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The association between physical fitness parameters and white matter microstructure in older adults: A diffusion tensor imaging study
Author(s) -
Chen FengTzu,
Erickson Kirk I.,
Huang Haiqing,
Chang YuKai
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.13539
Subject(s) - cardiorespiratory fitness , fractional anisotropy , cingulum (brain) , diffusion mri , physical fitness , psychology , white matter , fasciculus , physical therapy , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , radiology
The present study was designed to examine whether different measures of physical fitness are differentially associated with white matter (WM) microstructure in older adults. Fifty‐six healthy adults (mean age: 59.14 years) completed a standardized evaluation of physical fitness measurements (e.g., VO 2peak , push‐ups, abdominal sit‐ups, sit‐and‐reach, t test, and vertical jump). Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of WM microstructure, was assessed using diffusion tensor imaging. The findings indicated that the cardiorespiratory fitness was positively associated with FA in the right cingulum hippocampus and the left cerebral peduncle. However, other physical fitness metrics were not significantly associated with FA in any region. These results suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness, but not other metrics of fitness, might be sensitive to WM microstructure.