Cognition and brain function in elderly Tai Chi practitioners: A case-control study
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Author Spotlight: Integrating Tai Chi with Mindfulness Training to Achieve an Effective Mind-Body Exercise
Published on: July 14, 2023
Ana Paula Port1, Danilo F Santaella2, Shirley S Lacerda1
1Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE), Av. Albert Einstein, 627/701 - bloco A - 2(o)ss - CEP 05601-901, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Objective:
To compare cognition and brain function in elderly Tai Chi and Water Aerobics practitioners.
Methods:
Eight Tai Chi (TC) and 8 Water Aerobics (WA) practitioners matched by gender, education and age underwent neuropsychological and fMRI scan during attention (Stroop Word Color Task) and working memory (N Back) tasks.
Results:
Groups were similar for demographic and cognitive variables. Besides anxiety (smaller in TC group), there were no differences between groups in neuropsychological variables. During the Stroop Word Color Task, TC group had smaller brain activation in the right intracalcarine cortex, lateral occipital cortex, and occipital pole, than WA. During N back, TC group presented smaller brain activation in the right frontal pole and superior frontal gyrus.
Conclusion:
Despite the small number of participants in this preliminary study, both groups had similar cognitive performance, however the Tai Chi group required less brain activation to perform the attention and memory tasks, therefore they may have a more efficient cognitive performance than Water Aerobics group.
More Related Videos
08:00Studying Brain Function in Children Using Magnetoencephalography
Published on: April 8, 2019
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Chi-square Distribution
Cognitive Dissonance
Chi-square Analysis
The chi-square test was developed by Pearson in 1990.
The first step of performing a Chi-square analysis is to establish a null hypothesis, which assumes that there is no real...
Transfer Function in Control Systems
To derive the transfer function, consider a general nth-order linear time-invariant...
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Finding Critical Values for Chi-Square