title: A Six-Month Cognitive-Motor and Aerobic Exercise Program Improves Executive Function in Persons with an Objective Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Investigation Using the Antisaccade Task.
abstract: Persons with an objective cognitive impairment (OCI) are at increased risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The present pilot project sought to examine whether participation in a long-term exercise program involving cognitive-motor (CM) dual-task gait training and aerobic exercise training improves executive function in persons with an OCI. To accomplish our objective, individuals with an OCI (n = 12) as determined by a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of less than 26 and older adults (n = 11) deemed to be cognitively healthy (i.e., control group: MoCA score ≥26) completed a six-month moderate-to-high intensity (65-85% maximum heart rate) treadmill-based CM and aerobic exercise training program wherein pre- and post-intervention executive control was examined via the antisaccade task. Notably, antisaccades require a goal-directed eye-movement mirror-symmetrical to a target and represent an ideal tool for the study of executive deficits because of its hands- and language-free nature. As well, the cortical networks mediating antisaccades represent regions associated with neuropathology in cognitive decline and dementia (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). Results showed that antisaccade reaction times for the OCI group reliably decreased by 30 ms from pre- to post-intervention, whereas the control group did not produce a reliable pre- to post-intervention change in reaction time (i.e., 6 ms). Thus, we propose that in persons with OCI long-term CM and aerobic training improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the executive mechanisms mediating high-level oculomotor control.
authors: School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Heath
authors: School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors: Jeffrey
authors: J
authors: Weiler
authors: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.
authors: Michael A
authors: MA
authors: Gregory
authors: Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors: Dawn P
authors: DP
authors: Gill
authors: School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada.|Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.|Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western University, London, ON, Canada.
authors: Robert J
authors: RJ
authors: Petrella
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Aerobic exercise; antisaccade; cognitive decline; cognitive-motor 
  training; executive control; objective cognitive impairment