Churchill à exercise, experience, and the aging brain
Older adults à perform more poorly in response delay and accuracy tasks compared to
younger adults
Life-time aerobic training seems to preserve cognitive abilities
All in all, there is a consensus about the benefits of physical training and that exercise may
selectively affect specific cognitive functions. In particular, it affects executive control.
Studies with animals have shown the following possible implications:
• Synaptogenesis à formation of new connections
o Complex environments à heavier and thicker areas in the cortex
o Possibly due to expansion of contact by existing cells with adjacent neurons
• Neurogenesis à formation of new neurons
o Exercise may aid neurogenesis
o Evidence is provided by neuron proliferation in the dentate gyrus of running
rats
o Also, in rodents it has been observed neurogenesis in the hippocampus,
prefrontal cortex and olfactory bulbus
o Exercise increases levels of serotonin and serotonin has been found to be
associated with decreased neurogenesis
• Glial plasticity
o Astrocyte’s density has been found to be 20% more in the visual cortex of
rats reared in complex environments
o Complex environments can influence brain function through:
§ Learning
§ Neuronal activity driven by peripheral stimulation à astrocytes
plasticity has been found to be correlated not only to development
but also to motor learning. Oligodendrocytes also exhibit similar
plastic responses to experience
• Vascular plasticity
o With increasing age, it is possible to notice a decrease in the vascularization
of the brain, and this may possibly be linked to a decrease in the cognitive
functions observed during aging
o Studies show that by manipulating the blood flow to the brain this would
alter behavioral performance on various tasks
McKercher à physical activity patterns and risk for depression in young adults
From childhood to adulthood the incidence of MDD increases. Up to 20% of people have
experiences at least a depressive episode in their lifetime. Between childhood and
adolescence, the levels of physical activity decrease.
It has been found that maintaining or increasing the levels of physical activity from
childhood into adulthood was associated with decreased risk for depression à effect
stronger for men
Sherder: Executive functions of sedentary elderly may benefit from walking
Results showed that walking had a positive effect on sedentary adults without cognitive
impairment, but not significant effect was found for those who had cognitive impairment
Verburgh: Physical exercise and executive function in preadolescent children, adolescents,
and young adults
, A moderate effect was found for acute physical exercise on cognitive functions, which
included inhibition, interference control, across all age groups.
Effects on working memory were only found for young adults.
Finally, no significant effect was found between chronic physical exercise and cognitive
functions, across all age groups.
Fett: Default distrust? An fMRI investigation of the neural development of trust and
cooperation
Trust develops as a function of age, and this is suggested to be due to the fact that
adolescents have a lower propensity to mentalize à interpret others’ social signals + they
have a reduced sensitivity to social signals
Investor trust à left TPJ and right dorsolateral PFC activate
Age à increased activation of TPJ & left TPJ
Activation dorsolateral PFC à efforts to regulate selfish responses due to age
Activity in mPFC à decreases during defection as function of age
Mentalizing regions à TPJ, posterior cingulate and precuneus
Basic trust towards another person à increases with age
The higher the initial trust, the stronger the decline in trust as a result of unfair behavior.
These results indicate a behavioural shift towards more trust and an age-related increase in
the sensitivity to other people’s negative social signs
Orbitofrontal cortex and Caudate nucleus à activity decreases with age during cooperation
Posterior cingulate/precuneus region à activity increases with age as result of
trustworthiness
Bekker: A short form of the autonomy scale: properties of the autonomy-connectedness
scale
Autonomy-connectedness à the ability to be on one’s own ad be with others
Autonomy scale à measures individual gender-related differences related to autonomy and
is divided in 3 subscales:
1. Self-awareness
2. Sensitivity to others
3. Capacity for managing new situations
The first study showed that women are significantly higher than men in sensitivity to others,
less self-aware and have less capacity for managing new situations (although the difference
was not large in the last two).
The second study showed significant difference only for sensitivity to others, with women
scoring higher.
The scale showed good internal consistency and validity and was found clinically relevant.
Kunst: autonomy deficits as vulnerability for anxiety
Aimed at investigating how specific aspects of autonomy deficits predict anxiety in different
stressful contexts. The study included two conditions: 1) consisting in watching an anxiety-
inducing clip and 2) give an impromptu speech in front of an audience.
Results showed that sensitivity to others was the component that was most correlated with
anxiety.
Sensitivity to others predicted anxiety during anxiety-inducing clips à sensitivity to others
may be a vulnerability for experiencing anxiety in situations in which others are in distress
Older adults à perform more poorly in response delay and accuracy tasks compared to
younger adults
Life-time aerobic training seems to preserve cognitive abilities
All in all, there is a consensus about the benefits of physical training and that exercise may
selectively affect specific cognitive functions. In particular, it affects executive control.
Studies with animals have shown the following possible implications:
• Synaptogenesis à formation of new connections
o Complex environments à heavier and thicker areas in the cortex
o Possibly due to expansion of contact by existing cells with adjacent neurons
• Neurogenesis à formation of new neurons
o Exercise may aid neurogenesis
o Evidence is provided by neuron proliferation in the dentate gyrus of running
rats
o Also, in rodents it has been observed neurogenesis in the hippocampus,
prefrontal cortex and olfactory bulbus
o Exercise increases levels of serotonin and serotonin has been found to be
associated with decreased neurogenesis
• Glial plasticity
o Astrocyte’s density has been found to be 20% more in the visual cortex of
rats reared in complex environments
o Complex environments can influence brain function through:
§ Learning
§ Neuronal activity driven by peripheral stimulation à astrocytes
plasticity has been found to be correlated not only to development
but also to motor learning. Oligodendrocytes also exhibit similar
plastic responses to experience
• Vascular plasticity
o With increasing age, it is possible to notice a decrease in the vascularization
of the brain, and this may possibly be linked to a decrease in the cognitive
functions observed during aging
o Studies show that by manipulating the blood flow to the brain this would
alter behavioral performance on various tasks
McKercher à physical activity patterns and risk for depression in young adults
From childhood to adulthood the incidence of MDD increases. Up to 20% of people have
experiences at least a depressive episode in their lifetime. Between childhood and
adolescence, the levels of physical activity decrease.
It has been found that maintaining or increasing the levels of physical activity from
childhood into adulthood was associated with decreased risk for depression à effect
stronger for men
Sherder: Executive functions of sedentary elderly may benefit from walking
Results showed that walking had a positive effect on sedentary adults without cognitive
impairment, but not significant effect was found for those who had cognitive impairment
Verburgh: Physical exercise and executive function in preadolescent children, adolescents,
and young adults
, A moderate effect was found for acute physical exercise on cognitive functions, which
included inhibition, interference control, across all age groups.
Effects on working memory were only found for young adults.
Finally, no significant effect was found between chronic physical exercise and cognitive
functions, across all age groups.
Fett: Default distrust? An fMRI investigation of the neural development of trust and
cooperation
Trust develops as a function of age, and this is suggested to be due to the fact that
adolescents have a lower propensity to mentalize à interpret others’ social signals + they
have a reduced sensitivity to social signals
Investor trust à left TPJ and right dorsolateral PFC activate
Age à increased activation of TPJ & left TPJ
Activation dorsolateral PFC à efforts to regulate selfish responses due to age
Activity in mPFC à decreases during defection as function of age
Mentalizing regions à TPJ, posterior cingulate and precuneus
Basic trust towards another person à increases with age
The higher the initial trust, the stronger the decline in trust as a result of unfair behavior.
These results indicate a behavioural shift towards more trust and an age-related increase in
the sensitivity to other people’s negative social signs
Orbitofrontal cortex and Caudate nucleus à activity decreases with age during cooperation
Posterior cingulate/precuneus region à activity increases with age as result of
trustworthiness
Bekker: A short form of the autonomy scale: properties of the autonomy-connectedness
scale
Autonomy-connectedness à the ability to be on one’s own ad be with others
Autonomy scale à measures individual gender-related differences related to autonomy and
is divided in 3 subscales:
1. Self-awareness
2. Sensitivity to others
3. Capacity for managing new situations
The first study showed that women are significantly higher than men in sensitivity to others,
less self-aware and have less capacity for managing new situations (although the difference
was not large in the last two).
The second study showed significant difference only for sensitivity to others, with women
scoring higher.
The scale showed good internal consistency and validity and was found clinically relevant.
Kunst: autonomy deficits as vulnerability for anxiety
Aimed at investigating how specific aspects of autonomy deficits predict anxiety in different
stressful contexts. The study included two conditions: 1) consisting in watching an anxiety-
inducing clip and 2) give an impromptu speech in front of an audience.
Results showed that sensitivity to others was the component that was most correlated with
anxiety.
Sensitivity to others predicted anxiety during anxiety-inducing clips à sensitivity to others
may be a vulnerability for experiencing anxiety in situations in which others are in distress
