I’ve written about the benefits of exercise for years.  Including the fact that weekend warriors get the same benefit for time and intensity and those who routinely exercise.

Now, there’s a new study that demonstrates that ‘alte kakers’  (that’s me and my buddies who are in their 70s and 80s) benefit from exercise, too.  That’s right even if we haven’t participated in such activities in the past, current participation in exercise can benefit by alleviating some cognitive decline- besides helping us get into shape.

This new study was led by Dr. J Carson Smith (Professor of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park) and was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.  [Exercise Training and Functional Connectivity Changes in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Healthy Elders]  (His co-oauthors were Theresa Chirles, Lauren Weiss, and Alfonso Alfini of the University of Maryland, along with Katherine Reiter and Kristy Nelson of Marquette University.)  The study involved 33 volunteers (1/2 of whom manifested cognitive decline).  Moreover, half of these underwent supervised gym training, with the other half remaining inactive.

We have long  known that mental agility begins to decline in middle age- and then accelerates from that point.  This is substantiated with brain scans that depict that the structure and function of our brains begins to fray in middle age.  What we notice is that neurons weaken (often die), and synapses (the connections between individual neurons) decay.

In particular, the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) [precuneus region of the brain] is the hub for a slew of neuronal networks.  The PCC integrates and disperses brain signals, so it’s not surprising that a decay in connectivity in this region would be associated with memory loss and amyloid accumulation (mild cognitive impairment [MCI] and Alzheimer’s).  This could mean we could use reduced connectivity to the PCC as a biomarker for MCI, long before it cognitive decline manifests itself.

For the baseline results, participants completed both physiological and mental testing.  These ranged from listening to a story (and being tested for their recall of the features) to an MRI scan that would  analyze the electrical activity in various portions of their brains.

Then, the exercise program was instituted for half the cohort (supervised gym visits four times weekly, 30 minute brisk walks, etc.)   While the rest of the cohort remained inactive.

After four months, the physiologic and mental tests were repeated.  The results were most intriguing- those participants who exercised scored better on the cognitive tests.   Those who were sedentary did not manifest any improvement in the tests.

But, more to the point, the brains of those who exercised had changed.  Prior to the exercise regimen, the brain scans depicted scatter shot connections between and among the brain networks.   But after the regimen, the brain scans demonstrated whole networks lighting up at the same time (which indicates better thinking).

The study also means we should start exercising early- before we manifest mental decline, which will provide even more benefits from our exercises.

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