Department of Exercise and Health, Institute of Sports Medicine, Paderborn University, Warburger Straße 100, 33098, Paderborn, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 17;13(1):6215. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31893-1.
Learning to play golf has high demands on attention and therefore may counteract age-related changes of functional brain networks. This cross-sectional study compared source connectivity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) between elderly golf novices and non-golfers. Four-minute resting-state electroencephalography (128 channels) from 22 elderly people (mean age 67 ± 4.3 years, 55% females) were recorded after completing a 22-week golf learning program or after having continued with normal life. Source connectivity was assessed after co-registration of EEG data with native MRI within pre-defined portions of the DMN in the beta band (14-25 Hz). Non-golfers had significantly higher source connectivity values in the anterior DMN compared to non-golfers. Exploratory correlation analyses did not indicate an association to cognitive performance in either group. Inverse correlations between a marker of external attention with source connectivity of the anterior DMN may suggest a trend in the golf group only, but have to be replicated in future studies. Clinical relevance of these findings remains to be elucidated, but the observed difference in the anterior DMN may provide a starting point to further investigate if and how learning golf may have an impact on physiological age-related cognitive changes.
学习打高尔夫球对注意力要求很高，因此可能有助于抵消与年龄相关的大脑功能网络变化。本横断面研究比较了老年高尔夫新手和非高尔夫球手之间默认模式网络（DMN）的源连接。在完成 22 周的高尔夫学习计划或继续正常生活后，对 22 名老年人（平均年龄 67±4.3 岁，55%为女性）进行了 4 分钟的静息状态脑电图（128 通道）记录。在 beta 波段（14-25 Hz）内，在 DMN 的预定义部分中，通过 EEG 数据与原始 MRI 的配准，评估了源连接。与非高尔夫球手相比，非高尔夫球手的前 DMN 的源连接值明显更高。在两组中，探索性相关分析均未表明与认知表现有关。与外部注意力标志物与前 DMN 的源连接之间的反比关系可能仅在高尔夫组中存在趋势，但需要在未来的研究中进行复制。这些发现的临床意义仍有待阐明，但前 DMN 中观察到的差异可能为进一步研究学习高尔夫球是否以及如何影响与生理年龄相关的认知变化提供了起点。
