DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF OBJECTIVELY-MEASURED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON CIRCUIT-SPECIFIC BRAIN AGING IN A MASSIVE MULTI-MODAL NEUROIMAGING COMMUNITY SAMPLE
Team: Mark D. Peterson (Medical School), Chandra Sripada (Medical School and LSA), Jenna Wiens (CoE), and Stephen Smith (Oxford University)
Summary: There is a wealth of evidence that in middle-age and older individuals physical activity has beneficial effects on neurocognitive functions (working memory, declarative memory, attention, regulatory control). It has been conjectured that physical activity produces these effects by altering neurotypical aging trajectories of critical brain circuits that underwrite major cognitive functions. In this project, researchers aim to better understand the role of exercise on brain structural and functional health, and to inform early, targeted interventions to preserve cognitive and physical health through the lifespan.