The population of older adults is increasing, indicating a need to examine factors that may prevent or mitigate age-related cognitive decline. The current study examined whether microstructural white matter characteristics mediated the relation between physical activity and executive function in older adults without any self-reported psychiatric and neurological disorders or cognitive impairment (N = 43, mean age = 73 y). Physical activity was measured by average intensity and number of steps via accelerometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA growing literature emphasizes the importance of lifestyle factors such as nutrition in successful aging. The current study examined if one year of supplementation with lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z), two nutrients with known antioxidative properties and cognitive benefits, impacted structural brain outcomes in older adults using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial design. Community-dwelling older adults (20 males and 27 females) aged 65-87 years ( = 71.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Multiple concussions sustained in youth sport may be associated with later-life brain changes and worse cognitive outcomes. We examined the association between two or more concussions during high school football and later-life white matter (WM) microstructure (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe carotenoids lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) accumulate in retinal regions of the eye and have long been shown to benefit visual health. A growing literature suggests cognitive benefits as well, particularly in older adults. The present randomized controlled trial sought to investigate the effects of L and Z on brain function using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
October 2019
Objectives: Given that black American older adults are more likely to have lower educational attainment and perform worse on cognitive tests than white Americans, we examined whether increased education would confer greater cognitive advantage to black Americans on measures of global and specific domains of cognitive function.
Methods: The sample included 522 community-dwelling older adults from a larger study. An analysis of covariance was conducted with race and education as between-participant factors and global cognition as the dependent variable.
Obesity is a growing concern worldwide because of its adverse health effects, including its negative impact on cognitive functioning. This concern is especially relevant for older adults, who are already likely to experience some cognitive decline and loss of brain volume due to aging, (Gea et al., 2002).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) are phytonutrients that accumulate in human brain tissue and positively impact cognition. Given their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and their role in stabilizing cell membranes, L&Z may relate to measures of white matter integrity (WMI).
Method: The current study tested the relation of retinal (macular pigment optical density/MPOD) and blood serum concentrations of L&Z to WMI in community-dwelling older adults (n = 54) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
Past studies have suggested that higher lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) levels in serum and in the central nervous system (as quantified by measuring macular pigment optical density, MPOD) are related to improved cognitive function in older adults. Very few studies have addressed the issue of xanthophylls and cognitive function in younger adults, and no controlled trials have been conducted to date to determine whether or not supplementation with L + Z can change cognitive function in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not supplementation with L + Z could improve cognitive function in young (age 18-30), healthy adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh levels of xanthophyll carotenoids lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) in the central nervous system have been previously correlated with improved cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. In this study, we tested the effects of supplementing L and Z on older men and women with a range of baseline cognitive abilities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not supplementation with L+Z could improve cognitive function in community-dwelling, older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCognitive interventions may improve cognition, delay age-related cognitive declines, and improve quality of life for older adults. The current meta-analysis was conducted to update and expand previous work on the efficacy of cognitive interventions for older adults and to examine the impact of key demographic and methodological variables. EBSCOhost and Embase online databases and reference lists were searched to identify relevant randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) of cognitive interventions for cognitively healthy or mildly impaired (MCI) older adults (60+ years).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: It is well known that the carotenoids lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) improve eye health and an accumulating evidence base suggests cognitive benefits as well. The present study investigated underlying neural mechanisms using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). It was hypothesized that lower L and Z concentrations would be associated with neurobiological inefficiency (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArch Clin Neuropsychol
November 2015
Critical flicker fusion (CFF), a measure of visual processing speed, has often been regarded as a basic metric underlying a number of higher cognitive functions. To test this, we measured CFF, global cognition, and several cognitive subdomains. Because age is a strong covariate for most of these variables, both younger (n = 72) and older (n = 57) subjects were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF