An acute bout of aerobic or strength exercise specifically modifies circulating exerkine levels and neurocognitive functions in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Although exercise is an effective way to decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, the biological basis for such benefits from the different exercise modes remains elusive. The present study thus aimed (i) to investigate the effects of acute aerobic or resistance exercise on neurocognitive performances and molecular markers when performing a cognitive task involving executive functioning in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and (ii) to explore relationships of acute exercise-induced neurocognitive changes with changes in circulating levels of neuroprotective growth factors (e.g., BDNF, IGF-1, VEGF, and FGF-2, collectively termed ‘exerkines’), elicited by different acute exercise modes. Sixty-six older adults with aMCI were recruited and randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise (AE) group, a resistance exercise (RE) group, or a non-exercise-intervention (control) group. The behavioral [i.e., accuracy rate (AR) and reaction time (RT)] and electrophysiological [i.e., event-related potential (ERP) P3 latency and amplitude collected from the Fz, Cz, and Pz electrodes] indices were simultaneously measured when participants performed a Flanker task at baseline and after either an acute bout of 30 min of moderate-intensity AE, RE or a control period. Blood samples were taken at three time points, one at baseline (T1) and two after an acute exercise intervention (T2 and T3: before and after cognitive task test, respectively). The results showed that the acute AE and RE not only improved behavioral (i.e., RTs) performance but also increased the ERP P3 amplitudes in the older adults with aMCI. Serum FGF-2 levels did not change with acute aerobic or resistance exercise. However, an acute bout of aerobic exercise significantly increased serum levels of BDNF and IGF-1 and tended to increase serum levels of VEGF in elderly aMCI individuals. Acute resistance exercise increased only serum IGF-1 levels. However, the exercise-induced elevated levels of these molecular markers returned almost to baseline levels in T3 (about 20 min after acute exercise). In addition, changes in the levels of neurotrophic and angiogenic factors were not correlated with changes in RTs and P3 amplitudes. The present findings of changes in neuroprotective growth factors and neurocognitive performances through acute AE or RE suggest that molecular and neural prerequisites for exercise-dependent plasticity are preserved in elderly aMCI individuals. However, the distinct pattern of changes in circulating molecular biomarkers induced by two different exercise modes in aMCI elderly individuals and the potentially interactive mechanisms of the effects of BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF on amyloid-β provide a basis for future long-term exercise intervention to investigate whether AE relative to RE might be more effective in prevention/treatment of an early stage neurodegenerative disease.

Acute Aerobic Exercise Based Cognitive and Motor Priming: Practical Applications and Mechanisms

“…The intensity-dependent increase in serum BDNF has also been positively associated with improved prefrontal cognitive functioning in humans (Hwang et al, 2016). Conversely, Tsai et al (2014Tsai et al ( , 2016Tsai et al ( , 2018 found no relationship between increased BDNF concentrations and improved cognitive performance following 30-min of moderateintensity exercise in both healthy adults and older adults with mild cognitive impairment. Accordingly, these results purport that the circulating BDNF response to exercise is not linked to post-exercise cognitive performance.…”

“…The transient increase in BDNF after acute exercise may explain the lack of correlations with cognitive performance. Therefore, it is possible that the post-exercise timing of the serum BDNF measurements align with the cognitive testing influenced outcomes (Tsai et al, 2018). Alternately, non-BDNF mechanisms (neurotrophins, arousal, hormones) could be responsible for the cognitive changes after exercise.…”

Hacia un envejecimiento saludable: una revisión sistemática sobre la música y el ejercicio físico como factores moduladores

“…Esto puede deberse al hecho que los tratamientos focales requerirían de un nivel de intensidad entre moderado y vigoroso (Borg, 1970) para hallar resultados favorables. Debido a la exigencia que dichas prácticas representan a nivel corporal, y a fin de salvaguardar la salud de los individuos, las investigaciones que cuentan con la participación de AM realizan una selección exhaustiva y minuciosa de la muestra (Kimura & Hozumi, 2012;Tsai et al, 2018). Por ello, hallar una muestra representativa que al mismo tiempo cumpla con todos los requisitos en cuanto a la salubridad esperada, puede resultar una tarea ardua.…”

“…En línea con estos resultados, un trabajo empleó una metodología similar, pero adicionando un grupo de ejercicio no aeróbico de fuerza muscular como tercer tratamiento y evaluando la inhibición cognitiva. Se halló un mejor desempeño en ambos grupos activos en comparación al grupo control(Tsai, Ukropec, Ukropcová, & Pai, 2018). A pesar de los efectos favorables observados mediante las dosis agudas, los autores proponen estudios complementarios, adicionando entrenamientos repetitivos y sostenidos en el tiempo como variable comparativa.…”

“…Finalmente, se encuentran las propuestas de tipo focal, las cuales se caracterizan por la intervención implementada una única vez y/o en un momento determinado de un desempeño cognitivo. En este sentido, el uso de la música de fondo en simultáneo a la realización de una tarea cognitiva ha mostrado ser beneficiosa en tareas de memoria declarativa, velocidad de procesamiento y la calidad de vida de los AM(Bottiroli et al, 2014;Lee et al, 2010).En cuanto a las intervenciones aeróbicas agudas, los estudios mostraron mejoras en la memoria de trabajo y la inhibición cognitiva(Hogan et al, 2013;Kamijo et al, 2009;Tsai et al, 2018). A pesar de que estos trabajos focales han arrojado resultados favorables, las investigaciones que adoptan este tipo de metodología no abundan en la literatura, un hueco que se ha podido observar tanto para las investigaciones sobre música como las de actividad física.Envejecimiento, música y actividad física Actualidades enPsicología, 33(127), julio-diciembre 2019, 113-141…”