Ageing, fitness and neurocognitive function

Arthur F. Kramer (), Sowon Hahn, Neal J. Cohen, Marie T. Banich, Edward McAuley, Catherine R. Harrison, Julie Chason, Eli Vakil, Lynn Bardell, Richard A. Boileau and Angela Colcombe
Additional contact information
Arthur F. Kramer: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sowon Hahn: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Neal J. Cohen: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Marie T. Banich: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Edward McAuley: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Catherine R. Harrison: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Julie Chason: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eli Vakil: Bar-Ilan University
Lynn Bardell: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Richard A. Boileau: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Angela Colcombe: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Nature, 1999, vol. 400, issue 6743, 418-419

Abstract: Abstract In the ageing process, neural areas1,2 and cognitive processes3,4 do not degrade uniformly. Executive control processes and the prefrontal and frontal brain regions that support them show large and disproportionate changes with age. Studies of adult animals indicate that metabolic5 and neurochemical6 functions improve with aerobic fitness. We therefore investigated whether greater aerobic fitness in adults would result in selective improvements in executive control processes, such as planning, scheduling, inhibition and working memory. Over a period of six months, we studied 124 previously sedentary adults, 60 to 75 years old, who were randomly assigned to either aerobic (walking) or anaerobic (stretching and toning) exercise. We found that those who received aerobic training showed substantial improvements in performance on tasks requiring executive control compared with anaerobically trained subjects.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/22682

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