Effects of motor and cognitive dual-task performance in depressive elderly, healthy older adults, and healthy young individuals

Moraes, Helena; Deslandes, Andrea; Silveira, Heitor; Arcoverde, Cynthia; Alve, Heloisa; Laks, Jerson

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642011DN05030007

Abstract

Impairments in dual-task performance can be observed in healthy older adults when motor and cognitive assignments are applied simultaneously. According to the hypofrontality hypothesis, there may be a reduction in frontal cognitive function during exercise.

Objective:

The aim of the present study was to compare the performance changes on cognitive tests of depressive elderly (n=10), healthy older adults (n=10), and healthy young individuals (n=10) during cycle ergometer exercise.

Methods:

The groups were submitted to a working memory test, a short memory test and a semantic memory test, before and during a 20-minute cycle ergometer exercise at 80% of their age-predicted maximal heart rate.

Results:

Significant differences (p=0.04) were observed in scores on the digit backward test during exercise when young individuals were compared to healthy older adults. This result indicates that young subjects, as expected, had better performance than elderly. No significant differences were found among the groups for the digit forward subtest (p=0.40) or the vocabulary test (p=0.69).

Conclusion:

Data from this study showed that healthy older adults had impaired performance on higher cognitive tasks when these assignments were applied together with motor tasks.

Key words:
exercise; cognition; depression; aging; dual-task

Resumo

Prejuízos no desempenho de dupla tarefa podem ser observados em idosos saudáveis quando tarefas motoras e cognitivas são aplicadas simultaneamente. De acordo com a hipótese da hipofrontalidade, durante o exercício pode ocorrer uma redução no desempenho de tarefas cognitivas frontais.

Objetivo:

O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar as modificações no desempenho cognitivo durante o exercício em bicicleta ergométrica em idosos depressivos (n=10), idosos saudáveis(n=10), e jovens saudáveis (n=10).

Métodos:

Os grupos foram submetidos a teste de memória de trabalho, teste de memória de curto prazo e teste de memória semântica antes e durante 20 minutos de exercício em bicicleta estacionária a 80% da frequência cardíaca máxima prevista pela idade.

Resultados:

Foi observada uma diferença significativa nas mudanças do escore do teste digit backward quando comparados os grupos de jovens e idosos saudáveis (p=0,04), a qual indicou que o jovem mostrou melhora no desempenho, enquanto o grupo de idosos saudáveis declinou. Não houve diferença significativa entre grupos para o subteste de dígitos ordem direta (p=0,40) e teste de vocabulário (p=0,69).

Conclusão:

Os resultados da nossa investigação mostrou que pessoas idosas saudáveis apresentaram prejuízo no desempenho de tarefas cognitivas complexas quando desempenhadas durante a tarefa motora.

Palavras-chave:
exercício; cognição; depressão; envelhecimento; dupla-tarefa

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References

Laks J, Engelhardt E. Peculiarities of geriatric psychiatry: a focus on aging and depression. CNS Neurosci Ther 2010;16: 375-379.
Marazziti D, Consoli G, Piccheti M, Carlini M, Faravelli L. Cognitive impairment in major depression. Eur J Pharmacol 2010;626: 83-86.
Wilkins C, Mathews J, Sheline Y. Late life depression with cognitive impairment: Evaluation and treatment. Clin Interv Aging 2009;4:51-57.
Paelecke-Habermann Y, Pohl J, Leplow B. Attention and executive functions in remitted major. J Affect Disord 2005;89: 125-135.
Metlzer C, Becker J, Price J, Moses-Kolko E. Positron emission tomography imaging of the aging brain. Neuroimaging Clin N Am 2003;13:759-767
Goethals I, Audenaert K, Van de Wiele C, Dierckx R. The prefrontal cortex: insights from functional neuroimaging using cognitive activation tasks. Eur J Nucl Med 2004;31:408-416.
Jueptner M, Stephan K, Frith C, Brooks D, Frackowiak R, Passingham R. Anatomy of motor learning. I. Frontal cortex and attention to action. J Neurophysiol 1997;77:1313-1324.
Srygley J, Mirelman A, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff J. When does walking alter thinking? Age and task associated findings. Brain Res 2009;1253:92-99
Yogev-Seligmann G, Hausdorff J, Giladi N. The role of executive function and attention in gait. Mov Disord 2008;23:329-342.
Ambrose T, Katarynych L, Ashe M, Nagamatsu L, Hsu C. Dual-task gait performance among community-dwelling senior women: the role of balance confidence and executive functions. J Geront A Biol Sci Med Sci 2009;64:975-982.
Kramer A, Larish J, Strayer D. Training for attentional control in dual task settings: a comparison of young and old adults. J Exp Psychol 1995;1:50-76.
Nebes R, Butters M, Houck P, Zmuda M, Aizenstein H, Pollock B, et al. Dual-task performance in depressed geriatric patients. Psychiatric Res 2001;102:139-151.
Brümmer V, Schneider S, Strüder H, Askew C. Primary motor cortex activity is elevated with incremental exercise intensity. Neuroscience 2011;5:150-162.
Dietrich A. Transient hypofrontality as a mechanism for the psychological effects of exercise. Psychiatry Res 2006;145: 79-83.
Srygley J, Mirelman A, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff J. When does walking alter thinking? Age and task associated findings. Brain Res 2009;1253:92-99
Kashihara K, Maruyama T, Murota M, Nakahara Y. Positive effects of acute and moderate physical exercise on cognitive function. J Physiol Anthropol 2009;28:155-164.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.
Bertolucci P, Brucki S, Campacci S, Juliano Y. O mini-exame do estado mental em uma população geral: impacto da escolaridade. Arq Neuro-Psiquiatr 1994;52:1-7
Gorenstein C, Andrade, L. Validation of a Portuguese version of the Beck depression inventory and the state-trait anxiety inventory in brazilian subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 1996; 29:453-457.
Karvonen M, Kentala E, Mustala O. The effects of training on heart rate. Ann Med and Exp Biol Fenn 1957;35:307-315.
Borg G. Borg's perceived exertion and pain scales. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1998.
Wechsler D. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised manual (WAIS-R). New York:The Psychological Corporation; 1981.
Park D, Polk T, Mikels J, Taylor S, Marshuetz C. Cerebral aging: integration of brain and behavioral models of cognitive function. Dialog Clin Neurosci 2001;3:151-165.
Gualtieri C, Johnson L. Age-related cognitive decline in patients with mood disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2008;32:962-967.
Dietrich A, Sparling P. Endurance exercise selectively impairs prefrontal-dependent cognition. Brain Cogn 2004;55:526-524.
McMorris T, Tomporowski P, Audiffren M. Exercise and cognitive function. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2009
Brisswalter J, Collardeau M, René A. Effects of acute physical exercise characteristics on cognitive performance. Sports Med 2002;32: 555-566.
Ferris L, Williand J, Shen C. The effect of acute exercise on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and cognitive function. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39:728-734.
Netz Y, Tomer R, Axelrad S, Argv E, Inbar O. The effect of a single aerobic training session on cognitive flexibility in late middle-aged adults. Int J Sports Med 2007;28:82-87.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Jul-Sep 2011

History

Received
05 May 2011
Accepted
17 July 2011

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

[1] Laks J, Engelhardt E. Peculiarities of geriatric psychiatry: a focus on aging and depression. CNS Neurosci Ther 2010;16: 375-379.

[2] Marazziti D, Consoli G, Piccheti M, Carlini M, Faravelli L. Cognitive impairment in major depression. Eur J Pharmacol 2010;626: 83-86.

[3] Wilkins C, Mathews J, Sheline Y. Late life depression with cognitive impairment: Evaluation and treatment. Clin Interv Aging 2009;4:51-57.

[4] Paelecke-Habermann Y, Pohl J, Leplow B. Attention and executive functions in remitted major. J Affect Disord 2005;89: 125-135.

[5] Metlzer C, Becker J, Price J, Moses-Kolko E. Positron emission tomography imaging of the aging brain. Neuroimaging Clin N Am 2003;13:759-767

[6] Goethals I, Audenaert K, Van de Wiele C, Dierckx R. The prefrontal cortex: insights from functional neuroimaging using cognitive activation tasks. Eur J Nucl Med 2004;31:408-416.

[7] Jueptner M, Stephan K, Frith C, Brooks D, Frackowiak R, Passingham R. Anatomy of motor learning. I. Frontal cortex and attention to action. J Neurophysiol 1997;77:1313-1324.

[8] Srygley J, Mirelman A, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff J. When does walking alter thinking? Age and task associated findings. Brain Res 2009;1253:92-99

[9] Yogev-Seligmann G, Hausdorff J, Giladi N. The role of executive function and attention in gait. Mov Disord 2008;23:329-342.

[10] Ambrose T, Katarynych L, Ashe M, Nagamatsu L, Hsu C. Dual-task gait performance among community-dwelling senior women: the role of balance confidence and executive functions. J Geront A Biol Sci Med Sci 2009;64:975-982.

[11] Kramer A, Larish J, Strayer D. Training for attentional control in dual task settings: a comparison of young and old adults. J Exp Psychol 1995;1:50-76.

[12] Nebes R, Butters M, Houck P, Zmuda M, Aizenstein H, Pollock B, et al. Dual-task performance in depressed geriatric patients. Psychiatric Res 2001;102:139-151.

[13] Brümmer V, Schneider S, Strüder H, Askew C. Primary motor cortex activity is elevated with incremental exercise intensity. Neuroscience 2011;5:150-162.

[14] Dietrich A. Transient hypofrontality as a mechanism for the psychological effects of exercise. Psychiatry Res 2006;145: 79-83.

[15] Srygley J, Mirelman A, Herman T, Giladi N, Hausdorff J. When does walking alter thinking? Age and task associated findings. Brain Res 2009;1253:92-99

[16] Kashihara K, Maruyama T, Murota M, Nakahara Y. Positive effects of acute and moderate physical exercise on cognitive function. J Physiol Anthropol 2009;28:155-164.

[17] American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.

[18] Bertolucci P, Brucki S, Campacci S, Juliano Y. O mini-exame do estado mental em uma população geral: impacto da escolaridade. Arq Neuro-Psiquiatr 1994;52:1-7

[19] Gorenstein C, Andrade, L. Validation of a Portuguese version of the Beck depression inventory and the state-trait anxiety inventory in brazilian subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 1996; 29:453-457.

[20] Karvonen M, Kentala E, Mustala O. The effects of training on heart rate. Ann Med and Exp Biol Fenn 1957;35:307-315.

[21] Borg G. Borg's perceived exertion and pain scales. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1998.

[22] Wechsler D. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised manual (WAIS-R). New York:The Psychological Corporation; 1981.

[23] Park D, Polk T, Mikels J, Taylor S, Marshuetz C. Cerebral aging: integration of brain and behavioral models of cognitive function. Dialog Clin Neurosci 2001;3:151-165.

[24] Gualtieri C, Johnson L. Age-related cognitive decline in patients with mood disorders. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2008;32:962-967.

[25] Dietrich A, Sparling P. Endurance exercise selectively impairs prefrontal-dependent cognition. Brain Cogn 2004;55:526-524.

[26] McMorris T, Tomporowski P, Audiffren M. Exercise and cognitive function. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell; 2009

[27] Brisswalter J, Collardeau M, René A. Effects of acute physical exercise characteristics on cognitive performance. Sports Med 2002;32: 555-566.

[28] Ferris L, Williand J, Shen C. The effect of acute exercise on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and cognitive function. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39:728-734.

[29] Netz Y, Tomer R, Axelrad S, Argv E, Inbar O. The effect of a single aerobic training session on cognitive flexibility in late middle-aged adults. Int J Sports Med 2007;28:82-87.

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