Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults
The basal ganglia play a central role in regulating the response selection abilities that are critical for mental flexibility. In neocortical areas, higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels are associated with increased gray matter volume, and these volumetric differences mediate enhanced cognitive p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Aging Research |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/939285 |
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| author | Timothy D. Verstynen Brighid Lynch Destiny L. Miller Michelle W. Voss Ruchika Shaurya Prakash Laura Chaddock Chandramallika Basak Amanda Szabo Erin A. Olson Thomas R. Wojcicki Jason Fanning Neha P. Gothe Edward McAuley Arthur F. Kramer Kirk I. Erickson |
| author_facet | Timothy D. Verstynen Brighid Lynch Destiny L. Miller Michelle W. Voss Ruchika Shaurya Prakash Laura Chaddock Chandramallika Basak Amanda Szabo Erin A. Olson Thomas R. Wojcicki Jason Fanning Neha P. Gothe Edward McAuley Arthur F. Kramer Kirk I. Erickson |
| author_sort | Timothy D. Verstynen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The basal ganglia play a central role in regulating the response selection abilities that are critical for mental flexibility. In neocortical areas, higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels are associated with increased gray matter volume, and these volumetric differences mediate enhanced cognitive performance in a variety of tasks. Here we examine whether cardiorespiratory fitness correlates with the volume of the subcortical nuclei that make up the basal ganglia and whether this relationship predicts cognitive flexibility in older adults. Structural MRI was used to determine the volume of the basal ganglia nuclei in a group of older, neurologically healthy individuals (mean age 66 years, N=179). Measures of cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), cognitive flexibility (task switching), and attentional control (flanker task) were also collected. Higher fitness levels were correlated with higher accuracy rates in the Task Switching paradigm. In addition, the volume of the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus positively correlated with Task Switching accuracy. Nested regression modeling revealed that caudate nucleus volume was a significant mediator of the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness, and task switching performance. These findings indicate that higher cardiorespiratory fitness predicts better cognitive flexibility in older adults through greater grey matter volume in the dorsal striatum. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d184232b751e4f66b08c80bc76bffef9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-2204 2090-2212 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Aging Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-d184232b751e4f66b08c80bc76bffef92025-02-03T01:27:36ZengWileyJournal of Aging Research2090-22042090-22122012-01-01201210.1155/2012/939285939285Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older AdultsTimothy D. Verstynen0Brighid Lynch1Destiny L. Miller2Michelle W. Voss3Ruchika Shaurya Prakash4Laura Chaddock5Chandramallika Basak6Amanda Szabo7Erin A. Olson8Thomas R. Wojcicki9Jason Fanning10Neha P. Gothe11Edward McAuley12Arthur F. Kramer13Kirk I. Erickson14Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3107 Sennott Square, 210 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3107 Sennott Square, 210 South Bouquet Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa city, IA 52242, USADepartment of Psychology, The Ohio State University City, Columbus, OH 43210, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USADepartment of Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75080, USADepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USADepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USADepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USADepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USADepartment of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USABeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Champaign, IL, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana at Champaign, IL 61820, USACenter for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USAThe basal ganglia play a central role in regulating the response selection abilities that are critical for mental flexibility. In neocortical areas, higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels are associated with increased gray matter volume, and these volumetric differences mediate enhanced cognitive performance in a variety of tasks. Here we examine whether cardiorespiratory fitness correlates with the volume of the subcortical nuclei that make up the basal ganglia and whether this relationship predicts cognitive flexibility in older adults. Structural MRI was used to determine the volume of the basal ganglia nuclei in a group of older, neurologically healthy individuals (mean age 66 years, N=179). Measures of cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max), cognitive flexibility (task switching), and attentional control (flanker task) were also collected. Higher fitness levels were correlated with higher accuracy rates in the Task Switching paradigm. In addition, the volume of the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus positively correlated with Task Switching accuracy. Nested regression modeling revealed that caudate nucleus volume was a significant mediator of the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness, and task switching performance. These findings indicate that higher cardiorespiratory fitness predicts better cognitive flexibility in older adults through greater grey matter volume in the dorsal striatum.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/939285 |
| spellingShingle | Timothy D. Verstynen Brighid Lynch Destiny L. Miller Michelle W. Voss Ruchika Shaurya Prakash Laura Chaddock Chandramallika Basak Amanda Szabo Erin A. Olson Thomas R. Wojcicki Jason Fanning Neha P. Gothe Edward McAuley Arthur F. Kramer Kirk I. Erickson Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults Journal of Aging Research |
| title | Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults |
| title_full | Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults |
| title_fullStr | Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults |
| title_short | Caudate Nucleus Volume Mediates the Link between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Cognitive Flexibility in Older Adults |
| title_sort | caudate nucleus volume mediates the link between cardiorespiratory fitness and cognitive flexibility in older adults |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/939285 |
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