Summary: According to a new study, men have a stronger positive correlation between cardiorespiratory fitness and brain function as they age.
Source: American Physiological Society.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is the measure of how much–and how well–oxygen is delivered to the muscles during exercise. Fitness level has also been associated with changes in the brain’s nerve-rich tissue, called gray matter, and better cognitive function in later life. Previous studies have also found cardiorespiratory fitness to be related to how the brain functions during periods of rest. Nerve connectivity in the brain during rest changes with age. These changes can negatively affect cognitive function. However, “the neural basis of sex differences in the relationship between fitness and brain function in older adults has not been directly explored,” wrote researchers from York University and McGill University in Canada.
The research team studied one group of men and one of women, both with an average age of 67. The volunteers self-reported their typical daily physical activity level. The research team recorded the participants’ height, weight, age, sex and resting heart rate to determine their cardiorespiratory fitness. They also administered imaging tests of the brain to record nerve function both within specific brain networks (local efficiency) and among all networks (global efficiency).
The men were found to have higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels than the women. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
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