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The brain is a complex organ in our body with billions of cells that are all connected and form networks. These networks of cells send signals throughout the body that control our body’s processes. One of the processes we carry out every day is called cognition. Cognition is a range of mental processes that relates to how we take in, store, process, change and recall information and, furthermore, how we use this information to guide our actions and behavior. Studies have shown that as we get older there is an associated decline in our cognitive abilities due to the weakening of the connections in our brain. As these networks get weaker and weaker, elderly people are diagnosed with diseases such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s. Both are diseases associated with loss of memory, and changes in behavior and social skills (although MCI is less severe than Alzheimer’s).
Previous studies have suggested that exercise training (ET) can reduce this age-related decline in brain functioning by improving the connections in the brain. However, these past studies have only focused on one area or a group of areas in the brain which limits our understanding of how the functioning of the brain is affected as a whole since there are connections between networks as well as within the networks. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health have investigated the effects of ET on the connections between and within brain networks and if these changes could be associated with improved cognitive performance in two groups of older adults (those with intact cognition and those diagnosed with MCI).
The results the researchers saw indicated that ET enhanced the health of the heart and lungs in older individuals. They also observed that there was a better functioning of the connections that allowed communication between and within networks. They also saw that these changes further translated into improvements in all participants' cognitive functioning, such as memory recall. Researchers have hypothesized that ET is stimulating the brain and leading to the body compensating for age-related damage to brain connections by using its resources to combat this damage. Therefore, ET can preserve cognitive functioning for a more extended period of time.
However, this study has both strengths and limitations in its design. They saw that participants showed high compliance to the walking exercise, which may have also played a role in the improved health of participants, and that their findings were consistent with those of previous studies. However, they used a small sample size. This means that the findings cannot be trusted completely as it has not been tested with a large enough group of people. Going forward, the researchers have stated that their study needs to be replicated to further confirm their findings and a larger sample size should be used in the future.
Works Cited
Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2023, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain. Accessed 29 June 2023.
Mak, Ying. “What Is Cognition?” Cambridge Cognition, 19 Aug. 2015, cambridgecognition.com/what-is-cognition/. Accessed 29 June 2023.
Mayo Clinic. “Alzheimer’s Disease - Symptoms and Causes.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), 26 June 2021, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447. Accessed 29 June 2023.
Science Daily. “Study Finds Brain Connectivity, Memory Improves in Older Adults after Walking.” ScienceDaily, 25 May 2023, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230525135932.htm. Accessed 29 June 2023.
“What Is Mild Cognitive Impairment?” National Institute on Aging, 12 Apr. 2021, www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-mild-cognitive-impairment#:~:text=Some%20older%20adults%20have%20more. Accessed 29 June 2023.
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