Ringenbach Shannon D R, Arnold Nathaniel E, Rezvani Forouzan Rafiei, Chen Chih-Chia
College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
Department of Health and Human Physiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Brain Sci. 2024 Dec 24;15(1):2. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15010002.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Cognitive functions are a crucial part of daily living, especially for adults with Down syndrome (DS) who have a high likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease in adulthood. In addition, adults with DS move slower and are not meeting the standard aerobic activity guidelines each week. The aim of this study was to examine if Assisted Cycle Therapy (ACT) would improve cognitive planning as measured by the Tower of London (TOL), set switching as measured by the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and spatial memory as measured by the Corsi Block Test in adults with DS as compared to self-paced cycling.
Twenty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of two interventions over eight weeks. (1) Thirteen older adults with DS completed the ACT intervention, which is stationary cycling with the assistance of a motor to maintain a cadence at least 35% greater than voluntary cycling. (2) Eleven older adults with DS completed voluntary cycling (VC).
Our results showed that cognitive planning as measured by total correct score in the TOL showed improvement for both ACT and VC after 8 weeks of exercise, F(1, 22) = 6.22, = 0.021. There were no significant differences for spatial memory or set switching.
We concluded that cycling exercise has a positive impact on cognitive function, especially problem solving in older adults with DS. Our results are discussed with respect to upregulation of neurotrophic factors that increase functioning in the prefrontal cortex that accompanies exercise and leads to improvements in cognitive planning which is essential to many activities of daily living and quality of life for older adults with DS.
背景/目的：认知功能是日常生活的关键部分，对于成年后极有可能患阿尔茨海默病的唐氏综合征（DS）成年人来说尤为如此。此外，DS成年人行动较为迟缓，且未达到每周标准有氧运动指南的要求。本研究的目的是检验与自主节奏骑行相比，辅助循环疗法（ACT）是否能改善DS成年人的认知规划（通过伦敦塔测试（TOL）测量）、定势转换（通过改良威斯康星卡片分类测试测量）以及空间记忆（通过科西方块测试测量）。
24名参与者在八周内被随机分配到两种干预措施之一。（1）13名患有DS的老年人完成了ACT干预，即在电机辅助下进行固定自行车骑行，以保持比自主骑行至少高35%的踏频。（2）11名患有DS的老年人完成了自主骑行（VC）。
我们的结果显示，通过TOL总正确得分测量的认知规划在运动8周后，ACT组和VC组均有改善，F(1, 22) = 6.22，P = 0.021。空间记忆或定势转换方面无显著差异。
我们得出结论，骑行运动对认知功能有积极影响，尤其是对患有DS的老年人的问题解决能力。我们结合神经营养因子的上调来讨论研究结果，神经营养因子的上调会增加前额叶皮质的功能，这与运动相伴，并导致认知规划的改善，而认知规划对于患有DS的老年人的许多日常生活活动和生活质量至关重要。
