Fitness on White Matter and Cognition in Aging

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Total Enrollment

645 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2012-03-31

Study Completion Date

2016-07-31

Brief Summary

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Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with decreased risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. CRF is linked with more conserved gray and white matter (WM) volume, improved WM microstructural integrity, and better cognitive performance among healthy older adults. Additional research is needed to determine: (1) which WM tracts are most strongly related to CRF, (2) whether CRF-related benefits on WM translate to enhanced cognitive functioning, and (3) factors that mediate and moderate CRF effects. Higher CRF was hypothesized to be associated with stronger WM integrity, both globally and locally in WM tracts that connect frontal brain regions. The neuroprotective effects were hypothesized to be age-dependent, such that the association between CRF and WM integrity would be stronger in old age compared to younger age. Finally, higher CRF was hypothesized to predict stronger performance on tests of executive functioning (EF), partially mediated by frontal WM integrity. Delineation of specific neurocognitive effects of CRF may serve clinicians in individually tailoring wellness interventions to meet patients' specific cognitive concerns with aging.

Detailed Description

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Sample: Participant data from the "Cross-Sectional Lifespan Connectomics Study" of the Nathan Kline Institute - Rockland Sample (NKI-RS) will be analyzed for the present study. Zip code-based recruitment and monitoring enrollment for key demographic variables (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity) were used to maintain adequate representation of Rockland County and prevent sampling biases (e.g., cohort effects). NKI-RS eligibility was designed for inclusivity.

Procedure: All participants completed a medical evaluation, psychiatric interview, self-report questionnaires, standardized battery of cognitive tests, and neuroimaging at NKI. Complete details about the MRI measurement parameters can be located on the NKI-RS website for DTI and MPRAGE and protocols. Quality assurance of raw data, inclusive of monitoring standard operating procedures, error-handling, and compiling the data dictionary, is maintained by NKI-RS. Raw neuroimaging data was acquired by NKI-RS and processed at Suffolk University using TRACULA and FreeSurfer 5.3.

Statistical Plan: Analyses will be performed on de-identified phenotypic and neuroimaging data from adult NKI-RS participants available at the start of this study (October 2016). Analyses will evaluate the potential for CRF to modulate decline in WM integrity and EF observed with aging. Mixed-effects modeling will investigate the extent to which CRF predicts WM integrity, as both a global measurement of fractional anisotropy (FA) and FA within nine major WM tracts. Structural equation modeling will examine whether higher FA within frontal WM tracts partially mediates a positive relationship between CRF and EF. The role of age and clinical characteristics (e.g., cardiovascular risk factors, depression) will also be explored as covariates in the link between CRF, WM, and EF.

Conditions

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Cognitive Decline Executive Dysfunction Cardiovascular Risk Factor

Keywords

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Neuroimaging White matter Cardiorespiratory fitness Physical activity Cognitive aging Executive function Cognitive reserve

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY

Study Time Perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

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Cross-Sectional Lifespan Connectomics Study

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) without significant artifacts
* T1-weighted structural imaging (Magnetization-Prepared Rapid Gradient-Echo; MPRAGE) without significant artifacts
* CRF data from a standardized cycle ergometer test (commonly used for predicting maximal oxygen uptake; VO2 max).

Exclusion Criteria

* severe psychiatric illness (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia disorder, schizoaffective disorder)
* severe developmental disorders (autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities)
* current suicidal or homicidal ideation
* severe cerebral trauma (stroke, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, ischemic attack in the past two years)
* severe neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson's disease, Huntington's Disease, dementia)
* a history of substance dependence in the past two years (with an exception for cannabis)
* a lifetime history of psychiatric hospitalization
* current pregnancy
* MRI contraindications

Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

85 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Responsible Party

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Ryan Mace

Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

References

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Nooner KB, Colcombe SJ, Tobe RH, Mennes M, Benedict MM, Moreno AL, Panek LJ, Brown S, Zavitz ST, Li Q, Sikka S, Gutman D, Bangaru S, Schlachter RT, Kamiel SM, Anwar AR, Hinz CM, Kaplan MS, Rachlin AB, Adelsberg S, Cheung B, Khanuja R, Yan C, Craddock CC, Calhoun V, Courtney W, King M, Wood D, Cox CL, Kelly AM, Di Martino A, Petkova E, Reiss PT, Duan N, Thomsen D, Biswal B, Coffey B, Hoptman MJ, Javitt DC, Pomara N, Sidtis JJ, Koplewicz HS, Castellanos FX, Leventhal BL, Milham MP. The NKI-Rockland Sample: A Model for Accelerating the Pace of Discovery Science in Psychiatry. Front Neurosci. 2012 Oct 16;6:152. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00152. eCollection 2012.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

PMID: 23087608 (View on PubMed)

Andrade MA, Raposo A, Andrade A. Exploring the late maturation of an intrinsic episodic memory network: A resting-state fMRI study. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2024 Dec;70:101453. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101453. Epub 2024 Sep 26.

Reference Type DERIVED

PMID: 39368283 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01MH094639-01

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

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NKI-RS

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id