE, and so on, with each word printed in a color that is not the color meant by the

word. Thus, RED might be printed in blue, and YELLOW might be printed in red. The participant has

to shout out the color of the print and not the printed word.

The participants also underwent three MRI scans: one measured blood flow to the brain, another

measured brain activity during the Stroop task, and the third measured the stiffness of the aorta.

The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body - it carries oxygen-rich blood away from the

heart to the rest of the body.

The researchers found evidence of age-related declines in brain executive function, elasticity

of the aorta and cardiorespiratory fitness. They also found links between vascular health and

brain function, and aerobic fitness and brain function.

Method could be adapted to study links in less healthy populations

Dr. Gauthier says this is the first study to report using MRI in this way:

"It enabled us to find even subtle effects in this healthy population, which suggests that

other researchers could adapt our test to study vascular-cognitive associations within less

healthy and clinical populations."

She notes that although other, more complex mechanisms may also link cardiovascular fitness and

the health of blood vessels in the brain, "overall these results support the hypothesis that

lifestyle helps maintain the elasticity of arteries, thereby preventing downstream

cerebrovascular damage and resulting in preserved cognitive abilities in later life."

Funding for the study came from a number of sources, including the Canadian Institutes for

Health Research, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian National Sciences and

Engineering Research Council, and the Ministère du développement économique, de l'innovation et

de l'exportation.

Meanwhile, in another recently published study led by Stanford University, Medical News

Today learned how physical activity cuts the risk of irregular

heartbeat in older women. The researchers found the more physically active the women were,

the lower the chance they would develop atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes

arrhythmia.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

View all articles written by Catharine, or follow her on:

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.