Department of Neurology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Neuroimage. 2010 Feb 1;49(3):2756-63. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.10.043. Epub 2009 Oct 21.
Epidemiological studies reveal better cognitive function in physically active individuals. Possible mediators for this effect are neurotrophins, which are up-regulated through physical exercise and induce neuronal growth and synaptogenesis in the animal model. Here we cross-sectionally assessed 75 healthy older individuals for levels of physical activity, aerobic fitness, and memory encoding, as well as neurotrophin levels and cerebral gray matter volume. We found that physical activity, but not cardiovascular fitness, was associated with better memory encoding after controlling for age, sex, education, depression, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher levels of the neurotrophin granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and increased cerebral gray matter volume in prefrontal and cingulate cortex as assessed by magnetic resonance voxel-based morphometry. While mediating factors will need to be further elucidated, these findings indicate that even low-level physical activity exerts beneficial effects on memory functions in older individuals.
流行病学研究表明，身体活跃的个体具有更好的认知功能。这种效果的可能介导物是神经营养因子，它通过体育锻炼得到上调，并在动物模型中诱导神经元生长和突触形成。在这里，我们对 75 名健康的老年人进行了横断面评估，评估内容包括体力活动水平、有氧健身水平以及记忆编码水平，还有神经营养因子水平和大脑灰质体积。我们发现，在控制年龄、性别、教育程度、抑郁、饮酒和吸烟等因素后，体力活动与更好的记忆编码有关，而心血管健康与记忆编码无关。更高的体力活动水平与更高水平的神经营养因子粒细胞集落刺激因子（G-CSF）有关，并通过基于磁共振体素的形态测量学评估，与前额叶和扣带回皮层的大脑灰质体积增加有关。虽然需要进一步阐明中介因素，但这些发现表明，即使是低水平的体力活动也会对老年人的记忆功能产生有益的影响。
