Exercise for cognitive brain health in aging
A systematic review for an evaluation of dose
Citation Manager Formats
Make Comment
See Comments

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Purpose of review We systematically appraised randomized controlled trials proposing exercise to influence cognition in older adults to (1) assess the methodologic quality using Cochrane criteria; (2) describe various exercise dose measures and assess their relationship with improved cognitive performance; and (3) identify consistent patterns of reported effects on cognition.
Recent findings There was overall good methodologic quality in all 98 included studies. The assessment of the relationship between improved cognition and various measures of exercise dose (session duration, weekly minutes, frequency, total weeks, and total hours) revealed a significant correlation with total hours. Improvements in global cognition, processing speed/attention, and executive function were most stable and consistent.
Summary We found that exercising for at least 52 hours is associated with improved cognitive performance in older adults with and without cognitive impairment. Exercise modes supported by evidence are aerobic, resistance (strength) training, mind–body exercises, or combinations of these interventions.
Footnotes
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/cp.
- Received August 21, 2017.
- Accepted March 26, 2018.
- © 2018 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
For assistance, please contact:
AAN Members (800) 879-1960 or (612) 928-6000 (International)
Non-AAN Member subscribers (800) 638-3030 or (301) 223-2300 option 3, select 1 (international)
Sign Up
Information on how to subscribe to Neurology and Neurology: Clinical Practice can be found here
Purchase
Individual access to articles is available through the Add to Cart option on the article page. Access for 1 day (from the computer you are currently using) is US$ 39.00. Pay-per-view content is for the use of the payee only, and content may not be further distributed by print or electronic means. The payee may view, download, and/or print the article for his/her personal, scholarly, research, and educational use. Distributing copies (electronic or otherwise) of the article is not allowed.
The Nerve!: Rapid online correspondence
- Author Response: Exercise for cognitive brain health in aging: A systematic review for an evaluation of dose
- Timothy P Morris, Post-doctoral research scholar, Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
- Joyce Gomes-Osman, Assistant professor, Departments of Physical Therapy, Neurology and Evelyn F. McKnight Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
- Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Professor in neurology, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research and Chief of Division of Cognitive Neurology, Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
Submitted August 22, 2018 - Reader Response: Exercise for cognitive brain health in aging: A systematic review for an evaluation of dose
- Matthew P. Pase, Senior Research Fellow, The Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health
Submitted July 03, 2018
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Hastening the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr. Kellen Quigg
► Watch
Related Articles
- No related articles found.
Topics Discussed
Alert Me
Recommended articles
-
Article
Cognitive training in Parkinson diseaseA systematic review and meta-analysisIsabella H.K. Leung, Courtney C. Walton, Harry Hallock et al.Neurology, October 30, 2015 -
Article
Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adultsVeronica Guadagni, Lauren L. Drogos, Amanda V. Tyndall et al.Neurology, May 13, 2020 -
Article
Aerobic exercise and vascular cognitive impairmentA randomized controlled trialTeresa Liu-Ambrose, John R. Best, Jennifer C. Davis et al.Neurology, October 19, 2016 -
Articles
Effects of aerobic training in patients with mitochondrial myopathiesT. Taivassalo, N. De Stefano, Z. Argov et al.Neurology, April 01, 1998