Journal article
White matter plasticity in healthy older adults: The effects of aerobic exercise
NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), Vol.239, pp.118305-118305
10/01/2021
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118305
Abstract
White matter deterioration is associated with cognitive impairment in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease. It is critical to identify interventions that can slow down white matter deterioration. So far, clinical trials have failed to demonstrate the benefits of aerobic exercise on the adult white matter using diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Here, we report the effects of a 6-month aerobic walking and dance interventions (clinical trial NCT01472744) on white matter integrity in healthy older adults (n = 180, 60–79 years) measured by changes in the ratio of calibrated T1- to T2-weighted images (T1w/T2w). Specifically, the aerobic walking and social dance interventions resulted in positive changes in the T1w/T2w signal in late-myelinating regions, as compared to widespread decreases in the T1w/T2w signal in the active control. Notably, in the aerobic walking group, positive change in the T1w/T2w signal correlated with improved episodic memory performance. Lastly, intervention-induced increases in cardiorespiratory fitness did not correlate with change in the T1w/T2w signal. Together, our findings suggest that white matter regions that are vulnerable to aging retain some degree of plasticity that can be induced by aerobic exercise training. In addition, we provided evidence that the T1w/T2w signal may be a useful and broadly accessible measure for studying short-term within-person plasticity and deterioration in the adult human white matter.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- White matter plasticity in healthy older adults: The effects of aerobic exercise
- Creators
- Andrea Mendez Colmenares - Department of Human Development and Family Studies/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, United StatesMichelle W Voss - Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, United StatesJason Fanning - Department of Health and Exercise Sciences, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 27109, United StatesElizabeth A Salerno - Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, United StatesNeha P Gothe - Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United StatesMichael L Thomas - Department of Psychology/Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, United StatesEdward McAuley - Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United StatesArthur F Kramer - Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United StatesAgnieszka Z Burzynska - Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), Vol.239, pp.118305-118305
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118305
- ISSN
- 1053-8119
- eISSN
- 1095-9572
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100007235, name: Colorado State University
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/01/2021
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984095014902771
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