Colby-Sawyer College
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
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…
Inclusion Criteria: * Physical active in the last three months (\>3x/week of 30 minutes of moderate exercise) * To participate in the study, participants must answer "no" to all the Physical Activity Readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q) questions and have no signs and symptoms of cardiovascular, metabolic, and kidney diseases following the decision tree of the American College of Sports Medicine screening procedure. * Agree to have their data stored in a human performance database for future use. Agree to have their data stored in a repository per the requirement of peer-reviewed scientific journa…
A single session of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) performed on a cycle ergometer, consisting of 4 bouts of 4 minutes of high-intensity cycling separated by 3 minutes of passive or light active recovery (total exercise session approximately 30 minutes, excluding warm-up and cool-down). High exercise intensity is individually prescribed and controlled at approximately 85-90% of each participant's maximal power output and maximal heart rate, both estimated from a submaximal graded exercise test (American College of Sports Medicine submaximal cycle ergometer protocol) completed during a prior laboratory visit. During the recovery intervals, participants cycle at a light workload (30-50% of maximum power output). Participants are asked to maintain a cadence of approximately 50-60 revolutions per minute throughout. Heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and cadence are monitored and recorded every minute during the session by a trained study team member.