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Acute Effects Of Exercise On Cognitive Performances Of Older Adults, R. Pennington, S. Hanna

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Accelerating rates of structural decline become evident during the third and fourth decades of human life, with disproportionate degeneration occurring in the frontal, parietal, and temporal brain lobes. As the structure of the brain declines, a broad array of cognitive processes involving memory, decision making, and selective attention are reduced as well (Raz 2000, Park et al. 2001). Cardiovascular exercise has been associated with improved cognitive functioning in aging humans, suggesting that increased vascular supply enhances availability of oxygen, nutrients, and other physical entities to nourish the brain. Previous experimentation on older adults revealed significant positive effects of exercise on …