Study finds brain connectivity, memory improves in older adults after
walking

Date:
May 25, 2023
Source:
University of Maryland
Summary:
Regular walks strengthen connections in and between brain networks,
according to new research, adding to growing evidence linking
exercise with slowing the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The study
examined the brains and story recollection abilities of older adults
with normal brain function and those diagnosed with mild cognitive
impairment, which is a slight decline in mental abilities like
memory, reasoning and judgment and a risk factor for Alzheimer's.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new University of Maryland School of Public Health study reveals how
walking strengthens connections within and between three of the brain's networks, including one associated with Alzheimer's disease, adding to
the growing evidence that exercise improves brain health.

Published this month in the Journal for Alzheimer's Disease Reports,
the study examined the brains and story recollection abilities of older
adults with normal brain function and those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which is a slight decline in mental abilities like memory, reasoning and judgment and a risk factor for Alzheimer's.

"Historically, the brain networks we studied in this research show deterioration over time in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease," said J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology professor with
the School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study. "They become disconnected, and as a result, people lose their ability to think clearly and remember things. We're demonstrating that exercise training strengthens these connections." The study builds upon Smith's previous research, which showed how walking may decrease cerebral blood flow and
improve brain function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Thirty-three participants, who ranged between 71 and 85 years old, walked
while supervised on a treadmill four days a week for 12 weeks. Before
and after this exercise regimen, researchers asked participants to read a
short story and then repeat it out loud with as many details as possible.

Participants also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
so researchers could measure changes in communication within and between
the three brain networks that control cognitive function:
* Default mode network- Activates when a person isn't doing a
specific task
(think daydreaming about the grocery list) and is connected to
the hippocampus -- one of the first brain regions affected by
Alzheimer's disease. It's also where Alzheimer's and amyloid
plaques, a prime suspect for Alzheimer's disease found around
nerve cells, show up in tests.

* Frontoparietal network -- Regulates decisions made when a person is
completing a task. It also involves memory.

* Salience network -- Monitors the external world and stimuli and then
decides what deserves attention. It also facilitates switching
between networks to optimize performance.

After 12 weeks of exercise, researchers repeated the tests and saw
significant improvements in participants' story recall abilities.

"The brain activity was stronger and more synchronized, demonstrating
exercise actually can induce the brain's ability to change and adapt,"
Smith said.

"These results provide even more hope that exercise may be useful as a
way to prevent or help stabilize people with mild cognitive impairment
and maybe, over the long term, delay their conversion to Alzheimer's
dementia." Researchers also observed stronger activity within the default
mode network, within the salience network and in the connections between
the three networks.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Alzheimer's_Research # Healthy_Aging # Fitness #
Nervous_System
o Mind_&_Brain
# Dementia # Intelligence # Alzheimer's #
Disorders_and_Syndromes
* RELATED_TERMS
o Alzheimer's_disease o Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies o Dementia
o Memory o Social_cognition o Seizure o Psychology o Brain

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Maryland. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Junyeon Won, Kristy A. Nielson, J. Carson Smith. Large-Scale Network
Connectivity and Cognitive Function Changes After Exercise
Training in Older Adults with Intact Cognition and Mild Cognitive
Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, 2023; 7 (1):
399 DOI: 10.3233/ADR-220062 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230525135932.htm

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