title: A 12-Week Physical and Cognitive Exercise Program Can Improve Cognitive Function and Neural Efficiency in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether a 12-week physical and cognitive exercise program can improve cognitive function and brain activation efficiency in community-dwelling older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Kyoto, Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community-dwelling older adults (N = 48) were randomized into an exercise group (n = 24) and a control group (n = 24).
  
  
  METHODS
  Exercise group participants received a weekly dual task-based multimodal exercise class in combination with pedometer-based daily walking exercise during the 12-week intervention phase. Control group participants did not receive any intervention and were instructed to spend their time as usual during the intervention phase.
  
  
  METHODS
  The outcome measures were global cognitive function, memory function, executive function, and brain activation (measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging) associated with visual short-term memory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exercise group participants had significantly greater postintervention improvement in memory and executive functions than the control group (P < .05). In addition, after the intervention, less activation was found in several brain regions associated with visual short-term memory, including the prefrontal cortex, in the exercise group (P < .001, uncorrected).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A 12-week physical and cognitive exercise program can improve the efficiency of brain activation during cognitive tasks in older adults, which is associated with improvements in memory and executive function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.|Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishiguchi
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekiyama
authors.affiliation: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.|Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawagoe
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Sakiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryusuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuboyama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007564:Japan; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: cognitive improvement; fMRI; physical and cognitive exercise program; randomized controlled trial