The relationship between different exercise modes and visuospatial working memory in older adults: a cross-sectional...

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Exercise Science
• Gerontology

Background:

• Visuospatial working memory declines with age.
• Physical activity is increasingly recognized for its cognitive benefits in older adults.
• Understanding the specific effects of different exercise types is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between different exercise modes and visuospatial working memory in healthy older adults.
• To determine if exercise benefits passive memory maintenance or active manipulation.
• To explore the differential impact of open-skill versus closed-skill exercise.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study with 111 healthy older adults.
• Participants categorized into open-skill, closed-skill, or sedentary groups.
• Visuospatial working memory assessed via tasks measuring accuracy, passive maintenance (short-term memory), and active manipulation (mental rotation).

Main Results:

• Both closed-skill and open-skill exercise groups showed higher accuracy than the sedentary group.
• The open-skill group demonstrated superior performance in passive visuospatial short-term memory compared to the sedentary group.
• No significant differences were found in visuospatial mental rotation tasks between groups.

Conclusions:

• Physical exercise is associated with improved visuospatial working memory in older adults.
• Open-skill exercises, requiring higher cognitive engagement, selectively benefit passive memory maintenance.
• Exercise interventions may be tailored to enhance specific aspects of cognitive function in aging populations.