TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing aging and fitness effects on brain anatomy
AU - Fletcher, Mark A.
AU - Low, Kathy A.
AU - Boyd, Rachel
AU - Zimmerman, Benjamin
AU - Gordon, Brian A.
AU - Tan, Chin H.
AU - Schneider-Garces, Nils
AU - Sutton, Bradley P.
AU - Gratton, Gabriele
AU - Fabiani, Monica
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Fletcher, Low, Boyd, Zimmerman, Gordon, Tan, Schneider-Garces, Sutton, Gratton and Fabiani.
PY - 2016/6/28
Y1 - 2016/6/28
N2 - Recent studies suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) mitigates the brain’s atrophy typically associated with aging, via a variety of beneficial mechanisms. One could argue that if CRF is generally counteracting the negative effects of aging, the same regions that display the greatest age-related volumetric loss should also show the largest beneficial effects of fitness. To test this hypothesis we examined structural MRI data from 54 healthy older adults (ages 55-87), to determine the overlap, across brain regions, of the profiles of age and fitness effects. Results showed that lower fitness and older age are associated with atrophy in several brain regions, replicating past studies. However, when the profiles of age and fitness effects were compared using a number of statistical approaches, the effects were not entirely overlapping. Interestingly, some of the regions that were most influenced by age were among those not influenced by fitness. Presumably, the age-related atrophy occurring in these regions is due to factors that are more impervious to the beneficial effects of fitness. Possible mechanisms supporting regional heterogeneity may include differential involvement in motor function, the presence of adult neurogenesis, and differential sensitivity to cerebrovascular, neurotrophic and metabolic factors.
AB - Recent studies suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) mitigates the brain’s atrophy typically associated with aging, via a variety of beneficial mechanisms. One could argue that if CRF is generally counteracting the negative effects of aging, the same regions that display the greatest age-related volumetric loss should also show the largest beneficial effects of fitness. To test this hypothesis we examined structural MRI data from 54 healthy older adults (ages 55-87), to determine the overlap, across brain regions, of the profiles of age and fitness effects. Results showed that lower fitness and older age are associated with atrophy in several brain regions, replicating past studies. However, when the profiles of age and fitness effects were compared using a number of statistical approaches, the effects were not entirely overlapping. Interestingly, some of the regions that were most influenced by age were among those not influenced by fitness. Presumably, the age-related atrophy occurring in these regions is due to factors that are more impervious to the beneficial effects of fitness. Possible mechanisms supporting regional heterogeneity may include differential involvement in motor function, the presence of adult neurogenesis, and differential sensitivity to cerebrovascular, neurotrophic and metabolic factors.
KW - Aging
KW - Brain anatomy
KW - Cardiorespiratory fitness
KW - Exercise
KW - Freesurfer
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978269113&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84978269113&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00286
DO - 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00286
M3 - Article
C2 - 27445740
AN - SCOPUS:84978269113
SN - 1662-5161
VL - 10
JO - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
JF - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
M1 - 286
ER -