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Multiple roads lead to Rome: combined high-intensity aerobic and strength training vs. gross motor activities leads to equivalent improvement in executive functions in a cohort of healthy older adults

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Abstract

The effects of physical activity on cognition in older adults have been extensively investigated in the last decade. Different interventions such as aerobic, strength, and gross motor training programs have resulted in improvements in cognitive functions. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and cognition are still poorly understood. Recently, it was shown that acute bouts of exercise resulted in reduced executive control at higher relative exercise intensities. Considering that aging is characterized by a reduction in potential energy (\( \overset{\cdotp }{V}{\mathrm{O}}_2 \) max − energy cost of walking), which leads to higher relative walking intensity for the same absolute speed, it could be argued that any intervention aimed at reducing the relative intensity of the locomotive task would improve executive control while walking. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of a short-term (8 weeks) high-intensity strength and aerobic training program on executive functions (single and dual task) in a cohort of healthy older adults. Fifty-one participants were included and 47 (age, 70.7 ± 5.6) completed the study which compared the effects of three interventions: lower body strength + aerobic training (LBS-A), upper body strength + aerobic training (UBS-A), and gross motor activities (GMA). Training sessions were held 3 times every week. Both physical fitness (aerobic, neuromuscular, and body composition) and cognitive functions (RNG) during a dual task were assessed before and after the intervention. Even though the LBS-A and UBS-A interventions increased potential energy to a higher level (Effect size: LBS-A—moderate, UBS-A—small, GMA—trivial), all groups showed equivalent improvement in cognitive function, with inhibition being more sensitive to the intervention. These findings suggest that different exercise programs targeting physical fitness and/or gross motor skills may lead to equivalent improvement in cognition in healthy older adults. Such results call for further investigation of the multiple physiological pathways by which physical exercise can impact cognition in older adults.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR #209441). LB is supported by the Canadian Research Chair Program. NB received a doctoral scholarship from the Quebec Network for Research on Aging (QNRA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Kinésiologie, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre Ville, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3C 3J7

    Nicolas Berryman & Laurent Bosquet

  2. Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Laboratoire MOVE (EA 6314), Université de Poitiers, 8, Allée Jean Monnet, 86000, Poitiers, France

    Nicolas Berryman & Laurent Bosquet

  3. Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Laboratoire d’étude de la santé cognitive des aînés (LESCA), 4565, Chemin Queen-Mary, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3W 1W5

    Nicolas Berryman, Louis Bherer, Lora Lehr, Florian Bobeuf, Maxime Lussier, Marie Jeanne Kergoat, Thien Tuong Minh Vu & Laurent Bosquet

  4. Centre Perform, Université Concordia, 7200, Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal, QC, Canada, H4B 1R6

    Louis Bherer

  5. Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Réadaptation (CRIR) Institut de Réadaptation Gingras-Lindsay de Montréal (IRGLM), École de Réadaptation - Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, CP 6128, Succ. Centre Ville, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3C 3J7

    Sylvie Nadeau & Séléna Lauzière

  6. Département de Médecine, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Service de Gériatrie, 1058 St-Denis, Montréal, QC, Canada, H2X3J4

    Thien Tuong Minh Vu

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  1. Nicolas Berryman
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Berryman, N., Bherer, L., Nadeau, S. et al. Multiple roads lead to Rome: combined high-intensity aerobic and strength training vs. gross motor activities leads to equivalent improvement in executive functions in a cohort of healthy older adults. AGE 36, 9710 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-014-9710-8

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