Frequent sexual activity predicts specific cognitive abilities in older adults

Objectives: This study replicates and extends the findings of previous research (Wright, H., and Jenks, R. A. (2016). Sex on the brain! Associations between sexual activity and cognitive function in older age. Age and Ageing, 45, 313-317. doi:10.1093/ageing/afv197) which found a significant association between sexual activity (SA) and cognitive function in older adults. Specifically, this study aimed to generalize these findings to a range of cognitive domains, and to assess whether increasing SA frequency is associated with increasing scores on a variety of cognitive tasks. Methods: Seventy-three participants aged 50-83 years took part in the study (38.4% male, 61.6% female). Participants completed the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) cognitive assessment and a questionnaire on SA frequency (never, monthly, or weekly), and general health and lifestyle. Results: Weekly SA was a significant predictor of total ACE-III, fluency, and visuospatial scores in regression models, including age, gender, education, and cardiovascular health. Discussion: Greater frequency of SA was associated with better overall ACE-III scores and scores on subtests of verbal fluency and visuospatial ability. Both of these tasks involve working memory and executive function, and links between sexual behavior, memory, and dopamine are discussed. The findings have implications for the maintenance of intimate relationships in later life

Near-Infrared Imaging of the Effects of Glucose Ingestion and Regulation on Prefrontal Activation during Dual-Task Execution in Healthy Fasting Older Adults

Rationale Glucose enhancing effects in older adults have mostly been observed for episodic memory, but have recently been found for attentional control performance. Yet, brain activation patterns underlying these effects are still unknown. Objective The present study examined the acute effects of glucose ingestion on prefrontal brain activation during the execution of a divided attention task in fasting non-diabetic older adults. Methods Twenty older adults (60 years and older) took part in the study that included two experimental sessions. After an overnight fast, participants received either a glucose drink (50 g) or a placebo (saccharin) drink, following which they completed a dual-task. During task execution, prefrontal activation was recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A repeated-measures design was used such that each participant served as his or her own control. The two experimental sessions were counterbalanced among participants and were performed two weeks apart. Results When participants were in the glucose condition, they showed similar dual-task costs for both tasks, whereas in the placebo condition they prioritized one task over the other, with a significantly larger dual-task cost for the non-prioritized task (p < 0.01). Differential brain activation was also observed in right ventral–lateral prefrontal regions for oxygenated hemoglobin and deoxygenated hemoglobin, with more activation apparent in the glucose condition (p < 0.05). Furthermore, behavioral and activation data were influenced by individual differences in glucose regulation. Conclusions Glucose ingestion appears to momentarily enhance fasting seniors’ capacity to coordinate more equally two concurrent tasks and this is reflected in brain activation patterns

Investigating dose–response effects of multimodal exercise programs on health-related quality of life in older adults

Background: Older adults are at risk of multiple chronic diseases, most of which could be prevented by engaging in regular physical activity. Frailty is a state of increased vulnerability to diseases. Worsening symptoms of frailty, such as decrease in physical functionality, can compromise health-related quality of life (HR-QOL). Previous findings suggest that frailty moderates the relationship between physical activity and HR-QOL, yet intervention findings are limited, particularly in dose–response analyses. Hence, this study was conducted to test if lower-dose physical activity (120 minutes/week) would provide the same benefits in health outcomes (physical functionality and HR-QOL) as higher-dose physical activity (180 minutes/week). Methods: Participants (n=110) were older adults comprising higher-dose, lower-dose, and control groups who were combined from recent randomized controlled trials. Experimental groups participated in a multimodal exercise program in a supervised laboratory setting for 12 weeks. Results: The higher-dose group showed a significant improvement in physical functionality (β=0.23, P=0.03) and in overall HR-QOL (β=0.44, P=0.001) including its subcategories over the control group. A group × frailty interaction revealed that frail individuals significantly improved in capacity HR-QOL when they exercised at a higher dose (F (1, 49)=4.57, P=0.038). Conclusion: This study identifies a positive, predictive relationship between exercise duration and health outcomes (HR-QOL dimensions and frailty) among older adults. Frail individuals in the higher-dose group demonstrated significant recovery of capacity HR-QOL, thus reflecting improvement in their daily activities.peerReviewe

Investigating dose&ndash;response effects of multimodal exercise programs on health-related quality of life in older adults

Navin Kaushal,1,2 Francis Langlois,3 Laurence Desjardins-Cr&eacute;peau,1,2,4 Martin S Hagger,5,6 Louis Bherer1,2,4 1Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 2Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 3CIUSSS de l&rsquo;Estrie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 4Research Center, Geriatrics Institute, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 5School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia; 6Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyv&auml;skyl&auml;, Jyv&auml;skyl&auml;, Finland Background: Older adults are at risk of multiple chronic diseases, most of which could be prevented by engaging in regular physical activity. Frailty is a state of increased vulnerability to diseases. Worsening symptoms of frailty, such as decrease in physical functionality, can compromise health-related quality of life (HR-QOL). Previous findings suggest that frailty moderates the relationship between physical activity and HR-QOL, yet intervention findings are limited, particularly in dose&ndash;response analyses. Hence, this study was conducted to test if lower-dose physical activity (120 minutes/week) would provide the same benefits in health outcomes (physical functionality and HR-QOL) as higher-dose physical activity (180 minutes/week).Methods: Participants (n=110) were older adults comprising higher-dose, lower-dose, and control groups who were combined from recent randomized controlled trials. Experimental groups participated in a multimodal exercise program in a supervised laboratory setting for 12 weeks.Results: The higher-dose group showed a significant improvement in physical functionality (&beta;=0.23, P=0.03) and in overall HR-QOL (&beta;=0.44, P=0.001) including its subcategories over the control group. A group &times; frailty interaction revealed that frail individuals significantly improved in capacity HR-QOL when they exercised at a higher dose (F (1, 49)=4.57, P=0.038).Conclusion: This study identifies a positive, predictive relationship between exercise duration and health outcomes (HR-QOL dimensions and frailty) among older adults. Frail individuals in the higher-dose group demonstrated significant recovery of capacity HR-QOL, thus reflecting improvement in their daily activities. Keywords: physical activity, aging, multimodal exercise, frailt

Effects of combined physical and cognitive training on fitness and neuropsychological outcomes in healthy older adults

Laurence Desjardins-Cr&eacute;peau,1,2 Nicolas Berryman,2,3 Sarah A Fraser,4 Thien Tuong Minh Vu,5,6 Marie-Jeanne Kergoat,2,6 Karen ZH Li,7 Laurent Bosquet,8 Louis Bherer2,7 1Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Research Center, Institut universitaire de g&eacute;riatrie de Montr&eacute;al, Montreal, QC, Canada; 3Department of Sports Studies, Bishop&rsquo;s University, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; 4Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 5Research Center, Centre hospitalier de l&rsquo;Universit&eacute; de Montr&eacute;al, Montreal, QC, Canada; 6Faculty of Medicine, Universit&eacute; de Montr&eacute;al, Montreal, QC, Canada; 7Department of Psychology and PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montr&eacute;al, QC, Canada; 8Facult&eacute; des sciences du sport, Universit&eacute; de Poitiers, Poitiers, France Purpose: Physical exercise and cognitive training have been shown to enhance cognition among older adults. However, few studies have looked at the potential synergetic effects of combining physical and cognitive training in a single study. Prior trials on combined training have led to interesting yet equivocal results. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of combined physical and cognitive interventions on physical fitness and neuropsychological performance in healthy older adults.Methods: Seventy-six participants were randomly assigned to one of four training combinations using a 2&times;2 factorial design. The physical intervention was a mixed aerobic and resistance training program, and the cognitive intervention was a dual-task (DT) training program. Stretching and toning exercises and computer lessons were used as active control conditions. Physical and cognitive measures were collected pre- and postintervention.Results: All groups showed equivalent improvements in measures of functional mobility. The aerobic&ndash;strength condition led to larger effect size in lower body strength, independently of cognitive training. All groups showed improved speed of processing and inhibition abilities, but only participants who took part in the DT training, independently of physical training, showed increased task-switching abilities. The level of functional mobility after intervention was significantly associated with task-switching abilities.Conclusion: Combined training did not yield synergetic effects. However, DT training did lead to transfer effects on executive performance in neuropsychological tests. Both aerobic-resistance training and stretching-toning exercises can improve functional mobility in older&nbsp;adults. Keywords: aging, combined intervention, physical performance, cognitive performance, dual task, executive function

Higher cardiovascular fitness level is associated with lower cerebrovascular reactivity and perfusion in healthy older adults

Aging is accompanied by vascular and structural changes in the brain, which include decreased grey matter volume (GMV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR). Enhanced fitness in aging has been related to preservation of GMV and CBF, and in some cases CVR, although there are contradictory relationships reported between CVR and fitness. To gain a better understanding of the complex interplay between fitness and GMV, CBF and CVR, the present study assessed these factors concurrently. Data from 50 participants, aged 55 to 72, were used to derive GMV, CBF, CVR and VO2peak. Results revealed that lower CVR was associated with higher VO2peak throughout large areas of the cerebral cortex. Within these regions lower fitness was associated with higher CBF and a faster hemodynamic response to hypercapnia. Overall, our results indicate that the relationships between age, fitness, cerebral health and cerebral hemodynamics are complex, likely involving changes in chemosensitivity and autoregulation in addition to changes in arterial stiffness. Future studies should collect other physiological outcomes in parallel with quantitative imaging, such as measures of chemosensitivity and autoregulation, to further understand the intricate effects of fitness on the aging brain, and how this may bias quantitative measures of cerebral health