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Benefits of physical exercise on basic visuo-motor functions across age
Marika Berchicci1, Giuliana Lucci2, Rinaldo Livio Perri3
1Department of Human Movement, Social and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico" , Rome , Italy.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
|March 28, 2014
Summary
Older adults rely on prefrontal cortex (PFC) engagement for simple tasks, but physical exercise may reduce this age-related cognitive demand. Exercise benefits sensorimotor decline by influencing PFC activity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Motor performance declines with age due to multi-level dysfunction.
- Older adults show age-related differences in executive functions, increasing reliance on cognitive control and the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
- Previous research indicated significant age-related differences in PFC activity during complex discriminative tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation and response times (RTs) during a simple response task (SRT).
- To examine the association between physical exercise, PFC activation, and RTs in different age groups.
- To determine if PFC engagement is necessary for elementary tasks in older adults and if exercise mitigates this.
Main Methods:
- 84 healthy participants (19-86 years) performed a simple response task (SRT).
- Simultaneous behavioral (RTs) and electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were conducted.
- Participants were categorized into young, middle-aged, and older cohorts, further divided into exercise and non-exercise sub-cohorts based on self-report.
Main Results:
- Behavioral data revealed age-related slowing of RTs.
- EEG results demonstrated a significant interaction between age and exercise on PFC activity.
- Older adults required PFC engagement for the SRT, unlike younger adults.
Conclusions:
- The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is engaged in older adults even for elementary tasks, unlike younger adults.
- Physical exercise may reduce the age-related reliance on extra cognitive control during simple tasks.
- PFC activity serves as a sensitive indicator of physical exercise benefits on sensorimotor decline.
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