EXERCISE: First Health Fitness

A Good Physical Condition is a Condition of Good Cognition

If the maintenance of a good physical condition in middle age, by the practice of the physical exercise also makes it possible to maintain its cognitive capacity, and thus to optimize its brain form, this good physical form will not be able to completely erase the cognitive decline associated with normal aging or completely eliminate the risk of Alzheimer's disease. But all the same, the studies are multiple to demonstrate this positive cognitive effect of the maintenance of a good physical form. This research from the Boston School of Medicine adds to the evidence in the journal Cortex: a good heart condition helps to keep the brain healthy.

Although this is not the first study to address this association of physical and brain health in old age, this is the first study to specifically demonstrate that "seniors" who score high on cardio-respiratory tests get better learning tests. In doing so the study associates once again the physical form with the cerebral plasticity.

The researchers invited young participants, aged 18-31, healthy and older adults (55-74 years old) of different fitness levels to walk and run on a treadmill. The researchers assessed their cardiorespiratory fitness by measuring the ratio of inhaled and exhaled oxygen to carbon dioxide. Participants also underwent MRI scans during learning and recall tasks. Experience shows that:

Older adults, compared to younger adults, have more difficulty learning and remembering stored data.

Age differences in brain activation are well observed during learning, with older adults showing decreased brain activation in some areas and increased in other areas.

The ability/learning difficulty is directly associated with the level of fitness. In particular, physically fit seniors show better memory performance and patterns of brain activity different from less physically fit counterparts. The increase in cerebral activation in physically fit elderly people is observed mainly in areas primarily affected by aging, suggesting that good physical fitness may curb cognitive decline related to age.

In these healthy seniors, other brain areas also appear to be more active, suggesting that physical fitness can also compensate for age-related "normal" decline through complementary areas and connections.

This study confirms the importance of good cardiovascular health for maintaining cognitive skills with age. The authors remind us that it is beneficial to start the practice of an adapted exercise, whatever the age, even if it is not necessary to wait for this practice, a reversal of the cognitive decline or a zero risk of dementia.