Older adults who are on a lifelong aerobic training have better memory and motor control. That's what a study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine has to say!
The study tried to note the differences between ten Masters athletes and ten sedentary people in the areas of brain structure and cognitive function. They had similar education levels and they belonged to the same age group, the average age being 73 years.
Better white matter fiber integrity was observed in those athletes who took part in competitive aerobic training for at least 15 years compared to what was observed in the non-athletes. This integrity came to be observed in the brain areas that are related with working memory, motor control, visuomotor and visuospatial attention and motor learning.
According to Benjamin Tseng, Ph.D., lead author this study, "As the U.S. population ages, maintaining cognitive vitality and preventing dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, in older adults should be a priority for public health. Previously, we found that brain tissue volume appears to be better preserved in Masters athletes in brain regions associated with motor control."
The current study was designed to shed light on the role of aerobic exercise in preserving the integrity of white matter in the brain. The researchers deployed magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, to measure brain structures and functioning.
The study subjects had to undergo a strict screening to rule out neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Tseng said that a similar research is being conducted to find out the impact of aerobic exercises on the preservation of brain structure and functioning in senior people with slight cognitive impairment.
