Combined Cognitive-Psychological-Physical Intervention Induces Reorganization of Intrinsic Functional Brain Architecture in Older Adults

Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests that enriched mental, physical, and socially stimulating activities are beneficial for counteracting age-related decreases in brain function and cognition in older adults. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate the functional plasticity of brain activity in response to a combined cognitive-psychological-physical intervention and investigated the contribution of the intervention-related brain changes to individual performance in healthy older adults. The intervention was composed of a 6-week program of combined activities including cognitive training, Tai Chi exercise, and group counseling. The results showed improved cognitive performance and reorganized regional homogeneity of spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the superior and middle temporal gyri, and the posterior lobe of the cerebellum, in the participants who attended the intervention. Intriguingly, the intervention-induced changes in the coherence of local spontaneous activity correlated with the improvements in individual cognitive performance. Taken together with our previous findings of enhanced resting-state functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe regions following a combined intervention program in older adults, we conclude that the functional plasticity of the aging brain is a rather complex process, and an effective cognitive-psychological-physical intervention is helpful for maintaining a healthy brain and comprehensive cognition during old age.

The impact of Tai Chi and Qigong mind-body exercises on motor and non-motor function and quality of life in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In normal aging, some progress has been made in identifying mechanisms of TCQ that may improve balance and gait, and reduce falls, including improving lower extremity strength and flexibility [16–22], proprioception and postural awareness [23–25], neuromuscular coordination and reaction time [26, 27], executive function [28], and reducing fear of falling [29, 30]. Preliminary studies also support a neural basis for enhancing cognitive and motor processes [35, 36]. The mechanistic exploration of how TCQ impacts motor and non-motor symptoms in PD is a rich area for further research.…”

“…TCQ related improvements in depression and anxiety have been hypothesized to be related to modest cardiovascular loading, breathing and imagery related changes in autonomic tone, cognitive restructuring leading to reduced rumination and catastrophizing, and indirect effects of enhanced motor confidence and enhanced self-efficacy [11, 31–33]. These mechanisms, as well as multi-tasking and attention shifting training associated with TCQ, have been hypothesized to contribute to enhanced cognitive function [34], and some studies have reported correlations between TCQ-related improvements in cognitive function and brain neural architecture and resting state neural network activity [35, 36]. However, these studies have not been conducted in PD populations.…”

Maintaining older brain functionality: A targeted review

“…Most notably, the scaffolding theory, cognitive reserve, compensation and dedifferentiation theories of the adapting brain are a giant step forward for cognitive aging research (Ewing, 2012;Goh and Park, 2009;Park and Reuter-Lorenz, 2009;Reuter-Lorenz and Lustig, 2005;ReuterLorenz and Park, 2014). In addition, the ecological model of aging (Satariano, 2006) suggests that cognitive aging is influenced also by other factors including social networks, personality traits and genetic and epigenetic factors (Bennett et al, 2014;Cole, 2014;Nielsen and Mather, 2011;Pickersgill et al, 2013;Satariano, 2006;Zammit et al, 2014;Zheng et al, 2015). These factors, when viewed in conjunction with the antecedents of chronic disease, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and metabolic syndrome, point to possibilities for optimism for a healthier aging brain.…”

Sex Matters: Hippocampal Volume Predicts Individual Differences in Associative Memory in Cognitively Normal Older Women but Not Men

“…We measured participants’ associative memory using the paired-associative learning test (PALT). The PALT is a standardized neuropsychological assessment specifically designed to evaluate associative memory in Chinese (Xu and Wu, 1986; Huo et al, 2014), and has been widely used in previous studies due to its high validity and reliability (Wang et al, 2013; Zheng et al, 2015). The test is designed as a study-test paradigm in which the participants study six novel and six semantically related word pairs and are asked to perform a cued recall test.…”