Resting-state brain activity and association with physical activity.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Normal aging alters brain network functional connectivity, potentially accelerating cognitive decline.
• Physical activity is a key lifestyle factor for cognitive health in older adults.
• Neural mechanisms linking physical activity to brain changes require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between resting-state functional connectivity, physical activity, and cognitive performance in healthy older adults.
• To explore how different intensities of physical activity impact brain networks related to cognitive and motor functions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of resting-state fMRI, physical activity (actigraphy), and neuropsychological data from 149 healthy older adults (mean age 68).
• Categorization of physical activity into moderate-to-vigorous intensity using Euclidean norm minus one values.
• Application of seed-based and independent component analysis (ICA) to examine brain network activity.

Main Results:

• Seed-based analyses revealed no significant associations between physical activity and brain network connectivity.
• Independent component analyses indicated spatially restricted effects of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in frontal regions of the default mode and salience networks (p < 0.01 uncorrected).

Conclusions:

• Physical activity intensity was not significantly associated with resting-state functional connectivity in healthy older adults.
• These findings contrast with previous cross-sectional studies suggesting a link between physical activity and brain connectivity.