Exercise, Executive Processes and the Aging Brain

December 10, 2009 updated by: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of aerobic exercise on the brain and cognition through the measurement of neuroelectric and behavioral indices of executive control cognitive function in older adults.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of factors that relate to the increased health and effective functioning of older adults. Specifically, efficiency of psychomotor performance declines with advancing age leading to profound effects on older adults' quality of life. For this reason, researchers have focused on the influence that individual lifestyle habits have on the aging process. One lifestyle choice that has been found to positively contribute to the efficiency of older adults' psychomotor performance is cardiovascular exercise. This relationship appears to be especially significant when older adults are challenged with more complex or effortful tasks. Previous research has led investigators to believe that aging has a specific, rather than generalized, impact on cognitive functioning. Also, prolonged participation in cardiovascular exercise has been found to maintain the cognitive functioning critical for healthy aging.

Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine the role of an organized 6-month cardiovascular exercise intervention trial on electrocortical (event-related brain potential) and behavioral measures (reaction time) of executive control. In addition, a non-cardiovascular exercise control group that participates in a 6-month stretching and toning program will be used for comparison. Participants will be measured before and after exercise training during engagement in several tasks designed to elicit different executive functions (e.g., discrimination, task switching, inhibition). Each task also contains a non-executive condition that will be used for comparison to examine the specificity of exercise participation of cognitive functioning. A secondary aim of this project is to determine the effects of an acute bout of exercise on cognitive functioning. Both groups will participate in several bouts of exercise followed by immediate measurement on the tasks outlined above to determine whether acute exercise has beneficial effects on executive processes. The significance of this research may include the increased understanding of factors related to the amelioration of age-related decrements in central nervous system functioning and recommendations for the maintenance of cognitive health during the later stages of life.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

100

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801
        • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years to 74 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 60-74 years of age
  • Sedentary (no physical activity in 6 last months)
  • Capable of performing exercise
  • Personal physician's examination and consent to participate in testing and exercise or control intervention
  • Successful completion of graded exercise test without evidence of cardiac abnormalities or responses
  • Adequate performance on the Mental Status measure
  • Corrected (near and far) acuity 20/40 or better
  • Initial depression score on GDS below clinical level
  • Not previously committed to leaving the Champaign County area for more than 1 month during the intervention period

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Below 60 years of age
  • Regular self-reported physical activity (2 times per week) in last six months
  • Any physical disability that prohibits mobility (walking), stretching etc.
  • Non-consent of physician
  • Evidence of abnormal cardiac responses or conditions during graded exercise testing
  • Three or more errors on the Mental Status measure
  • Corrected (near and far) acuity of greater than 20/40
  • Depression score on GDS indicative of clinical depression
  • Committed to leaving the Champaign County area for longer than 1 month during the intervention period

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Changes in event-related brain potentials
reaction time
response accuracy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
aerobic fitness

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Charles H. Hillman, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

December 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 31, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 31, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

February 2, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 11, 2009

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 10, 2009

Last Verified

August 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IA0101
  • 5R01AG021188-03 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Aging

Clinical Trials on Minds in Motion

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in India

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe