Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Memory in Older Adults
Author Information
Author(s): Hayley S. Ripperger, Rebecca G. Reed, Chaeryon Kang, Alina Lesnovskaya, Sarah L. Aghjayan, Haiqing Huang, Lu Wan, Bradley P. Sutton, Lauren Oberlin, Audrey M. Collins, Jeffrey M. Burns, Eric D. Vidoni, Arthur F. Kramer, Edward McAuley, Charles H. Hillman, George A. Grove, John M. Jakicic, Kirk I. Erickson
Primary Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Hypothesis
Higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with larger total hippocampal volumes and specific hippocampal subfield volumes, which in turn relate to better episodic memory performance.
Conclusion
Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is linked to greater hippocampal volume and better episodic memory in older adults.
Supporting Evidence
- Higher CRF was significantly associated with greater total left and right hippocampal volume.
- CRF was positively associated with left CA2 and dentate gyrus volume.
- CRF was positively associated with right CA1, CA2, and subiculum volume.
- Sex moderated the association between CRF and left DG volume, significant only for males.
- Total left hippocampal volume and right subiculum volume mediated the relationship between CRF and episodic memory performance.
Takeaway
If you exercise and have good heart fitness, your brain's memory area can be bigger and work better as you get older.
Methodology
Participants completed a graded exercise test to assess CRF, cognitive testing, and high-resolution MRI of the hippocampus.
Potential Biases
Potential selection bias due to exclusion criteria and the specific demographic characteristics of the sample.
Limitations
The sample was predominantly female, highly educated, and mostly White, which may limit generalizability.
Participant Demographics
Participants were aged 65-80, 72% female, with an average of 16.3 years of education.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p=0.006 for total right hippocampal volume
Confidence Interval
95% CI (0.0002, 0.00) for total left hippocampal volume
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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