Cardiorespiratory fitness is differentially associated with cortical thickness in young and older adults.

ABSTRACT: Aging is associated with reductions in gray matter volume and cortical thickness. One factor that may play a role in mitigating age-associated brain decline is cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Although previous work has identified a positive association between CRF and gray matter volume, the relationship between CRF and cortical thickness, which serves as a more sensitive indicator of gray matter integrity, has yet to be assessed in healthy young and older adults. To address this gap in the literature, 32 young and 29 older adults completed treadmill-based progressive maximal exercise testing to assess CRF (peak VO₂), and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine vertex-wise surface-based cortical thickness metrics. Results indicated a significant CRF by age grou

SUBMITTER: Williams VJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5321861 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature