MSGID: 1:317/3 6470360a   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Study finds brain connectivity, memory improves in older adults after   
   walking    
      
     Date:   
         May 25, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Maryland   
     Summary:   
         Regular walks strengthen connections in and between brain networks,   
         according to new research, adding to growing evidence linking   
         exercise with slowing the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The study   
         examined the brains and story recollection abilities of older adults   
         with normal brain function and those diagnosed with mild cognitive   
         impairment, which is a slight decline in mental abilities like   
         memory, reasoning and judgment and a risk factor for Alzheimer's.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   A new University of Maryland School of Public Health study reveals how   
   walking strengthens connections within and between three of the brain's   
   networks, including one associated with Alzheimer's disease, adding to   
   the growing evidence that exercise improves brain health.   
      
   Published this month in the Journal for Alzheimer's Disease Reports,   
   the study examined the brains and story recollection abilities of older   
   adults with normal brain function and those diagnosed with mild cognitive   
   impairment, which is a slight decline in mental abilities like memory,   
   reasoning and judgment and a risk factor for Alzheimer's.   
      
   "Historically, the brain networks we studied in this research show   
   deterioration over time in people with mild cognitive impairment and   
   Alzheimer's disease," said J. Carson Smith, a kinesiology professor with   
   the School of Public Health and principal investigator of the study. "They   
   become disconnected, and as a result, people lose their ability to think   
   clearly and remember things. We're demonstrating that exercise training   
   strengthens these connections."  The study builds upon Smith's previous   
   research, which showed how walking may decrease cerebral blood flow and   
   improve brain function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.   
      
   Thirty-three participants, who ranged between 71 and 85 years old, walked   
   while supervised on a treadmill four days a week for 12 weeks. Before   
   and after this exercise regimen, researchers asked participants to read a   
   short story and then repeat it out loud with as many details as possible.   
      
   Participants also underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)   
   so researchers could measure changes in communication within and between   
   the three brain networks that control cognitive function:   
       * Default mode network- Activates when a person isn't doing a   
       specific task   
         (think daydreaming about the grocery list) and is connected to   
         the hippocampus -- one of the first brain regions affected by   
         Alzheimer's disease. It's also where Alzheimer's and amyloid   
         plaques, a prime suspect for Alzheimer's disease found around   
         nerve cells, show up in tests.   
      
       * Frontoparietal network -- Regulates decisions made when a person is   
         completing a task. It also involves memory.   
      
       * Salience network -- Monitors the external world and stimuli and then   
         decides what deserves attention. It also facilitates switching   
         between networks to optimize performance.   
      
   After 12 weeks of exercise, researchers repeated the tests and saw   
   significant improvements in participants' story recall abilities.   
      
   "The brain activity was stronger and more synchronized, demonstrating   
   exercise actually can induce the brain's ability to change and adapt,"   
   Smith said.   
      
   "These results provide even more hope that exercise may be useful as a   
   way to prevent or help stabilize people with mild cognitive impairment   
   and maybe, over the long term, delay their conversion to Alzheimer's   
   dementia."  Researchers also observed stronger activity within the default   
   mode network, within the salience network and in the connections between   
   the three networks.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Alzheimer's_Research # Healthy_Aging # Fitness #   
                   Nervous_System   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Dementia # Intelligence # Alzheimer's #   
                   Disorders_and_Syndromes   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Alzheimer's_disease o Dementia_with_Lewy_bodies o Dementia   
             o Memory o Social_cognition o Seizure o Psychology o Brain   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Maryland. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Junyeon Won, Kristy A. Nielson, J. Carson Smith. Large-Scale Network   
         Connectivity and Cognitive Function Changes After Exercise   
         Training in Older Adults with Intact Cognition and Mild Cognitive   
         Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, 2023; 7 (1):   
         399 DOI: 10.3233/ADR-220062   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230525135932.htm   
      
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