Neuroprotective pathways: Lifestyle activity, brain pathology, and cognition in cognitively normal older adults

Miranka Wirth; Claudia M. Haase; Sylvia Villeneuve; Jacob Vogel; William J. Jagust

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.02.015

Neuroprotective pathways: Lifestyle activity, brain pathology, and cognition in cognitively normal older adults

Miranka Wirth^*, Claudia M. Haase, Sylvia Villeneuve, Jacob Vogel, William J. Jagust

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Education and Social Policy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

96 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study used path analysis to examine effects of cognitive activity and physical activity on cognitive functioning in older adults, through pathways involving beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden, cerebrovascular lesions, and neural injury within the brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two cognitively normal older adults (75.2 ± 5.6years) reported lifetime cognitive activity and current physical activity using validated questionnaires. For each participant, we evaluated cortical Aβ burden (using [¹¹C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B positron emission tomography), cerebrovascular lesions (using magnetic resonance imaging-defined white matter lesion [WML]), and neural integrity within AD regions (using a multimodal neuroimaging biomarker). Path models (adjusted for age, gender, and education) indicated that higher lifetime cognitive activity and higher current physical activity was associated with fewer WMLs. Lower WML volumes were in turn related to higher neural integrity and higher global cognitive functioning. As shown previously, higher lifetime cognitive activity was associated with lower [¹¹C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B retention, which itself moderated the impact of neural integrity on cognitive functioning. Lifestyle activity may thus promote cognitive health in aging by protecting against cerebrovascular pathology and Aβ pathology thought to be relevant to AD development.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1873-1882
Number of pages	10
Journal	Neurobiology of Aging
Volume	35
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.02.015
State	Published - Aug 2014

Keywords

Beta-amyloid
Cognitive activity
Cognitive aging
PIB-PET
Physical activity
White matter lesion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Clinical Neurology
Geriatrics and Gerontology
Aging
General Neuroscience
Developmental Biology

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10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.02.015

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title = "Neuroprotective pathways: Lifestyle activity, brain pathology, and cognition in cognitively normal older adults",

abstract = "This study used path analysis to examine effects of cognitive activity and physical activity on cognitive functioning in older adults, through pathways involving beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden, cerebrovascular lesions, and neural injury within the brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two cognitively normal older adults (75.2 ± 5.6years) reported lifetime cognitive activity and current physical activity using validated questionnaires. For each participant, we evaluated cortical Aβ burden (using [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B positron emission tomography), cerebrovascular lesions (using magnetic resonance imaging-defined white matter lesion [WML]), and neural integrity within AD regions (using a multimodal neuroimaging biomarker). Path models (adjusted for age, gender, and education) indicated that higher lifetime cognitive activity and higher current physical activity was associated with fewer WMLs. Lower WML volumes were in turn related to higher neural integrity and higher global cognitive functioning. As shown previously, higher lifetime cognitive activity was associated with lower [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B retention, which itself moderated the impact of neural integrity on cognitive functioning. Lifestyle activity may thus promote cognitive health in aging by protecting against cerebrovascular pathology and Aβ pathology thought to be relevant to AD development.",

keywords = "Beta-amyloid, Cognitive activity, Cognitive aging, PIB-PET, Physical activity, White matter lesion",

author = "Miranka Wirth and Haase, {Claudia M.} and Sylvia Villeneuve and Jacob Vogel and Jagust, {William J.}",

note = "Funding Information: This research work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant AG034570 , and the Swiss National Science Foundation grant PA00P1-131515 . The authors sincerely thank Grace Tang, Shawn M. Marks, Cindee M. Madison, Suzanne Baker, and Renaud La Joie (all UC Berkeley) for their support in neuroimage (MRI and PET) analysis as well as behavioral data processing or result discussion. ",

year = "2014",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.02.015",

language = "English (US)",

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journal = "Neurobiology of Aging",

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T2 - Lifestyle activity, brain pathology, and cognition in cognitively normal older adults

AU - Wirth, Miranka

AU - Haase, Claudia M.

AU - Villeneuve, Sylvia

AU - Vogel, Jacob

AU - Jagust, William J.

N1 - Funding Information: This research work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant AG034570 , and the Swiss National Science Foundation grant PA00P1-131515 . The authors sincerely thank Grace Tang, Shawn M. Marks, Cindee M. Madison, Suzanne Baker, and Renaud La Joie (all UC Berkeley) for their support in neuroimage (MRI and PET) analysis as well as behavioral data processing or result discussion.

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N2 - This study used path analysis to examine effects of cognitive activity and physical activity on cognitive functioning in older adults, through pathways involving beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden, cerebrovascular lesions, and neural injury within the brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two cognitively normal older adults (75.2 ± 5.6years) reported lifetime cognitive activity and current physical activity using validated questionnaires. For each participant, we evaluated cortical Aβ burden (using [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B positron emission tomography), cerebrovascular lesions (using magnetic resonance imaging-defined white matter lesion [WML]), and neural integrity within AD regions (using a multimodal neuroimaging biomarker). Path models (adjusted for age, gender, and education) indicated that higher lifetime cognitive activity and higher current physical activity was associated with fewer WMLs. Lower WML volumes were in turn related to higher neural integrity and higher global cognitive functioning. As shown previously, higher lifetime cognitive activity was associated with lower [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B retention, which itself moderated the impact of neural integrity on cognitive functioning. Lifestyle activity may thus promote cognitive health in aging by protecting against cerebrovascular pathology and Aβ pathology thought to be relevant to AD development.

AB - This study used path analysis to examine effects of cognitive activity and physical activity on cognitive functioning in older adults, through pathways involving beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden, cerebrovascular lesions, and neural injury within the brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ninety-two cognitively normal older adults (75.2 ± 5.6years) reported lifetime cognitive activity and current physical activity using validated questionnaires. For each participant, we evaluated cortical Aβ burden (using [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B positron emission tomography), cerebrovascular lesions (using magnetic resonance imaging-defined white matter lesion [WML]), and neural integrity within AD regions (using a multimodal neuroimaging biomarker). Path models (adjusted for age, gender, and education) indicated that higher lifetime cognitive activity and higher current physical activity was associated with fewer WMLs. Lower WML volumes were in turn related to higher neural integrity and higher global cognitive functioning. As shown previously, higher lifetime cognitive activity was associated with lower [11C] labeled Pittsburgh-Compound-B retention, which itself moderated the impact of neural integrity on cognitive functioning. Lifestyle activity may thus promote cognitive health in aging by protecting against cerebrovascular pathology and Aβ pathology thought to be relevant to AD development.

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Neuroprotective pathways: Lifestyle activity, brain pathology, and cognition in cognitively normal older adults

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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