Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults

ObjectiveAge-related hippocampal atrophy is associated with memory loss in older adults, and certain hippocampal subfields are more vulnerable to age-related atrophy than others. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may be an important protective factor for preserving hippocampal volume, but little is kn...

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Main Authors: Hayley S. Ripperger, Rebecca G. Reed, Chaeryon Kang, Alina Lesnovskaya, Sarah L. Aghjayan, Haiqing Huang, Lu Wan, Bradley P. Sutton, Lauren Oberlin, Audrey M. Collins, Jeffrey M. Burns, Eric D. Vidoni, Arthur F. Kramer, Edward McAuley, Charles H. Hillman, George A. Grove, John M. Jakicic, Kirk I. Erickson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1466328/full
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author Hayley S. Ripperger
Rebecca G. Reed
Chaeryon Kang
Alina Lesnovskaya
Alina Lesnovskaya
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Haiqing Huang
Lu Wan
Bradley P. Sutton
Bradley P. Sutton
Lauren Oberlin
Lauren Oberlin
Audrey M. Collins
Jeffrey M. Burns
Eric D. Vidoni
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Edward McAuley
Edward McAuley
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
George A. Grove
John M. Jakicic
Kirk I. Erickson
Kirk I. Erickson
author_facet Hayley S. Ripperger
Rebecca G. Reed
Chaeryon Kang
Alina Lesnovskaya
Alina Lesnovskaya
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Haiqing Huang
Lu Wan
Bradley P. Sutton
Bradley P. Sutton
Lauren Oberlin
Lauren Oberlin
Audrey M. Collins
Jeffrey M. Burns
Eric D. Vidoni
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Edward McAuley
Edward McAuley
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
George A. Grove
John M. Jakicic
Kirk I. Erickson
Kirk I. Erickson
author_sort Hayley S. Ripperger
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveAge-related hippocampal atrophy is associated with memory loss in older adults, and certain hippocampal subfields are more vulnerable to age-related atrophy than others. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may be an important protective factor for preserving hippocampal volume, but little is known about how CRF relates to the volume of specific hippocampal subfields, and whether associations between CRF and hippocampal subfield volumes are related to episodic memory performance. To address these gaps, the current study evaluates the associations among baseline CRF, hippocampal subfield volumes, and episodic memory performance in cognitively unimpaired older adults from the Investigating Gains in Neurocognition Trial of Exercise (IGNITE) (NCT02875301).MethodsParticipants (N = 601, ages 65–80, 72% female) completed assessments including a graded exercise test measuring peak oxygen comsumption (VO2peak) to assess CRF, cognitive testing, and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the hippocampus processed with Automated Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields (ASHS). Separate linear regression models examined whether CRF was associated with hippocampal subfield volumes and whether those assocations were moderated by age or sex. Mediation models examined whether hippocampal volumes statistically mediated the relationship between CRF and episodic memory performance. Covariates included age, sex, years of education, body mass index, estimated intracranial volume, and study site.ResultsHigher CRF was significantly associated with greater total left (B = 5.82, p = 0.039) and total right (B = 7.64, p = 0.006) hippocampal volume, as well as greater left CA2 (B = 0.14, p = 0.022) and dentate gyrus (DG; B = 2.34, p = 0.031) volume, and greater right CA1 (B = 3.99, p = 0.011), CA2 (B = 0.15, p = 0.002), and subiculum (B = 1.56, p = 0.004) volume. Sex significantly moderated left DG volume (B = −4.26, p = 0.017), such that the association was positive and significant only for males. Total left hippocampal volume [indirect effect = 0.002, 95% CI (0.0002, 0.00), p = 0.027] and right subiculum volume [indirect effect = 0.002, 95% CI (0.0007, 0.01), p = 0.006] statistically mediated the relationship between CRF and episodic memory performance.DiscussionWhile higher CRF was significantly associated with greater total hippocampal volume, CRF was not associated with all underlying subfield volumes. Our results further demonstrate the relevance of the associations between CRF and hippocampal volume for episodic memory performance. Finally, our results suggest that the regionally-specific effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on hippocampal subfields could be mitigated by maintaining higher CRF in older adulthood.
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spelling doaj-art-84775bbbcaf3410892d5870707782ff62025-08-20T02:34:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652024-12-011610.3389/fnagi.2024.14663281466328Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adultsHayley S. Ripperger0Rebecca G. Reed1Chaeryon Kang2Alina Lesnovskaya3Alina Lesnovskaya4Sarah L. Aghjayan5Sarah L. Aghjayan6Haiqing Huang7Lu Wan8Bradley P. Sutton9Bradley P. Sutton10Lauren Oberlin11Lauren Oberlin12Audrey M. Collins13Jeffrey M. Burns14Eric D. Vidoni15Arthur F. Kramer16Arthur F. Kramer17Arthur F. Kramer18Edward McAuley19Edward McAuley20Charles H. Hillman21Charles H. Hillman22Charles H. Hillman23George A. Grove24John M. Jakicic25Kirk I. Erickson26Kirk I. Erickson27Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesCenter for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesCenter for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, AdventHealth Research Institute, Orlando, FL, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, AdventHealth Research Institute, Orlando, FL, United StatesThe Grainger College of Engineering, Bioengineering Department, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United StatesBeckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, AdventHealth Research Institute, Orlando, FL, United StatesWeill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, White Plains, NY, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, AdventHealth Research Institute, Orlando, FL, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, KS, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, KS, United StatesBeckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States0Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United StatesBeckman Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States1Department of Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United StatesCenter for Cognitive and Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States0Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States2Department of Physical Therapy, Movement, and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States3Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, KS, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Neuroscience, AdventHealth, AdventHealth Research Institute, Orlando, FL, United StatesObjectiveAge-related hippocampal atrophy is associated with memory loss in older adults, and certain hippocampal subfields are more vulnerable to age-related atrophy than others. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may be an important protective factor for preserving hippocampal volume, but little is known about how CRF relates to the volume of specific hippocampal subfields, and whether associations between CRF and hippocampal subfield volumes are related to episodic memory performance. To address these gaps, the current study evaluates the associations among baseline CRF, hippocampal subfield volumes, and episodic memory performance in cognitively unimpaired older adults from the Investigating Gains in Neurocognition Trial of Exercise (IGNITE) (NCT02875301).MethodsParticipants (N = 601, ages 65–80, 72% female) completed assessments including a graded exercise test measuring peak oxygen comsumption (VO2peak) to assess CRF, cognitive testing, and high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the hippocampus processed with Automated Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields (ASHS). Separate linear regression models examined whether CRF was associated with hippocampal subfield volumes and whether those assocations were moderated by age or sex. Mediation models examined whether hippocampal volumes statistically mediated the relationship between CRF and episodic memory performance. Covariates included age, sex, years of education, body mass index, estimated intracranial volume, and study site.ResultsHigher CRF was significantly associated with greater total left (B = 5.82, p = 0.039) and total right (B = 7.64, p = 0.006) hippocampal volume, as well as greater left CA2 (B = 0.14, p = 0.022) and dentate gyrus (DG; B = 2.34, p = 0.031) volume, and greater right CA1 (B = 3.99, p = 0.011), CA2 (B = 0.15, p = 0.002), and subiculum (B = 1.56, p = 0.004) volume. Sex significantly moderated left DG volume (B = −4.26, p = 0.017), such that the association was positive and significant only for males. Total left hippocampal volume [indirect effect = 0.002, 95% CI (0.0002, 0.00), p = 0.027] and right subiculum volume [indirect effect = 0.002, 95% CI (0.0007, 0.01), p = 0.006] statistically mediated the relationship between CRF and episodic memory performance.DiscussionWhile higher CRF was significantly associated with greater total hippocampal volume, CRF was not associated with all underlying subfield volumes. Our results further demonstrate the relevance of the associations between CRF and hippocampal volume for episodic memory performance. Finally, our results suggest that the regionally-specific effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease on hippocampal subfields could be mitigated by maintaining higher CRF in older adulthood.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1466328/fullhippocampuscardiorespiratory fitnesshippocampal subfieldsepisodic memoryMRIASHS
spellingShingle Hayley S. Ripperger
Rebecca G. Reed
Chaeryon Kang
Alina Lesnovskaya
Alina Lesnovskaya
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Sarah L. Aghjayan
Haiqing Huang
Lu Wan
Bradley P. Sutton
Bradley P. Sutton
Lauren Oberlin
Lauren Oberlin
Audrey M. Collins
Jeffrey M. Burns
Eric D. Vidoni
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Arthur F. Kramer
Edward McAuley
Edward McAuley
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
Charles H. Hillman
George A. Grove
John M. Jakicic
Kirk I. Erickson
Kirk I. Erickson
Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
hippocampus
cardiorespiratory fitness
hippocampal subfields
episodic memory
MRI
ASHS
title Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
title_full Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
title_fullStr Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
title_full_unstemmed Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
title_short Cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal subfield morphology, and episodic memory in older adults
title_sort cardiorespiratory fitness hippocampal subfield morphology and episodic memory in older adults
topic hippocampus
cardiorespiratory fitness
hippocampal subfields
episodic memory
MRI
ASHS
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2024.1466328/full
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