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Article of the Day :
27th September, 2006
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana 61801, USA.
BACKGROUND: The human brain gradually loses tissue from the
third decade of life onward, with concomitant declines in
cognitive performance. Given the projected rapid growth in
aged populations, and the staggering costs associated with
geriatric care, identifying mechanisms that may reduce or
reverse cerebral deterioration is rapidly emerging as an
important public health goal. Previous research has
demonstrated that aerobic fitness training improves cognitive
function in older adults and can improve brain health in aging
laboratory animals, suggesting that aerobic fitness may
provide a mechanism to improve cerebral health in aging
humans. We examined the relationship between aerobic fitness
and in vivo brain tissue density in an older adult population,
using voxel-based morphometric techniques. METHODS: We
acquired high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans from
55 older adults. These images were segmented into gray and
white matter maps, registered into stereotaxic space, and
examined for systematic variation in tissue density as a
function of age, aerobic fitness, and a number of other health
markers. RESULTS: Consistent with previous studies of aging
and brain volume, we found robust declines in tissue densities
as a function of age in the frontal, parietal, and temporal
cortices. More importantly, we found that losses in these
areas were substantially reduced as a function of
cardiovascular fitness, even when we statistically controlled
for other moderator variables. CONCLUSIONS: These findings
extend the scope of beneficial effects of aerobic exercise
beyond cardiovascular health, and they suggest a strong solid
biological basis for the benefits of exercise on the brain
health of older adults.
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