Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Acute High-Intensity Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognitive Function in Older Adults
Colby-Sawyer College
Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a single session of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIT) affects cognitive performance and brain activity in older adults, and whether cardiorespiratory fitness influences these effects. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does a single HIIT session change performance on a task-switching test of cognitive flexibility? * Does a single HIIT session change prefrontal brain activity during cognitive testing, as measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)? * Do older adults with higher cardiorespiratory fitness show greater cognitive and brain changes in response to HIIT than those with lower fitness? Participants will: * Visit the laboratory on two separate days * Complete a sub-maximal graded exercise test during the first visit to measure cardiorespiratory fitness * Complete a single \~30-minute HIIT cycling session during the second visit * Complete a task-switching cognitive test before and after the HIIT session * Have their brain activity monitored with fNIRS while completing the cognitive tests
Description
Cognitive decline is one of the most consequential changes associated with aging, and executive functions-the set of higher-order cognitive processes that allow people to plan, adapt, and control their behavior-are especially susceptible to age-related change because they depend heavily on the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that shows some of the earliest and most pronounced structural and functional changes with age. Cognitive flexibility, the ability to shift rapidly between competing task rules or mental sets, is one specific executive function that supports many everyday activities, inc…