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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until August 08, 2024

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The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Cognition and Brain Function in Healthy Older Adult Women

William, DuPont
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532087071781131

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Kinesiology.
Abstract Age-related declines in structure and function affects all organs and organ systems in the human body including the brain. However, there are many ways to mitigate and/or prevent age-related declines in structure and function. Exercise has been shown to be a powerful modifiable factor that helps to mitigate and/or prevent age-related declines in brain structure and function. Longitudinal studies and cross sectional-studies in humans have shown many beneficial effects of exercise on the brain. Intervention studies in many species of animals and post-humous studies of the human brain has further elucidated these benefits. The most common method of studying the effects of exercise on the brain for intervention studies was to sacrifice the participant after the intervention. Therefore, intervention studies in humans have been almost impossible. The large improvements in sophisticated brain imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography over the last few decades have made intervention studies in humans on exercise and the brain more possible and more common. However, all of the intervention studies using brain imaging technologies to measure the effects of exercise on the brain have used endurance exercise for their primary intervention. The effects of resistance exercise on the brain in general and specifically on cognition and brain function using brain imaging techniques have yet to be studied. This is one of the first if not the first one to study the effects of resistance exercise on cognition and brain function using brain imaging techniques. Eight healthy older adult females between 52-62 years of age were enrolled and completed the study. Participants completed two familiarization visits, a one repetition maximum test visit, and a cognitive/electroencephalogram test visit before beginning a resistance exercise training intervention. Then they completed six weeks of resistance exercise training, three sessions per week over six weeks for a total of eighteen training sessions. Following the six weeks of training, participants completed another one repetition maximum and another cognitive/electroencephalogram test visit. This study shows that as little as six weeks of resistance exercise training significantly increased: upper and lower body strength; mental and motor processing speeds, sustained attention; the ability to divide attention and focus on relevant stimuli; the ability to acquire and learn new information; short term memory recognition; working memory capacity and retention; the ability to retain, recall, and manipulate visuospatial information; and the ability to plan and strategize. It is suspected that these significant increases in cognition and brain function is due to a combination of increases in neurogenesis, synaptic density and plasticity, functional connectivity, neurotransmitter strength and concentration, and cognitive reserve.
William Kraemer (Advisor)
105 p.
Aging; Health; Kinesiology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • William, D. (2018). The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Cognition and Brain Function in Healthy Older Adult Women [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532087071781131

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • William, DuPont. The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Cognition and Brain Function in Healthy Older Adult Women . 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532087071781131.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • William, DuPont. "The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Cognition and Brain Function in Healthy Older Adult Women ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1532087071781131

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1532087071781131
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.