White matter integrity in physically fit older adults.
Open accessAbstract
Background White matter (WM) integrity declines with normal aging. Physical activity may attenuate age-related WM integrity changes and improve cognitive function. This study examined brain WM integrity in Masters athletes who have engaged in life-long aerobic exercise training. We tested the hypothesis that life-long aerobic training is associated with improved brain WM integrity in older adults.Methods Ten Masters athletes (3 females, age=72.2 ± 5.3 years, endurance training >15 years) and 10 sedentary older adults similar in age and educational level (2 females, age=74.5 ± 4.3 years) participated. MRI fluid-attenuated-inversion-recovery (FLAIR) images were acquired to assess white matter hyperintensities (WMH) volume. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed to evaluate the WM microstructural integrity with a DTI-derived metric, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD).Results After normalization to whole-brain volume, Masters athletes showed an 83% reduction in deep WMH volume relative to their sedentary counterparts (0.05 ± 0.05% vs. 0.29 ± 0.29%, p<0.05). In addition, we found an inverse relationship between aerobic fitness (VO2max) and deep WMH volume (r=-0.78, p<0.001). Using TBSS, Masters athletes showed higher FA values in the right superior corona radiata (SCR), both sides of superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), and left inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). In addition, Masters athletes also showed lower MD values in the left posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and left cingulum hippocampus.Conclusions These findings suggest that life-long exercise is associated with reduced WMH and may preserve WM fiber microstructural integrity related to motor control and coordination in older adults.
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Some studies have found aerobic exercise to be associated with greater white-matter volume in the temporal lobes that surround the hippocampus in older adults.
“However, some studies have found AE to be associated with greater white-matter volume in the temporal lobes that surround the hippocampus in older adults (Colcombe et al., 2003, 2006; Tseng et al., 2013; Burzynska et al., 2014).”
From Aerobic Exercise as a Tool to Improve Hippocampal Plasticity and Function in Humans: Practical Implications for Mental Health Treatment (2016) · cites this paper as Tseng et al., 2013
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- Authors
- Tseng, B. Y., Gundapuneedi, T., Khan, M. A., Diaz-Arrastia, R., Levine, B. D., Lu, H., Huang, H., & Zhang, R.
- Affiliations
- Texas Health Dallas (US)
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (US)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, R.
- Venue
- NeuroImage
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-11
- Volume
- 82
- Pages
- 510-516
- ISSN
- 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3759589
- OpenAlex
- W2103539671
- Cited by
- 157
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 13.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (P30AG012300, R01AG033106)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Cerebrovascular and genetic disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- white matter integrity, white matter hyperintensities, masters athletes, older adults, physical fitness, VO2max, fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, white matter microstructure, superior longitudinal fasciculus, corona radiata, thalamic radiation, cingulum, aging, sedentary lifestyle
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Physical Fitness, Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Athletes
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