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Physical fitness helps attenuate age-related declines in cognitive function. Discuss. - page 3
Keywords: Physical fitness reduce age-related ageing declines cognitive function. Discuss. brain performacne
By Suzanna on 22/06/2010
Level: Bachelor Honours Degree (BA, BEng, BSc etc)
Page Number: 3 of 12 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12above, in theory, it seems that aerobic exercise would help to reduce age-related cognitive decline, but if one cannot engage in aerobic exercise due to physiological limitations that are age related, the question must be asked what does it matter? A few longitudinal studies have shown that there are long-term benefits, as will be seen later. Essentially then, if one is physically active at a younger age, they may reap the benefits in old age (Weuve et al., 2004).
Furthermore, concerning the role of oxygen in cognition, empirical evidence is found in altitude studies where the concentration of oxygen is lower. One study found that performance on cognitive tasks was poorer at sea level (high altitude, where there is less oxygen), supporting the notion that oxygen a fundamental role in cognitive performance (Kramer et al). In addition, other studies have found similar results, but they also found significant results in the episodic memory tasks (Scholey et al). Overall, the role of oxygen in cognition is a plausible explanation as backed up by empirical studies, but little can be said about the direct log-term benefits of oxygen on the brain.
Evidence for the benefits of exercise also comes from neuroimaging research. Gerontol, 2003, points out that larger volumes of brain tissue have been found in those who are physically active in comparison to those who are less physically active. Also, following fitness training in those aged 60-79; increase in brain tissue was reported (Gerontol, 2003).
More recently, was a study by Takata and others (2007) who examined cognitive function in an 85-year old community-dwelling population. The study comprised of 207 participants and was conducted in Japan. Physical fitness was measured by hand-grip, isometric leg-extension strength, one-leg standing time, stepping rate and walking. A mini-mental health examination (MMHE) was used to assess cognitive function. They found a significant association with some physical measures and cognitive functioning indicating that increased physical fitness is association with better cognitive functioning. However, there are major methodological problems with the study. Firstly there is a sampling problem as 207 people cannot reflect what is happening with all those who are over 85 years of age. Secondly, the study was conducted in Japan, and so any outcome is culturally bound. Similarly, the participants were non-institutionalised which. Intuitionalised may yield different results as physical limitations is often the reason why they are institutionalised. Thus the study is not sensitive to demographic
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