White matter plasticity in healthy older adults: The effects of aerobic exercise.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether aerobic walking and dance interventions could improve white matter integrity in healthy older adults.
Results Summary
The study found that aerobic walking and social dance interventions led to positive changes in white matter integrity in late-myelinating regions, with walking also correlating with improved episodic memory performance. Cardiorespiratory fitness improvements did not correlate with white matter changes.
Population
Healthy older adults aged 60-79 years (n = 180).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
6 months
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aerobic walking and dance interventions | increase | T1w/T2w signal in late-myelinating regions | healthy older adults (n = 180, 60-79 years) | - | resulted in positive changes | #1 |
active control | decrease | T1w/T2w signal | healthy older adults (n = 180, 60-79 years) | - | widespread decreases | #2 |
aerobic walking group | increase | episodic memory performance | healthy older adults (n = 180, 60-79 years) | - | positive change correlated with improved | #3 |
intervention-induced increases in cardiorespiratory fitness | no change | T1w/T2w signal | healthy older adults (n = 180, 60-79 years) | - | did not correlate with change | #4 |
White matter deterioration is associated with cognitive impairment in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease. It is critical to identify interventions that can slow down white matter deterioration. So far, clinical trials have failed to demonstrate the benefits of aerobic exercise on the adult white matter using diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Here, we report the effects of a 6-month aerobic walking and dance interventions (clinical trial NCT01472744) on white matter integrity in healthy older adults (n = 180, 60-79 years) measured by changes in the ratio of calibrated T1- to T2-weighted images (T1w/T2w). Specifically, the aerobic walking and social dance interventions resulted in positive changes in the T1w/T2w signal in late-myelinating regions, as compared to widespread decreases in the T1w/T2w signal in the active control. Notably, in the aerobic walking group, positive change in the T1w/T2w signal correlated with improved episodic memory performance. Lastly, intervention-induced increases in cardiorespiratory fitness did not correlate with change in the T1w/T2w signal. Together, our findings suggest that white matter regions that are vulnerable to aging retain some degree of plasticity that can be induced by aerobic exercise training. In addition, we provided evidence that the T1w/T2w signal may be a useful and broadly accessible measure for studying short-term within-person plasticity and deterioration in the adult human white matter.