Abstract
Mit zunehmendem Alter kommt es zu einem Abbau von Gehirnmasse. Es liegen allerdings zunehmend Hinweise darauf vor, dass moderate körperliche Aktivität vor diesem Prozess schützen bzw. diesem sogar entgegenwirken kann. Diese Forschungsrichtung zeigt, dass sich die Effekte von körperlicher Aktivität mit einiger Spezifizität nachweisen lassen und sich mit der höchsten Konsistenz und am stärksten im präfrontalen Kortex und dem Hippocampus ereignen. Analysen haben gezeigt, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen körperlicher Aktivität und besseren Leistungen in kognitiven Aufgaben durch die Größenveränderung von bestimmten Gehirnarealen moderiert wird. Des Weiteren konnten im Rahmen von funktionellen Bildgebungsstudien (funktionelle Magnetresonanztomografie; kurz: fMRT) ähnlich positive Effekte von Training auf Aktivierungsmuster im Gehirn gefunden werden. Körperliche Aktivität fördert darüber hinaus auch die Konnektivität zwischen frontalen Arealen und dem Hippocampus. So konnte beispielsweise gezeigt werden, dass Altersunterschiede in Bezug auf die Konnektivität dieser einzelnen Hirnareale nach einem 1-jährigen körperlichen Training ausgeglichen werden konnten. Bislang ist allerdings noch eine Reihe von Fragen in Bezug auf die Wirkungsweise von körperlichem Training (Dauer, Häufigkeit, Intensität, Art) sowie weiteren moderierenden Faktoren auf die kognitive Leistungsfähigkeit und Gehirngesundheit offen.
The brain typically deteriorates in later life, but there is emerging evidence that participation in moderate intensity physical activity can both protect and treat volumetric losses. This research suggests that the effects of physical activity on the brain have some degree of specificity with the effects occurring most consistently and robustly in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Analyses have reported that changes in the size of certain brain areas mediate the association between physical activity and better performance on cognitive tasks. In addition, functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown similar beneficial effects of exercise on task-evoked brain patterns as well as improvements in the degree of connectivity of frontal and hippocampal circuits, such that age differences in connectivity are eliminated after 1-year of exercise. Yet, despite these findings there remain many unanswered questions related to the dose of exercise, the moderators of exercise, and the types of exercise that influence brain health in late life.
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