Adding to the growing body of evidence that exercise benefits brain health, walking increases connectivity between and among three brain networks, including one associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.
The study, published this month in the journal Alzheimer’s Disease Reports, looked at the brains of older adults with normal brain function and the ability to recall stories and mild cognitive impairment, a slight decline in mental abilities such as memory, reasoning, and judgment, and a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
“Historically, the brain networks we studied in this study have shown deterioration over time in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease,” said J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology professor in the School of Public Health and the study’s principal investigator “They become disconnected, and as a result, people lose the ability to think clearly and remember things. We’re demonstrating that exercise training strengthens these connections.”
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The research builds on Smith’s previous research, which showed how walking can reduce cerebral blood flow and improve brain function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
33 participants, aged between 71 and 85, walked under supervision on a treadmill four days a week for 12 weeks. Before and after this exercise procedure, the researchers asked the participants to read a short story and then repeat it aloud with as much detail as possible.
Participants also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) so researchers could measure changes in communication between and among three brain networks that control cognitive function:
The default mode network — activated when a person isn’t doing a specific task (daydreaming about the grocery list) — is connected to the hippocampus — one of the first brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also where tests show Alzheimer’s and amyloid plaques, the main suspect in Alzheimer’s disease, found around nerve cells.
Frontoparietal Network — Controls decisions made when a person completes a task. It also involves memory.
Salience network — monitors the external world and stimuli and then decides which ones deserve attention. It facilitates switching between networks to optimize performance.
After 12 weeks of exercise, the researchers repeated the tests and saw significant improvements in the participants’ ability to recall stories.
“Brain activity was stronger and more coherent, showing exercise could actually induce brain change and adaptability,” Smith said. “These findings provide more hope that exercise may be effective as a means of preventing or stabilizing mild cognitive impairment and, in the long term, delaying their transition to Alzheimer’s dementia.”
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