Numerous studies show that exercise benefits memory and some show that acute exercise prior to encoding has larger benefits than exercise after encoding. This study was designed to investigate the effects of acute exercise on memory in middle-aged and older adults (Mage = 64.71 years) and to explore the influence of the timing of the exercise on these effects. Using a within-subjects design, moderate-intensity exercise (20 min) was either not performed (control), performed before the task (exercise prior), or performed after the task (exercise post). Memory was assessed using the Rey Auditory Learning Verbal Test. For short- and long-term memory and learning, significantly more words were remembered in the exercise-prior condition than the others. For 24-hr recall, participants remembered significantly more words in the exercise-prior condition than exercise post, which was better than control. Exercise benefits memory for healthy middle-aged and older adults, with the greatest benefits when performed prior to encoding.
Background During the COVID-19 epidemic, opportunities for social interaction and physical activity among older people are decreasing, which may have a negative impact on their health. As a solution, a web-based group exercise program provided through a videoconferencing platform would be useful. As a web-based exercise program that older adults can easily, safely, and enjoyably perform at home, we developed a short-duration, light-intensity aerobic dance exercise program. Before studying the effectiveness of this exercise program, its characteristics, such as feasibility, safety, enjoyment, and system usability, should be examined among older adults. Objective This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility, safety, and enjoyment of a web-based aerobic dance exercise program and the usability of a web-based exercise delivery system using a videoconferencing platform for older adults. Methods This study was designed as a prospective single-arm pilot study. A total of 16 older adults participated in an 8-week web-based aerobic dance program held every morning (8:30 AM to 8:50 AM) on weekdays at home. Retention and adherence rates were measured for the program’s feasibility. Safety was assessed by the heart rate reserve, an index of exercise intensity calculated from heart rate, and the number of adverse events during exercise sessions. Enjoyment of this exercise program was assessed by an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not enjoyable at all) to 10 (extremely enjoyable) obtained through telephone interviews after the first-, third-, sixth-, and eighth-week intervention. For usability, the ease of the videoconferencing platform system was assessed through telephone interviews after the intervention. Results A female participant with hypertension dropped out in the second week because of the continuously reported high blood pressure (≥180 mmHg) before attending the exercise session in the first week. Therefore, the retention rate was 93.8% (15/16). Among the remaining participants, the median (IQR) overall adherence rate was 97.4% (94.7-100). Regarding safety, the mean (SD) heart rate reserve during the aerobic dance exercise was 29.8% (6.8%), showing that the exercise was relatively safe with very light to light intensity. There were no adverse events during the exercise session. The enjoyment score (0-10 points) significantly increased from the first (6.7 [1.7]) to sixth (8.2 [1.3]) and eighth week (8.5 [1.3]). Regarding usability, 11 participants reported difficulties at the beginning, such as basic touch panel operations and the use of unfamiliar applications; however, all got accustomed to it and subsequently reported no difficulty. Conclusions This study showed high feasibility, enjoyment, and safety of the web-based aerobic dance exercise program in older adults, and the web-based exercise delivery system may have areas for improvement, albeit without serious problems. Our web-based aerobic dance exercise program may contribute to an increase in physical and social activities among older adults.
ObjectivePrevious studies have suggested a positive association between physical activity (PA) and executive function in older adults. However, they did not adequately consider the compositional nature of daily time use and accumulated PA patterns. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between intensity or accumulated PA patterns and executive functions (inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) in community-dwelling older adults, considering the interaction of daily time spent in PA, sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep.MethodThis cross-sectional study used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial on the effect of exercise on cognitive function conducted between 2021 and 2022. Data from 76 community-dwelling older adults were used in the analysis. The time spent in PA and SB was assessed using an accelerometer, and sleep duration was self-reported. The Stroop task (inhibitory control), N-back task (working memory), and task-switching task (cognitive flexibility) were conducted to evaluate the subcomponents of executive function. Considering various potential confounders, compositional multiple linear regression analysis and compositional isotemporal substitution were performed to examine the association of PA with executive function and to estimate predicted changes in executive function in response to the hypothetical time-reallocation of movement behaviors, respectively.ResultsA longer time spent in light-intensity PA (LPA), relative to remaining behaviors, was associated with better Stroop task performance. Moreover, this association was stronger in LPA lasting longer than 10 min than in sporadic LPA. Additionally, theoretical 30 min/day time reallocation from SB or sleep to LPA was associated with better Stroop task performance (corresponding to approximately a 5%−10% increase). On the other hand, no significant associations of time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA with any subcomponents of executive function were observed.ConclusionLPA was positively associated with inhibitory control, and this association was stronger in bouts of LPA than in sporadic LPA. Moreover, reducing the time spent in SB or sleep and increasing the time spent in LPA, especially long-bout LPA, could be important measures for managing inhibitory control in late life. Future large longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm these associations and reveal the causality and underlying mechanisms.
BackgroundThinning of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) is implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Though some evidence suggests ApolipoproteinE (APOE) ε4 carriers (ε4+) have thinner PCCs than non‐carriers (ε4‐), the evidence is conflicting and lacks association with learning outcomes relevant to AD.MethodA subset from an ongoing clinical trial (NIH/NIA: R01AG058919) was used for analyses and included 26 ε4+ (73% female, Agemean=55.81±5.53) and 42 ε4‐ (88% female, Agemean= 57.54±5.10), who were all cognitively normal, sedentary, and had a family history of AD. Genetic sampling was completed via passive drool. Structural MRI was completed to assess PCC cortical thickness, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT) was used to assess learning. Brain segmentation was completed with Freesurfer’s automated pipeline, and left and right PCC cortical thickness was extracted for analysis. A learning over trials (LOT) composite score from the AVLT was calculated to represent learning. An analysis of covariance was completed to assess the effect of carrier status on left/right PCC thickness, controlling for age and sex. Linear regressions were completed to assess main effects and interaction of carrier status and left/right PCC thickness in predicting LOT when controlling for age and sex.Resultε4+ had less cortical thickness in the left PCC (F(1,64)=5.07, p=.03), but not the right PCC (p=.33), relative to ε4‐. Carrier status predicted LOT (Left: F(1,62)=10.37, p<.01; Right: F(1,62)=10.66, p<.01), however this was superseded by significant interactions between carrier status and PCC thickness predicting LOT (Left: F(1,62)=10.72, p<.01; Right: F(1, 62)=11.10, p<.01), with post‐hoc analyses demonstrating PCC thickness predicts LOT for ε4+ (Left:β=‐21.07, p=.04; Right:β=‐24.33, p<.01), but not ε4‐ (p’s>.09).ConclusionIn cognitively normal sedentary adults with a family history of AD, carrying the APOE ε4 allele was associated with a thinner left PCC. Further, thinner bilateral PCCs in ε4+ were associated with greater learning during the AVLT task. This suggests that ε4+ may have compensatory neural pathways to account for losses in the PCC, which temporarily bolster learning to delay the onset of AD. However, additional research is needed to continue understanding the neural mechanisms affected by carrying the APOE ε4 allele.
BACKGROUND COVID-19 has decreased the opportunities for older adults to be socially interactive and physically active, which could cause detrimental effects on their physical and mental functions. As a measure for this situation, a home-based online exercise program provided through video-conferencing could improve the inactive lifestyles of older adults. We developed a short duration of an acute light-intensity aerobic dance exercise program online for older adults. Prior to studying the effectiveness of this exercise program and online system, their characteristics, such as feasibility, practicability, and usability, should be examined in older adults. OBJECTIVE This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility, practicality, usability, and effectiveness of a home-based online aerobic dance exercise program provided through a video-conferencing platform for older adults. METHODS This study was designed as a prospective single-arm pilot study. Sixteen older adults participated in an eight-week home-based online exercise class held every morning (8:30 ~ 8:50 a.m.) from Monday to Friday. Retention and adherence rates of the exercise class to measure feasibility, enjoyment, and safety (adverse events, exercise intensity) of the exercise program to assess practicability, ease of the video-conference platform system for usability, and one’s change in mental health (Japanese short version of the Profile of Mood States Second Edition [POMS-2] and Geriatric Depression Scale-Short form Japanese [GDS-S-J]) for effectiveness were examined in older adults. RESULTS Results: One of 16 participants dropped out of the class, resulting in a retention rate of 94 %. Of the remaining 15 participants, the median (interquartile range) overall adherence rate was 97.4% (94.7-100). The enjoyment score of the program significantly increased from the first to the sixth and eighth weeks of the class. Regarding safety, none of the participants reported any adverse events related to the program during the whole intervention. The mean (SD) heart rate (HR) and HR reserve (HRR) during the exercise session were 93.4 (5.7) beats per minute (bpm) and 29.8% (6.8), respectively. As for the usability of the system, some participants reported certain difficulties in using the platform during the first week of the class; however, all the participants got used to it subsequently and reported no difficulty. Regarding changes in mental health, the score of vigor in POMS showed a significant positive increase from pre- to post-intervention (P < .001). No significant changes in the scores of other POMS-2 subscales and GDS-S-J were observed. CONCLUSIONS The present study showed high feasibility and practicability of the online aerobic dance exercise program, alongside high usability of the online delivery system in older adults. Moreover, the intervention may increase positive mood. These results suggest that our exercise program and its delivery system may contribute to older adults’ increase in physical activity in daily life during COVID-19.
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