Stephenson Justin C, Tran Tuan D, Graber Ted G
Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, NC, United States.
Department of Psychology, East Carolina University (ECU), Greenville, NC, United States.
Front Aging. 2025 Aug 14;6:1589730. doi: 10.3389/fragi.2025.1589730. eCollection 2025.
Declining functional capacity, both physical and cognitive, is a consequence of aging. However, exercise is a promising intervention to mitigate normal age- related decline. Although numerous studies have elucidated the benefits ofexercise per se, the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on a middle-aged population is less well-studied.
Our primary purpose was to assess the effect of 3 months of HIIT on physical and cognitive performance in middle-aged (17-month-old at the end) male C57BL/6J mice compared to sedentary controls (SED). We hypothesized that exercised mice would be resistant to age-related decline in cognitive and physical ability.
To measure physical function, we used the well-validated comprehensive functional assessment battery (CFAB) scoring system, comprised of determinants including voluntary wheel running, inverted cling, grip test, treadmill maximum speed, and rotarod performance. We measured cognition using open field test, novel object recognition, Y-maze, and puzzle box. Additional assessments included body composition (via MRI) and in vivo contractile physiology (plantar flexor torque).
Training resulted in significant improvements in aerobic capacity for the HIIT group, increasing treadmill time by 28%, while the SED group demonstrated a 41.4% decline in treadmill time. However, we found no significant differences in overall cognitive function. Contrary to our previous research in other age groups, the current study found a negligible effect of HIIT on body composition.
We note that at 17 months of age, mice did not exhibit any evidence of cognitive deterioration in either group over the training period, thus potentially explaining the lack of an exercise effect. We found that HIIT had less influence on both physical and cognitive function than expected, which may be because function in this age group remains relatively stable. Future work will investigate the adult cognitive response to HIIT in older adults, at ages where there is well- documented cognitive decline.
身体机能和认知能力的下降是衰老的结果。然而，运动是减轻正常年龄相关衰退的一种有前景的干预措施。尽管众多研究阐明了运动本身的益处，但高强度间歇训练（HIIT）对中年人群的影响研究较少。
我们的主要目的是评估与久坐对照组（SED）相比，对中年（实验结束时17个月大）雄性C57BL/6J小鼠进行3个月的HIIT训练对其身体和认知表现的影响。我们假设运动的小鼠对与年龄相关的认知和身体能力衰退具有抵抗力。
为了测量身体功能，我们使用了经过充分验证的综合功能评估电池（CFAB）评分系统，该系统由包括自愿轮转跑步、倒挂、握力测试、跑步机最大速度和转棒试验表现等决定因素组成。我们使用旷场试验、新物体识别、Y迷宫和拼图盒来测量认知。额外的评估包括身体成分（通过MRI）和体内收缩生理学（足底屈肌扭矩）。
训练使HIIT组的有氧能力显著提高，跑步机跑步时间增加了28%，而SED组的跑步机跑步时间下降了41.4%。然而，我们发现总体认知功能没有显著差异。与我们之前在其他年龄组的研究相反，本研究发现HIIT对身体成分的影响可忽略不计。
我们注意到，在17个月大时，两组小鼠在训练期间均未表现出任何认知衰退的迹象，这可能是缺乏运动效果的原因。我们发现HIIT对身体和认知功能的影响比预期小，这可能是因为该年龄组的功能保持相对稳定。未来的工作将研究老年人对HIIT的成人认知反应，在这个年龄段认知衰退有充分记录。
