Skip Navigation



The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access published online on April 10, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp030
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
64B/3/356    most recent
gbp030v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kamijo, K.
Right arrow Articles by Nishihira, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kamijo, K.
Right arrow Articles by Nishihira, Y.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Function in Older Adults

Keita Kamijo1, Yoichi Hayashi2, Tomoaki Sakai3, Tatsuhisa Yahiro4, Kiyoji Tanaka5 and Yoshiaki Nishihira5

1 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan
2 Faculty of Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, Chiba, Japan
3 Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan
4 Master Program in Health and Physical Education
5 Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

Address correspondence to Keita Kamijo, PhD, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15, Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1192, Japan. Email: kkamijo{at}aoni.waseda.jp


  Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of acute aerobic exercise on cognitive brain functions of older adults. Twenty-four males (12 older and 12 younger adults) performed a modified flanker task during a baseline session (no exercise) and after light and moderate cycling exercise in counterbalanced order on different days while measures of task performance and the P3 component of an event-related brain potential were collected. The results indicated that, for both age groups, reaction time following moderate exercise was shorter relative to the other sessions, and P3 latencies following both light and moderate exercise were shorter compared with the baseline session. In contrast, P3 amplitude increased only following moderate exercise in younger adults. These findings suggest that light and moderate exercises improve cognitive function across the adult lifespan, although the mechanisms underlying the effects of observed acute aerobic exercise on cognitive function may be age dependent.

Key Words: Acute aerobic exercise • Cognitive function • Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) • Older adults • P3

Received July 16, 2008; Accepted December 23, 2008

Decision Editor: Rosemary Blieszner, PhD


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.