Brain Plasticity Following Physical Training in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Neuroimaging Study - The 2016 Wingate Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Galit Yogev-Seligmann ^1,2 Tamir Eisenstein ^1,2 Elissa Ash ^3,4 Talma Hendler ^1,2,5,6 Nir Giladi ^1,3,4,7 Yulia Lerner ^1,2,4,5

¹Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
²Functional Brain Center, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel
³Center for Memory and Attention Disorders, Department of Neurology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel
⁴Department of Neurology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel
⁵Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Israel
⁶School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Israel
⁷Sieratzki Chair in Neurology, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Background and Aim: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a prodromal stage of Alzheimer disease (AD). To date, therapeutic approaches to AD are symptomatic and of modest efficacy. Nonetheless, several modes of evidence in animal models and human populations suggest that physical training results in structural and functional brain changes. However, the extent to which comparable improvement can be found in individuals with amnestic MCI (a-MCI) and the nature of these neuroplastic changes are unknown.

Methods: Using combined fMRI experiments, neuropsychological evaluations and physiological markers, our goal is to explore the brain mechanisms mediating cognitive benefits of different types of physical training (i.e. aerobic vs. non-aerobic) in participants with a-MCI (n=19). We have evaluated how processing incoming information and memory encoding might be modulated by physical training in a-MCI. In addition, we have assessed the impact of physical training on cognitive performance in memory and executive function tests and on physiological markers associated with brain plasticity (e.g., BDNF).

Results: Preliminary results show changes in pattern of information processing following four months of intensive individual training. We revealed reliable neural responses in regions that are related to higher order processing of information in cognitively-intact older adults. Moreover, hippocampal activation in memory encoding tasks increased following four months of aerobic intervention. In addition, improvement in tests of memory executive functions was found in both physical training groups.

Conclusion: The insights gained from the study may have important scientific value and clinical implications for individuals who are at the early stages of AD.