Week 12 Exercise and Cognitive Function PDF

Exercise and Cognitive Function KINESIOL 3H03 Dr. Ross Murray Week #12 Nov. 19, 2024 mcmaster.ca  Announcements and Updates I. Test #2 – Nov 26th 10:30pm – 11:30pm I. Testable content = material from 2nd...

Exercise and Cognitive Function KINESIOL 3H03 Dr. Ross Murray Week #12 Nov. 19, 2024 mcmaster.ca  Announcements and Updates I. Test #2 – Nov 26th 10:30pm – 11:30pm I. Testable content = material from 2nd half of the course II. Assignment #4 due Friday (+3 days extension) III. Final Assignment Due Fri Dec 6th @ 11:59 pm I. Assignment posted tomorrow on Avenue IV. Final Interview with a Scientist (Michelle Ogrodnik) posted I. Due Dec 11th at 11:59pm V. Drop date extended – If you wish to drop see Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies office (BSB 136) no later than Friday November 22, 2024 Lecture Outline Exercise and Cognitive Function Movement and the Brain - an Evolutionary Perspective Acute exercise and cognitive function Exercise Training and the Aging Brain Multimodal Training – Exercise + Cognitive Training The Brain Evolved to Facilitate Movement The brain evolved to facilitate MOVEMENT! Movement Requires Cognitive Function: Constant surveillance of environment & updating Rapid decision making High degree of coordination Early Humans Had To: Move about large distances to find food, water, and safety Learn & remember the successful strategies Socially coordinate and cooperate Raichlen & Alexander (2018) Trends in Neuroscience Exercise and the Brain During Exercise Neural firing Cerebral blood flow Acute Effects After Exercise Chronic Effects of Exercise Training Arousal  Brain plasticity Circulating BDNF  Improved cognition Cognitive Function  Improved mental health  Reduced risk of neurological Feelings of Wellbeing disease Contributing Factors to Improved Cognition Exercise Duration  Exercise Duration Participants: young, healthy males Exercise: continuous cycling @ 65% HRR for 10, 20, & 45 min Control: 30 min of quietly reading Chang et al., 2015 MSSE   Exercise Contributing Factors to Improved Cognition Intensity Exercise Intensity Inverted-U Relationship b/w Intensity and Cognition Catecholamine Hypothesis: Arousal & Performance – Exercise increases release of dopamine & catecholamines (reticular formation) – Proposed driver of improved cognition with acute exercise – Inverted-U relationship… – Over-arousal @ high intensity leads to worsening or less optimal performance However… not the same for everyone! Ludyga 2016 Psychophysiol What factor(s) may impact the cognitive response to high arousal? (think Cross-Stressor Adaptation Hypothesis)  Physical Fitness Buffers Over-Arousal @ High Intensity Exercise Fitness buffers against over-arousal… cognition improves during and after high-intensity exercise Brain adapts to repeated physiological stress of exercise Better equipped to handle high intensity stressor… Reactivity? Recovery? Hippocampal neurogenesis likely involved in adaptation # Items Processed ICV = inhibitory control performance (lower is better) Budde et al. (2012) Arch Med Research Labelle et al. (2013) Brain & Cog Contributing Factors to Improved Cognition with Acute Exercise Other Factors  Testing Timing  Cognitive Domains  Participants (post-exercise) 0-10 min Executive Functions +++ Age? 11-20 min ++ Processing Speed + Fitness? 20+ min + Working Memory + Chang 2012 Brain Research Verburgh 2014 BJSM Ludyga 2016 Psychophysiol Brief Summary Movement and brain health intimately connected Acute exercise primes the brain for subsequent cognitive activity 11-20 min post-exercise Executive functions 20 min exercise bout Intensity? Physical fitness buffers negative effects of over-arousal with high intensity exercise Buffering is likely due to neurogenesis in the hippocampus Acute Bouts of Physical Activity Improve Brain Function Acute exercise in children with and without ADHD 20 minutes treadmill exercise or reading Immediate improvements in selective attention Increased brain activity (EEG) during cognitive test Significantly improved on standardized academic tests post-exercise Pontifex et al., 2013 Modified TABATA Protocol 20 s ON : 10 s OFF Repeat 4 interval per exercise 1 min rest in between exercises types  Results Faster processing speed following HIIE trial Fewer errors following HIIE trial The d2 Test of Attention Greater speed and accuracy on measures of selective attention following HIIE  Applying HIIE in a ‘Real-World’ Setting Can improved selective attention improve lecture retention? Performed HIIE or control before exercise physiology lecture Wrote a quiz related to lecture material 24-hrs later No difference b/w HIIE and Control on lecture retention quiz Walsh et al. 2018. Int. J Exer Sci 11(5) Brief Summary Improvements in cognition following acute exercise may translate to improved academic performance Appears to have long-term benefit Probably depends on the academic task / how its measured… Benefits kids that need it most! Greater impact on children with ADHD Exercise is not always beneficial for cognition Acute exercise in extreme environments can impair cognition Hypoxia, Heat, Cold, Pollution 1 year Intervention Group 1: 40 min of walking @ moderate intensity – 3x per week Group 2: 40 min of stretching 3x per week Exercise group Stretching group Hippocampal growth positively correlated with increased levels of BDNF Likely mechanism underlying exercise-induced brain plasticity in older adults  Flanker Task 1-year of resistance training in older women (65-75 yrs) Group 1: once per week Group 2: twice per week Both Groups Significantly improved executive functions Selective attention Conflict resolution Group 2 brain activity during Flanker task (measured via fMRI) Resistance training = brain resources that support cognition during a challenging task Brief Summary Exercise protects brain against age-related atrophy… AND stimulates neurogenesis in hippocampus Hippocampal growth associated w/ improved memory Function follows form! Hippocampal growth associated w/ increased BDNF The effect of exercise training is more pronounced with advancing age More Than Movement… Neurons that fire together, wire together Exercise grows new neurons, enrichment promotes survival  Does the order of combined training matter for cognitive improvement? 12-wk intervention (65-75 yr old M&F) 2 single conditions: o PE = 30 min moderate intensity cycling o COG = 30 min computer training program 2 combined conditions: o PE+COG (exercise then cog training) o COG+PE (cog training then exercise)  Exercise + cognitive training improved cognition regardless of order Exercise alone showed the lowest improvement compared to other groups… Possible reasons why exercise alone was less effective? Brief Summary The combination of exercise + cognitive stimulation appears to have an additive effect on cognition May be impacted by the BDNF response to acute exercise (primes the brain) Limitations – training for test taking? Or transferable to other skills?